Hercule Poirot got out of the taxi, paid the fare and a tip, verified the fact that the address he hadcome to was the address corresponding to that written down in his little notebook, took carefully aletter from his pocket addressed to Dr. Willoughby, mounted the steps to the house and pressed thebell. The door was opened by a manservant. On reception of Poirot’s name he was told that Dr.
Willoughby was expecting him.
He was shown into a small, comfortable room with bookshelves up the side of it, there were twoarmchairs drawn1 to the fire and a tray with glasses on it and two decanters. Dr. Willoughby rose togreet him. He was a man between fifty and sixty with a lean, thin body, a high forehead, dark-haired and with very piercing grey eyes. He shook hands and motioned him to a seat. Poirotproduced the letter from his pocket.
“Ah, yes.”
The doctor took it from him, opened it, read it and then, placing it beside him, looked at Poirotwith some interest.
“I had already heard,” he said, “from Superintendent2 Garroway and also, I may say, from afriend of mine in the Home Office, who also begged me to do what I can for you in the matter thatinterests you.”
“It is a rather serious favour to ask, I know,” said Poirot, “but there are reasons which make itimportant for me.”
“Important for you after this number of years?”
“Yes. Of course I shall quite understand if those particular events have passed out of your mindaltogether.”
“I can’t say they’ve done that. I am interested, as you may have heard, in special branches ofmy profession, and have been for many years.”
“Your father, I know, was a very celebrated3 authority on them.”
“Yes, he was. It was a great interest in his life. He had a lot of theories, some of themtriumphantly proved right and some of them which proved disappointing. It is, I gather, a mentalcase you are interested in?”
“A woman. Her name was Dorothea Preston-Grey.”
“Yes. I was quite a young man at the time. I was already interested in my father’s line ofthought although my theories and his did not always agree. The work he did was interesting andthe work I did in collaboration4 interested me very much. I don’t know what your particular interestwas in Dorothea Preston-Grey, as she was at the time, Mrs. Jarrow later.”
“She was one of twins, I gather,” said Poirot.
“Yes. That was at that moment, I may say, my father’s particular field of study. There was aproject on hand at that time, to follow up the general lives of selected pairs of identical twins.
Those who were brought up in the same environment, those who through various chances of lifewere brought up in entirely5 different environments. To see how alike they remained, how similarthe things were that happened to them. Two sisters, perhaps, or two brothers who had hardly spentany of their life together and yet in an extraordinary way the same things seemed to happen tothem at the same time. It was all—indeed it has been all—extremely interesting. However, that isnot your interest in the matter, I gather.”
“No,” said Poirot, “it is a case, I think—the part of it that is to say that I’m interested in—of anaccident to a child.”
“That is so. It was in Surrey, I think. Yes, a very pleasant area, that, in which people lived. Notvery far from Camberley, I think. Mrs. Jarrow was a young widow at that time and she had twosmall children. Her husband had recently died in an accident. She was, as a result—”
“Mentally disturbed?” asked Poirot.
“No, she was not thought to be so. She was deeply shocked by her husband’s death and had agreat sense of loss, but she was not recovering very satisfactorily in the impression of her owndoctor. He did not quite like the way her convalescence6 was tending, and she did not seem to begetting7 over her bereavement8 in the way that he would have liked. It seemed to be causing herrather peculiar9 reactions. Anyway, he wanted a consultation10 and my father was asked by him tocome and see what he could make of it. He found her condition interesting, and at the same timehe thought it held very decided11 dangers, and he seemed to think that it would be as well if she wasput under observation in some nursing home where particular care could be taken. Things likethat. Even more so after the case when this accident to the child happened. There were twochildren, and according to Mrs. Jarrow’s account of what happened, it was the older child, a girlwho attacked the little boy who was four or five years younger than she was, hitting him with agarden spade or hoe, so that he fell into an ornamental12 pond they had in the garden and wasdrowned. Well, these things, as you know, happen quite often among children. Children arepushed in a perambulator into a pond sometimes because an older child, being jealous, thinks that‘Mummy will have so much less trouble if only Edward or Donald, or whatever his name is,wasn’t here,’ or, ‘It would be much nicer for her.’ It all results from jealousy13. There did not seemto be any particular cause or evidence of jealousy in this case, though. The child had not resentedthe birth of her brother. On the other hand, Mrs. Jarrow had not wanted this second child.
