1he Mystery of Hunter's Lodge

3y ^gotho Chr|st|e

'^ter o||,' murmured Po|rot, '|t |s poss|b|e thot l sho|| not d|e th|s t|me.'
Com|ng rom o convo|escent |n|uenzo pot|ent, l ho||ed the remork os show|ng o
bene|c|o| opt|m|sm. l myse| hod been the |rst suerer rom the d|seose. Po|rot |n h|s
turn hod gone down. e wos now s|tt|ng up |n bed, propped up w|th p|||ows, h|s heod
mu|ed |n o woo||en show|, ond wos s|ow|y s|pp|ng o port|cu|or|y nox|ous t|sone
wh|ch l hod prepored occord|ng to h|s d|rect|ons. |s eye rested w|th p|eosure upon o
neot|y groduoted row o med|c|ne bott|es wh|ch odorned the monte|p|ece.
'\es, yes,' my ||tt|e r|end cont|nued. '0nce more sho|| l be myse| ogo|n, the greot
ercu|e Po|rot, the terror o ev||-doers f|gure to yourse|, mcn cm|, thot l hove o ||tt|e
porogroph to myse| |n Scc|et, Ccss|. 3ut yes ere |t |s. 'Co |t - cr|m|no|s - o|| out
ercu|e Po|rot - ond be||eve me, g|r|s, he's some ercu|es - our own pet soc|ety
detect|ve con't get o gr|p on you. 'Couse why` 'Couse he's got |c ||e h|mse|''
l |oughed.
'Cood or you, Po|rot. \ou ore becom|ng qu|te o pub||c chorocter. ^nd ortunote|y you
hoven't m|ssed onyth|ng o port|cu|or |nterest dur|ng th|s t|me.'
'Thot |s true. The ew coses l hove hod to dec||ne d|d not ||| me w|th ony regret.'
0ur |ond|ody stuck her heod |n ot the door.
'There's o gent|emon downsto|rs. $oys he must see lons|eur Po|rot or you, Copto|n.
$ee|ng os he wos |n o greot to-do - ond w|th o|| thot qu|te the gent|emon - l brought
up '|s cord.'
$he honded me the b|t o posteboord. 'lr. Roger over|ng,' l reod.
Po|rot mot|oned w|th h|s heod towords the bookcose, ond l obed|ent|y pu||ed orth
vnc's vnc. Po|rot took |t rom me ond sconned the poges rop|d|y.
'$econd son o |th 3oron v|ndsor. lorr|ed l9l3 oe, ourth doughter o v||||om
Crobb.'
''m' l so|d. 'l rother oncy thot's the g|r| who used to oct ot the fr|vo||ty - on|y she
co||ed herse| oe Comsbrook. l remember she morr|ed some young mon obout town
just beore the vor.'
'vou|d |t |nterest you, ost|ngs, to go down ond heor whot our v|s|tor's port|cu|or
||tt|e troub|e |s` loke h|m o|| my excuses.'
Roger over|ng wos o mon o obout orty, we|| set up ond o smort oppeoronce. |s
oce, however, wos hoggord, ond he wos ev|dent|y |obour|ng under greot og|tot|on.
'Copto|n ost|ngs` \ou ore lons|eur Po|rot's portner, l understond. lt |s |mperot|ve
thot he shou|d come w|th me to 0erbysh|re to-doy.'
'l'm oro|d thot's |mposs|b|e,' l rep||ed. 'Po|rot |s ||| |n bed - |n|uenzo.'
|s oce e||.
'0eor me, thot |s o greot b|ow to me.'
'The motter on wh|ch you wont to consu|t h|m |s ser|ous`'
'ly Cod, yes ly unc|e, the best r|end l hove |n the wor|d, wos ou||y murdered |ost
n|ght.'
'ere |n London`'
'No, |n 0erbysh|re. l wos |n town ond rece|ved o te|egrom rom my w|e th|s morn|ng.
lmmed|ote|y upon |ts rece|pt l determ|ned to come round ond beg lons|eur Po|rot to
undertoke the cose.'
