Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie [81]
‘I should say,’ said Miss Emlyn, ‘that you are more concerned with justice than with compassion.’
‘Compassion,’ said Poirot, ‘on my part would do nothing to help Leopold. He is beyond help. Justice, if we obtain justice, you and I, for I think you are of my way of thinking over this—justice, one could say, will also not help Leopold. But it might help some other Leopold, it might help to keep some other child alive, if we can reach justice soon enough. It is not a safe thing, a killer who has killed more than once, to whom killing has appealed as a way of security. I am now on my way to London where I am meeting with certain people to discuss a way of approach. To convert them, perhaps, to my own certainty in this case.’
‘You may find that difficult,’ said Miss Emlyn.
‘No, I do not think so. The ways and means to it may be difficult but I think I can convert them to my knowledge of what has happened. Because they have minds that understand the criminal mind. There is one thing more I would ask you. I want your opinion. Your opinion only this time, not evidence. Your opinion of the character of Nicholas Ransom and Desmond Holland. Would you advice me to trust them?’
‘I should say that both of them were thoroughly trustworthy. That is my opinion. They are in many ways extremely foolish, but that is only in the ephemeral things of life. Fundamentally, they are sound. Sound as an apple without maggots in it.’
‘One always comes back to apples,’ said Hercle Poirot sadly. ‘I must go now. My car is waiting. I have one more call still to pay.’
Chapter 23
‘Have you heard what’s on at Quarry Wood?’ said Mrs Cartwright, putting a packet of Fluffy Flakelets and Wonder White into her shopping bag.
‘Quarry Wood?’ said Elspeth McKay, to whom she was talking. ‘No, I haven’t heard anything particular.’ She selected a packet of cereal. The two women were in the recently opened supermarket making their morning purchases.
‘They’re saying the trees are dangerous there. Couple of forestry men arrived this morning. It’s there on the side of the hill where there’s a steep slope and a tree leaning sideways. Could be I suppose, that a tree could come down there. One of them was struck by lightning last winter but that was farther over, I think. Anyway, they’re digging round the roots of the trees a bit, and a bit farther down too. Pity. They’ll make an awful mess of the place.’
‘Oh well,’ said Elspeth McKay, ‘I suppose they know what they’re doing. Somebody’s called them in, I suppose.’
‘They’ve got a couple of the police there, too, seeing that people don’t come near. Making sure they keep away from things. They say something about finding out which the diseased trees are first.’
‘I see,’ said Elspeth McKay.
Possibly she did. Not that anyone had told her but then Elspeth never needed telling.
II
Ariadne Oliver smoothed out a telegram she had just taken as delivered to her at the door. She was so used to getting telegrams through the telephone, making frenzied hunts for a pencil to take them down, insisting firmly that she wanted a confirmatory copy sent to her, that she was quite startled to receive what she called to herself a ‘real telegram’ again.
‘PLEASE BRING MRS BUTLER AND MIRANDA
TO YOUR FLAT AT ONCE. NO TIME TO LOSE.
IMPORTANT SEE DOCTOR FOR OPERATION.’
She went into the kitchen where Judith Butler was making quince jelly.
‘Judy,’ said Mrs Oliver, ‘go and pack a few things, I’m going back to London and you’re coming with me and Miranda, too.’
‘It’s very nice of you, Ariadne, but I’ve got a lot of things on here. Anyway, you needn’t rush away today, need you?’
‘Yes, I need to, I’ve been told to,’ said Mrs Oliver.
‘Who’s told you—your housekeeper?’
‘No,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘Somebody else. One of the few people I obey. Come on. Hurry up.’
‘I don’t want to leave home just now. I can’t.’
‘You’ve got to come,