Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 609 The Hidden Identity!
The next person to receive the inquiry is Secretary McQueen, played by Georges Boiser.

He said he went to the deceased's private room at 10:00 AM and then left. He then chatted with Colonel Abbasnot in his own private room until 2:00 AM before saying goodbye to each other.

He then denied having a pipe-smoking habit and expressed extreme disgust for Kessetie, the kidnapper.

Here, Georges Boyer fully utilized his twelve years of experience as a journalist for Le Figaro and began to "play it by ear".

He claimed that "McQueen" was also a journalist who had interviewed Daisy's parents and felt deep sympathy for them.

"If I had known earlier that Le Chaté was that villain, I would have killed him myself and wouldn't have bothered to hide it like this."

The three Poirots noted this down—McQueen seemed to have a strong sense of justice and his attitude appeared quite frank.

Colonel Paul Abbasnott then confirmed McQueen's account, stating that he saw a woman in a bright red nightgown heading towards the dining car.

Another testimony about the "woman in red pajamas".

In addition, Colonel Abbasnott said that when he returned to his own box, he saw that the door to Mr. Hartmann’s room number 16 next door was slightly ajar, and someone was peeking out furtively from inside before quickly closing the door.

He also denied knowing Le Chaté's true identity beforehand, nor did he know the family of the kidnapping victims; however, he admitted to smoking a pipe.

The three "Poirots" nodded. More and more clues were emerging, but things seemed even more chaotic.

Next are the testimonies of several female passengers.

First, there was Mrs. Hubbard, who has already mentioned the crucial part—at 1:15, someone in her room, dressed in a train conductor's uniform, escaped through the connecting door.

Then there's Mrs. Nordon, who plays Mrs. Greda Olson, the Swedish lady, and she's the last person to see Le Chaté alive.

At around 10:40, she went into the wrong room, opened Le Chaté's door, saw him reading a book, and then left.

She then went to Mrs. Hubbard's room and asked her for some tincture; then she went back to her own room, took the medicine, and went to sleep.

Then there's Miss Deberham, played by Emile Durand, who, around five in the morning, also sees a woman in a bright red dragon-patterned nightgown walking toward the dining car.

Another sighting of the "woman in red pajamas," this time at 5 a.m.—a few hours after the incident.

Next up is Count Andre, played by Nodon. He says that he and his wife were playing cards in a private room, and they went to sleep around 11 p.m., sleeping soundly until dawn.

He also denied knowing Le Chat's true identity beforehand, and said that such a person deserved to die.

Madame Nodon, who plays Countess Andrei, also gave a brief testimony, which was consistent with her husband's.

Next up is Louis Bertin's character, the carriage salesman Foscari, who also denies smoking a pipe, claiming he only smokes fine Italian cigarettes!

Then there's the passenger playing Masterman, who delivers sleeping pills to Le Chaté at 9:40 and then returns to his room, never leaving again.

Each person fully utilized their acting skills, using improvised lines and spontaneous expressions to repeatedly confuse the three "Poirots".

The key figure has arrived—Hartmann, the "typewriter salesman." He is played by Pierre Bernard, a representative of the French railway company.

Hartman's initial identity was that of a "typewriter salesman," but he soon revealed to Poirot that he was actually a detective at the McNair Detective Agency in New York.

This sudden "change" startled many people. The other participants were stunned and unsure whether it was a requirement of the card or their own improvisation.

But Pierre Bernard remained unfazed, stating that Le Chaté had tried to hire Hartmann to protect him from an assassin who was described as "short, dark-skinned, and spoke like a woman."

This statement made everyone prick up their ears.

Poirot: "An assassin? Le Chatelier knows someone wants to kill him?"

Hartman: "Yes. He received threatening letters. He asked me to protect him to Istanbul. In the end, I failed in my duty."

Poirot: "What were you doing last night?"

Hartmann: "My box number 16 was right next to Le Chaté's. I kept watch all night to make sure no one came into his room through the corridor. I swear!"

Poirot: "But Mrs. Hubbard said that at 1:15 someone escaped from her room to Le Chater's room."

Hartman: "Impossible. If someone were passing by, I would definitely see them. Unless..."

Hartman: “Unless the person came in through Mrs. Hubbard’s window—but it’s snow outside, and there are no footprints.”

Another contradiction. The three "Poirots" were even more confused.

Finally, there were testimonies from several "special" witnesses.

Russian Duchess Dregomilov stated that Colonel Armstrong's wife, Sonia, was her goddaughter, and her mother, Linda Arden, was her best friend.

The carriage was completely silent; everyone was stunned.

Poirot: "So you know that Le Chatelier is Cesette?"

Duchess Dregomilov: "Now I know. If I had known sooner, I would have killed him myself."

She spoke calmly, but the chill in her words sent shivers down one's spine.

Poirot: "What were you doing last night?"

Duchess Dregomilov: "I had the maid massage me and then read to me. I fell asleep, and I don't know when she left. It was probably after 1:30 a.m.."

All the testimonies had been collected. The three Poirots huddled together and discussed in hushed tones.

