5
Nobody spoke during the meal.
If anybody had opened their mouth, they would inevitably have talked about the case. The silence was an escape from the threatening reality. Perhaps the silence was also born out of fear of provoking Agatha, who was still in a state of shock.
‘We’ll clean up, so go and rest, Agatha,’ said Poe softly. Agatha usually avoided smoking in front of other people, but now she was staring at the movements of the smoke that came from her cigarette. She turned to Poe with an expressionless face.
‘I’ve some tablets if you can’t fall asleep. I’ll give you some, so take them and go to bed.’
Caution flashed through Agatha’s eyes.
‘Tablets? No!’
‘It’s okay, it’s just sleeping medicine.’
‘No, I won’t take them.’
‘Okay then, look carefully, Agatha.’
Poe opened his leather bag which was hanging from the back of his chair, and took out a little medicine bottle. He dropped two white tablets from the bottle into the open palm of his hand, broke them in half, then gave half of each tablet to Agatha.
‘Now I’ll take these two halves right in front of your eyes. Then will you trust me?’
Agatha stared silently at the tablets in her hand and finally nodded slowly.
‘Okay, good kid.’
A clumsy smile appeared on Poe’s bearded face and he swallowed the tablets in his hand.
‘See, nothing wrong with me. Now you too, Agatha.’
‘—I just can’t sleep. I just can’t.’
‘It’s natural, it’s because you’re all worked up now.’
‘This morning I could still hear Carr’s cry in my mind. I had finally started to doze off, when I heard something strange from the room beside mine, from Carr’s room.’
‘I know. Just take those tablets, you’ll have a good rest tonight.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, really. You’ll fall asleep in no time.’
Agatha finally put the tablets in her mouth, closed her eyes and swallowed them.
‘Thanks.’
Her lifeless eyes looked at Poe.
‘Good night, Agatha. Don’t forget to lock your door and window.’
‘Yes. Thanks, Poe.’
After Agatha had disappeared into her room, the remaining four collectively uttered something resembling a sigh.
‘Impressive bedside manner, Poe. You’ll make a great doctor.’
Ellery smiled, waving the hand which held a cigarette between his thin fingers.
‘How surprising to see someone like our Dame Agatha act that way. Maybe one of us will become one of your patients, too, tomorrow.’
‘Shut up, Ellery. You’re taking this too lightly.’
‘I need to take this lightly.’ Ellery shrugged. ‘If I take it too seriously, I might be the next to lose it. I was nearly killed today, remember?’
‘What if that was just all a one-man performance?’
‘Wha— ah, I guess I shouldn’t get all worked up over that. But of course, Agatha could be acting too.’
‘If the murderer is amongst us, then we all have an equal chance of being him,’ said Van, biting his nails.
‘The only one who knows for sure you’re not the murderer is yourself. So you need to look out for yourself.’
‘Yes…Why did all this happen anyway?’ Leroux threw his glasses on the table and held his head.
‘Hey, you’re not going to get all hysterical on us as well, I hope?’
‘I don’t have the energy for that, Ellery. But why did the murderer start this insanity? Whether the murderer is one of us or Nakamura Seiji, what in heaven’s name could the motive be?’
Leroux’s face, with its small round eyes, was full of despair.
‘The motive, eh?’ Ellery muttered. ‘There has to be something.’
‘I don’t believe the “Seiji equals Murderer” theory,’ said Van irritably. ‘Nakamura Seiji is only alive inside Ellery’s imagination. Even if it were true, it’s like Leroux says, what motive could he have for killing us? This isn’t a game.’
‘Seiji.…’
Every time Leroux heard or spoke the name, he could feel a strange sense of uneasiness taking over. He had had the feeling ever since Ellery told him yesterday that Seiji might still be alive.
The reflection of the lamp flame danced in his glasses, lying on the table. Staring at them, he tried to retrieve something from this feeling of uneasiness.
A memory.
But he couldn’t remember. And before long, another, more recent memory of something mingled in, which perturbed him even more.
What was it? Leroux kept asking himself in his mind.
The newer memory had to be about something occurring after they had arrived on the island. He had seen something somewhere subconsciously, something extremely important....
‘Poe.’
The headache he had endured since waking up was still throbbing.
Let’s give up for today and go to sleep, Leroux thought.
‘Could I have a sleeping tablet too?’
‘Sure. It’s just seven, already going to bed?’
‘Yes, my head hurts.’
‘I should go too.’
Poe gave the whole bottle of tablets to Leroux and casually stood up with a cigarette in his mouth.
‘I’m starting to feel the tablets I took just now, too.’
‘Poe, could I have one as well?’ asked Van, slowly getting up from his chair.
‘Sure. One’s enough. They’re quite strong. And you, Ellery?’
‘Don’t need them. I can fall asleep by myself.’
And after a little while the lamp on the table went out, and darkness descended upon the hall of the Decagon House.