'Do you know her maiden name?'
'Yes. I was at her marriage. Her name was Mary Riley.'
'Is she a native of New Zealand?'
'No, she came out from England.'
'You have been in court since the beginning of these proceedings?'
'Yes, I have.'
'Have you seen this Mary Riley – or Draper – in court?'
'Yes.'
'Where did you see her?'
'Giving evidence in this box.'
'Under what name?'
'Jessie Hopkins.'
'And you are quite sure that this Jessie Hopkins is the woman you know as Mary Riley or Draper?'
'Not a doubt of it.'
A slight commotion at the back of the court.
'When did you last see Mary Draper – until today?'
'Five years ago. She went to England.'
Sir Edwin said with a bow, 'Your witness.'
Sir Samuel, rising with a highly perplexed face, began: 'I suggest to you, Mrs. – Sedley, that you may be mistaken.'
'I'm not mistaken.'
'You may have been misled by a chance resemblance.'
'I know Mary Draper well enough.'
'Nurse Hopkins is a certified District Nurse.'
'Mary Draper was a hospital nurse before her marriage.'
'You understand, do you not, that you are accusing a Crown witness of perjury?'
'I understand what I'm saying.'
VI
'Edward John Marshall, you lived for some years in Auckland, New Zealand, and now reside at 14 Wren Street, Deptford?'
'That's right.'
'Do you know Mary Draper?'
'I've known her for years in New Zealand.'
'Have you seen her today in court?'
'I have. She called herself Hopkins, but it was Mrs. Draper all right.'
The judge lifted his head. He spoke in a small, clear, penetrating voice, 'It is desirable, I think, that the witness Jessie Hopkins should be recalled.'
A pause, a murmur.
'Your lordship, Jessie Hopkins left the court a few minutes ago.'
VII
'Hercule Poirot.'
Hercule Poirot entered the box, took the oath, twirled his moustache, and waited, with his head a little on one side. He gave his name and address and calling.
'Poirot, do you recognize this document?'
'Certainly.'
'How did it originally come into your possession?'
'It was given me by the District Nurse, Nurse Hopkins.'
Sir Edwin said, 'With your permission, my lord, I will read this aloud, and it can then go to the jury.'
Chapter 24
I
Closing speech for the Defence:
'Gentlemen of the jury, the responsibility now rests with you. It is for you to say if Elinor Carlisle is to go forth free from the court. If, after the evidence you have heard, you are satisfied that Elinor Carlisle poisoned Mary Gerrard, then it is your duty to pronounce her guilty.'
'But if it should seem to you that there is equally strong evidence, and perhaps far stronger evidence, against another person, then it is your duty to free the accused without more ado.'
'You will have realized by now that the facts of the case are very different from what they originally appeared to be.'
'Yesterday, after the dramatic evidence given by Monsieur Hercule Poirot, I called other witnesses to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the girl Mary Gerrard was the illegitimate daughter of Laura Welman. That being true, it follows, as His Lordship will doubtless instruct you, that Mrs. Welman's next of kin was not her niece, Elinor Carlisle, but her illegitimate daughter who went by the name of Mary Gerrard. And therefore Mary Gerrard at Mrs. Welman's death inherited a vast fortune.'
'That, gentlemen, is the crux of the situation. A sum in the neighbourhood of two hundred thousand pounds was inherited by Mary Gerrard. But she herself was unaware of the fact. She was also unaware of the true identity of the woman Hopkins. You may think, gentlemen, that Mary Riley or Draper may have had some perfectly legitimate reason for changing her name to Hopkins. If so, why has she not come forward to state what the reason was?'
'All that we do know is this: That at Nurse Hopkins's instigation, Mary Gerrard made a will leaving everything she had to 'Mary Riley, sister of Eliza Riley.' We know that Nurse Hopkins, by reason of her profession, had access to morphine and to apomorphine and was well acquainted with their properties. Furthermore, it has been proved that Nurse Hopkins was not speaking the truth when she said that her wrist had been pricked by a thorn from a thornless rose tree.'
'Why did she lie, if it were not that she wanted hurriedly to account for the mark just made by the hypodermic needle? Remember, too, that the accused has stated on oath that Nurse Hopkins, when she joined her in the pantry was looking ill, and her face was of a greenish color – comprehensible enough if she had just been violently sick.'
'I will underline yet another point: If Mrs. Welman had lived twenty-four hours longer, she would have made a will; and in all probability that will would have made a suitable provision for Mary Gerrard, but would not have left her the bulk of her fortune, since it was Mrs. Welman's belief that her unacknowledged daughter would be happier if she remained in another sphere of life.'
'It is not for me to pronounce on the evidence against another person, except to show that this other person had equal opportunities and a far stronger motive for the murder.'
