"And then you came down on the beach and asked me if I had seen her?"

"Er-yes." He added with a faint emphasis in his voice. "And you said you hadn't...."

The innocent eyes of Hercule Poirot did not falter. Gently he caressed his large and flamboyant moustache.

Weston asked: "Had you any special reason for wanting to find your wife this morning?"

Marshall shifted his glance amiably to the Chief Constable.

He said: "No, just wondered where she was, that's all."

Weston paused. He moved his chair slightly. His voice fell into a different key. He said: "Just now, Captain Marshall, you mentioned that your wife had a previous acquaintance with Mr. Patrick Redfern. How well did your wife know Mr. Redfern?"

Kenneth Marshall said: "Mind if I smoke?" He felt through his pockets. "Dash! I've mislaid my pipe somewhere."

Poirot offered him a cigarette which he accepted. Lighting it, he said: "You were asking about Redfern. My wife told me she had come across him at some c.o.c.ktail party or other."

"He was, then, just a casual acquaintance?"

"I believe so."

"Since then-" the Chief Constable paused. "I understand that that acquaintanceship has ripened into something rather closer."

Marshall said sharply: "You understand that, do you? Who told you so?"

"It is the common gossip of the hotel."

For a moment Marshall's eyes went to Hercule Poirot. They dwelt on him with a kind of cold anger. He said: "Hotel gossip is usually a tissue of lies!"

"Possibly. But I gather that Mr. Redfern and your wife gave some grounds for the gossip."

"What grounds?"

"They were constantly in each other's company."

"Is that all?"

"You do not deny that that was so?"

"May have been. I really didn't notice."

"You did not-excuse me, Captain Marshall-object to your wife's friendship with Mr. Redfern?"

"I wasn't in the habit of criticizing my wife's conduct."

"You did not protest or object in any way?"

"Certainly not."

"Not even though it was becoming a subject of scandal and an estrangement was growing up between Mr. Redfern and his wife?"

Kenneth Marshall said coldly: "I mind my own business and I expect other people to mind theirs. I don't listen to gossip and t.i.ttle-tattle."

"You won't deny that Mr. Redfern admired your wife?"

"He probably did. Most men did. She was a very beautiful woman."

"But you yourself were persuaded that there was nothing serious in the affair?"

"I never thought about it, I tell you."

"And suppose we have a witness who can testify that they were on terms of the greatest intimacy?"

Again those blue eyes went to Hercule Poirot. Again an expression of dislike showed on that usually impa.s.sive face.

Marshall said: "If you want to listen to these tales, listen to 'em. My wife's dead and can't defend herself."

"You mean that you, personally, don't believe them?"

For the first time a faint dew of sweat was observable on Marshall's brow. He said: "I don't propose to believe anything of the kind."

He went on: "Aren't you getting a good way from the essentials of this business? What I believe or don't believe is surely not relevant to the plain fact of murder?"

Hercule Poirot answered before either of the others could speak. He said: "You do not comprehend, Captain Marshall. There is no such thing as a plain fact of murder. Murder springs, nine times out of ten, out of the character and circ.u.mstances of the murdered person. Because the victim was the kind of person he or she was, therefore was he or she murdered! Until we can understand fully and completely exactly what kind of a person Arlena Marshall was, we shall not be able to see clearly exactly the kind of person who murdered her. From that springs the necessity of our questions."

Marshall turned to the Chief Constable. He said: "That your view, too?"

Weston boggled a little. He said: "Well, up to a point-that is to say-"

Marshall gave a short laugh. He said: "Thought you wouldn't agree. This character stuff is M. Poirot's specialty, I believe."

Poirot said, smiling: "You can at least congratulate yourself on having done nothing to a.s.sist me!"

"What do you mean?"

"What have you told us about your wife? Exactly nothing at all. You have told us only what everyone could see for themselves. That she was beautiful and admired. Nothing more."

Kenneth Marshall shrugged his shoulders. He said simply: "You're crazy."

He looked towards the Chief Constable and said with emphasis: "Anything else, sir, that you'd like me to tell you?"

"Yes, Captain Marshall, your own movements this morning, please."

Kenneth Marshall nodded. He had clearly expected this.

He said: "I breakfasted downstairs about nine o'clock as usual and read the paper. As I told you I went up to my wife's room afterwards and found she had gone out. I came down to the beach, saw M. Poirot and asked if he had seen her. Then I had a quick bathe and went up to the hotel again. It was then, let me see, about twenty to eleven-yes, just about that. I saw the clock in the lounge. It was just after twenty minutes to. I went up to my room, but the chambermaid hadn't quite finished it. I asked her to finish as quickly as she could. I had some letters to type which I wanted to get off by the post. I went downstairs again and had a word or two with Henry in the bar. I went up again to my room at ten minutes to eleven. There I typed my letters. I typed until ten minutes to twelve. I then changed into tennis kit as I had a date to play tennis at twelve. We'd booked the court the day before."

