THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES

THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES
AGATHA CHRISTIE
CONTENTS
I. I GO TO STYLES
II. THE 16TH AND 17TH OF JULY
III. THE NIGHT OF THE TRAGEDY
IV. POIROT INVESTIGATES
V. "IT ISN'T STRYCHNINE, IS IT?"
VI. THE INQUEST
VII. POIROT PAYS HIS DEBTS
VIII. FRESH SUSPICIONS
IX. DR. BAUERSTEIN
X. THE ARREST
XI. THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION
XII. THE LAST LINK
XIII. POIROT EXPLAINS
CHAPTER I. I GO TO STYLES
The intense interest aroused in the public by what was known at
the time as "The Styles Case" has now somewhat subsided.
Nevertheless, in view of the world-wide notoriety which attended
it, I have been asked, both by my friend Poirot and the family
themselves, to write an account of the whole story. This, we
trust, will effectually silence the sensational rumours which
still persist.
I will therefore briefly set down the circumstances which led to
my being connected with the affair.
I had been invalided home from the Front; and, after spending
some months in a rather depressing Convalescent Home, was given a
month's sick leave. Having no near relations or friends, I was
trying to make up my mind what to do, when I ran across John
Cavendish. I had seen very little of him for some years.
Indeed, I had never known him particularly well. He was a good
fifteen years my senior, for one thing, though he hardly looked
his forty-five years. As a boy, though, I had often stayed at
Styles, his mother's place in Essex.
We had a good yarn about old times, and it ended in his inviting
me down to Styles to spend my leave there.
"The mater will be delighted to see you again--after all those
years," he added.
"Your mother keeps well?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. I suppose you know that she has married again?"
I am afraid I showed my surprise rather plainly. Mrs. Cavendish,
who had married John's father when he was a widower with two
sons, had been a handsome woman of middle-age as I remembered
her. She certainly could not be a day less than seventy now. I
recalled her as an energetic, autocratic personality, somewhat
inclined to charitable and social notoriety, with a fondness for
opening bazaars and playing the Lady Bountiful. She was a most
generous woman, and possessed a considerable fortune of her own.
Their country-place, Styles Court, had been purchased by Mr.
Cavendish early in their married life. He had been completely
under his wife's ascendancy, so much so that, on dying, he left
the place to her for her lifetime, as well as the larger part of
his income; an arrangement that was distinctly unfair to his two
sons. Their step-mother, however, had always been most generous
to them; indeed, they were so young at the time of their father's
remarriage that they always thought of her as their own mother.
Lawrence, the younger, had been a delicate youth. He had
qualified as a doctor but early relinquished the profession of
medicine, and lived at home while pursuing literary ambitions;
though his verses never had any marked success.
John practiced for some time as a barrister, but had finally
settled down to the more congenial life of a country squire. He
had married two years ago, and had taken his wife to live at
Styles, though I entertained a shrewd suspicion that he would
have preferred his mother to increase his allowance, which would
have enabled him to have a home of his own. Mrs. Cavendish,
however, was a lady who liked to make her own plans, and expected
other people to fall in with them, and in this case she certainly
had the whip hand, namely: the purse strings.
John noticed my surprise at the news of his mother's remarriage
and smiled rather ruefully.
"Rotten little bounder too!" he said savagely. "I can tell you,
Hastings, it's making life jolly difficult for us. As for
Evie--you remember Evie?"
"No."
"Oh, I suppose she was after your time. She's the mater's
factotum, companion, Jack of all trades! A great sport--old Evie!
Not precisely young and beautiful, but as game as they make
them."
"You were going to say----?"
"Oh, this fellow! He turned up from nowhere, on the pretext of
being a second cousin or something of Evie's, though she didn't
seem particularly keen to acknowledge the relationship. The
fellow is an absolute outsider, anyone can see that. He's got a
great black beard, and wears patent leather boots in all
weathers! But the mater cottoned to him at once, took him on as
secretary--you know how she's always running a hundred
societies?"
I nodded.
"Well, of course the war has turned the hundreds into thousands.
No doubt the fellow was very useful to her. But you could have
knocked us all down with a feather when, three months ago, she
suddenly announced that she and Alfred were engaged! The fellow
must be at least twenty years younger than she is! It's simply
bare-faced fortune hunting; but there you are--she is her own
mistress, and she's married him."
"It must be a difficult situation for you all."
"Difficult! It's damnable!"
Thus it came about that, three days later, I descended from the
train at Styles St. Mary, an absurd little station, with no
apparent reason for existence, perched up in the midst of green
fields and country lanes. John Cavendish was waiting on the
platform, and piloted me out to the car.
"Got a drop or two of petrol still, you see," he remarked.
"Mainly owing to the mater's activities."
The village of Styles St. Mary was situated about two miles from
the little station, and Styles Court lay a mile the other side of
it. It was a still, warm day in early July. As one looked out
over the flat Essex country, lying so green and peaceful under
the afternoon sun, it seemed almost impossible to believe that,
not so very far away, a great war was running its appointed
course. I felt I had suddenly strayed into another world. As we
turned in at the lodge gates, John said:
"I'm afraid you'll find it very quiet down here, Hastings."
"My dear fellow, that's just what I want."
"Oh, it's pleasant enough if you want to lead the idle life. I
drill with the volunteers twice a week, and lend a hand at the
farms. My wife works regularly 'on the land'. She is up at five
every morning to milk, and keeps at it steadily until lunchtime.
It's a jolly good life taking it all round--if it weren't for
that fellow Alfred Inglethorp!" He checked the car suddenly, and
glanced at his watch. "I wonder if we've time to pick up
Cynthia. No, she'll have started from the hospital by now."
"Cynthia! That's not your wife?"
"No, Cynthia is a protegee of my mother's, the daughter of an old
schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor. He came
a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless. My
mother came to the rescue, and Cynthia has been with us nearly
two years now. She works in the Red Cross Hospital at
Tadminster, seven miles away."
As he spoke the last words, we drew up in front of the fine old
house. A lady in a stout tweed skirt, who was bending over a
flower bed, straightened herself at our approach.
"Hullo, Evie, here's our wounded hero! Mr. Hastings--Miss
Howard."
Miss Howard shook hands with a hearty, almost painful, grip. I
had an impression of very blue eyes in a sunburnt face. She was
a pleasant-looking woman of about forty, with a deep voice,
almost manly in its stentorian tones, and had a large sensible
square body, with feet to match--these last encased in good thick
boots. Her conversation, I soon found, was couched in the
telegraphic style.
"Weeds grow like house afire. Can't keep even with 'em. Shall
press you in. Better be careful."
"I'm sure I shall be only too delighted to make myself useful," I
responded.
"Don't say it. Never does. Wish you hadn't later."
"You're a cynic, Evie," said John, laughing. "Where's tea
to-day--inside or out?"
"Out. Too fine a day to be cooped up in the house."
"Come on then, you've done enough gardening for to-day. 'The
labourer is worthy of his hire', you know. Come and be
refreshed."
"Well," said Miss Howard, drawing off her gardening gloves, "I'm
inclined to agree with you."
She led the way round the house to where tea was spread under the
shade of a large sycamore.
A figure rose from one of the basket chairs, and came a few steps
to meet us.
"My wife, Hastings," said John.
I shall never forget my first sight of Mary Cavendish. Her tall,
slender form, outlined against the bright light; the vivid sense
of slumbering fire that seemed to find expression only in those
wonderful tawny eyes of hers, remarkable eyes, different from any
other woman's that I have ever known; the intense power of
stillness she possessed, which nevertheless conveyed the
impression of a wild untamed spirit in an exquisitely civilised
body--all these things are burnt into my memory. I shall never
forget them.
She greeted me with a few words of pleasant welcome in a low
clear voice, and I sank into a basket chair feeling distinctly
glad that I had accepted John's invitation. Mrs. Cavendish gave
me some tea, and her few quiet remarks heightened my first
impression of her as a thoroughly fascinating woman. An
appreciative listener is always stimulating, and I described, in
a humorous manner, certain incidents of my Convalescent Home, in
a way which, I flatter myself, greatly amused my hostess. John,
of course, good fellow though he is, could hardly be called a
brilliant conversationalist.
At that moment a well remembered voice floated through the open
French window near at hand:
"Then you'll write to the Princess after tea, Alfred? I'll write
to Lady Tadminster for the second day, myself. Or shall we wait
until we hear from the Princess? In case of a refusal, Lady
Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the
second. Then there's the Duchess--about the school fete."
There was the murmur of a man's voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp's
rose in reply:
"Yes, certainly. After tea will do quite well. You are so
thoughtful, Alfred dear."
The French window swung open a little wider, and a handsome
white-haired old lady, with a somewhat masterful cast of
features, stepped out of it on to the lawn. A man followed her,
a suggestion of deference in his manner.
Mrs. Inglethorp greeted me with effusion.
"Why, if it isn't too delightful to see you again, Mr. Hastings,
after all these years. Alfred, darling, Mr. Hastings--my
husband."
I looked with some curiosity at "Alfred darling". He certainly
struck a rather alien note. I did not wonder at John objecting
to his beard. It was one of the longest and blackest I have ever
seen. He wore gold-rimmed pince-nez, and had a curious
impassivity of feature. It struck me that he might look natural
on a stage, but was strangely out of place in real life. His
voice was rather deep and unctuous. He placed a wooden hand in
mine and said:
"This is a pleasure, Mr. Hastings." Then, turning to his wife:
"Emily dearest, I think that cushion is a little damp."
She beamed fondly on him, as he substituted another with every
demonstration of the tenderest care. Strange infatuation of an
otherwise sensible woman!
With the presence of Mr. Inglethorp, a sense of constraint and
veiled hostility seemed to settle down upon the company. Miss
Howard, in particular, took no pains to conceal her feelings.
Mrs. Inglethorp, however, seemed to notice nothing unusual. Her
volubility, which I remembered of old, had lost nothing in the
intervening years, and she poured out a steady flood of
conversation, mainly on the subject of the forthcoming bazaar
which she was organizing and which was to take place shortly.
Occasionally she referred to her husband over a question of days
or dates. His watchful and attentive manner never varied. From
the very first I took a firm and rooted dislike to him, and I
flatter myself that my first judgments are usually fairly shrewd.
Presently Mrs. Inglethorp turned to give some instructions about
letters to Evelyn Howard, and her husband addressed me in his
painstaking voice:
"Is soldiering your regular profession, Mr. Hastings?"
"No, before the war I was in Lloyd's."
"And you will return there after it is over?"
"Perhaps. Either that or a fresh start altogether."
Mary Cavendish leant forward.
"What would you really choose as a profession, if you could just
consult your inclination?"
"Well, that depends."
"No secret hobby?" she asked. "Tell me--you're drawn to
something? Every one is--usually something absurd."
"You'll laugh at me."
She smiled.
"Perhaps."
"Well, I've always had a secret hankering to be a detective!"
"The real thing--Scotland Yard? Or Sherlock Holmes?"
"Oh, Sherlock Holmes by all means. But really, seriously, I am
awfully drawn to it. I came across a man in Belgium once, a very
famous detective, and he quite inflamed me. He was a marvellous
little fellow. He used to say that all good detective work was a
mere matter of method. My system is based on his--though of
course I have progressed rather further. He was a funny little
man, a great dandy, but wonderfully clever."
"Like a good detective story myself," remarked Miss Howard.
"Lots of nonsense written, though. Criminal discovered in last
chapter. Every one dumbfounded. Real crime--you'd know at
once."
"There have been a great number of undiscovered crimes," I
argued.
"Don't mean the police, but the people that are right in it. The
family. You couldn't really hoodwink them. They'd know."
"Then," I said, much amused, "you think that if you were mixed up
in a crime, say a murder, you'd be able to spot the murderer
right off?"
"Of course I should. Mightn't be able to prove it to a pack of
lawyers. But I'm certain I'd know. I'd feel it in my fingertips
if he came near me."
"It might be a 'she,' " I suggested.
"Might. But murder's a violent crime. Associate it more with a
man."
"Not in a case of poisoning." Mrs. Cavendish's clear voice
startled me. "Dr. Bauerstein was saying yesterday that, owing to
the general ignorance of the more uncommon poisons among the
medical profession, there were probably countless cases of
poisoning quite unsuspected."
"Why, Mary, what a gruesome conversation!" cried Mrs. Inglethorp.
"It makes me feel as if a goose were walking over my grave. Oh,
there's Cynthia!"
A young girl in V. A. D. uniform ran lightly across the lawn.
"Why, Cynthia, you are late to-day. This is Mr. Hastings-- Miss
Murdoch."
Cynthia Murdoch was a fresh-looking young creature, full of life
and vigour. She tossed off her little V. A. D. cap, and I
admired the great loose waves of her auburn hair, and the
smallness and whiteness of the hand she held out to claim her
tea. With dark eyes and eyelashes she would have been a beauty.
She flung herself down on the ground beside John, and as I handed
her a plate of sandwiches she smiled up at me.
"Sit down here on the grass, do. It's ever so much nicer."
I dropped down obediently.
"You work at Tadminster, don't you, Miss Murdoch?"
She nodded.
"For my sins."
"Do they bully you, then?" I asked, smiling.
"I should like to see them!" cried Cynthia with dignity.
"I have got a cousin who is nursing," I remarked. "And she is
terrified of 'Sisters'."
"I don't wonder. Sisters *ARE, you know, Mr. Hastings. They
simp-ly *ARE! You've no idea! But I'm not a nurse, thank heaven,
I work in the dispensary."
"How many people do you poison?" I asked, smiling.
Cynthia smiled too.
"Oh, hundreds!" she said.
"Cynthia," called Mrs. Inglethorp, "do you think you could write
a few notes for me?"
"Certainly, Aunt Emily."
She jumped up promptly, and something in her manner reminded me
that her position was a dependent one, and that Mrs. Inglethorp,
kind as she might be in the main, did not allow her to forget it.
My hostess turned to me.
"John will show you your room. Supper is at half-past seven. We
have given up late dinner for some time now. Lady Tadminster,
our Member's wife--she was the late Lord Abbotsbury's
daughter--does the same. She agrees with me that one must set an
example of economy. We are quite a war household; nothing is
wasted here--every scrap of waste paper, even, is saved and sent
away in sacks."
I expressed my appreciation, and John took me into the house and
up the broad staircase, which forked right and left half-way to
different wings of the building. My room was in the left wing,
and looked out over the park.
John left me, and a few minutes later I saw him from my window
walking slowly across the grass arm in arm with Cynthia Murdoch.
I heard Mrs. Inglethorp call "Cynthia" impatiently, and the girl
started and ran back to the house. At the same moment, a man
stepped out from the shadow of a tree and walked slowly in the
same direction. He looked about forty, very dark with a
melancholy clean-shaven face. Some violent emotion seemed to be
mastering him. He looked up at my window as he passed, and I
recognized him, though he had changed much in the fifteen years
that had elapsed since we last met. It was John's younger
brother, Lawrence Cavendish. I wondered what it was that had
brought that singular expression to his face.
Then I dismissed him from my mind, and returned to the
contemplation of my own affairs.
The evening passed pleasantly enough; and I dreamed that night of
that enigmatical woman, Mary Cavendish.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and I was full of the
anticipation of a delightful visit.
I did not see Mrs. Cavendish until lunch-time, when she
volunteered to take me for a walk, and we spent a charming
afternoon roaming in the woods, returning to the house about
five.
As we entered the large hall, John beckoned us both into the
smoking-room. I saw at once by his face that something
disturbing had occurred. We followed him in, and he shut the
door after us.
"Look here, Mary, there's the deuce of a mess. Evie's had a row
with Alfred Inglethorp, and she's off."
"Evie? Off?"
John nodded gloomily.
"Yes; you see she went to the mater, and--Oh, here's Evie
herself."
Miss Howard entered. Her lips were set grimly together, and she
carried a small suit-case. She looked excited and determined,
and slightly on the defensive.
"At any rate," she burst out, "I've spoken my mind!"
"My dear Evelyn," cried Mrs. Cavendish, "this can't be true!"
Miss Howard nodded grimly.
"True enough! Afraid I said some things to Emily she won't forget
or forgive in a hurry. Don't mind if they've only sunk in a bit.
Probably water off a duck's back, though. I said right out:
'You're an old woman, Emily, and there's no fool like an old
fool. The man's twenty years younger than you, and don't you
fool yourself as to what he married you for. Money! Well, don't
let him have too much of it. Farmer Raikes has got a very pretty
young wife. Just ask your Alfred how much time he spends over
there.' She was very angry. Natural! I went on, 'I'm going to
warn you, whether you like it or not. That man would as soon
murder you in your bed as look at you. He's a bad lot. You can
say what you like to me, but remember what I've told you. He's a
bad lot!' "
"What did she say?"
Miss Howard made an extremely expressive grimace.
" 'Darling Alfred'--'dearest Alfred'--'wicked calumnies'
--'wicked lies'--'wicked woman'--to accuse her 'dear husband'!
The sooner I left her house the better. So I'm off."
"But not now?"
"This minute!"
For a moment we sat and stared at her. Finally John Cavendish,
finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the
trains. His wife followed him, murmuring something about
persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
As she left the room, Miss Howard's face changed. She leant
towards me eagerly.
"Mr. Hastings, you're honest. I can trust you?"
I was a little startled. She laid her hand on my arm, and sank
her voice to a whisper.
"Look after her, Mr. Hastings. My poor Emily. They're a lot of
sharks--all of them. Oh, I know what I'm talking about. There
isn't one of them that's not hard up and trying to get money out
of her. I've protected her as much as I could. Now I'm out of
the way, they'll impose upon her."
"Of course, Miss Howard," I said, "I'll do everything I can, but
I'm sure you're excited and overwrought."
She interrupted me by slowly shaking her forefinger.
"Young man, trust me. I've lived in the world rather longer than
you have. All I ask you is to keep your eyes open. You'll see
what I mean."
The throb of the motor came through the open window, and Miss
Howard rose and moved to the door. John's voice sounded outside.
With her hand on the handle, she turned her head over her
shoulder, and beckoned to me.
"Above all, Mr. Hastings, watch that devil--her husband!"
There was no time for more. Miss Howard was swallowed up in an
eager chorus of protests and good-byes. The Inglethorps did not
appear.
As the motor drove away, Mrs. Cavendish suddenly detached herself
from the group, and moved across the drive to the lawn to meet a
tall bearded man who had been evidently making for the house.
The colour rose in her cheeks as she held out her hand to him.
"Who is that?" I asked sharply, for instinctively I distrusted
the man.
"That's Dr. Bauerstein," said John shortly.
"And who is Dr. Bauerstein?"
"He's staying in the village doing a rest cure, after a bad
nervous breakdown. He's a London specialist; a very clever
man--one of the greatest living experts on poisons, I believe."
"And he's a great friend of Mary's," put in Cynthia, the
irrepressible.
John Cavendish frowned and changed the subject.
"Come for a stroll, Hastings. This has been a most rotten
business. She always had a rough tongue, but there is no
stauncher friend in England than Evelyn Howard."
He took the path through the plantation, and we walked down to
the village through the woods which bordered one side of the
estate.
As we passed through one of the gates on our way home again, a
pretty young woman of gipsy type coming in the opposite direction
bowed and smiled.
"That's a pretty girl," I remarked appreciatively.
John's face hardened.
"That is Mrs. Raikes."
"The one that Miss Howard----"
"Exactly," said John, with rather unnecessary abruptness.
I thought of the white-haired old lady in the big house, and that
vivid wicked little face that had just smiled into ours, and a
vague chill of foreboding crept over me. I brushed it aside.
"Styles is really a glorious old place," I said to John.
He nodded rather gloomily.
"Yes, it's a fine property. It'll be mine some day--should be
mine now by rights, if my father had only made a decent will.
And then I shouldn't be so damned hard up as I am now."
"Hard up, are you?"
"My dear Hastings, I don't mind telling you that I'm at my wit's
end for money."
"Couldn't your brother help you?"
"Lawrence? He's gone through every penny he ever had, publishing
rotten verses in fancy bindings. No, we're an impecunious lot.
My mother's always been awfully good to us, I must say. That is,
up to now. Since her marriage, of course----" he broke off,
frowning.
For the first time I felt that, with Evelyn Howard, something
indefinable had gone from the atmosphere. Her presence had spelt
security. Now that security was removed--and the air seemed rife
with suspicion. The sinister face of Dr. Bauerstein recurred to
me unpleasantly. A vague suspicion of every one and everything
filled my mind. Just for a moment I had a premonition of
approaching evil.
CHAPTER II. THE 16TH AND 17TH OF JULY
I had arrived at Styles on the 5th of July. I come now to the
events of the 16th and 17th of that month. For the convenience
of the reader I will recapitulate the incidents of those days in
as exact a manner as possible. They were elicited subsequently
at the trial by a process of long and tedious cross-examinations.
I received a letter from Evelyn Howard a couple of days after her
departure, telling me she was working as a nurse at the big
hospital in Middlingham, a manufacturing town some fifteen miles
away, and begging me to let her know if Mrs. Inglethorp should
show any wish to be reconciled.
The only fly in the ointment of my peaceful days was Mrs.
Cavendish's extraordinary, and, for my part, unaccountable
preference for the society of Dr. Bauerstein. What she saw in
the man I cannot imagine, but she was always asking him up to the
house, and often went off for long expeditions with him. I must
confess that I was quite unable to see his attraction.
The 16th of July fell on a Monday. It was a day of turmoil. The
famous bazaar had taken place on Saturday, and an entertainment,
in connection with the same charity, at which Mrs. Inglethorp was
to recite a War poem, was to be held that night. We were all
busy during the morning arranging and decorating the Hall in the
village where it was to take place. We had a late luncheon and
spent the afternoon resting in the garden. I noticed that John's
manner was somewhat unusual. He seemed very excited and
restless.
After tea, Mrs. Inglethorp went to lie down to rest before her
efforts in the evening and I challenged Mary Cavendish to a
single at tennis.
About a quarter to seven, Mrs. Inglethorp called us that we
should be late as supper was early that night. We had rather a
scramble to get ready in time; and before the meal was over the
motor was waiting at the door.
The entertainment was a great success, Mrs. Inglethorp's
recitation receiving tremendous applause. There were also some
tableaux in which Cynthia took part. She did not return with us,
having been asked to a supper party, and to remain the night with
some friends who had been acting with her in the tableaux.
The following morning, Mrs. Inglethorp stayed in bed to
breakfast, as she was rather overtired; but she appeared in her
briskest mood about 12.30, and swept Lawrence and myself off to a
luncheon party.
"Such a charming invitation from Mrs. Rolleston. Lady
Tadminster's sister, you know. The Rollestons came over with the
Conqueror--one of our oldest families."
Mary had excused herself on the plea of an engagement with Dr.
Bauerstein.
We had a pleasant luncheon, and as we drove away Lawrence
suggested that we should return by Tadminster, which was barely a
mile out of our way, and pay a visit to Cynthia in her
dispensary. Mrs. Inglethorp replied that this was an excellent
idea, but as she had several letters to write she would drop us
there, and we could come back with Cynthia in the pony-trap.
We were detained under suspicion by the hospital porter, until
Cynthia appeared to vouch for us, looking very cool and sweet in
her long white overall. She took us up to her sanctum, and
introduced us to her fellow dispenser, a rather awe-inspiring
individual, whom Cynthia cheerily addressed as "Nibs."
"What a lot of bottles!" I exclaimed, as my eye travelled round
the small room. "Do you really know what's in them all?"
"Say something original," groaned Cynthia. "Every single person
who comes up here says that. We are really thinking of bestowing
a prize on the first individual who does *NOT say: 'What a lot of
bottles!' And I know the next thing you're going to say is: 'How
many people have you poisoned?' "
I pleaded guilty with a laugh.
"If you people only knew how fatally easy it is to poison some
one by mistake, you wouldn't joke about it. Come on, let's have
tea. We've got all sorts of secret stories in that cupboard.
No, Lawrence--that's the poison cupboard. The big
cupboard--that's right."
We had a very cheery tea, and assisted Cynthia to wash up
afterwards. We had just put away the last tea-spoon when a knock
came at the door. The countenances of Cynthia and Nibs were
suddenly petrified into a stern and forbidding expression.
"Come in," said Cynthia, in a sharp professional tone.
A young and rather scared looking nurse appeared with a bottle
which she proffered to Nibs, who waved her towards Cynthia with
the somewhat enigmatical remark:
"_I_'m not really here to-day."
Cynthia took the bottle and examined it with the severity of a
judge.
"This should have been sent up this morning."
"Sister is very sorry. She forgot."
"Sister should read the rules outside the door."
I gathered from the little nurse's expression that there was not
the least likelihood of her having the hardihood to retail this
message to the dreaded "Sister".
"So now it can't be done until to-morrow," finished Cynthia.
"Don't you think you could possibly let us have it to-night?"
"Well," said Cynthia graciously, "we are very busy, but if we
have time it shall be done."
The little nurse withdrew, and Cynthia promptly took a jar from
the shelf, refilled the bottle, and placed it on the table
outside the door.
I laughed.
"Discipline must be maintained?"
"Exactly. Come out on our little balcony. You can see all the
outside wards there."
I followed Cynthia and her friend and they pointed out the
different wards to me. Lawrence remained behind, but after a few
moments Cynthia called to him over her shoulder to come and join
us. Then she looked at her watch.
"Nothing more to do, Nibs?"
"No."
"All right. Then we can lock up and go."
I had seen Lawrence in quite a different light that afternoon.
Compared to John, he was an astoundingly difficult person to get
to know. He was the opposite of his brother in almost every
respect, being unusually shy and reserved. Yet he had a certain
charm of manner, and I fancied that, if one really knew him well,
one could have a deep affection for him. I had always fancied
that his manner to Cynthia was rather constrained, and that she
on her side was inclined to be shy of him. But they were both
gay enough this afternoon, and chatted together like a couple of
children.
As we drove through the village, I remembered that I wanted some
stamps, so accordingly we pulled up at the post office.
As I came out again, I cannoned into a little man who was just
entering. I drew aside and apologised, when suddenly, with a
loud exclamation, he clasped me in his arms and kissed me warmly.
"Mon ami Hastings!" he cried. "It is indeed mon ami Hastings!"
"Poirot!" I exclaimed.
I turned to the pony-trap.
"This is a very pleasant meeting for me, Miss Cynthia. This is
my old friend, Monsieur Poirot, whom I have not seen for years."
"Oh, we know Monsieur Poirot," said Cynthia gaily. "But I had no
idea he was a friend of yours."
"Yes, indeed," said Poirot seriously. "I know Mademoiselle
Cynthia. It is by the charity of that good Mrs. Inglethorp that
I am here." Then, as I looked at him inquiringly: "Yes, my
friend, she had kindly extended hospitality to seven of my
countrypeople who, alas, are refugees from their native land. We
Belgians will always remember her with gratitude."
Poirot was an extraordinary looking little man. He was hardly
more than five feet, four inches, but carried himself with great
dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always
perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff
and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible.
I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a
bullet wound. Yet this quaint dandyfied little man who, I was
sorry to see, now limped badly, had been in his time one of the
most celebrated members of the Belgian police. As a detective,
his flair had been extraordinary, and he had achieved triumphs by
unravelling some of the most baffling cases of the day.
He pointed out to me the little house inhabited by him and his
fellow Belgians, and I promised to go and see him at an early
date. Then he raised his hat with a flourish to Cynthia, and we
drove away.
"He's a dear little man," said Cynthia. "I'd no idea you knew
him."
"You've been entertaining a celebrity unawares," I replied.
And, for the rest of the way home, I recited to them the various
exploits and triumphs of Hercule Poirot.
We arrived back in a very cheerful mood. As we entered the hall,
Mrs. Inglethorp came out of her boudoir. She looked flushed and
upset.
"Oh, it's you," she said.
"Is there anything the matter, Aunt Emily?" asked Cynthia.
"Certainly not," said Mrs. Inglethorp sharply. "What should
there be?" Then catching sight of Dorcas, the parlourmaid, going
into the dining-room, she called to her to bring some stamps into
the boudoir.
"Yes, m'm." The old servant hesitated, then added diffidently:
"Don't you think, m'm, you'd better get to bed? You're looking
very tired."
"Perhaps you're right, Dorcas--yes--no--not now. I've some
letters I must finish by post-time. Have you lighted the fire in
my room as I told you?"
"Yes, m'm."
"Then I'll go to bed directly after supper."
She went into the boudoir again, and Cynthia stared after her.
"Goodness gracious! I wonder what's up?" she said to Lawrence.
He did not seem to have heard her, for without a word he turned
on his heel and went out of the house.
I suggested a quick game of tennis before supper and, Cynthia
agreeing, I ran upstairs to fetch my racquet.
Mrs. Cavendish was coming down the stairs. It may have been my
fancy, but she, too, was looking odd and disturbed.
"Had a good walk with Dr. Bauerstein?" I asked, trying to appear
as indifferent as I could.
"I didn't go," she replied abruptly. "Where is Mrs. Inglethorp?"
"In the boudoir."
Her hand clenched itself on the banisters, then she seemed to
nerve herself for some encounter, and went rapidly past me down
the stairs across the hall to the boudoir, the door of which she
shut behind her.
As I ran out to the tennis court a few moments later, I had to
pass the open boudoir window, and was unable to help overhearing
the following scrap of dialogue. Mary Cavendish was saying in
the voice of a woman desperately controlling herself:
"Then you won't show it to me?"
To which Mrs. Inglethorp replied:
"My dear Mary, it has nothing to do with that matter."
"Then show it to me."
"I tell you it is not what you imagine. It does not concern you
in the least."
To which Mary Cavendish replied, with a rising bitterness:
"Of course, I might have known you would shield him."
Cynthia was waiting for me, and greeted me eagerly with:
"I say! There's been the most awful row! I've got it all out of
Dorcas."
"What kind of a row?"
"Between Aunt Emily and *HIM. I do hope she's found him out at
last!"
"Was Dorcas there, then?"
"Of course not. She 'happened to be near the door'. It was a
real old bust-up. I do wish I knew what it was all about."
I thought of Mrs. Raikes's gipsy face, and Evelyn Howard's
warnings, but wisely decided to hold my peace, whilst Cynthia
exhausted every possible hypothesis, and cheerfully hoped, "Aunt
Emily will send him away, and will never speak to him again."
I was anxious to get hold of John, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Evidently something very momentous had occurred that afternoon.
I tried to forget the few words I had overheard; but, do what I
would, I could not dismiss them altogether from my mind. What
was Mary Cavendish's concern in the matter?
Mr. Inglethorp was in the drawing-room when I came down to
supper. His face was impassive as ever, and the strange
unreality of the man struck me afresh.
Mrs. Inglethorp came down last. She still looked agitated, and
during the meal there was a somewhat constrained silence.
Inglethorp was unusually quiet. As a rule, he surrounded his
wife with little attentions, placing a cushion at her back, and
altogether playing the part of the devoted husband. Immediately
after supper, Mrs. Inglethorp retired to her boudoir again.
"Send my coffee in here, Mary," she called. "I've just five
minutes to catch the post."
Cynthia and I went and sat by the open window in the
drawing-room. Mary Cavendish brought our coffee to us. She
seemed excited.
"Do you young people want lights, or do you enjoy the twilight?"
she asked. "Will you take Mrs. Inglethorp her coffee, Cynthia? I
will pour it out."
"Do not trouble, Mary," said Inglethorp. "I will take it to
Emily." He poured it out, and went out of the room carrying it
carefully.
Lawrence followed him, and Mrs. Cavendish sat down by us.
We three sat for some time in silence. It was a glorious night,
hot and still. Mrs. Cavendish fanned herself gently with a palm
leaf.
"It's almost too hot," she murmured. "We shall have a
thunderstorm."
Alas, that these harmonious moments can never endure! My paradise
was rudely shattered by the sound of a well known, and heartily
disliked, voice in the hall.
"Dr. Bauerstein!" exclaimed Cynthia. "What a funny time to
come."
I glanced jealously at Mary Cavendish, but she seemed quite
undisturbed, the delicate pallor of her cheeks did not vary.
In a few moments, Alfred Inglethorp had ushered the doctor in,
the latter laughing, and protesting that he was in no fit state
for a drawing-room. In truth, he presented a sorry spectacle,
being literally plastered with mud.
"What have you been doing, doctor?" cried Mrs. Cavendish.
"I must make my apologies," said the doctor. "I did not really
mean to come in, but Mr. Inglethorp insisted."
"Well, Bauerstein, you are in a plight," said John, strolling in
from the hall. "Have some coffee, and tell us what you have been
up to."
"Thank you, I will." He laughed rather ruefully, as he described
how he had discovered a very rare species of fern in an
inaccessible place, and in his efforts to obtain it had lost his
footing, and slipped ignominiously into a neighbouring pond.
"The sun soon dried me off," he added, "but I'm afraid my
appearance is very disreputable."
At this juncture, Mrs. Inglethorp called to Cynthia from the
hall, and the girl ran out.
"Just carry up my despatch-case, will you, dear? I'm going to
bed."
The door into the hall was a wide one. I had risen when Cynthia
did, John was close by me. There were therefore three witnesses
who could swear that Mrs. Inglethorp was carrying her coffee, as
yet untasted, in her hand.
My evening was utterly and entirely spoilt by the presence of Dr.
Bauerstein. It seemed to me the man would never go. He rose at
last, however, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll walk down to the village with you," said Mr. Inglethorp.
"I must see our agent over those estate accounts." He turned to
John. "No one need sit up. I will take the latch-key."
CHAPTER III. THE NIGHT OF THE TRAGEDY
To make this part of my story clear, I append the following plan
of the first floor of Styles. The servants' rooms are reached
through the door B. They have no communication with the right
wing, where the Inglethorps' rooms were situated.
It seemed to be the middle of the night when I was awakened by
Lawrence Cavendish. He had a candle in his hand, and the
agitation of his face told me at once that something was
seriously wrong.
"What's the matter?" I asked, sitting up in bed, and trying to
collect my scattered thoughts.
"We are afraid my mother is very ill. She seems to be having
some kind of fit. Unfortunately she has locked herself in."
"I'll come at once."
I sprang out of bed; and, pulling on a dressing-gown, followed
Lawrence along the passage and the gallery to the right wing of
the house.
John Cavendish joined us, and one or two of the servants were
standing round in a state of awe-stricken excitement. Lawrence
turned to his brother.
"What do you think we had better do?"
Never, I thought, had his indecision of character been more
apparent.
John rattled the handle of Mrs. Inglethorp's door violently, but
with no effect. It was obviously locked or bolted on the inside.
The whole household was aroused by now. The most alarming sounds
were audible from the interior of the room. Clearly something
must be done.
"Try going through Mr. Inglethorp's room, sir," cried Dorcas.
"Oh, the poor mistress!"
Suddenly I realized that Alfred Inglethorp was not with us--that
he alone had given no sign of his presence. John opened the door
of his room. It was pitch dark, but Lawrence was following with
the candle, and by its feeble light we saw that the bed had not
been slept in, and that there was no sign of the room having been
occupied.
