But they were
not satisfied. They tried to be too clever--and that was their
undoing."
Poirot puffed at his tiny cigarette, his eyes fixed on the
ceiling.
"They arranged a plan to throw suspicion on John Cavendish, by
buying strychnine at the village chemist's, and signing the
register in his hand-writing.
"On Monday Mrs. Inglethorp will take the last dose of her
medicine. On Monday, therefore, at six o'clock, Alfred
Inglethorp arranges to be seen by a number of people at a spot
far removed from the village. Miss Howard has previously made up
a cock and bull story about him and Mrs. Raikes to account for
his holding his tongue afterwards. At six o'clock, Miss Howard,
disguised as Alfred Inglethorp, enters the chemist's shop, with
her story about a dog, obtains the strychnine, and writes the
name of Alfred Inglethorp in John's handwriting, which she had
previously studied carefully.
"But, as it will never do if John, too, can prove an alibi, she
writes him an anonymous note--still copying his hand-writing
--which takes him to a remote spot where it is exceedingly
unlikely that anyone will see him.
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