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  • 24/05/2025
First broadcast 14th February 1993.

Poirot helps solve the murder of Count Foscatini, an Italian nobleman of unsavoury reputation, who also happens to be the employer of Miss Lemon's new suitor.

David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings
Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp
Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon
Leonard Preston as Mr Graves
Anna Mazzotti as Margherita Fabbri
David Neal as Bruno Vizzini
Vincent Riotta as Mario Ascanio (as Vincenzo Ricotta)
Sidney Kean as Count Foscatini
Alberto Janelli as Darida
Arthur Cox as Dr Hawker
Vittorio Amandola as 1st Secretary
Ben Bazell as Sergeant Beddoes
David Verrey as Chef
Janet Lees-Price as Miss Rider (as Janet Lees Price)
Barrie Wilmore as Manager
Michael Tudor Barnes as Neighbour
David Willoughby as Lad
Sara Kean as Bridesmaid 1
Victoria Kean as Bridesmaid 2

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TV
Transcript
00:00And if he tries to deceive us?
00:18How?
00:19Try to deceive us?
00:21If then he does not give me what we want.
00:24No reason, and do not give it to us.
00:28In the end, we will have both.
00:34That's what we need.
00:40So?
00:43We do not want trouble.
00:45Yes, yes, no trouble.
00:54What do you think, partner?
00:55I think it looks very untidy, Hastings.
00:58Well, it's not meant to be tidy.
01:00Tidy has got nothing to do with it.
01:02It's compact, though, you have to admit that.
01:05They're using twin overhead camshafts, you see,
01:08with desmodromic valve gear and a hemispherical combustion chamber.
01:12I see.
01:13Ah, Mr. Bizzini.
01:15How are you?
01:17Oh, pretty well, you know.
01:19This is Monsieur Hercule Poirot.
01:21Ah, the great detective.
01:24I must watch my step, eh?
01:27It's a pleasure to meet you, Signor Poirot.
01:30Delighted, Monsieur Bizzini.
01:32Well, Signor Hastings, you place the order today.
01:35Well...
01:36Oh, Signor Hastings.
01:38It's a big decision.
01:39Seven weeks, Signor Hastings.
01:41At the factory of Eli Sofretto in Milano they stand.
01:43Wait.
01:44Will the order of Capitano Hastings come today?
01:47Well, I've been thinking...
01:49Mr. Bizzini, excuse me,
01:51you'll be late for your lunch with Mr. Andreotti.
01:54Thank you, Margherita.
01:56Gentlemen, I will leave you in the capable hands of Signor Igenio Fabri.
02:02Mi scusi.
02:07I was just going to say to Mr. Bizzini,
02:09with this new trailing link front suspension,
02:11I wonder if you don't need some sort of stabiliser.
02:14You see...
02:15No.
02:16Oh.
02:17No?
02:18The radius rod trailing from the cross member
02:20locates each hub fore and aft.
02:23Yes, well, I appreciate that.
02:25And each unit's damped by the inclined telescopic struts.
02:30Right.
02:32Yes.
02:35You will have to make up your mind, Hastings.
02:37Well, I'm going to.
02:39Tomorrow's the last day.
02:40I've got it marked in my diary.
02:42It says, decide about car.
02:49I say, Poirot.
02:51What is it, Hastings?
02:52Miss Lemon's not here.
02:54No?
02:55It's twenty past two.
02:57Oh, here she is now.
02:59Hastings, please, I'm trying to read this letter.
03:01But...
03:02Oh, Mr Poirot, I'm so sorry.
03:04Not at all, Miss Lemon.
03:05It is of no importance.
03:07Your friend, he's well?
03:10Well, he...
03:11He's, um...
03:13We went to the Lion's Corner house.
03:16How very nice.
03:17Thank you, Miss Lemon.
03:19Thank you, Mr Poirot.
03:21Oh, Miss Lemon.
03:23Why do you not invite your friend, Mr...
03:25How does he call himself?
03:28Mr Graves.
03:30Yes, indeed.
03:31Why do you not invite your friend, Mr Graves, to tea one day?
03:34Oh.
03:35Yes.