We went straight to the connecting door. That, too, was locked
or bolted on the inside. What was to be done?
"Oh, dear, sir," cried Dorcas, wringing her hands, "what ever
shall we do?"
"We must try and break the door in, I suppose. It'll be a tough
job, though. Here, let one of the maids go down and wake Baily
and tell him to go for Dr. Wilkins at once. Now then, we'll have
a try at the door. Half a moment, though, isn't there a door
into Miss Cynthia's rooms?"
"Yes, sir, but that's always bolted. It's never been undone."
"Well, we might just see."
He ran rapidly down the corridor to Cynthia's room. Mary
Cavendish was there, shaking the girl--who must have been an
unusually sound sleeper--and trying to wake her.
In a moment or two he was back.
"No good. That's bolted too. We must break in the door. I
think this one is a shade less solid than the one in the
passage."
We strained and heaved together. The framework of the door was
solid, and for a long time it resisted our efforts, but at last
we felt it give beneath our weight, and finally, with a
resounding crash, it was burst open.
We stumbled in together, Lawrence still holding his candle. Mrs.
Inglethorp was lying on the bed, her whole form agitated by
violent convulsions, in one of which she must have overturned the
table beside her. As we entered, however, her limbs relaxed, and
she fell back upon the pillows.
John strode across the room, and lit the gas. Turning to Annie,
one of the housemaids, he sent her downstairs to the dining-room
for brandy. Then he went across to his mother whilst I unbolted
the door that gave on the corridor.
I turned to Lawrence, to suggest that I had better leave them now
that there was no further need of my services, but the words were
frozen on my lips. Never have I seen such a ghastly look on any
man's face. He was white as chalk, the candle he held in his
shaking hand was sputtering onto the carpet, and his eyes,
petrified with terror, or some such kindred emotion, stared
fixedly over my head at a point on the further wall. It was as
though he had seen something that turned him to stone. I
instinctively followed the direction of his eyes, but I could see
nothing unusual. The still feebly flickering ashes in the grate,
and the row of prim ornaments on the mantelpiece, were surely
harmless enough.
The violence of Mrs. Inglethorp's attack seemed to be passing.
She was able to speak in short gasps.
"Better now--very sudden--stupid of me--to lock myself in."
A shadow fell on the bed and, looking up, I saw Mary Cavendish
standing near the door with her arm around Cynthia. She seemed
to be supporting the girl, who looked utterly dazed and unlike
herself. Her face was heavily flushed, and she yawned
repeatedly.
"Poor Cynthia is quite frightened," said Mrs. Cavendish in a low
clear voice. She herself, I noticed, was dressed in her white
land smock. Then it must be later than I thought. I saw that a
faint streak of daylight was showing through the curtains of the
windows, and that the clock on the mantelpiece pointed to close
upon five o'clock.
A strangled cry from the bed startled me. A fresh access of pain
seized the unfortunate old lady. The convulsions were of a
violence terrible to behold. Everything was confusion. We
thronged round her, powerless to help or alleviate. A final
convulsion lifted her from the bed, until she appeared to rest
upon her head and her heels, with her body arched in an
extraordinary manner. In vain Mary and John tried to administer
more brandy. The moments flew. Again the body arched itself in
that peculiar fashion.
At that moment, Dr. Bauerstein pushed his way authoritatively
into the room. For one instant he stopped dead, staring at the
figure on the bed, and, at the same instant, Mrs. Inglethorp
cried out in a strangled voice, her eyes fixed on the doctor:
"Alfred--Alfred----" Then she fell back motionless on the
pillows.
With a stride, the doctor reached the bed, and seizing her arms
worked them energetically, applying what I knew to be artificial
respiration. He issued a few short sharp orders to the servants.
An imperious wave of his hand drove us all to the door. We
watched him, fascinated, though I think we all knew in our hearts
that it was too late, and that nothing could be done now. I
could see by the expression on his face that he himself had
little hope.
Finally he abandoned his task, shaking his head gravely. At that
moment, we heard footsteps outside, and Dr. Wilkins, Mrs.
Inglethorp's own doctor, a portly, fussy little man, came
bustling in.
In a few words Dr. Bauerstein explained how he had happened to be
passing the lodge gates as the car came out, and had run up to
the house as fast as he could, whilst the car went on to fetch
Dr. Wilkins. With a faint gesture of the hand, he indicated the
figure on the bed.
"Ve--ry sad. Ve--ry sad," murmured Dr. Wilkins. "Poor dear
lady. Always did far too much--far too much--against my advice.
I warned her. Her heart was far from strong. 'Take it easy,' I
said to her, 'Take--it--easy'. But no--her zeal for good works
was too great. Nature rebelled. Na--ture-- re--belled."
Dr. Bauerstein, I noticed, was watching the local doctor
narrowly. He still kept his eyes fixed on him as he spoke.
"The convulsions were of a peculiar violence, Dr. Wilkins. I am
sorry you were not here in time to witness them. They were
quite--tetanic in character."
"Ah!" said Dr. Wilkins wisely.
"I should like to speak to you in private," said Dr. Bauerstein.
He turned to John. "You do not object?"
"Certainly not."
We all trooped out into the corridor, leaving the two doctors
alone, and I heard the key turned in the lock behind us.
We went slowly down the stairs. I was violently excited. I have
a certain talent for deduction, and Dr. Bauerstein's manner had
started a flock of wild surmises in my mind. Mary Cavendish laid
her hand upon my arm.
"What is it? Why did Dr. Bauerstein seem so--peculiar?"
I looked at her.
"Do you know what I think?"
"What?"
"Listen!" I looked round, the others were out of earshot. I
lowered my voice to a whisper. "I believe she has been poisoned!
I'm certain Dr. Bauerstein suspects it."
"*WHAT?" She shrank against the wall, the pupils of her eyes
dilating wildly. Then, with a sudden cry that startled me, she
cried out: "No, no--not that--not that!" And breaking from me,
fled up the stairs. I followed her, afraid that she was going to
faint. I found her leaning against the bannisters, deadly pale.
She waved me away impatiently.
"No, no--leave me. I'd rather be alone. Let me just be quiet
for a minute or two. Go down to the others."
I obeyed her reluctantly. John and Lawrence were in the
dining-room. I joined them. We were all silent, but I suppose I
voiced the thoughts of us all when I at last broke it by saying:
"Where is Mr. Inglethorp?"
John shook his head.
"He's not in the house."
Our eyes met. Where *WAS Alfred Inglethorp? His absence was
strange and inexplicable. I remembered Mrs. Inglethorp's dying
words. What lay beneath them? What more could she have told us,
if she had had time?
At last we heard the doctors descending the stairs. Dr. Wilkins
was looking important and excited, and trying to conceal an
inward exultation under a manner of decorous calm. Dr.
Bauerstein remained in the background, his grave bearded face
unchanged. Dr. Wilkins was the spokesman for the two. He
addressed himself to John:
"Mr. Cavendish, I should like your consent to a postmortem."
"Is that necessary?" asked John gravely. A spasm of pain crossed
his face.
"Absolutely," said Dr. Bauerstein.
"You mean by that----?"
"That neither Dr. Wilkins nor myself could give a death
certificate under the circumstances."
John bent his head.
"In that case, I have no alternative but to agree."
"Thank you," said Dr. Wilkins briskly. "We propose that it
should take place to-morrow night--or rather to-night." And he
glanced at the daylight. "Under the circumstances, I am afraid
an inquest can hardly be avoided--these formalities are
necessary, but I beg that you won't distress yourselves."
There was a pause, and then Dr. Bauerstein drew two keys from his
pocket, and handed them to John.
"These are the keys of the two rooms. I have locked them and, in
my opinion, they would be better kept locked for the present."
The doctors then departed.
I had been turning over an idea in my head, and I felt that the
moment had now come to broach it. Yet I was a little chary of
doing so. John, I knew, had a horror of any kind of publicity,
and was an easygoing optimist, who preferred never to meet
trouble half-way. It might be difficult to convince him of the
soundness of my plan. Lawrence, on the other hand, being less
conventional, and having more imagination, I felt I might count
upon as an ally. There was no doubt that the moment had come for
me to take the lead.
"John," I said, "I am going to ask you something."
"Well?"
"You remember my speaking of my friend Poirot? The Belgian who is
here? He has been a most famous detective."
"Yes."
"I want you to let me call him in--to investigate this matter."
"What--now? Before the post-mortem?"
"Yes, time is an advantage if--if--there has been foul play."
"Rubbish!" cried Lawrence angrily. "In my opinion the whole
thing is a mare's nest of Bauerstein's! Wilkins hadn't an idea of
such a thing, until Bauerstein put it into his head. But, like
all specialists, Bauerstein's got a bee in his bonnet. Poisons
are his hobby, so of course he sees them everywhere."
I confess that I was surprised by Lawrence's attitude. He was so
seldom vehement about anything.
John hesitated.
"I can't feel as you do, Lawrence," he said at last. "I'm
inclined to give Hastings a free hand, though I should prefer to
wait a bit. We don't want any unnecessary scandal."
"No, no," I cried eagerly, "you need have no fear of that.
Poirot is discretion itself."
"Very well, then, have it your own way. I leave it in your
hands. Though, if it is as we suspect, it seems a clear enough
case. God forgive me if I am wronging him!"
I looked at my watch. It was six o'clock. I determined to lose
no time.
Five minutes' delay, however, I allowed myself. I spent it in
ransacking the library until I discovered a medical book which
gave a description of strychnine poisoning.
CHAPTER IV. POIROT INVESTIGATES
The house which the Belgians occupied in the village was quite
close to the park gates. One could save time by taking a narrow
path through the long grass, which cut off the detours of the
winding drive. So I, accordingly, went that way. I had nearly
reached the lodge, when my attention was arrested by the running
figure of a man approaching me. It was Mr. Inglethorp. Where
had he been? How did he intend to explain his absence?
He accosted me eagerly.
"My God! This is terrible! My poor wife! I have only just heard."
"Where have you been?" I asked.
"Denby kept me late last night. It was one o'clock before we'd
finished. Then I found that I'd forgotten the latch-key after
all. I didn't want to arouse the household, so Denby gave me a
bed."
"How did you hear the news?" I asked.
"Wilkins knocked Denby up to tell him. My poor Emily! She was so
self-sacrificing--such a noble character. She over-taxed her
strength."
A wave of revulsion swept over me. What a consummate hypocrite
the man was!
"I must hurry on," I said, thankful that he did not ask me
whither I was bound.
In a few minutes I was knocking at the door of Leastways Cottage.
Getting no answer, I repeated my summons impatiently. A window
above me was cautiously opened, and Poirot himself looked out.
He gave an exclamation of surprise at seeing me. In a few brief
words, I explained the tragedy that had occurred, and that I
wanted his help.
"Wait, my friend, I will let you in, and you shall recount to me
the affair whilst I dress."
In a few moments he had unbarred the door, and I followed him up
to his room. There he installed me in a chair, and I related the
whole story, keeping back nothing, and omitting no circumstance,
however insignificant, whilst he himself made a careful and
deliberate toilet.
I told him of my awakening, of Mrs. Inglethorp's dying words, of
her husband's absence, of the quarrel the day before, of the
scrap of conversation between Mary and her mother-in-law that I
had overheard, of the former quarrel between Mrs. Inglethorp and
Evelyn Howard, and of the latter's innuendoes.
I was hardly as clear as I could wish. I repeated myself several
times, and occasionally had to go back to some detail that I had
forgotten. Poirot smiled kindly on me.
"The mind is confused? Is it not so? Take time, mon ami. You are
agitated; you are excited--it is but natural. Presently, when we
are calmer, we will arrange the facts, neatly, each in his proper
place. We will examine--and reject. Those of importance we will
put on one side; those of no importance, pouf!"--he screwed up
his cherub-like face, and puffed comically enough--"blow them
away!"
"That's all very well," I objected, "but how are you going to
decide what is important, and what isn't? That always seems the
difficulty to me."
Poirot shook his head energetically. He was now arranging his
moustache with exquisite care.
"Not so. Voyons! One fact leads to another--so we continue.
Does the next fit in with that? A merveille! Good! We can
proceed. This next little fact--no! Ah, that is curious! There
is something missing--a link in the chain that is not there. We
examine. We search. And that little curious fact, that possibly
paltry little detail that will not tally, we put it here!" He
made an extravagant gesture with his hand. "It is significant!
It is tremendous!"
"Y--es--"
"Ah!" Poirot shook his forefinger so fiercely at me that I
quailed before it. "Beware! Peril to the detective who says: 'It
is so small--it does not matter. It will not agree. I will
forget it.' That way lies confusion! Everything matters."
"I know. You always told me that. That's why I have gone into
all the details of this thing whether they seemed to me relevant
or not."
"And I am pleased with you. You have a good memory, and you have
given me the facts faithfully. Of the order in which you present
them, I say nothing--truly, it is deplorable! But I make
allowances--you are upset. To that I attribute the circumstance
that you have omitted one fact of paramount importance."
"What is that?" I asked.
"You have not told me if Mrs. Inglethorp ate well last night."
I stared at him. Surely the war had affected the little man's
brain. He was carefully engaged in brushing his coat before
putting it on, and seemed wholly engrossed in the task.
"I don't remember," I said. "And, anyway, I don't see----"
"You do not see? But it is of the first importance."
"I can't see why," I said, rather nettled. "As far as I can
remember, she didn't eat much. She was obviously upset, and it
had taken her appetite away. That was only natural."
"Yes," said Poirot thoughtfully, "it was only natural."
He opened a drawer, and took out a small despatch-case, then
turned to me.
"Now I am ready. We will proceed to the chateau, and study
matters on the spot. Excuse me, mon ami, you dressed in haste,
and your tie is on one side. Permit me." With a deft gesture, he
rearranged it.
"Ca y est! Now, shall we start?"
We hurried up the village, and turned in at the lodge gates.
Poirot stopped for a moment, and gazed sorrowfully over the
beautiful expanse of park, still glittering with morning dew.
"So beautiful, so beautiful, and yet, the poor family, plunged in
sorrow, prostrated with grief."
He looked at me keenly as he spoke, and I was aware that I
reddened under his prolonged gaze.
Was the family prostrated by grief? Was the sorrow at Mrs.
Inglethorp's death so great? I realized that there was an
emotional lack in the atmosphere. The dead woman had not the
gift of commanding love. Her death was a shock and a distress,
but she would not be passionately regretted.
Poirot seemed to follow my thoughts. He nodded his head gravely.
"No, you are right," he said, "it is not as though there was a
blood tie. She has been kind and generous to these Cavendishes,
but she was not their own mother. Blood tells--always remember
that--blood tells."
"Poirot," I said, "I wish you would tell me why you wanted to
know if Mrs. Inglethorp ate well last night? I have been turning
it over in my mind, but I can't see how it has anything to do
with the matter?"
He was silent for a minute or two as we walked along, but finally
he said:
"I do not mind telling you--though, as you know, it is not my
habit to explain until the end is reached. The present
contention is that Mrs. Inglethorp died of strychnine poisoning,
presumably administered in her coffee."
"Yes?"
"Well, what time was the coffee served?"
"About eight o'clock."
"Therefore she drank it between then and half-past eight--
certainly not much later. Well, strychnine is a fairly rapid
poison. Its effects would be felt very soon, probably in about
an hour. Yet, in Mrs. Inglethorp's case, the symptoms do not
manifest themselves until five o'clock the next morning: nine
hours! But a heavy meal, taken at about the same time as the
poison, might retard its effects, though hardly to that extent.
Still, it is a possibility to be taken into account. But,
according to you, she ate very little for supper, and yet the
symptoms do not develop until early the next morning! Now that is
a curious circumstance, my friend. Something may arise at the
autopsy to explain it. In the meantime, remember it."
As we neared the house, John came out and met us. His face
looked weary and haggard.
"This is a very dreadful business, Monsieur Poirot," he said.
"Hastings has explained to you that we are anxious for no
publicity?"
"I comprehend perfectly."
"You see, it is only suspicion so far. We have nothing to go
upon."
"Precisely. It is a matter of precaution only."
John turned to me, taking out his cigarette-case, and lighting a
cigarette as he did so.
"You know that fellow Inglethorp is back?"
"Yes. I met him."
John flung the match into an adjacent flower bed, a proceeding
which was too much for Poirot's feelings. He retrieved it, and
buried it neatly.
"It's jolly difficult to know how to treat him."
"That difficulty will not exist long," pronounced Poirot quietly.
John looked puzzled, not quite understanding the portent of this
cryptic saying. He handed the two keys which Dr. Bauerstein had
given him to me.
"Show Monsieur Poirot everything he wants to see."
"The rooms are locked?" asked Poirot.
"Dr. Bauerstein considered it advisable."
Poirot nodded thoughtfully.
"Then he is very sure. Well, that simplifies matters for us."
We went up together to the room of the tragedy. For convenience
I append a plan of the room and the principal articles of
furniture in it.
Poirot locked the door on the inside, and proceeded to a minute
inspection of the room. He darted from one object to the other
with the agility of a grasshopper. I remained by the door,
fearing to obliterate any clues. Poirot, however, did not seem
grateful to me for my forbearance.
"What have you, my friend," he cried, "that you remain there
like--how do you say it?--ah, yes, the stuck pig?"
I explained that I was afraid of obliterating any foot-marks.
"Foot-marks? But what an idea! There has already been practically
an army in the room! What foot-marks are we likely to find? No,
come here and aid me in my search. I will put down my little
case until I need it."
He did so, on the round table by the window, but it was an
ill-advised proceeding; for, the top of it being loose, it tilted
up, and precipitated the despatch-case on the floor.
"Eh viola une table!" cried Poirot. "An, my friend, one may live
in a big house and yet have no comfort."
After which piece of moralizing, he resumed his search.
A small purple despatch-case, with a key in the lock, on the
writing-table, engaged his attention for some time. He took out
the key from the lock, and passed it to me to inspect. I saw
nothing peculiar, however. It was an ordinary key of the Yale
type, with a bit of twisted wire through the handle.
Next, he examined the framework of the door we had broken in,
assuring himself that the bolt had really been shot. Then he
went to the door opposite leading into Cynthia's room. That door
was also bolted, as I had stated. However, he went to the length
of unbolting it, and opening and shutting it several times; this
he did with the utmost precaution against making any noise.
Suddenly something in the bolt itself seemed to rivet his
attention. He examined it carefully, and then, nimbly whipping
out a pair of small forceps from his case, he drew out some
minute particle which he carefully sealed up in a tiny envelope.
On the chest of drawers there was a tray with a spirit lamp and a
small saucepan on it. A small quantity of a dark fluid remained
in the saucepan, and an empty cup and saucer that had been drunk
out of stood near it.
I wondered how I could have been so unobservant as to overlook
this. Here was a clue worth having. Poirot delicately dipped
his finger into liquid, and tasted it gingerly. He made a
grimace.
"Coco--with--I think--rum in it."
He passed on to the debris on the floor, where the table by the
bed had been overturned. A reading-lamp, some books, matches, a
bunch of keys, and the crushed fragments of a coffee-cup lay
scattered about.
"Ah, this is curious," said Poirot.
"I must confess that I see nothing particularly curious about
it."
"You do not? Observe the lamp--the chimney is broken in two
places; they lie there as they fell. But see, the coffee-cup is
absolutely smashed to powder."
"Well," I said wearily, "I suppose some one must have stepped on
it."
"Exactly," said Poirot, in an odd voice. "Some one stepped on
it."
He rose from his knees, and walked slowly across to the
mantelpiece, where he stood abstractedly fingering the ornaments,
and straightening them--a trick of his when he was agitated.
"Mon ami," he said, turning to me, "somebody stepped on that cup,
grinding it to powder, and the reason they did so was either
because it contained strychnine or--which is far more
serious--because it did not contain strychnine!"
I made no reply. I was bewildered, but I knew that it was no
good asking him to explain. In a moment or two he roused
himself, and went on with his investigations. He picked up the
bunch of keys from the floor, and twirling them round in his
fingers finally selected one, very bright and shining, which he
tried in the lock of the purple despatch-case. It fitted, and he
opened the box, but after a moment's hesitation, closed and
relocked it, and slipped the bunch of keys, as well as the key
that had originally stood in the lock, into his own pocket.
"I have no authority to go through these papers. But it should
be done--at once!"
He then made a very careful examination of the drawers of the
wash-stand. Crossing the room to the left-hand window, a round
stain, hardly visible on the dark brown carpet, seemed to
interest him particularly. He went down on his knees, examining
it minutely--even going so far as to smell it.
Finally, he poured a few drops of the coco into a test tube,
sealing it up carefully. His next proceeding was to take out a
little notebook.
"We have found in this room," he said, writing busily, "six
points of interest. Shall I enumerate them, or will you?"
"Oh, you," I replied hastily.
"Very well, then. One, a coffee-cup that has been ground into
powder; two, a despatch-case with a key in the lock; three, a
stain on the floor."
"That may have been done some time ago," I interrupted.
"No, for it is still perceptibly damp and smells of coffee.
Four, a fragment of some dark green fabric--only a thread or two,
but recognizable."
"Ah!" I cried. "That was what you sealed up in the envelope."
"Yes. It may turn out to be a piece of one of Mrs. Inglethorp's
own dresses, and quite unimportant. We shall see. Five, *THIS!"
With a dramatic gesture, he pointed to a large splash of candle
grease on the floor by the writing-table. "It must have been
done since yesterday, otherwise a good housemaid would have at
once removed it with blotting-paper and a hot iron. One of my
best hats once--but that is not to the point."
"It was very likely done last night. We were very agitated. Or
perhaps Mrs. Inglethorp herself dropped her candle."
"You brought only one candle into the room?"
"Yes. Lawrence Cavendish was carrying it. But he was very
upset. He seemed to see something over here"--I indicated the
mantelpiece--"that absolutely paralysed him."
"That is interesting," said Poirot quickly. "Yes, it is
suggestive"--his eye sweeping the whole length of the wall-- "but
it was not his candle that made this great patch, for you
perceive that this is white grease; whereas Monsieur Lawrence's
candle, which is still on the dressing-table, is pink. On the
other hand, Mrs. Inglethorp had no candlestick in the room, only
a reading-lamp."
"Then," I said, "what do you deduce?"
To which my friend only made a rather irritating reply, urging me
to use my own natural faculties.
"And the sixth point?" I asked. "I suppose it is the sample of
coco."
"No," said Poirot thoughtfully. "I might have included that in
the six, but I did not. No, the sixth point I will keep to
myself for the present."
He looked quickly round the room. "There is nothing more to be
done here, I think, unless"--he stared earnestly and long at the
dead ashes in the grate. "The fire burns--and it destroys. But
by chance--there might be--let us see!"
Deftly, on hands and knees, he began to sort the ashes from the
grate into the fender, handling them with the greatest caution.
Suddenly, he gave a faint exclamation.
"The forceps, Hastings!"
I quickly handed them to him, and with skill he extracted a small
piece of half charred paper.
"There, mon ami!" he cried. "What do you think of that?"
I scrutinized the fragment. This is an exact reproduction of
it:--
I was puzzled. It was unusually thick, quite unlike ordinary
notepaper. Suddenly an idea struck me.
"Poirot!" I cried. "This is a fragment of a will!"
"Exactly."
I looked up at him sharply.
"You are not surprised?"
"No," he said gravely, "I expected it."
I relinquished the piece of paper, and watched him put it away in
his case, with the same methodical care that he bestowed on
everything. My brain was in a whirl. What was this complication
of a will? Who had destroyed it? The person who had left the
candle grease on the floor? Obviously. But how had anyone gained
admission? All the doors had been bolted on the inside.
"Now, my friend," said Poirot briskly, "we will go. I should
like to ask a few questions of the parlourmaid--Dorcas, her name
is, is it not?"
We passed through Alfred Inglethorp's room, and Poirot delayed
long enough to make a brief but fairly comprehensive examination
of it. We went out through that door, locking both it and that
of Mrs. Inglethorp's room as before.
I took him down to the boudoir which he had expressed a wish to
see, and went myself in search of Dorcas.
When I returned with her, however, the boudoir was empty.
"Poirot," I cried, "where are you?"
"I am here, my friend."
He had stepped outside the French window, and was standing,
apparently lost in admiration, before the various shaped flower
beds.
"Admirable!" he murmured. "Admirable! What symmetry! Observe
that crescent; and those diamonds--their neatness rejoices the
eye. The spacing of the plants, also, is perfect. It has been
recently done; is it not so?"
"Yes, I believe they were at it yesterday afternoon. But come
in--Dorcas is here."
"Eh bien, eh bien! Do not grudge me a moment's satisfaction of
the eye."
"Yes, but this affair is more important."
"And how do you know that these fine begonias are not of equal
importance?"
I shrugged my shoulders. There was really no arguing with him if
he chose to take that line.
"You do not agree? But such things have been. Well, we will come
in and interview the brave Dorcas."
Dorcas was standing in the boudoir, her hands folded in front of
her, and her grey hair rose in stiff waves under her white cap.
She was the very model and picture of a good old-fashioned
servant.
In her attitude towards Poirot, she was inclined to be
suspicious, but he soon broke down her defences. He drew forward
a chair.
"Pray be seated, mademoiselle."
"Thank you, sir."
"You have been with your mistress many years, is it not so?"
"Ten years, sir."
"That is a long time, and very faithful service. You were much
attached to her, were you not?"
"She was a very good mistress to me, sir."
"Then you will not object to answering a few questions. I put
them to you with Mr. Cavendish's full approval."
"Oh, certainly, sir."
"Then I will begin by asking you about the events of yesterday
afternoon. Your mistress had a quarrel?" 43>
"Yes, sir. But I don't know that I ought----" Dorcas hesitated.
Poirot looked at her keenly.
"My good Dorcas, it is necessary that I should know every detail
of that quarrel as fully as possible. Do not think that you are
betraying your mistress's secrets. Your mistress lies dead, and
it is necessary that we should know all--if we are to avenge her.
Nothing can bring her back to life, but we do hope, if there has
been foul play, to bring the murderer to justice."
"Amen to that," said Dorcas fiercely. "And, naming no names,
there's *ONE in this house that none of us could ever abide! And
an ill day it was when first *HE darkened the threshold."
Poirot waited for her indignation to subside, and then, resuming
his business-like tone, he asked:
"Now, as to this quarrel? What is the first you heard of it?"
"Well, sir, I happened to be going along the hall outside
yesterday----"
"What time was that?"
"I couldn't say exactly, sir, but it wasn't tea-time by a long
way. Perhaps four o'clock--or it may have been a bit later.
Well, sir, as I said, I happened to be passing along, when I
heard voices very loud and angry in here. I didn't exactly mean
to listen, but--well, there it is. I stopped. The door was
shut, but the mistress was speaking very sharp and clear, and I
heard what she said quite plainly. 'You have lied to me, and
deceived me,' she said. I didn't hear what Mr. Inglethorp
replied. He spoke a good bit lower than she did--but she
answered: 'How dare you? I have kept you and clothed you and fed
you! You owe everything to me! And this is how you repay me! By
bringing disgrace upon our name!' Again I didn't hear what he
said, but she went on: 'Nothing that you can say will make any
difference. I see my duty clearly. My mind is made up. You
need not think that any fear of publicity, or scandal between
husband and wife will deter me.' Then I thought I heard them
coming out, so I went off quickly."
"You are sure it was Mr. Inglethorp's voice you heard?"
"Oh, yes, sir, whose else's could it be?"
"Well, what happened next?"
"Later, I came back to the hall; but it was all quiet. At five
o'clock, Mrs. Inglethorp rang the bell and told me to bring her a
cup of tea--nothing to eat--to the boudoir. She was looking
dreadful--so white and upset. 'Dorcas,' she says, 'I've had a
great shock.' 'I'm sorry for that, m'm,' I says. 'You'll feel
better after a nice hot cup of tea, m'm.' She had something in
her hand. I don't know if it was a letter, or just a piece of
paper, but it had writing on it, and she kept staring at it,
almost as if she couldn't believe what was written there. She
whispered to herself, as though she had forgotten I was there:
'These few words--and everything's changed.' And then she says to
me: 'Never trust a man, Dorcas, they're not worth it!' I hurried
off, and got her a good strong cup of tea, and she thanked me,
and said she'd feel better when she'd drunk it. 'I don't know
what to do,' she says. 'Scandal between husband and wife is a
dreadful thing, Dorcas. I'd rather hush it up if I could.' Mrs.
Cavendish came in just then, so she didn't say any more."
"She still had the letter, or whatever it was, in her hand?"
"Yes, sir."
"What would she be likely to do with it afterwards?"
"Well, I don't know, sir, I expect she would lock it up in that
purple case of hers."
"Is that where she usually kept important papers?"
"Yes, sir. She brought it down with her every morning, and took
it up every night."
"When did she lose the key of it?"
"She missed it yesterday at lunch-time, sir, and told me to look
carefully for it. She was very much put out about it."
"But she had a duplicate key?"
"Oh, yes, sir."
Dorcas was looking very curiously at him and, to tell the truth,
so was I. What was all this about a lost key? Poirot smiled.
"Never mind, Dorcas, it is my business to know things. Is this
the key that was lost?" He drew from his pocket the key that he
had found in the lock of the despatch-case upstairs.
Dorcas's eyes looked as though they would pop out of her head.
"That's it, sir, right enough. But where did you find it? I
looked everywhere for it."
"Ah, but you see it was not in the same place yesterday as it was
to-day. Now, to pass to another subject, had your mistress a
dark green dress in her wardrobe?"
Dorcas was rather startled by the unexpected question.
"No, sir."
"Are you quite sure?"
"Oh, yes, sir."
"Has anyone else in the house got a green dress?"
Dorcas reflected.
"Miss Cynthia has a green evening dress."
"Light or dark green?"
"A light green, sir; a sort of chiffon, they call it."
"Ah, that is not what I want. And nobody else has anything
green?"
"No, sir--not that I know of."
Poirot's face did not betray a trace of whether he was
disappointed or otherwise. He merely remarked:
"Good, we will leave that and pass on. Have you any reason to
believe that your mistress was likely to take a sleeping powder
last night?"
"Not *LAST night, sir, I know she didn't."
"Why do you know so positively?"
"Because the box was empty. She took the last one two days ago,
and she didn't have any more made up."
"You are quite sure of that?"
"Positive, sir."
"Then that is cleared up! By the way, your mistress didn't ask
you to sign any paper yesterday?"
"To sign a paper? No, sir."
"When Mr. Hastings and Mr. Lawrence came in yesterday evening,
they found your mistress busy writing letters. I suppose you can
give me no idea to whom these letters were addressed?"
"I'm afraid I couldn't, sir. I was out in the evening. Perhaps
Annie could tell you, though she's a careless girl. Never
cleared the coffee-cups away last night. That's what happens
when I'm not here to look after things."
Poirot lifted his hand.
"Since they have been left, Dorcas, leave them a little longer, I
pray you. I should like to examine them."
"Very well, sir."
"What time did you go out last evening?"
"About six o'clock, sir."
"Thank you, Dorcas, that is all I have to ask you." He rose and
strolled to the window. "I have been admiring these flower beds.
How many gardeners are employed here, by the way?"
"Only three now, sir. Five, we had, before the war, when it was
kept as a gentleman's place should be. I wish you could have
seen it then, sir. A fair sight it was. But now there's only
old Manning, and young William, and a new-fashioned woman
gardener in breeches and such-like. Ah, these are dreadful
times!"
"The good times will come again, Dorcas. At least, we hope so.
Now, will you send Annie to me here?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
"How did you know that Mrs. Inglethorp took sleeping powders?" I
asked, in lively curiosity, as Dorcas left the room. "And about
the lost key and the duplicate?"
"One thing at a time. As to the sleeping powders, I knew by
this." He suddenly produced a small cardboard box, such as
chemists use for powders.
"Where did you find it?"
"In the wash-stand drawer in Mrs. Inglethorp's bedroom. It was
Number Six of my catalogue."
"But I suppose, as the last powder was taken two days ago, it is
not of much importance?"
"Probably not, but do you notice anything that strikes you as
peculiar about this box?"
I examined it closely.
"No, I can't say that I do."
"Look at the label."
I read the label carefully: " 'One powder to be taken at bedtime,
if required. Mrs. Inglethorp.' No, I see nothing unusual."
"Not the fact that there is no chemist's name?"
"Ah!" I exclaimed. "To be sure, that is odd!"
"Have you ever known a chemist to send out a box like that,
without his printed name?"
"No, I can't say that I have."
I was becoming quite excited, but Poirot damped my ardour by
remarking:
"Yet the explanation is quite simple. So do not intrigue
yourself, my friend."
An audible creaking proclaimed the approach of Annie, so I had no
time to reply.
Annie was a fine, strapping girl, and was evidently labouring
under intense excitement, mingled with a certain ghoulish
enjoyment of the tragedy.
Poirot came to the point at once, with a business-like briskness.
"I sent for you, Annie, because I thought you might be able to
tell me something about the letters Mrs. Inglethorp wrote last
night. How many were there? And can you tell me any of the names
and addresses?"
Annie considered.
"There were four letters, sir. One was to Miss Howard, and one
was to Mr. Wells, the lawyer, and the other two I don't think I
remember, sir--oh, yes, one was to Ross's, the caterers in
Tadminster. The other one, I don't remember."
"Think," urged Poirot.
Annie racked her brains in vain.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's clean gone. I don't think I can have
noticed it."
"It does not matter," said Poirot, not betraying any sign of
disappointment. "Now I want to ask you about something else.
There is a saucepan in Mrs. Inglethorp's room with some coco in
it. Did she have that every night?"
"Yes, sir, it was put in her room every evening, and she warmed
it up in the night--whenever she fancied it."
"What was it? Plain coco?"
"Yes, sir, made with milk, with a teaspoonful of sugar, and two
teaspoonfuls of rum in it."
"Who took it to her room?"
"I did, sir."
"Always?"
"Yes, sir."
"At what time?"
"When I went to draw the curtains, as a rule, sir."
"Did you bring it straight up from the kitchen then?"
"No, sir, you see there's not much room on the gas stove, so Cook
used to make it early, before putting the vegetables on for
supper. Then I used to bring it up, and put it on the table by
the swing door, and take it into her room later."
"The swing door is in the left wing, is it not?"
"Yes, sir."
"And the table, is it on this side of the door, or on the
farther--servants' side?"
"It's this side, sir."
"What time did you bring it up last night?"
"About quarter-past seven, I should say, sir."
"And when did you take it into Mrs. Inglethorp's room?"
"When I went to shut up, sir. About eight o'clock. Mrs.
Inglethorp came up to bed before I'd finished."
"Then, between 7.15 and 8 o'clock, the coco was standing on the
table in the left wing?"
"Yes, sir." Annie had been growing redder and redder in the face,
and now she blurted out unexpectedly:
"And if there *WAS salt in it, sir, it wasn't me. I never took
the salt near it."
"What makes you think there was salt in it?" asked Poirot.
"Seeing it on the tray, sir."
"You saw some salt on the tray?"
