MURDER AT CHRISTMAS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23272, 15 February 1939, Page 22

MURDER AT CHRISTMAS

By AGATHA CHRISTIE

THE STORY SO FAR: On Christmas Eve Colonel Johnson, Chief Constable of Middleshire, went in response to a telephone _ call from Superintendent Sugden to investigate the murder of old Simeon Lee, diamond merchant millionaire. Johnson took with him his guest, Hercule Poirot. The victim's throat had been cut in a room whore the door was locked on the inside, and the windows were fastened. - . No trace of the murderer or his weapon could bo found, but a great deal of blood had been spilled about the disordered room. Simeon Lee, a short time before his death, had reported to the police the loss of a number of .uncut diamonds he kept in his safe. Johnson questioned members of the family house-party Simeon's sons, George, Alfred. Harry, David, his halfSpanish grand-daughter, Pilar; his daughters-in-law; Stephen Farr, son of his former partner. Tressilian, the butler, and Horbury, the valet, told their stories. In the last instalment, Pilar admitted that she slipped into a recess outside her grandfather's room at the time of the murder; had seen a woman at his door. NOW READ ON . . .

Superintendent Sugden looked round at the circle of faces. He said with something as near irritation as he had yet shown: _ , "This is very irregular, Mr. Poirot. Poirot said: " It is a little idea of mine. I wish to share with everyone the knowledge that I have acquired. I shall then invite their co-operation, and so we shall get at the truth." Sugden murmured under his breath: " Monkey tricks." Poirot said: " To begin with, you have, I think, an explanation to ask of Mr. Farr." Sugden's mouth tightened. " I should have chosen a less public moment," he said. " However, I've no objection." He handed the cable to Stephen Farr. " Now, Mr. Farr, as you call yourself, perhaps you can explain this?" Stephen Farr took it. Raising his eyebrows, he road it slowly out loud. " Yes," he said. " It's pretty damning, isn't it?" " Is that all you've got to say about it? You quite understand there is no obligation on you to make a statement —"

Stephen Farr interrupted. He said: " You needn't caution me, superintendent. I can see it trembling on your tongue! Yes, I'll give you an explanation. It's not a very good one, but it's the truth."

1 He paused. Then he began. , " I'm not Ebenezer Fair's son. But I knew both father and son quite well. Now try to put yourself in my place —(my name is Stephen Grant, by the way.)' I arrived in this country for the first time in my life. I was disappointed. Everything and everybody seemed dj'ab and lifeless. Then I was travelling by train and I saw a girl. She was the loveliest and most unlikely creature in the_ world! I talked to her for a while in the train and I made up my mind then and there not to lose sight of her. I caught sight of the label on her suitcase. Her name meant nothing to me, but the address to which slue was travelling did. I'd heard of Gorston Hall, and I knew all about its owner. Ho was Ebenezer Farr's one-time partner, and old Eb. often talked about him. " Well, the idea came to me to go to Gorston Hall and pretend I was Eb's. son. Ho had died, as this cable says, two years ago, but I remembered old Eb. saying that he had not heard from Simeon Lee now for many years, and I judged that Lee would not know of the death of Eb's. son. Anyway, I felt it was worth trying." Sugden said:

"You didn't try it on at once, though. You stayed in the King's Arms, at Addlesfield for two days." " I was thinking it over—whether to try it or not. At last I made up my mind I would. It appealed to me as a bit of an adventure. Well, it worked like a charm! The old man greeted me in the friendliest manner and at once asked me to come and stay in the house. I accepted. There you are, superintendent, there's my explanation. If you don't fancy it, cast your mind back to your courting days and see if you don't remember some bit of foolishness you indulged in then. As for my real name, as I say, it's Stephen Grant. You can cable to South Africa and check up on me, but I'll tell you this, you'll find I'm a perfectly respectable citizen. I'm not a crook or jewel thief."

Poirot said softly: " I never believed vou were." Superintendent Sugden stroked his jaw cautiously. He said: " I'll have to check up on that story. What I'd like to know is this; Why didn't you come clean after the murder, instead of telling us a pack of lies?"

" Because I was a fool! I thought I could get away with it! I thought it would look fishy if I admitted to being here under a false name."

Sudgen said: " Well, Mr. Farr—er —Grant—l'm not saying I disbelieve your story. It will be proved or disproved soon enough." Poirot said: " I think Miss Estravados has something to say." Pilar had gone very white. "It is true," she said. " I would never have told you, but for Lydia and the money. To pretend and clieat and act —that was fun, but when Lydia said the money was mine and that it was only justice, that was different."

Alfred Lee said with a puzzled face: " I do not understand, my dear." Pilar said:

" You think I am your niece, Pilar Estravados? But th.it is not so! Pilar was killed when I was travelling with her in a car in Spain. A bomb came and it hit the car and she was killed, but 1 was not touched. I did not know her very well, but she had told me all about herself and how her grandfather had sent for her to England and that be was very rich. And I had no money at all, and did not know where to go or what to do. And I thought suddenly, ' Why should not I take Pilar's passport and go to England and become very rich?' .... Oh, it was fun wondering if I could get away with it! Our faces on the photograph were not unlike. But when they wanted my passport here, I opened the window and threw it out and jan down to get it, and then I rubbed some earth just over the face a little, because at a barrier, travelling, they do not look very closely, but here they might—" Alfred Lee said angrily: " Do you mean to say that you represented yourself to my father as his grand-daughter, and played on his affection for you?" " Yes. I saw at once I could make him like me very much." George Lee broke out: " Preposterous 1" he spluttered. " Criminal 1 Attempting to get money by false pretences. Harry Lee said: " She didn't get any from you, old boy! Pilar, I'm on your side! I've got a profound admiration for your daring. And thank goodness I'm not your uncle any morel That gives me a much freer hand." Pilar said to Poirot: " You knew? When did you know?" Poirot smiled. " Mademoiselle, if you had studied the laws of Mendel, you would know that two blue-eyed people are not likely to have a brown-eyed child. Your mother was, I was sure, a most

A myatery atory in which Hercule Poirot appears again.