Although her husband had been pleased to have this second child coming, Mrs. Jarrow did notwant it. She had tried two doctors with the idea of having an abortion14 but did not succeed infinding one who would perform what was then an illegal operation. It was said by one of theservants, and also by a boy who was bringing a telegram, I believe, to the house, that it was awoman who attacked the boy, not the other child. And one of the servants said very definitely shehad been looking out of the window and that it was her mistress. She said, ‘I don’t think the poorthing knows what she is doing nowadays. You know, just since the master died she’s been in, oh,such a state as never was.’ Well, as I say, I don’t know exactly what you want to know about thecase. A verdict was brought in of accident, it was considered to be an accident, and the childrenhad been said to be playing together, pushing each other, etcetera, and that therefore it wasundoubtedly a very unfortunate accident. It was left at that, but my father when consulted, andafter a conversation with Mrs. Jarrow and certain tests, questionnaires, sympathetic remarks to herand questions, he was quite sure she had been responsible for what happened. According to hisadvice it would be advisable for her to have mental treatment.”
“But your father was quite sure that she had been responsible?”
“Yes. There was a school of treatment at the time which was very popular and which my fatherbelieved in. That school’s belief was that after sufficient treatment, lasting15 sometimes quite a longtime, a year or longer, people could resume a normal everyday life, and it was to their advantageto do so. They could be returned to live at home and with a suitable amount of attention, bothmedical and from those, usually near relatives, who were with them and could observe them livinga normal life, everything would go well. This, I may say, did meet with success at first in manycases, but later there was a difference. Several cases had most unfortunate results. Patients whoappeared to be cured came home to their natural surroundings, to a family, a husband, theirmothers and fathers, and slowly relapsed, so that very often tragedies or near tragedies occurred.
One case my father was bitterly disappointed in—also a very important case in his knowledge—was a woman who came back to live with the same friend she lived with before. All seemed to begoing happily but after about five or six months she sent urgently for a doctor and when he camesaid, ‘I must take you upstairs because you will be angry at what I have done, and you will have tosend for the police, I am afraid. I know that must happen. But you see, I was commanded to dothis. I saw the Devil looking out of Hilda’s eyes. I saw the Devil there so I knew what I had to do.
I knew I had to kill her.’ The woman was lying dead in a chair, strangled, and after her death hereyes had been attacked. The killer16 died in a mental home with never any feeling about her crimeexcept that it had been a necessary command laid upon her because it was her duty to destroy theDevil.”
Poirot shook his head sadly—
The doctor went on: “Yes. Well, I consider that in a mild way Dorothea Preston-Grey sufferedfrom a form of mental disorder17 that was dangerous and that she could only be considered safe ifshe lived under supervision18. This was not generally accepted, I may say, at the time, and my fatherdid consider it most inadvisable. Once she had been committed to a very pleasant nursing home avery good treatment was given. And again, after a period of years she appeared to be completelysane, left the establishment, lived in an ordinary life with a very pleasant nurse more or less incharge of her, though considered in the household as a lady’s maid. She went about, made friendsand sooner or later went abroad.”
“To Malaya,” said Poirot.
“Yes. I see you’ve been correctly informed. She went to Malaya to stay with her twin sister.”
“And there another tragedy happened?”
“Yes. A child of a neighbour was attacked. It was thought at first by an amah, and afterwards Ibelieve one of the native servants, a bearer, was suspected. But there again there seemed no doubtthat Mrs. Jarrow had, for one of those mental reasons known only to her, been guilty of the attack.
There was no definite evidence, I understand, which could be brought against her. I think General—I forget his name now—”
“Ravenscroft?” said Poirot.
“Yes, yes, General Ravenscroft agreed to arrange for her to go back to England and againundergo medical treatment. Is that what you wanted to know?”