"Who was we?"

"Mrs. Redfern, Miss Darnley, Mr. Gardener and myself. I came down at twelve o'clock and went up to the court. Miss Darnley was there and Mr. Gardener. Mrs. Redfern arrived a few minutes later. We played tennis for an hour. Just as we came into the hotel afterwards I-I-got the news."

"Thank you, Captain Marshall. Just as a matter of form, is there anyone who can corroborate the fact that you were typing in your room between-er-ten minutes to eleven and ten minutes to twelve?"

Kenneth Marshall said with a faint smile: "Have you got some idea that I killed my own wife? Let me see now. The chambermaid was about doing the rooms. She must have heard the typewriter going. And then there are the letters themselves. With all this upset I haven't posted them. I should imagine they are as good evidence as anything."

He took three letters from his pocket. They were addressed, but not stamped. He said: "Their contents, by the way, are strictly confidential. But when it's a case of murder, one is forced to trust in the discretion of the police. They contain lists of figures and various financial statements. I think you will find that if you put one of your men on to type them out, he won't do it in much under an hour."

He paused.

"Satisfied, I hope?"

Weston said smoothly.

"It is no question of suspicion. Everyone on the island will be asked to account for his or her movements between a quarter to eleven and twenty minutes to twelve this morning."

Kenneth Marshall said: "Quite."

Weston said: "One more thing, Captain Marshall. Do you know anything about the way your wife was likely to have disposed of any property she had?"

"You mean a will? I don't think she ever made a will."

"But you are not sure?"

"Her solicitors are Barkett, Markett & Applegood, Bedford Square. They saw to all her contracts, etc. But I'm fairly certain she never made a will. She said once that doing a thing like that would give her the shivers."

"In that case, if she has died intestate, you, as her husband, succeed to her property."

"Yes, I suppose I do."

"Had she any near relatives?"

"I don't think so. If she had, she never mentioned them. I know that her father and mother died when she was a child and she had no brothers or sisters."

"In any case, I suppose, she had nothing very much to leave?"

Kenneth Marshall said coldly: "On the contrary. Only two years ago, Sir Robert Erskine, who was an old friend of hers, died and left her most of his fortune. It amounted, I think, to about fifty thousand pounds."

Inspector Colgate looked up. An alertness came into his glance. Up to now he had been silent. Now he asked: "Then actually, Captain Marshall, your wife was a rich woman?"

Kenneth Marshall shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose she was really."

"And you still say she did not make a will?"

"You can ask the solicitors. But I'm pretty certain she didn't. As I tell you, she thought it unlucky."

There was a pause then Marshall added: "Is there anything further?"

Weston shook his head.

"Don't think so-eh Colgate? No. Once more, Captain Marshall, let me offer you all my sympathy in your loss."

Marshall blinked. He said jerkily: "Oh-thanks."

He went out.

V.

The three men looked at each other.

Weston said: "Cool customer. Not giving anything away, is he? What do you make of him, Colgate?"

The Inspector shook his head.

"It's difficult to tell. He's not the kind that shows anything. That sort makes a bad impression in the witness-box, and yet it's a bit unfair on them really. Sometimes they're as cut up as anything and yet can't show it. That kind of manner made the jury bring in a verdict of Guilty against Wallace. It wasn't the evidence. They just couldn't believe that a man could lose his wife and talk and act so coolly about it."

Weston turned to Poirot.

"What do you think, Poirot?"

Hercule Poirot raised his hands.

He said: "What can one say? He is the closed box-the fastened oyster. He has chosen his rle. He has heard nothing, he has seen nothing, he knows nothing!"

"We've got a choice of motives," said Colgate. "There's jealousy and there's the money motive. Of course, in a way, a husband's the obvious suspect. One naturally thinks of him first. If he knew his missus was carrying on with the other chap-"

Poirot interrupted.

He said: "I think he knew that."

"Why do you say so?"

"Listen, my friend. Last night I had been talking with Mrs. Redfern on Sunny Ledge. I came down from there to the hotel and on my way I saw those two together-Mrs. Marshall and Patrick Redfern. And a moment or two after I met Captain Marshall. His face was very stiff. It says nothing-but nothing at all! It is almost too blank, if you understand me. Oh! he knew all right."

Colgate grunted doubtfully.

He said: "Oh well, if you think so-"

"I am sure of it! But even then, what does that tell us? What did Kenneth Marshall feel about his wife?"

Colonel Weston said: "Takes her death coolly enough."

Poirot shook his head in a dissatisfied manner.

Inspector Colgate said: "Sometimes these quiet ones are the most violent underneath, so to speak. It's all bottled up. He may have been madly fond of her-and madly jealous. But he's not the kind to show it."

Poirot said slowly: "That is possible-yes. He is a very interesting character this Captain Marshall. I interest myself in him greatly. And in his alibi."