Agatha christie
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The girl moved back, a little shocked.
‘There is an unemotional, intelligent brain behind this crime. Miss Debenham fits the description of the murderer exactly.’ M. Bouc shook his head. ‘You are wrong, my friend. That young woman is not a criminal.’ ‘I have another reason to think carefully about her. I have not yet told you what I heard during my journey to Istanbul.’ He told the two men about Miss Debenham’s words to Colonel Arbuthnot on the platform at Konya. M. Bouc repeated the words thoughtfully. “‘Not
That is certainly strange. It suggests that she and the Colonel are both responsible.’ ‘Yes, but there are other people who tell us that they could not be the murderers. The stories of the Swedish woman and Mr MacQueen seem to prove that they are both innocent. No, that solution does not work. Ah well,’ continued the detective, picking up the last passport, ‘let us see our last passenger — Princess Dragomiroff’s German maid, Hildegarde Schmidt.’ When the maid entered, Poirot asked her gently, in German, about her movements the night before. ‘I do not know anything, Monsieur,’ she said. ‘Your employer sent for you last night, I believe. Do you remember the time?’ ‘No, Monsieur. I was asleep when the conductor called me.’ ‘Do you often go to your employer’s room at night?’ ‘It is not unusual, Monsieur. She does not sleep well.’ ‘And did you put on your dressing gown to go to her compartment?’ ‘That would not be right, Monsieur! I put on my day clothes.’ ‘Although it is a very nice dressing gown - red, I think?’ She stared at him. ‘It is dark blue, Monsieur!’ ‘Ah! My mistake! So, you went to the Princess’s compartment. What did you do there?’ ‘I read to her. Then I returned to my own compartment to 43
get her an extra blanket, and finally went back to bed.’ ‘Do you know what time that was?’ ‘No, Monsieur.’ ‘And you met no one in the corridor?’ ‘No, Monsieur. There was nobody there except the conductor. Everyone was asleep.’ ‘But you did see the conductor. What was he doing?’ ‘He came out of one of the compartments, Monsieur.’ M. Bouc moved forward. ‘Which one,’ he asked urgently. The maid looked frightened. ‘One of the middle ones, Monsieur. Two or three doors from the Princess’s.’ ‘Please tell us exactly what happened.’ ‘He almost ran into me as I was taking the blanket to the Princess. Then he apologised and continued down the corridor. A bell began ringing, but I do not think he answered it.’ ‘This poor conductor,’ said Poirot. ‘He had a busy night. First he had to wake you. Then there was that bell.’ ‘He was not the conductor who woke me, Monsieur. It was another one.’ ‘Another one? Would you recognise him if you saw him again?’ ‘I think so, Monsieur.’ Poirot whispered something in M. Bouc’s ear. M. Bouc went to the door to give an order. ‘Have you ever been to America?’ the detective continued. ‘Never, Monsieur. It must be a fine country.’ He took a handkerchief from his pocket. ‘Is this yours?’ There was a moment’s silence as the woman examined it. Her face went a little red. ‘No, it is not mine,’ she replied. ‘It has the letter H, you see — for Hildegarde.’ ‘Really, it is not mine. This is an expensive handkerchief, Monsieur, the handkerchief of a fine lady.’ ‘You do not know which fine lady?’ Poirot noticed that there was a slight pause before she 44
answered, ‘I? Oh, no, Monsieur.’ M. Bouc now whispered in Poirot’s ear. The detective said, ‘The three conductors are coming in, Mademoiselle. Please could you tell me which one almost ran into you last night?’ The three men entered. Hildegarde Schmidt looked at them and immediately shook her head. ‘No, Monsieur. None of these is the man that I saw last night. These are all tall, big men. I saw a small, dark man with a little moustache. When he said “Excuse me”, his voice was weak, like a woman’s. I remember him very well, Monsieur.’ Yüklə 1,56 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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