6
‘So, back to the beginning.’
After returning to the table in the main hall, Ellery looked once more at the other two.
‘Now we’ve discovered the cup was different, Van, Poe and of course myself, all had equal chance to poison Carr. One cup with eleven sides among the decagon cups. The murderer smeared poison on that cup, and if it had been passed to him, he would simply not have drunk his coffee.’
‘I wonder why that cup was there in the first place?’ asked Van.
‘Maybe one of Nakamura Seiji’s jokes.’
A smile appeared on Ellery’s delicate mouth.
‘Hiding a single eleven-sided object in a house of decagons. Fantastic joke, right?’
‘Could it really be just that?’
‘I believe so. It might also have another meaning. The murderer happened to discover that eleven-sided cup and decided to use it. I don’t believe it was something he prepared. You can’t get something like that unless you have it specially made. The murderer just happened to notice the cup after arriving on the island. And all three of us had an opportunity to do so.’
Ellery put both elbows on the table, and joined his fingers at eye-level.
‘The murderer waited until everyone had gone to sleep and sneaked into the room where Carr’s body lay. He then went to all the trouble of cutting off the corpse’s left hand and throwing it in the bathtub, just as with Orczy. I’ve no idea why he did that, though.’
‘Agatha said she heard something. That was probably what it was.’
‘Yes, Poe. Everyone had started to get on edge by then. The murderer committed himself to quite a risky job. So that means that there is some kind of important reason to cut off the hands. But it remains a mystery to me.’
Ellery frowned and continued:
‘Anyway, all three of us had an equal opportunity to commit either of those murders. Let’s go to the next.’
‘Next is Agatha… No, Leroux first?’ Van said. Ellery shook his head.
‘No, first was the attempt on my life. Me, Ellery. In the underground room yesterday. The night before that—I think it was just before Carr collapsed—I mentioned the underground room of the Blue Mansion. I suppose that having heard that, the murderer—probably after cutting off Carr’s hand and sticking the plate to the door—sneaked outside and laid the trap. Everybody was there when Carr collapsed, so anyone could have done it. Since I almost became one of the murder victims, I should be ruled out, shouldn’t I?’
Ellery watched the reactions of the other two. Van and Poe looked at each other and signalled their disapproval.
‘But I admit there’s nothing to prove it wasn’t all a one-man show. I wasn’t even badly hurt. And now to the murder of Leroux this morning.’
Ellery gave it some thought.
‘There were some strange features to that murder. Committed outside and beaten to death, no less. Unlike the two earlier murders, there was no fixation with cutting off the hands. This murder was different.’
‘I agree. But even so, any of the three of us could have been the murderer,’ said Poe.
Ellery rubbed his thin chin.
‘That’s true. Let’s keep the examination of Leroux’s murder for later, then. I need more time to think about it.
‘Last is Agatha’s murder. As we just found out, potassium cyanide or sodium cyanide, or something like that had been applied to her lipstick. The only problem is when and how was the poison put there?
‘The lipstick should have been in her room the whole time, inside her make-up pouch. Since the day before yesterday, following the murders of Orczy and Carr, Agatha had become extremely cautious and would always lock her door. The murderer wouldn’t have been able to sneak into her room. On the other hand, Agatha did use lipstick every day. She died this morning, so that means her lipstick was poisoned between yesterday afternoon and last night.’
‘Ellery, just one thing.’
‘Yes, Van?’
‘I think the colour of the lipstick Agatha used today is different from yesterday.’
‘What?’
‘The colour she wore this morning was horribly bright. That’s why I even thought they didn’t appear to be the lips of the deceased.’
Van continued:
‘Agatha was using a different shade of pink yesterday and the day before. Rose-pink, I think it’s called.’
‘Aha.’
Ellery tapped on the edge of the table with his fingers.
‘Now that you mention it, she did have two sticks in her pouch, one of them pink. So I guess the poison was put on the red one earlier. It was put there on the first or second day, when Agatha wasn’t yet on her guard and the murderer could easily sneak into her room. But she didn’t use that lipstick until this morning.’
‘A time bomb,’ Poe said, brushing his beard. ‘And, again, all three of us had the opportunity to pull that off.’
‘That’s what it boils down to. But Poe, if we believe the murderer to be one of us, we can’t go on saying all of us could have done it every time.’