Subsequently, James Rothschild summarized the key points:

First, there was a fake train conductor, short in stature, with a dark complexion, who spoke like a woman, and appeared around 12:30.
Second, Mrs. Hubbard claimed that at 1:15 a.m. a uniformed man escaped from her room; Third, at least two people saw a woman in a bright red nightgown—Colonel Abbasnott and Miss DeBerham;
Fourth, Hartman insists that no one passed through the corridor all night;

Fifth, almost all the passengers showed some degree of moral detachment regarding Ksetseti's death.

Henry Browitz then added: "At 12:40, Le Chateau rang the bell and said there was nothing wrong. At 1:15, Mrs. Hubbard rang the bell and said someone was there, but the conductor said he might be in his seat or not at that time."

The time of death was estimated to be around 1:15 because the hands of the pocket watch were stopped at 1:15—but I think the watch could also have been tampered with.

Georges Nagelmarx also raised a crucial question: "Most importantly, how did the killer leave? The room was a 'locked room'—the door was locked from the inside, and there were no footprints in the snow outside the window."

Lionel watched their discussion and knew it was time to move to the next stage. He clapped his hands.

"Gentlemen, before we proceed with our reasoning, we need to conduct a crucial procedure—a search of the luggage."

Mrs. Rothschild frowned: "Search luggage? Even in the game? Now?"

Lionel smiled and said, "It's even more important in the game; the 'Poirots' need to find physical evidence."

He turned to the three "Poirots": "Whose luggage would you like to search first?"

After the three Poirots discussed it, James said, "Let's start with Mrs. Hubbard. She said someone ran away from her room, and maybe left something behind."

Lionel gestured to Sophie, who then took out a prop she had prepared beforehand—a card.

However, the client photo features an oriental dagger with an uneven hilt and "bloodstains" on the blade.

Mrs. Rothschild looked completely innocent: "I found it in my bag. But I don't know how it got there. Someone must have put it there!"

The three Poirots carefully examined the dagger. James said, "This should be the murder weapon. The 'bloodstains' on the blade match the description of the wound."

Next, they searched the other people's "luggage"—actually, Sophie was distributing cards representing evidence.

A train conductor's uniform was found in the suitcase of Hildegard Schmidt, the "German maid," but the third button was missing.

Schmidt also stated that he was unaware and innocent.

Poirot and his colleagues speculated that the killer may have collided with Schmidt after committing the crime, and in a moment of panic, stuffed the disguise uniform into her unlocked suitcase.

……

Until the very end, no further clues were found, and the Salon carriage fell silent.

The case seemed to have reached a stalemate.

At that moment, Sophie suddenly appeared, handed the three "Poirots" a new card, and told them to look at it away from the others.

The Poirots huddled together, looking at the words on the card—not many, just a few lines—and then each of them almost lost control of their expression.

The card read: [Poirot returned to his compartment and, on the top shelf of his suitcase, saw the bright red dragon-patterned pajamas.]

But years of training in the business and political arenas allowed them to control their emotions, preventing others from noticing anything amiss. James Rothschild, meanwhile, put the card in his pocket.

The other passengers watched the three "Poirots" nervously, trying to glean something from them.

Lionel smiled. This was exactly the effect he wanted—when crucial evidence appears in the most unlikely place, the reasoning enters a new level.

The three "Poirots" then got together and listed the key time points in the collected testimonies, only to find that many were inaccurate—

For example, the fake train conductor appeared around 12:30, the time of the woman in the red pajamas' sighting was vague, and the chat continued until 2:00 AM, etc.

At the same time, they re-examined the role of each passenger: the Duchess was Mrs. Armstrong's godmother, McQueen had interviewed little Daisy's parents, and Miss DeBéham seemed to be hiding something...

Two people have already revealed that they have hidden identities. What about the others? Are they the same?
Lionel watched them deep in thought, knowing that the second phase of the "core of reasoning" had been achieved.

He glanced at his pocket watch—it was already 4:30 in the afternoon. The game had lasted a full three hours; it was time to come to an end.

He clapped his hands: "Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the second phase of the investigation. Poirot and his team have gathered all the testimonies and physical evidence, and have proposed several possibilities. But now, we need to take a break—and give the detectives some time to organize their thoughts."

The passengers murmured in disappointment. They were completely absorbed in the game, and no one wanted to stop.

"There will be a third phase tonight. After dinner, we will conduct the final deduction and revelation. Now, please return to your private rooms to rest for a while, or have a cup of tea. Dinner will be served in the dining car at seven o'clock."

People reluctantly stood up. But Lionel was right—after three hours of intense concentration, everyone was a little tired.

Interestingly, the passengers no longer huddled together to chat as before, but instead went their separate ways.

Some stayed in the salon carriage, some returned to their private compartments, and some went to the smoking carriage, but they rarely talked.

Everyone is still immersed in their role, or pondering the "secrets" of their role.

The contents of those new cards sprouted like seeds in everyone's hearts, changing the way they saw each other.

Mrs. Rothschild did not leave with her husband. She walked alone to her box, as if pondering the deeper motivations behind the character of Mrs. Hubbard.

As the sun sets, golden rays bathe the fields of southern Germany, preparing them for their next stop—perhaps Munich, or Stuttgart…

But which one doesn't matter. The real journey continues, but the "Orient Express" in the game remains trapped in that fictional blizzard.

(Second update, one more later tonight. Thank you everyone, please vote with your monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)