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[Assistant] The good superintendent has asked you your opinion of your companions as candidates for


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[Assistant] I now ask you for your opinion of them as bridge players.


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[Assistant] Oh, Mrs. Lorimer's first class. Dr. Roberts replied promptly. I'll bet she makes a good income a year out of bridge. Despires a good player, too. What I call a sound player. Long-headed chap.


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[Assistant] Miss Meredith, you might describe as quite a safe player. She doesn't make mistakes, but she isn't brilliant. And you yourself, Doctor? Robert's eyes twinkled.


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[Assistant] I, uh, overcall my hand a bit, or so they say, but I've always found it pays. Quirro smiled. Dr. Roberts rose. Anything more? Quirro shook his head. Well, good night then. Good night, Mrs. Oliver. You want to get some copy out of this? Better than your untraceable poisons, eh?


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[Assistant] Dr. Roberts left the room, his bearings springy once more.


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[Assistant] Chapter Five. Second Murderer? Mrs. Lorimer came into the dining room like a gentlewoman. She looked a little pale, but composed. I'm sorry to have to bother you, Superintendent Battle began.


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[Assistant] You must do your duty, of course, said Mrs. Lorimer quietly.


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[Assistant] It is, I agree, an unpleasant position in which to be placed, but there is no good shirking it.


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[Assistant] I quite realize that one of the four people in that room must be guilty.


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[Assistant] Naturally, I can't expect you to take my word for it that I am not the person.


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[Assistant] She accepted the chair that Colonel Race offered her and sat down opposite the Superintendent. Her intelligent grey eyes met his. She waited attentively. You knew Mr. Shaitana well? Began the Superintendent. Not very well.


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[Assistant] I have known him over a period of some years, but never intimately. Where did you meet him? At a hotel in Egypt. The Winter Palace at Luxor, I think. And what did you think of him? Mrs. Lorimer shrugged her shoulders slightly. I thought him, I may as well say so, rather a charlatan. You had, uh, excuse me for asking, no motive for wishing him out of the way. Mrs. Lorimer looked slightly amused.


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[Assistant] Really, Superintendent Battle? Do you think I should admit it, if I had? You might, said Battle.


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[Assistant] A really intelligent person might know that a thing was bound to come out. Mrs. Lonimer inclined her head thoughtfully.


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[Assistant] Now, Mrs. Lorimer, can you tell me anything about your three companions?


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[Assistant] I'm afraid not. Major Despair and Miss Meredith I met for the first time tonight. Both of them seem charming people. Doctor Roberts I know slightly. He is a very popular doctor I believe. He is not your own doctor. Oh no.


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[Assistant] Now, Mrs. Lonnema, can you tell me how often you got up from your seat tonight? And, uh, will you also describe the movements of the other three? Mrs. Lonnema did not take any time to think.


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[Assistant] I thought you would probably ask me that. I've been trying to think it out. I got up once myself, when I was dummy. I walked over to the fire.


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[Assistant] You have only my word for it that Mr. Shaitana was alive and spoke to me. Superintendent Battle made no protest. He went on with his quiet, methodical questioning. And what time was that? I should think we'd been playing a little over an hour. And what about the others? Oh, Dr. Roberts got me a drink. He also got himself one. That was later. Major Despard also went to get a drink. At about eleven fifteen, I should say. Only once? No.


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[Assistant] Twice, I think. The men moved about a fair amount, but I didn't notice what they did. Miss Meredith left her seat only once, I think. She went round to look at her partner's hand. But she remained near the bridge table. I couldn't say at all. She may have moved away.


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[Assistant] Battle nodded. It's all very vague, he grumbled. I'm sorry.


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[Assistant] Once again battled at his conjuring trick and produced the long delicate stiletto. Will you look at this, Mrs. Lorimer? Mrs. Lorimer took it without emotion. Have you ever seen that before? Never. Yet it was lying on a table in the drawing room. I didn't notice it.


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[Assistant] You realize perhaps, Mrs. Lorimer, that with a weapon like that, a woman could do the trick just as easily as a man. I suppose she could, said Mrs. Lorimer quietly.


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[Assistant] Do you know anything of the relations between the other three and Mr. Shaytana? She shook her head. Nothing at all.


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[Assistant] Would you care to give me an opinion as to which of them you consider the most likely person? Mrs. Lorimer drew herself up stiffly. I should not care to do anything of the kind. I consider that a most improper question.


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[Assistant] The superintendent looked like an abashed little boy who had been reprimanded by his grandmother.


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[Assistant] Address please, he mumbled, drawing his notebook towards him. 111 Chaney Lane, Chelsea. Telephone number, Chelsea 45632. Mrs. Lorimer rose. Anything you want to ask, Monsieur Poirot? said Battle hurriedly. Mrs. Lorimer paused, her head slightly inclined. Would it be?


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[Assistant] A proper question, madame, to ask you your opinion of your companion, sir.


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[Assistant] I have no objection to answering that, if it bears upon the matter, at issue in any way. Though I fail to see how it can. I will be the judge of that. Your answer, if you please, madame.


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[Assistant] In the tone of a patient adult humoring an idiot child, Mrs. Lonimer replied,


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[Assistant] In his turn doing a conjuring trick, Poirot produced four crumpled bridge scores. Are these scores, madam? Is one of these yours? She examined them. This is my writing.


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[Assistant] It is the score of the third rubber. And this score? That must be Major Despas. He cancels as he goes. And this one? Miss Meredith's, the first rubber. So this unfinished one is Dr. Roberts. Yes. Thank you, madam. I think that is all. Mrs. Lorimer turned to Mrs. Oliver. Good night, Mrs. Oliver. Good night, Colonel Rez. Then having shaken hands with all four of them, she went out.


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[Assistant] Didn't get any extra change out of her, commented Battle. Put me in my place too.


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[Assistant] She's the old-fashioned kind, full of consideration for others, but arrogant as the devil. I can't believe she did it. But you never know. She's got plenty of resolution. What's the idea of the bridge scores, Monsieur Poirot? Poirot spread them on the table. They are illuminating, do you not think? What do we want in this case? A clue to character, and a clue not to one character, but to four characters.


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[Assistant] And this is where we are most likely to find it, in these scribbled figures. Here is the first rubber, you see. A tame business, soon over.


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[Assistant] Small, neat figures. Careful addition and subtraction. That is Miss Meredith's score. She was playing with Mrs. Lorimer. They had the cards, and they won.


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[Assistant] In this next one, it is not so easy to follow the play, since it is kept in the cancellation style. But it tells us perhaps something about Major Despair.


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[Assistant] A man who likes the whole time to know at a glance where he stands. The figures are small and full of character. This next score is Mrs. Lawrence. She and Dr. Roberts against the other two. A Homeric combat.


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[Assistant] Figures mounting up above the line each side, over-calling on the doctor's part, and they go down.


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[Assistant] But since they are both first class players, they never go down very much. If the doctor's over calling induces rash bidding on the other side, there is the chance seized of doubling. See, these figures here are double tricks, gone down. A characteristic handwriting, graceful, very legible, firm. Here is the last score, the unfinished rubber.


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[Assistant] I collected one score in each person's handwriting, you see.


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[Assistant] Figures rather flamboyant, not such high scores as the preceding rubber.


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[Assistant] That is probably because the doctor was playing with Miss Meredith and she is a timid player. His calling would make her more so. You think perhaps that they are foolish, these questions that I ask, but it is not so.


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[Assistant] I want to get at the characters of these four players, and when it is only about bridge I ask, everyone is ready and willing to speak.


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[Assistant] I never think your question's foolish, Monsieur Poirot, said Battle. I've seen too much of your work. Everyone's got their own ways of working. I know that.


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[Assistant] I give my inspectors a free hand always. Everyone's gotta find out for themselves what method suits them best. But we better not discuss that now. We'll have the girl in. And Meredith was upset. She stopped in the doorway. Her breath came unevenly. Superintendent Battle was immediately fatherly.


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[Assistant] I don't think anything could be worse, said the girl in a low voice. It's so awful, so awful to think that one of us, that one of us


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[Assistant] You let me do the thinking, said Battle kindly. Now then.


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[Assistant] Miss Meredith, suppose we have your address, first of all. Wenden Cottage, Wallingford. No address in town? No, I'm staying at my club for a day or two. And your club is? Ladies, Naval and Military. Good. Now then, Miss Meredith, how well did you know Mr. Shaytana? I didn't know him well at all. I always thought he was a most frightening man. Why? Oh, well, he was.


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[Assistant] That awful smile, and the way he had of bending over you, as though he might bite you. Had you known him long? About nine months, I met him in Switzerland during the winter sports.


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[Assistant] I should never have thought he went in for winter sports, said Battle, surprised. Oh, he only skated. He was a marvellous skater. Lots of figures and tricks. Yes, that sounds more like him. And did you see much of him after that? Well, a fair amount. He asked me to parties and things like that. They were rather fun. But you didn't like him himself? No, I thought he was a shivery kind of man.


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[Assistant] Battle said gently, but you know special reason for being afraid of him. And Meredith raised wide, limpid eyes to his.


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[Assistant] I don't think so. Oh! Yes, I may have done once. I went round to look at the other's hands. But, uh, you stayed at the bridge table all the time.


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[Assistant] You'll excuse me, Miss Meredith, but try and speak the truth. I know you're nervous, and when one's nervous, one's apt to, well, to say the thing the way you want it to be.


