The superintendent said, bewildered:
‘Look here, what’s the meaning of all this?’
Pilar said:
‘Someone tried to kill me!’
She nodded her head several times.
Superintendent Sugden glanced up at the door.
‘Booby trap,’ he said. ‘An old-fashioned booby trap—and its purpose was murder! That’s the second murder planned in this house. But this time it didn’t come off!’
Stephen Farr said huskily:
‘Thank God you’re safe.’
Pilar flung out her hands in a wide, appealing gesture.
‘Madre de Dios,’ she cried. ‘Why should anyone wish to kill me? What have I done?’
Hercule Poirot said slowly:
‘You should rather ask, mademoiselle, what do I know?’
She stared.
‘Know? I do not know anything.’
Hercule Poirot said:
‘That is where you are wrong. Tell me, Mademoiselle Pilar, where were you at the time of the murder? You were not in this room.’
‘I was. I have told you so!’
Superintendent Sugden said with deceptive mildness:
‘Yes, but you weren’t speaking the truth when you said that, you know. You told us you heard your grandfather scream—you couldn’t have heard that if you were in here—Mr Poirot and I tested that yesterday.’
‘Oh!’ Pilar caught her breath.
Poirot said:
‘You were somewhere very much nearer his room. I will tell you where I think you were, mademoiselle. You were in the recess with the statues quite close to your grandfather’s door.’
Pilar said, startled:
‘Oh…How did you know?’
Poirot said with a faint smile:
‘Mr Farr saw you there.’
Stephen said sharply:
‘I did not. That’s an absolute lie!’
Poirot said: