Dead Man's Folly - Agatha Christie [35]
Poirot had no hesitation in his reply.
‘I should say it was a direct personal fear of the man himself.’
‘H’m,’ said Inspector Bland. ‘Well, I’d better have a little talk with this young man if he’s still about the place.’
Chapter 9
I
Although he had none of Constable Hoskins’ ingrained prejudice against foreigners, Inspector Bland took an instant dislike to Etienne de Sousa. The polished elegance of the young man, his sartorial perfection, the rich flowery smell of his brilliantined hair, all combined to annoy the inspector.
De Sousa was very sure of himself, very much at ease. He also displayed, decorously veiled, a certain aloof amusement.
‘One must admit,’ he said, ‘that life is full of surprises. I arrive here on a holiday cruise, I admire the beautiful scenery, I come to spend an afternoon with a little cousin that I have not seen for years – and what happens? First I am engulfed in a kind of carnival with coconuts whizzing past my head, and immediately afterwards, passing from comedy to tragedy, I am embroiled in a murder.’
He lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and said:
‘Not that it concerns me in any way, this murder. Indeed, I am at a loss to know why you should want to interview me.’
‘You arrived here as a stranger, Mr De Sousa –’
De Sousa interrupted:
‘And strangers are necessarily suspicious, is that it?’
‘No, no, not at all, sir. No, you don’t take my meaning. Your yacht, I understand, is moored in Helmmouth?’
‘That is so, yes.’
‘And you came up the river this afternoon in a motor launch?’
‘Again – that is so.’
‘As you came up the river, did you notice on your right a small boathouse jutting out into the river with a thatched roof and a little mooring quay underneath it?’
De Sousa threw back his handsome, dark head and frowned as he reflected.
‘Let me see, there was a creek and a small grey tiled house.’
‘Farther up the river than that, Mr De Sousa. Set amongst trees.’
‘Ah, yes, I remember now. A very picturesque spot. I did not know it was the boathouse attached to this house. If I had done so, I would have moored my boat there and come ashore. When I asked for directions I had been told to come up to the ferry itself and go ashore at the quay there.’
‘Quite so. And that is what you did?’
‘That is what I did.’
‘You didn’t land at, or near, the boathouse?’
De Sousa shook his head.
‘Did you see anyone at the boathouse as you passed?’
‘See anyone? No. Should I have seen anyone?’
‘It was just a possibility. You see, Mr De Sousa, the murdered girl was in the boathouse this afternoon. She was killed there, and she must have been killed at a time not very distant from when you were passing.’
Again De Sousa raised his eyebrows.
‘You think I might have been a witness to this murder?’
‘The murder took place inside the boathouse, but you might have seen the girl – she might have looked out from the window or come out on to the balcony. If you had seen her it would, at any rate, have narrowed the time of death for us. If, when you’d passed, she’d been still alive –’
‘Ah. I see. Yes, I see. But why ask me particularly? There are plenty of boats going up and down from Helmmouth. Pleasure steamers. They pass the whole time. Why not ask them?’
‘We shall ask them,’ said the inspector. ‘Never fear, we shall ask them. I am to take it, then, that you saw nothing unusual at the boathouse?’
‘Nothing whatever. There was nothing to show there was anyone there. Of course I did not look at it with any special attention, and I did not pass very near. Somebody might have been looking out of the windows, as you suggest, but if so I should not have seen that person.’ He added in a polite tone, ‘I am very sorry that I cannot assist you.’
‘Oh, well,’ said Inspector Bland in a friendly manner, ‘we can’t hope for too much. There are just a few other things I would like to know, Mr De Sousa.’
‘Yes?’
‘Are you alone down here or have you friends with you on this cruise?’
‘I have had friends with me until quite