"Yes. Coarse kitchen salt, it looked. I never noticed it when I
took the tray up, but when I came to take it into the mistress's
room I saw it at once, and I suppose I ought to have taken it
down again, and asked Cook to make some fresh. But I was in a
hurry, because Dorcas was out, and I thought maybe the coco
itself was all right, and the salt had only gone on the tray. So
I dusted it off with my apron, and took it in."
I had the utmost difficulty in controlling my excitement.
Unknown to herself, Annie had provided us with an important piece
of evidence. How she would have gaped if she had realized that
her "coarse kitchen salt" was strychnine, one of the most deadly
poisons known to mankind. I marvelled at Poirot's calm. His
self-control was astonishing. I awaited his next question with
impatience, but it disappointed me.
"When you went into Mrs. Inglethorp's room, was the door leading
into Miss Cynthia's room bolted?"
"Oh! Yes, sir; it always was. It had never been opened."
"And the door into Mr. Inglethorp's room? Did you notice if that
was bolted too?"
Annie hesitated.
"I couldn't rightly say, sir; it was shut but I couldn't say
whether it was bolted or not."
"When you finally left the room, did Mrs. Inglethorp bolt the
door after you?"
"No, sir, not then, but I expect she did later. She usually did
lock it at night. The door into the passage, that is."
"Did you notice any candle grease on the floor when you did the
room yesterday?"
"Candle grease? Oh, no, sir. Mrs. Inglethorp didn't have a
candle, only a reading-lamp."
"Then, if there had been a large patch of candle grease on the
floor, you think you would have been sure to have seen it?"
"Yes, sir, and I would have taken it out with a piece of
blotting-paper and a hot iron."
Then Poirot repeated the question he had put to Dorcas:
"Did your mistress ever have a green dress?"
"No, sir."
"Nor a mantle, nor a cape, nor a--how do you call it?--a sports
coat?"
"Not green, sir."
"Nor anyone else in the house?"
Annie reflected.
"No, sir."
"You are sure of that?"
"Quite sure."
"Bien! That is all I want to know. Thank you very much."
With a nervous giggle, Annie took herself creakingly out of the
room. My pent-up excitement burst forth.
"Poirot," I cried, "I congratulate you! This is a great
discovery."
"What is a great discovery?"
"Why, that it was the coco and not the coffee that was poisoned.
That explains everything! Of course it did not take effect until
the early morning, since the coco was only drunk in the middle of
the night."
"So you think that the coco--mark well what I say, Hastings, the
coco--contained strychnine?"
"Of course! That salt on the tray, what else could it have been?"
"It might have been salt," replied Poirot placidly.
I shrugged my shoulders. If he was going to take the matter that
way, it was no good arguing with him. The idea crossed my mind,
not for the first time, that poor old Poirot was growing old.
Privately I thought it lucky that he had associated with him some
one of a more receptive type of mind.
Poirot was surveying me with quietly twinkling eyes.
"You are not pleased with me, mon ami?"
"My dear Poirot," I said coldly, "it is not for me to dictate to
you. You have a right to your own opinion, just as I have to
mine."
"A most admirable sentiment," remarked Poirot, rising briskly to
his feet. "Now I have finished with this room. By the way,
whose is the smaller desk in the corner?"
"Mr. Inglethorp's."
"Ah!" He tried the roll top tentatively. "Locked. But perhaps
one of Mrs. Inglethorp's keys would open it." He tried several,
twisting and turning them with a practiced hand, and finally
uttering an ejaculation of satisfaction. "Viola! It is not the
key, but it will open it at a pinch." He slid back the roll top,
and ran a rapid eye over the neatly filed papers. To my
surprise, he did not examine them, merely remarking approvingly
as he relocked the desk: "Decidedly, he is a man of method, this
Mr. Inglethorp!"
A "man of method" was, in Poirot's estimation, the highest praise
that could be bestowed on any individual.
I felt that my friend was not what he had been as he rambled on
disconnectedly:
"There were no stamps in his desk, but there might have been, eh,
mon ami? There might have been? Yes"--his eyes wandered round the
room--"this boudoir has nothing more to tell us. It did not
yield much. Only this."
He pulled a crumpled envelope out of his pocket, and tossed it
over to me. It was rather a curious document. A plain, dirty
looking old envelope with a few words scrawled across it,
apparently at random. The following is a facsimile of it.
CHAPTER V. "IT ISN'T STRYCHNINE, IS IT?"
"Where did you find this?" I asked Poirot, in lively curiosity.
"In the waste-paper basket. You recognise the handwriting?"
"Yes, it is Mrs. Inglethorp's. But what does it mean?"
Poirot shrugged his shoulders.
"I cannot say--but it is suggestive."
A wild idea flashed across me. Was it possible that Mrs.
Inglethorp's mind was deranged? Had she some fantastic idea of
demoniacal possession? And, if that were so, was it not also
possible that she might have taken her own life?
I was about to expound these theories to Poirot, when his own
words distracted me.
"Come," he said, "now to examine the coffee-cups!"
"My dear Poirot! What on earth is the good of that, now that we
know about the coco?"
"Oh, la la! That miserable coco!" cried Poirot flippantly.
He laughed with apparent enjoyment, raising his arms to heaven in
mock despair, in what I could not but consider the worst possible
taste.
"And, anyway," I said, with increasing coldness, "as Mrs.
Inglethorp took her coffee upstairs with her, I do not see what
you expect to find, unless you consider it likely that we shall
discover a packet of strychnine on the coffee tray!"
Poirot was sobered at once.
"Come, come, my friend," he said, slipping his arms through mine.
"Ne vous fachez pas! Allow me to interest myself in my
coffee-cups, and I will respect your coco. There! Is it a
bargain?"
He was so quaintly humorous that I was forced to laugh; and we
went together to the drawing-room, where the coffee-cups and tray
remained undisturbed as we had left them.
Poirot made me recapitulate the scene of the night before,
listening very carefully, and verifying the position of the
various cups.
"So Mrs. Cavendish stood by the tray--and poured out. Yes. Then
she came across to the window where you sat with Mademoiselle
Cynthia. Yes. Here are the three cups. And the cup on the
mantel-piece, half drunk, that would be Mr. Lawrence Cavendish's.
And the one on the tray?"
"John Cavendish's. I saw him put it down there."
"Good. One, two, three, four, five--but where, then, is the cup
of Mr. Inglethorp?"
"He does not take coffee."
"Then all are accounted for. One moment, my friend."
With infinite care, he took a drop or two from the grounds in
each cup, sealing them up in separate test tubes, tasting each in
turn as he did so. His physiognomy underwent a curious change.
An expression gathered there that I can only describe as half
puzzled, and half relieved.
"Bien!" he said at last. "It is evident! I had an idea--but
clearly I was mistaken. Yes, altogether I was mistaken. Yet it
is strange. But no matter!"
And, with a characteristic shrug, he dismissed whatever it was
that was worrying him from his mind. I could have told him from
the beginning that this obsession of his over the coffee was
bound to end in a blind alley, but I restrained my tongue. After
all, though he was old, Poirot had been a great man in his day.
"Breakfast is ready," said John Cavendish, coming in from the
hall. "You will breakfast with us, Monsieur Poirot?"
Poirot acquiesced. I observed John. Already he was almost
restored to his normal self. The shock of the events of the last
night had upset him temporarily, but his equable poise soon swung
back to the normal. He was a man of very little imagination, in
sharp contrast with his brother, who had, perhaps, too much.
Ever since the early hours of the morning, John had been hard at
work, sending telegrams--one of the first had gone to Evelyn
Howard--writing notices for the papers, and generally occupying
himself with the melancholy duties that a death entails.
"May I ask how things are proceeding?" he said. "Do your
investigations point to my mother having died a natural death--
or--or must we prepare ourselves for the worst?"
"I think, Mr. Cavendish," said Poirot gravely, "that you would do
well not to buoy yourself up with any false hopes. Can you tell
me the views of the other members of the family?"
"My brother Lawrence is convinced that we are making a fuss over
nothing. He says that everything points to its being a simple
case of heart failure."
"He does, does he? That is very interesting--very interesting,"
murmured Poirot softly. "And Mrs. Cavendish?"
A faint cloud passed over John's face.
"I have not the least idea what my wife's views on the subject
are."
The answer brought a momentary stiffness in its train. John
broke the rather awkward silence by saying with a slight effort:
"I told you, didn't I, that Mr. Inglethorp has returned?"
Poirot bent his head.
"It's an awkward position for all of us. Of course one has to
treat him as usual--but, hang it all, one's gorge does rise at
sitting down to eat with a possible murderer!"
Poirot nodded sympathetically.
"I quite understand. It is a very difficult situation for you,
Mr. Cavendish. I would like to ask you one question. Mr.
Inglethorp's reason for not returning last night was, I believe,
that he had forgotten the latch-key. Is not that so?"
"Yes."
"I suppose you are quite sure that the latch-key *WAS
forgotten--that he did not take it after all?"
"I have no idea. I never thought of looking. We always keep it
in the hall drawer. I'll go and see if it's there now."
Poirot held up his hand with a faint smile.
"No, no, Mr. Cavendish, it is too late now. I am certain that
you would find it. If Mr. Inglethorp did take it, he has had
ample time to replace it by now."
"But do you think----"
"I think nothing. If anyone had chanced to look this morning
before his return, and seen it there, it would have been a
valuable point in his favour. That is all."
John looked perplexed.
"Do not worry," said Poirot smoothly. "I assure you that you
need not let it trouble you. Since you are so kind, let us go
and have some breakfast."
Every one was assembled in the dining-room. Under the
circumstances, we were naturally not a cheerful party. The
reaction after a shock is always trying, and I think we were all
suffering from it. Decorum and good breeding naturally enjoined
that our demeanour should be much as usual, yet I could not help
wondering if this self-control were really a matter of great
difficulty. There were no red eyes, no signs of secretly
indulged grief. I felt that I was right in my opinion that
Dorcas was the person most affected by the personal side of the
tragedy.
I pass over Alfred Inglethorp, who acted the bereaved widower in
a manner that I felt to be disgusting in its hypocrisy. Did he
know that we suspected him, I wondered. Surely he could not be
unaware of the fact, conceal it as we would. Did he feel some
secret stirring of fear, or was he confident that his crime would
go unpunished? Surely the suspicion in the atmosphere must warn
him that he was already a marked man.
But did every one suspect him? What about Mrs. Cavendish? I
watched her as she sat at the head of the table, graceful,
composed, enigmatic. In her soft grey frock, with white ruffles
at the wrists falling over her slender hands, she looked very
beautiful. When she chose, however, her face could be
sphinx-like in its inscrutability. She was very silent, hardly
opening her lips, and yet in some queer way I felt that the great
strength of her personality was dominating us all.
And little Cynthia? Did she suspect? She looked very tired and
ill, I thought. The heaviness and languor of her manner were
very marked. I asked her if she were feeling ill, and she
answered frankly:
"Yes, I've got the most beastly headache."
"Have another cup of coffee, mademoiselle?" said Poirot
solicitously. "It will revive you. It is unparalleled for the
mal de tete." He jumped up and took her cup.
"No sugar," said Cynthia, watching him, as he picked up the
sugar-tongs.
"No sugar? You abandon it in the war-time, eh?"
"No, I never take it in coffee."
"Sacre!" murmured Poirot to himself, as he brought back the
replenished cup.
Only I heard him, and glancing up curiously at the little man I
saw that his face was working with suppressed excitement, and his
eyes were as green as a cat's. He had heard or seen something
that had affected him strongly--but what was it? I do not usually
label myself as dense, but I must confess that nothing out of the
ordinary had attracted *MY attention.
In another moment, the door opened and Dorcas appeared.
"Mr. Wells to see you, sir," she said to John.
I remembered the name as being that of the lawyer to whom Mrs.
Inglethorp had written the night before.
John rose immediately.
"Show him into my study." Then he turned to us. "My mother's
lawyer," he explained. And in a lower voice: "He is also
Coroner--you understand. Perhaps you would like to come with
me?"
We acquiesced and followed him out of the room. John strode on
ahead and I took the opportunity of whispering to Poirot:
"There will be an inquest then?"
Poirot nodded absently. He seemed absorbed in thought; so much
so that my curiosity was aroused.
"What is it? You are not attending to what I say."
"It is true, my friend. I am much worried."
"Why?"
"Because Mademoiselle Cynthia does not take sugar in her coffee."
"What? You cannot be serious?"
"But I am most serious. Ah, there is something there that I do
not understand. My instinct was right."
"What instinct?"
"The instinct that led me to insist on examining those
coffee-cups. Chut! no more now!"
We followed John into his study, and he closed the door behind
us.
Mr. Wells was a pleasant man of middle-age, with keen eyes, and
the typical lawyer's mouth. John introduced us both, and
explained the reason of our presence.
"You will understand, Wells," he added, "that this is all
strictly private. We are still hoping that there will turn out
to be no need for investigation of any kind."
"Quite so, quite so," said Mr. Wells soothingly. "I wish we
could have spared you the pain and publicity of an inquest, but
of course it's quite unavoidable in the absence of a doctor's
certificate."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Clever man, Bauerstein. Great authority on toxicology, I
believe."
"Indeed," said John with a certain stiffness in his manner. Then
he added rather hesitatingly: "Shall we have to appear as
witnesses--all of us, I mean?"
"You, of course--and ah--er--Mr.--er--Inglethorp."
A slight pause ensued before the lawyer went on in his soothing
manner:
"Any other evidence will be simply confirmatory, a mere matter of
form."
"I see."
A faint expression of relief swept over John's face. It puzzled
me, for I saw no occasion for it.
"If you know of nothing to the contrary," pursued Mr. Wells, "I
had thought of Friday. That will give us plenty of time for the
doctor's report. The post-mortem is to take place to-night, I
believe?"
"Yes."
"Then that arrangement will suit you?"
"Perfectly."
"I need not tell you, my dear Cavendish, how distressed I am at
this most tragic affair."
"Can you give us no help in solving it, monsieur?" interposed
Poirot, speaking for the first time since we had entered the
room.
"I?"
"Yes, we heard that Mrs. Inglethorp wrote to you last night. You
should have received the letter this morning."
"I did, but it contains no information. It is merely a note
asking me to call upon her this morning, as she wanted my advice
on a matter of great importance."
"She gave you no hint as to what that matter might be?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"That is a pity," said John.
"A great pity," agreed Poirot gravely.
There was silence. Poirot remained lost in thought for a few
minutes. Finally he turned to the lawyer again.
"Mr. Wells, there is one thing I should like to ask you--that is,
if it is not against professional etiquette. In the event of
Mrs. Inglethorp's death, who would inherit her money?"
The lawyer hesitated a moment, and then replied:
"The knowledge will be public property very soon, so if Mr.
Cavendish does not object----"
"Not at all," interpolated John.
"I do not see any reason why I should not answer your question.
By her last will, dated August of last year, after various
unimportant legacies to servants, etc., she gave her entire
fortune to her stepson, Mr. John Cavendish."
"Was not that--pardon the question, Mr. Cavendish--rather unfair
to her other stepson, Mr. Lawrence Cavendish?"
"No, I do not think so. You see, under the terms of their
father's will, while John inherited the property, Lawrence, at
his stepmother's death, would come into a considerable sum of
money. Mrs. Inglethorp left her money to her elder stepson,
knowing that he would have to keep up Styles. It was, to my
mind, a very fair and equitable distribution."
Poirot nodded thoughtfully.
"I see. But I am right in saying, am I not, that by your English
law that will was automatically revoked when Mrs. Inglethorp
remarried?"
Mr. Wells bowed his head.
"As I was about to proceed, Monsieur Poirot, that document is now
null and void."
"Hein!" said Poirot. He reflected for a moment, and then asked:
"Was Mrs. Inglethorp herself aware of that fact?"
"I do not know. She may have been."
"She was," said John unexpectedly. "We were discussing the
matter of wills being revoked by marriage only yesterday."
"Ah! One more question, Mr. Wells. You say 'her last will.' Had
Mrs. Inglethorp, then, made several former wills?"
"On an average, she made a new will at least once a year," said
Mr. Wells imperturbably. "She was given to changing her mind as
to her testamentary dispositions, now benefiting one, now another
member of her family."
"Suppose," suggested Poirot, "that, unknown to you, she had made
a new will in favour of some one who was not, in any sense of the
word, a member of the family--we will say Miss Howard, for
instance--would you be surprised?"
"Not in the least."
"Ah!" Poirot seemed to have exhausted his questions.
I drew close to him, while John and the lawyer were debating the
question of going through Mrs. Inglethorp's papers.
"Do you think Mrs. Inglethorp made a will leaving all her money
to Miss Howard?" I asked in a low voice, with some curiosity.
Poirot smiled.
"No."
"Then why did you ask?"
"Hush!"
John Cavendish had turned to Poirot.
"Will you come with us, Monsieur Poirot? We are going through my
mother's papers. Mr. Inglethorp is quite willing to leave it
entirely to Mr. Wells and myself."
"Which simplifies matters very much," murmured the lawyer. "As
technically, of course, he was entitled----" He did not finish
the sentence.
"We will look through the desk in the boudoir first," explained
John, "and go up to her bedroom afterwards. She kept her most
important papers in a purple despatch-case, which we must look
through carefully."
"Yes," said the lawyer, "it is quite possible that there may be a
later will than the one in my possession."
"There *IS a later will." It was Poirot who spoke.
"What?" John and the lawyer looked at him startled.
"Or, rather," pursued my friend imperturbably, "there *WAS one."
"What do you mean--there was one? Where is it now?"
"Burnt!"
"Burnt?"
"Yes. See here." He took out the charred fragment we had found
in the grate in Mrs. Inglethorp's room, and handed it to the
lawyer with a brief explanation of when and where he had found
it.
"But possibly this is an old will?"
"I do not think so. In fact I am almost certain that it was made
no earlier than yesterday afternoon."
"What?" "Impossible!" broke simultaneously from both men.
Poirot turned to John.
"If you will allow me to send for your gardener, I will prove it
to you."
"Oh, of course--but I don't see----"
Poirot raised his hand.
"Do as I ask you. Afterwards you shall question as much as you
please."
"Very well." He rang the bell.
Dorcas answered it in due course.
"Dorcas, will you tell Manning to come round and speak to me
here."
"Yes, sir."
Dorcas withdrew.
We waited in a tense silence. Poirot alone seemed perfectly at
his ease, and dusted a forgotten corner of the bookcase.
The clumping of hobnailed boots on the gravel outside proclaimed
the approach of Manning. John looked questioningly at Poirot.
The latter nodded.
"Come inside, Manning," said John, "I want to speak to you."
Manning came slowly and hesitatingly through the French window,
and stood as near it as he could. He held his cap in his hands,
twisting it very carefully round and round. His back was much
bent, though he was probably not as old as he looked, but his
eyes were sharp and intelligent, and belied his slow and rather
cautious speech.
"Manning," said John, "this gentleman will put some questions to
you which I want you to answer."
"Yessir," mumbled Manning.
Poirot stepped forward briskly. Manning's eye swept over him
with a faint contempt.
"You were planting a bed of begonias round by the south side of
the house yesterday afternoon, were you not, Manning?"
"Yes, sir, me and Willum."
"And Mrs. Inglethorp came to the window and called you, did she
not?"
"Yes, sir, she did."
"Tell me in your own words exactly what happened after that."
"Well, sir, nothing much. She just told Willum to go on his
bicycle down to the village, and bring back a form of will, or
such-like--I don't know what exactly--she wrote it down for him."
"Well?"
"Well, he did, sir."
"And what happened next?"
"We went on with the begonias, sir."
"Did not Mrs. Inglethorp call you again?"
"Yes, sir, both me and Willum, she called."
"And then?"
"She made us come right in, and sign our names at the bottom of a
long paper--under where she'd signed."
"Did you see anything of what was written above her signature?"
asked Poirot sharply.
"No, sir, there was a bit of blotting paper over that part."
"And you signed where she told you?"
"Yes, sir, first me and then Willum."
"What did she do with it afterwards?"
"Well, sir, she slipped it into a long envelope, and put it
inside a sort of purple box that was standing on the desk."
"What time was it when she first called you?"
"About four, I should say, sir."
"Not earlier? Couldn't it have been about half-past three?"
"No, I shouldn't say so, sir. It would be more likely to be a
bit after four--not before it."
"Thank you, Manning, that will do," said Poirot pleasantly.
The gardener glanced at his master, who nodded, whereupon Manning
lifted a finger to his forehead with a low mumble, and backed
cautiously out of the window.
We all looked at each other.
"Good heavens!" murmured John. "What an extraordinary
coincidence."
"How--a coincidence?"
"That my mother should have made a will on the very day of her
death!"
Mr. Wells cleared his throat and remarked drily:
"Are you so sure it is a coincidence, Cavendish?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your mother, you tell me, had a violent quarrel with-- some one
yesterday afternoon----"
"What do you mean?" cried John again. There was a tremor in his
voice, and he had gone very pale.
"In consequence of that quarrel, your mother very suddenly and
hurriedly makes a new will. The contents of that will we shall
never know. She told no one of its provisions. This morning, no
doubt, she would have consulted me on the subject--but she had no
chance. The will disappears, and she takes its secret with her
to her grave. Cavendish, I much fear there is no coincidence
there. Monsieur Poirot, I am sure you agree with me that the
facts are very suggestive."
"Suggestive, or not," interrupted John, "we are most grateful to
Monsieur Poirot for elucidating the matter. But for him, we
should never have known of this will. I suppose, I may not ask
you, monsieur, what first led you to suspect the fact?"
Poirot smiled and answered:
"A scribbled over old envelope, and a freshly planted bed of
begonias."
John, I think, would have pressed his questions further, but at
that moment the loud purr of a motor was audible, and we all
turned to the window as it swept past.
"Evie!" cried John. "Excuse me, Wells." He went hurriedly out
into the hall.
Poirot looked inquiringly at me.
"Miss Howard," I explained.
"Ah, I am glad she has come. There is a woman with a head and a
heart too, Hastings. Though the good God gave her no beauty!"
I followed John's example, and went out into the hall, where Miss
Howard was endeavouring to extricate herself from the voluminous
mass of veils that enveloped her head. As her eyes fell on me, a
sudden pang of guilt shot through me. This was the woman who had
warned me so earnestly, and to whose warning I had, alas, paid no
heed! How soon, and how contemptuously, I had dismissed it from
my mind. Now that she had been proved justified in so tragic a
manner, I felt ashamed. She had known Alfred Inglethorp only too
well. I wondered whether, if she had remained at Styles, the
tragedy would have taken place, or would the man have feared her
watchful eyes?
I was relieved when she shook me by the hand, with her well
remembered painful grip. The eyes that met mine were sad, but
not reproachful; that she had been crying bitterly, I could tell
by the redness of her eyelids, but her manner was unchanged from
its old gruffness.
"Started the moment I got the wire. Just come off night duty.
Hired car. Quickest way to get here."
"Have you had anything to eat this morning, Evie?" asked John.
"No."
"I thought not. Come along, breakfast's not cleared away yet,
and they'll make you some fresh tea." He turned to me. "Look
after her, Hastings, will you? Wells is waiting for me. Oh,
here's Monsieur Poirot. He's helping us, you know, Evie."
Miss Howard shook hands with Poirot, but glanced suspiciously
over her shoulder at John.
"What do you mean--helping us?"
"Helping us to investigate."
"Nothing to investigate. Have they taken him to prison yet?"
"Taken who to prison?"
"Who? Alfred Inglethorp, of course!"
"My dear Evie, do be careful. Lawrence is of the opinion that my
mother died from heart seizure."
"More fool, Lawrence!" retorted Miss Howard. "Of course Alfred
Inglethorp murdered poor Emily--as I always told you he would."
"My dear Evie, don't shout so. Whatever we may think or suspect,
it is better to say as little as possible for the present. The
inquest isn't until Friday."
"Not until fiddlesticks!" The snort Miss Howard gave was truly
magnificent. "You're all off your heads. The man will be out of
the country by then. If he's any sense, he won't stay here
tamely and wait to be hanged."
John Cavendish looked at her helplessly.
"I know what it is," she accused him, "you've been listening to
the doctors. Never should. What do they know? Nothing at
all--or just enough to make them dangerous. I ought to know--my
own father was a doctor. That little Wilkins is about the
greatest fool that even I have ever seen. Heart seizure! Sort of
thing he would say. Anyone with any sense could see at once that
her husband had poisoned her. I always said he'd murder her in
her bed, poor soul. Now he's done it. And all you can do is to
murmur silly things about 'heart seizure' and 'inquest on
Friday.' You ought to be ashamed of yourself, John Cavendish."
"What do you want me to do?" asked John, unable to help a faint
smile. "Dash it all, Evie, I can't haul him down to the local
police station by the scruff of his neck."
"Well, you might do something. Find out how he did it. He's a
crafty beggar. Dare say he soaked fly papers. Ask Cook if she's
missed any."
It occurred to me very forcibly at that moment that to harbour
Miss Howard and Alfred Inglethorp under the same roof, and keep
the peace between them, was likely to prove a Herculean task, and
I did not envy John. I could see by the expression of his face
that he fully appreciated the difficulty of the position. For
the moment, he sought refuge in retreat, and left the room
precipitately.
Dorcas brought in fresh tea. As she left the room, Poirot came
over from the window where he had been standing, and sat down
facing Miss Howard.
"Mademoiselle," he said gravely, "I want to ask you something."
"Ask away," said the lady, eyeing him with some disfavour.
"I want to be able to count upon your help."
"I'll help you to hang Alfred with pleasure," she replied
gruffly. "Hanging's too good for him. Ought to be drawn and
quartered, like in good old times."
"We are at one then," said Poirot, "for I, too, want to hang the
criminal."
"Alfred Inglethorp?"
"Him, or another."
"No question of another. Poor Emily was never murdered until *HE
came along. I don't say she wasn't surrounded by sharks--she
was. But it was only her purse they were after. Her life was
safe enough. But along comes Mr. Alfred Inglethorp--and within
two months--hey presto!"
"Believe me, Miss Howard," said Poirot very earnestly, "if Mr.
Inglethorp is the man, he shall not escape me. On my honour, I
will hang him as high as Haman!"
"That's better," said Miss Howard more enthusiastically.
"But I must ask you to trust me. Now your help may be very
valuable to me. I will tell you why. Because, in all this house
of mourning, yours are the only eyes that have wept."
Miss Howard blinked, and a new note crept into the gruffness of
her voice.
"If you mean that I was fond of her--yes, I was. You know, Emily
was a selfish old woman in her way. She was very generous, but
she always wanted a return. She never let people forget what she
had done for them--and, that way she missed love. Don't think
she ever realized it, though, or felt the lack of it. Hope not,
anyway. I was on a different footing. I took my stand from the
first. 'So many pounds a year I'm worth to you. Well and good.
But not a penny piece besides-- not a pair of gloves, nor a
theatre ticket.' She didn't understand--was very offended
sometimes. Said I was foolishly proud. It wasn't that--but I
couldn't explain. Anyway, I kept my self-respect. And so, out
of the whole bunch, I was the only one who could allow myself to
be fond of her. I watched over her. I guarded her from the lot
of them, and then a glib-tongued scoundrel comes along, and pooh!
all my years of devotion go for nothing."
Poirot nodded sympathetically.
"I understand, mademoiselle, I understand all you feel. It is
most natural. You think that we are lukewarm--that we lack fire
and energy--but trust me, it is not so."
John stuck his head in at this juncture, and invited us both to
come up to Mrs. Inglethorp's room, as he and Mr. Wells had
finished looking through the desk in the boudoir.
As we went up the stairs, John looked back to the dining-room
door, and lowered his voice confidentially:
"Look here, what's going to happen when these two meet?"
I shook my head helplessly.
"I've told Mary to keep them apart if she can."
"Will she be able to do so?"
"The Lord only knows. There's one thing, Inglethorp himself
won't be too keen on meeting her."
"You've got the keys still, haven't you, Poirot?" I asked, as we
reached the door of the locked room.
Taking the keys from Poirot, John unlocked it, and we all passed
in. The lawyer went straight to the desk, and John followed him.
"My mother kept most of her important papers in this
despatch-case, I believe," he said.
Poirot drew out the small bunch of keys.
"Permit me. I locked it, out of precaution, this morning."
"But it's not locked now."
"Impossible!"
"See." And John lifted the lid as he spoke.
"Milles tonnerres!" cried Poirot, dumfounded. "And I--who have
both the keys in my pocket!" He flung himself upon the case.
Suddenly he stiffened. "En voila une affaire! This lock has been
forced."
"What?"
Poirot laid down the case again.
"But who forced it? Why should they? When? But the door was
locked?" These exclamations burst from us disjointedly.
Poirot answered them categorically--almost mechanically.
"Who? That is the question. Why? Ah, if I only knew. When?
Since I was here an hour ago. As to the door being locked, it is
a very ordinary lock. Probably any other of the doorkeys in this
passage would fit it."
We stared at one another blankly. Poirot had walked over to the
mantel-piece. He was outwardly calm, but I noticed his hands,
which from long force of habit were mechanically straightening
the spill vases on the mantel-piece, were shaking violently.
"See here, it was like this," he said at last. "There was
something in that case--some piece of evidence, slight in itself
perhaps, but still enough of a clue to connect the murderer with
the crime. It was vital to him that it should be destroyed
before it was discovered and its significance appreciated.
Therefore, he took the risk, the great risk, of coming in here.
Finding the case locked, he was obliged to force it, thus
betraying his presence. For him to take that risk, it must have
been something of great importance."
"But what was it?"
"Ah!" cried Poirot, with a gesture of anger. "That, I do not
know! A document of some kind, without doubt, possibly the scrap
of paper Dorcas saw in her hand yesterday afternoon. And I--"
his anger burst forth freely--"miserable animal that I am! I
guessed nothing! I have behaved like an imbecile! I should never
have left that case here. I should have carried it away with me.
Ah, triple pig! And now it is gone. It is destroyed--but is it
destroyed? Is there not yet a chance--we must leave no stone
unturned--"
He rushed like a madman from the room, and I followed him as soon
as I had sufficiently recovered my wits. But, by the time I had
reached the top of the stairs, he was out of sight.
Mary Cavendish was standing where the staircase branched, staring
down into the hall in the direction in which he had disappeared.
"What has happened to your extraordinary little friend, Mr.
Hastings? He has just rushed past me like a mad bull."
"He's rather upset about something," I remarked feebly. I really
did not know how much Poirot would wish me to disclose. As I saw
a faint smile gather on Mrs. Cavendish's expressive mouth, I
endeavoured to try and turn the conversation by saying: "They
haven't met yet, have they?"
"Who?"
"Mr. Inglethorp and Miss Howard."
She looked at me in rather a disconcerting manner.
"Do you think it would be such a disaster if they did meet?"
"Well, don't you?" I said, rather taken aback.
"No." She was smiling in her quiet way. "I should like to see a
good flare up. It would clear the air. At present we are all
thinking so much, and saying so little."
"John doesn't think so," I remarked. "He's anxious to keep them
apart."
"Oh, John!"
Something in her tone fired me, and I blurted out:
"Old John's an awfully good sort."
She studied me curiously for a minute or two, and then said, to
my great surprise:
"You are loyal to your friend. I like you for that."
"Aren't you my friend too?"
"I am a very bad friend."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it is true. I am charming to my friends one day, and
forget all about them the next."
I don't know what impelled me, but I was nettled, and I said
foolishly and not in the best of taste:
"Yet you seem to be invariably charming to Dr. Bauerstein!"
Instantly I regretted my words. Her face stiffened. I had the
impression of a steel curtain coming down and blotting out the
real woman. Without a word, she turned and went swiftly up the
stairs, whilst I stood like an idiot gaping after her.
I was recalled to other matters by a frightful row going on
below. I could hear Poirot shouting and expounding. I was vexed
to think that my diplomacy had been in vain. The little man
appeared to be taking the whole house into his confidence, a
proceeding of which I, for one, doubted the wisdom. Once again I
could not help regretting that my friend was so prone to lose his
head in moments of excitement. I stepped briskly down the
stairs. The sight of me calmed Poirot almost immediately. I
drew him aside.
"My dear fellow," I said, "is this wise? Surely you don't want
the whole house to know of this occurrence? You are actually
playing into the criminal's hands."
"You think so, Hastings?"
"I am sure of it."
"Well, well, my friend, I will be guided by you."
"Good. Although, unfortunately, it is a little too late now."
"Sure."
He looked so crestfallen and abashed that I felt quite sorry,
though I still thought my rebuke a just and wise one.
"Well," he said at last, "let us go, mon ami."
"You have finished here?"
"For the moment, yes. You will walk back with me to the
village?"
"Willingly."
He picked up his little suit-case, and we went out through the
open window in the drawing-room. Cynthia Murdoch was just coming
in, and Poirot stood aside to let her pass.
"Excuse me, mademoiselle, one minute."
"Yes?" she turned inquiringly.
"Did you ever make up Mrs. Inglethorp's medicines?"
A slight flush rose in her face, as she answered rather
constrainedly:
"No."
"Only her powders?"
The flush deepened as Cynthia replied:
"Oh, yes, I did make up some sleeping powders for her once."
"These?"
Poirot produced the empty box which had contained powders.
She nodded.
"Can you tell me what they were? Sulphonal? Veronal?"
"No, they were bromide powders."
"Ah! Thank you, mademoiselle; good morning."
As we walked briskly away from the house, I glanced at him more
than once. I had often before noticed that, if anything excited
him, his eyes turned green like a cat's. They were shining like
emeralds now.
"My friend," he broke out at last, "I have a little idea, a very
strange, and probably utterly impossible idea. And yet-- it fits
in."
I shrugged my shoulders. I privately thought that Poirot was
rather too much given to these fantastic ideas. In this case,
surely, the truth was only too plain and apparent.
"So that is the explanation of the blank label on the box," I
remarked. "Very simple, as you said. I really wonder that I did
not think of it myself."
Poirot did not appear to be listening to me.
"They have made one more discovery, la-bas," he observed, jerking
his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Styles. "Mr.
Wells told me as we were going upstairs."
"What was it?"
"Locked up in the desk in the boudoir, they found a will of Mrs.
Inglethorp's, dated before her marriage, leaving her fortune to
Alfred Inglethorp. It must have been made just at the time they
were engaged. It came quite as a surprise to Wells-- and to John
Cavendish also. It was written on one of those printed will
forms, and witnessed by two of the servants--not Dorcas."
"Did Mr. Inglethorp know of it?"
"He says not."
"One might take that with a grain of salt," I remarked
sceptically. "All these wills are very confusing. Tell me, how
did those scribbled words on the envelope help you to discover
that a will was made yesterday afternoon?"
Poirot smiled.
"Mon ami, have you ever, when writing a letter, been arrested by
the fact that you did not know how to spell a certain word?"
"Yes, often. I suppose every one has."
"Exactly. And have you not, in such a case, tried the word once
or twice on the edge of the blotting-paper, or a spare scrap of
paper, to see if it looked right? Well, that is what Mrs.
