Hallowe'en Party / Вечеринка на Хэллоуин. Книга для чтения на английском языке

Аn ugly murder and a murder that was committed with what we might call, no time to lose[39 - with … no time to lose – не теряя времени]. Somebody was threatened, and whoever it was struck as soon as it was humanly possible[40 - Somebody was threatened, and whoever it was struck as soon as it was humanly possible – Кто-то почувствовал угрозу, и этот кто-то нанес удар настолько быстро, насколько это было в человеческих силах].

’

�Joyce could not have known who it was who did the murder she saw,’ said Mrs Oliver. �I mean she wouldn’t have said what she did if there was someone actually in the room who was concerned.’

�No,’ said Poirot, �I think you are right there. She saw a murder, but she did not see the murderer’s face. We have to go beyond that.’

�I don’t understand exactly what you mean.’

�It could be that someone who was there earlier in the day and heard Joyce’s accusation knew about the murder, knew who committed the murder, perhaps was closely involved with that person.

It may have been that someone thought he was the only person who knew what his wife had done, or his mother or his daughter or his son. Or it might have been a woman who knew what her husband or mother or daughter or son had done. Someone who thought that no one else knew. And then Joyce began talking…’

�And so—’

�Joyce had to die?’

�Yes.

What are you going to do?’

�I have just remembered,’ said Hercule Poirot, �why the name of Woodleigh Common was familiar to me.’

CHAPTER 5

Hercule Poirot looked over the small gate which gave admission to Pine Crest. It was a modern, perky little house, nicely built. Hercule Poirot was slightly out of breath. the small, neat house in front of him was very suitably named. It was on a hill top, and the hill top was planted with a few sparse pines. It had a small neat garden and a large elderly man was trundling along a path a big tin galvanized waterer[41 - tin galvanized waterer – устройство для полива из оцинкованной жести].

Superintendent[42 - superintendent – суперинтендант, старший полицейский чин] Spence’s hair was now grey all over instead of having a neat touch of grey hair at the temples. He had not shrunk much in girth.