The A B C Murders / Убийство по алфавиту. Книга для чтения на английском языке

She stared at him with even more amazement.

‘I’ve no idea, sir. It doesn’t seem likely, though, does it?’

‘There was no one your aunt was afraid of?’

Mary shook her head.

‘Auntie wasn’t afraid of people. She’d a sharp tongue and she’d stand up to anybody[74 - to stand up to smb. – противостоять кому-либо].’

‘You never heard her mention anyone who had a grudge against her[75 - to have a grudge against smb. – иметь зуб против кого-либо; враждовать]?’

‘No, indeed, sir.’

‘Did she ever get anonymous letters?’

‘What kind of letters did you say, sir?’

‘Letters that weren’t signed—or only signed by something like ABC.’ He watched her narrowly, but plainly she was at a loss[76 - to be at a loss – быть в замешательстве]. She shook her head wonderingly.

‘Has your aunt any relations except you?’

‘Not now, sir. One of ten she was, but only three lived to grow up. My Uncle Tom was killed in the war, and my Uncle Harry went to South America and no one’s heard of him since, and mother’s dead, of course, so there’s only me.’

‘Had your aunt any savings? Any money put by?’

‘She’d a little in the Savings Bank, sir—enough to bury her proper, that’s what she always said. Otherwise she didn’t more than just make ends meet[77 - to make ends meet – сводить концы с концами]—what with her old devil and all.’

Poirot nodded thoughtfully. He said—perhaps more to himself than to her:

‘At present one is in the dark—there is no direction—if things get clearer —’ He got up. ‘If I want you at any time, Mary, I will write to you here.’

‘As a matter of fact, sir, I’m giving in my notice[78 - to give in one’s notice – подавать заявление об увольнении]. I don’t like the country. I stayed here because I fancied it was a comfort to auntie to have me near by. But now’—again the tears rose in her eyes—‘there’s no reason I should stay, and so I’ll go back to London. It’s gayer for a girl there.’

‘I wish that, when you do go, you would give me your address. Here is my card.’

He handed it to her. She looked at it with a puzzled frown.

‘Then you’re not—anything to do with the police, sir?’

‘I am a private detective.’

She stood there looking at him for some moments in silence.

She said at last:

‘Is there anything—queer going on, sir?’

‘Yes, my child. There is—something queer going on. Later you may be able to help me.’

‘I—I’ll do anything, sir. It—it wasn’t right, sir, auntie being killed.’

A strange way of putting it—but deeply moving.

A few seconds later we were driving back to Andover.

Chapter 6

The Scene of the Crime

The street in which the tragedy had occurred was a turning off the main street. Mrs Ascher’s shop was situated about halfway down it on the right-hand side.

As we turned into the street Poirot glanced at his watch and I realized why he had delayed his visit to the scene of the crime until now. It was just on half-past five. He had wished to reproduce yesterday’s atmosphere as closely as possible.

But if that had been his purpose it was defeated. Certainly at this moment the road bore very little likeness to its appearance on the previous evening. There were a certain number of small shops interspersed between private houses of the poorer class. I judged that ordinarily there would be a fair number of people passing up and down—mostly people of the poorer classes, with a good sprinkling of children playing on the pavements and in the road.

At this moment there was a solid mass of people standing staring at one particular house or shop and it took little perspicuity to guess which that was. What we saw was a mass of average human beings looking with intense interest at the spot where another human being had been done to death.

As we drew nearer this proved to be indeed the case. In front of a small dingy-looking shop with its shutters now closed stood a harassed-looking young policeman who was stolidly adjuring the crowd to ‘pass along there.’ By the help of a colleague, displacements took place—a certain number of people grudgingly sighed and betook themselves to their ordinary vocations, and almost immediately other persons came along and took up their stand to gaze their fill on the spot where murder had been committed.

Poirot stopped a little distance from the main body of the crowd. From where we stood the legend painted over the door could be read plainly enough. Poirot repeated it under his breath[79 - under one’s breath – тихим голосом; шепотом].

‘A. Ascher. Oui, c’est peut-être là[80 - Oui, c’est peut-être là (фр.) – Да, возможно, здесь]—’

He broke off.

‘Come, let us go inside, Hastings.’

I was only too ready.

We made our way through the crowd and accosted the young policeman. Poirot produced the credentials which the inspector had given him. The constable nodded, and unlocked the door to let us pass within. We did so and entered to the intense interest of the lookers-on.

Inside it was very dark owing to the shutters being closed. The constable found and switched on the electric light. The bulb was a low-powered one so that the interior was still dimly lit.

I looked about me.

A dingy little place. A few cheap magazines strewn about, and yesterday’s newspapers—all with a day’s dust on them. Behind the counter a row of shelves reaching to the ceiling and packed with tobacco and packets of cigarettes. There were also a couple of jars of peppermint humbugs and barley sugar. A commonplace little shop, one of many thousand such others.

The constable in his slow Hampshire voice was explaining the mise en scène[81 - mise en scène (фр.) – мизансцена; окружающая обстановка].

‘Down in a heap behind the counter, that’s where she was. Doctor says as how she never knew what hit her. Must have been reaching up to one of the shelves.’

‘There was nothing in her hand?’

‘No, sir, but there was a packet of Player’s[82 - Player’s = “Player’s Navy Cut” – марка сигарет, популярная в Британии и Германии в конце XIX – начале XX вв.] down beside her.’

Poirot nodded. His eyes swept round the small space observing—noting.

‘And the railway guide was—where?’