Murder On The Orient Express Page #2

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would've done the steward more...

I think Miss Ohlsson has a headache.

Would you forgive us if we went back

to the compartment, Mrs. Hubbard?

Gladly, if you must.

If you need aspirin,

I always carry it on my person.

I mistrust foreign drugs.

You must excuse me,

Mrs. Hubbard is upon us.

What's the matter with him?

Train-sick or something?

Some of us, in the words of the divine

Greta Garbo, "want to be alone".

And for dinner this evening?

You will have the goodness

to serve me the poached sole

with one new potato

and a small green salad

with no dressing. Hildegarde.

Who was that majestic lady?

- The Princess Dragomiroff.

- I have heard.

Pardon me, sir.

I wonder if you could

oblige me with a light.

Certainly.

Thank you.

My name is Ratchett.

Do I have the pleasure of speaking

to Mr. Hercule Poirot?

The pleasure possibly, Mr. Ratchett,

the intention certainly.

You asked me for a light.

I offered you one,

and you have not used it.

One can deduce that without

acute mental exhaustion.

That's wonderful. Sit down, sir.

- For a moment.

- Just for a moment.

Thank you very much.

Well, Mr. Poirot.

- Poirot.

- How's that?

- Poirot.

- Oh, Poirot. Right.

I just wanted to say that in my country

we also come quickly to the point.

I want you to take a job on for me.

It means big money.

Very big money.

What is the case, or, as you put it, the

job which you wish me to undertake?

Mr. Poirot, I'm a rich man.

Naturally, men in my

position have enemies.

Only one.

Now, what the hell

do you mean by that?

Merely that when a man is in a position

to have, as you say, enemies,

it does not usually resolve

itself into one enemy only.

Oh. Oh, sure. Sure. I appreciate that.

What is your profession?

I'm retired.

- From what?

- Business.

What sort of business?

Baby food.

But what does that matter?

What matters is my safety.

You are in danger?

My life has been threatened,

Mr. Poirot.

My secretary can show

you two letters on file.

And I... can show you this.

I sleep on it.

Mr. Poirot...

...5,000 dollars.

No?

Ten thousand?

Fifteen thousand.

Mr. Ratchett, I have

made enough money

to satisfy both my needs

and my caprices.

I take only such cases now

as interest me,

and to be frank, my interest

in your case is... dwindling.

Belgrade Station.

The Orient Express will

depart in five minutes.

Monsieur Poirot.

I am transferring Signor Bianchi's

luggage to the Pullman.

He's giving you

his own compartment.

But you cannot sit up all night.

My dear friend,

do not concern yourself.

Since you are going to England,

it is better for you

to stay on the through coach

to Calais.

Now, Pierre has made me

very comfortable.

There is no one in the Pullman

but one Greek doctor. Ecco.

- Such generosity deserves my thanks.

- Buon riposa.

- Monsieur Poirot.

- Pierre,

- could I have some clean towels and...

- Yes, monsieur.

Who are my new neighbors?

To the left, monsieur,

the Swedish lady, Miss Ohlsson,

shares seven and eight with

the English lady, Miss Debenham.

And to the right, in number ten,

is Mr. Ratchett.

And where is the loquacious

Mrs. Hubbard?

I should like to get some

sleep tonight.

Beyond Mr. Ratchett,

in the number 11.

She is still too near.

Good night, Mr. Beddoes.

Pardon.

Who is it?

It's me, sir, Beddoes,

with your sedative.

Come in.

Thank you, Pierre. Good night.

Good night, monsieur,

and pleasant dreams in number nine.

- How many drops?

- Of the valerian?

- Two, sir, as you said.

- OK.

No, no. Put it on the table.

And tell Mr. McQueen I want

to see the text of the telegram

he sent from Belgrade.

Very well, sir.

He wants you.

Come in.

La belle Comtesse.

Ce n'est rien.

C'?ait un cauchemar.

Bien, Mr. Ratchett.

May you now have pleasant dreams.

C'est le silence de mort.

Snowdrift. Mon Dieu. Quelle nuit.

So now there's a man in my room.

I woke up in the dark

three minutes ago,

and there was a man hiding

in this compartment. I sensed it.

What's more, I know who he was

because I absent-mindedly

nearly walked through

his open door earlier this evening.

"Madame," said this Mr. Ratchett,

"If you'd done this 20 years ago,

I'd have said come in."

Twenty years ago?

Why, I'd only have been 15.

If there should be a reoccurrence,

do not hesitate to ring, Madame.

Enfin c'est le comble.

Evidemment, j'ai une crise de nerfs.

It's me, sir, Beddoes,

with your pick-me-up.

Your amber moon, Mr. Ratchett.

Your passkey.

The chain.

Pierre, touch nothing.

Where are Signor Bianchi

and the Greek doctor?

In the dining car, monsieur.

Fetch them at once.

Well, can't you tap

the telephone wires?

- Or fire a rocket, or something?

- This is not a ship, Madame.

- Where exactly are we?

- We are between Vinkovci and Brod.

- But in what country?

- In Yugoslavia.

The Balkans.

What else can you expect?

Snow is God's will.

And all is for the best.

Yeah, but how long do you think before

we can start getting out of here?

As soon as the stationmaster

at Brod sees

that we do not arrive on time,

he will send...

Dr. Constantine,

Monsieur Poirot wants to see you.

And you too, Signor Bianchi.

Forgive me, ladies and gentlemen.

Only God's forgiveness is important.

Ich mochte meine Prinzessin

benachrichtigen.

Signor Bianchi

and Dr. Constantine.

Mind the broken glass, gentlemen.

Pupils still slightly dilated.

Could've been drugged.

- Was drugged.

- With what?

There's a smell of valerian,

which is harmless,

but something must've been added.

- May I close his eyes now?

- I wish you would.

Why did he lose so much blood?

- Can I pull back the bedclothes?

- By all means.

Mr. Ratchett has been

frontally stabbed

ten, 11, 12 times.

- Oh, Dio.

- Mon pauvre.

If you must go whoop-whoop,

please go whoop-whoop

not to windward, but to leeward.

Help him, Pierre.

There is something in the pocket.

Permit me.

- His watch.

- The time of death.

I can definitely say

that death occurred

between midnight

and 2 in the morning.

That would fit.

I myself heard him cry out and ring for

the conductor at 20 minutes to 1.

When Pierre arrived, he apologized

and said he had been

having a cauchemar.

A nightmare.

Then I heard him

use his washbasin.

And that is the last thing known.

I beg of you, monsieur.

You cannot refuse.

But it is the duty

of the Yugoslavian police.

Oh, what, monsieur, to question

my passengers on my line? Never.

Now you must solve the mystery.

When we get to Brod, if we ever do,

we present the police with

a fait accompli.

We say that a murder has occurred.

There is the criminal.

I should like

the Pullman coach reserved

for the investigation's headquarters.

It will be at your disposal.

And a plan of the Calais coach

with the names and locations

- of all the people in it.

- Yes, it will be there.

And the passports of all

the passengers concerned.

Yes, you can even have mine.

I go to make a special

announcement now. Grazie.

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