03:36Thank you, Mr Poirot.
03:40As a matter of fact, Mr Graves was most interested
03:43when I told him I work for you.
03:45He's very interested in that sort of thing.
03:48Excellent.
03:49Thank you, Miss Lemon.
03:56What on earth's going on, Poirot?
03:58Hastings.
04:04Miss Lemon has an admirer.
04:07No.
04:14If you sign here and here.
04:17How long is delivery?
04:19There are three arriving at the docks tomorrow.
04:21I'll telephone and...
04:27Excuse me a minute.
04:44Aha!
05:09All done.
05:10Good.
05:12Another customer?
05:13What?
05:14Oh, no, that was my uncle.
05:16Just a family matter.
05:17Oh, right.
05:19You'll want the cheque now, then.
05:36Ah, Hastings.
05:38You've bought your car?
05:39Bought and paid for.
05:41Captain Hastings, this is Mr Graves.
05:45How do you do?
05:46How do you do?
05:47I was just saying to Monsieur Poirot
05:49how much I envy you all, the exciting business you're in.
05:52Well, you know.
05:53Please.
05:57I stayed on in the Navy after the war.
06:00I should have come out in 1919.
06:04Mr Graves still has a boat.
06:06Not from the Navy, I hope.
06:08Oh, no.
06:09Show them the picture, Edwin.
06:12All right.
06:15There.
06:17Oh, very trim.
06:20Fantasia Felice.
06:26As a matter of fact, Monsieur Poirot...
06:29No.
06:31Yes, Monsieur Graves.
06:32No, it's...
06:34Oh, well, why not?
06:35It's just that I was going to say
06:37I was very near to consulting a private detective myself earlier today.
06:42Indeed.
06:43What happened, Edwin?
06:44Well, I've been with my employer for 11 years.
06:48He's a foreign gentleman living in London.
06:50And in what capacity does he employ you, Monsieur Graves?
06:53Mr Graves is a private secretary.
06:56Some very confidential papers were recently stolen.
07:01My employer has been asked to try to buy these papers back for his government.
07:05He used to be a diplomat.
07:09Oh, dear. I don't quite know how to...
07:11We are talking about blackmail here, are we not, Monsieur Graves?
07:14Well, these papers do contain information which would...
07:19Well, do no good for the reputation of the leader of that particular country.
07:23And the truth is, I don't trust the other party involved.
07:27And with the blackmailer, of course,
07:29one has to be sure that the evidence, it is destroyed root and boot.
07:33Branch.
07:34Thank you, Hastings.
07:36But we must have more details, Monsieur Graves.
07:38No.
07:40That's what's so dash difficult.
07:43One hint of scandal would put the kibosh on the whole thing.
07:47No, look, I shouldn't have brought this up. I'm sorry.
07:51Could I have another cup of tea, Felicity?
07:57It's very daring of you, I must say, Hastings,
07:59going in for one of these foreign cars.
08:02It's too complicated for the likes of me.
08:04I'll stick to my little Riley, I think.
08:08We mustn't talk about cars. We'll bore Poirot a distraction.
08:11Well, half the fun in buying a car is talking about it.
08:17Would you answer that, Miss Ryder?
08:19Certainly, Doctor.
08:21If it's an emergency, tell them to take two aspirin and keep warm.
08:27Hello? Doctor Hawkins, sir.
08:29I shall never buy a motor car.
08:32But if I did, I should ask only three questions.
08:36One, does it have the correct number of wheels?
08:39Two, are those wheels firmly attached to the corners of the machine?
08:43Doctor, it was for you.
08:46It was a terrible voice.
08:48What's wrong, Miss Ryder?
08:50I answered the telephone, and this voice said,
08:54It said,
08:59And then it sort of trailed away.
09:02Who's speaking, I said.
09:04And then there was this...
09:06Well, it was just a whisper.
09:12Cunt Foscatini.
09:19Hello? Hello?
09:23Is something serious?
09:26What's going on?
09:28I am Cunt Foscatini's doctor.
09:30I received a telephone call from the cunt saying he'd been attacked and was dying.
09:34Would you have a key?
09:48Cunt Foscatini?
