Dumb Witness - Agatha Christie [52]
“It is a difficult question,” said Poirot, shaking his head. “Yes, indeed, I have worried over it a great deal. Mrs. Tanios—Bella—she is such a nice woman—and those dear children! I mean, I feel sure Miss Arundell wouldn’t have wanted her to—I feel, you see, that dear Miss Arundell intended me to use my discretion. She didn’t want to leave any money outright to Bella because she was afraid that man would get hold of it.”
“What man?”
“Her husband. You know, Mr. Poirot, the poor girl is quite under his thumb. She does anything he tells her. I daresay she’d murder someone if he told her to! And she’s afraid of him. I’m quite sure she’s afraid of him. I’ve seen her look simply terrified once or twice. Now that isn’t right, Mr. Poirot—you can’t say that’s right.”
Poirot did not say so. Instead he inquired:
“What sort of man is Dr. Tanios?”
“Well,” said Miss Lawson, hesitating, “he’s a very pleasant man.”
She stopped, doubtfully.
“But you don’t trust him?”
“Well—no, I don’t. I don’t know,” went on Miss Lawson doubtfully, “that I’d trust any man very much! Such dreadful things one hears! And all their poor wives go through! It’s really terrible! Of course, Dr. Tanios pretends to be very fond of his wife and he’s quite charming to her. His manners are really delightful. But I don’t trust foreigners. They’re so artful! And I’m quite sure dear Miss Arundell didn’t want her money to get into his hands!”
“It is hard on Miss Theresa Arundell and Mr. Charles Arundell also to be deprived of their inheritance,” Poirot suggested.
A spot of colour came into Miss Lawson’s face.
“I think Theresa has quite as much money as is good for her!” she said sharply. “She spends hundreds of pounds on her clothes, alone. And her underclothing—it’s wicked! When one thinks of so many nice, well-bred girls who have to earn their own living—”
Poirot gently completed the sentence.
“You think it would do no harm for her to earn hers for a bit?”
Miss Lawson looked at him solemnly.
“It might do her a lot of good,” she said. “It might bring her to her senses. Adversity teaches us many things.”
Poirot nodded slowly. He was watching her intently.
“And Charles?”
“Charles doesn’t deserve a penny,” said Miss Lawson, sharply. “If Miss Arundell cut him out of her will, it was for a very good cause—after his wicked threats.”
“Threats?” Poirot’s eyebrows rose.
“Yes, threats.”
“What threats? When did he threaten her?”
“Let me see, it was—yes, of course, it was at Easter. Actually on Easter Sunday—which made it even worse!”
“What did he say?”
“He asked her for money and she refused to give it him! And then he told her that it wasn’t wise of her. He said if she kept up that attitude he would—now what was the phrase—a very vulgar American one—oh, yes, he said he would bump her off!”
“He threatened to bump her off?”
“Yes.”
“And what did Miss Arundell say?”
“She said: ‘I think you’ll find, Charles, that I can look after myself.’”
“You were in the room at the time?”
“Not exactly in the room,” said Miss Lawson after a momentary pause.
“Quite, quite,” said Poirot, hastily. “And Charles, what did he say to that?”
“He said: ‘Don’t be too sure.’”
Poirot said slowly:
“Did Miss Arundell take this threat seriously?”
“Well, I don’t know… She didn’t say anything to me about it… But then she wouldn’t do that, anyway.”
Poirot said quietly:
“You knew, of course, that Miss Arundell was making a new will?”
“No, no. I’ve told you, it was a complete surprise. I never dreamt—”
Poirot interrupted.
“You did not know the contents. But you knew the fact—that there was a will being made?”
“Well—I suspected—I mean her sending for the lawyer when she was laid up—”
“Exactly. That was after she had a fall, was it not?”
“Yes, Bob—Bob was the dog—he had left his ball at the top of the stairs—and she tripped over it and fell.”
“A nasty accident.”
“Oh, yes, why, she might easily have broken her leg or her arm. The doctor said so.”
“She might quite easily have been killed.”
“Yes, indeed.