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[Assistant] You walked about. Did you walk over in the direction of Mr. Shaytana? The girl was silent for a minute and then she said, honestly, honestly, I don't remember. Well, we'll leave it that you may have done. Know anything about the other three? The girl shook her head. I've never seen any of them before. What do you think of them? Any likely murderers amongst them?


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[Assistant] I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. It couldn't be Major Despair, and I don't believe it could be the Doctor, after all.


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[Assistant] She doesn't make one feel nervous or point out one's mistakes.


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[Assistant] Yet, uh, you left her name to the last dead battle.


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[Assistant] Only because stabbing seems somehow more like a woman.


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[Assistant] Battled at his conjuring trick, Anne Meredith shrank back.


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[Assistant] M-must I take it? I'd rather you did. He watched her as she took the stiletto gingerly, her face contracted with repulsion. With this tiny thing, with this- Going like butter, said Battle with Gusto, a child could do it. You mean, you mean- Wide terrified eyes fixed themselves on his face. That I might have done it?


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[Assistant] But I didn't, why should I? That's just the question we'd like to know, said Battle.


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[Assistant] What's the motive? Why did anyone want to kill Shaytana?


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[Assistant] He was a picturesque person, but he wasn't dangerous as far as I can make out. Was there a slight in drawing of her breath? A sudden lifting of her breast?


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[Assistant] Not a blackmailer, for instance, or anything of that sort, went on battle. In any way, Miss Beratiff.


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[Assistant] Now off you go. My constable will get you a taxi and don't you lie awake worrying yourself. Take a couple of aspirins. He hushed her out.


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[Assistant] As he came back, Colonel Ray said in a low, amused voice, Battle, what a really accomplished liar you are! Your fatherly air was unsurpassed.


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[Assistant] No good dallying about with her, Colonel Race. Either the poor kid is dead scared, in which case it's cruelty, and I'm not a cruel man. I never have been. Or, she's a highly accomplished little actress, and we shouldn't get any further if we were to keep her here half the night.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Oliver gave a sigh and ran her hands freely through her fringe until it stood upright and gave her a wholly drunken appearance. Do you know, she said, I'd rather believe now that she did it. It's lucky it's not in a book. They don't really like the young and beautiful girl to have done it. All the same, I'd rather think she did. What do you think, Monsieur Poirot? Me? I have made a little discovery. In the bridge scores again?


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[Assistant] Yes, Miss Anne Meredith turns her score over, draws lines, and uses the back. And what does that mean? It means she has the habit of poverty.


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[Assistant] Or else is of a naturally economical turn of mind. She's expensively dressed, said Mrs. Oliver. Send in Major Despont, said Superintendent Battle.


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[Assistant] A step that reminded Poirot of something, or someone.


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[Assistant] I'm sorry to have kept you waiting all this while, Major Despair, said Battle, but I wanted to let the ladies get away as soon as possible. I don't apologize. I understand. He sat down and looked inquiringly at the superintendent.


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[Assistant] How well did you know Mr. Shaytana, began the latter. I've met him twice, said Despire crisply. Only twice? That's all. On what occasions? About a month ago, we were both dining at the same house. Then he asked me to a cocktail party a week later. A cocktail party here? Yes.


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[Assistant] Where did it take place, this room or the drawing room? In all the rooms. See this little thing lying about? Battle once more produced the stiletto. Major Despire's lip twisted slightly. No, he said.


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[Assistant] I didn't mark it down on that occasion for future use.


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[Assistant] There's no need to go ahead of what I say, Major Despair. I beg your pardon. The inference was fairly obvious. There was a moment's pause. Then Battle resumed his inquiries. Had you any motive for disliking Mr. Shaytana? Every motive. Aye? The Superintendent sounded startled. For disliking him? Not for killing him, said Despair. I hadn't at least wished to kill him. But I would thoroughly have enjoyed kicking him. A pity.


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[Assistant] Know anything about him? To his discredit, I mean?


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[Assistant] He was too well dressed. He wore his hair too long, and he smelled of scent.


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[Assistant] Yet, uh, you accepted his invitation to dinner, Battle pointed out.


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[Assistant] If I were only to dine in houses where I thoroughly approved of my host, I'm afraid I shouldn't dine out very much, Superintendent Battle," said this spar dryly. You like society, but you don't approve of it, suggested the other.


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[Assistant] I like it for very short periods, to come back from the wilds to lighted rooms and women in lovely clothes, to dancing and good food and laughter, yes, I enjoy that, for a time, and then the insincerity of it all sickens me, and I want to be off again.


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[Assistant] It must be a dangerous sort of life you lead, Major Despire, wandering about in these wild places. Despire shrugged his shoulders. He smiled slightly. Mr. Shaytana didn't lead a dangerous life, but he is dead, and I am alive. He may have led a more dangerous life than you think, said Battle meaningly. What do you mean?


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[Assistant] The late Mr. Shaytana was a bit of a nosy parker, said Battle. The other leaned forward. You mean that he meddled with other people's lives? That he discovered... what?


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[Assistant] I really meant that perhaps he was the sort of man who meddled, uh, well, with women.


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[Assistant] She reminds me of one of my more god-fearing aunts. At least the medical gentleman.


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[Assistant] Can you describe your own and other people's movements this evening?


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[Assistant] I got up twice, once for an ashtray, and I also poked a fire, and once for a drink. At what times? I couldn't say. First time might have been about half past ten, the second time eleven. That's pure guesswork. Mrs. Lorimer went over to the fire once and said something to Shaytana. I didn't actually hear him answer, but then I wasn't paying attention. I couldn't swear he didn't.


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[Assistant] Miss Meredith wanted about the room a bit, but I don't think she went over near the fireplace. Roberts was always jumping up and down three or four times at least.


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[Assistant] I'll ask you Monsieur Poirot's question, said Battle with a smile. What did you think of them as bridge players? Miss Meredith's quite a good player.


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[Assistant] Robert over calls his hand disgracefully. He deserves to go down more than he does. Mrs. Lollam is damn good. Battle turned to Poirot. Anything else, Monsieur Poirot? Poirot shook his head. Despire gave his address as the Albany wished them good night and left the room. As he closed the door behind him, Poirot made a slight movement. What is it? demanded Battle.


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[Assistant] Now then, his eyes glanced round at his three companions. Which of them did it?


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[Assistant] Battle looked from one face to another. Only one person answered his question. Mrs. Oliver, never averse to giving her views, rushed into speech. The girl or the doctor, she said. Battle looked questioningly at the other two. But both the men were unwilling to make a pronouncement. Race shook his head. Quarrow carefully smoothed his crumpled bridge scores.


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[Assistant] One of them did it, said Battle musingly. One of them's lying like hell.


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[Assistant] The girl thinks Mrs. Lorimer did it, and Mrs. Lorimer won't say. Nothing very illuminating there. Perhaps not, said Poirot. Battle shot him a quick glance. You think there is? Poirot waved an airy hand. Hmm, in nuance. Nothing more. Nothing to go upon. Battle continued. You two gentlemen won't say what you think. No evidence, said Race curtly.


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[Assistant] Ugh, you men! sighed Mrs. Oliver, despising such reticence.


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[Assistant] Let's look at the rough possibilities, said Battle. He considered a minute. I put the doctor first, I think. Specious sort of customer. Would know the right spot to shove the dagger in. But there's not much more than that to it.


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[Assistant] Then take Despair. There's a man with any amount of nerve. A man accustomed to quick decisions and a man who's quite at home doing dangerous things. This is Lorema? She's got any amount of nerve too.


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[Assistant] And she's the sort of woman who might have a secret in her life. She looks as though she's known trouble. On the other hand...


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[Assistant] I'd say she's what I call a high-principled woman. Sort of woman who might be, uh, headmistress of a girl's school. It isn't easy to think of her sticking a knife into anyone. In fact, I don't think she did. And lastly, there's little Miss Meredith. We don't know anything about her.


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[Assistant] But one doesn't know, as I say, anything about her.


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[Assistant] We know that Shaytana believed she had committed murder, said Poirot. The angelic face masking the demon, mused Mrs. Oliver. This getting us anywhere, battle? asked Colonel Race. Unprofitable speculation, you think so?


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[Assistant] Well, there's bound to be speculation in a case like this. Isn't it better to find out something about these people?


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[Assistant] Colonel Race takes Major Despard, Superintendent Battle takes Dr. Roberts, I'll take Anne Meredith, and Monsieur Poirot takes Mrs. Lorimer, each of us to follow our own line. Superintendent Battle shook his head decisively.


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[Assistant] Couldn't quite do that, Mrs. Oliver. That is official, you see. I'm in charge. I've got to investigate all lines. Besides, it's already well to say back your fancy. Two of us might want to back the same horse.


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[Assistant] Colonel Race hasn't said he suspects Major Despard and Monsieur Poirot might be putting his money on Mrs. Lorimer.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Oliver sighed. It was such a good plan. She sighed regretfully. So neat. Then she cheered up a little.


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[Assistant] Having been at this party tonight, you're naturally free to do anything your own curiosity or interest suggests. But I'd like to point out to you, Mrs. Oliver, that you'd better be a little careful.


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[Assistant] Discretion itself, said Mrs. Oliver, I shan't breathe a word of, of anything. She ended a little lamely.