09:50Sir?
10:21Good God.
10:26I'd better telephone the police.
10:37He's dead.
10:40Look at that.
10:42Must have been the weapon.
10:44Possibly.
10:45Hastings, make a search of the apartment.
10:48Almost instantaneous, I would have said.
10:51I wonder he even managed to telephone.
11:19Nothing.
11:24What do you see, Poirot?
11:26Exactly what you see, mon ami.
11:29Two coffee cups, both with the remains of black coffee.
11:33A dish of fruit.
11:35Nobody's used their dessert plates, though.
11:37Two glasses.
11:40Haught.
11:41Doesn't seem to shed much light on anything.
11:44Doesn't seem to shed much light on anything.
11:49The police are on their way.
11:51Excuse me, doctor.
11:53S'il vous plaît, monsieur.
11:55This meal, was it provided by your kitchens here?
12:00Flat ten.
12:02Order for two from the a la carte menu sent down by lift.
12:06Soup julienne, filet de sole Normande,
12:09tonneau of beef, and a rice souffle.
12:13There were not wrong with my food, you know.
12:15This kitchen's a showplace for hygiene.
12:18Yes, yes, indeed.
12:20One can perceive.
12:23It would be impossible, therefore, I imagine,
12:26to examine the dishes from the apartment.
12:29Washed up, dried up, stacked up, long since.
12:33Thinking of fingerprints, were you?
12:35Not exactly, monsieur.
12:38I am more interested in the appetite of Count Foscatini.
12:43Did he partake of every dish?
12:45We don't label the plates, you know, with everybody's names.
12:49But all the plates from ten were dirty,
12:52and the serving dish is empty,
12:54so he must have eaten something.
13:02Let him finish the photographs
13:04before you check for prints, Beddows.
13:07Thank you for your help, Dr Walker.
13:11Ah, well, well, well.
13:14I managed to get here before you this time, Poirot.
13:16No, no, not at all, Chief Inspector.
13:18I've just been upstairs interviewing the chef.
13:21Oh, blimey.
13:23Haven't you finished in here yet?
13:26All right, sir, working as fast as we can.
13:32A sad occasion, this, Po.
13:34Violent death is so wasteful.
13:37God knows, death comes soon enough to us all, anyway.
13:44Monsieur Poirot, what are you doing here?
13:48What's happened?
13:50Monsieur Graves.
13:52Where's my master?
13:54Who are you?
13:56My name's Graves. I'm Count Foscatini's...
13:59valet.
14:02What's happened?
14:04Your master's been murdered.
14:06That's what's happened.
14:18Yesterday,
14:20another Italian gentleman came to see the Count.
14:23Sir, I'm here to see Count Foscatini.
14:25What name shall I say, sir?
14:27Mario Ascanio. He's expecting me.
14:29Come in, sir.
14:31I showed him in, although the Count hadn't told me he was coming.
14:38Signora Ascanio to see you, sir.
14:48Graves, go to Bates and collect that trilby
14:52they've been re-blocking for me, will you?
14:54Certainly, sir.
14:56So you went out.
14:58You don't know what went on between them.
15:00Well, sir, I was very surprised the Count asked me to leave
15:04when we had a visitor, so I did sort of...
15:07linger for a bit.
15:11And what did you hear?
15:13Hello. I'd like to order lunch for two, flat ten.
15:17It wasn't very clear, sir, but I know they had lunch
15:21because I heard the Count order it.
15:24Hmm. I see.
15:26Well, go on.
15:28Signora Ascanio seemed to have something in his case
15:31which he was offering the Count.
15:33I'm not really sure, but I think he was demanding money for it.
15:38Ah, well, now we're getting somewhere.
15:40Blackmail, eh?
15:41Oh, no, sir. The Count was a most respectable man.
15:44If blackmail was involved, I'm sure he was acting for someone else.
15:49But I don't know who.
15:51All right. What happened then?
15:54Well, nothing until this afternoon
15:57when the Count told me this same gentleman
15:59would be coming to dinner this evening.
16:01And?
16:02And he came.
16:04I served them dinner, and after I'd brought in the port,
16:08the Count said I could take the rest of the evening off.
