Пуаро веде слідство
X. The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
“Ididnothingofthesort.Ihaveswornincourt——”
“Précisément—andIhavealittleideathatyouhaveswornfalsely.”
“Youthreatenme?Bah!Ihavenothingtofearfromyou.Ihavebeenacquitted.”
“Exactly;andasIamnotanimbecile,itisnotwiththegallowsIthreatenyou—butwithpublicity.Publicity!Iseethatyoudonotliketheword.Ihadanideathatyouwouldnot.Mylittleideas,youknow,theyareveryvaluabletome.Come,signor,youronlychanceistobefrankwithme.IdonotasktoknowwhoseindiscretionsbroughtyoutoEngland.Iknowthismuch,youcamefortheespecialpurposeofseeingCountFoscatini.”
“Hewasnotacount,”growledtheItalian.
“IhavealreadynotedthefactthathisnamedoesnotappearintheAlmanachdeGotha.Nevermind,thetitleofcountisoftenusefulintheprofessionofblackmailing.”
“IsupposeImightaswellbefrank.Youseemtoknowagooddeal.”
“Ihaveemployedmygreycellstosomeadvantage.Come,SignorAscanio,youvisitedthedeadmanontheTuesdaymorning—thatisso,isitnot?”
“Yes;butIneverwentthereonthefollowingevening.Therewasnoneed.Iwilltellyouall.CertaininformationconcerningamanofgreatpositioninItalyhadcomeintothisscoundrel’spossession.Hedemandedabigsumofmoneyinreturnforthepapers.IcameovertoEnglandtoarrangethematter.Icalleduponhimbyappointmentthatmorning.OneoftheyoungsecretariesoftheEmbassywaswithme.TheCountwasmorereasonablethanIhadhoped,althougheventhenthesumofmoneyIpaidhimwasahugeone.