(COP7RIGBT)

chaste and respectable woman. It fallowed, then, that , you were not Pilar Estravados at all. When you did your trick with the passport, I was quite sure of it. It was ingenious, but not, you understand,' quite ingenious enough." Superintendent Sugden said unpleasantly: • . " The whole thing's not quite ingenious enough." Pilar stared at him. Sugden said: " You've told us a story—but I think, there's a good deal more you haven't told." Stephen said: " You leave her alone!" Superintendent Sugden went on: ' " You've told us that you went up to your grandfather's room after dinner. You said it was an impulse on your part. I'm going to suggest something else. It was you who stole those diamonds. You'd handled them. On occasions, perhaps, you'd put them away in the safe, and the old man hadn't watched you do it! When he found the stones were missing, he saw at once that only two people could have taken them. One was Horbury, who might have got to know the combination and have crept in and stolen them during the night. The other person was you. " Well, Mr. Lee at once took measures. He rang me up and had me come to see him. Then he sent word to you to come and see him immediately after dinner. You did and be accused you of the theft. You denied it, he pressed the charge. I don't know what happened next —perhaps he tumbled to the fact that you weren't his grand-daughter, but a very clever little professional thief. Anyway, the game was up, exposure loomed over you, and you slashed at him with a knife. There was a struggle and he screamed. You were properly up against it then. You hurried out of the room, turned the key from the outside, and then, knowing you could not get away before the others came, you slipped into the recess by the statues."

Pilar cried shrilly: "It is not true! It is not true! I did not steal the diamonds! I did not kill him! I swear it by the Blessed Virgin!" Sugden said sharply: "Then who did.' You say you saw a figure standing outside Mr. Lee's door. According to your story that person must have been the murderer. No one else passed the recess! But we've only your word for it that there was a figure there at all. In other words, you made that up to exculpate yourself!" George Lee said sharply: "Of course she's guilty! It's all clear enough! I always said an outsider killed my father! Preposterous nonsense to pretend one of his family would do a thing like that! It—it wouldn't be natural!" Poirot stirred in his seat. He said: " I disagree with you. Taking into consideration the character of Simeon Lee, it would be a very natural thing to happen." ' "Eh?" George's jaw dropped. He stared at Poirot. Poirot went on: " And in my opinion that very thing did happen. Simeon Lee was killed bv his own flesh and blood for what seemed to the murderer a very good and sufficient reason."

George cried: " One of us? I deny—" Poirot's voice broke in hard as steel. " There is a case against every person here. We will, Mr. George Lee, begin with the case against you. You had no love for your father! You kept on good terms with him for the sake of money. On the day of his death he threatened to cut down your allowance. You knew that on his death you would probably inherit a very substantial sum. There is the motive. After dinner you went, as you say, to telephone. You did telephone—but the call only lasted five minutes. After that, you can easily have gone _to your father's room, chatted with him, and then attacked and killed him. You left the room and turned the key from the outside, for you honed the affair would be put down to a burglar. You omitted, in your panic, to make sure that the window was fully open so as to support the burglar theory. That was stupid, but you are, if you will pardon my saying so, rather a stupid man! "However," said Poirot, after a brief pause during which George tried to speak and failed, " many stupid men have been criminals!"

He turned his eyes on Magdalene. " Madame, too, she also had a motive. She is, I think, in debt, and the tone of certain of your father's remarks may—have caused her uneasiness. She, too, has no alibi. She went to telephone, but she did not telephone, and we have only her word for what she did do. . . .

" Then," he paused, " there is Mr. David Lee. We have heard, not once but many times, of the revengeful tempers and long memories that went with the Lee blood. Mr. David Lee did not forgive or forget the way his father had treated his mother. A final jibe directed at the dead woman may have been the last straw. David Lee is said to have been playing the piancj at the time of the murder. By a coincidence, he was playing the Dead March. But suppose somebody else was playing that Dead March, somebody who knew what ho was going to do, and who approved his action." Hilda Lee said quietly: " That is an infamous suggestion."

Poirot turned to her. " I will offer you another, Madame. It was your hand that did the deed. It was you who crept upstairs to execute judgment on a man you considered beyond human forgiveness. You are of those, Madame, who can be terrible in anger. . . ." Hilda said: " I did not kill him." Superintendent Sugden said brusquely: " Mr. Poirot is quite right. There is a possible case against every one except Mr. Alfred Leo, Mr. Harry Lee, and Mrs. Alfred Lee." Poirot said gently: " I should not even except them." The superintendent protested. " Oh, come now, Mr. Poirot!" Lydia Lee said: " And what is the case against me, Mr. Poirot?" (To he continued daily.)