16:11They went into the study, and I went out.
16:15What time is that?
16:18Just before nine, sir.
16:25Do you think Foscatini was acting for the Italian government?
16:28Very possibly, Hastings.
16:30Well, then why didn't Graves tell Jack?
16:32Because obviously he's respecting the wishes of the Count Foscatini
16:35not to endanger the negotiations international.
16:38The question is, Hastings, did Ascanio take the money
16:40but not hand over the papers?
16:42And since neither the money nor the papers are here,
16:44that would appear to be likely, and a powerful motivation for murder.
16:49That was under the desk.
16:51Apparently, the victim knocked it over as he fell forward.
16:56Ah, that's convenient.
16:58Gives us the time of the murder, anyway.
17:00Ten past nine.
17:02That was the time at which Dr Hawker received the telephone call.
17:06Good.
17:07Well, let's go.
17:09Yes, sir.
17:17Good.
17:25Wait a minute.
17:29I've seen him before.
17:31At the garage when I bought my car.
17:33It's Miss Fabry's uncle.
17:47Why on earth did Graves tell Miss Lemon he was a private secretary
17:50when he's really only a valet?
17:52Hastings, have you never exaggerated your own importance
17:55in order to impress a young lady?
17:57Well, certainly not.
17:58Never?
17:59Oh.
18:00Well, I once told a girl I was a member at Wentworth when I wasn't,
18:03but she didn't play golf anyway.
18:05She thought Wentworth was a lunatic asylum.
18:07Excuse me, gents.
18:09There's no one there.
18:11They're all at the wedding.
18:13There's no one there.
18:14They're all at the wedding.
18:16At the roof gardens.
18:17I'm the only one left.
18:19I'm not Italian.
18:44This way.
18:54Car, sei bellissima.
19:02Fantastica.
19:07Yes.
19:08We shall never find her here, Hastings.
19:10We've got to tell her.
19:11We can't just let her find out from the newspapers.
19:15Capitano Hastings.
19:21Hello, Miss Fabry.
19:22Now, where's that?
19:24I'm sorry to break in like this.
19:26We've got some bad news, I'm afraid.
19:28Oh.
19:29It's your uncle.
19:31My uncle.
19:32The one who came to see you at the showroom,
19:34Count Foscatini.
19:36Ah, my uncle.
19:38I'm sorry.
19:40I'm afraid he's dead.
19:43Murdered.
19:46Oh, excuse me.
19:50I'm sorry, excuse me.
19:54She seems to be taking it rather badly.
19:57Yes.
20:09We need to talk.
20:11It's urgent.
20:15What's going on?
20:17He's been killed.
20:19No.
20:20Where?
20:21Long live the Spaniards!
20:23Long live the Spaniards!
20:27Capitano Hastings.
20:29Capitano Hastings.
20:38Noves Cano.
20:44Come on!
20:45Open up!
20:46Police!
21:00You're looking for Ascanio?
21:02Yeah.
21:06He's not there.
21:10Not been there since Monday.
21:19Japs says Ascanio's bolted.
21:21They've put a watch on all the ports
21:23in case he tries to get back to Italy, but...
21:27Il primo segretario will see you now.
21:44Good afternoon, Monsieur Poirot.
21:46Captain Hastings.
21:48Do sit down, please.
21:51After your telephone call, Monsieur Poirot,
21:54I had some inquires made.
21:56We at the embassy have no knowledge of Count Foscatini.
22:02His manservant seems to think you do.
22:04Yes, he thought that he was working on behalf
22:06of the Italian government in some negotiations very delicate.
22:09No.
22:11What about this Mario Ascanio?
22:14Have you had any dealings with him?
22:16No.
22:18Have you had any dealings with him?
22:20Italian government does not deal with Masnadieri.
22:26So you do know who he is?
22:30Our embassy throughout the world
22:32try to keep as full a record as possible
22:35of known Masnadieri.
22:37Ascanio appears on several of them.
22:43What was he saying?
22:45About making a register of some Italian thing?
22:47The Masnada-Hastings is a very secret,
22:49ancient confederation of gangs spread across the world
22:51from Naples, where it started.
