Poirot was a true prophet. I will not go into the details of the police court proceedings, as it involves many tiresome repetitions. I will merely state baldly that John Cavendish reserved his defence, and was duly committed for trial.
ポアロは本当の預言者だ。警察裁判所での手続きはうんざりするような繰り返しなので、そこを詳しく述べるのはやめておくが、ジョン・キャベンディッシュは確かに抗弁をせず、裁判へと移行していった。
September found us all in London. Mary took a house in Kensington, Poirot being included in the family party.
９月、我々はロンドンにいた。メアリーはケンジントンの家に住むことにし、ポアロもそこに加わることになった。
I myself had been given a job at the War Office, so was able to see them continually.
私は陸軍省で仕事を得たので、彼らに引き続き会うことができた。
As the weeks went by, the state of Poirot’s nerves grew worse and worse. That “last link” he talked about was still lacking. Privately, I hoped it might remain so, for what happiness could there be for Mary, if John were not acquitted?
時が経つにつれ、ポアロの気持ちはだんだん沈んでいくようだった。彼の言っていた「最後の繋がり」は未だ見つからない。私は密かにそのままであればと願った。ジョンが放免されれば、メアリーにとって嬉しいことではないか。
On September 15th John Cavendish appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey, charged with “The Wilful Murder of Emily Agnes Inglethorp,” and pleaded “Not Guilty.”
９月15日、ジョン・キャベンディッシュの姿はオールド・ベイリーの被告席にあった。「エミリー・アグネス・イングルソープ謀殺」との告発を受け、「無罪」を主張した。
Sir Ernest Heavywether, the famous K.C., had been engaged to defend him.
Mr. Philips, K.C., opened the case for the Crown.
有名な弁護士、サー・アーネスト・ヘヴィウェザーが彼の弁護にあたった。
フィリップス検事が事件の説明をした。
The murder, he said, was a most premeditated and cold-blooded one. It was neither more nor less than the deliberate poisoning of a fond and trusting woman by the stepson to whom she had been more than a mother. Ever since his boyhood, she had supported him. He and his wife had lived at Styles Court in every luxury, surrounded by her care and attention. She had been their kind and generous benefactress.
この殺人は、計画的で冷酷なものであると彼は表現した。優しく親愛に満ちた女性が、本当の母以上に接してきた義理の息子によって、巧妙に毒殺されたという以外のなにものでもない。彼が子供の頃から、彼女部支えられてきた。妻と共に、彼女の世話になりながらスタイルズ荘で贅沢な暮らしをしてきた。彼女は親切で寛容な後援者であったのだ。
He proposed to call witnesses to show how the prisoner, a profligate and spendthrift, had been at the end of his financial tether, and had also been carrying on an intrigue with a certain Mrs. Raikes, a neighbouring farmer’s wife. This having come to his stepmother’s ears, she taxed him with it on the afternoon before her death, and a quarrel ensued, part of which was overheard. On the previous day, the prisoner had purchased strychnine at the village chemist’s shop, wearing a disguise by means of which he hoped to throw the onus of the crime upon another man—to wit, Mrs. Inglethorp’s husband, of whom he had been bitterly jealous. Luckily for Mr. Inglethorp, he had been able to produce an unimpeachable alibi.
彼は、この囚人が金遣いの荒い放蕩家であり、そして財政も底をついたこと、さらに近くの農場のレイクス夫人に惹かれていったことを示すための証人を呼んだ。これが義母の耳に入ることになり、死の前日、それを責め、口論となり、その口論が他者に聞かれるに至った。前日、被告は他の者、すなわち日頃から遺恨を持っていたイングルソープ夫人の夫に罪を着せるために彼になりすました上でストリキニーネを村の薬局で買い、同時に彼自身のアリバイも作ったのである。
On the afternoon of July 17th, continued Counsel, immediately after the quarrel with her son, Mrs. Inglethorp made a new will. This will was found destroyed in the grate of her bedroom the following morning, but evidence had come to light which showed that it had been drawn up in favour of her husband. Deceased had already made a will in his favour before her marriage, but—and Mr. Philips wagged an expressive forefinger—the prisoner was not aware of that.
検事は続ける。二人の口論のすぐ後、７月17日の午後、イングルソープ夫人は新しい遺言を作った。この遺言は、翌朝、彼女の寝室の暖炉に破棄されていたが、それでも、その遺言は彼女の夫に都合の良いものであったことがわかっている。故人は結婚前、すでに遺言を作っていたが・・・フィリップス検事は大袈裟に指を振って続けた。被告はそれを知らなかった。
What had induced the deceased to make a fresh will, with the old one still extant, he could not say. She was an old lady, and might possibly have forgotten the former one; or—this seemed to him more likely—she may have had an idea that it was revoked by her marriage, as there had been some conversation on the subject. Ladies were not always very well versed in legal knowledge.
以前の遺言があったにも関わらず彼女が新たな遺言を作ったのはなぜなのか、わからない。彼女は歳をとっており、以前のものを忘れていたのかもしれない。あり得るのは、結婚によってその気になったのかもしれない。その点も会話の中にあったのである。女性は法的な手続きについて熟知していないことが多い。
She had, about a year before, executed a will in favour of the prisoner. He would call evidence to show that it was the prisoner who ultimately handed his stepmother her coffee on the fatal night. Later in the evening, he had sought admission to her room, on which occasion, no doubt, he found an opportunity of destroying the will which, as far as he knew, would render the one in his favour valid.
１年ほど前、彼女は被告に都合の良い遺言を作っていた。検事は、運命の日、被告が義母にコーヒーを渡したという証拠を示した。その後、彼女の許可を得て部屋に入り、その遺言を無効にしてしまう遺言、そう彼は思っていたのだが、それを破棄した。
The prisoner had been arrested in consequence of the discovery, in his room, by Detective Inspector Japp—a most brilliant officer—of the identical phial of strychnine which had been sold at the village chemist’s to the supposed Mr. Inglethorp on the day before the murder. It would be for the jury to decide whether or not these damning facts constituted an overwhelming proof of the prisoner’s guilt.
優秀な刑事であるジャップが、村の薬局でイングルソープが毒殺の前日に買ったものと思われていた、その同じ瓶を、彼の部屋で見つけたことにより、逮捕されるに至った。この事実が、被告が有罪であることを十分すぎるほど示すといえるかどうかは、陪審員にその判断を委ねるものである。
And, subtly implying that a jury which did not so decide, was quite unthinkable, Mr. Philips sat down and wiped his forehead.
そして、陪審員がそれを肯定しないのはあり得ないと匂わせ、フィリップス検事は腰を下ろし、額を拭った。
The first witnesses for the prosecution were mostly those who had been called at the inquest, the medical evidence being again taken first.
最初の検察側の証人は、ほとんどが死因審問に呼ばれた人で、薬物の証拠が一番に呼ばれれた。
Sir Ernest Heavywether, who was famous all over England for the unscrupulous manner in which he bullied witnesses, only asked two questions.
容赦なく承認を追い詰めることで知られているサー・アーネスト・ヘヴィウェザーだったが、２つ質問しただけだった。
