Death in the Clouds - Agatha Christie [26]
‘I can think of an objection to that—the murderer was afraid of being seen. If he pushed the blowpipe through the ventilator someone might have noticed.’
‘I see,’ said Poirot. ‘He was not afraid of being seen placing the blowpipe to his lips and dispatching the fatal dart, but he was afraid of being seen trying to push the blowpipe through the window!’
‘Sounds absurd, I admit,’ said Japp; ‘but there it is. He did hide the blowpipe behind the cushion of a seat. We can’t get away from that.’
Poirot did not answer, and Fournier asked curiously:
‘It gives you an idea, that?’
Poirot bowed his head assentingly.
‘It gives rise to, say, a speculation in my mind.’
With absent-minded fingers he straightened the unused inkstand that Japp’s impatient hand had set a little askew.
Then lifting his head sharply, he asked:
‘A propos, have you that detailed list of the belongings of the passengers that I asked you to get me?’
Chapter 8
The List
‘I’m a man of my word, I am,’ said Japp.
He grinned and dived his hand into his pocket, bringing out a mass of closely-typewritten paper.
‘Here you are. It’s all here—down to the minutest detail! And I’ll admit that there is one rather curious thing in it. I’ll talk to you about it when you’ve finished reading the stuff.’
Poirot spread out the sheets on the table and began to read. Fournier moved up and read them over his shoulder:
James Ryder.
Pockets.—Linen handkerchief marked J. Pigskin notecase—seven £1 notes, three business cards. Letter from partner George Ebermann hoping ‘loan has been successfully negotiated…otherwise we’re in Queer Street’. Letter signed Maudie making appointment Trocadero following evening (cheap paper, illiterate handwriting). Silver cigarette-case. Match-folder. Fountain-pen. Bunch of keys. Yale door key. Loose change in French and English money.
Attaché Case.—Mass of papers concerning dealings in cement. Copy of Bootless Cup (banned in this country). A box of ‘Immediate Cold Cures’.
Dr Bryant.
Pockets.—Two linen handkerchiefs. Notecase containing £20 and 500 francs. Loose change in French and English money. Engagement book. Cigarette-case. Lighter. Fountain-pen. Yale door key. Bunch of keys. Flute in case. Carrying Memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini and Les Maux de l’Oreille.
Norman Gale.
Pockets.—Silk handkerchief. Wallet containing £1 in English and 600 francs. Loose change. Business cards of two French firms—makers of dental instruments. Bryant & May matchbox—empty. Silver lighter. Briar pipe. Rubber tobacco pouch. Yale door key.
Attaché Case.—White linen coat. Two small dental mirrors. Dental rolls of cottonwool. La Vie Parisienne. The Strand Magazine. The Autocar.
Armand Dupont.
Pockets.—Wallet containing 1000 francs and £10 in English. Spectacles in case. Loose change in French money. Cotton handkerchief. Packet of cigarettes, match-folder. Cards in case. Toothpick.
AttachéCase.—Manuscript of proposed address to Royal Asiatic Society. Two German archaeological publications. Two sheets of rough sketches of pottery. Ornamented hollow tubes (said to be Kurdish pipe stems). Small basket-work tray. Nine unmounted photographs—all of pottery.
Jean Dupont.
Pockets.—Notecase containing £5 in English and 300 francs. Cigarette-case. Cigarette-holder (ivory). Lighter. Fountain-pen. Two pencils. Small notebook full of scribbled notes. Letter in English from L. Marriner giving invitation to lunch at restaurant near Tottenham Court Road. Loose change in French.
Daniel Clancy.
Pockets.—Handkerchief (ink-stained). Fountain-pen (leaking). Notecase containing £4 and 100 francs. Three newspaper cuttings dealing with recent crimes (one poisoning by arsenic and two embezzlement). Two letters from house agents with details of country properties.