The Mysterious Affair at Styles

long grass, which cut off the detours of the winding drive. So I, accordingly, went that way. I had nearly reached the lodge, when my attentio

sted me

ible! My poor wife! I

e you been

inished. Then I found that I'd forgotten the latch-key after all

hear the ne

r Emily! She was so self-sacrificing-such a n

over me. What a consumma

thankful that he did not

s knocking at the doo

impatiently. A window above me was cautio

. In a few brief words, I explained the tragedy

ou in, and you shall recount t

alled me in a chair, and I related the whole story, keeping back nothing, and omitting no c

el the day before, of the scrap of conversation between Mary and her mother-in-law that I had overhe

several times, and occasionally had to go back to some

are calmer, we will arrange the facts, neatly, each in his proper place. We will examine-and reject. Those of importance we will

you going to decide what is important, and what

cally. He was now arranging hi

o! Ah, that is curious! There is something missing-a link in the chain that is not there. We examine. We search. And that little curious fact, that p

-e

Beware! Peril to the detective who says: 'It is so small-it does not matter. It

I have gone into all the details of this thin

e order in which you present them, I say nothing-truly, it is deplorable! But I make allowances-you a

that?"

e if Mrs. Inglethorp

's brain. He was carefully engaged in brushing his coat bef

" I said. "And, an

But it is of the

n remember, she didn't eat much. She was obviously upset,

thoughtfully, "it

took out a small despatc

on the spot. Excuse me, mon ami, you dressed in haste, and your tie

Now, shal

Poirot stopped for a moment, and gazed sorrowfully over the

yet, the poor family, plunged i

oke, and I was aware that I red

zed that there was an emotional lack in the atmosphere. The dead woman had not the gift of comm

ow my thoughts. He no

tie. She has been kind and generous to these Cavendishes, but she was

f Mrs. Inglethorp ate well last night? I have been turning it over i

te or two as we walked a

lain until the end is reached. The present contention is that Mrs. Inglet

es

ime was the c

eight o

anifest themselves until five o'clock the next morning: nine hours! But a heavy meal, taken at about the same time as the poison, might retard its effects, though hardly to that extent. Still, it is a possibility to be taken into account. But,

came out and met us. His fa

Poirot," he said. "Hastings has explained

ehend pe

uspicion so far. We ha

is a matter of

his cigarette-case, and ligh

fellow Inglet

I me

d, a proceeding which was too much for Poirot's

icult to know ho

not exist long," pro

portent of this cryptic saying. He handed the t

oirot everything

re locked?"

in considered

dded thou

e. Well, that simpli

. For convenience I append a plan of the room

ted from one object to the other with the agility of a grasshopper. I remained by the door, fe

, "that you remain there like-how do

as afraid of obliter

my in the room! What foot-marks are we likely to find? No, come here an

ill-advised proceeding; for, the top of it being loose, it

"Ah, my friend, one may live in a

of moralizing, he

r some time. He took out the key from the lock, and passed it to me to inspect. I saw nothing peculi

I had stated. However, he went to the length of unbolting it, and opening and shutting it several times; this he did with the utmost precaution against making any noise. Suddenly something in the bolt itsel

saucepan on it. A small quantity of a dark fluid remained in the saucepa

this. Here was a clue worth having. Poirot delicately dipped hi

h-I think-

had been overturned. A reading-lamp, some books, matches, a bunch of

s curious,"

see nothing particula

in two places; they lie there as they fell. But se

, "I suppose someone m

t, in an odd voice. "

elpiece, where he stood abstractedly fingering the ornaments

it to powder, and the reason they did so was either because it contained st

ch of keys from the floor, and twirling them round in his fingers finally selected one, very bright and shining, which he tried in the lock of the purple despatch-case. It fitted, and

through these papers. But

e left-hand window, a round stain, hardly visible on the dark brown carpet, seemed to interest hi

o a test tube, sealing it up carefully. His nex

writing busily, "six points of interest

" I repli

n ground into powder; two, a despatch-case with

n done some time a

s of coffee. Four, a fragment of some dark gree

was what you sealed

ic gesture, he pointed to a large splash of candle grease on the floor by the writing-table. "It must have been done since yesterday, otherw

e were very agitated. Or perhaps Mrs.

nly one candle

ery upset. He seemed to see something over here"-I ind

t his candle that made this great patch, for you perceive that this is white grease; whereas Monsieur Lawrence's candle, which i

id, "what do

ather irritating reply, urging m

I asked. "I suppose it

cluded that in the six, but I did not. No, the s

think, unless"-he stared earnestly and long at the dead ashes in the grate

from the grate into the fender, handling them with the

ceps, Ha

nd with skill he extracted a sm

he cried. "What do

gment. This is an exa

hick, quite unlike ordinary notep

d. "This is a fr

act

up at him

not sur

gravely, "I

on everything. My brain was in a whirl. What was this complication of a will? Who had destroyed it? The person who had left

l go. I should like to ask a few questions of

to make a brief but fairly comprehensive examination of it. We went out thr

h he had expressed a wish to see, a

h her, however, the

cried, "wh

ere, my

nd was standing, apparently lost in admirat

ent; and those diamonds-their neatness rejoices the eye. The spacing of

t it yesterday afternoon. B

t grudge me a moment's s

s affair is m

these fine begonias are

was really no arguing with hi

s have been. Well, we will come i

her, and her grey hair rose in stiff waves under her white cap. S

clined to be suspicious, but he soon broke

eated, mad

k you

your mistress many y

years

faithful service. You were much

y good mistres

ng a few questions. I put them to yo

rtainly

bout the events of yesterday after

at I ought--" Dorcas hesitated

are betraying your mistress's secrets. Your mistress lies dead, and it is necessary that we should know all-if we are to av

there's one in this house that none of us could ever abide!