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[Assistant] A person therefore will not hesitate to kill a third time if he considers it necessary. Mrs. Oliver looks at him thoughtfully.


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[Assistant] Then she smiled, an agreeable, engaging smile, rather like that of an impudent, small child.


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[Assistant] You have been warned, she quoted. Thank you, Mr. Poirot. I'll watch my step. But I'm not going to be out of this. Poirot bowed gracefully. Permit me to say, you are the spot, Madame.


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[Assistant] I presume, said Mrs. Oliver, sitting up very straight and speaking in a business-like committee meeting manner, that all information we'd receive will be pooled.


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[Assistant] That is, that we will not keep any knowledge to ourselves. Our own deductions and impressions of course we are entitled to keep up our sleeves. Superintendent Battleside.


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[Assistant] This isn't a detective story, Mrs. Oliver, he said.


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[Assistant] Ray said, oh naturally, all information must be handed over to the police.


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[Assistant] Having said this in his most orderly room voice, he added with a slight twinkle in his eye,


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[Assistant] I'm sure you'll play fair, Mrs. Oliver. The stained glove, the fingerprint on the tooth-glass, the fragment of burnt paper, you'll turn them over to battle here.


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[Assistant] I'll have Despire looked up for you. It may take a little time. Anything else I can do? I don't think so, thank you sir. You've no, uh, hints? I'd value anything of that kind. Hmm.


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[Assistant] Well, I'd keep a special lookout for shooting, or poison, or accidents. But I expect you're on to that already. I'd made a note of that, yes sir. Good man, Battle. You don't need me to teach you your job. Good night, Mrs. Oliver. Good night, Mr. Poirot.


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[Assistant] Very fine army record, said Battle. Traveled a lot too. Not many parts of the world he doesn't know about.


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[Assistant] Secret service, I suppose, said Mrs. Oliver. You can't tell me so, I know, but he wouldn't have been asked otherwise this evening. The four murderers and the four spooks. Scotland Yard, secret service, private, fiction. A clever idea. Poirot shook his head. You are in error, Madame. It was a very stupid idea. The tiger was alarmed, and the tiger sprang. The tiger? Why the tiger?


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[Assistant] By the tiger, I mean the murderer, said Poirot. Battle said bluntly,


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[Assistant] What's your idea of the right line to take, Mr. Poirot? That's one question. And I'd also like to know what you think of the psychology of these four people. You're rather hot on that. Still smoothing his bridge scores, Poirot said, You are right. Psychology is very important. We know the kind of murder that has been committed, the way it was committed,


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[Assistant] We know the line that each has elected to take and we know something about their minds and their characters from what we have learned about them as card players and from the study of their handwriting and of these scores.


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[Assistant] A man with complete confidence in his own powers to pull off a risky thing. His psychology fits very well with the crime. One might say then, that that automatically wipes out Miss Meredith.


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[Assistant] And if she believed that Mr. Sheetana knew the circumstances of that crime and was about to deliver her up to justice, she would be wild with terror. She would stick at nothing to save herself. It would be the same result, though brought about through a different reaction. Not cool nerve and daring, but desperate panic. Then take Major Despair.


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[Assistant] Cool, resourceful man, willing to try a long shot if he believed it absolutely necessary.


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[Assistant] You would weigh the pros and cons, and might decide that there was a spotting chance in his favor.


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[Assistant] And he is the type of man to prefer action to inaction.


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[Assistant] An elderly woman, but a woman in full possession of her wits and faculties. A cool woman.


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[Assistant] A woman with a mathematical brain, she has probably the best brain of the four.


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[Assistant] I confess that if Mrs. Lorimer committed a crime, I should expect it to be a premeditated crime. I can see her planning a crime slowly and carefully, making sure that there were no flaws in her scheme. For that reason,


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[Assistant] She seems to me slightly more unlikely than the other three.


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[Assistant] She is, however, the most dominating personality, and whatever she undertook, she would probably carry through without a flaw. She is a thoroughly efficient woman. He paused. So you see, that does not help us much. No. There is only one way in this crime. We must go back into the past. Battleside. You've said it, he murmured.


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[Assistant] In the opinion of Mr. Shetana, each of these four people had committed murder. Had the evidence? Or was it a guess? We cannot tell.


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[Assistant] It is unlikely, I think, that he could have had actual evidence in all four cases.


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[Assistant] And Mr. Shaytana surprised a look on someone's face. He was very quick, very sensitive to expression.


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[Assistant] It amuses him to experiment, to probe gently in the course of apparently aimless conversation. He is alert to notice a wince, a reservation, a desire to turn the conversation. It is easily done. If you suspect a certain secret, nothing is easier than to confirm your suspicion. Every time a word goes home, you notice it, if you are watching for such a thing.


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[Assistant] It's the sort of game that would have amused our late friend, said Battle, nodding.


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[Assistant] We may assume then that such was the procedure in one or more cases.


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[Assistant] He may have come across a piece of actual evidence in another case and followed it up.


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[Assistant] I doubt whether in any of these cases he had sufficient actual knowledge with which, for instance, to have gone to the police.


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[Assistant] Or it might have been the kind of case, said Battle.


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[Assistant] Often enough, there's a fishy business. We suspect foul play, but we can't ever prove it. Anyway, the course is clear.


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[Assistant] We've got to go through the records of all these people and note any deaths that may be significant.


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[Assistant] I expect you noticed, just as the Colonel did, what Shaytana said at dinner.


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[Assistant] A neat little reference to poison, to accident, to a doctors opportunity, to shooting accidents.


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[Assistant] I shouldn't be surprised if he signed his death warrant when he said those words. It was a nasty sort of pause, said Mrs Oliver. Yes, said Poirot. Those words went home to one person at least.


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[Assistant] That person probably thought that Sheetana knew far more than he really did.


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[Assistant] That listener thought that they were the prelude to the end.


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[Assistant] That the party was a dramatic entertainment arranged by Shaytana leading up to arrest for murder as its climax.


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[Assistant] Yes, as you say, he signed his death warrant when he baited his guests with those words. There was a moment's silence.


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[Assistant] This will be a long business, said Battle with the Psy.


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[Assistant] We can't find out all we want in a moment, and we've gotta be careful.


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[Assistant] We don't want any of the four to suspect what we're doing.


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[Assistant] All our questioning and so on must seem to have to do with this murder.


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[Assistant] He may, it is just possible, have made a mistake. About all four? No. He was more intelligent than that. Call it fifty-fifty? Not even that. For me, I say one in four.


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[Assistant] One innocent and three guilty? That's bad enough.


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[Assistant] And the devil of it is, even if we get at the truth, it mayn't help us. Even if somebody did push their great aunts down the stairs in 1912, it won't be much use to us in 1937.


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[Assistant] Yes, yes, it will be of use to us, Farrow encouraged him. You know that. You know that as well as I do. Battle nodded slowly. I know what you mean, he said. Same hallmark.


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[Assistant] Do you mean, said Mrs. Oliver, that the former victim will have been stabbed with a dagger too?


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[Assistant] Not quite as crude as that, Mrs. Oliver, said Battle, turning to her. But I don't doubt it will be essentially the same type of crime.


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[Assistant] Man is an unoriginal animal, said Hercules Poirot.


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[Assistant] Women, said Mrs. Oliver, are capable of infinite variation. I should never commit the same type of murder twice running. Don't you ever write the same plot twice running? asked Battle. The lotus murder, murmured Poirot, the clue of the candle wax. Mrs. Oliver turned on him, her eyes beaming appreciation. Oh, that's clever of you.


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[Assistant] That's really very clever of you, because of course, those two are exactly the same plot, but nobody else has seen it.


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[Assistant] One is stolen papers at an informal weekend party of the cabinet, and the other's a murder in Borneo, in a rubber planter's bungalow.


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[Assistant] But the essential point on which the story turns is the same, said Poirot. One of your neatest tricks. The rubber planter arranges his own murder. The cabinet minister arranges the robbery of his own papers. At the last minute, the third person steps in and turns deception into reality.


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[Assistant] I enjoyed your last, Mrs. Oliver, said Superintendent Battle kindly.


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[Assistant] The one where all the chief constables were shot simultaneously.


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[Assistant] You just slipped up once or twice on official detail.


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[Assistant] I know you're keen on accuracy, so I wondered if Mrs. Oliver interrupted him. As a matter of fact, I don't care too pins about accuracy. Who is accurate?


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[Assistant] Nobody nowadays. If a reporter writes that a beautiful girl of 22 dies by turning on the gas after looking out over the sea and kissing her favorite Labrador bob goodbye, does anybody make a fuss because the girl was 26 and the room faced inland and the dog was a coelium terrier called Bonnie?


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[Assistant] If a journalist can do that sort of thing, I don't see that it matters if I mix up police ranks and say a revolver when I mean an automatic, and a dictograph when I mean a phonograph, and use a poison that just allows you to gasp one dying sentence and no more.


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[Assistant] Somebody is going to tell something, and then they're killed first. That always goes down well. It comes in all my books, camouflaged different ways, of course.


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[Assistant] And people like untraceable poisons and idiotic police inspectors and girls tied up in cellars with sewer gas or water pouring in. Such a troublesome way of killing anyone, really. And a hero who can dispose of anything from three to seven villains single-handed.


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[Assistant] I've written 32 books by now, and of course, they're all exactly the same really, as Monsieur Poirot seems to have noticed, but nobody else has, and I only regret one thing, making my detective a Finn.


