"
"I see only one."
"And that?"
"That he was not in the house last night."
" 'Bad shot!' as you English say! You have chosen the one point
that to my mind tells against him."
"How is that?"
"Because if Mr. Inglethorp knew that his wife would be poisoned
last night, he would certainly have arranged to be away from the
house. His excuse was an obviously trumped up one. That leaves
us two possibilities: either he knew what was going to happen or
he had a reason of his own for his absence."
"And that reason?" I asked sceptically.
Poirot shrugged his shoulders.
"How should I know? Discreditable, without doubt. This Mr.
Inglethorp, I should say, is somewhat of a scoundrel--but that
does not of necessity make him a murderer."
I shook my head, unconvinced.
"We do not agree, eh?" said Poirot. "Well, let us leave it.
Time will show which of us is right. Now let us turn to other
aspects of the case. What do you make of the fact that all the
doors of the bedroom were bolted on the inside?"
"Well----" I considered.
Pages:
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130