Agatha christie
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Travelling with wife
, he read. Name: Elena Maria Andrenyi Surname before marriage: Goldenberg Age: 20 An ink spot had been dropped on the page by a careless official. Countess Andrenyi entered the restaurant carriage. ‘You wish to see me, gentlemen?’ she asked in perfect French. ‘Thank you, Countess,’ said Poirot. ‘I only need to ask you if you saw or heard anything unusual last night.’ ‘No, nothing. I had taken medicine to help me sleep.’ ‘Did you go with your husband to America, Madame?’ 32
‘W hy did you ask me that?’ ‘No, Monsieur. We were not married then. We have only been married a year.’ She smiled shyly. With her big, dark eyes and bright red lips, she looked very foreign - and very beautiful. ‘Why did you ask me that?’ ‘Detectives have to ask a lot of strange questions. For example, what colour is your dressing gown?’ ‘It is a cream colour. Is that important?’ ‘Very important. And does your husband smoke a pipe?’ ‘No — cigarettes, but not a pipe.’ ‘Do you speak English?’ he asked in that language. ‘I speak a little, yes.’ Her accent was strong, but very attractive. ‘And that is all,’ the detective said. ‘You see, Madame, it was not so terrible.’ She smiled and walked out of the carriage. 33
‘That was not very useful,’ said M. Bouc. ‘Shall we see the Italian now?’ Poirot did not reply for a moment. He was studying the ink spot on the Hungarian passport. Finally he looked at M. Bouc. ‘We will leave your Italian for the moment, my friend, and interview the good-looking Englishman, Colonel Arbuthnot.’ When the Colonel arrived, Poirot said, ‘You are travelling from India to Britain, I think. Why are you not going by boat?’ ‘I chose to take the overland route for reasons of my own,’ said the Colonel unhelpfully. ‘I see. You came straight through from India?’ ‘I stopped for three days in Baghdad to visit an old friend.’ ‘You met the young English lady there, perhaps - Miss Debenham?’ ‘No, I did not. I first met Miss Debenham on the train.’ ‘We think that M. Ratchett was murdered at a quarter past one last night. What were you doing at that time?’ ‘I was talking to the young American - the dead man’s secretary. We were in his compartment.’ ‘Did you know M. MacQueen before this journey?’ ‘No. We started talking yesterday and we enjoyed each other’s company. I don’t usually like Americans, but I like MacQueen. We had a long discussion about India, and America, and the world in general. I was quite surprised when I looked at my watch and found that it was a quarter to two.’ ‘That is the time that you stopped this conversation?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘What did you do then?’ ‘I walked back to my own compartment and went to bed.’ ‘Now, Colonel, I want you to think back to your conversation with M. MacQueen. You got out at Vincovci?’ ‘Yes, but only for about a minute. It was snowing very hard.’ ‘So you came back in. You sat down again. You smoked — 34
7 chose to take the overland route for reasons of my own /
said the Colonel unhelpfully. perhaps a cigarette, perhaps a pipe - He paused for a moment. ‘A pipe for me. MacQueen smoked cigarettes.’ ‘The train started again. Did anyone pass the door after that?’ ‘I don’t remember anyone except the conductor. Wait a minute - there was a woman too, I think. She was wearing something red.’ ‘Thank you. Have you ever been in America, Colonel?’ ‘Never. I have no interest in going there.’ ‘Did you ever know a Colonel Armstrong?’ ‘Armstrong - Armstrong - I’ve known two or three Armstrongs. Do you mean Selby Armstrong? Or Tommy?’ ‘I mean Colonel Robert Armstrong, who married an American and whose only child was kidnapped and killed.’ ‘Ah, I remember reading about that. But I didn’t know him.’ ‘The murdered man was responsible for that kidnap.’ ‘Really? Then he deserved to die - although it’s a pity that it wasn’t done legally, through the courts, of course. You can’t go around murdering people out of revenge, like Corsicans.’ Poirot looked at the Colonel thoughtfully. ‘I have no more questions - unless you noticed anything unusual last night?’ Arbuthnot thought for a moment. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Nothing. Unless - ’ He paused. ‘Yes?’ said the detective. ‘Well, it’s nothing really. But when I got back to my compartment, I noticed that the door of the end compartment - ’ ‘Number 16?’ ‘Yes, the door to it was not quite closed. The man inside looked out in a secretive way, then quickly closed the door. It seemed a bit strange.’ ‘Yes,’ said Poirot doubtfully. When the soldier had left the carriage, Poirot stared into space for some time. Then he said, ‘Colonel Arbuthnot smokes a pipe. In M. Ratchett’s compartment I found a pipe cleaner.’ 36
‘You think — ?’ began M. Bouc. ‘He was also in the same army as Colonel Armstrong. He said that he did not know him, but perhaps that was a lie.’ ‘So it is possible that —?’ Poirot shook his head angrily. ‘No, it is impossible that this Englishman, who believes in law and order, could push a knife into his enemy twelve times.’
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