“Yes,” said Poirot, “that is what I have partly heard already, but mainly I may say, by hearsay,which is not dependable. What I want to ask you was, this was a case concerned with identicaltwins. What about the other twin? Margaret Preston- Grey. Afterwards the wife of GeneralRavenscroft. Was she likely to be affected20 by the same malady21?”
“There was never any medical case about her. She was perfectly22 sane19. My father was interested,visited her once or twice and talked to her because he had so often seen cases of almost identicalillnesses or mental disturbances23 happen between identical twins who had started life very devotedto each other.”
“Only started life, you said?”
“Yes. On certain occasions a state of animosity can arise between identical twins. It follows ona first keen protective love one for the other, but it can degenerate25 into something which is nearerhatred, if there is some emotional strain that could trigger it off or could arouse it, or anyemotional crisis to account for animosity arising between two sisters.
“I think there might have been that here. General Ravenscroft as a young subaltern or captain orwhatever he was, fell deeply in love, I think, with Dorothea Preston- Grey, who was a verybeautiful girl. Actually the more beautiful of the two—she also fell in love with him. They werenot officially engaged, but General Ravenscroft transferred his affections fairly soon to the othersister, Margaret. Or Molly as she was called. He fell in love with her, and asked her to marry him.
She returned his affection and they were married as soon as it became feasible in his career. Myfather had no doubt that the other twin, Dolly, was bitterly jealous of her sister’s marriage and thatshe continued to be in love with Alistair Ravenscroft and to resent his marriage. However, she gotover it all, married another man in due course—a thoroughly26 happy marriage, it seemed, and latershe used frequently to go to visit the Ravenscrofts, not only on that one occasion in Malaya, butlater when they were in another station abroad and after they returned home. She was by that timeapparently cured again, was no longer in any kind of mental dejection and lived with a veryreliable nurse companion and staff of servants. I believe, or so my father had always told me, thatLady Ravenscroft, Molly, remained very devoted24 to her sister. She felt very protective towards herand loved her dearly. She wanted often, I think, to see more of her than she did, but GeneralRavenscroft was not so keen on her doing so. I think it possible that the slightly unbalanced Dolly—Mrs. Jarrow—continued to feel a very strong attachment27 to General Ravenscroft, which I thinkmay have been embarrassing and difficult for him, though I believe that his wife was quiteconvinced that her sister had got over any feelings of jealousy or anger.”
“I understand Mrs. Jarrow was staying with the Ravenscrofts about three weeks or so before thetragedy of their suicide happened.”
“Yes, that was quite true. Her own tragic28 death happened then. She was quite frequently asleepwalker. She went out one night walking in her sleep and had an accident, falling down aportion of the cliff to which a pathway which had been discarded appeared to lead. She was foundthe next day and I believe died in hospital without recovering consciousness. Her sister Molly wasextremely upset and bitterly unhappy about this, but I would like to say, which you probably wantto know, I do not think that this can in any way be held responsible for the subsequent suicide ofthe married couple who were living so happily together. Grief for a sister’s or a sister-in-law’sdeath would hardly lead you to commit suicide. Certainly not to a double suicide.”
“Unless, perhaps,” said Hercule Poirot, “Margaret Ravenscroft had been responsible for hersister’s death.”
“Good heavens!” said Dr. Willoughby—“surely you are not suggesting—”
“That it was Margaret who followed her sleepwalking sister, and that it was Margaret’s handthat was stretched out to push Dorothea over the cliff edge?”
“I refuse absolutely,” said Dr. Willoughby, “to accept any such idea.”
“With people,” said Hercule Poirot, “one never knows.”
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1
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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collaboration
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| n.合作，协作；勾结 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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convalescence
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| n.病后康复期 | |
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7
begetting
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| v.为…之生父( beget的现在分词 )；产生，引起 | |
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8
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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9
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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10
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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11
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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13
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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14
abortion
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| n.流产，堕胎 | |
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15
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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16
killer
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| n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者 | |
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17
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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18
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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24
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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25
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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27
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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