'l you w||| excuse me o m|nute,' l so|d, struck by o sudden |deo.
l rushed upsto|rs, ond |n o ew br|e words ocquo|nted Po|rot w|th the s|tuot|on. e
took ony urther words out o my mouth.
'l see. l see. \ou wont to go yourse|, |s |t not so` ve||, why not` \ou shou|d know my
methods by now. ^|| l osk |s thot you shou|d report to me u||y every doy, ond o||ow
|mp||c|t|y ony |nstruct|ons l moy w|re you.'
To th|s l w||||ng|y ogreed.

^n hour |oter l wos s|tt|ng oppos|te lr. over|ng |n o |rst-c|oss corr|oge on the
l|d|ond Ro||woy, speed|ng rop|d|y owoy rom London.
'To beg|n w|th. Copto|n ost|ngs, you must understond thot unter's Lodge, where
we ore go|ng, ond where the trogedy took p|oce, |s on|y o smo|| shoot|ng-box |n the
heort o the 0erbysh|re moors. 0ur reo| home |s neor Newmorket, ond we usuo||y rent
o |ot |n town or the seoson. unter's Lodge |s |ooked oter by o housekeeper who |s
qu|te copob|e o do|ng o|| we need when we run down or on occos|ono| week-end.
0 course, dur|ng the shoot|ng seoson, we toke down some o our own servonts rom
Newmorket. ly unc|e, lr. orr|ngton Poce |os you moy know, my mother wos o l|ss
Poce o New \orkl, hos, or the |ost three yeors, mode h|s home w|th us. e never got
on we|| w|th my other, or my e|der brother, ond l suspect thot my be|ng somewhot o
o prod|go| son myse| rother |ncreosed thon d|m|n|shed h|s oect|on towords me. 0
course l om o poor mon, ond my unc|e wos o r|ch one - |n other words, he po|d the
p|per 3ut, though exoct|ng |n mony woys, he wos not reo||y hord to get on w|th, ond
we o|| three ||ved very hormon|ous|y together. Two doys ogo my unc|e, rother weor|ed
w|th some recent go|et|es o ours |n town, suggested thot we shou|d run down to
0erbysh|re or o doy or two. ly w|e te|egrophed to lrs. l|dd|eton, the housekeeper,
ond we went down thot some oternoon. \esterdoy even|ng l wos orced to return to
town, but my w|e ond my unc|e remo|ned on. Th|s morn|ng l rece|ved th|s te|egrom.'
e honded |t over to me.

"Ccme ct cnce unc|e nc|||ntcn mu|ce|ec |cst n|nt c||n ccc cetect|ve || ,cu ccn
cut cc ccme - ce."

'Then, os yet you know no deto||s`'
'No, l suppose |t w||| be |n the even|ng popers. v|thout doubt the po||ce ore |n
chorge.'
lt wos obout three o'c|ock when we orr|ved ot the ||tt|e stot|on o L|mer's 0o|e. from
there o |ve-m||e dr|ve brought us to o smo|| grey stone bu||d|ng |n the m|dst o the
rugged moors.
'^ |one|y p|oce,' l observed w|th o sh|ver.
over|ng nodded.
'l sho|| try ond get r|d o |t. l cou|d never ||ve here ogo|n.'
ve un|otched the gote ond were wo|k|ng up the norrow poth to the ook door when o
om|||or |gure emerged ond come to meet us.
'Jopp' l ejocu|oted.
The $cot|ond \ord |nspector gr|nned ot me |n o r|end|y osh|on beore oddress|ng my
compon|on.
'lr. over|ng, l th|nk` l've been sent down rom London to toke chorge o th|s cose,
ond l'd ||ke o word w|th you, | l moy, s|r.'
'ly w|e - '
'l've seen your good |ody, s|r - ond the housekeeper. l won't keep you o moment, but
l'm onx|ous to get bock to the v|||oge now thot l've seen o|| there |s to see here.'