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[Assistant] I don't really know anything about Finns, and I'm always getting letters from Finland pointing out something impossible that he's said or done.


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[Assistant] If he'd asked them all, and then quietly committed suicide, just for the fun of making a schmozzle. Quarro nodded approvingly. An admirable solution. So neat. So ironic.


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[Assistant] But alas, Mr. Sheetala was not that sort of man. He was very fond of life.


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[Assistant] I don't think he was really a nice man, said Mrs Oliver slowly.


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[Assistant] He was not nice, no, said Poirot, but he was alive. And now he is dead.


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[Assistant] And as I told him once, I have a bourgeois attitude to murder. I disapprove of it. He added softly. And so, I am prepared to go inside the tiger's cage.


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[Assistant] Dr. Roberts rose from his chair and offered a large pink hand smelling of a mixture of good soap and faint carbolic. Ah, things going, he went on.


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[Assistant] Superintendent Battle glanced around the comfortable consulting room before answering,


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[Assistant] Well, uh, Dr. Roberts, strictly speaking, they're not going. They're standing still. There's been nothing much in the papers. I've been glad to see.


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[Assistant] Sudden death of the well-known Mr. Shaitana at an evening party in his own home. It's left at that for the moment.


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[Assistant] We've had the autopsy. I brought a report of the findings along. Thought it might interest you.


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[Assistant] Kind of you? It would. Hmm. Hmm. Yes, very interesting. He handed it back. And we've interviewed Mr. Shaytana's solicitor. We know the terms of his will. Nothing of interest there.


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[Assistant] He has relatives in Syria, it seems. And then of course, we've been through all his private papers.


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[Assistant] Was it fancy, or did that broad, clean-shaven countenance look a little strain, a little wooden? And? said Dr. Roberts.


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[Assistant] Oh nothing, said Superintendent Battle, watching him.


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[Assistant] There wasn't a sigh of relief, nothing so blatant as that, but the doctor's figure seemed to relax just a shade more comfortably in his chair. And so you've come to me!


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[Assistant] And so, as you say, I've come to you.


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[Assistant] You could get one easily enough, I suppose. I'm not going to make difficulties.


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[Assistant] It's not very pleasant being suspected of murder, but I suppose I can't blame you for what's obviously your duty. Thank you, sir, said Superintendent Battle with real gratitude.


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[Assistant] I appreciate your attitude, if I may say so very much. I hope all the others will be as reasonable, I'm sure.


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[Assistant] Oh, what can't be cured must be endured, said the doctor good-humidly. He went on.


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[Assistant] I've finished seeing my patients here. I'm just off on my rounds. I'll leave you my keys and just say a word to my secretary. And you can rootle to your heart's content.


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[Assistant] Oh, that's all very nice and pleasant, I'm sure, said Battle. I'd like to ask you a few more questions before you go. About the other night? Really? I told you all I know.


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[Assistant] No, uh, not about the other night. About yourself. Well, man, ask away. What do you want to know?


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[Assistant] I'd just like a rough sketch of your career, Dr. Roberts. Birth, marriage, and so on.


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[Assistant] It would get me into practice for who's who, said the doctor dryly.


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[Assistant] My career's a perfectly straightforward one. I'm a Shropshire man, born at Ludlow. My father was in practice there. He died when I was fifteen.


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[Assistant] I was educated to Trowsbury and went in for medicine like my father before me. I'm a St. Christopher's man. But you'll have all the medical details already, I expect. I looked you up, sir. Yes.


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[Assistant] You an only child or have you any brothers or sisters?


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[Assistant] I'm an only child. Both my parents are dead and I'm unmarried. What'll that do to get on with?


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[Assistant] I came into partnership here with Dr. Emery. He retired about 15 years ago, lives in Ireland. I'll give you his address if you like.


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[Assistant] I live here with a cook, a parlor maid and a housemaid. My secretary comes in daily.


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[Assistant] I make a good income and I only kill a reasonable number of my patients. How's that? Superintendent Battle grinned. Now that's, uh, fairly comprehensive, Dr. Roberts. I'm glad you've got a sense of humor. Now, I'm going to ask you one more thing.


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[Assistant] I'm a strictly moral man, Superintendent. Oh, uh, that wasn't my meaning. No. I was going to ask you if you'd give me the names of four friends. People who've known you intimately for a number of years. Kind of references, if you know what I mean. Yes, I think so. Uh, let me see now. You'd prefer people who are actually in London now? It would make it a bit easier, but it doesn't really matter. The doctor thought for a minute or two.


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[Assistant] Nod at his head in satisfaction and put the sheet of paper away in an inner pocket. It's just a question of elimination.


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[Assistant] The sooner I can get one person eliminated and go on to the next, the better it is for everyone concerned.


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[Assistant] You've got to think everybody's a liar till he's proved he's speaking the truth. Here are my keys, Superintendent. That's the drawers of the desk.


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[Assistant] That's the bureau, the little ones, the key of the poison cupboard. Be sure to log it up again. Perhaps I'd better just have a word with my secretary. He pressed a button on his desk.


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[Assistant] This is Miss Burgess, Superintendent Battle from Scotland Yard. Miss Burgess turned a cool gaze on Battle. It seemed to say, Dear me, what sort of an animal is this?


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[Assistant] I should be glad, Miss Burgess, if you will answer any questions Superintendent Battle may put you, and give him any help he may need. Certainly, if you say so, Doctor. Well, said Robert's rising, I'll be off.


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[Assistant] Did you put the Morpher in my case? I shall need it for the Lockhart case.


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[Assistant] His search was careful and methodical, though he had no great hopes of finding anything of importance. Robert's ready acquiescence dispelled the chance of that. Robert's was no fool.


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[Assistant] He would realize that a search would be bound to come, and he would make provisions accordingly.


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[Assistant] There was, however, a faint chance that battle might come across a hint of the information he was really after, since Roberts would not know the real object of his search.


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[Assistant] Superintendent Battle opened and shut drawers, rifled pigeonholes, glanced through a checkbook, estimated the unpaid bills, noted what those same bills were for, scrutinized Robert's passbook, ran through his case notes, and generally left no written document unturned. The result was meager in the extreme. He next took a look through the poison cupboard.


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[Assistant] Noted the wholesale firms with which the doctor dealt, and the system of checking. Relocked the cupboard and passed onto the bureau. The contents of the latter were of a more personal nature, but Battle found nothing germane to his search. He shook his head, sat down in the doctor's chair, and pressed the desk button. Miss Burgess appeared with commendable promptitude.


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[Assistant] Superintendent Battle asked her politely to be seated and then sat studying her for a moment before he decided which way to tackle her. He had sensed immediately her hostility.


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[Assistant] And he was uncertain whether to provoke her into unguarded speech by increasing that hostility, or whether to try a softer method of approach.


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[Assistant] I suppose you know what all this is about, Miss Burgess, he said at last. Dr. Roberts told me, said Miss Burgess shortly.


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[Assistant] The whole thing's rather delicate, said Superintendent Battle. Is it? said Miss Burgess.


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[Assistant] Well, uh, it's rather a nasty business. Four people are under suspicion, and one of them must have done it.


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[Assistant] What I want to know is whether you've ever seen this Mr. Shaytana. Never. Ever heard Dr. Roberts speak of him?


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[Assistant] Never. No? I'm wrong. About a week ago, Dr. Roberts told me to enter up a dinner appointment in his engagement book. Mr. Shaytana, 8.15 on the 18th.


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[Assistant] And that is the first you ever heard of this Mr. Shaytana. Yes.


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[Assistant] Never seen his name in the papers? He was often in the fashionable news.


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[Assistant] There it is. All four of these people will only admit to knowing Mr. Shaytana slightly. But one of them knew him well enough to kill him. It's my job to find out which one of them it was. There was an unhelpful pause.


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[Assistant] Ms. Burgess seemed quite uninterested in the performance of Superintendent Battle's job.


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[Assistant] Well, we may believe a word of it, but we've got to take notice of it all the same. It's particularly noticeable in a case of this kind.


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[Assistant] I don't want to say anything against your sex, but there's no doubt that a woman, when she's rattled, is apt to lash out with her tongue a bit.


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[Assistant] She makes unfounded accusations, hints this, that and the other, and rakes up all sorts of old scandals that have probably nothing whatever to do with the case. Do you mean, demanded Miss Burgess,


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[Assistant] The way people talk about things they know nothing whatever about is disgraceful. Lots of old ladies get like that. They think everybody is poisoning them, their relations and their servants, even their doctors.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Graves had three doctors before she came to Dr. Roberts?


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[Assistant] And then, when she got the same fancies about him, he was quite willing for her to have Dr Lee instead. It's the only thing to do in these cases, he said.


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[Assistant] And after Dr. Lee, she had Dr. Steele and then Dr. Farmer until she died. Poor old thing.


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[Assistant] I always think there's nothing like death for bringing out the meanness of human nature. Squabbling over who's to have what before the body's cold.


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[Assistant] Luckily, Dr. Roberts has never had any trouble of that kind. He always says he hopes his patients won't leave him anything.


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[Assistant] I believe he once had a legacy of £50, and he's had two walking sticks and a gold watch, but nothing else.


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[Assistant] It's a difficult life, that of a professional man, said Battle with a sigh. He's always opened a blackmail.


