PART THREE DECEMBER 24TH IX

IX

George Lee was solemn and correct.

“A terrible business,” he said, shaking his head. “A terrible, terrible business. I can only

believe that it must—er—have been the work of a lunatic!”

Colonel Johnson said politely:

“That is your theory?”

“Yes. Yes, indeed. A homicidal maniac¹. Escaped, perhaps, from some mental home in the

vicinity.”

Superintendent² Sugden put in:

“And how do you suggest this—er—lunatic gained admittance to the house, Mr. Lee? And

how did he leave it?”

George shook his head.

“That,” he said firmly, “is for the police to discover.”

Sugden said:

“We made the round of the house at once. All windows were closed and barred. The side

door was locked, so was the front door. Nobody could have left by the kitchen premises³ without

being seen by the kitchen staff.”

George Lee cried:

“But that’s absurd! You’ll be saying next that my father was never murdered at all!”

“He was murdered all right,” said Superintendent Sugden. “There’s no doubt about that.”

The chief constable⁴ cleared his throat and took up the questioning.

“Just where were you, Mr. Lee, at the time of the crime?”

“I was in the dining room. It was just after dinner. No, I was, I think, in this room. I had just

finished telephoning.”

“You had been telephoning?”

“Yes. I had put a call through to the Conservative agent in Westeringham—my constituency.

Some urgent matters.”

“And it was after that that you heard the scream?”

George Lee gave a slight shiver.

“Yes, very unpleasant. It—er—froze my marrow⁵. It died away in a kind of choke or gurgle.”

He took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead where the perspiration⁶ had broken out.

“Terrible business,” he muttered.

“And then you hurried upstairs?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see your brothers, Mr. Alfred and Mr. Harry⁷ Lee?”

“No, they must have gone up just ahead of me, I think.”

“When did you last see your father, Mr. Lee?”

“This afternoon. We were all up there.”

“You did not see him after that?”

“No.”

The chief constable paused, then he said:

“Were you aware that your father kept a quantity of valuable uncut diamonds in the safe in

his bedroom?”

George Lee nodded.

“A most unwise procedure,” he said pompously⁸. “I often told him so. He might have been

murdered for them—I mean—that is to say—”

Colonel Johnson cut in: “Are you aware that these stones have disappeared?”

George’s jaw⁹ dropped. His protuberant¹⁰ eyes stared.

“Then he was murdered for them?”

The chief constable said slowly:

“He was aware of their loss and reported it to the police some hours before his death.”

George said:

“But, then—I don’t understand—I— . . .”

Hercule Poirot said gently:

“We, too, do not understand. . . .”

1 maniac   

n.精神癫狂的人；疯子

参考例句：

• Be careful!That man is driving like a maniac!注意！那个人开车像个疯子一样！
• You were acting like a maniac,and you threatened her with a bomb!你像一个疯子，你用炸弹恐吓她！

2 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

3 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

4 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

5 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

6 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 pompously   

adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样

参考例句：

• He pompously described his achievements. 他很夸耀地描述了自己所取得的成绩。 来自互联网

9 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

10 protuberant   

adj.突出的，隆起的

参考例句：

• The boy tripped over a protuberant rock.那个男孩被突起的岩石绊了一下。
• He has a high-beaked nose and large protuberant eyes.他有着高鼻梁和又大又凸出的眼睛