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VNurse Hopkins in the box, her face red and self-righteous.
All the same, Elinor thought, Nurse Hopkins was not so frightening as Inspector1 Brill. It was theinhumanity of Inspector Brill that was so paralysing. He was so definitely part of a great machine.
Nurse Hopkins had human passions, prejudices.
“Your name is Jessie Hopkins?”
“Yes.”
“You are a certificated District Nurse and you reside at Rose Cottage, Hunterbury?”
“Yes.”
“Where were you on the 28th of June last?”
“I was at Hunterbury Hall.”
“You had been sent for?”
“Yes. Mrs. Welman had had a stroke—the second. I went to assist Nurse O’Brien until a secondnurse could be found.”
“Did you take a small attaché case with you?”
“Yes.”
“Tell the jury what was in it.”
“Bandages, dressings2, a hypodermic syringe and certain drugs, including a tube of morphinehydrochloride.”
“For what purpose was it there?”
“One of the cases in the village had to have hypodermic injections of morphia morning andevening.”
“What were the contents of the tube?”
“There were twenty tablets, each containing half grain morphine hydrochloride.”
“What did you do with your attaché case?”
“I laid it down in the hall.”
“That was on the evening of the 28th. When did you next have occasion to look in the case?”
“The following morning about nine o’clock, just as I was preparing to leave the house.”
“Was anything missing?”
“The tube of morphine was missing.”
“Did you mention this loss?”
“This case was lying in the hall, where people were in the habit of passing to and fro?”
“Yes.”
Sir Samuel paused. Then he said:
“You knew the dead girl Mary Gerrard intimately?”
“Yes.”
“What was your opinion of her?”
“She was a very sweet girl—and a good girl.”
“Was she of a happy disposition4?”
“Very happy.”
“She had no troubles that you know of?”
“No.”
“At the time of her death was there anything whatever to worry her or make her unhappy aboutthe future?”
“Nothing.”
“She would have had no reason to have taken her own life?”
“No reason at all.”
It went on and on—the damning story. How Nurse Hopkins had accompanied Mary to theLodge, the appearance of Elinor, her excitable manner, the invitation to sandwiches, the platebeing handed first to Mary. Elinor’s suggestion that everything be washed up, and her furthersuggestion that Nurse Hopkins should come upstairs with her and assist in sorting out clothes.
There were frequent interruptions and objections from Sir Edwin Bulmer.
Elinor thought:
“Yes, it’s all true—and she believes it. She’s certain I did it. And every word she says is thetruth—that’s what’s so horrible. It’s all true.”
Once more, as she looked across the court, she saw the face of Hercule Poirot regarding herthoughtfully—almost kindly5. Seeing her with too much knowledge….
“Do you know what this is?”
“It’s a bit of a label.”
“Can you tell the jury what label?”
“Yes—it’s a part of a label off a tube of hypodermic tablets. Morphine tablets half grain—likethe one I lost.”
“You are sure of that?”
“Of course I’m sure. It’s off my tube.”
The judge said:
“Is there any special mark on it by which you can identify it as the label of the tube you lost?”
“No, my lord, but it must be the same.”
“Actually, all you can say is that it is exactly similar?”
“Well, yes, that’s what I mean.”
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