“She certainly did not seem at all taken aback when you pointed out she could not have seen Jane Wilkinson’s face,” I remarked thoughtfully.
“No. That is why I decided that she was one of those honestly inaccurate persons, rather than a deliberate liar. I can see no motive for deliberate lying unless—true, that is an idea!”
“What is?” I asked eagerly.
But Poirot shook his head.
“An idea suggested itself to me. But it is too impossible—yes, much too impossible.”
And he refused to say more.
“She seems very fond of the girl,” I said.
“Yes. She certainly was determined to assist at our interview. What was your impression of the Honourable Geraldine Marsh, Hastings?”
“I was sorry for her—deeply sorry for her.”
“You have always the tender heart, Hastings. Beauty in distress upsets you every time.”
“Didn’t you feel the same?”
He nodded gravely.
“Yes—she has not had a happy life. That is written very clearly on her face.”
“At any rate,” I said warmly, “you realize how preposterous Jane Wilkinson’s suggestion was—that she should have had anything to do with the crime, I mean.”
“Doubtless her alibi is satisfactory, but Japp has not communicated it to me as yet.”
“My dear Poirot—do you mean to say that even after seeing her and talking to her, you are still not satisfied and want an alibi?”
“Eh bien, my friend, what is the result of seeing and talking to her? We perceive that she has passed through great unhappiness, she admits that she hated her father and is glad that he is dead, and she is deeply uneasy about what he may have said to us yesterday morning. And after that you say—no alibi is necessary!”
“Her mere frankness proves her innocence,” I said warmly.
“Frankness is a characteristic of the family. The new Lord Edgware—with what a gesture he laid his cards on the table.”
“He did indeed,” I said, smiling at the remembrance. “Rather an original method.”
Poirot nodded.
“He—what do you say?—cut the ground before our feet.”
“From under,” I corrected. “Yes—it made us look rather foolish.”
“What a curious idea. You may have looked foolish. I didn’t feel foolish in the least and I do not think I looked it. On the contrary, my friend, I put him out of countenance.”
“Did you?” I said doubtfully, not remembering having seen signs of anything of the kind.
“Si, si. I listen—and listen. And at last I ask a question about something quite different, and that, you may have noticed, disconcerts our brave Monsieur very much. You do not observe, Hastings.”
“I thought his horror and astonishment at hearing of Carlotta Adams’ death was genuine,” I said. “I suppose you will say it was a piece of clever acting.”
“Impossible to tell. I agree it seemed genuine.”
“Why do you think he flung all those facts at our head in that cynical way? Just for amusement?”
“That is always possible. You English, you have the most extraordinary notions of humour. But it may have been policy. Facts that are concealed acquire a suspicious importance. Facts that are frankly revealed tend to be regarded as less important than they really are.”
“The quarrel with his uncle that morning, for instance?”
“Exactly. He knows that the fact is bound to leak out. Eh bien, he will parade it.”
“He is not so foolish as he looks.”
“Oh! he is not foolish at all. He has plenty of brains when he cares to use them. He sees exactly where he stands and, as I said, he lays his cards on the table. You play the bridge, Hastings. Tell me, when does one do that?”
“You play bridge yourself,” I said, laughing. “You know well enough—when all the rest of the tricks are yours and you want to save time and get on to a new hand.”
“Yes, mon ami, that is all very true. But occasionally there is another reason. I have remarked it once or twice when playing with les dames. There is perhaps a little doubt. Eh bien, la dame, she throws down the cards, says ‘and all the rest are mine,’ and gathers up the cards and cuts the new pack. And possibly the other players agree—especially if they are a little inexperienced. The thing is not obvious, mark you. It requires to be followed out. Halfway through dealing the next hand, one of the players thinks: ‘Yes, but she would have to have taken over that fourth diamond in dummy whether she wanted it or not, and then she would have had to lead a little club and my nine would have made.’”
“So you think?”
“I think, Hastings, that too much bravado is a very interesting thing. And I also think that it is time we dined. Une petite omelette, n’est ce pas? And after that, about nine o’clock, I have one more visit I wish to make.”