‘So what do you propose?’
‘A vote by majority,’ Ellery said with a calm expression. ‘A joke of course, but let’s hear what each of us has to say. Van, who do you think is the most suspicious?’
‘Poe,’ answered Van surprisingly easily.
‘What?’ The expression on Poe’s face changed, and he put out the cigarette he had just lit in the ashtray.
‘It wasn’t me. But I guess that saying that won’t convince you.’
‘We can’t just take you blindly at your word, of course. I’m of the same opinion as Van: that of us three, you are the most suspicious,’ Ellery said squarely.
Poe was visibly disturbed and asked in an angry voice: ‘Why? Why am I suspicious?’
‘Motive.’
‘Motive? Motive, you say? Why would I want to kill four of my friends? Tell me that, Ellery.’
‘I heard your mother is being treated in a mental hospital,’ replied Ellery coolly. Poe choked back a reply and clenched his fists until the knuckles turned visibly white and started to tremble.
‘It happened several years ago. Your mother was caught attempting to kill a patient in your hospital. Her mind had already become unbalanced, I heard.’
‘Is that true, Ellery?’ Van’s eyes were wide-open in surprise. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘His father hushed it up. Because it would hurt the reputation of the hospital. The patient who was attacked was probably paid off. The lawyer who acted on their behalf is a friend of my father, that’s how I learned about it. The wife of a doctor must be under quite some mental stress. It might be too much for a woman with a weak mind. She might even imagine a patient was stealing her husband away….’
‘Shut up!’ Poe cried out angrily. ‘Don’t you talk about my mother!’
Ellery whistled once and then kept quiet. Poe was still looking down, fists clenched, but finally a little laugh escaped his lips.
‘So you’re saying I might be insane? Rather a simplistic story.’
The expression on his face changed and he glared grimly at both Ellery and Van.
‘Let me tell you this first, both of you have motives too.’
‘Hmm. Please tell us about them.’
‘First you, Van. Your parents were killed by robbers when you were in middle school. Your little sister too. So you might have an issue with us, a group of students who happily write about people being killed.’
Van turned white as Poe spoke, but nevertheless managed to reply.
‘What happened to my family is in the past. And if I’d had a grudge against mystery writers, would I really have entered a mystery fiction club in college?’ Van spoke in a low voice. ‘What’s more, I don’t believe for a moment that mystery fiction praises the killing of people. That’s why I’ve been in the club all the time and even came here with you all.’
‘Who knows?’
Poe changed targets.
‘And next up is Ellery.’
‘And what would my motive be?’
‘You might well have claimed you didn’t mind, but perhaps you had had enough of always being under attack by Carr.’
‘I’d had enough of Carr?’ Ellery looked surprised. ‘Oh, and the other three murders were camouflage. That’s just ridiculous. Too bad, but I didn’t mind Carr enough to consider him a nuisance. I don’t really care for what others think of me. You should know that. Or do you really think I hated Carr enough to want to kill him?’
‘You wouldn’t need much of a motive. Like killing a fly which annoyed you.’
‘So you think I’m that cold-blooded a person?’
‘The phrase “cold-blooded” doesn’t have the right nuance to it, but you are indeed lacking something human. I think you’re a man who could kill someone at whim. Don’t you agree, Van?’
‘Maybe.’ Van nodded with emotionless eyes. A troubled expression appeared on Ellery’s face for one fleeting moment, but it changed into a wry smile and he shrugged.
‘Oh, well, I should probably mind my everyday manners better.’
And then the three fell silent.
The dark and sinister atmosphere of the hall seemed to freeze their minds, not allowing them to break free. The ten white walls around them appeared to be more warped than ever.
They remained like that for a long time.
They could hear the murmur of the wind in the trees. The noise was the signal for a light beating sound on the roof of the building.
‘Oh, it’s raining,’ Ellery murmured, gazing up at the water drops that had started to accumulate on the glass of the skylight.
The noise of the rain became louder as the rain became heavier, more violent, as if to further isolate the three men who were already trapped on the island.
And then Ellery mumbled something and stood up, still looking up at the skylight.
‘What’s the matter?’ Poe asked suspiciously.
‘Ah, no, wait—.’
Ellery hadn’t finished his sentence before he suddenly pushed his chair back, turned around and sprinted to the entrance.
‘The footprints!’