22:53Like this Mafia whatnot I read about?
22:55No. It is older than the Mafia.
23:07So what's the connection between the Masnada and Foscatini?
23:10I do not know, mon ami.
23:12Perhaps they came into possession of these papers
23:14which we are told so embarrassed the Italian government
23:16and Ascanio was the man deputed to sell them back.
23:19Just as the government deputed the so-called Foscatini to buy them.
23:23The embassy say they've never heard of him.
23:25What else would they say?
23:43I didn't think you'd have anything to do with me
23:45if you thought I was a servant.
23:47Oh!
23:48Well, would you?
23:53Probably not.
23:55But that's my fault.
23:58It doesn't matter whose fault it is.
24:00All right, nobody's fault.
24:03The way we're all brought up to think.
24:08Thank you, Hastings.
24:12Monsieur Poirot.
24:14Monsieur Graves.
24:16Any news?
24:17Very little, I fear.
24:19Ascanio is nowhere to be found.
24:21Oh.
24:23Oh, well, I'd best be off, Felicity.
24:26Goodbye, Monsieur Poirot.
24:28Monsieur Graves.
24:33I...
24:35I should never have left the count alone last night.
24:39I mean, I told you, didn't I, that I didn't trust Ascanio.
24:42But it is not your fault, Monsieur Graves.
24:45And I just upped snoffs to a music hall.
24:47You want to know, Edwin.
24:49You must dismiss it from your mind.
24:53Yes.
24:55Well...
24:58Goodbye, Captain Hastings.
25:00Goodbye, Monsieur Graves.
25:13I've discovered something rather interesting, Mr Poirot.
25:17What is that, Miss Lemon?
25:19Who was Count Foscatini?
25:23Comment?
25:25Well, there isn't any such person.
25:27What do you mean?
25:29I looked up Count Foscatini in your Almanac de Gotha,
25:32and there's no such title and never has been, as far as I could see.
25:38I didn't like to tell Mr Graves.
25:40He's quite upset enough already.
25:48You see, Hastings.
25:51In every case of murder, we spend so much time wondering who is the killer
25:54that we do not consider the identity of the victim.
25:59There's a Mr Derrida to see you, Mr Poirot.
26:03From the Italian Embassy.
26:06Show him in, Miss Lemon.
26:08This way, Mr Derrida.
26:21Il primo segretario told you that he does not deal with them as nada, I expect.
26:30Il primo segretario does everything by the rulebook.
26:39Ascanio came to the Embassy this morning,
26:43trying to sell some papers.
26:46What papers? What was in them?
26:49I don't know, but I'd like to.
26:52If Ascanio gets them back to Italy, we'll never know.
26:55Is that where he has gone?
26:58That is the only other place he could sell them.
27:01Has he left London already?
27:03He left his house.
27:05He said we could contact him at Jenkins Hotel in Bloomsbury.
27:36The third insurer is in his room, sir.
27:38The man in position round the back?
27:40Yes, sir.
28:05Open up! Police!
28:08Come on, open up!
28:14Thanks.
28:23Come on, man. Put your shoulder into it.
28:26Come on, man.
28:28Come on, man.
28:30Come on.
28:32Come on.
28:33Come on, man. Put your shoulder into it.
28:43Your name Ascanio?
28:44Yes.
28:45I want to ask you a few questions, Mr Ascanio.
28:47About what?
28:48Never mind the clever talk.
28:50Where's the money?
28:52What money?
28:53I see.
28:55Where were you between 8 and 9 o'clock yesterday evening?
28:58Between 8 and 9? Here.
29:00Here?
29:01Oh, yes.
29:02Well, we have reason to doubt that, Mr Ascanio.
29:05We have reason to believe that you were having dinner
29:07with a Count Foscatini at his flat in Addisland Court.
29:11I do not know any Count Foscatini.
29:17And you have never heard, perhaps, of Addisland Court?
29:20No. I've never heard of Addisland Court.
29:25Well, then, it's very coincidental
29:27that here's the remains of a piece of paper
29:29that's been burning in your grate
29:31that has the words Addisland Court printed on it.