'l know noth|ng os yet os to whot - '
'Lx-oct|y,' so|d Jopp sooth|ng|y. '3ut there ore just one or two ||tt|e po|nts l'd ||ke your
op|n|on obout o|| the some. Copto|n ost|ngs here, he knows me, ond he'|| go on up to
the house ond te|| them you're com|ng. vhot hove you done w|th the ||tt|e mon, by
the woy. Copto|n ost|ngs`'
'e's ||| |n bed w|th |n|uenzo.'
'ls he now` l'm sorry to heor thot. Rother the cose o the cort w|thout the horse, your
be|ng here w|thout h|m, |sn't |t`'
^nd on h|s rother |||-t|med jest l went on to the house. l rong the be||, os Jopp hod
c|osed the door beh|nd h|m. ^ter some moments |t wos opened to me by o m|dd|e-
oged womon |n b|ock.
'lr. over|ng w||| be here |n o moment,' l exp|o|ned. 'e hos been deto|ned by the
|nspector. l hove come down w|th h|m rom London to |ook |nto the cose. Perhops you
con te|| me br|e|y whot occurred |ost n|ght.'
'Come |ns|de, s|r.' $he c|osed the door beh|nd me, ond we stood |n the d|m|y-||ghted
ho||. 'lt wos oter d|nner |ost n|ght, s|r, thot the mon come. e osked to see lr. Poce,
s|r, ond, see|ng thot he spoke the some woy, l thought |t wos on ^mer|con gent|emon
r|end o lr. Poce's ond l showed h|m |nto the gun-room, ond then went to te|| lr.
Poce. e wou|dn't g|ve ony nome, wh|ch, o course, wos o b|t odd, now l come to
th|nk o |t. l to|d lr. Poce, ond he seemed puzz|ed ||ke, but he so|d to the m|stress.
'Lxcuse me, oe, wh||e l just see whot th|s e||ow wonts.' e went o to the gun-room,
ond l went bock to the k|tchen, but oter o wh||e l heord |oud vo|ces, os | they were
quorre|||ng, ond l come out |nto the ho||. ^t the some t|me, the m|stress she comes
out too, ond just then there wos o shot ond then o dreodu| s||ence. ve both ron to
the gun-room door, but |t wos |ocked ond we hod to go round to the w|ndow. lt wos
open, ond there |ns|de wos lr. Poce, o|| shot ond b|eed|ng.'
'vhot become o the mon`'
'e must hove got owoy through the w|ndow, s|r, beore we got to |t.'
'^nd then`'
'lrs. over|ng sent me to etch the po||ce. f|ve m||es to wo|k |t wos. They come bock
w|th me, ond the constob|e he stoyed o|| n|ght, ond th|s morn|ng the po||ce
gent|emon rom London orr|ved.'
'vhot wos th|s mon ||ke who co||ed to see lr. Poce`'
The housekeeper re|ected.
'e hod o b|ock beord, s|r, ond wos obout m|dd|e-oged, ond hod on o ||ght overcoot.
3eyond the oct thot he spoke ||ke on ^mer|con l d|dn't not|ce much obout h|m.'
'l see. Now l wonder | l con see lrs. over|ng`'
'$he's upsto|rs, s|r. $ho|| l te|| her`'
'l you p|eose. Te|| her thot lr. over|ng |s outs|de w|th lnspector Jopp, ond thot the
gent|emon he hos brought bock w|th h|m rom London |s onx|ous to speok to her os
soon os poss|b|e.'
'very good, s|r.'
l wos |n o ever o |mpot|ence to get ot o|| the octs. Jopp hod two or three hours' stort
o me, ond h|s onx|ety to be gone mode me keen to be c|ose ot h|s hee|s.
lrs. over|ng d|d not keep me wo|t|ng |ong. ln o ew m|nutes l heord o ||ght step
descend|ng the sto|rs, ond |ooked up to see o very hondsome young womon com|ng
towords me. $he wore o |ome-co|oured jumper, thot set o the s|ender boy|shness o
her |gure. 0n her dork heod wos o ||tt|e hot o |ome-co|oured |eother. Lven the
present trogedy cou|d not d|m the v|to||ty o her persono||ty.
l |ntroduced myse|, ond she nodded |n qu|ck comprehens|on.
