Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie [71]
‘But the feebler ones?’
‘The feebler ones, yes.’
‘I am thinking,’ said Poirot, ‘of the incident this morning when I said to her that the strength was in her will rather than in her arm. It was in the nature of a trap, that remark. I wanted to see if she would look down at her right or her left arm. She did neither. She looked at them both. But she made a strange reply. She said, “No, I have no strength in these. I do not know whether to be sorry or glad.” A curious remark that. It confirms me in my belief about the crime.’
‘It did not settle the point about the left-handedness.’
‘No. By the way, did you notice that Count Andrenyi keeps his handkerchief in his right-hand breast pocket?’
M. Bouc shook his head. His mind reverted to the astonishing revelations of the last half-hour. He murmured:
‘Lies—and again lies—it amazes me, the amount of lies we had told to us this morning.’
‘There are more still to discover,’ said Poirot cheerfully.
‘You think so?’
‘I shall be very disappointed if it is not so.’
‘Such duplicity is terrible,’ said M. Bouc. ‘But it seems to please you,’ he added reproachfully.
‘It has this advantage,’ said Poirot. ‘If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it—often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect.
‘That is the only way to conduct this case. I select each passenger in turn, consider their evidence and say to myself, “If so and so is lying, on what point are they lying and what is the reason for the lie?” And I answer if they are lying—if, you mark—it could only be for such a reason and on such a point. We have done that once very successfully with Countess Andrenyi. We shall now proceed to try the same method on several other persons.’
‘And supposing, my friend, that your guess happens to be wrong?’
‘Then one person, at any rate, will be completely freed from suspicion.’
‘Ah! A process of elimination.’
‘Exactly.’
‘And who do we tackle next?’
‘We are going to tackle that pukka sahib, Colonel Arbuthnot.’
Chapter 6
A Second Interview with Colonel Arbuthnot
Colonel Arbuthnot was clearly annoyed at being summoned to the dining-car for a second interview. His face wore a most forbidding expression as he sat down and said:
‘Well?’
‘All my apologies for troubling you a second time,’ said Poirot. ‘But there is still some information that I think you might be able to give us.’
‘Indeed? I hardly think so.’
‘To begin with, you see this pipe-cleaner?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is it one of yours?’
‘Don’t know. I don’t put a private mark on them, you know.’
‘Are you aware, Colonel Arbuthnot, that you are the only man amongst the passengers in the Stamboul-Calais carriage who smokes a pipe?’
‘In that case it probably is one of mine.’
‘Do you know where it was found?’
‘Not the least idea.’
‘It was found by the body of the murdered man.’
Colonel Arbuthnot raised his eyebrows.
‘Can you tell us, Colonel Arbuthnot, how it is likely to have got there?’
‘If you mean did I drop it there myself, no, I didn’t.’
‘Did you go into Mr Ratchett’s compartment at any time?’
‘I never even spoke to the man.’
‘You never spoke to him and you did not murder him?’
The Colonel’s eyebrows went up again sardonically.
‘If I had, I should hardly be likely to acquaint you with the fact. As a matter of fact I didn’t murder the fellow.’
‘Ah, well,’ murmured Poirot. ‘It is of no consequence.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘I said that it was of no consequence.’
‘Oh!’ Arbuthnot looked taken aback. He eyed Poirot uneasily.
‘Because, you see,’ continued the little man, ‘the pipe-cleaner, it is of no importance. I can myself think of eleven other excellent explanations of its presence.’
Arbuthnot stared at him.
‘What I really wished to see you about was quite another matter,’ went on Poirot. ‘Miss Debenham may have told you, perhaps, that I overheard some words spoken