Inglethorp did. You will notice that the word 'possessed' is
spelt first with one's' end subsequently with two--correctly. To
make sure, she had further tried it in a sentence, thus: 'I am
possessed.' Now, what did that tell me? It told me that Mrs.
Inglethorp had been writing the word 'possessed' that afternoon,
and, having the fragment of paper found in the grate fresh in my
mind, the possibility of a will--(a document almost certain to
contain that word)--occurred to me at once. This possibility was
confirmed by a further circumstance. In the general confusion,
the boudoir had not been swept that morning, and near the desk
were several traces of brown mould and earth. The weather had
been perfectly fine for some days, and no ordinary boots would
have left such a heavy deposit.
"I strolled to the window, and saw at once that the begonia beds
had been newly planted. The mould in the beds was exactly
similar to that on the floor of the boudoir, and also I learnt
from you that they had been planted yesterday afternoon. I was
now sure that one, or possibly both of the gardeners-- for there
were two sets of footprints in the bed--had entered the boudoir,
for if Mrs. Inglethorp had merely wished to speak to them she
would in all probability have stood at the window, and they would
not have come into the room at all. I was now quite convinced
that she had made a fresh will, and had called the two gardeners
in to witness her signature. Events proved that I was right in
my supposition."
"That was very ingenious," I could not help admitting. "I must
confess that the conclusions I drew from those few scribbled
words were quite erroneous."
He smiled.
"You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a
good servant, and a bad master. The simplest explanation is
always the most likely."
"Another point--how did you know that the key of the
despatch-case had been lost?"
"I did not know it. It was a guess that turned out to be
correct. You observed that it had a piece of twisted wire
through the handle. That suggested to me at once that it had
possibly been wrenched off a flimsy key-ring. Now, if it had
been lost and recovered, Mrs. Inglethorp would at once have
replaced it on her bunch; but on her bunch I found what was
obviously the duplicate key, very new and bright, which led me to
the hypothesis that somebody else had inserted the original key
in the lock of the despatch-case."
"Yes," I said, "Alfred Inglethorp, without doubt."
Poirot looked at me curiously.
"You are very sure of his guilt?"
"Well, naturally. Every fresh circumstance seems to establish it
more clearly."
"On the contrary," said Poirot quietly, "there are several points
in his favour."
"Oh, come now!"
"Yes."
"I see only one."
"And that?"
"That he was not in the house last night."
" 'Bad shot!' as you English say! You have chosen the one point
that to my mind tells against him."
"How is that?"
"Because if Mr. Inglethorp knew that his wife would be poisoned
last night, he would certainly have arranged to be away from the
house. His excuse was an obviously trumped up one. That leaves
us two possibilities: either he knew what was going to happen or
he had a reason of his own for his absence."
"And that reason?" I asked sceptically.
Poirot shrugged his shoulders.
"How should I know? Discreditable, without doubt. This Mr.
Inglethorp, I should say, is somewhat of a scoundrel--but that
does not of necessity make him a murderer."
I shook my head, unconvinced.
"We do not agree, eh?" said Poirot. "Well, let us leave it.
Time will show which of us is right. Now let us turn to other
aspects of the case. What do you make of the fact that all the
doors of the bedroom were bolted on the inside?"
"Well----" I considered. "One must look at it logically."
"True."
"I should put it this way. The doors *WERE bolted--our own eyes
have told us that--yet the presence of the candle grease on the
floor, and the destruction of the will, prove that during the
night some one entered the room. You agree so far?"
"Perfectly. Put with admirable clearness. Proceed."
"Well," I said, encouraged, "as the person who entered did not do
so by the window, nor by miraculous means, it follows that the
door must have been opened from inside by Mrs. Inglethorp
herself. That strengthens the conviction that the person in
question was her husband. She would naturally open the door to
her own husband."
Poirot shook his head.
"Why should she? She had bolted the door leading into his room--a
most unusual proceeding on her part--she had had a most violent
quarrel with him that very afternoon. No, he was the last person
she would admit."
"But you agree with me that the door must have been opened by
Mrs. Inglethorp herself?"
"There is another possibility. She may have forgotten to bolt
the door into the passage when she went to bed, and have got up
later, towards morning, and bolted it then."
"Poirot, is that seriously your opinion?"
"No, I do not say it is so, but it might be. Now, to turn to
another feature, what do you make of the scrap of conversation
you overheard between Mrs. Cavendish and her mother-in-law?"
"I had forgotten that," I said thoughtfully. "That is as
enigmatical as ever. It seems incredible that a woman like Mrs.
Cavendish, proud and reticent to the last degree, should
interfere so violently in what was certainly not her affair."
"Precisely. It was an astonishing thing for a woman of her
breeding to do."
"It is certainly curious," I agreed. "Still, it is unimportant,
and need not be taken into account."
A groan burst from Poirot.
"What have I always told you? Everything must be taken into
account. If the fact will not fit the theory--let the theory
go."
"Well, we shall see," I said, nettled.
"Yes, we shall see."
We had reached Leastways Cottage, and Poirot ushered me upstairs
to his own room. He offered me one of the tiny Russian
cigarettes he himself occasionally smoked. I was amused to
notice that he stowed away the used matches most carefully in a
little china pot. My momentary annoyance vanished.
Poirot had placed our two chairs in front of the open window
which commanded a view of the village street. The fresh air blew
in warm and pleasant. It was going to be a hot day.
Suddenly my attention was arrested by a weedy looking young man
rushing down the street at a great pace. It was the expression
on his face that was extraordinary--a curious mingling of terror
and agitation.
"Look, Poirot!" I said.
He leant forward.
"Tiens!" he said. "It is Mr. Mace, from the chemist's shop. He
is coming here."
The young man came to a halt before Leastways Cottage, and, after
hesitating a moment, pounded vigorously at the door.
"A little minute," cried Poirot from the window. "I come."
Motioning to me to follow him, he ran swiftly down the stairs and
opened the door. Mr. Mace began at once.
"Oh, Mr. Poirot, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I heard
that you'd just come back from the Hall?"
"Yes, we have."
The young man moistened his dry lips. His face was working
curiously.
"It's all over the village about old Mrs. Inglethorp dying so
suddenly. They do say--" he lowered his voice cautiously-- "that
it's poison?"
Poirot's face remained quite impassive.
"Only the doctors can tell us that, Mr. Mace."
"Yes, exactly--of course----" The young man hesitated, and then
his agitation was too much for him. He clutched Poirot by the
arm, and sank his voice to a whisper: "Just tell me this, Mr.
Poirot, it isn't--it isn't strychnine, is it?"
I hardly heard what Poirot replied. Something evidently of a
non-committal nature. The young man departed, and as he closed
the door Poirot's eyes met mine.
"Yes," he said, nodding gravely. "He will have evidence to give
at the inquest."
We went slowly upstairs again. I was opening my lips, when
Poirot stopped me with a gesture of his hand.
"Not now, not now, mon ami. I have need of reflection. My mind
is in some disorder--which is not well."
For about ten minutes he sat in dead silence, perfectly still,
except for several expressive motions of his eyebrows, and all
the time his eyes grew steadily greener. At last he heaved a
deep sigh.
"It is well. The bad moment has passed. Now all is arranged and
classified. One must never permit confusion. The case is not
clear yet--no. For it is of the most complicated! It puzzles
*ME. *ME, Hercule Poirot! There are two facts of significance."
"And what are they?"
"The first is the state of the weather yesterday. That is very
important."
"But it was a glorious day!" I interrupted. "Poirot, you're
pulling my leg!"
"Not at all. The thermometer registered 80 degrees in the shade.
Do not forget that, my friend. It is the key to the whole
riddle!"
"And the second point?" I asked.
"The important fact that Monsieur Inglethorp wears very peculiar
clothes, has a black beard, and uses glasses."
"Poirot, I cannot believe you are serious."
"I am absolutely serious, my friend."
"But this is childish!"
"No, it is very momentous."
"And supposing the Coroner's jury returns a verdict of Wilful
Murder against Alfred Inglethorp. What becomes of your theories,
then?"
"They would not be shaken because twelve stupid men had happened
to make a mistake! But that will not occur. For one thing, a
country jury is not anxious to take responsibility upon itself,
and Mr. Inglethorp stands practically in the position of local
squire. Also," he added placidly, "I should not allow it!"
"*YOU would not allow it?"
"No."
I looked at the extraordinary little man, divided between
annoyance and amusement. He was so tremendously sure of himself.
As though he read my thoughts, he nodded gently.
"Oh, yes, mon ami, I would do what I say." He got up and laid his
hand on my shoulder. His physiognomy underwent a complete
change. Tears came into his eyes. "In all this, you see, I
think of that poor Mrs. Inglethorp who is dead. She was not
extravagantly loved--no. But she was very good to us Belgians--I
owe her a debt."
I endeavoured to interrupt, but Poirot swept on.
"Let me tell you this, Hastings. She would never forgive me if I
let Alfred Inglethorp, her husband, be arrested now--when a word
from me could save him!"
CHAPTER VI. THE INQUEST
In the interval before the inquest, Poirot was unfailing in his
activity. Twice he was closeted with Mr. Wells. He also took
long walks into the country. I rather resented his not taking me
into his confidence, the more so as I could not in the least
guess what he was driving at.
It occurred to me that he might have been making inquiries at
Raikes's farm; so, finding him out when I called at Leastways
Cottage on Wednesday evening, I walked over there by the fields,
hoping to meet him. But there was no sign of him, and I
hesitated to go right up to the farm itself. As I walked away, I
met an aged rustic, who leered at me cunningly.
"You'm from the Hall, bain't you?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm looking for a friend of mine whom I thought might have
walked this way."
"A little chap? As waves his hands when he talks? One of them
Belgies from the village?"
"Yes," I said eagerly. "He has been here, then?"
"Oh, ay, he's been here, right enough. More'n once too. Friend
of yours, is he? Ah, you gentlemen from the Hall-- you'n a pretty
lot!" And he leered more jocosely than ever.
"Why, do the gentlemen from the Hall come here often?" I asked,
as carelessly as I could.
He winked at me knowingly.
"*ONE does, mister. Naming no names, mind. And a very liberal
gentleman too! Oh, thank you, sir, I'm sure."
I walked on sharply. Evelyn Howard had been right then, and I
experienced a sharp twinge of disgust, as I thought of Alfred
Inglethorp's liberality with another woman's money. Had that
piquant gipsy face been at the bottom of the crime, or was it the
baser mainspring of money? Probably a judicious mixture of both.
On one point, Poirot seemed to have a curious obsession. He once
or twice observed to me that he thought Dorcas must have made an
error in fixing the time of the quarrel. He suggested to her
repeatedly that it was 4.30, and not 4 o'clock when she had heard
the voices.
But Dorcas was unshaken. Quite an hour, or even more, had
elapsed between the time when she had heard the voices and 5
o'clock, when she had taken tea to her mistress.
The inquest was held on Friday at the Stylites Arms in the
village. Poirot and I sat together, not being required to give
evidence.
The preliminaries were gone through. The jury viewed the body,
and John Cavendish gave evidence of identification.
Further questioned, he described his awakening in the early hours
of the morning, and the circumstances of his mother's death.
The medical evidence was next taken. There was a breathless
hush, and every eye was fixed on the famous London specialist,
who was known to be one of the greatest authorities of the day on
the subject of toxicology.
In a few brief words, he summed up the result of the post-mortem.
Shorn of its medical phraseology and technicalities, it amounted
to the fact that Mrs. Inglethorp had met her death as the result
of strychnine poisoning. Judging from the quantity recovered,
she must have taken not less than three-quarters of a grain of
strychnine, but probably one grain or slightly over.
"Is it possible that she could have swallowed the poison by
accident?" asked the Coroner.
"I should consider it very unlikely. Strychnine is not used for
domestic purposes, as some poisons are, and there are
restrictions placed on its sale."
"Does anything in your examination lead you to determine how the
poison was administered?"
"No."
"You arrived at Styles before Dr. Wilkins, I believe?"
"That is so. The motor met me just outside the lodge gates, and
I hurried there as fast as I could."
"Will you relate to us exactly what happened next?"
"I entered Mrs. Inglethorp's room. She was at that moment in a
typical tetanic convulsion. She turned towards me, and gasped
out: 'Alfred--Alfred----' "
"Could the strychnine have been administered in Mrs. Inglethorp's
after-dinner coffee which was taken to her by her husband?"
"Possibly, but strychnine is a fairly rapid drug in its action.
The symptoms appear from one to two hours after it has been
swallowed. It is retarded under certain conditions, none of
which, however, appear to have been present in this case. I
presume Mrs. Inglethorp took the coffee after dinner about eight
o'clock, whereas the symptoms did not manifest themselves until
the early hours of the morning, which, on the face of it, points
to the drug having been taken much later in the evening."
"Mrs. Inglethorp was in the habit of drinking a cup of coco in
the middle of the night. Could the strychnine have been
administered in that?"
"No, I myself took a sample of the coco remaining in the saucepan
and had it analysed. There was no strychnine present."
I heard Poirot chuckle softly beside me.
"How did you know?" I whispered.
"Listen."
"I should say"--the doctor was continuing--"that I would have
been considerably surprised at any other result."
"Why?"
"Simply because strychnine has an unusually bitter taste. It can
be detected in a solution of 1 in 70,000, and can only be
disguised by some strongly flavoured substance. Coco would be
quite powerless to mask it."
One of the jury wanted to know if the same objection applied to
coffee.
"No. Coffee has a bitter taste of its own which would probably
cover the taste of strychnine."
"Then you consider it more likely that the drug was administered
in the coffee, but that for some unknown reason its action was
delayed."
"Yes, but, the cup being completely smashed, there is no
possibility of analyzing its contents."
This concluded Dr. Bauerstein's evidence. Dr. Wilkins
corroborated it on all points. Sounded as to the possibility of
suicide, he repudiated it utterly. The deceased, he said,
suffered from a weak heart, but otherwise enjoyed perfect health,
and was of a cheerful and well-balanced disposition. She would
be one of the last people to take her own life.
Lawrence Cavendish was next called. His evidence was quite
unimportant, being a mere repetition of that of his brother.
Just as he was about to step down, he paused, and said rather
hesitatingly:
"I should like to make a suggestion if I may?"
He glanced deprecatingly at the Coroner, who replied briskly:
"Certainly, Mr. Cavendish, we are here to arrive at the truth of
this matter, and welcome anything that may lead to further
elucidation."
"It is just an idea of mine," explained Lawrence. "Of course I
may be quite wrong, but it still seems to me that my mother's
death might be accounted for by natural means."
"How do you make that out, Mr. Cavendish?"
"My mother, at the time of her death, and for some time before
it, was taking a tonic containing strychnine."
"Ah!" said the Coroner.
The jury looked up, interested.
"I believe," continued Lawrence, "that there have been cases
where the cumulative effect of a drug, administered for some
time, has ended by causing death. Also, is it not possible that
she may have taken an overdose of her medicine by accident?"
"This is the first we have heard of the deceased taking
strychnine at the time of her death. We are much obliged to you,
Mr. Cavendish."
Dr. Wilkins was recalled and ridiculed the idea.
"What Mr. Cavendish suggests is quite impossible. Any doctor
would tell you the same. Strychnine is, in a certain sense, a
cumulative poison, but it would be quite impossible for it to
result in sudden death in this way. There would have to be a
long period of chronic symptoms which would at once have
attracted my attention. The whole thing is absurd."
"And the second suggestion? That Mrs. Inglethorp may have
inadvertently taken an overdose?"
"Three, or even four doses, would not have resulted in death.
Mrs. Inglethorp always had an extra large amount of medicine made
up at a time, as she dealt with Coot's, the Cash Chemists in
Tadminster. She would have had to take very nearly the whole
bottle to account for the amount of strychnine found at the
post-mortem."
"Then you consider that we may dismiss the tonic as not being in
any way instrumental in causing her death?"
"Certainly. The supposition is ridiculous."
The same juryman who had interrupted before here suggested that
the chemist who made up the medicine might have committed an
error.
"That, of course, is always possible," replied the doctor.
But Dorcas, who was the next witness called, dispelled even that
possibility. The medicine had not been newly made up. On the
contrary, Mrs. Inglethorp had taken the last dose on the day of
her death.
So the question of the tonic was finally abandoned, and the
Coroner proceeded with his task. Having elicited from Dorcas how
she had been awakened by the violent ringing of her mistress's
bell, and had subsequently roused the household, he passed to the
subject of the quarrel on the preceding afternoon.
Dorcas's evidence on this point was substantially what Poirot and
I had already heard, so I will not repeat it here.
The next witness was Mary Cavendish. She stood very upright, and
spoke in a low, clear, and perfectly composed voice. In answer
to the Coroner's question, she told how, her alarm clock having
aroused her at 4.30 as usual, she was dressing, when she was
startled by the sound of something heavy falling.
"That would have been the table by the bed?" commented the
Coroner.
"I opened my door," continued Mary, "and listened. In a few
minutes a bell rang violently. Dorcas came running down and woke
my husband, and we all went to my mother-in-law's room, but it
was locked----"
The Coroner interrupted her.
"I really do not think we need trouble you further on that point.
We know all that can be known of the subsequent happenings. But
I should be obliged if you would tell us all you overheard of the
quarrel the day before."
"I?"
There was a faint insolence in her voice. She raised her hand
and adjusted the ruffle of lace at her neck, turning her head a
little as she did so. And quite spontaneously the thought
flashed across my mind: "She is gaining time!"
"Yes. I understand," continued the Coroner deliberately, "that
you were sitting reading on the bench just outside the long
window of the boudoir. That is so, is it not?"
This was news to me and glancing sideways at Poirot, I fancied
that it was news to him as well.
There was the faintest pause, the mere hesitation of a moment,
before she answered:
"Yes, that is so."
"And the boudoir window was open, was it not?"
Surely her face grew a little paler as she answered:
"Yes."
"Then you cannot have failed to hear the voices inside,
especially as they were raised in anger. In fact, they would be
more audible where you were than in the hall."
"Possibly."
"Will you repeat to us what you overheard of the quarrel?"
"I really do not remember hearing anything."
"Do you mean to say you did not hear voices?"
"Oh, yes, I heard the voices, but I did not hear what they said."
A faint spot of colour came into her cheek. "I am not in the
habit of listening to private conversations."
The Coroner persisted.
"And you remember nothing at all? *NOTHING, Mrs. Cavendish? Not
one stray word or phrase to make you realize that it *WAS a
private conversation?"
She paused, and seemed to reflect, still outwardly as calm as
ever.
"Yes; I remember. Mrs. Inglethorp said something--I do not
remember exactly what--about causing scandal between husband and
wife."
"Ah!" the Coroner leant back satisfied. "That corresponds with
what Dorcas heard. But excuse me, Mrs. Cavendish, although you
realized it was a private conversation, you did not move away?
You remained where you were?"
I caught the momentary gleam of her tawny eyes as she raised
them. I felt certain that at that moment she would willingly
have torn the little lawyer, with his insinuations, into pieces,
but she replied quietly enough:
"No. I was very comfortable where I was. I fixed my mind on my
book."
"And that is all you can tell us?"
"That is all."
The examination was over, though I doubted if the Coroner was
entirely satisfied with it. I think he suspected that Mary
Cavendish could tell more if she chose.
Amy Hill, shop assistant, was next called, and deposed to having
sold a will form on the afternoon of the 17th to William Earl,
under-gardener at Styles.
William Earl and Manning succeeded her, and testified to
witnessing a document. Manning fixed the time at about 4.30,
William was of the opinion that it was rather earlier.
Cynthia Murdoch came next. She had, however, little to tell.
She had known nothing of the tragedy, until awakened by Mrs.
Cavendish.
"You did not hear the table fall?"
"No. I was fast asleep."
The Coroner smiled.
"A good conscience makes a sound sleeper," he observed. "Thank
you, Miss Murdoch, that is all."
"Miss Howard."
Miss Howard produced the letter written to her by Mrs. Inglethorp
on the evening of the 17th. Poirot and I had, of course already
seen it. It added nothing to our knowledge of the tragedy. The
following is a facsimile:
STYLES COURT
ESSEX hand written note: July 17th My
dear Evelyn
Can we not bury the hachet? I have found it hard to forgive the
things you said
against my dear husband but I am an old woman & very fond of you
Yours affectionately,
Emily Inglethorpe
It was handed to the jury who scrutinized it attentively.
"I fear it does not help us much," said the Coroner, with a sigh.
"There is no mention of any of the events of that afternoon."
"Plain as a pikestaff to me," said Miss Howard shortly. "It
shows clearly enough that my poor old friend had just found out
she'd been made a fool of!"
"It says nothing of the kind in the letter," the Coroner pointed
out.
"No, because Emily never could bear to put herself in the wrong.
But I know her. She wanted me back. But she wasn't going to own
that I'd been right. She went round about. Most people do.
Don't believe in it myself."
Mr. Wells smiled faintly. So, I noticed, did several of the
jury. Miss Howard was obviously quite a public character.
"Anyway, all this tomfoolery is a great waste of time," continued
the lady, glancing up and down the jury disparagingly.
"Talk--talk--talk! When all the time we know perfectly well----"
The Coroner interrupted her in an agony of apprehension:
"Thank you, Miss Howard, that is all."
I fancy he breathed a sigh of relief when she complied.
Then came the sensation of the day. The Coroner called Albert
Mace, chemist's assistant.
It was our agitated young man of the pale face. In answer to the
Coroner's questions, he explained that he was a qualified
pharmacist, but had only recently come to this particular shop,
as the assistant formerly there had just been called up for the
army.
These preliminaries completed, the Coroner proceeded to business.
"Mr. Mace, have you lately sold strychnine to any unauthorized
person?"
"Yes, sir."
"When was this?"
"Last Monday night."
"Monday? Not Tuesday?"
"No, sir, Monday, the 16th."
"Will you tell us to whom you sold it?"
You could have heard a pin drop.
"Yes, sir. It was to Mr. Inglethorp."
Every eye turned simultaneously to where Alfred Inglethorp was
sitting, impassive and wooden. He started slightly, as the
damning words fell from the young man's lips. I half thought he
was going to rise from his chair, but he remained seated,
although a remarkably well acted expression of astonishment rose
on his face.
"You are sure of what you say?" asked the Coroner sternly.
"Quite sure, sir."
"Are you in the habit of selling strychnine indiscriminately over
the counter?"
The wretched young man wilted visibly under the Coroner's frown.
"Oh, no, sir--of course not. But, seeing it was Mr. Inglethorp
of the Hall, I thought there was no harm in it. He said it was
to poison a dog."
Inwardly I sympathized. It was only human nature to endeavour to
please "The Hall"--especially when it might result in custom
being transferred from Coot's to the local establishment.
"Is it not customary for anyone purchasing poison to sign a
book?"
"Yes, sir, Mr. Inglethorp did so."
"Have you got the book here?"
"Yes, sir."
It was produced; and, with a few words of stern censure, the
Coroner dismissed the wretched Mr. Mace.
Then, amidst a breathless silence, Alfred Inglethorp was called.
Did he realize, I wondered, how closely the halter was being
drawn around his neck?
The Coroner went straight to the point.
"On Monday evening last, did you purchase strychnine for the
purpose of poisoning a dog?"
Inglethorp replied with perfect calmness:
"No, I did not. There is no dog at Styles, except an outdoor
sheepdog, which is in perfect health."
"You deny absolutely having purchased strychnine from Albert Mace
on Monday last?"
"I do."
"Do you also deny *THIS?"
The Coroner handed him the register in which his signature was
inscribed.
"Certainly I do. The hand-writing is quite different from mine.
I will show you."
He took an old envelope out of his pocket, and wrote his name on
it, handing it to the jury. It was certainly utterly dissimilar.
"Then what is your explanation of Mr. Mace's statement?"
Alfred Inglethorp replied imperturbably:
"Mr. Mace must have been mistaken."
The Coroner hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"Mr. Inglethorp, as a mere matter of form, would you mind telling
us where you were on the evening of Monday, July 16th?"
"Really--I can't remember."
"That is absurd, Mr. Inglethorp," said the Coroner sharply.
"Think again."
Inglethorp shook his head.
"I cannot tell you. I have an idea that I was out walking."
"In what direction?"
"I really can't remember."
The Coroner's face grew graver.
"Were you in company with anyone?"
"No."
"Did you meet anyone on your walk?"
"No."
"That is a pity," said the Coroner dryly. "I am to take it then
that you decline to say where you were at the time that Mr. Mace
positively recognized you as entering the shop to purchase
strychnine?"
"If you like to take it that way, yes."
"Be careful, Mr. Inglethorp."
Poirot was fidgeting nervously.
"Sacre!" he murmured. "Does this imbecile of a man *WANT to be
arrested?"
Inglethorp was indeed creating a bad impression. His futile
denials would not have convinced a child. The Coroner, however,
passed briskly to the next point, and Poirot drew a deep breath
of relief.
"You had a discussion with your wife on Tuesday afternoon?"
"Pardon me," interrupted Alfred Inglethorp, "you have been
misinformed. I had no quarrel with my dear wife. The whole
story is absolutely untrue. I was absent from the house the
entire afternoon."
"Have you anyone who can testify to that?"
"You have my word," said Inglethorp haughtily.
The Coroner did not trouble to reply.
"There are two witnesses who will swear to having heard your
disagreement with Mrs. Inglethorp."
"Those witnesses were mistaken."
I was puzzled. The man spoke with such quiet assurance that I
was staggered. I looked at Poirot. There was an expression of
exultation on his face which I could not understand. Was he at
last convinced of Alfred Inglethorp's guilt?
"Mr. Inglethorp," said the Coroner, "you have heard your wife's
dying words repeated here. Can you explain them in any way?"
"Certainly I can."
"You can?"
"It seems to me very simple. The room was dimly lighted. Dr.
Bauerstein is much of my height and build, and, like me, wears a
beard. In the dim light, and suffering as she was, my poor wife
mistook him for me."
"Ah!" murmured Poirot to himself. "But it is an idea, that!"
"You think it is true?" I whispered.
"I do not say that. But it is truly an ingenious supposition."
"You read my wife's last words as an accusation"--Inglethorp was
continuing--"they were, on the contrary, an appeal to me."
The Coroner reflected a moment, then he said:
"I believe, Mr. Inglethorp, that you yourself poured out the
coffee, and took it to your wife that evening?"
"I poured it out, yes. But I did not take it to her. I meant to
do so, but I was told that a friend was at the hall door, so I
laid down the coffee on the hall table. When I came through the
hall again a few minutes later, it was gone."
This statement might, or might not, be true, but it did not seem
to me to improve matters much for Inglethorp. In any case, he
had had ample time to introduce the poison.
At that point, Poirot nudged me gently, indicating two men who
were sitting together near the door. One was a little, sharp,
dark, ferret-faced man, the other was tall and fair.
I questioned Poirot mutely. He put his lips to my ear.
"Do you know who that little man is?"
I shook my head.
"That is Detective Inspector James Japp of Scotland Yard-- Jimmy
Japp. The other man is from Scotland Yard too. Things are
moving quickly, my friend."
I stared at the two men intently. There was certainly nothing of
the policeman about them. I should never have suspected them of
being official personages.
I was still staring, when I was startled and recalled by the
verdict being given:
"Wilful Murder against some person or persons unknown."
CHAPTER VII. POIROT PAYS HIS DEBTS
As we came out of the Stylites Arms, Poirot drew me aside by a
gentle pressure of the arm. I understood his object. He was
waiting for the Scotland Yard men.
In a few moments, they emerged, and Poirot at once stepped
forward, and accosted the shorter of the two.
"I fear you do not remember me, Inspector Japp."
"Why, if it isn't Mr. Poirot!" cried the Inspector. He turned to
the other man. "You've heard me speak of Mr. Poirot? It was in
1904 he and I worked together--the Abercrombie forgery case--you
remember, he was run down in Brussels. Ah, those were great
days, moosier. Then, do you remember 'Baron' Altara? There was a
pretty rogue for you! He eluded the clutches of half the police
in Europe. But we nailed him in Antwerp--thanks to Mr. Poirot
here."
As these friendly reminiscences were being indulged in, I drew
nearer, and was introduced to Detective-Inspector Japp, who, in
his turn, introduced us both to his companion, Superintendent
Summerhaye.
"I need hardly ask what you are doing here, gentlemen," remarked
Poirot.
Japp closed one eye knowingly.
"No, indeed. Pretty clear case I should say."
But Poirot answered gravely:
"There I differ from you."
"Oh, come!" said Summerhaye, opening his lips for the first time.
"Surely the whole thing is clear as daylight. The man's caught
red-handed. How he could be such a fool beats me!"
But Japp was looking attentively at Poirot.
"Hold your fire, Summerhaye," he remarked jocularly. "Me and
Moosier here have met before--and there's no man's judgment I'd
sooner take than his. If I'm not greatly mistaken, he's got
something up his sleeve. Isn't that so, moosier?"
Poirot smiled.
"I have drawn certain conclusions--yes."
Summerhaye was still looking rather sceptical, but Japp continued
his scrutiny of Poirot.
"It's this way," he said, "so far, we've only seen the case from
the outside. That's where the Yard's at a disadvantage in a case
of this kind, where the murder's only out, so to speak, after the
inquest. A lot depends on being on the spot first thing, and
that's where Mr. Poirot's had the start of us. We shouldn't have
been here as soon as this even, if it hadn't been for the fact
that there was a smart doctor on the spot, who gave us the tip
through the Coroner. But you've been on the spot from the first,
and you may have picked up some little hints. From the evidence
at the inquest, Mr. Inglethorp murdered his wife as sure as I
stand here, and if anyone but you hinted the contrary I'd laugh
in his face. I must say I was surprised the jury didn't bring it
in Wilful Murder against him right off. I think they would have,
if it hadn't been for the Coroner--he seemed to be holding them
back."
"Perhaps, though, you have a warrant for his arrest in your
pocket now," suggested Poirot.
A kind of wooden shutter of officialdom came down from Japp's
expressive countenance.
"Perhaps I have, and perhaps I haven't," he remarked dryly.
Poirot looked at him thoughtfully.
"I am very anxious, Messieurs, that he should not be arrested."
"I dare say," observed Summerhaye sarcastically.
Japp was regarding Poirot with comical perplexity.
"Can't you go a little further, Mr. Poirot? A wink's as good as a
nod--from you. You've been on the spot--and the Yard doesn't
want to make any mistakes, you know."
Poirot nodded gravely.
"That is exactly what I thought. Well, I will tell you this.
Use your warrant: Arrest Mr. Inglethorp. But it will bring you
no kudos--the case against him will be dismissed at once! Comme
ca!" And he snapped his fingers expressively.
Japp's face grew grave, though Summerhaye gave an incredulous
snort.
As for me, I was literally dumb with astonishment. I could only
conclude that Poirot was mad.
Japp had taken out a handkerchief, and was gently dabbing his
brow.
"I daren't do it, Mr. Poirot. I'd take your word, but there's
others over me who'll be asking what the devil I mean by it.
Can't you give me a little more to go on?"
Poirot reflected a moment.
"It can be done," he said at last. "I admit I do not wish it.
It forces my hand. I would have preferred to work in the dark
just for the present, but what you say is very just--the word of
a Belgian policeman, whose day is past, is not enough! And Alfred
Inglethorp must not be arrested. That I have sworn, as my friend
Hastings here knows. See, then, my good Japp, you go at once to
Styles?"
"Well, in about half an hour. We're seeing the Coroner and the
doctor first."
"Good. Call for me in passing--the last house in the village. I
will go with you. At Styles, Mr. Inglethorp will give you, or if
he refuses--as is probable--I will give you such proofs that
shall satisfy you that the case against him could not possibly be
sustained. Is that a bargain?"
"That's a bargain," said Japp heartily. "And, on behalf of the
Yard, I'm much obliged to you, though I'm bound to confess I
can't at present see the faintest possible loop-hole in the
evidence, but you always were a marvel! So long, then, moosier."
The two detectives strode away, Summerhaye with an incredulous
grin on his face.
"Well, my friend," cried Poirot, before I could get in a word,
"what do you think? Mon Dieu! I had some warm moments in that
court; I did not figure to myself that the man would be so
pig-headed as to refuse to say anything at all. Decidedly, it
was the policy of an imbecile."
"H'm! There are other explanations besides that of imbecility," I
remarked. "For, if the case against him is true, how could he
defend himself except by silence?"
"Why, in a thousand ingenious ways," cried Poirot. "See; say
that it is I who have committed this murder, I can think of seven
most plausible stories! Far more convincing than Mr. Inglethorp's
stony denials!"
I could not help laughing.
"My dear Poirot, I am sure you are capable of thinking of
seventy! But, seriously, in spite of what I heard you say to the
detectives, you surely cannot still believe in the possibility of
Alfred Inglethorp's innocence?"
"Why not now as much as before? Nothing has changed."
"But the evidence is so conclusive."
"Yes, too conclusive."
We turned in at the gate of Leastways Cottage, and proceeded up
the now familiar stairs.
"Yes, yes, too conclusive," continued Poirot, almost to himself.
"Real evidence is usually vague and unsatisfactory. It has to be
examined--sifted. But here the whole thing is cut and dried.
No, my friend, this evidence has been very cleverly
manufactured--so cleverly that it has defeated its own ends."
"How do you make that out?"
"Because, so long as the evidence against him was vague and
intangible, it was very hard to disprove. But, in his anxiety,
the criminal has drawn the net so closely that one cut will set
Inglethorp free."
I was silent. And in a minute or two, Poirot continued:
"Let us look at the matter like this. Here is a man, let us say,
who sets out to poison his wife. He has lived by his wits as the
saying goes. Presumably, therefore, he has some wits. He is not
altogether a fool. Well, how does he set about it? He goes
boldly to the village chemist's and purchases strychnine under
his own name, with a trumped up story about a dog which is bound
to be proved absurd. He does not employ the poison that night.
No, he waits until he has had a violent quarrel with her, of
which the whole household is cognisant, and which naturally
directs their suspicions upon him. He prepares no defence--no
shadow of an alibi, yet he knows the chemist's assistant must
necessarily come forward with the facts. Bah! do not ask me to
believe that any man could be so idiotic! Only a lunatic, who
wished to commit suicide by causing himself to be hanged, would
act so!"
"Still--I do not see--" I began.
"Neither do I see. I tell you, mon ami, it puzzles me. Me
--Hercule Poirot!"
"But if you believe him innocent, how do you explain his buying
the strychnine?"
"Very simply. He did *NOT buy it."
"But Mace recognized him!"
"I beg your pardon, he saw a man with a black beard like Mr.
Inglethorp's, and wearing glasses like Mr. Inglethorp, and
dressed in Mr. Inglethorp's rather noticeable clothes. He could
not recognize a man whom he had probably only seen in the
distance, since, you remember, he himself had only been in the
village a fortnight, and Mrs. Inglethorp dealt principally with
Coot's in Tadminster."
"Then you think----"
"Mon ami, do you remember the two points I laid stress upon?
Leave the first one for the moment, what was the second?"
"The important fact that Alfred Inglethorp wears peculiar
clothes, has a black beard, and uses glasses," I quoted.