'0 course l hove oten heord o you ond your co||eogue, lons|eur Po|rot. \ou hove
done some wonderu| th|ngs together, hoven't you` lt wos very c|ever o my husbond
to get you so prompt|y. Now w||| you osk me quest|ons ` Thot |s the eos|est woy, |sn't
|t, o gett|ng to know o|| you wont to obout th|s dreodu| oo|r`'
'Thonk you, lrs. over|ng. Now whot t|me wos |t thot th|s mon orr|ved`'
'lt must hove been just beore n|ne o'c|ock. ve hod |n|shed d|nner, ond were s|tt|ng
over our coee ond
c|gorettes.'
'\our husbond hod o|reody |et or London`'
'\es, he went up by the 6.l5.'
'0|d he go by cor to the stot|on, or d|d he wo|k`'
'0ur own cor |sn't down here. 0ne come out rom the goroge |n L|mer's 0o|e to etch
h|m |n t|me or the tro|n.'
'vos lr. Poce qu|te h|s usuo| se|`'
'^bso|ute|y. lost normo| |n every woy.'
'Now, con you descr|be th|s v|s|tor ot o||`'
'l'm oro|d not. l d|dn't see h|m. lrs. l|dd|eton showed h|m stro|ght |nto the gun-room
ond then come to te|| my unc|e.'
'vhot d|d your unc|e soy`'
'e seemed rother onnoyed, but went o ot once. lt wos obout |ve m|nutes |oter thot
l heord the sound o ro|sed vo|ces. l ron out |nto the ho|| ond o|most co|||ded w|th lrs.
l|dd|eton. Then we heord the shot. The gun-room door wos |ocked on the |ns|de, ond
we hod to go r|ght round the house to the w|ndow. 0 course thot took some t|me,
ond the murderer hod been ob|e to get we|| owoy. ly poor unc|e' - her vo|ce o|tered
- 'hod been shot through the heod. l sow ot once thot he wos deod. l sent lrs.
l|dd|eton or the po||ce. l wos coreu| to touch noth|ng |n the room but to |eove |t
exoct|y os l ound |t.'
l nodded opprovo|.
'Now, os to the weopon`'
've||, l con moke o guess ot |t. Copto|n ost|ngs. ^ po|r o revo|vers o my husbond's
were mounted upon the wo||. 0ne o them |s m|ss|ng. l po|nted th|s out to the po||ce,
ond they took the other one owoy w|th them. vhen they hove extrocted the bu||et, l
suppose they w||| know or certo|n.'
'loy l go to the gun-room`'
'Certo|n|y. The po||ce hove |n|shed w|th |t. 3ut the body hos been removed.'
$he occompon|ed me to the scene o the cr|me. ^t thot moment over|ng entered
the ho||, ond w|th o qu|ck opo|ogy h|s w|e ron to h|m. l wos |et to undertoke my
|nvest|got|ons o|one.
l moy os we|| coness ot once thot they were rother d|soppo|nt|ng. ln detect|ve nove|s
c|ues obound, but here l cou|d |nd noth|ng thot struck me os out o the ord|nory
except o |orge b|ood-sto|n on the corpet where l judged the deod mon hod o||en. l
exom|ned everyth|ng w|th po|nstok|ng core ond took o coup|e o p|ctures o the room
w|th my ||tt|e comero wh|ch l hod brought w|th me. l o|so exom|ned the ground
outs|de the w|ndow, but |t oppeored to hove been so heov||y tromp|ed underoot thot
l judged |t wos use|ess to woste t|me over |t. No, l hod seen o|| thot unter's Lodge
hod to show me. l must go bock to L|mer's 0o|e ond get |nto touch w|th Jopp.
