‘And that’s all you have to tell us?’

‘Absolutely all, I’m afraid.’

Hercule Poirot leaned forward. He said softly:

‘But I think, Monsieur Farr, that you could tell us a good deal if you liked.’

Farr said sharply:

‘What d’you mean?’

‘You can tell us something that is very important in this case – the character of Mr Lee. You say that your father talked much of him to you. What manner of a man was it that he described to you?’

Stephen Farr said slowly:

‘I think I see what you’re driving at. What was Simeon Lee like in his young days? Well – you want me to be frank, I suppose?’

‘If you please.’ 

‘Well, to begin with, I don’t think that Simeon Lee was a highly moral member of society. I don’t mean that he was exactly a crook, but he sailed pretty near the wind. His morals were nothing to boast about anyway. He had charm, though, a good deal of it. And he was fantastically generous. No one with a hard-luck story ever appealed to him in vain. He drank a bit, but not over – much, was attractive to women, and had a sense of humour. All the same, he had a queer revengeful streak in him. Talk of the elephant never forgets and you talk of Simeon Lee. My father told me of several cases where Lee waited years to get even with someone who’d done him a nasty turn.’

Superintendent Sugden said:

‘Two might play at that game. You’ve no knowledge, I suppose, Mr Farr, of anyone who Simeon Lee had done a bad turn to out there? Nothing out of the past that could explain the crime committed here this evening?’

Stephen Farr shook his head.

‘He had enemies, of course, must have had, being the man he was. But I know of no specific case. Besides,’ his eyes narrowed, ‘I understand (as a matter of fact, I’ve been questioning Tressilian) there have been no strangers in or near the house this evening.’

Hercule Poirot said:

‘With the exception of yourself, M. Farr.’ 

Stephen Farr swung round upon him.

‘Oh, so that’s it? Suspicious stranger within the gates! Well, you won’t find anything of that kind. No back history of Simeon Lee doing Ebenezer Farr down, and Eb’s son coming over to revenge his dad! No,’ he shook his head. ‘Simeon and Ebenezer had nothing against each other. I came here, as I’ve told you, out of sheer curiosity. And moreover, I should imagine a gramophone is as good an alibi as anything else. I never stopped putting on records – somebody must have heard them. One record wouldn’t give me time to race away upstairs – these passages are a mile long, anyway – slit an old man’s throat, wash off the blood, and get back again before the others came rushing up. The idea’s farcical!’

Colonel Johnson said:

‘We’re not making any insinuations against you, Mr Farr.’

Stephen Farr said:

‘I didn’t care much for the tone of Mr Hercule Poirot’s voice.’

‘That,’ said Hercule Poirot, ‘is unfortunate!’

He smiled benignly at the other.

Stephen Farr looked angrily at him.

Colonel Johnson interposed quickly:

‘Thank you, Mr Farr. That will be all for the present. You will, of course, not leave this house.’ 

Stephen Farr nodded. He got up and left the room, walking with a freely swinging stride.

As the door closed behind him, Johnson said:

‘There goes X, the unknown quantity. His story seems straightforward enough. All the same, he’s the dark horse. He might have pinched those diamonds – might have come here with a bogus story just to gain admittance. You’d better get his fingerprints, Sugden, and see if he’s known.’

‘I’ve already got them,’ said the superintendent with a dry smile.

‘Good man. You don’t overlook much. I suppose you’re on to all the obvious lines?’

Superintendent Sugden checked off on his fingers.

‘Check up on those telephone calls – times, etc. Check up on Horbury. What time he left, who saw him go. Check up all entrances and exits. Check up on staff generally. Check up financial position of members of family. Get on to the lawyers and check up on will. Search house for the weapon and for bloodstains on clothing – also possibly diamonds hidden somewhere.’

‘That covers everything, I think,’ said Colonel Johnson approvingly. ‘Can you suggest anything, M. Poirot?’

Poirot shook his head. He said:

‘I find the superintendent admirably thorough.’

Sugden said gloomily:

‘It won’t be any joke looking through this house for the missing diamonds. Never saw so many ornaments and knick-knacks in my life.’

‘The hiding-places are certainly abundant,’ Poirot agreed.

‘And there’s really nothing you would suggest, Poirot?’

The chief constable looked a little disappointed – rather like a man whose dog has refused to do its trick.

Poirot said:

‘You will permit that I take a line of my own?’

‘Certainly-certainly,’ said Johnson at the same moment as Superintendent Sugden said rather suspiciously:

‘What line?’

‘I would like,’ said Hercule Poirot, ‘to converse – very often – very frequently – with members of the family.’

‘You mean you’d like to have another shot at questioning them?’ asked the colonel, a little puzzled.

‘No, no, not to question – to converse!’

‘Why?’ asked Sugden.

Hercule Poirot waved an emphatic hand.

‘In conversation, points arise! If a human being converses much, it is impossible for him to avoid the truth!’

Sugden said:

‘Then you think someone is lying?’

Poirot sighed.

‘Mon cher, everyone lies – in parts like the egg of the English curate. It is profitable to separate the harmless lies from the vital ones.’

Colonel Johnson said sharply:

‘All the same, it’s incredible, you know. Here’s a particularly crude and brutal murder – and whom have we as suspects? Alfred Lee and his wife – both charming, well – bred, quiet people. George Lee, who’s a Member of Parliament and the essence of respectability. His wife? She’s just an ordinary modern lovely. David Lee seems a gentle creature and we’ve got his brother Harry’s word for it that he can’t stand the sight of blood. His wife seems a nice sensible woman – quite commonplace. Remains the Spanish niece and the man from South Africa. Spanish beauties have hot tempers, but I don’t see that attractive creature slitting the old man’s neck in cold blood, especially as from what has come out she had every reason to keep him alive – at any rate until he had signed a new will. Stephen Farr’s a possibility – that is to say, he may be a professional crook and have come here after the diamonds. The old man discovered the loss and Farr slit his throat to keep him quiet. That could have been so – that gramophone alibi isn’t too good.’

Poirot shook his head.

‘My dear friend,’ he said. ‘Compare the physique of M. Stephen Farr and old Simeon Lee. If Farr decided to kill the old man he could have done it in a minute – Simeon Lee couldn’t possibly have put up that fight against him. Can one believe that that frail old man and that magnificent specimen of humanity struggled for some minutes overturning chairs and breaking china? To imagine such a thing is fantastic!’

Colonel Johnson’s eyes narrowed.

‘You mean,’ he said, ‘that it was aweak man who killed Simeon Lee?’

‘Or a woman!’ said the superintendent.

Colonel Johnson looked at his watch.

‘Nothing much more that I can do here. You’ve got things well in hand, Sugden. Oh, just one thing. We ought to see the butler fellow. I know you’ve questioned him, but we know a bit more about things now. It’s important to get confirmation of just where everybody says he was at the time of the murder.’

Tressilian came in slowly. The chief constable told him to sit down.

‘Thank you, sir. I will, if you don’t mind. I’ve been feeling very queer – very queer indeed. My legs, sir, and my head.’