Убийство на поле для гольфа
3. At the Villa Geneviève
”
“Pardon,monsieur,forinterrupting,butwasthatacommonpracticeofhis?”
“No,itwasnot,butoldFrançoisehasthecommonideaasregardstheEnglish—thattheyaremad,andliabletodothemostunaccountablethingsatanymoment!Goingtocallhermistressasusual,ayoungermaid,Léonie,washorrifiedtodiscoverhergaggedandbound,andalmostatthesamemomentnewswasbroughtthatM.Renauld’sbodyhadbeendiscovered,stonedead,stabbedintheback.”
“Where?”
“Thatisoneofthemostextraordinaryfeaturesofthecase.M.Poirot,thebodywaslying,facedownwards,inanopengrave.”
“What?”
“Yes.Thepitwasfreshlydug—justafewyardsoutsidetheboundaryoftheVillagrounds.”
“Andhehadbeendead—howlong?”
Dr.Durandansweredthis.
“Iexaminedthebodythismorningatteno’clock.Deathmusthavetakenplaceatleastseven,andpossiblytenhourspreviously.”
“H’m,thatfixesitatbetweenmidnightand3a.m.”
“Exactly,andMadameRenauld’sevidenceplacesitatafter2a.m.whichnarrowsthefieldstillfurther.Deathmusthavebeeninstantaneous,andnaturallycouldnothavebeenself-inflicted.”
Poirotnodded,andthecommissaryresumed:
“MadameRenauldwashastilyfreedfromthecordsthatboundherbythehorrifiedservants.Shewasinaterribleconditionofweakness,almostunconsciousfromthepainofherbonds.Itappearsthattwomaskedmenenteredthebedroom,gaggedandboundher,whilstforciblyabductingherhusband.Thisweknowatsecondhandfromtheservants.
