Mrs McGinty's Dead - Agatha Christie [50]
‘I might,’ said Poirot, ‘if it were not for the chopper. It is undeniable that Lily Gamboll used a chopper on her aunt, and the unknown killer of Mrs McGinty used something that was said to be like a chopper.’
‘Perhaps you’re right. Now, M. Poirot, let’s have your side of things. Nobody’s tried to do you in, I’m glad to see.’
‘N-no,’ said Poirot, with a momentary hesitation.
‘I don’t mind telling you I’ve had the wind up about you once or twice since that evening in London. Now what are the possibilities amongst the residents of Broadhinny?’
Poirot opened his little notebook.
‘Eva Kane, if she is still alive, would be now approaching sixty. Her daughter, of whose adult life our Sunday Comet paints such a touching picture, would be now in the thirties. Lily Gamboll would also be about that age. Janice Courtland would now be not far short of fifty.’
Spence nodded agreement.
‘So we come to the residents of Broadhinny, with especial reference to those for whom Mrs McGinty worked.’
‘That last is a fair assumption, I think.’
‘Yes, it is complicated by the fact that Mrs McGinty did occasional odd work here and there, but we will assume for the time being that she saw whatever she did see, presumably a photograph, at one of her regular “houses”.’
‘Agreed.’
‘Then as far as age goes, that gives us as possibles—first the Wetherbys where Mrs McGinty worked on the day of her death. Mrs Wetherby is the right age for Eva Kane and she has a daughter of the right age to be Eva Kane’s daughter—a daughter said to be by a previous marriage.’
‘And as regards the photograph?’
‘Mon cher, no positive identification from that is possible. Too much time has passed, too much water, as you say, has flowed from the waterworks. One can but say this: Mrs Wetherby has been, decidedly, a pretty woman. She has all the mannerisms of one. She seems much too fragile and helpless to do murder, but then that was, I understand, the popular belief about Eva Kane. How much actual physical strength would have been needed to kill Mrs McGinty is difficult to say without knowing exactly what weapon was used, its handle, the ease with which it could be swung, the sharpness of its cutting edge, etcetera.’
‘Yes, yes. Why we never managed to find that—but go on.’
‘The only other remarks I have to make about the Wetherby household are that Mr Wetherby could make himself, and I fancy does make himself, very unpleasant if he likes. The daughter is fanatically devoted to her mother. She hates her stepfather. I do not remark on these facts. I present them, only for consideration. Daughter might kill to prevent mother’s past coming to stepfather’s ears. Mother might kill for same reason. Father might kill to prevent “scandal” coming out. More murders have been committed for respectability than one would believe possible! The Wetherbys are “nice people”.’
Spence nodded.
‘If—I say if—there is anything in this Sunday Comet business, then the Wetherbys are clearly the best bet,’ he said.
‘Exactly. The only other person in Broadhinny who would fit in age with Eva Kane is Mrs Upward. There are two arguments against Mrs Upward, as Eva Kane, having killed Mrs McGinty. First, she suffers from arthritis, and spends most of her time in a wheeled chair—’
‘In a book,’ said Spence enviously, ‘that wheeled chair business would be phoney, but in real life it’s probably all according to Cocker.’
‘Secondly,’ continued Poirot, ‘Mrs Upward seems of a dogmatic and forceful disposition, more inclined to bully than to coax, which does not agree with the accounts of our young Eva. On the other hand, people’s characters do develop and self-assertiveness is a quality that often comes with age.’
‘That’s true enough,’ conceded Spence. ‘Mrs Upward—not impossible but unlikely. Now the other possibilities. Janice Courtland?’
‘Can, I think, be ruled out. There is no one in Broadhinny the right age.’
‘Unless one of the younger women