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[Assistant] Was it, uh, three years ago? No, more. Four or five, I think. She was a most unbalanced woman. I was glad when she went abroad. And so was Dr. Roberts. She told her husband the most frightful lies. They always do, of course. Poor man. He wasn't quite himself. He'd begun to be ill. He died of anthrax, you know. An infected shaving brush. I'd forgotten that, said Battle untruthfully.


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[Assistant] And then, she went abroad, and died not long afterwards.


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[Assistant] But I always thought she was a nasty type of woman. Man mad, you know.


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[Assistant] I know the kind, said Battle. Very dangerous they are. A doctor's gotta give them a wide berth.


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[Assistant] Whereabouts did she die abroad? Uh, I seem to remember Egypt, I think it was. She got blood poisoning. Some native infection.


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[Assistant] Another thing that must be difficult for a doctor, said Battle, making a conversational leap, is when he suspects that one of his patients is being poisoned by one of their relatives. What's he to do? He's got to be sure, or else hold his tongue, and if he's done the latter,


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[Assistant] Then it's awkward for him if there's talk of foul play afterwards.


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[Assistant] I wonder if any case of that kind has ever come Dr Roberts way.


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[Assistant] I really don't think it has, said Miss Burgess, considering. I've never heard of anything like that.


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[Assistant] You've been with Dr. Roberts some years. Seven. Seven. Well, how many deaths have there been in that time? Half hand. Really? It's difficult to say. Miss Burgess gave herself up to calculation. She was by now quite thawed and unsuspicious. Seven. Eight.


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[Assistant] Of course I can't remember exactly. I shouldn't say more than thirty in the time.


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[Assistant] Then I fancy Dr. Roberts must be a better doctor than most, said Battle genially. I suppose, too, most of his patients are upper class. They can afford to take care of themselves. He is a very popular doctor. He's so good at diagnosis. Battle sighed and rose to his feet.


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[Assistant] I'm afraid I've been wandering from my duty, which is to find out a connection between the doctor and this Mr. Shaytana. You're quite sure he wasn't a patient of the doctor's? Quite sure. Under another name, perhaps? Battle handed her a photograph. Recognize him at all? What a very theatrical looking person. No, I've never seen him here at any time. Well, that's that. Battle sighed.


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[Assistant] I'm much obliged to the doctor, I'm sure, for being so pleasant about everything. Tell him from me, will you? Tell him I'm passing on to number two. Goodbye, Miss Burgess, and thank you for your help. He shook hands and departed.


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[Assistant] Walking along the street, he took a small notebook from his pocket, and under the letter R, he wrote, Mrs. Graves, unlikely. Mrs. Craddock, no legacies. No wife, pity. Investigate deaths of patients, difficult.


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[Assistant] One of your clients is a Dr. Jeffrey Roberts, I understand. Quite correct, Superintendent.


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[Assistant] I shall want some information about that gentleman's account going back over a period of years. I will see what I can do for you.


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[Assistant] complicated half hour followed finally battle with a sigh tucked away a sheet of penciled figures


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[Assistant] Got what you want? Inquired the bank manager curiously. No, I haven't. Not one suggestive lead. I thank you all the same. At that same moment,


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[Assistant] Dr. Roberts, washing his hands in his consulting room, said over his shoulder to Miss Burgess, What about our stolid stoof, eh? Did he turn the place upside down, and you inside out?


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[Assistant] He didn't get very much out of me, I can tell you, said Miss Burgess, setting her lips tightly.


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[Assistant] Somebody had been telling him some absurd nonsense about Mrs. Graves. You know, the way she used to go on. Graves? Graves. Oh yes, old Mrs. Graves. That's rather funny. The doctor laughed with considerable amusement.


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[Assistant] That's really very funny indeed. And in high good humor, he went into lunch.


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[Assistant] Chapter 10 Dr. Roberts Continued


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[Assistant] Superintendent Battle was lunching with Monsieur Hercule Poirot. The former looked downcast, the latter sympathetic. Your mourning then has not been entirely successful, said Poirot thoughtfully. Battle shook his head. It's going to be uphill work, Monsieur Poirot. What do you think of him? Of the doctor? Well, frankly, I think Shaytana was right. He's a killer.


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[Assistant] Reminds me of Westerway. And of that lawyer chap in Norfolk.


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[Assistant] Same hearty self-confident manner, same popularity. Both of them were clever devils. So's Roberts.


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[Assistant] All the same, it doesn't follow that Roberts killed Shaytana. And as a matter of fact, I don't think he did. He'd know the risk too well. Better than a layman would. That Shaytana might wake and cry out. No. I don't think Roberts murdered him. But you think he has murdered someone? Possibly quite a lot of people. Westerway had. But it's going to be hard to get at.


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[Assistant] I've looked over his bank account, nothing suspicious there. No large sums suddenly paid in.


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[Assistant] At any rate, in the last seven years, he's not had any legacy from a patient. That wipes out murder for direct gain. He's never married. That's a pity. So ideally simple for a doctor to kill his own wife.


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[Assistant] In fact, he appears to lead a thoroughly blameless life, and perhaps does so. Maybe, but I prefer to believe the worst. He went on, there's a hint of a scandal over a woman.


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[Assistant] One of his patients, name of Craddock, that's worth looking up, I think.


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[Assistant] I'll get someone onto that straight away. Woman actually died out in Egypt of some local disease, so I don't think there's anything in that.


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[Assistant] But it might just throw a light on his general character and morals.


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[Assistant] Was there a husband? Yes, husband died of anthrax. Anthrax?


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[Assistant] Yes, there were a lot of cheap shaving brushes on the market just then, some of them infected. There was a regular scandal about it. Convenient, suggested Poirot. That's what I thought, if her husband were threatening to kick up a row. But there, it's all conjecture. We haven't got a leg to stand upon. Courage, my friend.


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[Assistant] I know your patience. In the end you will have perhaps as many legs as a centipede.


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[Assistant] I too might call on Dr. Roberts. Two of us in one day. That ought to put the wind up him.


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[Assistant] Oh, I shall be very discreet. I shall not inquire into his past life.


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[Assistant] I'd like to know just exactly what line you'll take, said Battle curiously. But don't tell me unless you want to. Ditu, ditu, I am most willing. I shall talk a little of bridge. That is all. Bridge again. You harp on that, don't you, Monsieur Poirot? I find the subject very useful. Well, every man to his taste. I don't deal much in the fancy approaches. They don't suit my style. What is your style, Superintendent?


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[Assistant] A straightforward, honest, zealous officer doing his duty in the most laborious manner. That's my style. No frills, no fancy work. Just honest perspiration. Stolid. And a bit stupid. That's my ticket. Poirot raised his glass.


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[Assistant] I expect Colonel Race may get us something worth having about Despair, said Battle. He's got a good many sources of information. And Mrs Oliver?


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[Assistant] Oh, bit of a toss up there. I rather like that woman. Talks a lot of nonsense, but she's a sport.


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[Assistant] Battle went back to Scotland Yard to issue instructions for certain lines to be followed up. Poirot betook himself to 200 Gloucester Terrace.


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[Assistant] Dr. Robert's eyebrows rose comically as he greeted his guest. Two sleuths in one day, he asked. Handcuffs by this evening, I suppose? Poirot smiled.


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[Assistant] I can assure you, Dr. Roberts, that my attentions are being equally divided between all four of you. Well, that's something to be thankful for at all events. Smoke? If you permit, I prefer my own. Quarro lighted one of his tiny Russian cigarettes. Well, what can I do for you? asked Roberts. Quarro was silent for a minute or two, puffing. Then he said, Are you a keen observer of human nature, doctor? I dunno. I suppose I am.


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[Assistant] A doctor has to be. That was exactly my reasoning.


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[Assistant] I said to myself, a doctor has always to be studying his patients, their expression.


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[Assistant] The color, how fast they breathe, any signs of restlessness. A doctor notices these things automatically, almost without noticing, he notices. Dr. Roberts is the man to help me. I'm willing enough to help? What's the trouble? Poirot produced from a neat little pocket case three carefully folded bridge scores. These are the first three rubbers the other evening, he explained. Here is the first one, in Miss Meredith's handwriting.


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[Assistant] This first game must have resulted in a game call in hearts or spades. Or else one or other side must have gone down fifty. Let me see. That was the first hand. Yes, I think they went out in spades. And the next hand? I suppose one or other of us went down fifty. But I can't remember which or what it was in. Really, Mr. Poirot, you can hardly expect me to do so. Can't you remember any of the calling? Or the hands?


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[Assistant] I got a grand slam, I remember that. It was doubled too. And I also remember going down a nasty smack. Playing three-note trumps, I think it was. Went down a packet. But that was later on. Do you remember with whom you were playing? Mrs. Lorimer. She looked a bit grim, I remember. Didn't like my over-calling, I expect.


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[Assistant] And you can't remember any of the other hands or the calling.


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[Assistant] Roberts laughed. My dear Monsieur Poirot, did you really expect I could? First it was the murder, enough to drive the most spectacular hands out of one's mind. And in addition, I've played at least half a dozen rubbers since then. Poirot sat looking rather crestfallen. I'm sorry, said Roberts. It does not matter very much.


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[Assistant] Said Poirot slowly, I hope that you might remember one or two at least of the hands.


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[Assistant] Because I thought they might be valuable landmarks in remembering other things. Or what other things?


