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Chapter 10

II opened the subject with Poirot the following morning. His face lighted upand he wagged his head appreciatively.

‘Excellent, Hastings. I wondered if you would see the similarity. I did notwant to prompt you, you understand.’

‘Then I am right. This is another X case?’

‘Undeniably.’

‘But why, Poirot? What is the motive?’

Poirot shook his head.

‘Don’t you know? Haven’t you any idea?’

Poirot said slowly: ‘I have an idea, yes.’

‘You’ve got the connection between all these different cases?’

‘I think so.’

‘Well then.’

I could hardly restrain my impatience.

‘No, Hastings.’

‘But I’ve got to know.’

‘It is much better that you should not.’

‘Why?’

‘You must take it from me that it is so.’

‘You are incorrigible,’ I said. ‘Twisted up with arthritis. Sitting here help-less. And still trying to play a lone hand.’

‘Do not figure to yourself that I am playing a lone hand. Not at all. Youare, on the contrary, very much in the picture, Hastings. You are my eyesand ears. I only refuse to give you information that might be dangerous.’

‘To me?’

‘To the murderer.’

‘You want him,’ I said slowly, ‘not to suspect that you are on his track?

That is it, I suppose. Or else you think that I cannot take care of myself.’

‘You should at least know one thing, Hastings. A man who has killedonce will kill again – and again and again and again.’

‘At any rate,’ I said grimly, ‘there hasn’t been another murder this time.

One bullet at least has gone wide.’

‘Yes, that was very fortunate – very fortunate indeed. As I told you, thesethings are difficult to foresee.’

He sighed. His face took on a worried expression.

I went away quietly, realizing sadly how unfit Poirot was now for anysustained effort. His brain was still keen, but he was a sick and tired man.

Poirot had warned me not to try and penetrate the personality of X. Inmy own mind I still clung to my belief that I had penetrated that personal-ity. There was only one person at Styles who struck me as definitely evil.

By a simple question, however, I could make sure of one thing. The testwould be a negative one, but would nevertheless have a certain value.

I tackled Judith after breakfast.

‘Where had you been yesterday evening when I met you, you and MajorAllerton?’

The trouble is that when you are intent on one aspect of a thing, youtend to ignore all other aspects. I was quite startled when Judith flared outat me.

‘Really, Father, I don’t see what business it is of yours.’

I stared at her, rather taken aback. ‘I – I only asked.’

‘Yes, but why? Why do you have to be continually asking questions?

What was I doing? Where did I go? Who was I with? It’s really intoler-able!’

The funny part of it was, of course, that this time I was not really askingat all where Judith was. It was Allerton I was interested in.

I tried to pacify her.

‘Really, Judith, I don’t see why I can’t ask a simple question.’

‘I don’t see why you want to know.’

‘I don’t particularly. I mean, I just wondered why neither of you – er –seemed to know what had happened.’

‘About the accident, do you mean? I’d been down to the village, if youmust know, to get some stamps.’

I pounced on the personal pronoun.

‘Allerton wasn’t with you then?’

Judith gave an exasperated gasp.

‘No, he was not,’ she said in tones of cold fury. ‘Actually, we’d met justnear the house and only about two minutes before we met you. I hopeyou’re satisfied now. But I’d just like to say that if I’d spent the whole daywalking around with Major Allerton, it’s really not your business. I’mtwenty-one and earning my own living, and how I spend my time is en-tirely my own business.’

‘Entirely,’ I said, quickly trying to stem the tide.

‘I’m glad you agree.’ Judith looked mollified. She gave a rueful half-smile. ‘Oh, dearest, do try and not come the heavy father quite so much.

You don’t know how maddening it is. If you just wouldn’t fuss so.’

‘I won’t – I really won’t in future,’ I promised her. Franklin came strid-ing along at this minute.

‘Hullo, Judith. Come along. We’re later than usual.’

His manner was curt and really hardly polite. In spite of myself I felt an-noyed. I knew that Franklin was Judith’s employer, that he had a call uponher time and that, since he paid for it, he was entitled to give her orders.

Nevertheless, I did not see why he could not behave with common cour-tesy. His manners were not what one would call polished to anyone, buthe did at least behave to most people with a certain amount of everydaypoliteness. But to Judith, especially of late, his manner was always curtand dictatorial in the extreme. He hardly looked at her when he spoke andmerely barked out orders. Judith never appeared to resent this, but I didon her behalf. It crossed my mind that it was especially unfortunate sinceit contrasted in such a very marked way with Allerton’s exaggerated atten-tion. No doubt John Franklin was a ten times better man than Allerton, buthe compared very badly with him from the point of view of attraction.

I watched Franklin as he strode along the path towards the laboratory,his ungainly walk, his angular build, the jutting bones of his face andhead, his red hair and his freckles. An ugly man and an ungainly man.

None of the more obvious qualities. A good brain, yes, but women seldomfall for brains alone. I reflected with dismay that Judith, owing to the cir-cumstances of her job, practically never came into contact with othermen. She had no opportunity of sizing up various attractive men. Com-pared with the gruff and unattractive Franklin, Allerton’s meretriciouscharms stood out with all the force of contrast. My poor girl had no chanceof appraising him at his true worth.

Supposing that she should come seriously to lose her heart to him? Theirritability she had shown just now was a disquieting sign. Allerton, Iknew, was a real bad lot. He was possibly something more. If Allertonwere X –?

He could be. At the time that the shot was fired he had not been with Ju-dith.

But what was the motive of all these seemingly purposeless crimes?

There was, I felt sure, nothing of the madman about Allerton. He was sane– altogether sane – and utterly unprincipled.

And Judith – my Judith – was seeing altogether too much of him.

 

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