"Exactly. Now suppose anyone wished to pass himself off as John
or Lawrence Cavendish. Would it be easy?"
"No," I said thoughtfully. "Of course an actor----"
But Poirot cut me short ruthlessly.
"And why would it not be easy? I will tell you, my friend:
Because they are both clean-shaven men. To make up successfully
as one of these two in broad daylight, it would need an actor of
genius, and a certain initial facial resemblance. But in the
case of Alfred Inglethorp, all that is changed. His clothes, his
beard, the glasses which hide his eyes--those are the salient
points about his personal appearance. Now, what is the first
instinct of the criminal? To divert suspicion from himself, is it
not so? And how can he best do that? By throwing it on some one
else. In this instance, there was a man ready to his hand.
Everybody was predisposed to believe in Mr. Inglethorp's guilt.
It was a foregone conclusion that he would be suspected; but, to
make it a sure thing there must be tangible proof--such as the
actual buying of the poison, and that, with a man of the peculiar
appearance of Mr. Inglethorp, was not difficult. Remember, this
young Mace had never actually spoken to Mr. Inglethorp. How
should he doubt that the man in his clothes, with his beard and
his glasses, was not Alfred Inglethorp?"
"It may be so," I said, fascinated by Poirot's eloquence. "But,
if that was the case, why does he not say where he was at six
o'clock on Monday evening?"
"Ah, why indeed?" said Poirot, calming down. "If he were
arrested, he probably would speak, but I do not want it to come
to that. I must make him see the gravity of his position. There
is, of course, something discreditable behind his silence. If he
did not murder his wife, he is, nevertheless, a scoundrel, and
has something of his own to conceal, quite apart from the
murder."
"What can it be?" I mused, won over to Poirot's views for the
moment, although still retaining a faint conviction that the
obvious deduction was the correct one.
"Can you not guess?" asked Poirot, smiling.
"No, can you?"
"Oh, yes, I had a little idea sometime ago--and it has turned out
to be correct."
"You never told me," I said reproachfully.
Poirot spread out his hands apologetically.
"Pardon me, mon ami, you were not precisely sympathique." He
turned to me earnestly. "Tell me--you see now that he must not
be arrested?"
"Perhaps," I said doubtfully, for I was really quite indifferent
to the fate of Alfred Inglethorp, and thought that a good fright
would do him no harm.
Poirot, who was watching me intently, gave a sigh.
"Come, my friend," he said, changing the subject, "apart from Mr.
Inglethorp, how did the evidence at the inquest strike you?"
"Oh, pretty much what I expected."
"Did nothing strike you as peculiar about it?"
My thoughts flew to Mary Cavendish, and I hedged:
"In what way?"
"Well, Mr. Lawrence Cavendish's evidence for instance?"
I was relieved.
"Oh, Lawrence! No, I don't think so. He's always a nervous
chap."
"His suggestion that his mother might have been poisoned
accidentally by means of the tonic she was taking, that did not
strike you as strange--hein?"
"No, I can't say it did. The doctors ridiculed it of course.
But it was quite a natural suggestion for a layman to make."
"But Monsieur Lawrence is not a layman. You told me yourself
that he had started by studying medicine, and that he had taken
his degree."
"Yes, that's true. I never thought of that." I was rather
startled. "It *IS odd."
Poirot nodded.
"From the first, his behaviour has been peculiar. Of all the
household, he alone would be likely to recognize the symptoms of
strychnine poisoning, and yet we find him the only member of the
family to uphold strenuously the theory of death from natural
causes. If it had been Monsieur John, I could have understood
it. He has no technical knowledge, and is by nature
unimaginative. But Monsieur Lawrence--no! And now, to-day, he
puts forward a suggestion that he himself must have known was
ridiculous. There is food for thought in this, mon ami!"
"It's very confusing," I agreed.
"Then there is Mrs. Cavendish," continued Poirot. "That's
another who is not telling all she knows! What do you make of her
attitude?"
"I don't know what to make of it. It seems inconceivable that
she should be shielding Alfred Inglethorp. Yet that is what it
looks like."
Poirot nodded reflectively.
"Yes, it is queer. One thing is certain, she overheard a good
deal more of that 'private conversation' than she was willing to
admit."
"And yet she is the last person one would accuse of stooping to
eavesdrop!"
"Exactly. One thing her evidence *HAS shown me. I made a
mistake. Dorcas was quite right. The quarrel did take place
earlier in the afternoon, about four o'clock, as she said."
I looked at him curiously. I had never understood his insistence
on that point.
"Yes, a good deal that was peculiar came out to-day," continued
Poirot. "Dr. Bauerstein, now, what was *HE doing up and dressed
at that hour in the morning? It is astonishing to me that no one
commented on the fact."
"He has insomnia, I believe," I said doubtfully.
"Which is a very good, or a very bad explanation," remarked
Poirot. "It covers everything, and explains nothing. I shall
keep my eye on our clever Dr. Bauerstein."
"Any more faults to find with the evidence?" I inquired
satirically.
"Mon ami," replied Poirot gravely, "when you find that people are
not telling you the truth--look out! Now, unless I am much
mistaken, at the inquest to-day only one--at most, two persons
were speaking the truth without reservation or subterfuge."
"Oh, come now, Poirot! I won't cite Lawrence, or Mrs. Cavendish.
But there's John--and Miss Howard, surely they were speaking the
truth?"
"Both of them, my friend? One, I grant you, but both----!"
His words gave me an unpleasant shock. Miss Howard's evidence,
unimportant as it was, had been given in such a downright
straightforward manner that it had never occurred to me to doubt
her sincerity. Still, I had a great respect for Poirot's
sagacity--except on the occasions when he was what I described to
myself as "foolishly pig-headed."
"Do you really think so?" I asked. "Miss Howard had always
seemed to me so essentially honest--almost uncomfortably so."
Poirot gave me a curious look, which I could not quite fathom.
He seemed to speak, and then checked himself.
"Miss Murdoch too," I continued, "there's nothing untruthful
about *HER."
"No. But it was strange that she never heard a sound, sleeping
next door; whereas Mrs. Cavendish, in the other wing of the
building, distinctly heard the table fall."
"Well, she's young. And she sleeps soundly."
"Ah, yes, indeed! She must be a famous sleeper, that one!"
I did not quite like the tone of his voice, but at that moment a
smart knock reached our ears, and looking out of the window we
perceived the two detectives waiting for us below.
Poirot seized his hat, gave a ferocious twist to his moustache,
and, carefully brushing an imaginary speck of dust from his
sleeve, motioned me to precede him down the stairs; there we
joined the detectives and set out for Styles.
I think the appearance of the two Scotland Yard men was rather a
shock--especially to John, though of course after the verdict, he
had realized that it was only a matter of time. Still, the
presence of the detectives brought the truth home to him more
than anything else could have done.
Poirot had conferred with Japp in a low tone on the way up, and
it was the latter functionary who requested that the household,
with the exception of the servants, should be assembled together
in the drawing-room. I realized the significance of this. It
was up to Poirot to make his boast good.
Personally, I was not sanguine. Poirot might have excellent
reasons for his belief in Inglethorp's innocence, but a man of
the type of Summerhaye would require tangible proofs, and these I
doubted if Poirot could supply.
Before very long we had all trooped into the drawing-room, the
door of which Japp closed. Poirot politely set chairs for every
one. The Scotland Yard men were the cynosure of all eyes. I
think that for the first time we realized that the thing was not
a bad dream, but a tangible reality. We had read of such
things--now we ourselves were actors in the drama. To-morrow the
daily papers, all over England, would blazon out the news in
staring headlines:
"MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY IN ESSEX" "WEALTHY
LADY POISONED"
There would be pictures of Styles, snap-shots of "The family
leaving the Inquest"--the village photographer had not been idle!
All the things that one had read a hundred times--things that
happen to other people, not to oneself. And now, in this house,
a murder had been committed. In front of us were "the detectives
in charge of the case." The well-known glib phraseology passed
rapidly through my mind in the interval before Poirot opened the
proceedings.
I think every one was a little surprised that it should be he and
not one of the official detectives who took the initiative.
"Mesdames and messieurs," said Poirot, bowing as though he were a
celebrity about to deliver a lecture, "I have asked you to come
here all together, for a certain object. That object, it
concerns Mr. Alfred Inglethorp."
Inglethorp was sitting a little by himself--I think,
unconsciously, every one had drawn his chair slightly away from
him--and he gave a faint start as Poirot pronounced his name.
"Mr. Inglethorp," said Poirot, addressing him directly, "a very
dark shadow is resting on this house--the shadow of murder."
Inglethorp shook his head sadly.
"My poor wife," he murmured. "Poor Emily! It is terrible."
"I do not think, monsieur," said Poirot pointedly, "that you
quite realize how terrible it may be--for you." And as Inglethorp
did not appear to understand, he added: "Mr. Inglethorp, you are
standing in very grave danger."
The two detectives fidgeted. I saw the official caution
"Anything you say will be used in evidence against you," actually
hovering on Summerhaye's lips. Poirot went on.
"Do you understand now, monsieur?"
"No; What do you mean?"
"I mean," said Poirot deliberately, "that you are suspected of
poisoning your wife."
A little gasp ran round the circle at this plain speaking.
"Good heavens!" cried Inglethorp, starting up. "What a monstrous
idea! _I_--poison my dearest Emily!"
"I do not think"--Poirot watched him narrowly--"that you quite
realize the unfavourable nature of your evidence at the inquest.
Mr. Inglethorp, knowing what I have now told you, do you still
refuse to say where you were at six o'clock on Monday afternoon?"
With a groan, Alfred Inglethorp sank down again and buried his
face in his hands. Poirot approached and stood over him.
"Speak!" he cried menacingly.
With an effort, Inglethorp raised his face from his hands. Then,
slowly and deliberately, he shook his head.
"You will not speak?"
"No. I do not believe that anyone could be so monstrous as to
accuse me of what you say."
Poirot nodded thoughtfully, like a man whose mind is made up.
"Soit!" he said. "Then I must speak for you."
Alfred Inglethorp sprang up again.
"You? How can you speak? You do not know----" he broke off
abruptly.
Poirot turned to face us. "Mesdames and messieurs! I speak!
Listen! I, Hercule Poirot, affirm that the man who entered the
chemist's shop, and purchased strychnine at six o'clock on Monday
last was not Mr. Inglethorp, for at six o'clock on that day Mr.
Inglethorp was escorting Mrs. Raikes back to her home from a
neighbouring farm. I can produce no less than five witnesses to
swear to having seen them together, either at six or just after
and, as you may know, the Abbey Farm, Mrs. Raikes's home, is at
least two and a half miles distant from the village. There is
absolutely no question as to the alibi!"
CHAPTER VIII. FRESH SUSPICIONS
There was a moment's stupefied silence. Japp, who was the least
surprised of any of us, was the first to speak.
"My word," he cried, "you're the goods! And no mistake, Mr.
Poirot! These witnesses of yours are all right, I suppose?"
"Voila! I have prepared a list of them--names and addresses. You
must see them, of course. But you will find it all right."
"I'm sure of that." Japp lowered his voice. "I'm much obliged to
you. A pretty mare's nest arresting him would have been." He
turned to Inglethorp. "But, if you'll excuse me, sir, why
couldn't you say all this at the inquest?"
"I will tell you why," interrupted Poirot. "There was a certain
rumour----"
"A most malicious and utterly untrue one," interrupted Alfred
Inglethorp in an agitated voice.
"And Mr. Inglethorp was anxious to have no scandal revived just
at present. Am I right?"
"Quite right." Inglethorp nodded. "With my poor Emily not yet
buried, can you wonder I was anxious that no more lying rumours
should be started."
"Between you and me, sir," remarked Japp, "I'd sooner have any
amount of rumours than be arrested for murder. And I venture to
think your poor lady would have felt the same. And, if it hadn't
been for Mr. Poirot here, arrested you would have been, as sure
as eggs is eggs!"
"I was foolish, no doubt," murmured Inglethorp. "But you do not
know, inspector, how I have been persecuted and maligned." And he
shot a baleful glance at Evelyn Howard.
"Now, sir," said Japp, turning briskly to John, "I should like to
see the lady's bedroom, please, and after that I'll have a little
chat with the servants. Don't you bother about anything. Mr.
Poirot, here, will show me the way."
As they all went out of the room, Poirot turned and made me a
sign to follow him upstairs. There he caught me by the arm, and
drew me aside.
"Quick, go to the other wing. Stand there--just this side of the
baize door. Do not move till I come." Then, turning rapidly, he
rejoined the two detectives.
I followed his instructions, taking up my position by the baize
door, and wondering what on earth lay behind the request. Why
was I to stand in this particular spot on guard? I looked
thoughtfully down the corridor in front of me. An idea struck
me. With the exception of Cynthia Murdoch's, every one's room
was in this left wing. Had that anything to do with it? Was I to
report who came or went? I stood faithfully at my post. The
minutes passed. Nobody came. Nothing happened.
It must have been quite twenty minutes before Poirot rejoined me.
"You have not stirred?"
"No, I've stuck here like a rock. Nothing's happened."
"Ah!" Was he pleased, or disappointed? "You've seen nothing at
all?"
"No."
"But you have probably heard something? A big bump--eh, mon ami?"
"No."
"Is it possible? Ah, but I am vexed with myself! I am not usually
clumsy. I made but a slight gesture"--I know Poirot's
gestures--"with the left hand, and over went the table by the
bed!"
He looked so childishly vexed and crest-fallen that I hastened to
console him.
"Never mind, old chap. What does it matter? Your triumph
downstairs excited you. I can tell you, that was a surprise to
us all. There must be more in this affair of Inglethorp's with
Mrs. Raikes than we thought, to make him hold his tongue so
persistently. What are you going to do now? Where are the
Scotland Yard fellows?"
"Gone down to interview the servants. I showed them all our
exhibits. I am disappointed in Japp. He has no method!"
"Hullo!" I said, looking out of the window. "Here's Dr.
Bauerstein. I believe you're right about that man, Poirot. I
don't like him."
"He is clever," observed Poirot meditatively.
"Oh, clever as the devil! I must say I was overjoyed to see him
in the plight he was in on Tuesday. You never saw such a
spectacle!" And I described the doctor's adventure. "He looked a
regular scarecrow! Plastered with mud from head to foot."
"You saw him, then?"
"Yes. Of course, he didn't want to come in--it was just after
dinner--but Mr. Inglethorp insisted."
"What?" Poirot caught me violently by the shoulders. "Was Dr.
Bauerstein here on Tuesday evening? Here? And you never told me?
Why did you not tell me? Why? Why?"
He appeared to be in an absolute frenzy.
"My dear Poirot," I expostulated, "I never thought it would
interest you. I didn't know it was of any importance."
"Importance? It is of the first importance! So Dr. Bauerstein was
here on Tuesday night--the night of the murder. Hastings, do you
not see? That alters everything--everything!"
I had never seen him so upset. Loosening his hold of me, he
mechanically straightened a pair of candlesticks, still murmuring
to himself: "Yes, that alters everything--everything."
Suddenly he seemed to come to a decision.
"Allons!" he said. "We must act at once. Where is Mr.
Cavendish?"
John was in the smoking-room. Poirot went straight to him.
"Mr. Cavendish, I have some important business in Tadminster. A
new clue. May I take your motor?"
"Why, of course. Do you mean at once?"
"If you please."
John rang the bell, and ordered round the car. In another ten
minutes, we were racing down the park and along the high road to
Tadminster.
"Now, Poirot," I remarked resignedly, "perhaps you will tell me
what all this is about?"
"Well, mon ami, a good deal you can guess for yourself. Of
course you realize that, now Mr. Inglethorp is out of it, the
whole position is greatly changed. We are face to face with an
entirely new problem. We know now that there is one person who
did not buy the poison. We have cleared away the manufactured
clues. Now for the real ones. I have ascertained that anyone in
the household, with the exception of Mrs. Cavendish, who was
playing tennis with you, could have personated Mr. Inglethorp on
Monday evening. In the same way, we have his statement that he
put the coffee down in the hall. No one took much notice of that
at the inquest--but now it has a very different significance. We
must find out who did take that coffee to Mrs. Inglethorp
eventually, or who passed through the hall whilst it was standing
there. From your account, there are only two people whom we can
positively say did not go near the coffee--Mrs. Cavendish, and
Mademoiselle Cynthia."
"Yes, that is so." I felt an inexpressible lightening of the
heart. Mary Cavendish could certainly not rest under suspicion.
"In clearing Alfred Inglethorp," continued Poirot, "I have been
obliged to show my hand sooner than I intended. As long as I
might be thought to be pursuing him, the criminal would be off
his guard. Now, he will be doubly careful. Yes--doubly
careful." He turned to me abruptly. "Tell me, Hastings, you
yourself--have you no suspicions of anybody?"
I hesitated. To tell the truth, an idea, wild and extravagant in
itself, had once or twice that morning flashed through my brain.
I had rejected it as absurd, nevertheless it persisted.
"You couldn't call it a suspicion," I murmured. "It's so utterly
foolish."
"Come now," urged Poirot encouragingly. "Do not fear. Speak
your mind. You should always pay attention to your instincts."
"Well then," I blurted out, "it's absurd--but I suspect Miss
Howard of not telling all she knows!"
"Miss Howard?"
"Yes--you'll laugh at me----"
"Not at all. Why should I?"
"I can't help feeling," I continued blunderingly; "that we've
rather left her out of the possible suspects, simply on the
strength of her having been away from the place. But, after all,
she was only fifteen miles away. A car would do it in half an
hour. Can we say positively that she was away from Styles on the
night of the murder?"
"Yes, my friend," said Poirot unexpectedly, "we can. One of my
first actions was to ring up the hospital where she was working."
"Well?"
"Well, I learnt that Miss Howard had been on afternoon duty on
Tuesday, and that--a convoy coming in unexpectedly-- she had
kindly offered to remain on night duty, which offer was
gratefully accepted. That disposes of that."
"Oh!" I said, rather nonplussed. "Really," I continued, "it's
her extraordinary vehemence against Inglethorp that started me
off suspecting her. I can't help feeling she'd do anything
against him. And I had an idea she might know something about
the destroying of the will. She might have burnt the new one,
mistaking it for the earlier one in his favour. She is so
terribly bitter against him."
"You consider her vehemence unnatural?"
"Y--es. She is so very violent. I wondered really whether she
is quite sane on that point."
Poirot shook his head energetically.
"No, no, you are on a wrong tack there. There is nothing
weak-minded or degenerate about Miss Howard. She is an excellent
specimen of well-balanced English beef and brawn. She is sanity
itself."
"Yet her hatred of Inglethorp seems almost a mania. My idea
was--a very ridiculous one, no doubt--that she had intended to
poison him--and that, in some way, Mrs. Inglethorp got hold of it
by mistake. But I don't at all see how it could have been done.
The whole thing is absurd and ridiculous to the last degree."
"Still you are right in one thing. It is always wise to suspect
everybody until you can prove logically, and to your own
satisfaction, that they are innocent. Now, what reasons are
there against Miss Howard's having deliberately poisoned Mrs.
Inglethorp?"
"Why, she was devoted to her!" I exclaimed.
"Tcha! Tcha!" cried Poirot irritably. "You argue like a child.
If Miss Howard were capable of poisoning the old lady, she would
be quite equally capable of simulating devotion. No, we must
look elsewhere. You are perfectly correct in your assumption
that her vehemence against Alfred Inglethorp is too violent to be
natural; but you are quite wrong in the deduction you draw from
it. I have drawn my own deductions, which I believe to be
correct, but I will not speak of them at present." He paused a
minute, then went on. "Now, to my way of thinking, there is one
insuperable objection to Miss Howard's being the murderess."
"And that is?"
"That in no possible way could Mrs. Inglethorp's death benefit
Miss Howard. Now there is no murder without a motive."
I reflected.
"Could not Mrs. Inglethorp have made a will in her favour?"
Poirot shook his head.
"But you yourself suggested that possibility to Mr. Wells?"
Poirot smiled.
"That was for a reason. I did not want to mention the name of
the person who was actually in my mind. Miss Howard occupied
very much the same position, so I used her name instead."
"Still, Mrs. Inglethorp might have done so. Why, that will, made
on the afternoon of her death may----"
But Poirot's shake of the head was so energetic that I stopped.
"No, my friend. I have certain little ideas of my own about that
will. But I can tell you this much--it was not in Miss Howard's
favour."
I accepted his assurance, though I did not really see how he
could be so positive about the matter.
"Well," I said, with a sigh, "we will acquit Miss Howard, then.
It is partly your fault that I ever came to suspect her. It was
what you said about her evidence at the inquest that set me off."
Poirot looked puzzled.
"What did I say about her evidence at the inquest?"
"Don't you remember? When I cited her and John Cavendish as being
above suspicion?"
"Oh--ah--yes." He seemed a little confused, but recovered
himself. "By the way, Hastings, there is something I want you to
do for me."
"Certainly. What is it?"
"Next time you happen to be alone with Lawrence Cavendish, I want
you to say this to him. 'I have a message for you, from Poirot.
He says: "Find the extra coffee-cup, and you can rest in peace!"
' Nothing more. Nothing less."
" 'Find the extra coffee-cup, and you can rest in peace.' Is that
right?" I asked, much mystified.
"Excellent."
"But what does it mean?"
"Ah, that I will leave you to find out. You have access to the
facts. Just say that to him, and see what he says."
"Very well--but it's all extremely mysterious."
We were running into Tadminster now, and Poirot directed the car
to the "Analytical Chemist."
Poirot hopped down briskly, and went inside. In a few minutes he
was back again.
"There," he said. "That is all my business."
"What were you doing there?" I asked, in lively curiosity.
"I left something to be analysed."
"Yes, but what?"
"The sample of coco I took from the saucepan in the bedroom."
"But that has already been tested!" I cried, stupefied. "Dr.
Bauerstein had it tested, and you yourself laughed at the
possibility of there being strychnine in it."
"I know Dr. Bauerstein had it tested," replied Poirot quietly.
"Well, then?"
"Well, I have a fancy for having it analysed again, that is all."
And not another word on the subject could I drag out of him.
This proceeding of Poirot's, in respect of the coco, puzzled me
intensely. I could see neither rhyme nor reason in it. However,
my confidence in him, which at one time had rather waned, was
fully restored since his belief in Alfred Inglethorp's innocence
had been so triumphantly vindicated.
The funeral of Mrs. Inglethorp took place the following day, and
on Monday, as I came down to a late breakfast, John drew me
aside, and informed me that Mr. Inglethorp was leaving that
morning, to take up his quarters at the Stylites Arms until he
should have completed his plans.
"And really it's a great relief to think he's going, Hastings,"
continued my honest friend. "It was bad enough before, when we
thought he'd done it, but I'm hanged if it isn't worse now, when
we all feel guilty for having been so down on the fellow. The
fact is, we've treated him abominably. Of course, things did
look black against him. I don't see how anyone could blame us
for jumping to the conclusions we did. Still, there it is, we
were in the wrong, and now there's a beastly feeling that one
ought to make amends; which is difficult, when one doesn't like
the fellow a bit better than one did before. The whole thing's
damned awkward! And I'm thankful he's had the tact to take
himself off. It's a good thing Styles wasn't the mater's to
leave to him. Couldn't bear to think of the fellow fording it
here. He's welcome to her money."
"You'll be able to keep up the place all right?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. There are the death duties, of course, but half my
father's money goes with the place, and Lawrence will stay with
us for the present, so there is his share as well. We shall be
pinched at first, of course, because, as I once told you, I am in
a bit of a hole financially myself. Still, the Johnnies will
wait now."
In the general relief at Inglethorp's approaching departure, we
had the most genial breakfast we had experienced since the
tragedy. Cynthia, whose young spirits were naturally buoyant,
was looking quite her pretty self again, and we all, with the
exception of Lawrence, who seemed unalterably gloomy and nervous,
were quietly cheerful, at the opening of a new and hopeful
future.
The papers, of course, had been full of the tragedy. Glaring
headlines, sandwiched biographies of every member of the
household, subtle innuendoes, the usual familiar tag about the
police having a clue. Nothing was spared us. It was a slack
time. The war was momentarily inactive, and the newspapers
seized with avidity on this crime in fashionable life: "The
Mysterious Affair at Styles" was the topic of the moment.
Naturally it was very annoying for the Cavendishes. The house
was constantly besieged by reporters, who were consistently
denied admission, but who continued to haunt the village and the
grounds, where they lay in wait with cameras, for any unwary
members of the household. We all lived in a blast of publicity.
The Scotland Yard men came and went, examining, questioning,
lynx-eyed and reserved of tongue. Towards what end they were
working, we did not know. Had they any clue, or would the whole
thing remain in the category of undiscovered crimes?
After breakfast, Dorcas came up to me rather mysteriously, and
asked if she might have a few words with me.
"Certainly. What is it, Dorcas?"
"Well, it's just this, sir. You'll be seeing the Belgian
gentleman to-day perhaps?" I nodded. "Well, sir, you know how he
asked me so particular if the mistress, or anyone else, had a
green dress?"
"Yes, yes. You have found one?" My interest was aroused.
"No, not that, sir. But since then I've remembered what the
young gentlemen"--John and Lawrence were still the "young
gentlemen" to Dorcas--"call the 'dressing-up box.' It's up in the
front attic, sir. A great chest, full of old clothes and fancy
dresses, and what not. And it came to me sudden like that there
might be a green dress amongst them. So, if you'd tell the
Belgian gentleman----"
"I will tell him, Dorcas," I promised.
"Thank you very much, sir. A very nice gentleman he is, sir.
And quite a different class from them two detectives from London,
what goes prying about, and asking questions. I don't hold with
foreigners as a rule, but from what the newspapers say I make out
as how these brave Belges isn't the ordinary run of foreigners,
and certainly he's a most polite spoken gentleman."
Dear old Dorcas! As she stood there, with her honest face
upturned to mine, I thought what a fine specimen she was of the
old-fashioned servant that is so fast dying out.
I thought I might as well go down to the village at once, and
look up Poirot; but I met him half-way, coming up to the house,
and at once gave him Dorcas's message.
"Ah, the brave Dorcas! We will look at the chest, although-- but
no matter--we will examine it all the same."
We entered the house by one of the windows. There was no one in
the hall, and we went straight up to the attic.
Sure enough, there was the chest, a fine old piece, all studded
with brass nails, and full to overflowing with every imaginable
type of garment.
Poirot bundled everything out on the floor with scant ceremony.
There were one or two green fabrics of varying shades; but Poirot
shook his head over them all. He seemed somewhat apathetic in
the search, as though he expected no great results from it.
Suddenly he gave an exclamation.
"What is it?"
"Look!"
The chest was nearly empty, and there, reposing right at the
bottom, was a magnificent black beard.
"Oho!" said Poirot. "Oho!" He turned it over in his hands,
examining it closely. "New," he remarked. "Yes, quite new."
After a moment's hesitation, he replaced it in the chest, heaped
all the other things on top of it as before, and made his way
briskly downstairs. He went straight to the pantry, where we
found Dorcas busily polishing her silver.
Poirot wished her good morning with Gallic politeness, and went
on:
"We have been looking through that chest, Dorcas. I am much
obliged to you for mentioning it. There is, indeed, a fine
collection there. Are they often used, may I ask?"
"Well, sir, not very often nowadays, though from time to time we
do have what the young gentlemen call 'a dress-up night.' And
very funny it is sometimes, sir. Mr. Lawrence, he's wonderful.
Most comic! I shall never forget the night he came down as the
Char of Persia, I think he called it--a sort of Eastern King it
was. He had the big paper knife in his hand, and 'Mind, Dorcas,'
he says, 'you'll have to be very respectful. This is my
specially sharpened scimitar, and it's off with your head if I'm
at all displeased with you!' Miss Cynthia, she was what they call
an Apache, or some such name--a Frenchified sort of cut-throat, I
take it to be. A real sight she looked. You'd never have
believed a pretty young lady like that could have made herself
into such a ruffian. Nobody would have known her."
"These evenings must have been great fun," said Poirot genially.
"I suppose Mr. Lawrence wore that fine black beard in the chest
upstairs, when he was Shah of Persia?"
"He did have a beard, sir," replied Dorcas, smiling. "And well I
know it, for he borrowed two skeins of my black wool to make it
with! And I'm sure it looked wonderfully natural at a distance.
I didn't know as there was a beard up there at all. It must have
been got quite lately, I think. There was a red wig, I know, but
nothing else in the way of hair. Burnt corks they use
mostly--though 'tis messy getting it off again. Miss Cynthia was
a nigger once, and, oh, the trouble she had."
"So Dorcas knows nothing about that black beard," said Poirot
thoughtfully, as we walked out into the hall again.
"Do you think it is *THE one?" I whispered eagerly.
Poirot nodded.
"I do. You notice it had been trimmed?"
"No."
"Yes. It was cut exactly the shape of Mr. Inglethorp's, and I
found one or two snipped hairs. Hastings, this affair is very
deep."
"Who put it in the chest, I wonder?"
"Some one with a good deal of intelligence," remarked Poirot
dryly. "You realize that he chose the one place in the house to
hide it where its presence would not be remarked? Yes, he is
intelligent. But we must be more intelligent. We must be so
intelligent that he does not suspect us of being intelligent at
all."
I acquiesced.
"There, mon ami, you will be of great assistance to me."
I was pleased with the compliment. There had been times when I
hardly thought that Poirot appreciated me at my true worth.
"Yes," he continued, staring at me thoughtfully, "you will be
invaluable."
This was naturally gratifying, but Poirot's next words were not
so welcome.
"I must have an ally in the house," he observed reflectively.
"You have me," I protested.
"True, but you are not sufficient."
I was hurt, and showed it. Poirot hurried to explain himself.
"You do not quite take my meaning. You are known to be working
with me. I want somebody who is not associated with us in any
way."
"Oh, I see. How about John?"
"No, I think not."
"The dear fellow isn't perhaps very bright," I said thoughtfully.
"Here comes Miss Howard," said Poirot suddenly. "She is the very
person. But I am in her black books, since I cleared Mr.
Inglethorp. Still, we can but try."
With a nod that was barely civil, Miss Howard assented to
Poirot's request for a few minutes' conversation.
We went into the little morning-room, and Poirot closed the door.
"Well, Monsieur Poirot," said Miss Howard impatiently, "what is
it? Out with it. I'm busy."
"Do you remember, mademoiselle, that I once asked you to help
me?"
"Yes, I do." The lady nodded. "And I told you I'd help you with
pleasure--to hang Alfred Inglethorp."
"Ah!" Poirot studied her seriously. "Miss Howard, I will ask you
one question. I beg of you to reply to it truthfully."
"Never tell lies," replied Miss Howard.
"It is this. Do you still believe that Mrs. Inglethorp was
poisoned by her husband?"
"What do you mean?" she asked sharply. "You needn't think your
pretty explanations influence me in the slightest. I'll admit
that it wasn't he who bought strychnine at the chemist's shop.
What of that? I dare say he soaked fly paper, as I told you at
the beginning."
"That is arsenic--not strychnine," said Poirot mildly.
"What does that matter? Arsenic would put poor Emily out of the
way just as well as strychnine. If I'm convinced he did it, it
doesn't matter a jot to me *HOW he did it."
"Exactly. *IF you are convinced he did it," said Poirot quietly.
"I will put my question in another form. Did you ever in your
heart of hearts believe that Mrs. Inglethorp was poisoned by her
husband?"
"Good heavens!" cried Miss Howard. "Haven't I always told you
the man is a villain? Haven't I always told you he would murder
her in her bed? Haven't I always hated him like poison?"
"Exactly," said Poirot. "That bears out my little idea
entirely."
"What little idea?"
"Miss Howard, do you remember a conversation that took place on
the day of my friend's arrival here? He repeated it to me, and
there is a sentence of yours that has impressed me very much. Do
you remember affirming that if a crime had been committed, and
anyone you loved had been murdered, you felt certain that you
would know by instinct who the criminal was, even if you were
quite unable to prove it?"
"Yes, I remember saying that. I believe it too. I suppose you
think it nonsense?"
"Not at all."
"And yet you will pay no attention to my instinct against Alfred
Inglethorp."
"No," said Poirot curtly. "Because your instinct is not against
Mr. Inglethorp."
"What?"
"No. You wish to believe he committed the crime. You believe
him capable of committing it. But your instinct tells you he did
not commit it. It tells you more--shall I go on?"
She was staring at him, fascinated, and made a slight affirmative
movement of the hand.
"Shall I tell you why you have been so vehement against Mr.
Inglethorp? It is because you have been trying to believe what
you wish to believe. It is because you are trying to drown and
stifle your instinct, which tells you another name----"
"No, no, no!" cried Miss Howard wildly, flinging up her hands.
"Don't say it! Oh, don't say it! It isn't true! It can't be true.
I don't know what put such a wild--such a dreadful-- idea into my
head!"
"I am right, am I not?" asked Poirot.
"Yes, yes; you must be a wizard to have guessed. But it can't be
so--it's too monstrous, too impossible. It must be Alfred
Inglethorp."
Poirot shook his head gravely.
"Don't ask me about it," continued Miss Howard, "because I shan't
tell you. I won't admit it, even to myself. I must be mad to
think of such a thing."
Poirot nodded, as if satisfied.
"I will ask you nothing. It is enough for me that it is as I
thought. And I--I, too, have an instinct. We are working
together towards a common end."
"Don't ask me to help you, because I won't. I wouldn't lift a
finger to--to----" She faltered.
"You will help me in spite of yourself. I ask you nothing-- but
you will be my ally. You will not be able to help yourself. You
will do the only thing that I want of you."
"And that is?"
"You will watch!"
Evelyn Howard bowed her head.
"Yes, I can't help doing that. I am always watching--always
hoping I shall be proved wrong."
"If we are wrong, well and good," said Poirot. "No one will be
more pleased than I shall. But, if we are right? If we are
right, Miss Howard, on whose side are you then?"
"I don't know, I don't know----"
"Come now."
"It could be hushed up."
"There must be no hushing up."
"But Emily herself----" She broke off.
"Miss Howard," said Poirot gravely, "this is unworthy of you."
Suddenly she took her face from her hands.
"Yes," she said quietly, "that was not Evelyn Howard who spoke!"
She flung her head up proudly. "*THIS is Evelyn Howard! And she
is on the side of Justice! Let the cost be what it may." And with
these words, she walked firmly out of the room.
"There," said Poirot, looking after her, "goes a very valuable
ally. That woman, Hastings, has got brains as well as a heart."
I did not reply.
"Instinct is a marvellous thing," mused Poirot. "It can neither
be explained nor ignored."
"You and Miss Howard seem to know what you are talking about," I
observed coldly. "Perhaps you don't realize that I am still in
the dark."
"Really? Is that so, mon ami?"
"Yes. Enlighten me, will you?"
Poirot studied me attentively for a moment or two. Then, to my
intense surprise, he shook his head decidedly.
"No, my friend."
"Oh, look here, why not?"
"Two is enough for a secret."
"Well, I think it is very unfair to keep back facts from me."