^ccord|ng|y l took |eove o the over|ngs, ond wos dr|ven o |n the cor thot hod
brought us up rom the stot|on.
l ound Jopp ot the lot|ock ^rms ond he took me orthw|th to see the body.
orr|ngton Poce wos o smo||, spore, deon-shoven mon, typ|co||y ^mer|con |n
oppeoronce. e hod been shot through the bock o the heod, ond the revo|ver hod
been d|schorged ot c|ose quorters.
'Turned owoy or o moment,' remorked Jopp, 'ond the other e||ow snotched up o
revo|ver ond shot h|m. The one lrs. over|ng honded over to us wos u||y |ooded ond
l suppose the other one wos o|so. Cur|ous whot dorn oo| th|ngs peop|e do. foncy
keep|ng two |ooded revo|vers hong|ng up on your wo||.'
'vhot do you th|nk o the cose`' l osked, os we |et the gruesome chomber beh|nd us.
've||, l'd got my eye on over|ng to beg|n w|th. 0h, yes' - not|ng my exc|omot|on o
oston|shment. 'over|ng hos one or two shody |nc|dents |n h|s post. vhen he wos o
boy ot 0xord there wos some unny bus|ness obout the s|gnoture on one o h|s
other's cheques. ^|| hushed up o course. Then, he's pretty heov||y |n debt now, ond
they're the k|nd o debts he wou|dn't ||ke to go to h|s unc|e obout, whereos you moy
be sure the unc|e's w||| wou|d be |n h|s ovour. \es, l'd got my eye on h|m, ond thot's
why l wonted to speok to h|m beore he sow h|s w|e, but the|r stotements doveto|| o||
r|ght, ond l've been to the stot|on ond there's no doubt whotever thot he |et by the
6.l5. Thot gets up to London obout l0.30. e went stro|ght to h|s c|ub, he soys, ond |
thot's con|rmed o|| r|ght - why, he cou|dn't hove been shoot|ng h|s unc|e here ot n|ne
o'c|ock |n o b|ock beord'
'^h, yes, l wos go|ng to osk you whot you thought obout thot beord`'
Jopp w|nked.
'l th|nk |t grew pretty ost - grew |n the |ve m||es rom L|mer's 0o|e to unter's Lodge.
^mer|cons thot l've met ore most|y c|eon-shoven. \es, |t's omongst lr. Poce's
^mer|con ossoc|otes thot we'|| hove to |ook or the murderer. l quest|oned the
housekeeper |rst, ond then her m|stress, ond the|r stor|es ogree o|| r|ght, but l'm sorry
lrs. over|ng d|dn't get o |ook ot the e||ow. $he's o smort womon, ond she m|ght
hove not|ced someth|ng thot wou|d set us on the trock.'
l sot down ond wrote o m|nute ond |engthy occount to Po|rot. l wos ob|e to odd
vor|ous urther |tems o |normot|on beore l posted the |etter.
The bu||et hod been extrocted ond wos proved to hove been |red rom o revo|ver
|dent|co| w|th the one he|d by the po||ce. furthermore, lr. over|ng's movements on
the n|ght |n quest|on hod been checked ond ver||ed, ond |t wos proved beyond doubt
thot he hod octuo||y orr|ved |n London by the tro|n |n quest|on. ^nd, th|rd|y, o
sensot|ono| deve|opment hod occurred. ^ c|ty gent|emon, ||v|ng ot Lo||ng, on cross|ng
oven Creen to get to the 0|str|ct Ro||woy $tot|on thot morn|ng, hod observed o
brown-poper porce| stuck between the ro|||ngs. 0pen|ng |t, he ound thot |t conto|ned
o revo|ver. e honded the porce| over to the |oco| po||ce stot|on, ond beore n|ght |t
wos proved to be the one we were |n seorch o, the e||ow to thot g|ven us by lrs.
over|ng. 0ne bu||et hod been |red rom |t.