29:49Well, that's that.
29:51On the contrary, mon ami,
29:53that is by no means that.
29:54Well, the case against him seems pretty strong to me.
29:57Indeed.
29:59Ascanio is blackmailing the Italian government.
30:02Yes.
30:03And Foscatini is employed by that government
30:05to pay money to retrieve incriminating papers from Ascanio.
30:08Right.
30:09So where is the motive for Ascanio to kill Foscatini?
30:12Well...
30:13And where is the money?
30:14Well...
30:15And another thing we must consider most carefully, Hastings,
30:17is the window in the dining room of Count Foscatini.
30:19The window? But it was fastened.
30:21Nobody could have got in or out that way.
30:23I noticed especially.
30:25Precisement.
30:29Has Ascanio confessed to the murder yet, Chief Inspector?
30:32Not yet.
30:33But we're quietly confident, you might say.
30:35Did he have any large sum of money on him?
30:37No.
30:38But his prints match the prints on one of the coffee cups
30:41and on one of the port glasses from Foscatini's dining room.
30:46And the motive of Ascanio?
30:48Oh, well.
30:49Got a bit of news there, Poirot.
30:51News?
30:52Senior Mario Ascanio is on our register of the Masnada.
30:56Go on.
30:58What do you mean, go on?
30:59You asked about the motive.
31:01Well, there you are.
31:02It's the usual Masnada stuff.
31:04Blackmail. Murder.
31:13What will you do now, Mr. Graves?
31:14Look for another situation?
31:16Yes, I shall have to, sir.
31:17And they're not easy to come by these days.
31:19No, indeed.
31:20Oh, Mr. Graves.
31:21On the night of the murder of Count Foscatini,
31:24these curtains in the dining room, they were not drawn.
31:30Not drawn, sir?
31:31No.
31:32No, they were open just as they are now.
31:37But...
31:38But I'm sure I drew them, sir.
31:41Yes, before I announced dinner, I drew them.
31:45Unless the Count drew them back himself.
31:48Why should he do that?
31:51Perhaps he wanted to see something outside.
32:00Perhaps.
32:15You know, I don't understand this case at all.
32:17No, it is a puzzle, Hastings.
32:24Hastings, come here for a moment, please.
32:29What is it?
32:30Look, I raise my right hand, yes?
32:32Yes.
32:33Good. Now tell me, what do you see in the mirror?
32:35What do you mean, what do I see in the mirror?
32:37Just describe to me what you see, Hastings.
32:39You're lifting your hand.
32:40Good. Which hand?
32:41Your right hand.
32:42It does not appear to you that I'm lifting my left?
32:44No.
32:45Be my reflection, Hastings.
32:49Now, which hand are you raising as I raise my right?
32:52I see what you mean.
32:53I never thought about that.
32:57It's really odd, isn't it?
32:58We have been looking at this case as if in a mirror, Hastings.
33:02We have seen everything the wrong way round.
33:05In what way?
33:07Be so good as to collect the Chief Inspector's job
33:09and meet me at Addie's Land Court at three o'clock.
33:11Be so good as to collect the Chief Inspector's job
33:13and meet me at Addie's Land Court at three o'clock.
33:15But, Poirot...
33:28I'm not used to people calling unexpectedly.
33:31I usually send for them.
33:34There is one question I have to ask you, Monsieur Vizzini.
33:37A question?
33:39A glass of wine?
33:41No.
33:42Merci.
33:45The man who calls himself Count Foscatini,
33:48with what was he blackmailing you?
33:56Foscatini had letters that would ruin me
33:59if their contents became known to certain people.
34:03I sent one of my massenadiere, Ascanio, to buy paper.
34:07Ascanio to buy back the letters.
34:10Ascanio got the letters
34:12and then decided to betray me
34:14and go into business on his own account.
34:18He killed Foscatini
34:20and made off with the letters and the money.
34:26You have not answered my question.
34:28No.
34:36The letters contain certain...
34:39information?
34:45Very well.
34:47They contain proof that I was giving financial support
34:50to several anti-fascist organizations.
34:55But assuredly, that would cause you no harm in this country.
