The ABC Murders
Chapter Fourteen The Third Letter
I well remember the arrival of A B C's third letter.
I may say that all precautions had been taken so that when A B C resumed
his campaign there should be no unnecessary delays.A young sergeant from
Scotland Yard was attached to the house and if Poirot and I were out it was
his duty to open anything that came so as to be able to communicate with
headquaters without loss of time.
As the days succedded each other we had all grown more and more on edge.
Inspector Crome's aloof and superior manner grew more and more aloof and
superior as one by one his more hopeful clues petered out.The vague
descriptions of men said to have been seen with Betty Barnard proved
useless.Various cars noticed in the vicinity of Bexhill and Cooden were
either accounted for or could not be traced.The investigation of purchases
of A B C railway guides caused inconvenience and trouble to heaps of
innocent people.
As for ourselves£¬each time the postman's familiar rat-tat sounded on
the door£¬our hearts beat faster with apprehension.At least that was true
for me£¬and I cannot but believe that Poirot experienced the same sensation.
He was£¬I knew£¬deeply unhappy over the case.He refused to leave London£¬
preferring to be on the spot in case of emergency.In those hot dog days even
his moustaches drooped-neglected for once by their owner.
It was on a Friday that A B C's third letter came.The evening post
arrived about ten o'clock.
When we heard the familiar step and the brisk rat-tat£¬I rose and went
along to the box.There were four or five letters£¬I remember.The last one I
looked at was addressed in printed characters.
"Poirot£¬"I cried......My voice died away.
"It has come?Open it£¬Hastings.Quickly.Every moment may be needed.We
must make our plans."
I tore open the letter (Poirot for once did not reproach me with
untidiness)and extracted the printed sheet.
"Read it£¬"said Poirot.
I read aloud:
Poor Mr Poirot£¬-Not so good at these little criminal matters as you
thought yourself£¬are you?Rather past your prime£¬perhaps?Let us see if you
can do any better this time.This time it's an easy one.Churston on the
30th.Do try and do something about it!It's a bit dull having it all my won
way£¬you know!
Good hunting.Ever yours£¬A B C "Churston£¬"I said£¬jumping to our own
copy of an A B C."Let's see where it is."
"Hastings£¬"Poirot's voice came sharply and interrupted me."When was
that letter written?Is there a date on it?"
I glanced at the letter in my hand.
"Written on the 27th£¬"I announced.
"Did I hear you aright£¬Hastings?Did he give the date of the murder as
the 30th?"
"That's right.Let me see£¬that's-""Bon Dieu£¬Hastings-do you not
realise?Today is the 30th."
His eloquent hand pointed to the calendar on the wall.I caught up the
daily paper to confirm it.
"But why-how-"I stammered.
Poirot caught up the torn envelope from the floor.Something unusual
about the address had registered itself vaguely in my brain£¬but I had been
too anxious to get at the contents of the letter to pay more than fleeting
attention to it.
Poirot was at the time living in Whitehaven Mansions.The address ran:
M.Hercule Poirot£¬Whitehorse Mansion£¬across the corner was
scrawled:"Not known at Whitehorse Mansions£¬EC1£¬nor at Whitehorse Court-try
Whitehaven Mansions."
"Mon Dieu!"murmured Poirot."Does even chance aid this madman?
Vite-vite-we must get on to Scotland Yard."
A minute or two later we were speaking to Crome over the wire.For once
the self-controlled inspector did not reply "Oh£¬yes?"Instead a quickly
stifled curse came to his lips.He heard what we had to say£¬then rang off in
order to get a trunk connection to Churston as rapidly as possible.
"C'est trop tard£¬"murmured Poirot.
"You can't be sure of that£¬"I argued£¬though without any great hope.
He glanced at the clock.
"Twenty minutes past ten?An hour and forty minutes to go.Is it likely
that A B C will have held his hand so long?"
I opened the railway guide I had previously taken from its shelf.
"Churston£¬Devon£¬"I read£¬"from Paddington 20miles.Population 656.It
sounds a fairly small place.Surely our man will be bound to be noticed
there."
"Even so£¬another life will have been taken£¬"murmured Poirot."What are
the trains?I imagine train will be quicker than car."
"There's a midnight train-sleeping car to Newton Abbot-gets there 6.8am£¬
and them Churston at 7.15."
"That is from Paddington?"
"Paddington£¬yes."
"We will take that£¬Hastings."
"You'll hardly have time to get news before we start."
"If we receive bad news tonight or tomorrow morning does it matter
which?"
"There's something in that."
I put a few things together in a suitcase while Poirot once more rang up
Scotland Yard.
A few minutes later he came into the bedroom and demanded:
"Mais qu'est ce que vous faites la?"
"I was packing for you.I thought it would save time."
"Vous eprouvez trop d'emotion£¬Hastings.It affects your hands and your
wits.Is that a way to fold a coat?And regard what you have done to my
pyjamas.If the hairwash breaks what will befall them?"