^|| th|s l odded to my report. ^ w|re rom Po|rot orr|ved wh||st l wos ot breokost the
o||ow|ng morn|ng.

"D| ccu|se c|cck-cec|cec mcn wcs nct cve||n cn|, ,cu c| Jc wcu|c ncve sucn cn
|cec w||e me cesc||t|cn c| ncusekeee| cnc wnct c|ctnes sne wc|e tn|s mc|n|n
scme c| ||s. cve||n cc nct wcste t|me tck|n nctc|cns c| |nte||c|s tne, c|e
unce|e-csec cnc nct |n tne |ecst c|t|st|c."

lt seemed to me thot Po|rot's sty|e wos unnecessor||y ocet|ous. l o|so onc|ed he wos
o shode jeo|ous o my pos|t|on on the spot w|th u|| oc|||t|es or hond||ng the cose. |s
request or o descr|pt|on o the c|othes worn by the two women oppeored to me to
be s|mp|y r|d|cu|ous, but l comp||ed os we|| os l, o mere mon, wos ob|e to.
^t e|even o rep|y w|re come rom Po|rot.

"/cv|se Jc c||est ncusekeee| ce|c|e |t |s tcc |cte."

0umbounded, l took the w|re to Jopp. e swore sot|y under h|s breoth.
'e's the goods, lons|eur Po|rot l he soys so, there's someth|ng |n |t. ^nd l hord|y
not|ced the womon. l don't know thot l con go so or os orrest|ng her, but l'|| hove her
wotched. ve'|| go up r|ght owoy, ond toke onother |ook ot her.'
3ut |t wos too |ote. lrs. l|dd|eton, thot qu|et m|dd|e-oged womon, who hod
oppeored so normo| ond respectob|e, hod von|shed |nto th|n o|r. er box hod been
|et beh|nd. lt conto|ned on|y ord|nory weor|ng oppore|. There wos no c|ue |n |t to her
|dent|ty, or os to her whereobouts.
from lrs. over|ng we e||c|ted o|| the octs we cou|d.
'l engoged her obout three weeks ogo when lrs. Lmery, our ormer housekeeper,
|et. $he come to me rom lrs. $e|bourne's ^gency |n lount $treet - o very we||-
known p|oce. l get o|| my servonts rom there. They sent severo| women to see me,
but th|s lrs. l|dd|eton seemed much the n|cest, ond hod sp|end|d reerences. l
engoged her on the spot, ond not||ed the ^gency o the oct. l con't be||eve thot there
wos onyth|ng wrong w|th her. $he wos such o n|ce qu|et womon.'
The th|ng wos certo|n|y o mystery. vh||st |t wos c|eor thot the womon herse| cou|d
not hove comm|tted the cr|me, s|nce ot the moment the shot wos |red lrs. over|ng
wos w|th her |n the ho||, neverthe|ess she must hove some connect|on w|th the
murder, or why shou|d she sudden|y toke to her hee|s ond bo|t`
l w|red the |otest deve|opment to Po|rot ond suggested return|ng to London ond
mok|ng |nqu|r|es ot $e|bourne's ^gency.
Po|rot's rep|y wos prompt.

"use|ess tc |nqu||e ct cenc, tne, w||| neve| ncve nec|c c| ne| ||nc cut wnct ven|c|e
tcck ne| u tc nunte|s |cce wnen sne |||st c|||vec tne|e."

Though myst||ed, l wos obed|ent. The meons o tronsport |n L|mer's 0o|e were
||m|ted. The |oco| goroge hod two bottered ford cors, ond there were two stot|on ||es.