34:58My dear Signor Perlo,
35:00several of my business interests would have been destroyed overnight.
35:04Signor Elissos, Montecarsio Capitano e Stinco Emmaus,
35:08he is anxious to please Papa Mussolini.
35:14He will close me down without a second thought.
35:17I can put your mind at rest on that point, Monsieur Vizzini.
35:20The letters, they have been destroyed.
35:23Ascanio has burned them.
35:24And as for your money, Ascanio does not have it.
35:28And it is not in the apartment of Count Foscatini.
35:32Perhaps there is some hiding place of which you know where Foscatini...
35:36Hiding place?
35:39No, no, no.
35:41There is, however, one point about which you are totally mistaken.
35:45Ascanio did not kill Count Foscatini.
36:11There is only one place it can be.
36:15Perhaps.
36:41When I said that we had been looking at this case the wrong way round,
36:45it was because I had been forced suddenly to think about the victim.
36:50And as soon as I did so,
36:52I apprehended that the only way that this case made any sense to me at all
36:57was that if Foscatini was the blackmailer.
37:01Are you trying to tell me that I am the blackmailer?
37:04No.
37:05What I meant was that if Foscatini was the blackmailer.
37:09Are you trying to tell us that Foscatini was a blackmailer too?
37:13Not too, Chief Inspector.
37:15Foscatini was the blackmailer.
37:18What do you mean?
37:20The crucial point, as I suspected from the start,
37:25is the dinner that came down from the kitchens above
37:27and was served at this table on the evening of the 6th of May.
37:30Do you remember what that meal consisted, Hastings?
37:32Well, I know there was some soup.
37:36Flat ten.
37:38Order for two from the a la carte menu sent down by Lyft.
37:42Soup julienne, filet de sole normand,
37:45tuna dough of beef and a rice souffle.
37:48There were not wrong with my food, you know.
37:51And what did we find left on the table?
37:54Two coffee cups, both with the remains of black coffee.
37:57A dish of fruit.
37:59Nobody's used their dessert plates, though.
38:02And two glasses, both with the remains of port.
38:06Well done, Hastings.
38:08But you see, Foscatini, he did not eat any dinner.
38:13I beg your pardon?
38:16The report of the post-mortem from the pathologist
38:18revealed that the stomach, it was quite empty.
38:22So, let us suppose
38:25that Ascanio made a visit to Addis-Lancourt, to this apartment,
38:29only the one time.
38:30That would have been the day before the murder.
38:33You remember what Monsieur Graves told to us?
38:36I'm here to see Count Foscatini.
38:38What name shall I say, sir?
38:40Mario Ascanio. He's expecting me.
38:42I showed him in, although the count hadn't said he was coming.
38:45I'd like to order lunch for two, flat ten.
38:48I know they had lunch, because I heard the count order it.
38:52Signor Ascanio seemed to have something in his case
38:56which he was offering the count.
38:57I'm not really sure, but I think he was demanding money for it.
39:01But if Ascanio didn't come here that night, who did?
39:05Who ate the dinner?
39:07The question answers itself, does it not, Chief Inspector?
39:09Who told us of the second visit of Ascanio?
39:12Graves, the servant.
39:15I was suspicious when I saw that the victim
39:18had replaced most carefully the telephone receiver.
39:21I knew when I saw that the curtains
39:25they were not closed.
39:27But what had the curtains got to do with it?
39:29Count Foscatini was already dead, Madame,
39:32by the time Monsieur Graves ordered the dinner.
39:34The count told me the same gentleman
39:37would be coming to dinner this evening.
39:39I served them dinner, and after I brought in the port,
39:42the count told me I could have the rest of the evening off.
39:45They went into the study, and I went out.
39:55There was only one person who could have killed Count Foscatini.
39:59Monsieur Graves.
40:02What he told us about the second visit was all lies.
40:06In the same way he deceived us about his position,
40:09he deceived us about the events of that night.
40:15And then, in order to mislead us,
40:17our Monsieur Graves alters the clock before he smashes it,
40:20and then he had to eat both dinners himself.
40:22Of course, he did not think to close the curtains.