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[Assistant] Well, you might have noticed, for instance, that your partner made a mess of playing a perfectly simple note trumpet.


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[Assistant] Or that an opponent, say, presented you with a couple of unexpected tricks by failing to lead an obvious card.


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[Assistant] Dr. Roberts became suddenly serious. He leaned forward in his chair. Ah, he said. Now I see what you're driving at. Forgive me. I thought at first you were talking pure nonsense. You mean that the murder, the successful accomplishment of the murder, might have made a definite difference in the guilty party's play? Poirot nodded. You have seized the idea correctly. It would be a clue of the first excellence if you had been four players who knew each other's game well. A variation?


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[Assistant] All I can tell you is what I told you before. Mrs. Lorimer is a first-class player. She never made a slip that I noticed. She was brilliant from start to finish. This pass play was uniformly good too.


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[Assistant] Towards the end of the evening, but that may simply have been because she was tired. Not being a very experienced player. Her hand shook too. He stopped. When did her hand shake? When was it now? I can't remember.


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[Assistant] If I say, did you notice so and so? Well, I have put the thing into your head. Your answer will not be so valuable. Let me try to get at the matter another way. If you would be so kind, Dr. Roberts, describe to me the contents of the room in which you played. Roberts looked thoroughly astonished. Contents of the room? If you would be so good.


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[Assistant] He began facetiously after the manner of an auctioneer.


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[Assistant] One large settee upholstered in ivory brocade. One ditto in green ditto. Four or five large chairs. Eight or nine Persian rugs. A set of twelve small gilt empire chairs. William and Mary Bureau. I feel just like an auctioneer's clerk. Very beautiful Chinese cabinet. Grand piano. There was other furniture, but I'm afraid I didn't notice it.


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[Assistant] Six first-class Japanese prints. Two Chinese pictures on looking glass. Five or six very beautiful snuff boxes. Some Japanese ivory Netsuka figures on a table by themselves. Some old silver. Charles I. Tazars, I think. One or two pieces of Battersea enamel.


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[Assistant] Then there was some Eastern stuff, intricate silver work, some jewelry. I don't know much about that. Some Chelsea birds, I remember.


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[Assistant] Oh, and some miniatures in a case. Pretty good ones, I fancy. Ah, that's not all, by a long way. But it's all I can think of for the minute. It is magnificent, said Poirot, with due appreciation. You have the true observer's eye. The doctor asked curiously, have I included the object you had in mind? That is the interesting thing about it, said Poirot. If you had mentioned the object I had in mind, it would have been extremely surprising to me. As I thought.


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[Assistant] You could not mention it. Why? Poirot twinkled. Perhaps because it was not there to mention it. Robert stared. That seems to remind me of something. It reminds you of Sherlock Holmes, does it not? The curious incident of the dog in the night. The dog did not howl in the night. That is the curious thing. Ah well, I am not above stealing the tricks of others.


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[Assistant] You know, Mr. Poirot, I'm completely at sea as to what you're driving at. That is excellent, that. In confidence, that is how I get my little effects.


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[Assistant] Then as Dr. Roberts still looked rather dazed, Quirrow said with a smile as he rose to his feet, You may at least comprehend this.


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[Assistant] 111 Chaney Lane was a small house, a very neat and trim appearance, standing in a quiet street. The door was painted black and the steps were particularly well whitened.


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[Assistant] A few silver photograph frames about, in the old fashioned manner.


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[Assistant] Madame, said Hercule Poirot, that you would forgive this visit. Looking directly at him, Mrs. Larimer asked, is this a professional visit? I confess it.


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[Assistant] You realize, I suppose, Mr. Poirot, that though I shall naturally give Superintendent Battle and the official police any information and help they may require, I am by no means bound to do the same for any unofficial investigator. I am quite aware of that fact, madame.


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[Assistant] I want you to describe to me, madame, the room in which you played bridge the other evening. The room in which Mr. Shaitana was killed. Mrs. Lorimer's eyebrows rose. An extraordinary question. I do not see the point of it.


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[Assistant] Madame, if when you were playing bridge, someone were to say to you, why do you play that ace? Or why do you put on the knave that is taken by the queen and not the king, which would take the trick?


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[Assistant] If people were to ask you such questions the answers would be rather long and tedious, would they not? Mrs. Lorimer smiled slightly.


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[Assistant] Meaning that in this game you are the expert and I am the novice. Very well, she reflected a minute. It was a large room. There were a good many things in it. Can you describe some of those things?


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[Assistant] There were some glass flowers. Modern, rather beautiful. And I think there were some Chinese or Japanese pictures. There was a bowl of tiny red tulips. Amazingly early for them. Anything else? I'm afraid I didn't notice anything in detail. The furniture. Do you remember the color of the upholstery? Something silky, I think. That's all I can say. Did you notice any of the small objects? I'm afraid not.


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[Assistant] There were so many, I know it struck me as quite a collector's room. There was silence for a minute. Mrs. Lorimer said with a faint smile, I'm afraid I have not been very helpful. There is something else. He produced the bridge scores. Here are the first three rubbers played.


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[Assistant] I wonder if you could help me with the aid of these scores to reconstruct the hands. Oh, let me see. Mrs. Lorimer looked interested. She bent over the scores. Now that was the first rubber.


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[Assistant] Ms. Mededith and I were playing against the two men.


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[Assistant] First game was played in four spades, we made it, and an overtrick. Then the next hand was left at two diamonds, and Dr. Roberts went down one trick on it.


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[Assistant] There was quite a lot of bidding on the third hand, I remember. Miss Meredith passed. Major Despard went to heart. I passed. Dr. Roberts gave a jump bid of three clubs.


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[Assistant] On the next hand, Major Despair passed, and I bid a no trump. Dr. Roberts bid three hearts. My partner said nothing.


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[Assistant] This spar put his partner to four. I doubled and they went down two tricks. Then I dealt and we went out on a four spade call. She took out the next score.


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[Assistant] It is difficult that, said Poirot, major disperse scores in the cancellation manner.


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[Assistant] I rather fancy both sides went down fifty to start with. Then Dr. Roberts went to five diamonds and we doubled and got him down to three tricks.


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[Assistant] Then we made three clubs, but immediately after the others went game in spades. We made the second game in five clubs. Then we went down a hundred.


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[Assistant] The others made one heart, we made two, no trumps, and finally won the rubber with a four club call. We picked up the next score.


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[Assistant] Uh, this rubber was rather a battle, I remember. It started tamely.


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[Assistant] Major Despair and Miss Meredith made a one-heart call. Then we went down a couple of fifties, trying for four hearts and four spades. Then the others made game in spades. No use trying to stop them.


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[Assistant] We went down three hands running after that but un-doubled.


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[Assistant] Then we won the second game in no trumps. Then a battle royal started. Each side went down in turn. Dr. Roberts overcalled, but though he went down badly once or twice, his calling paid. For more than once he frightened Ms. Melodyth out of bidding her hand. Then he bid an original two spades.


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[Assistant] I gave him three diamonds, he bid four no trumps. I bid five spades, and he suddenly jumped to seven diamonds. We were doubled, of course. He had no business to make such a call. By a kind of miracle, we got it!


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[Assistant] I never thought we should when I saw his hand go down. If the others had led a heart, we would have been three tricks down.


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[Assistant] As it was, they led the king of clubs and we got it. It was really very exciting. Je crois bien. A grand slam vulnerable doubled. It causes the emotions, then.


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[Assistant] Me, I admit it. I have not the nerve to go for the slams. I contend myself with the game. Oh, but you shouldn't, said Mrs. Lorimer with energy. You must play the game properly. Take risks, you mean. There is no risk if the bidding is correct. It should be a mathematical certainty. Unfortunately, a few people really bid well. They know the opening bids, but later they lose their heads.


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[Assistant] They cannot distinguish between a hand with winning cards in it and a hand without losing cards.


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[Assistant] Your card memory is magnificent, but magnificent.


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[Assistant] You remember, one might say, every card that was played. I believe I do.


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[Assistant] Memory is a wonderful gift. With it the past is never the past.


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[Assistant] I should imagine, madame, that to you the past unrolls itself every incident as clear as yesterday. Is that so? She looked at him quickly. Her eyes were wide and dark. It was only for a moment.


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[Assistant] I'm afraid I shall have to leave now. I'm so sorry, but I really mustn't be late. Of course not, of course not. I apologize for trespassing on your time. I'm sorry I haven't been able to help you more. But you have helped me, said Hercule Poirot. I hardly think so. She spoke with decision. But yes, you have told me something I wanted to know. She asked no question as to what that something was. He held out his hand. Thank you, madam, for your forbearance.


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[Assistant] Oofa, he was a stupid man. And so, he died. Because he was so stupid.


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[Assistant] It is the sin that is never forgiven and always punished, madame. There was a silence. Then Poirot said, I'd take my departure. A thousand thanks for your amiability, madame. I will not come again unless you send for me. Her eyebrows rose. Dear me, monsieur Poirot, why should I send for you? Oh, you might. It is just an idea. If so, I will come. Remember that.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Oliver extricated herself from the driving seat of her little two-seater with some difficulty.


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[Assistant] To begin with, the makers of modern motor cars assume that only a pair of silflike knees will ever be under the steering wheel. It is also the fashion to sit low.


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[Assistant] It requires a good deal of superhuman wriggling to get out from under the steering wheel.