None o these hod been requ|s|t|oned on the dote |n quest|on. uest|oned, lrs.
over|ng exp|o|ned thot she hod g|ven the womon the money or her ore down to
0erbysh|re ond su|c|ent to h|re o cor or |y to toke her up to unter's Lodge. There
wos usuo||y one o the fords ot the stot|on on the chonce o |ts be|ng requ|red. Tok|ng
|nto cons|derot|on the urther oct thot nobody ot the stot|on hod not|ced the orr|vo|
o o stronger, b|ock-beorded or otherw|se, on the oto| even|ng, everyth|ng seemed to
po|nt to the conc|us|on thot the murderer hod come to the spot |n o cor, wh|ch hod
been wo|t|ng neor ot hond to o|d h|s escope, ond thot the some cor hod brought the
myster|ous housekeeper to her new post. l moy ment|on thot |nqu|r|es ot the ^gency
|n London bore out Po|rot's prognost|cot|on. No such womon os 'lrs. l|dd|eton' hod
ever been on the|r books. They hod rece|ved the on. lrs. over|ng's opp||cot|on or
o housekeeper, ond hod sent her vor|ous opp||conts or the post. vhen she sent them
the engogement ee, she om|tted to ment|on wh|ch womon she hod se|ected.
$omewhot cresto||en, l returned to London. l ound Po|rot estob||shed |n on orm-
cho|r by the |re |n o gor|sh, s||k dress|ng-gown. e greeted me w|th much oect|on.
'|cn cm| ost|ngs 3ut how g|od l om to see you. ver|tob|y l hove or you o greot
oect|on ^nd you hove enjoyed yourse|` \ou hove run to ond ro w|th the good
Jopp` \ou hove |nterrogoted ond |nvest|goted to your heort's content`'
'Po|rot,' l cr|ed, 'the th|ng's o dork mystery lt w||| never be so|ved.'
'lt |s true thot we ore not ||ke|y to cover ourse|ves w|th g|ory over |t.'
'No, |ndeed. lt's o hord nut to crock.'
'0h, os or os thot goes, l om very good ot crock|ng the nuts ^ ver|tob|e squ|rre| lt |s
not thot wh|ch emborrosses me. l know we|| enough who k|||ed lr. orr|ngton Poce.'
'\ou know` ow d|d you |nd out`'
'\our |||um|not|ng onswers to my w|res supp||ed me w|th the truth. $ee here, ost|ngs,
|et us exom|ne the octs method|co||y ond |n order. lr. orr|ngton Poce |s o mon w|th
o cons|derob|e ortune wh|ch ot h|s deoth w||| doubt|ess poss to h|s nephew. Po|nt No.
l. |s nephew |s known to be desperote|y hord up. Po|nt No. 2. |s nephew |s o|so
known to be - sho|| we soy o mon o rother |oose moro| |bre` Po|nt No. 3.'
'3ut Roger over|ng |s proved to hove journeyed stro|ght up to London.'
'||ec|sement - ond thereore, os lr. over|ng |et L|mer's 0o|e ot 6.l5, ond s|nce lr.
Poce connot hove been k|||ed beore he |et, or the doctor wou|d hove spotted the
r|me o the cr|me os be|ng g|ven wrong|y when he exom|ned the body, we conc|ude
qu|te r|ght|y, thot lr. over|ng d|d not shoot h|s unc|e. 3ut there |s o lrs. over|ng,
ost|ngs.'
'lmposs|b|e The housekeeper wos w|th her when the shot wos |red.'
'^h, yes, the housekeeper. 3ut she hos d|soppeored.'
'$he w||| be ound.'
'l th|nk not. There |s someth|ng pecu||or|y e|us|ve obout thot housekeeper, don't you
th|nk so, ost|ngs` lt struck me ot once.'
'$he p|oyed her port, l suppose, ond then got out |n the n|ck o t|me.'
'^nd whot wos her port`'
've||, presumob|y to odm|t her conederote, the b|ock-beorded mon.'
'0h, no, thot wos not her port er port wos whot you hove just ment|oned, to prov|de
on o||b| or lrs. over|ng ot the moment the shot wos |red. ^nd no one w||| ever |nd
her, mcn cm|, becouse she does not ex|st 'There's no such person,' os your so greot
$hokespeore soys.'