n to subside, and then, resuming

rrel? What is the fi

to be going along the h

ime was

ng very sharp and clear, and I heard what she said quite plainly. 'You have lied to me, and deceived me,' she said. I didn't hear what Mr. Inglethorp replied. He spoke a good bit lower than she did-but she answered: 'How dare you? I have kept you and clothed you and fed you! You owe everything to me! And this is how you repay me! By bri

as Mr. Inglethorp'

, whose else'

at happen

he had something in her hand. I don't know if it was a letter, or just a piece of paper, but it had writing on it, and she kept staring at it, almost as if she couldn't believe what was written there. She whispered to herself, as though she had forgotten I was there: 'These few words-and everything's changed.' And then she says to me: 'Never trust a m

etter, or whatever i

s,

e likely to do wi

expect she would lock it up

he usually kept

own with her every morning,

he lose the

sir, and told me to look carefully for

ad a dupli

yes,

and, to tell the truth, so was I. What wa

his the key that was lost?" He drew from his pocket the key

as though they woul

h. But where did you find it

ay as it was to-day. Now, to pass to another subject,

startled by the un

, s

u quite

yes,

in the house go

s ref

has a green

or dark

r; a sort of chiff

I want. And nobody els

not that

ace of whether he was disappointe

u any reason to believe that your mistress was

ht, sir, I kn

u know so

ok the last one two days ago, and

quite sur

tive,

way, your mistress didn't ask y

a paper?

g, they found your mistress busy writing letters. I suppose

tell you, though she's a careless girl. Never cleared the coffee-cups awa

lifted

leave them a little longer, I pray

well

d you go out

ix o'clo

and strolled to the window. "I have been admiring these fl

I wish you could have seen it then, sir. A fair sight it was. But now there's only old Manning, and you

Dorcas. At least, we hope so. Now

. Thank y

powders?" I asked, in lively curiosity, as Dorcas lef

, I knew by this." He suddenly produced a small

id you f

rs. Inglethorp's bedroom. It w

owder was taken two days ago,

ice anything that strikes you

ned it

n't say t

at the

to be taken at bedtime, if required. Mrs.

hat there is no

ed. "To be sure

st to send out a box like th

't say tha

cited, but Poirot dampe

ite simple. So do not intr

imed the approach of Annie

tly labouring under intense excitement, mingled

int at once, with a b

me something about the letters Mrs. Inglethorp wrote last night. How

cons

lls, the lawyer, and the other two I don't think I remember, sir-oh, yes, on

" urged

ed her bra

clean gone. I don't thin

t. "Now I want to ask you about something else. There is a saucepan in Mrs

ery evening, and she warmed it up in

it? Plai

h a teaspoonful of sugar, and

k it to

id,

way

s,

hat t

raw the curtains,

straight up from

it early, before putting the vegetables on for supper. Then I used to bring it

is in the left w

s,

is side of the door, or on

his sid

you bring it

past seven, I s

take it into Mrs.

t eight o'clock. Mrs. Inglethorp c

lock, the cocoa was standing

redder and redder in the face, an

it, sir, it wasn't me. I n

nk there was salt i

t on the

ome salt o

at once, and I suppose I ought to have taken it down again, and asked Cook to make some fresh. But I was in a hurry, because Dorcas was out,

How she would have gaped if she had realized that her "coarse kitchen salt" was strychnine, one of the most deadly poisons known to man

orp's room, was the door leading

always was. It had

ethorp's room? Did you noti

hesi

it was shut but I couldn't say

room, did Mrs. Inglethorp

d later. She usually did lock it at nig

grease on the floor when

Mrs. Inglethorp didn't have a

f candle grease on the floor, you think

aken it out with a piece of b

ed the question he

ress ever have

, s

ape, nor a-how do you

green

e else in

refl

, s

e sure

te s

I want to know. T

herself creakingly out of the room

congratulate you! This

a great d

t explains everything! Of course it did not take effect until the ear

rk well what I say, Hastings, t

on the tray, what el

en salt," replied

him. The idea crossed my mind, not for the first time, that poor old Poirot was growing old. Pri

ing me with quiet

pleased with

for me to dictate to you. You have a right t

riskly to his feet. "Now I have finished with this room

ngleth

d, and finally uttering an ejaculation of satisfaction. "Voilà! It is not the key, but it will open it at a pinch." He slid back the roll top, and ran a rapid eye over the

estimation, the highest praise that

not what he had been as he

mi? There might have been? Yes"-his eyes wandered round the room-"this

as rather a curious document. A plain, dirty looking old envelope with a few wo