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[Assistant] In the second place, the seat next to the driving seat was encumbered by several maps, a handbag, three novels, and a large bag of apples.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Oliver was partial to apples, and had indeed been known to eat as many as five pounds straight off, whilst composing the complicated plot of The Death in the Drainpipe.


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[Assistant] With a final determined heave and a sharp shove with a knee against a recalcitrant door, Mrs. Oliver arrived a little too suddenly on the sidewalk outside the gate of Wenden Cottage, showering apple cores freely round her as she did so.


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[Assistant] And pushing open the gate of Wenden Cottage walked up the flagged path to the front door.


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[Assistant] She rang the bell and executed cheerful little rat tat tat on the knocker, a quaint conceit in the form of a toad's head. As nothing happened, she repeated the performance.


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[Assistant] Two girls were just crossing the field in the direction of the cottage.


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[Assistant] Oh, of course. Anne Meredith extended her hand hurriedly. Her eyes looked wide and startled. Then she pulled herself together. This is my friend who lives with me, Miss Dawes. Rhoda, this is Mrs. Oliver. The other girl was tall, dark, and vigorous looking. She said excitedly, Oh, are you the Mrs. Oliver? Ariadne Oliver? I am.


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[Assistant] And led the way to a little group of deck and basket chairs, or rather dilapidated.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Oliver chose the strongest looking with some care, having had various unfortunate experiences with flimsy summer furniture.


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[Assistant] Now my dear, she said briskly, don't let's beat about the bush. About this murder the other evening. We've got to get busy and do something. Do something? queried Anne. Naturally, said Mrs. Oliver.


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[Assistant] You're so different from what I would have imagined. A disappointment, I expect, said Mrs. Oliver serenely. I'm used to that. Never mind. What we must do is prove that Roberts did it. How can we? said Anne. Oh, don't be so defeatist, Anne, cried Rhoda Dawes. I think Mrs. Oliver's splendid. Of course, she knows all about these things. She'll do just as Svend Hyrson does.


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[Assistant] You know what people are, said Mrs. Oliver. The three who didn't do it will come in for just as much suspicion as the one who did. Anne Meredith said slowly, I still don't quite see why you come to me, Mrs. Oliver. Because in my opinion, the other two don't matter.


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[Assistant] I never worry about men. Men could look after themselves. Do it remarkably well, if you ask me. Besides, Major Despair enjoys a dangerous life. He's getting his fun at home, instead of on the Irawadi. Or do I mean the Limpopo?


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[Assistant] To tell you the truth, a real murder has never come my way before.


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[Assistant] And to continue telling the truth, I don't believe real murder is very much in my line. I'm so used to loading the dice, if you understand what I mean.


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[Assistant] But I wasn't going to be out of it, and let those three men have all the fun to themselves. I've always said that if a woman were the head of Scotland Yard...


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[Assistant] Yes, said Rhoda, leaning forward with parted lips. If you were the head of Scotland Yard, what would you do? I should arrest Doctor Roberts straight away. Yes?


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[Assistant] However, I'm not the head of Scotland Yard, said Mrs. Oliver, retreating from dangerous ground. I'm a private individual.


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[Assistant] Oh, you're not that, said Rhoda, confusedly complimentary.


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[Assistant] Here we are, continued Mrs. Oliver, three private individuals, all women. Let us see what we can do by putting our heads together. Anne Meredith nodded thoughtfully. Then she said, why do you think Dr. Roberts did it? He's that sort of man, replied Mrs. Oliver promptly. Don't you think though, Anne hesitated, wouldn't a doctor, I mean, something like poison would be so much easier for him? Not at all.


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[Assistant] Look how they're always leaving cases of dangerous drugs in cars all over London and getting them stolen. No, just because he was a doctor.


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[Assistant] Idea? I've got any amount of ideas. In fact, that's just the difficulty. It always is my difficulty. I can never think of even one plot at a time. I always think of at least five, and it's agony to decide between them. I can think of six beautiful reasons for the murder. The trouble is, I've no earthly means of knowing which is right. To begin with, perhaps Shaytana was a moneylender. He had a very oily look.


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[Assistant] Or, and this is a really good one, suppose Shaytana knew some secret in Robert's past. Perhaps you didn't notice, my dear, but Shaytana said something rather peculiar at dinner, just before a rather queer pause. Anne stooped to tickle a caterpillar. She said, I don't think I remember. What did he say? asked Rhoda.


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[Assistant] Anne's left hand tightened on the basketwork of her chair. I do remember something of the kind, she said composedly. Rhoda said suddenly, darling, you ought to have a coat. It's not summer, remember? Go and get one. Anne shook her head. I'm quite warm. But she gave a queer little shiver as she spoke.


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[Assistant] You see my theory, went on Mrs. Oliver, I dare say one of the doctor's patients poisoned himself by accident. But of course, really, it was the doctor's own doing. I dare say he's murdered lots of people that way. A sudden colour came into Anne's cheeks. She said, Do doctors usually want to murder their patients wholesale? Wouldn't it have a rather regrettable effect on their practice?


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[Assistant] There would be a reason, of course, said Mrs. Oliver vaguely. I think the idea is absurd, said Anne Crispley. Absolutely absurdly melodramatic.


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[Assistant] Oh, Anne, cried Rhoda, in an agony of apology. She looked at Mrs. Oliver.


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[Assistant] Her eyes, rather like those of an intelligent spaniel, seem to be trying to say something.


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[Assistant] Try and understand, try and understand, those eyes said.


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[Assistant] Said something about a doctor's opportunities in a laboratory. He must have meant something by that. It wasn't Mr. Shaitano who said that. Mrs. Oliver shook her head. It was Major Despard. A footfall on the garden walk made her turn her head. Will, she exclaimed. Talk of the devil. Major Despard had just come round the corner of the house.


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[Assistant] At the sight of Mrs. Oliver, Major Despard looked slightly taken aback.


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[Assistant] Under his tan, his face flushed a rich brick red. Embarrassment made him jerky. He made for Anne. I, I apologize, Miss Meredith, he said. Been ringing your bell. Nothing happened. Was passing this way. Thought I might just look you up. I'm so sorry you've been ringing, said Anne. We haven't got a maid. Only a woman who comes in the mornings. She introduced him to Rhoda. Rhoda said briskly, let's have some tea. It's getting chilly.


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[Assistant] I've been telling Miss Meredith, said Mrs. Oliver, who was thoroughly enjoying herself, that we ought to have a plan of campaign. About the murder, I mean. Of course that doctor did it. Don't you agree with me? Couldn't say. Very little to go on.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Oliver put on her how like a man expression. A certain air of constraint had settled over the three. Mrs. Oliver sensed it quickly enough.


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[Assistant] Come and see me when you come up to town and we'll talk everything over and see if we can't think of something ingenious to get to the bottom of things. I'll come out to the gate with you, said Rhoda. Just as they were walking down the path to the front gate, Anne Meredith ran out of the house and overtook them. I've been thinking things over, she said. Her pale face looked unusually resolute. Yes, my dear.


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[Assistant] It's extraordinarily kind of you, Mrs. Oliver, to have taken all this trouble, but I'd really rather not do anything at all. I mean, it was all so horrible. I just want to forget about it.


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[Assistant] My dear child, the question is, will you be allowed to forget about it? Oh, I quite understand that the police won't let it drop. They'll probably come here and ask me a lot more questions. I'm prepared for that. But privately, I mean, I don't want to think about it or be reminded of it in any way. I dare say I'm a coward, but that's how I feel about it. Oh, am, cried Rhoda Dawes.


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[Assistant] It does matter, doesn't it, Mrs. Oliver? I should certainly say so, said Mrs. Oliver, dryly. I don't agree, said Anne obstinately. Nobody who knows me would ever think I'd done it. I don't see any reason for interfering. It's the business of the police to get at the truth. Oh, Anne, you are spiritless, said Rhoda. That's how I feel anyway, said Anne. She held out her hand. Thank you very much, Mrs. Oliver.


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[Assistant] It's very good of you to have bothered. Well, of course, if you feel that way. There's nothing more to be said, said Mrs. Oliver cheerfully.


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[Assistant] I at any rate shall not let the grass grow under my feet. Goodbye my dear. Look me up in London if you change your mind.


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[Assistant] She climbed into the car, started it and drove off, waving a cheery hand at the two girls.


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[Assistant] Roto suddenly made a dash after the car and leapt on the running board. What you said about looking you up in London, she said breathlessly. Did you only mean Anne or did you mean me too? Mrs. Oliver applied the break. I meant both of you, of course. Oh, thank you. Don't stop. I, I perhaps might come one day. There's something. No, no, no, don't stop. I can jump off. She did so and waving a hand ran back to the gate where Anne was standing.


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[Assistant] Asked Rhoda enthusiastically. I do like her. She had on odd stockings. Did you notice? I'm sure she's frightfully clever. She must be to write all those books. What fun if she found out the truth when the police and everyone were baffled. Why did she come here? Asked Anne. Rhoda's eyes opened wide. Darling, she told you. Anne made an impatient gesture. We must go in. I forgot. I've left him all alone. Major Despard?


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[Assistant] Man, he's frightfully good looking isn't he? I suppose he is. They walked up the path together.


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[Assistant] Major Despard was standing by the mantelpiece, teacup in hand. He cut short Anne's apologies for leaving him. Amiss Meredith, I want to explain why I've butted in like this.