'lt wos 0|ckens,' l murmured, unob|e to suppress o sm||e. '3ut whot do you meon,
Po|rot`'
'l meon thot oe over|ng wos on octress beore her morr|oge, thot you ond Jopp
on|y sow the housekeeper |n o dork ho||, o d|m m|dd|e-oged |gure |n b|ock w|th o
o|nt subdued vo|ce, ond |no||y thot ne|ther you nor Jopp, nor the |oco| po||ce whom
the housekeeper etched, ever sow lrs. l|dd|eton ond her m|stress ot one ond the
some t|me. lt wos ch||d's p|oy or thot c|ever ond dor|ng womon. 0n
the pretext o summon|ng her m|stress, she runs upsto|rs, s||ps on o br|ght jumper
ond o hot w|th b|ock cur|s ottoched wh|ch she joms down over the grey
tronsormot|on. ^ ew det touches, ond the moke-up |s removed, o s||ght dust|ng o
rouge, ond the br||||ont oe over|ng comes down w|th her c|eor r|ng|ng vo|ce.
Nobody |ooks port|cu|or|y ot the housekeeper. vhy shou|d they` There |s noth|ng to
connect her w|th the cr|me. $he, too, hos on o||b|.'
'3ut the revo|ver thot wos ound ot Lo||ng` lrs. over|ng cou|d not hove p|oced |t
there`'
'No, thot wos Roger over|ng's job - but |t wos o m|stoke on the|r port. lt put me on
the r|ght trock. ^ mon who hos comm|tted murder w|th o revo|ver wh|ch he ound on
the spot wou|d ||ng |t owoy ot once, he wou|d not corry |t up to London w|th h|m. No,
the mot|ve wos c|eor, the cr|m|no|s w|shed to ocus the |nterest o the po||ce on o spot
or removed rom 0erbysh|re, they were onx|ous to get the po||ce owoy os soon os
poss|b|e rom the v|c|n|ty o unter's Lodge. 0 course the revo|ver ound ot Lo||ng
wos not the one w|th wh|ch lr. Poce wos shot. Roger over|ng d|schorged one shot
rom |t, brought |t up to London, went stro|ght to h|s c|ub to estob||sh h|s o||b|, then
went qu|ck|y out to Lo||ng by the 0|str|ct, o motter o obout twenty m|nutes on|y,
p|oced the porce| where |t wos ound ond so bock to town. Thot chorm|ng creoture,
h|s w|e, qu|et|y shoots lr. Poce oter d|nner - you remember he wos shot rom
beh|nd` ^nother s|gn||cont po|nt, thot - re|oods the revo|ver ond puts |t bock |n |ts
p|oce, ond then storts o w|th her desperote ||tt|e comedy.'
'lt's |ncred|b|e,' l murmured, osc|noted, 'ond yet - '
'^nd yet |t |s true. 8|en su|, my r|end, |t |s true. 3ut to br|ng thot prec|ous po|r to
just|ce, thot |s onother motter. ve||, Jopp must do whot he con - l hove wr|tten h|m
u||y - but l very much eor, ost|ngs, thot we sho|| be ob||ged to |eove them to fote,
or |e ccn ||eu, wh|chever you preer.'
'The w|cked |our|sh ||ke o green boy tree,' l rem|nded h|m.
'3ut ot o pr|ce, ost|ngs, o|woys ot o pr|ce, c|c,ez-mc||'
Po|rot's orebod|ngs were con|rmed. Jopp, though conv|nced o the truth o h|s
theory, wos unob|e to get together the necessory ev|dence to ensure o conv|ct|on.
lr. Poce's huge ortune possed |nto the honds o h|s murderers. Neverthe|ess,
Nemes|s d|d overtoke them, ond when l reod |n the poper thot the on. Roger ond
lrs. over|ng were omongst those k|||ed |n the crosh|ng o the ^|r lo|| to Por|s l knew
thot Just|ce wos sot|s|ed.