"I am not keeping back facts. Every fact that I know is in your
possession. You can draw your own deductions from them. This
time it is a question of ideas."
"Still, it would be interesting to know."
Poirot looked at me very earnestly, and again shook his head.
"You see," he said sadly, "*YOU have no instincts."
"It was intelligence you were requiring just now," I pointed out.
"The two often go together," said Poirot enigmatically.
The remark seemed so utterly irrelevant that I did not even take
the trouble to answer it. But I decided that if I made any
interesting and important discoveries--as no doubt I should--I
would keep them to myself, and surprise Poirot with the ultimate
result.
There are times when it is one's duty to assert oneself.
CHAPTER IX
Dr. BAUERSTEIN
I HAD had no opportunity as yet of passing on Poirot's message to
Lawrence. But now, as I strolled out on the lawn, still nursing
a grudge against my friend's high-handedness, I saw Lawrence on
the croquet lawn, aimlessly knocking a couple of very ancient
balls about, with a still more ancient mallet.
It struck me that it would be a good opportunity to deliver my
message. Otherwise, Poirot himself might relieve me of it. It
was true that I did not quite gather its purport, but I flattered
myself that by Lawrence's reply, and perhaps a little skillful
cross-examination on my part, I should soon perceive its
significance. Accordingly I accosted him.
"I've been looking for you," I remarked untruthfully.
"Have you?"
"Yes. The truth is, I've got a message for you--from Poirot."
"Yes?"
"He told me to wait until I was alone with you," I said, dropping
my voice significantly, and watching him intently out of the
corner of my eye. I have always been rather good at what is
called, I believe, creating an atmosphere.
"Well?"
There was no change of expression in the dark melancholic face.
Had he any idea of what I was about to say?
"This is the message." I dropped my voice still lower. " 'Find
the extra coffee-cup, and you can rest in peace.' "
"What on earth does he mean?" Lawrence stared at me in quite
unaffected astonishment.
"Don't you know?"
"Not in the least. Do you?"
I was compelled to shake my head.
"What extra coffee-cup?"
"I don't know."
"He'd better ask Dorcas, or one of the maids, if he wants to know
about coffee-cups. It's their business, not mine. I don't know
anything about the coffee-cups, except that we've got some that
are never used, which are a perfect dream! Old Worcester. You're
not a connoisseur, are you, Hastings?"
I shook my head.
"You miss a lot. A really perfect bit of old china--it's pure
delight to handle it, or even to look at it."
"Well, what am I to tell Poirot?"
"Tell him I don't know what he's talking about. It's double
Dutch to me."
"All right."
I was moving off towards the house again when he suddenly called
me back.
"I say, what was the end of that message? Say it over again, will
you?"
" 'Find the extra coffee-cup, and you can rest in peace.' Are you
sure you don't know what it means?" I asked him earnestly.
He shook his head.
"No," he said musingly, "I don't. I--I wish I did."
The boom of the gong sounded from the house, and we went in
together. Poirot had been asked by John to remain to lunch, and
was already seated at the table.
By tacit consent, all mention of the tragedy was barred. We
conversed on the war, and other outside topics. But after the
cheese and biscuits had been handed round, and Dorcas had left
the room, Poirot suddenly leant forward to Mrs. Cavendish.
"Pardon me, madame, for recalling unpleasant memories, but I have
a little idea"--Poirot's "little ideas" were becoming a perfect
byword--"and would like to ask one or two questions."
"Of me? Certainly."
"You are too amiable, madame. What I want to ask is this: the
door leading into Mrs. Inglethorp's room from that of
Mademoiselle Cynthia, it was bolted, you say?"
"Certainly it was bolted," replied Mary Cavendish, rather
surprised. "I said so at the inquest."
"Bolted?"
"Yes." She looked perplexed.
"I mean," explained Poirot, "you are sure it was bolted, and not
merely locked?"
"Oh, I see what you mean. No, I don't know. I said bolted,
meaning that it was fastened, and I could not open it, but I
believe all the doors were found bolted on the inside."
"Still, as far as you are concerned, the door might equally well
have been locked?"
"Oh, yes."
"You yourself did not happen to notice, madame, when you entered
Mrs. Inglethorp's room, whether that door was bolted or not?"
"I--I believe it was."
"But you did not see it?"
"No. I--never looked."
"But I did," interrupted Lawrence suddenly. "I happened to
notice that it *WAS bolted."
"Ah, that settles it." And Poirot looked crestfallen.
I could not help rejoicing that, for once, one of his "little
ideas" had come to naught.
After lunch Poirot begged me to accompany him home. I consented
rather stiffly.
"You are annoyed, is it not so?" he asked anxiously, as we walked
through the park.
"Not at all," I said coldly.
"That is well. That lifts a great load from my mind."
This was not quite what I had intended. I had hoped that he
would have observed the stiffness of my manner. Still, the
fervour of his words went towards the appeasing of my just
displeasure. I thawed.
"I gave Lawrence your message," I said.
"And what did he say? He was entirely puzzled?"
"Yes. I am quite sure he had no idea of what you meant."
I had expected Poirot to be disappointed; but, to my surprise, he
replied that that was as he had thought, and that he was very
glad. My pride forbade me to ask any questions.
Poirot switched off on another tack.
"Mademoiselle Cynthia was not at lunch to-day? How was that?"
"She is at the hospital again. She resumed work to-day."
"Ah, she is an industrious little demoiselle. And pretty too.
She is like pictures I have seen in Italy. I would rather like
to see that dispensary of hers. Do you think she would show it
to me?"
"I am sure she would be delighted. It's an interesting little
place."
"Does she go there every day?"
"She has all Wednesdays off, and comes back to lunch on
Saturdays. Those are her only times off."
"I will remember. Women are doing great work nowadays, and
Mademoiselle Cynthia is clever--oh, yes, she has brains, that
little one."
"Yes. I believe she has passed quite a stiff exam."
"Without doubt. After all, it is very responsible work. I
suppose they have very strong poisons there?"
"Yes, she showed them to us. They are kept locked up in a little
cupboard. I believe they have to be very careful. They always
take out the key before leaving the room."
"Indeed. It is near the window, this cupboard?"
"No, right the other side of the room. Why?"
Poirot shrugged his shoulders.
"I wondered. That is all. Will you come in?"
We had reached the cottage.
"No. I think I'll be getting back. I shall go round the long
way through the woods."
The woods round Styles were very beautiful. After the walk
across the open park, it was pleasant to saunter lazily through
the cool glades. There was hardly a breath of wind, the very
chirp of the birds was faint and subdued. I strolled on a little
way, and finally flung myself down at the foot of a grand old
beech-tree. My thoughts of mankind were kindly and charitable.
I even forgave Poirot for his absurd secrecy. In fact, I was at
peace with the world. Then I yawned.
I thought about the crime, and it struck me as being very unreal
and far off.
I yawned again.
Probably, I thought, it really never happened. Of course, it was
all a bad dream. The truth of the matter was that it was
Lawrence who had murdered Alfred Inglethorp with a croquet
mallet. But it was absurd of John to make such a fuss about it,
and to go shouting out: "I tell you I won't have it!"
I woke up with a start.
At once I realized that I was in a very awkward predicament.
For, about twelve feet away from me, John and Mary Cavendish were
standing facing each other, and they were evidently quarrelling.
And, quite as evidently, they were unaware of my vicinity, for
before I could move or speak John repeated the words which had
aroused me from my dream.
"I tell you, Mary, I won't have it."
Mary's voice came, cool and liquid:
"Have *YOU any right to criticize my actions?"
"It will be the talk of the village! My mother was only buried on
Saturday, and here you are gadding about with the fellow."
"Oh," she shrugged her shoulders, "if it is only village gossip
that you mind!"
"But it isn't. I've had enough of the fellow hanging about.
He's a Polish Jew, anyway."
"A tinge of Jewish blood is not a bad thing. It leavens
the"--she looked at him--"stolid stupidity of the ordinary
Englishman."
Fire in her eyes, ice in her voice. I did not wonder that the
blood rose to John's face in a crimson tide.
"Mary!"
"Well?" Her tone did not change.
The pleading died out of his voice.
"Am I to understand that you will continue to see Bauerstein
against my express wishes?"
"If I choose."
"You defy me?"
"No, but I deny your right to criticize my actions. Have *YOU no
friends of whom I should disapprove?"
John fell back a pace. The colour ebbed slowly from his face.
"What do you mean?" he said, in an unsteady voice.
"You see!" said Mary quietly. "You *DO see, don't you, that *YOU
have no right to dictate to *ME as to the choice of my friends?"
John glanced at her pleadingly, a stricken look on his face.
"No right? Have I *NO right, Mary?" he said unsteadily. He
stretched out his hands. "Mary----"
For a moment, I thought she wavered. A softer expression came
over her face, then suddenly she turned almost fiercely away.
"None!"
She was walking away when John sprang after her, and caught her
by the arm.
"Mary"--his voice was very quiet now--"are you in love with this
fellow Bauerstein?"
She hesitated, and suddenly there swept across her face a strange
expression, old as the hills, yet with something eternally young
about it. So might some Egyptian sphinx have smiled.
She freed herself quietly from his arm, and spoke over her
shoulder.
"Perhaps," she said; and then swiftly passed out of the little
glade, leaving John standing there as though he had been turned
to stone.
Rather ostentatiously, I stepped forward, crackling some dead
branches with my feet as I did so. John turned. Luckily, he
took it for granted that I had only just come upon the scene.
"Hullo, Hastings. Have you seen the little fellow safely back to
his cottage? Quaint little chap! Is he any good, though, really?"
"He was considered one of the finest detectives of his day."
"Oh, well, I suppose there must be something in it, then. What a
rotten world it is, though!"
"You find it so?" I asked.
"Good Lord, yes! There's this terrible business to start with.
Scotland Yard men in and out of the house like a jack-in-the-box!
Never know where they won't turn up next. Screaming headlines in
every paper in the country--damn all journalists, I say! Do you
know there was a whole crowd staring in at the lodge gates this
morning. Sort of Madame Tussaud's chamber of horrors business
that can be seen for nothing. Pretty thick, isn't it?"
"Cheer up, John!" I said soothingly. "It can't last for ever."
"Can't it, though? It can last long enough for us never to be
able to hold up our heads again."
"No, no, you're getting morbid on the subject."
"Enough to make a man morbid, to be stalked by beastly
journalists and stared at by gaping moon-faced idiots, wherever
he goes! But there's worse than that."
"What?"
John lowered his voice:
"Have you ever thought, Hastings--it's a nightmare to me-- who
did it? I can't help feeling sometimes it must have been an
accident. Because--because--who could have done it? Now
Inglethorp's out of the way, there's no one else; no one, I mean,
except--one of us."
Yes, indeed, that was nightmare enough for any man! One of us?
Yes, surely it must be so, unless-----
A new idea suggested itself to my mind. Rapidly, I considered
it. The light increased. Poirot's mysterious doings, his
hints--they all fitted in. Fool that I was not to have thought
of this possibility before, and what a relief for us all.
"No, John," I said, "it isn't one of us. How could it be?"
"I know, but, still, who else is there?"
"Can't you guess?"
"No."
I looked cautiously round, and lowered my voice.
"Dr. Bauerstein!" I whispered.
"Impossible!"
"Not at all."
"But what earthly interest could he have in my mother's death?"
"That I don't see," I confessed, "but I'll tell you this: Poirot
thinks so."
"Poirot? Does he? How do you know?"
I told him of Poirot's intense excitement on hearing that Dr.
Bauerstein had been at Styles on the fatal night, and added:
"He said twice: 'That alters everything.' And I've been thinking.
You know Inglethorp said he had put down the coffee in the hall?
Well, it was just then that Bauerstein arrived. Isn't it
possible that, as Inglethorp brought him through the hall, the
doctor dropped something into the coffee in passing?"
"H'm," said John. "It would have been very risky."
"Yes, but it was possible."
"And then, how could he know it was her coffee? No, old fellow, I
don't think that will wash."
But I had remembered something else.
"You're quite right. That wasn't how it was done. Listen." And
I then told him of the coco sample which Poirot had taken to be
analysed.
John interrupted just as I had done.
"But, look here, Bauerstein had had it analysed already?"
"Yes, yes, that's the point. I didn't see it either until now.
Don't you understand? Bauerstein had it analysed--that's just it!
If Bauerstein's the murderer, nothing could be simpler than for
him to substitute some ordinary coco for his sample, and send
that to be tested. And of course they would find no strychnine!
But no one would dream of suspecting Bauerstein, or think of
taking another sample--except Poirot," I added, with belated
recognition.
"Yes, but what about the bitter taste that coco won't disguise?"
"Well, we've only his word for that. And there are other
possibilities. He's admittedly one of the world's greatest
toxicologists----"
"One of the world's greatest what? Say it again."
"He knows more about poisons than almost anybody," I explained.
"Well, my idea is, that perhaps he's found some way of making
strychnine tasteless. Or it may not have been strychnine at all,
but some obscure drug no one has ever heard of, which produces
much the same symptoms."
"H'm, yes, that might be," said John. "But look here, how could
he have got at the coco? That wasn't downstairs?"
"No, it wasn't," I admitted reluctantly.
And then, suddenly, a dreadful possibility flashed through my
mind. I hoped and prayed it would not occur to John also. I
glanced sideways at him. He was frowning perplexedly, and I drew
a deep breath of relief, for the terrible thought that had
flashed across my mind was this: that Dr. Bauerstein might have
had an accomplice.
Yet surely it could not be! Surely no woman as beautiful as Mary
Cavendish could be a murderess. Yet beautiful women had been
known to poison.
And suddenly I remembered that first conversation at tea on the
day of my arrival, and the gleam in her eyes as she had said that
poison was a woman's weapon. How agitated she had been on that
fatal Tuesday evening! Had Mrs. Inglethorp discovered something
between her and Bauerstein, and threatened to tell her husband?
Was it to stop that denunciation that the crime had been
committed?
Then I remembered that enigmatical conversation between Poirot
and Evelyn Howard. Was this what they had meant? Was this the
monstrous possibility that Evelyn had tried not to believe?
Yes, it all fitted in.
No wonder Miss Howard had suggested "hushing it up." Now I
understood that unfinished sentence of hers: "Emily herself----"
And in my heart I agreed with her. Would not Mrs. Inglethorp
have preferred to go unavenged rather than have such terrible
dishonour fall upon the name of Cavendish.
"There's another thing," said John suddenly, and the unexpected
sound of his voice made me start guiltily. "Something which
makes me doubt if what you say can be true."
"What's that?" I asked, thankful that he had gone away from the
subject of how the poison could have been introduced into the
coco.
"Why, the fact that Bauerstein demanded a post-mortem. He
needn't have done so. Little Wilkins would have been quite
content to let it go at heart disease."
"Yes," I said doubtfully. "But we don't know. Perhaps he
thought it safer in the long run. Some one might have talked
afterwards. Then the Home Office might have ordered exhumation.
The whole thing would have come out, then, and he would have been
in an awkward position, for no one would have believed that a man
of his reputation could have been deceived into calling it heart
disease."
"Yes, that's possible," admitted John. "Still," he added, "I'm
blest if I can see what his motive could have been."
I trembled.
"Look here," I said, "I may be altogether wrong. And, remember,
all this is in confidence."
"Oh, of course--that goes without saying."
We had walked, as we talked, and now we passed through the little
gate into the garden. Voices rose near at hand, for tea was
spread out under the sycamore-tree, as it had been on the day of
my arrival.
Cynthia was back from the hospital, and I placed my chair beside
her, and told her of Poirot's wish to visit the dispensary.
"Of course! I'd love him to see it. He'd better come to tea
there one day. I must fix it up with him. He's such a dear
little man! But he *IS funny. He made me take the brooch out of
my tie the other day, and put it in again, because he said it
wasn't straight."
I laughed.
"It's quite a mania with him."
"Yes, isn't it?"
We were silent for a minute or two, and then, glancing in the
direction of Mary Cavendish, and dropping her voice, Cynthia
said:
"Mr. Hastings."
"Yes?"
"After tea, I want to talk to you."
Her glance at Mary had set me thinking. I fancied that between
these two there existed very little sympathy. For the first
time, it occurred to me to wonder about the girl's future. Mrs.
Inglethorp had made no provisions of any kind for her, but I
imagined that John and Mary would probably insist on her making
her home with them--at any rate until the end of the war. John,
I knew, was very fond of her, and would be sorry to let her go.
John, who had gone into the house, now reappeared. His
good-natured face wore an unaccustomed frown of anger.
"Confound those detectives! I can't think what they're after!
They've been in every room in the house--turning things inside
out, and upside down. It really is too bad! I suppose they took
advantage of our all being out. I shall go for that fellow Japp,
when I next see him!"
"Lot of Paul Prys," grunted Miss Howard.
Lawrence opined that they had to make a show of doing something.
Mary Cavendish said nothing.
After tea, I invited Cynthia to come for a walk, and we sauntered
off into the woods together.
"Well?" I inquired, as soon as we were protected from prying eyes
by the leafy screen.
With a sigh, Cynthia flung herself down, and tossed off her hat.
The sunlight, piercing through the branches, turned the auburn of
her hair to quivering gold.
"Mr. Hastings--you are always so kind, and you know such a lot."
It struck me at this moment that Cynthia was really a very
charming girl! Much more charming than Mary, who never said
things of that kind.
"Well?" I asked benignantly, as she hesitated.
"I want to ask your advice. What shall I do?"
"Do?"
"Yes. You see, Aunt Emily always told me I should be provided
for. I suppose she forgot, or didn't think she was likely to
die--anyway, I am *NOT provided for! And I don't know what to do.
Do you think I ought to go away from here at once?"
"Good heavens, no! They don't want to part with you, I'm sure."
Cynthia hesitated a moment, plucking up the grass with her tiny
hands. Then she said: "Mrs. Cavendish does. She hates me."
"Hates you?" I cried, astonished.
Cynthia nodded.
"Yes. I don't know why, but she can't bear me; and *HE can't,
either."
"There I know you're wrong," I said warmly. "On the contrary,
John is very fond of you."
"Oh, yes--*JOHN. I meant Lawrence. Not, of course, that I care
whether Lawrence hates me or not. Still, it's rather horrid when
no one loves you, isn't it?"
"But they do, Cynthia dear," I said earnestly. "I'm sure you are
mistaken. Look, there is John--and Miss Howard--"
Cynthia nodded rather gloomily. "Yes, John likes me, I think,
and of course Evie, for all her gruff ways, wouldn't be unkind to
a fly. But Lawrence never speaks to me if he can help it, and
Mary can hardly bring herself to be civil to me. She wants Evie
to stay on, is begging her to, but she doesn't want me,
and--and--I don't know what to do." Suddenly the poor child burst
out crying.
I don't know what possessed me. Her beauty, perhaps, as she sat
there, with the sunlight glinting down on her head; perhaps the
sense of relief at encountering someone who so obviously could
have no connection with the tragedy; perhaps honest pity for her
youth and loneliness. Anyway, I leant forward, and taking her
little hand, I said awkwardly:
"Marry me, Cynthia."
Unwittingly, I had hit upon a sovereign remedy for her tears.
She sat up at once, drew her hand away, and said, with some
asperity:
"Don't be silly!"
I was a little annoyed.
"I'm not being silly. I am asking you to do me the honour of
becoming my wife."
To my intense surprise, Cynthia burst out laughing, and called me
a "funny dear."
"It's perfectly sweet of you," she said, "but you know you don't
want to!"
"Yes, I do. I've got--"
"Never mind what you've got. You don't really want to-- and I
don't either."
"Well, of course, that settles it," I said stiffly. "But I don't
see anything to laugh at. There's nothing funny about a
proposal."
"No, indeed," said Cynthia. "Somebody might accept you next
time. Good-bye, you've cheered me up very much."
And, with a final uncontrollable burst of merriment, she vanished
through the trees.
Thinking over the interview, it struck me as being profoundly
unsatisfactory.
It occurred to me suddenly that I would go down to the village,
and look up Bauerstein. Somebody ought to be keeping an eye on
the fellow. At the same time, it would be wise to allay any
suspicions he might have as to his being suspected. I remembered
how Poirot had relied on my diplomacy. Accordingly, I went to
the little house with the "Apartments" card inserted in the
window, where I knew he lodged, and tapped on the door.
An old woman came and opened it.
"Good afternoon," I said pleasantly. "Is Dr. Bauerstein in?"
She stared at me.
"Haven't you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"About him."
"What about him?"
"He's took."
"Took? Dead?"
"No, took by the perlice."
"By the police!" I gasped. "Do you mean they've arrested him?"
"Yes, that's it, and--"
I waited to hear no more, but tore up the village to find Poirot.
CHAPTER X. THE ARREST
To my extreme annoyance, Poirot was not in, and the old Belgian
who answered my knock informed me that he believed he had gone to
London.
I was dumbfounded. What on earth could Poirot be doing in
London! Was it a sudden decision on his part, or had he already
made up his mind when he parted from me a few hours earlier?
I retraced my steps to Styles in some annoyance. With Poirot
away, I was uncertain how to act. Had he foreseen this arrest?
Had he not, in all probability, been the cause of it? Those
questions I could not resolve. But in the meantime what was I to
do? Should I announce the arrest openly at Styles, or not? Though
I did not acknowledge it to myself, the thought of Mary Cavendish
was weighing on me. Would it not be a terrible shock to her? For
the moment, I set aside utterly any suspicions of her. She could
not be implicated--otherwise I should have heard some hint of it.
Of course, there was no possibility of being able permanently to
conceal Dr. Bauerstein's arrest from her. It would be announced
in every newspaper on the morrow. Still, I shrank from blurting
it out. If only Poirot had been accessible, I could have asked
his advice. What possessed him to go posting off to London in
this unaccountable way?
In spite of myself, my opinion of his sagacity was immeasurably
heightened. I would never have dreamt of suspecting the doctor,
had not Poirot put it into my head. Yes, decidedly, the little
man was clever.
After some reflecting, I decided to take John into my confidence,
and leave him to make the matter public or not, as he thought
fit.
He gave vent to a prodigious whistle, as I imparted the news.
"Great Scot! You *WERE right, then. I couldn't believe it at the
time."
"No, it is astonishing until you get used to the idea, and see
how it makes everything fit in. Now, what are we to do? Of
course, it will be generally known to-morrow."
John reflected.
"Never mind," he said at last, "we won't say anything at present.
There is no need. As you say, it will be known soon enough."
But to my intense surprise, on getting down early the next
morning, and eagerly opening the newspapers, there was not a word
about the arrest! There was a column of mere padding about "The
Styles Poisoning Case," but nothing further. It was rather
inexplicable, but I supposed that, for some reason or other, Japp
wished to keep it out of the papers. It worried me just a
little, for it suggested the possibility that there might be
further arrests to come.
After breakfast, I decided to go down to the village, and see if
Poirot had returned yet; but, before I could start, a well-known
face blocked one of the windows, and the well-known voice said:
"Bon jour, mon ami!"
"Poirot," I exclaimed, with relief, and seizing him by both
hands, I dragged him into the room. "I was never so glad to see
anyone. Listen, I have said nothing to anybody but John. Is
that right?"
"My friend," replied Poirot, "I do not know what you are talking
about."
"Dr. Bauerstein's arrest, of course," I answered impatiently.
"Is Bauerstein arrested, then?"
"Did you not know it?"
"Not the least in the world." But, pausing a moment, he added:
"Still, it does not surprise me. After all, we are only four
miles from the coast."
"The coast?" I asked, puzzled. "What has that got to do with
it?"
Poirot shrugged his shoulders.
"Surely, it is obvious!"
"Not to me. No doubt I am very dense, but I cannot see what the
proximity of the coast has got to do with the murder of Mrs.
Inglethorp."
"Nothing at all, of course," replied Poirot, smiling. "But we
were speaking of the arrest of Dr. Bauerstein."
"Well, he is arrested for the murder of Mrs. Inglethorp----"
"What?" cried Poirot, in apparently lively astonishment. "Dr.
Bauerstein arrested for the murder of Mrs. Inglethorp?"
"Yes."
"Impossible! That would be too good a farce! Who told you that,
my friend?"
"Well, no one exactly told me," I confessed. "But he is
arrested."
"Oh, yes, very likely. But for espionage, mon ami."
"Espionage?" I gasped.
"Precisely."
"Not for poisoning Mrs. Inglethorp?"
"Not unless our friend Japp has taken leave of his senses,"
replied Poirot placidly.
"But--but I thought you thought so too?"
Poirot gave me one look, which conveyed a wondering pity, and his
full sense of the utter absurdity of such an idea.
"Do you mean to say," I asked, slowly adapting myself to the new
idea, "that Dr. Bauerstein is a spy?"
Poirot nodded.
"Have you never suspected it?"
"It never entered my head."
"It did not strike you as peculiar that a famous London doctor
should bury himself in a little village like this, and should be
in the habit of walking about at all hours of the night, fully
dressed?"
"No," I confessed, "I never thought of such a thing."
"He is, of course, a German by birth," said Poirot thoughtfully,
"though he has practiced so long in this country that nobody
thinks of him as anything but an Englishman. He was naturalized
about fifteen years ago. A very clever man--a Jew, of course."
"The blackguard!" I cried indignantly.
"Not at all. He is, on the contrary, a patriot. Think what he
stands to lose. I admire the man myself."
But I could not look at it in Poirot's philosophical way.
"And this is the man with whom Mrs. Cavendish has been wandering
about all over the country!" I cried indignantly.
"Yes. I should fancy he had found her very useful," remarked
Poirot. "So long as gossip busied itself in coupling their names
together, any other vagaries of the doctor's passed unobserved."
"Then you think he never really cared for her?" I asked
eagerly--rather too eagerly, perhaps, under the circumstances.
"That, of course, I cannot say, but--shall I tell you my own
private opinion, Hastings?"
"Yes."
"Well, it is this: that Mrs. Cavendish does not care, and never
has cared one little jot about Dr. Bauerstein!"
"Do you really think so?" I could not disguise my pleasure.
"I am quite sure of it. And I will tell you why."
"Yes?"
"Because she cares for some one else, mon ami."
"Oh!" What did he mean? In spite of myself, an agreeable warmth
spread over me. I am not a vain man where women are concerned,
but I remembered certain evidences, too lightly thought of at the
time, perhaps, but which certainly seemed to indicate----
My pleasing thoughts were interrupted by the sudden entrance of
Miss Howard. She glanced round hastily to make sure there was no
one else in the room, and quickly produced an old sheet of brown
paper. This she handed to Poirot, murmuring as she did so the
cryptic words:
"On top of the wardrobe." Then she hurriedly left the room.
Poirot unfolded the sheet of paper eagerly, and uttered an
exclamation of satisfaction. He spread it out on the table.
"Come here, Hastings. Now tell me, what is that initial--J. or
L.?"
It was a medium sized sheet of paper, rather dusty, as though it
had lain by for some time. But it was the label that was
attracting Poirot's attention. At the top, it bore the printed
stamp of Messrs. Parkson's, the well-known theatrical
costumiers, and it was addressed to "--(the debatable initial)
Cavendish, Esq., Styles Court, Styles St. Mary, Essex."
"It might be T., or it might be L.," I said, after studying the
thing for a minute or two. "It certainly isn't a J."
"Good," replied Poirot, folding up the paper again. "I, also, am
of your way of thinking. It is an L., depend upon it!"
"Where did it come from?" I asked curiously. "Is it important?"
"Moderately so. It confirms a surmise of mine. Having deduced
its existence, I set Miss Howard to search for it, and, as you
see, she has been successful."
"What did she mean by 'On the top of the wardrobe'?"
"She meant," replied Poirot promptly, "that she found it on top
of a wardrobe."
"A funny place for a piece of brown paper," I mused.
"Not at all. The top of a wardrobe is an excellent place for
brown paper and cardboard boxes. I have kept them there myself.
Neatly arranged, there is nothing to offend the eye."
"Poirot," I asked earnestly, "have you made up your mind about
this crime?"
"Yes--that is to say, I believe I know how it was committed."
"Ah!"
"Unfortunately, I have no proof beyond my surmise, unless----"
With sudden energy, he caught me by the arm, and whirled me down
the hall, calling out in French in his excitement: "Mademoiselle
Dorcas, Mademoiselle Dorcas, un moment, s'il vous plait!"
Dorcas, quite flurried by the noise, came hurrying out of the
pantry.
"My good Dorcas, I have an idea--a little idea--if it should
prove justified, what magnificent chance! Tell me, on Monday, not
Tuesday, Dorcas, but Monday, the day before the tragedy, did
anything go wrong with Mrs. Inglethorp's bell?"
Dorcas looked very surprised.
"Yes, sir, now you mention it, it did; though I don't know how
you came to hear of it. A mouse, or some such, must have nibbled
the wire through. The man came and put it right on Tuesday
morning."
With a long drawn exclamation of ecstasy, Poirot led the way back
to the morning-room.
"See you, one should not ask for outside proof--no, reason should
be enough. But the flesh is weak, it is consolation to find that
one is on the right track. Ah, my friend, I am like a giant
refreshed. I run! I leap!"
And, in very truth, run and leap he did, gambolling wildly down
the stretch of lawn outside the long window.
"What is your remarkable little friend doing?" asked a voice
behind me, and I turned to find Mary Cavendish at my elbow. She
smiled, and so did I. "What is it all about?"
"Really, I can't tell you. He asked Dorcas some question about a
bell, and appeared so delighted with her answer that he is
capering about as you see!"
Mary laughed.
"How ridiculous! He's going out of the gate. Isn't he coming
back to-day?"
"I don't know. I've given up trying to guess what he'll do
next."
"Is he quite mad, Mr. Hastings?"
"I honestly don't know. Sometimes, I feel sure he is as mad as a
hatter; and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is
method in his madness."
"I see."
In spite of her laugh, Mary was looking thoughtful this morning.
She seemed grave, almost sad.
It occurred to me that it would be a good opportunity to tackle
her on the subject of Cynthia. I began rather tactfully, I
thought, but I had not gone far before she stopped me
authoritatively.
"You are an excellent advocate, I have no doubt, Mr. Hastings,
but in this case your talents are quite thrown away. Cynthia
will run no risk of encountering any unkindness from me."
I began to stammer feebly that I hoped she hadn't thought-- But
again she stopped me, and her words were so unexpected that they
quite drove Cynthia, and her troubles, out of my mind.
"Mr. Hastings," she said, "do you think I and my husband are
happy together?"
I was considerably taken aback, and murmured something about it's
not being my business to think anything of the sort.
"Well," she said quietly, "whether it is your business or not, I
will tell you that we are *NOT happy."
I said nothing, for I saw that she had not finished.
She began slowly, walking up and down the room, her head a little
bent, and that slim, supple figure of hers swaying gently as she
walked. She stopped suddenly, and looked up at me.
"You don't know anything about me, do you?" she asked. "Where I
come from, who I was before I married John-- anything, in fact?
Well, I will tell you. I will make a father confessor of you.
You are kind, I think--yes, I am sure you are kind."
Somehow, I was not quite as elated as I might have been. I
remembered that Cynthia had begun her confidences in much the
same way. Besides, a father confessor should be elderly, it is
not at all the role for a young man.
"My father was English," said Mrs. Cavendish, "but my mother was
a Russian."
"Ah," I said, "now I understand--"
"Understand what?"
"A hint of something foreign--different--that there has always
been about you."
"My mother was very beautiful, I believe. I don't know, because
I never saw her. She died when I was quite a little child. I
believe there was some tragedy connected with her death--she took
an overdose of some sleeping draught by mistake. However that
may be, my father was broken-hearted. Shortly afterwards, he
went into the Consular Service. Everywhere he went, I went with
him. When I was twenty-three, I had been nearly all over the
world. It was a splendid life--I loved it."
There was a smile on her face, and her head was thrown back. She
seemed living in the memory of those old glad days.
"Then my father died. He left me very badly off. I had to go
and live with some old aunts in Yorkshire." She shuddered. "You
will understand me when I say that it was a deadly life for a
girl brought up as I had been. The narrowness, the deadly
monotony of it, almost drove me mad." She paused a minute, and
added in a different tone: "And then I met John Cavendish."
"Yes?"
"You can imagine that, from my aunts' point of view, it was a
very good match for me. But I can honestly say it was not this
fact which weighed with me. No, he was simply a way of escape
from the insufferable monotony of my life."
I said nothing, and after a moment, she went on:
"Don't misunderstand me. I was quite honest with him. I told
him, what was true, that I liked him very much, that I hoped to
come to like him more, but that I was not in any way what the
world calls 'in love' with him. He declared that that satisfied
him, and so--we were married."
She waited a long time, a little frown had gathered on her
forehead. She seemed to be looking back earnestly into those
past days.
"I think--I am sure--he cared for me at first. But I suppose we
were not well matched. Almost at once, we drifted apart. He--it
is not a pleasing thing for my pride, but it is the truth--tired
of me very soon." I must have made some murmur of dissent, for
she went on quickly: "Oh, yes, he did! Not that it matters
now--now that we've come to the parting of the ways."
"What do you mean?"
She answered quietly:
"I mean that I am not going to remain at Styles."
"You and John are not going to live here?"
"John may live here, but I shall not."
"You are going to leave him?"
"Yes."
"But why?"
She paused a long time, and said at last:
"Perhaps--because I want to be--free!"
And, as she spoke, I had a sudden vision of broad spaces, virgin
tracts of forests, untrodden lands--and a realization of what
freedom would mean to such a nature as Mary Cavendish. I seemed
to see her for a moment as she was, a proud wild creature, as
untamed by civilization as some shy bird of the hills. A little
cry broke from her lips:
"You don't know, you don't know, how this hateful place has been
prison to me!"
"I understand," I said, "but--but don't do anything rash."
"Oh, rash!" Her voice mocked at my prudence.
Then suddenly I said a thing I could have bitten out my tongue
for:
"You know that Dr. Bauerstein has been arrested?"
An instant coldness passed like a mask over her face, blotting
out all expression.
"John was so kind as to break that to me this morning."
"Well, what do you think?" I asked feebly.
"Of what?"
"Of the arrest?"
"What should I think? Apparently he is a German spy; so the
gardener had told John."
Her face and voice were absolutely cold and expressionless. Did
she care, or did she not?
She moved away a step or two, and fingered one of the flower
vases.
"These are quite dead. I must do them again. Would you mind
moving--thank you, Mr. Hastings." And she walked quietly past me
out of the window, with a cool little nod of dismissal.
No, surely she could not care for Bauerstein. No woman could act
her part with that icy unconcern.
Poirot did not make his appearance the following morning, and
there was no sign of the Scotland Yard men.
But, at lunch-time, there arrived a new piece of evidence-- or
rather lack of evidence. We had vainly tried to trace the fourth
letter, which Mrs. Inglethorp had written on the evening
preceding her death. Our efforts having been in vain, we had
abandoned the matter, hoping that it might turn up of itself one
day. And this is just what did happen, in the shape of a
communication, which arrived by the second post from a firm of
French music publishers, acknowledging Mrs. Inglethorp's cheque,
and regretting they had been unable to trace a certain series of
Russian folksongs. So the last hope of solving the mystery, by
means of Mrs. Inglethorp's correspondence on the fatal evening,
had to be abandoned.