"Good heavens£¬Poirot£¬"I cried£¬"this is a matter of life and death.
What does it matter what happens to our clothes?"
"You have no sense of proportion£¬Hastings.We cannot catch a train
earlier than the time that it leaves£¬and to ruin one's clothes will not be
the least helpful in preventing a murder."
Taking his suitcase from me firmly£¬he took the packing into his own
hands.
He explained that we were to take the letter and envelope to Paddington
with us.Someone from Scotland Yard would meet us there.
When we arrived on the platform the first person we saw was Inspector
Crome.
He answered Poirot's look of inquiry.
"No news as yet.All men available are on the look-out.All persons whose
name begins with Care being warned by phone when possible.There's just a
chance.Where's the letter?"
Poirot gave it to him.
He examined it£¬swearing softly under his breath.
"Of all the damned luck.The stars in their courses fight for the
fellow."
"You don't think£¬"I suggested£¬"that it was done on purpose?"
Crome shook his head.
"No.He's got his rules-crazy rules-and abides by them.Fair warning.He
makes a point of that.That's where his boastfulness comes in.I wonder
now-I'd almost bet the chap drinks White Horse Whisky."
"Ah£¬c'est ingenieux£¬ca!"said Poirot£¬driven to admiration in spite of
himself."He prints the letter and the bottle is in front of him."
"That's the way of it£¬"said Crome."We've all of us done much the same
thing one time or another£¬unconsciously copied something that's just under
the eye.He started off White and went on horse instead of haven......"
The inspector£¬we found£¬was also travelling by the train.
"Even if by some unbelievable luck nothing happened£¬Churston is the
place to be.Our murderer is there£¬or has been there today.One of my men is
on the phone here up to the last minute in case anything comes through."
Just as the train was leaving the station we saw a man running down the
platform.He reached the inspector's sleeper.
"You have news-yes?"demanded Poirot.
Crome said quickly:
"It's about as bad as it can be.Sir Carmichael Clarke has been found
with his head bashed in."
Sir Carmichael Clarke£¬although his name was not very well known to the
general public£¬was a man of some eminence.He had been in his time a very
well-known throat specialist.Retiring from his profession very comfortably
off£¬he had been able to indulge what had been one of the chief passions of
his life-a collection of Chinese pottery and porcelain.A few years later£¬
inheriting a considerable fortune from an elderly uncle£¬he had been able to
indulge his passion to the full£¬and he was now the possessor of one of the
best-known colletions of Chinese art.He was married but had no children and
lived in a house he had built for himself near the Devon coast£¬only coming
to London on rare occasions such as when some important sale was on.
It did not require much reflection to realize that his death£¬following
that of the young and pretty Betty Barnard£¬would provide the best newspaper
sensation for years.The fact that it was August and that the papers were
hard up for subject matter would make matters worse.
"Eh bien£¬"said Poirot."It is possible that publicity may do what
private efforts have failed to do.The whole country now will be looking for
A B C."
"Unfortunately£¬"I said£¬"that's what he wants."
"True.But it may£¬all the same£¬be his undoing.Gratified by success£¬he
may become careless......That is what I hope-that he may be drunk with his
own cleverness."
"How odd all this is£¬Poirot£¬"I exclaimed£¬struck suddenly by an idea.
"Do you know£¬this is the first crime of this kind that you and I have
worked on together?All our murders have been-well£¬private murders£¬so to
speak."
"You are quite right£¬my friend.Always£¬up to now£¬it has fallen to our
lot to work from the inside.It has been the history of the victim that was
important.The important points have been:"Who benefited by the death?
What opportunities had those around him to commit the crime?"It has
always been the "crime intime."Here£¬for the first time in our association£¬
it is cold-blooded£¬impersonal murder.Murder from the outside."
I shivered.
"It's rather horrible......"
"Yes.I felt from the first£¬when I read the original letter£¬that there
was something wrong-misshapen......"
He made an impatient gesture.
"One must not give way to the nerves......This is no worse than any
ordinary crime......"
"It is......It is......"
"Is it worse to take the life or lives of strangers than to take the
life of someone near and dear to you-someone who trust and believes in you£¬
perhaps?"
"It's worse because it's mad......"
"No£¬Hastings.It is not worse.It is only more difficult."
"No£¬no£¬I do not agree with you.It's infinitely more frightening."
Hercule Poirot said thoughtfully:
"It should be easier to discover because it is mad.A crime committed by
someone shrewd and sane would be far more complicated.Here£¬if one could but
hit on the idea......This alphabetical business£¬it has discrepancies.If I
could once see the idea-then everything would be clear and simple......"
He sighed and shook his head.
"These crimes must not go on.Soon£¬soon£¬I must see the truth......Go£¬
Hastings.Get some sleep.There will be much to do tommorrow."
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