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[Assistant] Oh, but I said that I happened to be passing. That wasn't strictly true. I came here on purpose. How did you know my address? Asked Anne slowly. I got it from Superintendent Battle. He saw her shrink slightly at the name. He went on quickly. Battle's on his way here now. I happened to see him at Paddington. I got my car out and came down here. I knew I could beat the train easily. But why?


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[Assistant] The spar shot a quick glance at her, rather liking the gallant, boyish figure that leant against the mantelpiece and was following his word so intensely. They were an attractive pair, these two.


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[Assistant] I'm sure she couldn't have a more devoted friend than you, Miss Dawes," he said courteously, but it occurred to me that, in the peculiar circumstances, the advice of someone with a good dash of world wisdom might not be amiss. Frankly, the situation is this. Miss Meredith is under suspicion of having committed murder. The same thing applies to me, and to the two other people who were in the room last night.


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[Assistant] Such a situation is not agreeable, and it has its own peculiar difficulties and dangers, which someone as young and inexperienced as you are, Miss Meredith, might not recognize.


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[Assistant] In my opinion, you ought to put yourself in the hands of a thoroughly good solicitor. Perhaps you've already done so. Anne Meredith shook her head. I never thought of it. Exactly as I suspected. Have you got a good man?


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[Assistant] A London man for choice. Again, Anne shook her head. I've hardly ever needed a solicitor.


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[Assistant] There's Mr. Berry, said Rhoda, but he is about a hundred and two and quite gaga.


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[Assistant] If you'll allow me to advise you, Miss Meredith, I recommend you're going to Mr. Myherne, my own solicitor. Jacob's Peel & Jacobs is the actual name of the firm. They're first-class people, and they know all the ropes. Anne had got paler. She sat down. Is it really necessary? She asked in a low voice. I should say emphatically so. There are all sorts of legal pitfalls. Are these people very expensive?


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[Assistant] That doesn't matter a bit, said Rhoda. That will be quite alright, Major Despair. I think everything you say is quite true, and ought to be protected.


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[Assistant] Their charges will, I think, be quite reasonable, said Dispar.


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[Assistant] Very well, said Anne slowly. I'll do it, if you think so. Good, Rhoda said warmly.


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[Assistant] I think it's awfully nice of you, Major Despard. Really frightfully nice. Anne said, Thank you. She hesitated and then said, Did you say Superintendent Battle was coming here? Yes. You mustn't be alarmed by that. It's inevitable. Oh, I know. As a matter of fact, I've been expecting him, Rhoda said impulsively. Poor darling.


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[Assistant] It's nearly killing her, this business. It's such a shame, so frightfully unfair. Despair said, I agree. It's a pretty beastly business, dragging a young girl into an affair of this kind. If anyone wanted to stick a knife into Shaytana, they ought to have chosen some other place or time. Rhoda asked squarely, Who do you think did it? Dr. Roberts or that Mrs. Lorimer? A very faint smile stirred Despair's moustache.


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[Assistant] May have done it myself, for all you know. Oh no, cried Rhoda, and I know you didn't do it.


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[Assistant] He looked at them both with kindly eyes. A nice pair of kids, touchingly full of faith and trust. A timid little creature, the Meredith girl. Never mind. My hand would see her through. The other was a fighter. He doubted if she would have crumpled up in the same way if she'd been in her friend's place. Nice girls. He'd like to know more about them. These thoughts passed through his mind. Aloud he said,


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[Assistant] Never take anything for granted, Miss Dawes. I don't set as much value on human life as most people do. All this hysterical fuss about road deaths, for instance. Man is always in danger. From traffic, from germs, from a hundred and one things. As well be killed one way or another.


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[Assistant] The moment you begin being careful of yourself, adopting as your motto safety first, you might as well be dead in my opinion. Oh, I agree with you.


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[Assistant] I don't suppose it often happens that you've actually been in the room while a murder was committed.


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[Assistant] I think that Mrs. Oliver is thrilled to the core to have been there that night. Mrs. O.


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[Assistant] Your fat friend who writes the books about the unpronounceable Finn. Is she trying her hand at detection in real life? She wants to. Well, let's wish her luck. It would be amusing if she put one over on Battle & Co. What is Superintendent Battle like? asked Rhoda curiously. Major Despire said gravely. He's an extraordinarily astute man. A man of remarkable ability. Oh, said Rhoda. Anne said he looked rather stupid.


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[Assistant] That, I should imagine, is part of Battle's stock in trade. But we mustn't make any mistakes. Battle's no fool. He rose.


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[Assistant] Well, I must be off. There's just one other thing I'd like to say. Anne had risen also. Yes, she said as she held out her hand.


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[Assistant] Despair paused a minute, picking his words carefully. He took her hand and retained it in his.


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[Assistant] He looked straight into the wide beautiful grey eyes. Don't be offended with me, he said. I just want to say this.


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[Assistant] It's humanly possible that there may be some feature of your acquaintanceship with Shaytana that you don't want to come out.


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[Assistant] If so, uh, don't be angry, please. He felt the instinctive pull of her hand. You are perfectly within your rights in refusing to answer any questions battle may ask unless your solicitor is present. Anne tore her hand away. Her eyes opened, their gray darkening with anger. There's nothing. Nothing. I hardly knew the beastly man. Sorry, said Major Despair. Thought I ought to mention it. It's quite true.


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[Assistant] Superintendent Battle can ask me anything he likes. I've nothing to hide. Nothing.


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[Assistant] Despair said very gently, Please, forgive me.


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[Assistant] She looked at him. Her anger dwindled. She smiled. It was a very sweet smile. It's all right, she said. You meant it kindly. I know. She held out her hand again. He took it and said, We're in the same boat, you know. We ought to be pals. It was Anne who went with him to the gate. When she came back, Rhoda was staring out of the window and whistling. She turned as her friend entered the room.


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[Assistant] He's frightfully attractive, Anne. He's nice, isn't he? Great deal more than nice. I've got an absolute passion for him.


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[Assistant] Why wasn't I at that damn dinner instead of you? I'd have enjoyed the excitement, the net closing round me, the shadow of the scaffold. No, you wouldn't. You're talking nonsense, Rhoda. Anne's voice was sharp, then it softened as she said. It was nice of him to come all this way, for a stranger, a girl he's only met once. Oh, he fell for you, obviously. Men don't do purely disinterested kindnesses.


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[Assistant] The usual suspicions of your own sex? I daresay Major Despair had an axe to grind if it comes to that. I'm sure he hadn't, cried Anne hotly. Then she blushed as Rotadors laughed.


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[Assistant] Superintendent Battle arrived at Wallingford about six o'clock.


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[Assistant] It was his intention to learn as much as he could from innocent local gossip before interviewing Miss Anne Meredith.


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[Assistant] It was not difficult to glean such information as there was without committing himself definitely to any statement


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[Assistant] The superintendent nevertheless gave several different impressions of his rank and calling in life.


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[Assistant] At least two people would have said confidently that he was a London builder come down to see about a new wing to be added to the cottage.


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[Assistant] From another, you would have learned that he was one of these weekenders wanting to take a furnished cottage.


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[Assistant] And two more would have said they knew positively and for a fact that he was a representative of a hardcore tennis firm.


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[Assistant] The information that the superintendent gathered was entirely favorable.


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[Assistant] Winden Cottage. Yes, that's right. On the Marbury Road. You can't miss it.


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[Assistant] Yes, two young ladies. Miss Dawes and Miss Meredith. Very nice young ladies too. The quiet kind. Here for years? Oh no, not that long. Just over two years. September quarter they come in. Mr. Piggersgill they bought it from. Never used it much, he didn't, after his wife died.


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[Assistant] Superintendent Battles informant had never heard they came from Northumberland. London, he thought they came from.


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[Assistant] Popular in the neighborhood, though some people were old-fashioned and didn't think two young ladies ought to be living alone. But very quiet they were. None of this cocktail-drinking weekend lot. Miss Rhoda, she was the dashing one. Miss Meredith was the quiet one. Yes, it was Miss Dawes what paid the bills. She was the one that got the money.


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[Assistant] The superintendent's researchers at last led him inevitably to Mrs. Astwell, who did for the ladies at Wenden Cottage. Mrs. Astwell was a loquacious lady.


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[Assistant] Well, no sir. I oddly think they want to sell. Not so soon.


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[Assistant] They only got in two years ago. I've done for them from the beginning, yes sir. Eight o'clock till twelve. Those are my hours. Very nice. Lively young ladies. Always ready for a joke or a bit of fun. Not stuck up at all. Well of course I couldn't say if it's the same Miss Dawes you knew, sir. Same family, I mean. It's my fancy. Her home's in Devonshire.


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[Assistant] She gets the cream sent to her an hour and again, and says it reminds her of home. So I think it must be.


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[Assistant] As you say sir, it's sad for so many young ladies having to earn their living nowadays. These young ladies aren't what you'd call rich, but they have a very pleasant life.


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[Assistant] It's Miss Dawes has got the money, of course. Miss Anne's her companion, in Amanda speaking. I suppose you might say. The cottage belongs to Miss Dawes.


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[Assistant] I couldn't really say what part Miss Anne comes from. I've heard her mention the Isle of Wight, and I know she doesn't like the north of England, and she and Miss Rhoda were together in Devonshire.


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[Assistant] Cause I've heard them joke about the ills and talk about the pretty coves and beaches. The flow went on.