Just before tea, I strolled down to tell Poirot of the new
disappointment, but found, to my annoyance, that he was once more
out.
"Gone to London again?"
"Oh, no, monsieur, he has but taken the train to Tadminster. 'To
see a young lady's dispensary,' he said."
"Silly ass!" I ejaculated. "I told him Wednesday was the one day
she wasn't there! Well, tell him to look us up to-morrow morning,
will you?"
"Certainly, monsieur."
But, on the following day, no sign of Poirot. I was getting
angry. He was really treating us in the most cavalier fashion.
After lunch, Lawrence drew me aside, and asked if I was going
down to see him.
"No, I don't think I shall. He can come up here if he wants to
see us."
"Oh!" Lawrence looked indeterminate. Something unusually nervous
and excited in his manner roused my curiosity.
"What is it?" I asked. "I could go if there's anything special."
"It's nothing much, but--well, if you are going, will you tell
him--" he dropped his voice to a whisper--"I think I've found the
extra coffee-cup!"
I had almost forgotten that enigmatical message of Poirot's, but
now my curiosity was aroused afresh.
Lawrence would say no more, so I decided that I would descend
from my high horse, and once more seek out Poirot at Leastways
Cottage.
This time I was received with a smile. Monsieur Poirot was
within. Would I mount? I mounted accordingly.
Poirot was sitting by the table, his head buried in his hands.
He sprang up at my entrance.
"What is it?" I asked solicitously. "You are not ill, I trust?"
"No, no, not ill. But I decide an affair of great moment."
"Whether to catch the criminal or not?" I asked facetiously.
But, to my great surprise, Poirot nodded gravely.
" 'To speak or not to speak,' as your so great Shakespeare says,
'that is the question.' "
I did not trouble to correct the quotation.
"You are not serious, Poirot?"
"I am of the most serious. For the most serious of all things
hangs in the balance."
"And that is?"
"A woman's happiness, mon ami," he said gravely.
I did not quite know what to say.
"The moment has come," said Poirot thoughtfully, "and I do not
know what to do. For, see you, it is a big stake for which I
play. No one but I, Hercule Poirot, would attempt it!" And he
tapped himself proudly on the breast.
After pausing a few minutes respectfully, so as not to spoil his
effect, I gave him Lawrence's message.
"Aha!" he cried. "So he has found the extra coffee-cup. That is
good. He has more intelligence than would appear, this
long-faced Monsieur Lawrence of yours!"
I did not myself think very highly of Lawrence's intelligence;
but I forebore to contradict Poirot, and gently took him to task
for forgetting my instructions as to which were Cynthia's days
off.
"It is true. I have the head of a sieve. However, the other
young lady was most kind. She was sorry for my disappointment,
and showed me everything in the kindest way."
"Oh, well, that's all right, then, and you must go to tea with
Cynthia another day."
I told him about the letter.
"I am sorry for that," he said. "I always had hopes of that
letter. But no, it was not to be. This affair must all be
unravelled from within." He tapped his forehead. "These little
grey cells. It is 'up to them'--as you say over here." Then,
suddenly, he asked: "Are you a judge of finger-marks, my friend?"
"No," I said, rather surprised, "I know that there are no two
finger-marks alike, but that's as far as my science goes."
"Exactly."
He unlocked a little drawer, and took out some photographs which
he laid on the table.
"I have numbered them, 1, 2, 3. Will you describe them to me?"
I studied the proofs attentively.
"All greatly magnified, I see. No. 1, I should say, are a man's
finger-prints; thumb and first finger. No. 2 are a lady's; they
are much smaller, and quite different in every way. No. 3"--I
paused for some time--"there seem to be a lot of confused
finger-marks, but here, very distinctly, are No. 1's."
"Overlapping the others?"
"Yes."
"You recognize them beyond fail?"
"Oh, yes; they are identical."
Poirot nodded, and gently taking the photographs from me locked
them up again.
"I suppose," I said, "that as usual, you are not going to
explain?"
"On the contrary. No. 1 were the finger-prints of Monsieur
Lawrence. No. 2 were those of Mademoiselle Cynthia. They are
not important. I merely obtained them for comparison. No. 3 is
a little more complicated."
"Yes?"
"It is, as you see, highly magnified. You may have noticed a
sort of blur extending all across the picture. I will not
describe to you the special apparatus, dusting powder, etc.,
which I used. It is a well-known process to the police, and by
means of it you can obtain a photograph of the finger-prints of
any object in a very short space of time. Well, my friend, you
have seen the finger-marks--it remains to tell you the particular
object on which they had been left."
"Go on--I am really excited."
"Eh bien! Photo No. 3 represents the highly magnified surface of
a tiny bottle in the top poison cupboard of the dispensary in the
Red Cross Hospital at Tadminster--which sounds like the house
that Jack built!"
"Good heavens!" I exclaimed. "But what were Lawrence Cavendish's
finger-marks doing on it? He never went near the poison cupboard
the day we were there!"
"Oh, yes, he did!"
"Impossible! We were all together the whole time."
Poirot shook his head.
"No, my friend, there was a moment when you were not all
together. There was a moment when you could not have been all
together, or it would not have been necessary to call to Monsieur
Lawrence to come and join you on the balcony."
"I'd forgotten that," I admitted. "But it was only for a
moment."
"Long enough."
"Long enough for what?"
Poirot's smile became rather enigmatical.
"Long enough for a gentleman who had once studied medicine to
gratify a very natural interest and curiosity."
Our eyes met. Poirot's were pleasantly vague. He got up and
hummed a little tune. I watched him suspiciously.
"Poirot," I said, "what was in this particular little bottle?"
Poirot looked out of the window.
"Hydro-chloride of strychnine," he said, over his shoulder,
continuing to hum.
"Good heavens!" I said it quite quietly. I was not surprised. I
had expected that answer.
"They use the pure hydro-chloride of strychnine very little--
only occasionally for pills. It is the official solution, Liq.
Strychnine Hydro-clor. that is used in most medicines. That is
why the finger-marks have remained undisturbed since then."
"How did you manage to take this photograph?"
"I dropped my hat from the balcony," explained Poirot simply.
"Visitors were not permitted below at that hour, so, in spite of
my many apologies, Mademoiselle Cynthia's colleague had to go
down and fetch it for me."
"Then you knew what you were going to find?"
"No, not at all. I merely realized that it was possible, from
your story, for Monsieur Lawrence to go to the poison cupboard.
The possibility had to be confirmed, or eliminated."
"Poirot," I said, "your gaiety does not deceive me. This is a
very important discovery."
"I do not know," said Poirot. "But one thing does strike me. No
doubt it has struck you too."
"What is that?"
"Why, that there is altogether too much strychnine about this
case. This is the third time we run up against it. There was
strychnine in Mrs. Inglethorp's tonic. There is the strychnine
sold across the counter at Styles St. Mary by Mace. Now we have
more strychnine, handled by one of the household. It is
confusing; and, as you know, I do not like confusion."
Before I could reply, one of the other Belgians opened the door
and stuck his head in.
"There is a lady below, asking for Mr Hastings."
"A lady?"
I jumped up. Poirot followed me down the narrow stairs. Mary
Cavendish was standing in the doorway.
"I have been visiting an old woman in the village," she
explained, "and as Lawrence told me you were with Monsieur Poirot
I thought I would call for you."
"Alas, madame," said Poirot, "I thought you had come to honour me
with a visit!"
"I will some day, if you ask me," she promised him, smiling.
"That is well. If you should need a father confessor, madame"
--she started ever so slightly--"remember, Papa Poirot is always
at your service."
She stared at him for a few minutes, as though seeking to read
some deeper meaning into his words. Then she turned abruptly
away.
"Come, will you not walk back with us too, Monsieur Poirot?"
"Enchanted, madame."
All the way to Styles, Mary talked fast and feverishly. It
struck me that in some way she was nervous of Poirot's eyes.
The weather had broken, and the sharp wind was almost autumnal in
its shrewishness. Mary shivered a little, and buttoned her black
sports coat closer. The wind through the trees made a mournful
noise, like some great giant sighing.
We walked up to the great door of Styles, and at once the
knowledge came to us that something was wrong.
Dorcas came running out to meet us. She was crying and wringing
her hands. I was aware of other servants huddled together in the
background, all eyes and ears.
"Oh, m'am! Oh, m'am! I don't know how to tell you--"
"What is it, Dorcas?" I asked impatiently. "Tell us at once."
"It's those wicked detectives. They've arrested him--they've
arrested Mr. Cavendish!"
"Arrested Lawrence?" I gasped.
I saw a strange look come into Dorcas's eyes.
"No, sir. Not Mr. Lawrence--Mr. John."
Behind me, with a wild cry, Mary Cavendish fell heavily against
me, and as I turned to catch her I met the quiet triumph in
Poirot's eyes.
CHAPTER XI. THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION
The trial of John Cavendish for the murder of his stepmother took
place two months later.
Of the intervening weeks I will say little, but my admiration and
sympathy went out unfeignedly to Mary Cavendish. She ranged
herself passionately on her husband's side, scorning the mere
idea of his guilt, and fought for him tooth and nail.
I expressed my admiration to Poirot, and he nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, she is of those women who show at their best in adversity.
It brings out all that is sweetest and truest in them. Her pride
and her jealousy have--"
"Jealousy?" I queried.
"Yes. Have you not realized that she is an unusually jealous
woman? As I was saying, her pride and jealousy have been laid
aside. She thinks of nothing but her husband, and the terrible
fate that is hanging over him."
He spoke very feelingly, and I looked at him earnestly,
remembering that last afternoon, when he had been deliberating
whether or not to speak. With his tenderness for "a woman's
happiness," I felt glad that the decision had been taken out of
his hands.
"Even now," I said, "I can hardly believe it. You see, up to the
very last minute, I thought it was Lawrence!"
Poirot grinned.
"I know you did."
"But John! My old friend John!"
"Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend," observed
Poirot philosophically. "You cannot mix up sentiment and
reason."
"I must say I think you might have given me a hint."
"Perhaps, mon ami, I did not do so, just because he *WAS your old
friend."
I was rather disconcerted by this, remembering how I had busily
passed on to John what I believed to be Poirot's views concerning
Bauerstein. He, by the way, had been acquitted of the charge
brought against him. Nevertheless, although he had been too
clever for them this time, and the charge of espionage could not
be brought home to him, his wings were pretty well clipped for
the future.
I asked Poirot whether he thought John would be condemned. To my
intense surprise, he replied that, on the contrary, he was
extremely likely to be acquitted.
"But, Poirot--" I protested.
"Oh, my friend, have I not said to you all along that I have no
proofs. It is one thing to know that a man is guilty, it is
quite another matter to prove him so. And, in this case, there
is terribly little evidence. That is the whole trouble. I,
Hercule Poirot, know, but I lack the last link in my chain. And
unless I can find that missing link--" He shook his head gravely.
"When did you first suspect John Cavendish?" I asked, after a
minute or two.
"Did you not suspect him at all?"
"No, indeed."
"Not after that fragment of conversation you overheard between
Mrs. Cavendish and her mother-in-law, and her subsequent lack of
frankness at the inquest?"
"No."
"Did you not put two and two together, and reflect that if it was
not Alfred Inglethorp who was quarrelling with his wife--and you
remember, he strenuously denied it at the inquest--it must be
either Lawrence or John. Now, if it was Lawrence, Mary
Cavendish's conduct was just as inexplicable. But if, on the
other hand, it was John, the whole thing was explained quite
naturally."
"So," I cried, a light breaking in upon me, "it was John who
quarrelled with his mother that afternoon?"
"Exactly."
"And you have known this all along?"
"Certainly. Mrs. Cavendish's behaviour could only be explained
that way."
"And yet you say he may be acquitted?"
Poirot shrugged his shoulders.
"Certainly I do. At the police court proceedings, we shall hear
the case for the prosecution, but in all probability his
solicitors will advise him to reserve his defence. That will be
sprung upon us at the trial. And--ah, by the way, I have a word
of caution to give you, my friend. I must not appear in the
case."
"What?"
"No. Officially, I have nothing to do with it. Until I have
found that last link in my chain, I must remain behind the
scenes. Mrs. Cavendish must think I am working for her husband,
not against him."
"I say, that's playing it a bit low down," I protested.
"Not at all. We have to deal with a most clever and unscrupulous
man, and we must use any means in our power-- otherwise he will
slip through our fingers. That is why I have been careful to
remain in the background. All the discoveries have been made by
Japp, and Japp will take all the credit. If I am called upon to
give evidence at all"--he smiled broadly-- "it will probably be
as a witness for the defence."
I could hardly believe my ears.
"It is quite en regle," continued Poirot. "Strangely enough, I
can give evidence that will demolish one contention of the
prosecution."
"Which one?"
"The one that relates to the destruction of the will. John
Cavendish did not destroy that will."
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.
September found us all in London. Mary took a house in
Kensington, Poirot being included in the family party.
I myself had been given a job at the War Office, so was able to
see them continually.
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?
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."
Sir Ernest Heavywether, the famous K. C., had been engaged to
defend him.
Mr. Philips, K. C., opened the case for the Crown.
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.
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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
And, subtly implying that a jury which did not so decide, was
quite unthinkable, Mr. Philips sat down and wiped his forehead.
The first witnesses for the prosecution were mostly those who had
been called at the inquest, the medical evidence being again
taken first.
Sir Ernest Heavywether, who was famous all over England for the
unscrupulous manner in which he bullied witnesses, only asked two
questions.
"I take it, Dr. Bauerstein, that strychnine, as a drug, acts
quickly?"
"Yes."
"And that you are unable to account for the delay in this case?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
Mr. Mace identified the phial handed him by Counsel as that sold
by him to "Mr. Inglethorp." Pressed, he admitted that he only
knew Mr. Inglethorp by sight. He had never spoken to him. The
witness was not cross-examined.
Alfred Inglethorp was called, and denied having purchased the
poison. He also denied having quarrelled with his wife. Various
witnesses testified to the accuracy of these statements.
The gardeners' evidence, as to the witnessing of the will was
taken, and then Dorcas was called.
Dorcas, faithful to her "young gentlemen," denied strenuously
that it could have been John's voice she heard, and resolutely
declared, in the teeth of everything, that it was Mr. Inglethorp
who had been in the boudoir with her mistress. A rather wistful
smile passed across the face of the prisoner in the dock. He
knew only too well how useless her gallant defiance was, since it
was not the object of the defence to deny this point. Mrs.
Cavendish, of course, could not be called upon to give evidence
against her husband.
After various questions on other matters, Mr. Philips asked:
"In the month of June last, do you remember a parcel arriving for
Mr. Lawrence Cavendish from Parkson's?"
Dorcas shook her head.
"I don't remember, sir. It may have done, but Mr. Lawrence was
away from home part of June."
"In the event of a parcel arriving for him whilst he was away,
what would be done with it?"
"It would either be put in his room or sent on after him."
"By you?"
"No, sir, I should leave it on the hall table. It would be Miss
Howard who would attend to anything like that."
Evelyn Howard was called and, after being examined on other
points, was questioned as to the parcel.
"Don't remember. Lots of parcels come. Can't remember one
special one."
"You do not know if it was sent after Mr. Lawrence Cavendish to
Wales, or whether it was put in his room?"
"Don't think it was sent after him. Should have remembered it if
it was."
"Supposing a parcel arrived addressed to Mr. Lawrence Cavendish,
and afterwards it disappeared, should you remark its absence?"
"No, don't think so. I should think some one had taken charge of
it."
"I believe, Miss Howard, that it was you who found this sheet of
brown paper?" He held up the same dusty piece which Poirot and I
had examined in the morning-room at Styles.
"Yes, I did."
"How did you come to look for it?"
"The Belgian detective who was employed on the case asked me to
search for it."
"Where did you eventually discover it?"
"On the top of--of--a wardrobe."
"On top of the prisoner's wardrobe?"
"I--I believe so."
"Did you not find it yourself?"
"Yes."
"Then you must know where you found it?"
"Yes, it was on the prisoner's wardrobe."
"That is better."
An assistant from Parkson's, Theatrical Costumiers, testified
that on June 29th, they had supplied a black beard to Mr. L.
Cavendish, as requested. It was ordered by letter, and a postal
order was enclosed. No, they had not kept the letter. All
transactions were entered in their books. They had sent the
beard, as directed, to "L. Cavendish, Esq., Styles Court."
Sir Ernest Heavywether rose ponderously.
"Where was the letter written from?"
"From Styles Court."
"The same address to which you sent the parcel?"
"Yes."
"And the letter came from there?"
"Yes."
Like a beast of prey, Heavywether fell upon him:
"How do you know?"
"I--I don't understand."
"How do you know that letter came from Styles? Did you notice the
postmark?"
"No--but--"
"Ah, you did *NOT notice the postmark! And yet you affirm so
confidently that it came from Styles. It might, in fact, have
been any postmark?"
"Y--es."
"In fact, the letter, though written on stamped notepaper, might
have been posted from anywhere? From Wales, for instance?"
The witness admitted that such might be the case, and Sir Ernest
signified that he was satisfied.
Elizabeth Wells, second housemaid at Styles, stated that after
she had gone to bed she remembered that she had bolted the front
door, instead of leaving it on the latch as Mr. Inglethorp had
requested. She had accordingly gone downstairs again to rectify
her error. Hearing a slight noise in the West wing, she had
peeped along the passage, and had seen Mr. John Cavendish
knocking at Mrs. Inglethorp's door.
Sir Ernest Heavywether made short work of her, and under his
unmerciful bullying she contradicted herself hopelessly, and Sir
Ernest sat down again with a satisfied smile on his face.
With the evidence of Annie, as to the candle grease on the floor,
and as to seeing the prisoner take the coffee into the boudoir,
the proceedings were adjourned until the following day.
As we went home, Mary Cavendish spoke bitterly against the
prosecuting counsel.
"That hateful man! What a net he has drawn around my poor John!
How he twisted every little fact until he made it seem what it
wasn't!"
"Well," I said consolingly, "it will be the other way about
to-morrow."
"Yes," she said meditatively; then suddenly dropped her voice.
"Mr. Hastings, you do not think--surely it could not have been
Lawrence--Oh, no, that could not be!"
But I myself was puzzled, and as soon as I was alone with Poirot
I asked him what he thought Sir Ernest was driving at.
"Ah!" said Poirot appreciatively. "He is a clever man, that Sir
Ernest."
"Do you think he believes Lawrence guilty?"
"I do not think he believes or cares anything! No, what he is
trying for is to create such confusion in the minds of the jury
that they are divided in their opinion as to which brother did
it. He is endeavouring to make out that there is quite as much
evidence against Lawrence as against John--and I am not at all
sure that he will not succeed."
Detective-inspector Japp was the first witness called when the
trial was reopened, and gave his evidence succinctly and briefly.
After relating the earlier events, he proceeded:
"Acting on information received, Superintendent Summerhaye and
myself searched the prisoner's room, during his temporary absence
from the house. In his chest of drawers, hidden beneath some
underclothing, we found: first, a pair of gold-rimmed pince-nez
similar to those worn by Mr. Inglethorp" --these were
exhibited--"secondly, this phial."
The phial was that already recognized by the chemist's assistant,
a tiny bottle of blue glass, containing a few grains of a white
crystalline powder, and labelled: "Strychnine Hydrochloride.
POISON."
A fresh piece of evidence discovered by the detectives since the
police court proceedings was a long, almost new piece of
blotting-paper. It had been found in Mrs. Inglethorp's cheque
book, and on being reversed at a mirror, showed clearly the
words: ". . . erything of which I die possessed I leave to my
beloved husband Alfred Ing ..." This placed beyond question the
fact that the destroyed will had been in favour of the deceased
lady's husband. Japp then produced the charred fragment of paper
recovered from the grate, and this, with the discovery of the
beard in the attic, completed his evidence.
But Sir Ernest's cross-examination was yet to come.
"What day was it when you searched the prisoner's room?"
"Tuesday, the 24th of July."
"Exactly a week after the tragedy?"
"Yes."
"You found these two objects, you say, in the chest of drawers.
Was the drawer unlocked?"
"Yes."
"Does it not strike you as unlikely that a man who had committed
a crime should keep the evidence of it in an unlocked drawer for
anyone to find?"
"He might have stowed them there in a hurry."
"But you have just said it was a whole week since the crime. He
would have had ample time to remove them and destroy them."
"Perhaps."
"There is no perhaps about it. Would he, or would he not have
had plenty of time to remove and destroy them?"
"Yes."
"Was the pile of underclothes under which the things were hidden
heavy or light?"
"Heavyish."
"In other words, it was winter underclothing. Obviously, the
prisoner would not be likely to go to that drawer?"
"Perhaps not."
"Kindly answer my question. Would the prisoner, in the hottest
week of a hot summer, be likely to go to a drawer containing
winter underclothing. Yes, or no?"
"No."
"In that case, is it not possible that the articles in question
might have been put there by a third person, and that the
prisoner was quite unaware of their presence?"
"I should not think it likely."
"But it is possible?"
"Yes."
"That is all."
More evidence followed. Evidence as to the financial
difficulties in which the prisoner had found himself at the end
of July. Evidence as to his intrigue with Mrs. Raikes--poor
Mary, that must have been bitter hearing for a woman of her
pride. Evelyn Howard had been right in her facts, though her
animosity against Alfred Inglethorp had caused her to jump to the
conclusion that he was the person concerned.
Lawrence Cavendish was then put into the box. In a low voice, in
answer to Mr. Philips' questions, he denied having ordered
anything from Parkson's in June. In fact, on June 29th, he had
been staying away, in Wales.
Instantly, Sir Ernest's chin was shooting pugnaciously forward.
"You deny having ordered a black beard from Parkson's on June
29th?"
"I do."
"Ah! In the event of anything happening to your brother, who will
inherit Styles Court?"
The brutality of the question called a flush to Lawrence's pale
face. The judge gave vent to a faint murmur of disapprobation,
and the prisoner in the dock leant forward angrily.
Heavywether cared nothing for his client's anger.
"Answer my question, if you please."
"I suppose," said Lawrence quietly, "that I should."
"What do you mean by you 'suppose'? Your brother has no children.
You *WOULD inherit it, wouldn't you?"
"Yes."
"Ah, that's better," said Heavywether, with ferocious geniality.
"And you'd inherit a good slice of money too, wouldn't you?"
"Really, Sir Ernest," protested the judge, "these questions are
not relevant."
Sir Ernest bowed, and having shot his arrow proceeded.
"On Tuesday, the 17th July, you went, I believe, with another
guest, to visit the dispensary at the Red Cross Hospital in
Tadminster?"
"Yes."
"Did you--while you happened to be alone for a few
seconds--unlock the poison cupboard, and examine some of the
bottles?"
"I--I--may have done so."
"I put it to you that you did do so?"
"Yes."
Sir Ernest fairly shot the next question at him.
"Did you examine one bottle in particular?"
"No, I do not think so."
"Be careful, Mr. Cavendish. I am referring to a little bottle of
Hydro-chloride of Strychnine."
Lawrence was turning a sickly greenish colour.
"N--o--I am sure I didn't."
"Then how do you account for the fact that you left the
unmistakable impress of your finger-prints on it?"
The bullying manner was highly efficacious with a nervous
disposition.
"I--I suppose I must have taken up the bottle."
"I suppose so too! Did you abstract any of the contents of the
bottle?"
"Certainly not."
"Then why did you take it up?"
"I once studied to be a doctor. Such things naturally interest
me."
"Ah! So poisons 'naturally interest' you, do they? Still, you
waited to be alone before gratifying that 'interest' of yours?"
"That was pure chance. If the others had been there, I should
have done just the same."
"Still, as it happens, the others were not there?"
"No, but----"
"In fact, during the whole afternoon, you were only alone for a
couple of minutes, and it happened--I say, it happened-- to be
during those two minutes that you displayed your 'natural
interest' in Hydro-chloride of Strychnine?"
Lawrence stammered pitiably.
"I--I----"
With a satisfied and expressive countenance, Sir Ernest observed:
"I have nothing more to ask you, Mr. Cavendish."
This bit of cross-examination had caused great excitement in
court. The heads of the many fashionably attired women present
were busily laid together, and their whispers became so loud that
the judge angrily threatened to have the court cleared if there
was not immediate silence.
There was little more evidence. The hand-writing experts were
called upon for their opinion of the signature of "Alfred
Inglethorp" in the chemist's poison register. They all declared
unanimously that it was certainly not his hand-writing, and gave
it as their view that it might be that of the prisoner disguised.
Cross-examined, they admitted that it might be the prisoner's
hand-writing cleverly counterfeited.
Sir Ernest Heavywether's speech in opening the case for the
defence was not a long one, but it was backed by the full force
of his emphatic manner. Never, he said, in the course of his
long experience, had he known a charge of murder rest on slighter
evidence. Not only was it entirely circumstantial, but the
greater part of it was practically unproved. Let them take the
testimony they had heard and sift it impartially. The strychnine
had been found in a drawer in the prisoner's room. That drawer
was an unlocked one, as he had pointed out, and he submitted that
there was no evidence to prove that it was the prisoner who had
concealed the poison there. It was, in fact, a wicked and
malicious attempt on the part of some third person to fix the
crime on the prisoner. The prosecution had been unable to
produce a shred of evidence in support of their contention that
it was the prisoner who ordered the black beard from Parkson's.
The quarrel which had taken place between prisoner and his
stepmother was freely admitted, but both it and his financial
embarrassments had been grossly exaggerated.
His learned friend--Sir Ernest nodded carelessly at Mr.
Philips--had stated that if the prisoner were an innocent man, he
would have come forward at the inquest to explain that it was he,
and not Mr. Inglethorp, who had been the participator in the
quarrel. He thought the facts had been misrepresented. What had
actually occurred was this. The prisoner, returning to the house
on Tuesday evening, had been authoritatively told that there had
been a violent quarrel between Mr. and Mrs. Inglethorp. No
suspicion had entered the prisoner's head that anyone could
possibly have mistaken his voice for that of Mr. Inglethorp. He
naturally concluded that his stepmother had had two quarrels.
The prosecution averred that on Monday, July 16th, the prisoner
had entered the chemist's shop in the village, disguised as Mr.
Inglethorp. The prisoner, on the contrary, was at that time at a
lonely spot called Marston's Spinney, where he had been summoned
by an anonymous note, couched in blackmailing terms, and
threatening to reveal certain matters to his wife unless he
complied with its demands. The prisoner had, accordingly, gone
to the appointed spot, and after waiting there vainly for half an
hour had returned home. Unfortunately, he had met with no one on
the way there or back who could vouch for the truth of his story,
but luckily he had kept the note, and it would be produced as
evidence.
As for the statement relating to the destruction of the will, the
prisoner had formerly practiced at the Bar, and was perfectly
well aware that the will made in his favour a year before was
automatically revoked by his stepmother's remarriage. He would
call evidence to show who did destroy the will, and it was
possible that that might open up quite a new view of the case.
Finally, he would point out to the jury that there was evidence
against other people besides John Cavendish. He would direct
their attention to the fact that the evidence against Mr.
Lawrence Cavendish was quite as strong, if not stronger than that
against his brother.
He would now call the prisoner.
John acquitted himself well in the witness-box. Under Sir
Ernest's skilful handling, he told his tale credibly and well.
The anonymous note received by him was produced, and handed to
the jury to examine. The readiness with which he admitted his
financial difficulties, and the disagreement with his stepmother,
lent value to his denials.
At the close of his examination, he paused, and said:
"I should like to make one thing clear. I utterly reject and
disapprove of Sir Ernest Heavywether's insinuations against my
brother. My brother, I am convinced, had no more to do with the
crime than I have."
Sir Ernest merely smiled, and noted with a sharp eye that John's
protest had produced a very favourable impression on the jury.
Then the cross-examination began.
"I understand you to say that it never entered your head that the
witnesses at the inquest could possibly have mistaken your voice
for that of Mr. Inglethorp. Is not that very surprising?"
"No, I don't think so. I was told there had been a quarrel
between my mother and Mr. Inglethorp, and it never occurred to me
that such was not really the case."
"Not when the servant Dorcas repeated certain fragments of the
conversation--fragments which you must have recognized?"
"I did not recognize them."
"Your memory must be unusually short!"
"No, but we were both angry, and, I think, said more than we
meant. I paid very little attention to my mother's actual
words."
Mr. Philips' incredulous sniff was a triumph of forensic skill.
He passed on to the subject of the note.
"You have produced this note very opportunely. Tell me, is there
nothing familiar about the hand-writing of it?"
"Not that I know of."
"Do you not think that it bears a marked resemblance to your own
hand-writing--carelessly disguised?"
"No, I do not think so."
"I put it to you that it is your own hand-writing!"
"No."
"I put it to you that, anxious to prove an alibi, you conceived
the idea of a fictitious and rather incredible appointment, and
wrote this note yourself in order to bear out your statement!"
"No."
"Is it not a fact that, at the time you claim to have been
waiting about at a solitary and unfrequented spot, you were
really in the chemist's shop in Styles St. Mary, where you
purchased strychnine in the name of Alfred Inglethorp?"
"No, that is a lie."
"I put it to you that, wearing a suit of Mr. Inglethorp's
clothes, with a black beard trimmed to resemble his, you were
there--and signed the register in his name!"
"That is absolutely untrue."
"Then I will leave the remarkable similarity of hand-writing
between the note, the register, and your own, to the
consideration of the jury," said Mr. Philips, and sat down with
the air of a man who has done his duty, but who was nevertheless
horrified by such deliberate perjury.
After this, as it was growing late, the case was adjourned till
Monday.
Poirot, I noticed, was looking profoundly discouraged. He had
that little frown between the eyes that I knew so well.
"What is it, Poirot?" I inquired.
"Ah, mon ami, things are going badly, badly."
In spite of myself, my heart gave a leap of relief. Evidently
there was a likelihood of John Cavendish being acquitted.
When we reached the house, my little friend waved aside Mary's
offer of tea.
"No, I thank you, madame. I will mount to my room."
I followed him. Still frowning, he went across to the desk and
took out a small pack of patience cards. Then he drew up a chair
to the table, and, to my utter amazement, began solemnly to build
card houses!
My jaw dropped involuntarily, and he said at once:
"No, mon ami, I am not in my second childhood! I steady my
nerves, that is all. This employment requires precision of the
fingers. With precision of the fingers goes precision of the
brain. And never have I needed that more than now!"
"What is the trouble?" I asked.
With a great thump on the table, Poirot demolished his carefully
built up edifice.
"It is this, mon ami! That I can build card houses seven stories
high, but I cannot"--thump--"find"--thump--"that last link of
which I spoke to you."
I could not quite tell what to say, so I held my peace, and he
began slowly building up the cards again, speaking in jerks as he
did so.
"It is done--so! By placing--one card--on another--with
mathematical--precision!"
I watched the card house rising under his hands, story by story.
He never hesitated or faltered. It was really almost like a
conjuring trick.
"What a steady hand you've got," I remarked. "I believe I've
only seen your hand shake once."
"On an occasion when I was enraged, without doubt," observed
Poirot, with great placidity.
"Yes indeed! You were in a towering rage. Do you remember? It
was when you discovered that the lock of the despatch-case in
Mrs. Inglethorp's bedroom had been forced. You stood by the
mantel-piece, twiddling the things on it in your usual fashion,
and your hand shook like a leaf! I must say----"
But I stopped suddenly. For Poirot, uttering a hoarse and
inarticulate cry, again annihilated his masterpiece of cards, and
putting his hands over his eyes swayed backwards and forwards,
apparently suffering the keenest agony.
"Good heavens, Poirot!" I cried. "What is the matter? Are you
taken ill?"
"No, no," he gasped. "It is--it is--that I have an idea!"
"Oh!" I exclaimed, much relieved. "One of your 'little ideas'?"
"Ah, ma foi, no!" replied Poirot frankly. "This time it is an
idea gigantic! Stupendous! And you--*YOU, my friend, have given
it to me!"
Suddenly clasping me in his arms, he kissed me warmly on both
cheeks, and before I had recovered from my surprise ran headlong
from the room.
Mary Cavendish entered at that moment.
"What is the matter with Monsieur Poirot? He rushed past me
crying out: 'A garage! For the love of Heaven, direct me to a
garage, madame!' And, before I could answer, he had dashed out
into the street."
I hurried to the window. True enough, there he was, tearing down
the street, hatless, and gesticulating as he went. I turned to
Mary with a gesture of despair.
"He'll be stopped by a policeman in another minute. There he
goes, round the corner!"
Our eyes met, and we stared helplessly at one another.
"What can be the matter?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know. He was building card houses, when suddenly he
said he had an idea, and rushed off as you saw."
"Well," said Mary, "I expect he will be back before dinner."
But night fell, and Poirot had not returned.
CHAPTER XII
THE LAST LINK
POIROT'S abrupt departure had intrigued us all greatly. Sunday
morning wore away, and still he did not reappear. But about
three o'clock a ferocious and prolonged hooting outside drove us
to the window, to see Poirot alighting from a car, accompanied by
Japp and Summerhaye. The little man was transformed. He
radiated an absurd complacency. He bowed with exaggerated
respect to Mary Cavendish.
"Madame, I have your permission to hold a little reunion in the
salon? It is necessary for every one to attend."
Mary smiled sadly.
"You know, Monsieur Poirot, that you have carte blanche in every
way."
"You are too amiable, madame."
Still beaming, Poirot marshalled us all into the drawing- room,
bringing forward chairs as he did so.
"Miss Howard--here. Mademoiselle Cynthia. Monsieur Lawrence.
The good Dorcas. And Annie. Bien! We must delay our proceedings
a few minutes until Mr. Inglethorp arrives. I have sent him a
note."
Miss Howard rose immediately from her seat.
"If that man comes into the house, I leave it!"
"No, no!" Poirot went up to her and pleaded in a low voice.
Finally Miss Howard consented to return to her chair. A few
minutes later Alfred Inglethorp entered the room.
The company once assembled, Poirot rose from his seat with the
air of a popular lecturer, and bowed politely to his audience.
"Messieurs, mesdames, as you all know, I was called in by
Monsieur John Cavendish to investigate this case. I at once
examined the bedroom of the deceased which, by the advice of the
doctors, had been kept locked, and was consequently exactly as it
had been when the tragedy occurred. I found: first, a fragment
of green material; second, a stain on the carpet near the window,
still damp; thirdly, an empty box of bromide powders.
"To take the fragment of green material first, I found it caught
in the bolt of the communicating door between that room and the
adjoining one occupied by Mademoiselle Cynthia. I handed the
fragment over to the police who did not consider it of much
importance. Nor did they recognize it for what it was--a piece
torn from a green land armlet."
There was a little stir of excitement.
"Now there was only one person at Styles who worked on the
land--Mrs. Cavendish. Therefore it must have been Mrs. Cavendish
who entered the deceased's room through the door communicating
with Mademoiselle Cynthia's room."
