The Man in the Brown Suit Agatha Christie (i read books .TXT) š
- Author: Agatha Christie
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āThatās another story,ā I quoted. āMy story. And Iām going to tell it you now.ā
XXVIIHarry listened attentively whilst I recounted all the events that I have narrated in these pages. The thing that bewildered and astonished him most was to find that all along the diamonds had been in my possessionā āor rather in Suzanneās. That was a fact he had never suspected. Of course, after hearing his story, I realized the point of Cartonās little arrangementā āor rather Nadinaās, since I had no doubt that it was her brain which had conceived the plan. No surprise tactics executed against her or her husband could result in the seizure of the diamonds. The secret was locked in her own brain, and the Colonel was not likely to guess that they had been entrusted to the keeping of an ocean steward!
Harryās vindication from the old charge of theft seemed assured. It was the other, graver charge that paralyzed all our activities. For, as things stood, he could not come out in the open to prove his case.
The one thing we came back to, again and again, was the identity of the Colonel. Was he, or was he not, Guy Pagett?
āI should say he was but for one thing,ā said Harry. āIt seems pretty much of a certainty that it was Pagett who murdered Anita GrĆ¼nberg at Marlowā āand that certainly lends colour to the supposition that he is actually the Colonel, since Anitaās business was not of the nature to be discussed with a subordinate. Noā āthe only thing that militates against that theory is the attempt to put you out of the way on the night of your arrival here. You saw Pagett left behind at Cape Townā āby no possible means could he have arrived here before the following Wednesday. He is unlikely to have any emissaries in this part of the world, and all his plans were laid to deal with you in Cape Town. He might, of course, have cabled instructions to some lieutenant of his in Johannesburg, who could have joined the Rhodesian train at Mafeking, but his instructions would have had to be particularly definite to allow of that note being written.ā
We sat silent for a moment, then Harry went on slowly: āYou say that Mrs. Blair was asleep when you left the hotel and that you heard Sir Eustace dictating to Miss Pettigrew? Where was Colonel Race?ā
āI could not find him anywhere.ā
āHad he any reason to believe thatā āyou and I might be friendly with each other?ā
āHe might have had,ā I answered thoughtfully, remembering our conversation on the way back from the Matoppos. āHeās a very powerful personality,ā I continued, ābut not at all my idea of the Colonel. And, anyway, such an idea would be absurd. Heās in the secret service.ā
āHow do we know that he is? Itās the easiest thing in the world to throw out a hint of that kind. No one contradicts it, and the rumour spreads until everyone believes it as gospel truth. It provides an excuse for all sorts of doubtful doings. Anne, do you like Race?ā
āI doā āand I donāt. He repels me and at the same time fascinates me; but I know one thing, Iām always a little afraid of him.ā
āHe was in South Africa, you know, at the time of the Kimberley robbery,ā said Harry slowly.
āBut it was he who told Suzanne all about the Colonel and how he had been in Paris trying to get on his track.ā
āCamouflageā āof a particularly clever kind.ā
āBut where does Pagett come in? Is he in Raceās pay?ā
āPerhaps,ā said Harry slowly, āhe doesnāt come in at all.ā
āWhat?ā
āThink back, Anne. Did you ever hear Pagettās own account of that night on the Kilmorden?ā
āYesā āthrough Sir Eustace.ā
I repeated it. Harry listened closely.
āHe saw a man coming from the direction of Sir Eustaceās cabin and followed him up on deck. Is that what he says? Now, who had the cabin opposite to Sir Eustace? Colonel Race. Supposing Colonel Race crept up on deck, and, foiled in his attack on you, fled round the deck and met Pagett just coming through the saloon door. He knocks him down and springs inside, closing the door. We dash round and find Pagett lying there. Howās that?ā
āYou forget that he declares positively it was you who knocked him down.ā
āWell, suppose that just as he regains consciousness he sees me disappearing in the distance? Wouldnāt he take it for granted that I was his assailant? Especially as he thought all along it was I he was following?ā
āItās possible, yes,ā I said slowly. āBut it alters all our ideas. And there are other things.ā
āMost of them are open to explanation. The man who followed you in Cape Town spoke to Pagett, and Pagett looked at his watch. The man might have merely asked him the time.ā
āIt was just a coincidence, you mean?ā
āNot exactly. Thereās a method in all this, connecting Pagett with the affair. Why was the Mill House chosen for the murder? Was it because Pagett had been in Kimberley when the diamonds were stolen? Would he have been made the scapegoat if I had not appeared so providentially upon the scene?ā
āThen you think he may be entirely innocent?ā
āIt looks like it, but, if so, weāve got to find out what he was doing in Marlow. If heās got a reasonable explanation of that, weāre on the right tack.ā
He got up.
āItās past midnight. Turn in, Anne, and get some sleep. Just before dawn
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