40:25But if he ate both the dinners,
40:28how come Ascanio's fingerprints were on the glass and coffee cup?
40:31He kept them back from when Ascanio really came to lunch on the previous day.
40:35But why would he want to kill his master?
40:38For the cash his master got from Ascanio, that's why.
40:42He'll have enough money to go anywhere he wants.
40:48Let's hope we're not too late.
40:53Sergeant Beddows,
40:55get an immediate watch put on all ports to one Edwin Graves.
40:59Yes, that's right, the servant.
41:02And aerodromes.
41:04Wanted for the murder of Count Foscatini.
41:07Wait a minute.
41:09He's got his boat.
41:11Boat? Where?
41:13Wait a minute.
41:15Poirot, you remember the photograph.
41:17Oh, very true.
41:19Where was it?
41:20Fantasia Felice.
41:22Where on earth did he keep it?
41:24Chichester.
41:25What?
41:27That's what it said, Fantasia Felice, Chichester.
41:44This must be where it is hidden.
41:51I hope you're right about this, Captain Hastings.
41:54It's the other way.
41:56I know, it was Chichester.
42:10We've told the local police that we're standing by.
42:13I can't see anyone.
42:15I've told them to stay well hidden.
42:21That's definitely the boat.
42:24And there's an Eliso Freccio parked right next to it.
42:30Look.
42:31Hello.
42:33Graves' fancy woman?
42:35Well, she's heading for the boat.
42:39Poor Miss Lemon.
42:40Oh, my Lord.
42:42I'd forgotten about Miss Lemon.
42:46Now what?
42:51You'd better go on board.
43:00Where is my money?
43:03All right, all right, what's going on?
43:16All we have to find now is the money.
43:17And Graves.
43:21Hey!
43:23That's him!
43:25Stop him! Stop him!
43:42What's going on here?
43:51Stop him! Stop him!
43:57Hey, watch out!
44:21Stop him!
44:39Stop him!
44:50Stop him!
45:15Hold him!
45:16Come on, get after him!
45:18You swine!
45:21That's for Miss Lemon.
45:26Come on, give us your hand.
45:28Come on, you.
45:29Out you come.
45:35Edwin Graves, I'm arresting you on a charge of murder.
45:39Murder?
45:41He was nothing but a bloody blackmailer.
45:44Take him away.
45:46Monsieur Poirot.
45:54Sir!
45:56Hey!
45:57It's my money!
46:01No.
46:02It's evidence.
46:06Take Mrs. Graves to the car.
46:08Sir.
46:15I'm dreadfully sorry about your car, Mr. Vizzini.
46:18My car?
46:22No.
46:24It's your car.
46:26My car?
46:28I was on my way to deliver it when...
46:39If Vizzini thinks I'm paying him for that wreck,
46:42I'll tell the bank to stop payment.
46:44So it wasn't Graves' boat at all?
46:47No, Chief Inspector.
46:48It was another piece of self-aggrandizement from Monsieur Graves.
46:51No, it was not his. It belonged to his master.
46:54The Fantasia Felice?
46:55No, Hastings. The Fantasia Felice.
46:58The Happy Dream.
47:01The Happy Dream?
47:04I shall not forgive Monsieur Graves, Hastings.
47:08He, a married man,
47:10in the cold blood,
47:11used poor Miss Lemon to gain access to Poirot.
47:14And to plant into our minds the story ridiculous
47:16of his master working for the Italian government.
47:23I'll talk to Miss Lemon, if you like.
47:27No, thank you, Hastings.
47:30It is the duty of Poirot.
47:45Yes, Mr. Poirot?
47:47Miss Lemon,
47:49Edwin has been arrested.
47:52Edwin?
47:54Yes, Monsieur Graves.
47:56Good.
47:57It's about time.
48:02Miss Lemon.
48:04Do you know what he was going to do?
48:07No.
48:09I don't know.
48:10But do you know what he was going to do?
48:13No.
48:14He was going to have to move out of Count Foscatini's flat.
48:19So he was going to have the Count's cat destroyed.
48:23Couldn't be bothered to find a home for it.

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08/02/2024