Poirot waved a hand. 'There is nothing much to that! It might easily have been written by an educated person who chose to disguise the fact. That is why I wish you had the letter still. People who try to write in an uneducated manner usually give themselves away.'
Roddy said doubtfully, 'Elinor and I thought it might be one of the servants.'
'Had you any idea which of them?'
'No – no idea whatsoever.'
'Could it, do you think, have been Mrs. Bishop, the housekeeper?'
Roddy looked shocked. 'Oh, no, she's a most respectable, high-and-mighty creature. Writes beautifully involved and ornate letters with long words in them. Besides, I'm sure she would never -'
As he hesitated, Poirot cut in, 'She did not like Mary Gerrard!'
'I suppose she didn't. I never noticed anything, though.'
'But perhaps, Mr. Welman, you do not notice very much?'
Roddy said slowly, 'You don't think, Poirot, that my aunt could have taken that morphine herself?'
Poirot said, 'It is an idea, yes.'
Roddy said, 'She hated her – her helplessness, you know. Often said she wished she could die.'
Poirot said, 'But, then, she could not have risen from her bed, gone downstairs, and helped herself to the tube of morphine from the nurse's case.'
Roddy said slowly, 'No, but somebody could have got it for her.'
'Who?'
'Well, one of the nurses.'
'No, neither of the nurses. They would understand the danger to themselves far too well! The nurses are the last people to suspect.'
'Then – somebody else -'
He started, opened his mouth, shut it again.
Poirot said quietly, 'You have remembered something, have you not?'
Roddy said doubtfully, 'Yes – but -'
'You wonder if you ought to tell me?'
'Well, yes.'
Poirot said, a curious smile tilting the corners of his mouth, 'When did Miss Carlisle say it?'
Roddy drew a deep breath.
'By Jove, you are a wizard! It was in the train coming down. We'd had the telegram, you know, saying Aunt Laura had had another stroke. Elinor said how terribly sorry she was for her, how the poor dear hated being ill, and that now she would be more helpless still and that it would be absolute hell for her. Elinor said, 'One does feel that people ought to be set free if they themselves really want it.' '
'And you said – what?'
'I agreed.'
Poirot spoke very gravely, 'Just now, Mr. Welman, you scouted the possibility of Miss Carlisle having killed your aunt for monetary gain. Do you also scout the possibility that she may have killed Mrs. Welman out of compassion?'
Roddy said, 'I – I – no, I can't.'
Hercule Poirot bowed his head. He said, 'Yes, I thought – I was sure – that you would say that.'
Chapter 14
In the offices of Messrs. Seddon, Blatherwick Seddon, Hercule Poirot was received with extreme caution, not to say distrust.
Mr. Seddon, a forefinger stroking his closely shaven chin, was noncommittal and his shrewd grey eyes appraised the detective thoughtfully. 'Your name is familiar to me, Monsieur Poirot, of course. But I am at a loss to understand your position in this case.'
Hercule Poirot said, 'I am acting, Monsieur, in the interests of your client.'
'Ah – indeed? And who – er – engaged you in that capacity?'
'I am here at the request of Dr. Lord.'
Mr. Seddon's eyebrows rose very high. 'Indeed! That seems to me very irregular – very irregular. Dr. Lord, I understand, has been subpoenaed as a witness for the prosecution.'
Hercule Poirot shrugged his shoulders. 'Does that matter?'
Mr. Seddon said, 'The arrangements for Miss Carlisle's defence are entirely in our hands. I really do not think we need any outside assistance in this case.'
Poirot asked, 'Is that because your client's innocence will be so easily proved?'
Mr. Seddon winced. Then he became wrathful in a dry legal fashion. 'That,' he said, 'is a most improper question. Most improper.'
Hercule Poirot said, 'The case against your client is a very strong one.'
'I really fail to see, Poirot, how you know anything about it.'
Poirot said, 'Although I am actually retained by Dr. Lord, I have here a note from Mr. Roderick Welman.'
He handed it over with a bow.
Mr. Seddon perused the few lines it contained and remarked grudgingly, 'That, of course, throws a new complexion on the matter. Mr. Welman has made himself responsible for Miss Carlisle's defence. We are acting at his request.' He added with visible distaste, 'Our firm does very little in – er – criminal procedure, but I felt it my duty to my – er – late client – to undertake the defence of her niece. I may say we have already briefed Sir Edwin Bulmer, K.C.'
Poirot said, and his smile was suddenly ironic, 'No expense will be spared. Very right and proper!'
Looking over his glasses, Mr. Seddon said, 'Really, Monsieur Poirot -'
Poirot cut into his protest. 'Eloquence and emotional appeal will not save your client. It will need more than that.'
Mr. Seddon said dryly, 'What do you advise?'
'There is always the truth.'
'Quite so.'
'But in this case will truth help us?'
Mr. Seddon said sharply, 'That, again, is a most improper remark.'
Poirot said, 'There are certain questions to which I should like answers.'
Mr. Seddon said cautiously, 'I cannot, of course, guarantee to answer without the consent of my client.'
'Naturally I understand that.' He paused and then said, 'Has Elinor Carlisle any enemies?'
Mr. Seddon showed a faint surprise. 'As far as I know, none.'
'Did the late Mrs. Welman, at any period of her life, make a will?'
'Never. She always put it off.'
'Has Elinor Carlisle made a will?'
'Yes.'
'Recently? Since her aunt's death?'
'Yes.'
'To whom has she left her property?'
'That, Poirot, is confidential. I cannot tell you without authorization from my client.'
Poirot said, 'Then I shall have to interview your client!'
Mr. Seddon said with a cold smile, 'That, I fear, will not be easy.'
Poirot rose and made a gesture. 'Everything,' he said, 'is easy to Hercule Poirot.'
Chapter 15