“Where is that?”
“We will dine first, Hastings. And until we drink our coffee, we will not discuss the case further. When engaged in eating, the brain should be the servant of the stomach.”
Poirot was as good as his word. We went to a little restaurant in Soho where he was well-known, and there we had a delicious omelette, a sole, a chicken and a Baba au Rhum of which Poirot was inordinately fond.
Then, as we sipped our coffee, Poirot smiled affectionately across the table at me.
“My good friend,” he said. “I depend upon you more than you know.”
I was confused and delighted by these unexpected words. He had never said anything of the kind to me before. Sometimes, secretly, I had felt slightly hurt. He seemed almost to go out of his way to disparage my mental powers.
Although I did not think his own powers were flagging, I did realize suddenly that perhaps he had come to depend on my aid more than he knew.
“Yes,” he said dreamily. “You may not always comprehend just how it is so—but you do often, and often point the way.”
I could hardly believe my ears.
“Really, Poirot,” I stammered. “I’m awfully glad, I suppose I’ve learnt a good deal from you one way or another—”
He shook his head.
“Mais non, ce n’est pas ça. You have learnt nothing.”
“Oh!” I said, rather taken aback.
“That is as it should be. No human being should learn from another. Each individual should develop his own powers to the uttermost, not try to imitate those of someone else. I do not wish you to be a second and inferior Poirot. I wish you to be the supreme Hastings. And you are the supreme Hastings. In you, Hastings, I find the normal mind almost perfectly illustrated.”
“I’m not abnormal, I hope,” I said.
“No, no. You are beautifully and perfectly balanced. In you sanity is personified. Do you realize what that means to me? When the criminal sets out to do a crime his first effort is to deceive. Who does he seek to deceive? The image in his mind is that of the normal man. There is probably no such thing actually—it is a mathematical abstraction. But you come as near to realizing it as is possible. There are moments when you have flashes of brilliance when you rise above the average, moments (I hope you will pardon me) when you descend to curious depths of obtuseness, but take it all for all, you are amazingly normal. Eh bien, how does this profit me? Simply in this way. As in a mirror I see reflected in your mind exactly what the criminal wishes me to believe. That is terrifically helpful and suggestive.”
I did not quite understand. It seemed to me that what Poirot was saying was hardly complimentary. However, he quickly disabused me of that impression.
“I have expressed myself badly,” he said quickly. “You have an insight into the criminal mind, which I myself lack. You show me what the criminal wishes me to believe. It is a great gift.”
“Insight,” I said thoughtfully. “Yes, perhaps I have got insight.”
I looked across the table at him. He was smoking his tiny cigarettes and regarding me with great kindliness.
“Ce cher Hastings,” he murmured. “I have indeed much affection for you.”
I was pleased but embarrassed and hastened to change the subject.
“Come,” I said in a businesslike manner. “Let us discuss the case.”
“Eh bien.” Poirot threw his head back, his eyes narrowed. He slowly puffed out smoke.
“Je me pose des questions,” he said.
“Yes?” I said eagerly.
“You, too, doubtless?”
“Certainly,” I said. And also leaning back and narrowing my own eyes I threw out:
“Who killed Lord Edgware?”
Poirot immediately sat up and shook his head vigorously.
“No, no. Not at all. Is it a question, that? You are like someone who reads the detective story and who starts guessing each of the characters in turn without rhyme or reason. Once, I agree, I had to do that myself. It was a very exceptional case. I will tell you about it one of these days. It was a feather in my cap. But of what were we speaking?”
“Of the questions you were ‘posing’ to yourself,” I replied dryly. It was on the tip of my tongue to suggest that my real use to Poirot was to provide him with a companion to whom he could boast, but I controlled myself. If he wished to instruct then let him.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s hear them.”
That was all that the vanity of the man wanted. He leaned back again and resumed his former attitude.
“The first question we have already discussed. Why did Lord Edgware change his mind on the subject of divorce? One or two ideas suggest themselves to me on that subject. One of them you know.