deceive a baby. He said in a most unconvincing voice: 'Oh – er – of course.' The terrible woman went on: 'I was a great friend of your wife's, you know'!'
'They usually say that, too,' said Alistair Blunt in a voice of even deeper gloom.
He smiled rather ruefully.
'It always ends the same way! A subscription to something or other. I got off this time with five pounds to a zenana mission or something. Cheap!'
'Had she really known your wife?'
'Well, her being interested in zenana missions made me think that, if so, it would have been in India. We were there about ten years ago. But of course she couldn't have bee a great friend or I'd have known about it. Probably net her once at a reception.'
Jane Olivera said:
'I don't believe she ever met Aunt Rebecca at all. I think it was just an excuse to talk to you.'
Alistair Blunt said tolerantly:
'Well, that's quite possible.'
Jane said: 'I mean, I think it's queer the way she tried to scrape an acquaintance with you, Uncle.'
Alistair Blunt said with the same tolerance:
'She just wanted a subscription.'
Poirot said:
'She did not try to follow it up in any way?'
Blunt shook his head.
'I never thought of her again. I'd even forgotten her name till Jane spotted it in the paper.'
Jane said a little unconvincingly:
'Well, I thought M. Poirot ought to be told!'
Poirot said politely:
'Thank you, Mademoiselle.'
He added:
'I must not keep you, Mr. Blunt. You are a busy man.'
Jane said quickly:
'I'll come down with you.'
Under his moustaches, Hercule Poirot smiled to himself.
On the ground floor, Jane paused abruptly. She said:
'Come in here.'
They went into a small room off the hall.
She turned to face him.
'What did you mean on the telephone when you said that you had been expecting me to call you?'
Poirot smiled. He spread out his hands.
'Just that, Mademoiselle. I was expecting a call from you – and the call came.'
'You mean that you knew I'd ring up about this Sainsbury Seale woman.'
Poirot shook his head.
'That was only the pretext. You could have found something else if necessary.'
Jane said:
'Why the hell should I call you up?'
'Why should you deliver this tidbit of information about Miss Sainsbury Seale to me instead of giving it to Scotland Yard? That would have been the natural thing to do.'
'All right, Mr. Know All, how much exactly do you know?'
'I know that you are interested in me since you heard that I paid a visit to the Holborn Palace Hotel the other day.'
She went so white that it startled him. He had not believed that that deep tan could change to such a greenish hue.
He went on, quietly and steadily:
'You got me to come here today because you wanted to pump me – that is the expression, is it not? – yes, to pump me on the subject of Mr. Howard Raikes.'
Jane Olivera said, 'Who's he, anyway?'
It was not a very successful parry.
Poirot said:
'You do not need to pump me, Mademoiselle. I will tell you what I know – or rather what I guessed. That first day that we came here, Inspector Japp and I, you were startled to see us – alarmed. You thought something had happened to your uncle. Why?'
'Well, he's the kind of man things might happen to. He had a bomb by post one day – after the Herjosiovakian Loan. And he gets lots of threatening letters.'
Poirot went on:
'Chief Inspector Japp told you that a certain dentist, Mr. Morley, had been shot. You may recollect your answer. You said, 'But that's absurd.''
Jane bit her lip. She said:
'Did I? That was rather absurd of me, wasn't it?'
'It was a curious remark, Mademoiselle. It revealed that you knew of the existence of Mr. Morley, that you had rather expected something to happen – not to happen to him – but possibly to happen in his house.'
'You do like telling yourself stories, don't you?'
Poirot paid no attention.
'You had expected – or rather you had feared – that something might happen at Mr. Morley's house. You had feared that that something would have happened to your uncle. But if so, you must know something that we did not know. I reflected on the people who had been in Mr. Morley's house that day, and I seized at once on the one person who might possibly have a connection with you – which was that young American, Mr. Howard Raikes.'
'It's just like a serial, isn't it? What's the next thrilling installment?
'I went to see Mr. Howard Raikes. He is a dangerous and attractive young man -'
Poirot paused expressively.
Jane said meditatively:
'He is, isn't he?' She smiled. 'All right! You win! I was scared stiff.'
She leaned forward.
'I'm going to tell you things, M. Poirot. You're not the kind one can just string along. I'd rather tell you than have you snooping around finding out. I love that man, Howard Raikes. I'm just crazy about him. My mother brought me over here just to get me away from him. Partly that and partly because she hopes Uncle Alistair might get fond enough of me to leave me his money when he dies.'
She went on:
'Mother is his niece by marriage. Her mother was Rebecca Arnholt's sister. He's my great-uncle in-law. Only he hasn't got any near relatives of his own, so mother doesn't see why we shouldn't be his residuary legatees. She cadges off him pretty freely, too.
'You see, I'm being frank with you, M. Poirot. That's the kind of people we are. Actually we've got plenty of money ourselves – an indecent amount according to Howard's ideas – but we're not in Uncle Alistair's class.'
She paused. She struck with one hand fiercely on the arm of her chair.
'How can I make you understand? Everything I've been brought up to believe in, Howard abominates and wants to do away with. And sometimes, you know, I feel like he does. I'm fond of Uncle Alistair, but he gets on my nerves sometimes. He's so stodgy – so British – so cautious and conservative. I feel sometimes that he and his kind ought to be swept away, that they are blocking progress – that without them we'd get things done!'
'You are a convert to Mr. Raikes's ideas?'
'I am – and I'm not. Howard is – is wilder than most of his crowd. There are people, you know, who – who agree with Howard up to a point. They would be willing to – to try things – if Uncle Alistair and his crowd would agree. But they never will! They just sit back and shake their heads and say 'We could never risk that.' And 'It wouldn't be sound economically.' And 'We've got to consider our responsibility.' And 'Look at history.' But I think