"But that door was bolted on the inside!" I cried.
"When I examined the room, yes. But in the first place we have
only her word for it, since it was she who tried that particular
door and reported it fastened. In the ensuing confusion she
would have had ample opportunity to shoot the bolt across. I
took an early opportunity of verifying my conjectures. To begin
with, the fragment corresponds exactly with a tear in Mrs.
Cavendish's armlet. Also, at the inquest, Mrs. Cavendish
declared that she had heard, from her own room, the fall of the
table by the bed. I took an early opportunity of testing that
statement by stationing my friend Monsieur Hastings in the left
wing of the building, just outside Mrs. Cavendish's door. I
myself, in company with the police, went to the deceased's room,
and whilst there I, apparently accidentally, knocked over the
table in question, but found that, as I had expected, Monsieur
Hastings had heard no sound at all. This confirmed my belief
that Mrs. Cavendish was not speaking the truth when she declared
that she had been dressing in her room at the time of the
tragedy. In fact, I was convinced that, far from having been in
her own room, Mrs. Cavendish was actually in the deceased's room
when the alarm was given."
I shot a quick glance at Mary. She was very pale, but smiling.
"I proceeded to reason on that assumption. Mrs. Cavendish is in
her mother-in-law's room. We will say that she is seeking for
something and has not yet found it. Suddenly Mrs. Inglethorp
awakens and is seized with an alarming paroxysm. She flings out
her arm, overturning the bed table, and then pulls desperately at
the bell. Mrs. Cavendish, startled, drops her candle, scattering
the grease on the carpet. She picks it up, and retreats quickly
to Mademoiselle Cynthia's room, closing the door behind her. She
hurries out into the passage, for the servants must not find her
where she is. But it is too late! Already footsteps are echoing
along the gallery which connects the two wings. What can she do?
Quick as thought, she hurries back to the young girl's room, and
starts shaking her awake. The hastily aroused household come
trooping down the passage. They are all busily battering at Mrs.
Inglethorp's door. It occurs to nobody that Mrs. Cavendish has
not arrived with the rest, but--and this is significant--I can
find no one who saw her come from the other wing." He looked at
Mary Cavendish. "Am I right, madame?"
She bowed her head.
"Quite right, monsieur. You understand that, if I had thought I
would do my husband any good by revealing these facts, I would
have done so. But it did not seem to me to bear upon the
question of his guilt or innocence."
"In a sense, that is correct, madame. But it cleared my mind of
many misconceptions, and left me free to see other facts in their
true significance."
"The will!" cried Lawrence. "Then it was you, Mary, who
destroyed the will?"
She shook her head, and Poirot shook his also.
"No," he said quietly. "There is only one person who could
possibly have destroyed that will--Mrs. Inglethorp herself!"
"Impossible!" I exclaimed. "She had only made it out that very
afternoon!"
"Nevertheless, mon ami, it was Mrs. Inglethorp. Because, in no
other way can you account for the fact that, on one of the
hottest days of the year, Mrs. Inglethorp ordered a fire to be
lighted in her room."
I gave a gasp. What idiots we had been never to think of that
fire as being incongruous! Poirot was continuing:
"The temperature on that day, messieurs, was 80 degrees in the
shade. Yet Mrs. Inglethorp ordered a fire! Why? Because she
wished to destroy something, and could think of no other way.
You will remember that, in consequence of the War economics
practiced at Styles, no waste paper was thrown away. There was
therefore no means of destroying a thick document such as a will.
The moment I heard of a fire being lighted in Mrs. Inglethorp's
room, I leaped to the conclusion that it was to destroy some
important document--possibly a will. So the discovery of the
charred fragment in the grate was no surprise to me. I did not,
of course, know at the time that the will in question had only
been made this afternoon, and I will admit that, when I learnt
that fact, I fell into a grievous error. I came to the
conclusion that Mrs. Inglethorp's determination to destroy her
will arose as a direct consequence of the quarrel she had that
afternoon, and that therefore the quarrel took place after, and
not before the making of the will.
"Here, as we know, I was wrong, and I was forced to abandon that
idea. I faced the problem from a new standpoint. Now, at 4
o'clock, Dorcas overheard her mistress saying angrily: 'You need
not think that any fear of publicity, or scandal between husband
and wife will deter me." I conjectured, and conjectured rightly,
that these words were addressed, not to her husband, but to Mr.
John Cavendish. At 5 o'clock, an hour later, she uses almost the
same words, but the standpoint is different. She admits to
Dorcas, 'I don't know what to do; scandal between husband and
wife is a dreadful thing.' At 4 o'clock she has been angry, but
completely mistress of herself. At 5 o'clock she is in violent
distress, and speaks of having had a great shock.
"Looking at the matter psychologically, I drew one deduction
which I was convinced was correct. The second 'scandal' she
spoke of was not the same as the first--and it concerned herself!
"Let us reconstruct. At 4 o'clock, Mrs. Inglethorp quarrels with
her son, and threatens to denounce him to his wife-- who, by the
way, overheard the greater part of the conversation. At 4.30,
Mrs. Inglethorp, in consequence of a conversation on the validity
of wills, makes a will in favour of her husband, which the two
gardeners witness. At 5 o'clock, Dorcas finds her mistress in a
state of considerable agitation, with a slip of paper--'a
letter,' Dorcas thinks--in her hand, and it is then that she
orders the fire in her room to be lighted. Presumably, then,
between 4.30 and 5 o'clock, something has occurred to occasion a
complete revolution of feeling, since she is now as anxious to
destroy the will, as she was before to make it. What was that
something?
"As far as we know, she was quite alone during that half-hour.
Nobody entered or left that boudoir. What then occasioned this
sudden change of sentiment?
"One can only guess, but I believe my guess to be correct. Mrs.
Inglethorp had no stamps in her desk. We know this, because
later she asked Dorcas to bring her some. Now in the opposite
corner of the room stood her husband's desk--locked. She was
anxious to find some stamps, and, according to my theory, she
tried her own keys in the desk. That one of them fitted I know.
She therefore opened the desk, and in searching for the stamps
she came across something else--that slip of paper which Dorcas
saw in her hand, and which assuredly was never meant for Mrs.
Inglethorp's eyes. On the other hand, Mrs. Cavendish believed
that the slip of paper to which her mother-in-law clung so
tenaciously was a written proof of her own husband's infidelity.
She demanded it from Mrs. Inglethorp who assured her, quite
truly, that it had nothing to do with that matter. Mrs.
Cavendish did not believe her. She thought that Mrs. Inglethorp
was shielding her stepson. Now Mrs. Cavendish is a very resolute
woman, and, behind her mask of reserve, she was madly jealous of
her husband. She determined to get hold of that paper at all
costs, and in this resolution chance came to her aid. She
happened to pick up the key of Mrs. Inglethorp's despatch-case,
which had been lost that morning. She knew that her
mother-in-law invariably kept all important papers in this
particular case.
"Mrs. Cavendish, therefore, made her plans as only a woman driven
desperate through jealousy could have done. Some time in the
evening she unbolted the door leading into Mademoiselle Cynthia's
room. Possibly she applied oil to the hinges, for I found that
it opened quite noiselessly when I tried it. She put off her
project until the early hours of the morning as being safer,
since the servants were accustomed to hearing her move about her
room at that time. She dressed completely in her land kit, and
made her way quietly through Mademoiselle Cynthia's room into
that of Mrs. Inglethorp."
He paused a moment, and Cynthia interrupted:
"But I should have woken up if anyone had come through my room?"
"Not if you were drugged, mademoiselle."
"Drugged?"
"Mais, oui!"
"You remember"--he addressed us collectively again--"that through
all the tumult and noise next door Mademoiselle Cynthia slept.
That admitted of two possibilities. Either her sleep was
feigned--which I did not believe--or her unconsciousness was
indeed by artificial means.
"With this latter idea in my mind, I examined all the coffee-cups
most carefully, remembering that it was Mrs. Cavendish who had
brought Mademoiselle Cynthia her coffee the night before. I took
a sample from each cup, and had them analysed--with no result. I
had counted the cups carefully, in the event of one having been
removed. Six persons had taken coffee, and six cups were duly
found. I had to confess myself mistaken.
"Then I discovered that I had been guilty of a very grave
oversight. Coffee had been brought in for seven persons, not
six, for Dr. Bauerstein had been there that evening. This
changed the face of the whole affair, for there was now one cup
missing. The servants noticed nothing, since Annie, the
housemaid, who took in the coffee, brought in seven cups, not
knowing that Mr. Inglethorp never drank it, whereas Dorcas, who
cleared them away the following morning, found six as usual--or
strictly speaking she found five, the sixth being the one found
broken in Mrs. Inglethorp's room.
"I was confident that the missing cup was that of Mademoiselle
Cynthia. I had an additional reason for that belief in the fact
that all the cups found contained sugar, which Mademoiselle
Cynthia never took in her coffee. My attention was attracted by
the story of Annie about some 'salt' on the tray of coco which
she took every night to Mrs. Inglethorp's room. I accordingly
secured a sample of that coco, and sent it to be analysed."
"But that had already been done by Dr. Bauerstein," said Lawrence
quickly.
"Not exactly. The analyst was asked by him to report whether
strychnine was, or was not, present. He did not have it tested,
as I did, for a narcotic."
"For a narcotic?"
"Yes. Here is the analyst's report. Mrs. Cavendish administered
a safe, but effectual, narcotic to both Mrs. Inglethorp and
Mademoiselle Cynthia. And it is possible that she had a mauvais
quart d'heure in consequence! Imagine her feelings when her
mother-in-law is suddenly taken ill and dies, and immediately
after she hears the word 'Poison'! She has believed that the
sleeping draught she administered was perfectly harmless, but
there is no doubt that for one terrible moment she must have
feared that Mrs. Inglethorp's death lay at her door. She is
seized with panic, and under its influence she hurries
downstairs, and quickly drops the coffee-cup and saucer used by
Mademoiselle Cynthia into a large brass vase, where it is
discovered later by Monsieur Lawrence. The remains of the coco
she dare not touch. Too many eyes are upon her. Guess at her
relief when strychnine is mentioned, and she discovers that after
all the tragedy is not her doing.
"We are now able to account for the symptoms of strychnine
poisoning being so long in making their appearance. A narcotic
taken with strychnine will delay the action of the poison for
some hours."
Poirot paused. Mary looked up at him, the colour slowly rising
in her face.
"All you have said is quite true, Monsieur Poirot. It was the
most awful hour of my life. I shall never forget it. But you
are wonderful. I understand now----"
"What I meant when I told you that you could safely confess to
Papa Poirot, eh? But you would not trust me."
"I see everything now," said Lawrence. "The drugged coco, taken
on top of the poisoned coffee, amply accounts for the delay."
"Exactly. But was the coffee poisoned, or was it not? We come to
a little difficulty here, since Mrs. Inglethorp never drank it."
"What?" The cry of surprise was universal.
"No. You will remember my speaking of a stain on the carpet in
Mrs. Inglethorp's room? There were some peculiar points about
that stain. It was still damp, it exhaled a strong odour of
coffee, and imbedded in the nap of the carpet I found some little
splinters of china. What had happened was plain to me, for not
two minutes before I had placed my little case on the table near
the window, and the table, tilting up, had deposited it upon the
floor on precisely the identical spot. In exactly the same way,
Mrs. Inglethorp had laid down her cup of coffee on reaching her
room the night before, and the treacherous table had played her
the same trick.
"What happened next is mere guess work on my part, but I should
say that Mrs. Inglethorp picked up the broken cup and placed it
on the table by the bed. Feeling in need of a stimulant of some
kind, she heated up her coco, and drank it off then and there.
Now we are faced with a new problem. We know the coco contained
no strychnine. The coffee was never drunk. Yet the strychnine
must have been administered between seven and nine o'clock that
evening. What third medium was there--a medium so suitable for
disguising the taste of strychnine that it is extraordinary no
one has thought of it?" Poirot looked round the room, and then
answered himself impressively. "Her medicine!"
"Do you mean that the murderer introduced the strychnine into her
tonic?" I cried.
"There was no need to introduce it. It was already there-- in
the mixture. The strychnine that killed Mrs. Inglethorp was the
identical strychnine prescribed by Dr. Wilkins. To make that
clear to you, I will read you an extract from a book on
dispensing which I found in the Dispensary of the Red Cross
Hospital at Tadminster:
" 'The following prescription has become famous in text books:
Strychninae Sulph . . . . . . gr.I
Potass Bromide . . . . . . . 3vi Aqua
ad . . . . . . . . . . . 3viii Fiat
Mistura
This solution deposits in a few hours the greater part of the
strychnine salt as an insoluble bromide in transparent crystals.
A lady in England lost her life by taking a similar mixture: the
precipitated strychnine collected at the bottom, and in taking
the last dose she swallowed nearly all of it!"
"Now there was, of course, no bromide in Dr. Wilkins'
prescription, but you will remember that I mentioned an empty box
of bromide powders. One or two of those powders introduced into
the full bottle of medicine would effectually precipitate the
strychnine, as the book describes, and cause it to be taken in
the last dose. You will learn later that the person who usually
poured out Mrs. Inglethorp's medicine was always extremely
careful not to shake the bottle, but to leave the sediment at the
bottom of it undisturbed.
"Throughout the case, there have been evidences that the tragedy
was intended to take place on Monday evening. On that day, Mrs.
Inglethorp's bell wire was neatly cut, and on Monday evening
Mademoiselle Cynthia was spending the night with friends, so that
Mrs. Inglethorp would have been quite alone in the right wing,
completely shut off from help of any kind, and would have died,
in all probability, before medical aid could have been summoned.
But in her hurry to be in time for the village entertainment Mrs.
Inglethorp forgot to take her medicine, and the next day she
lunched away from home, so that the last--and fatal--dose was
actually taken twenty-four hours later than had been anticipated
by the murderer; and it is owing to that delay that the final
proof-- the last link of the chain--is now in my hands."
Amid breathless excitement, he held out three thin strips of
paper.
"A letter in the murderer's own hand-writing, mes amis! Had it
been a little clearer in its terms, it is possible that Mrs.
Inglethorp, warned in time, would have escaped. As it was, she
realized her danger, but not the manner of it."
In the deathly silence, Poirot pieced together the slips of paper
and, clearing his throat, read:
" 'Dearest Evelyn:
'You will be anxious at hearing nothing. It is all right--only
it will be to-night instead of last night. You understand.
There's a good time coming once the old woman is dead and out of
the way. No one can possibly bring home the crime to me. That
idea of yours about the bromides was a stroke of genius! But we
must be very circumspect. A false step----'
"Here, my friends, the letter breaks off. Doubtless the writer
was interrupted; but there can be no question as to his identity.
We all know this hand-writing and----"
A howl that was almost a scream broke the silence.
"You devil! How did you get it?"
A chair was overturned. Poirot skipped nimbly aside. A quick
movement on his part, and his assailant fell with a crash.
"Messieurs, mesdames," said Poirot, with a flourish, "let me
introduce you to the murderer, Mr. Alfred Inglethorp!"
CHAPTER XIII. POIROT EXPLAINS
"Poirot, you old villain," I said, "I've half a mind to strangle
you! What do you mean by deceiving me as you have done?"
We were sitting in the library. Several hectic days lay behind
us. In the room below, John and Mary were together once more,
while Alfred Inglethorp and Miss Howard were in custody. Now at
last, I had Poirot to myself, and could relieve my still burning
curiosity.
Poirot did not answer me for a moment, but at last he said:
"I did not deceive you, mon ami. At most, I permitted you to
deceive yourself."
"Yes, but why?"
"Well, it is difficult to explain. You see, my friend, you have
a nature so honest, and a countenance so transparent,
that--enfin, to conceal your feelings is impossible! If I had
told you my ideas, the very first time you saw Mr. Alfred
Inglethorp that astute gentleman would have--in your so
expressive idiom--'smelt a rat'! And then, bon jour to our
chances of catching him!"
"I think that I have more diplomacy than you give me credit for."
"My friend," besought Poirot, "I implore you, do not enrage
yourself! Your help has been of the most invaluable. It is but
the extremely beautiful nature that you have, which made me
pause."
"Well," I grumbled, a little mollified. "I still think you might
have given me a hint."
"But I did, my friend. Several hints. You would not take them.
Think now, did I ever say to you that I believed John Cavendish
guilty? Did I not, on the contrary, tell you that he would almost
certainly be acquitted?"
"Yes, but----"
"And did I not immediately afterwards speak of the difficulty of
bringing the murderer to justice? Was it not plain to you that I
was speaking of two entirely different persons?"
"No," I said, "it was not plain to me!"
"Then again," continued Poirot, "at the beginning, did I not
repeat to you several times that I didn't want Mr. Inglethorp
arrested *NOW? That should have conveyed something to you."
"Do you mean to say you suspected him as long ago as that?"
"Yes. To begin with, whoever else might benefit by Mrs.
Inglethorp's death, her husband would benefit the most. There
was no getting away from that. When I went up to Styles with you
that first day, I had no idea as to how the crime had been
committed, but from what I knew of Mr. Inglethorp I fancied that
it would be very hard to find anything to connect him with it.
When I arrived at the chateau, I realized at once that it was
Mrs. Inglethorp who had burnt the will; and there, by the way,
you cannot complain, my friend, for I tried my best to force on
you the significance of that bedroom fire in midsummer."
"Yes, yes," I said impatiently. "Go on."
"Well, my friend, as I say, my views as to Mr. Inglethorp's guilt
were very much shaken. There was, in fact, so much evidence
against him that I was inclined to believe that he had not done
it."
"When did you change your mind?"
"When I found that the more efforts I made to clear him, the more
efforts he made to get himself arrested. Then, when I discovered
that Inglethorp had nothing to do with Mrs. Raikes and that in
fact it was John Cavendish who was interested in that quarter, I
was quite sure."
"But why?"
"Simply this. If it had been Inglethorp who was carrying on an
intrigue with Mrs. Raikes, his silence was perfectly
comprehensible. But, when I discovered that it was known all
over the village that it was John who was attracted by the
farmer's pretty wife, his silence bore quite a different
interpretation. It was nonsense to pretend that he was afraid of
the scandal, as no possible scandal could attach to him. This
attitude of his gave me furiously to think, and I was slowly
forced to the conclusion that Alfred Inglethorp wanted to be
arrested. Eh bien! from that moment, I was equally determined
that he should not be arrested."
"Wait a minute. I don't see why he wished to be arrested?"
"Because, mon ami, it is the law of your country that a man once
acquitted can never be tried again for the same offence. Aha!
but it was clever--his idea! Assuredly, he is a man of method.
See here, he knew that in his position he was bound to be
suspected, so he conceived the exceedingly clever idea of
preparing a lot of manufactured evidence against himself. He
wished to be arrested. He would then produce his irreproachable
alibi--and, hey presto, he was safe for life!"
"But I still don't see how he managed to prove his alibi, and yet
go to the chemist's shop?"
Poirot stared at me in surprise.
"Is it possible? My poor friend! You have not yet realized that
it was Miss Howard who went to the chemist's shop?"
"Miss Howard?"
"But, certainly. Who else? It was most easy for her. She is of
a good height, her voice is deep and manly; moreover, remember,
she and Inglethorp are cousins, and there is a distinct
resemblance between them, especially in their gait and bearing.
It was simplicity itself. They are a clever pair!"
"I am still a little fogged as to how exactly the bromide
business was done," I remarked.
"Bon! I will reconstruct for you as far as possible. I am
inclined to think that Miss Howard was the master mind in that
affair. You remember her once mentioning that her father was a
doctor? Possibly she dispensed his medicines for him, or she may
have taken the idea from one of the many books lying about when
Mademoiselle Cynthia was studying for her exam. Anyway, she was
familiar with the fact that the addition of a bromide to a
mixture containing strychnine would cause the precipitation of
the latter. Probably the idea came to her quite suddenly. Mrs.
Inglethorp had a box of bromide powders, which she occasionally
took at night. What could be easier than quietly to dissolve one
or more of those powders in Mrs. Inglethorp's large sized bottle
of medicine when it came from Coot's? The risk is practically
nil. The tragedy will not take place until nearly a fortnight
later. If anyone has seen either of them touching the medicine,
they will have forgotten it by that time. Miss Howard will have
engineered her quarrel, and departed from the house. The lapse
of time, and her absence, will defeat all suspicion. Yes, it was
a clever idea! If they had left it alone, it is possible the
crime might never have been brought home to them. But they were
not satisfied. They tried to be too clever--and that was their
undoing."
Poirot puffed at his tiny cigarette, his eyes fixed on the
ceiling.
"They arranged a plan to throw suspicion on John Cavendish, by
buying strychnine at the village chemist's, and signing the
register in his hand-writing.
"On Monday Mrs. Inglethorp will take the last dose of her
medicine. On Monday, therefore, at six o'clock, Alfred
Inglethorp arranges to be seen by a number of people at a spot
far removed from the village. Miss Howard has previously made up
a cock and bull story about him and Mrs. Raikes to account for
his holding his tongue afterwards. At six o'clock, Miss Howard,
disguised as Alfred Inglethorp, enters the chemist's shop, with
her story about a dog, obtains the strychnine, and writes the
name of Alfred Inglethorp in John's handwriting, which she had
previously studied carefully.
"But, as it will never do if John, too, can prove an alibi, she
writes him an anonymous note--still copying his hand-writing
--which takes him to a remote spot where it is exceedingly
unlikely that anyone will see him.
"So far, all goes well. Miss Howard goes back to Middlingham.
Alfred Inglethorp returns to Styles. There is nothing that can
compromise him in any way, since it is Miss Howard who has the
strychnine, which, after all, is only wanted as a blind to throw
suspicion on John Cavendish.
"But now a hitch occurs. Mrs. Inglethorp does not take her
medicine that night. The broken bell, Cynthia's absence--
arranged by Inglethorp through his wife--all these are wasted.
And then--he makes his slip.
"Mrs. Inglethorp is out, and he sits down to write to his
accomplice, who, he fears, may be in a panic at the nonsuccess of
their plan. It is probable that Mrs. Inglethorp returned earlier
than he expected. Caught in the act, and somewhat flurried he
hastily shuts and locks his desk. He fears that if he remains in
the room he may have to open it again, and that Mrs. Inglethorp
might catch sight of the letter before he could snatch it up. So
he goes out and walks in the woods, little dreaming that Mrs.
Inglethorp will open his desk, and discover the incriminating
document.
"But this, as we know, is what happened. Mrs. Inglethorp reads
it, and becomes aware of the perfidy of her husband and Evelyn
Howard, though, unfortunately, the sentence about the bromides
conveys no warning to her mind. She knows that she is in
danger--but is ignorant of where the danger lies. She decides to
say nothing to her husband, but sits down and writes to her
solicitor, asking him to come on the morrow, and she also
determines to destroy immediately the will which she has just
made. She keeps the fatal letter."
"It was to discover that letter, then, that her husband forced
the lock of the despatch-case?"
"Yes, and from the enormous risk he ran we can see how fully he
realized its importance. That letter excepted, there was
absolutely nothing to connect him with the crime."
"There's only one thing I can't make out, why didn't he destroy
it at once when he got hold of it?"
"Because he did not dare take the biggest risk of all--that of
keeping it on his own person."
"I don't understand."
"Look at it from his point of view. I have discovered that there
were only five short minutes in which he could have taken it--the
five minutes immediately before our own arrival on the scene, for
before that time Annie was brushing the stairs, and would have
seen anyone who passed going to the right wing. Figure to
yourself the scene! He enters the room, unlocking the door by
means of one of the other doorkeys--they were all much alike. He
hurries to the despatch-case--it is locked, and the keys are
nowhere to be seen. That is a terrible blow to him, for it means
that his presence in the room cannot be concealed as he had
hoped. But he sees clearly that everything must be risked for
the sake of that damning piece of evidence. Quickly, he forces
the lock with a penknife, and turns over the papers until he
finds what he is looking for.
"But now a fresh dilemma arises: he dare not keep that piece of
paper on him. He may be seen leaving the room--he may be
searched. If the paper is found on him, it is certain doom.
Probably, at this minute, too, he hears the sounds below of Mr.
Wells and John leaving the boudoir. He must act quickly. Where
can he hide this terrible slip of paper? The contents of the
waste-paper-basket are kept and in any case, are sure to be
examined. There are no means of destroying it; and he dare not
keep it. He looks round, and he sees--what do you think, mon
ami?"
I shook my head.
"In a moment, he has torn the letter into long thin strips, and
rolling them up into spills he thrusts them hurriedly in amongst
the other spills in the vase on the mantle-piece."
I uttered an exclamation.
"No one would think of looking there," Poirot continued. "And he
will be able, at his leisure, to come back and destroy this
solitary piece of evidence against him."
"Then, all the time, it was in the spill vase in Mrs.
Inglethorp's bedroom, under our very noses?" I cried.
Poirot nodded.
"Yes, my friend. That is where I discovered my 'last link,' and
I owe that very fortunate discovery to you."
"To me?"
"Yes. Do you remember telling me that my hand shook as I was
straightening the ornaments on the mantel-piece?"
"Yes, but I don't see----"
"No, but I saw. Do you know, my friend, I remembered that
earlier in the morning, when we had been there together, I had
straightened all the objects on the mantel-piece. And, if they
were already straightened, there would be no need to straighten
them again, unless, in the meantime, some one else had touched
them."
"Dear me," I murmured, "so that is the explanation of your
extraordinary behaviour. You rushed down to Styles, and found it
still there?"
"Yes, and it was a race for time."
"But I still can't understand why Inglethorp was such a fool as
to leave it there when he had plenty of opportunity to destroy
it."
"Ah, but he had no opportunity. I saw to that."
"You?"
"Yes. Do you remember reproving me for taking the household into
my confidence on the subject?"
"Yes."
"Well, my friend, I saw there was just one chance. I was not
sure then if Inglethorp was the criminal or not, but if he was I
reasoned that he would not have the paper on him, but would have
hidden it somewhere, and by enlisting the sympathy of the
household I could effectually prevent his destroying it. He was
already under suspicion, and by making 190> the matter public I
secured the services of about ten amateur detectives, who would
be watching him unceasingly, and being himself aware of their
watchfulness he would not dare seek further to destroy the
document. He was therefore forced to depart from the house,
leaving it in the spill vase."
"But surely Miss Howard had ample opportunities of aiding him."
"Yes, but Miss Howard did not know of the paper's existence. In
accordance with their prearranged plan, she never spoke to Alfred
Inglethorp. They were supposed to be deadly enemies, and until
John Cavendish was safely convicted they neither of them dared
risk a meeting. Of course I had a watch kept on Mr. Inglethorp,
hoping that sooner or later he would lead me to the hiding-place.
But he was too clever to take any chances. The paper was safe
where it was; since no one had thought of looking there in the
first week, it was not likely they would do so afterwards. But
for your lucky remark, we might never have been able to bring him
to justice."
"I understand that now; but when did you first begin to suspect
Miss Howard?"
"When I discovered that she had told a lie at the inquest about
the letter she had received from Mrs. Inglethorp."
"Why, what was there to lie about?"
"You saw that letter? Do you recall its general appearance?"
"Yes--more or less."
"You will recollect, then, that Mrs. Inglethorp wrote a very
distinctive hand, and left large clear spaces between her words.
But if you look at the date at the top of the letter you will
notice that 'July 17th' is quite different in this respect. Do
you see what I mean?"
"No," I confessed, "I don't."
"You do not see that that letter was not written on the 17th, but
on the 7th--the day after Miss Howard's departure? The '1' was
written in before the '7' to turn it into the '17th'."
"But why?"
"That is exactly what I asked myself. Why does Miss Howard
suppress the letter written on the 17th, and produce this faked
one instead? Because she did not wish to show the letter of the
17th. Why, again? And at once a suspicion dawned in my mind.
You will remember my saying that it was wise to beware of people
who were not telling you the truth."
"And yet," I cried indignantly, "after that, you gave me two
reasons why Miss Howard could not have committed the crime!"
"And very good reasons too," replied Poirot. "For a long time
they were a stumbling-block to me until I remembered a very
significant fact: that she and Alfred Inglethorp were cousins.
She could not have committed the crime single-handed, but the
reasons against that did not debar her from being an accomplice.
And, then, there was that rather over-vehement hatred of hers! It
concealed a very opposite emotion. There was, undoubtedly, a tie
of passion between them long before he came to Styles. They had
already arranged their infamous plot--that he should marry this
rich, but rather foolish old lady, induce her to make a will
leaving her money to him, and then gain their ends by a very
cleverly conceived crime. If all had gone as they planned, they
would probably have left England, and lived together on their
poor victim's money.
"They are a very astute and unscrupulous pair. While suspicion
was to be directed against him, she would be making quiet
preparations for a very different denouement. She arrives from
Middlingham with all the compromising items in her possession.
No suspicion attaches to her. No notice is paid to her coming
and going in the house. She hides the strychnine and glasses in
John's room. She puts the beard in the attic. She will see to
it that sooner or later they are duly discovered."
"I don't quite see why they tried to fix the blame on John," I
remarked. "It would have been much easier for them to bring the
crime home to Lawrence."
"Yes, but that was mere chance. All the evidence against him
arose out of pure accident. It must, in fact, have been
distinctly annoying to the pair of schemers."
"His manner was unfortunate," I observed thoughtfully.
"Yes. You realize, of course, what was at the back of that?"
"No."
"You did not understand that he believed Mademoiselle Cynthia
guilty of the crime?"
"No," I exclaimed, astonished. "Impossible!"
"Not at all. I myself nearly had the same idea. It was in my
mind when I asked Mr. Wells that first question about the will.
Then there were the bromide powders which she had made up, and
her clever male impersonations, as Dorcas recounted them to us.
There was really more evidence against her than anyone else."
"You are joking, Poirot!"
"No. Shall I tell you what made Monsieur Lawrence turn so pale
when he first entered his mother's room on the fatal night? It
was because, whilst his mother lay there, obviously poisoned, he
saw, over your shoulder, that the door into Mademoiselle
Cynthia's room was unbolted."
"But he declared that he saw it bolted!" I cried.
"Exactly," said Poirot dryly. "And that was just what confirmed
my suspicion that it was not. He was shielding Mademoiselle
Cynthia."
"But why should he shield her?"
"Because he is in love with her."
I laughed.
"There, Poirot, you are quite wrong! I happen to know for a fact
that, far from being in love with her, he positively dislikes
her."
"Who told you that, mon ami?"
"Cynthia herself."
"La pauvre petite! And she was concerned?"
"She said that she did not mind at all."
"Then she certainly did mind very much," remarked Poirot. "They
are like that--les femmes!"
"What you say about Lawrence is a great surprise to me," I said.
"But why? It was most obvious. Did not Monsieur Lawrence make
the sour face every time Mademoiselle Cynthia spoke and laughed
with his brother? He had taken it into his long head that
Mademoiselle Cynthia was in love with Monsieur John. When he
entered his mother's room, and saw her obviously poisoned, he
jumped to the conclusion that Mademoiselle Cynthia knew something
about the matter. He was nearly driven desperate. First he
crushed the coffee-cup to powder under his feet, remembering that
*SHE had gone up with his mother the night before, and he
determined that there should be no chance of testing its
contents. Thenceforward, he strenuously, and quite uselessly,
upheld the theory of 'Death from natural causes'."
"And what about the 'extra coffee-cup'?"
"I was fairly certain that it was Mrs. Cavendish who had hidden
it, but I had to make sure. Monsieur Lawrence did not know at
all what I meant; but, on reflection, he came to the conclusion
that if he could find an extra coffee-cup anywhere his lady love
would be cleared of suspicion. And he was perfectly right."
"One thing more. What did Mrs. Inglethorp mean by her dying
words?"
"They were, of course, an accusation against her husband."
"Dear me, Poirot," I said with a sigh, "I think you have
explained everything. I am glad it has all ended so happily.
Even John and his wife are reconciled."
"Thanks to me."
"How do you mean--thanks to you?"
"My dear friend, do you not realize that it was simply and solely
the trial which has brought them together again? That John
Cavendish still loved his wife, I was convinced. Also, that she
was equally in love with him. But they had drifted very far
apart. It all arose from a misunderstanding. She married him
without love. He knew it. He is a sensitive man in his way, he
would not force himself upon her if she did not want him. And,
as he withdrew, her love awoke. But they are both unusually
proud, and their pride held them inexorably apart. He drifted
into an entanglement with Mrs. Raikes, and she deliberately
cultivated the friendship of Dr. Bauerstein. Do you remember the
day of John Cavendish's arrest, when you found me deliberating
over a big decision?"
"Yes, I quite understood your distress."
"Pardon me, mon ami, but you did not understand it in the least.
I was trying to decide whether or not I would clear John
Cavendish at once. I could have cleared him--though it might
have meant a failure to convict the real criminals. They were
entirely in the dark as to my real attitude up to the very last
moment--which partly accounts for my success."
"Do you mean that you could have saved John Cavendish from being
brought to trial?"
"Yes, my friend. But I eventually decided in favour of 'a
woman's happiness'. Nothing but the great danger through which
they have passed could have brought these two proud souls
together again."
I looked at Poirot in silent amazement. The colossal cheek of
the little man! Who on earth but Poirot would have thought of a
trial for murder as a restorer of conjugal happiness!
"I perceive your thoughts, mon ami," said Poirot, smiling at me.
"No one but Hercule Poirot would have attempted such a thing! And
you are wrong in condemning it. The happiness of one man and one
woman is the greatest thing in all the world."
His words took me back to earlier events. I remembered Mary as
she lay white and exhausted on the sofa, listening, listening.
There had come the sound of the bell below. She had started up.
Poirot had opened the door, and meeting her agonized eyes had
nodded gently. "Yes, madame," he said. "I have brought him back
to you." He had stood aside, and as I went out I had seen the
look in Mary's eyes, as John Cavendish had caught his wife in his
arms.
"Perhaps you are right, Poirot," I said gently. "Yes, it is the
greatest thing in the world."
Suddenly, there was a tap at the door, and Cynthia peeped in.
"I--I only----"
"Come in," I said, springing up.
She came in, but did not sit down.
"I--only wanted to tell you something----"
"Yes?"
Cynthia fidgeted with a little tassel for some moments, then,
suddenly exclaiming: "You dears!" kissed first me and then
Poirot, and rushed out of the room again.
"What on earth does this mean?" I asked, surprised.
It was very nice to be kissed by Cynthia, but the publicity of
the salute rather impaired the pleasure.
"It means that she has discovered Monsieur Lawrence does not
dislike her as much as she thought," replied Poirot
philosophically.
"But----"
"Here he is."
Lawrence at that moment passed the door.
"Eh! Monsieur Lawrence," called Poirot. "We must congratulate
you, is it not so?"
Lawrence blushed, and then smiled awkwardly. A man in love is a
sorry spectacle. Now Cynthia had looked charming.
I sighed.
"What is it, mon ami?"
"Nothing," I said sadly. "They are two delightful women!"
"And neither of them is for you?" finished Poirot. "Never mind.
Console yourself, my friend. We may hunt together again, who
knows? And then----"