Evil Under the Sun Page #5

But consider, just think what everyone

will say if they were to discover

that you were here ahead of the police

and failed to solve the crime.

I mean, Monsieur Poirot,

both our reputations are at stake.

I bet it pongs something rotten

in there.

Only of the breath

of the sea.

Oh, how poetic you are,

Monsieur Poirot.

You have the true soul of France.

The true soul of Belgium, madame.

Yes, of course.

How mortifyingly stupid of me!

- Oh, do please forgive me.

- In due course of time.

What do you say, monsieur?

Will you bring your colossal brain power

to the aid of a lady in distress?

Will you clear up this hideous mess

for me

with all the brilliance and discretion

for which you are world famous?

One moment, madame. I must carry out

a little investigation of my own

before answering your question.

Monsieur Redfern.

At what time did you

and Madame Gardener find the body?

It was 12 o'clock exactly.

That bloody gun went off as we

were coming round these rocks there.

I sent Mrs Gardener back

for help immediately.

I touched nothing except

to check she was dead.

Oh, yes, you acted quite correctly.

Well, since I was the last person

to see Madame Marshall alive,

when I pushed her off in her pedalo at

about 10:
20, it means the time of death

can be established as being

between 10:
30 and 12 noon.

How absolutely brilliant!

A doctor after all could only give us

an approximate time

and how she was killed, which I know.

I don't need the help of a doctor.

Messieurs!

It's a terrible tragedy, Poirot.

It's terrible.

She may have been a bit flighty, Arlena,

but no one would've wished this on her.

Just between ourselves,

you may have guessed,

but she was the lady in question.

- That was not too difficult to guess.

- I suppose it bloody wasn't.

Well, I'd best chalk it all up

to experience and be on me way.

There's no point in intruding

in the grief of the new husband

and all that sort of thing.

You had no chance

to speak to Madame Arlena?

Of course not.

I've only just arrived, haven't I?

Yes, of course.

There's only one thing

that puzzles me in that case.

You remember the false diamond

I left in your possession?

Yes.

How did I happen to find it once again

on the beach near the dead woman?

Oh, dammit, Poirot.

I'd make a right murderer, wouldn't I?

Leaving clues all over the place, eh?

- Alright, I confess

- You confess?

I mean I confess I had a word with her.

I was coming in on the boat and I saw

Arlena on one of them pedal things

going into a beach along there.

Anyway, I stopped the boat

and I rowed meself over.

It's better than confronting her

in front of her husband, you know.

We had a bit of a barney, what with her

pretending to be all surprised and that.

Anyroad, she promised to sort

it out by tonight.

She did not tell you

where the real jewel was?

No, dammit, she didn't.

If you don't mind,

I'd like to get changed.

I'm getting a little chilly,

what with the shock and everything.

I was very fond of Arlena,

as you well know.

Yes, you may well have

been, monsieur.

And yet there are cases of men

that have killed those women

who made it impossible for them to

return to the wives they really loved.

Well, I assure you,

that is not the case here.

I could have taken off

at any time I wanted.

Anyway you know I had

nothing to do with it.

You yourself saw me from the terrace

go off in the boat with Mrs Gardener.

Oui, c'est exacte.

It would seem

that I am your alibi, monsieur.

Please go and get changed.

So, that young man's been

sniffing round Arlena, has he?

Can't say I blame him.

I'm sorry, Sir Horace,

but it's my duty to put it to you

that you were furious

with Madame Arlena,

that you were determined

to get your jewel back,

you came up here in

order to demand it.

She laughed in your face.

You lost your temper,

you strangled her...

That is poppycock!

That is bloody poppycock!

If it is poppycock, then it's most

regrettable that you said in front of me

that you would willingly

"wring her neck".

Oh, that were...

That was just a bit of chat, that's all.

Look. All I did was tell her that

she couldn't make a monkey out of me

and I threw that bit

of glass at her.

Look, if I had killed her, my crew

would have seen me, wouldn't they?

They were all on deck,

watching.

Not averse to clocking

a decent bit of crumpet, my lads.

It's the only thing that wakes them up.

So, if you don't believe me,

ask them.

Trs bien. All the same, I must ask you

not to leave the island for the moment.

If you insist.

But if I were you, Poirot,

I would cherchez le hubby.

You'll find they're favourite when

dealing with the Arlenas of this world.

It's a little difficult to accept

your condolences, Poirot,

when in the same breath

you accuse me of murdering my wife

because she was unfaithful.

I can understand that, of course.

But I hope you realise that

I'm rather easier to get on with

than the Tyranian

police would be.

And therefore I will ask you

where you were between

11:
00 and 12:00 this morning.

Very simple.

I was in here typing.

I changed for tennis

a few minutes after 12:00.

How very curious.

Because, you know, when I passed by your

door at what must have been about 11:15,

- I heard no sound.

- I can't help that.

One does occasionally pause to think,

you know.

Here.

This is what I typed.

As you can see,

it would have taken at least an hour.

With respect,

you could've typed that yesterday.

There's no proof

that you typed it this morning.

Excuse me, Monsieur Poirot,

I just couldn't help overhearing.

I have the proof you need.

- You do, madame?

- Yes.

Every week it's my custom

to collect all my staff together,

give them a collective

boot up the bum.

It does no end of good,

particularly the Eyeties.

Keeps them up to snuff,

as my old papa used to say.

Anyway, that meeting was this morning

at 11:
30,

and just before it I came up here to

have a wash and I poked my nose in here

and I saw Kenneth hard at it,

so I... I just didn't disturb him.

But, madame,

you cannot see the desk from the door.

I saw him in the mirror.

In the mir...

Oh, in the mirror!

My goodness, you do type fast, Ken.

You must be the Horowitz of

the Remington.

Tell me, madame,

how many fingers am I holding up?

Three.

Yes. And now how many?

Well, that...

that's not fair, you're hiding.

You cannot see in the mirror

someone seated at the desk.

It is not me that is hiding,

it is you who are lying.

Now, Monsieur Marshall, are you,

by any chance, lying also?

It should be fairly obvious, Poirot,

that that letter, all eight pages of it,

is in reply to this one

from my stockbroker,

which arrived by this morning's post

at about 10:
30.

It should, therefore, be equally obvious

that I must have typed it

when I said I did.

Yes, it would appear so.

Now to revert to you again, madame.

I would like to ask you a question

about your promenade

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