Taken at the Flood - Agatha Christie [64]
After this very human interpolation the Superintendent returned to the itinerary of David’s movements.
‘Left Furrowbank at 7.25 and states he went for a walk as he had missed the 7.20 train and there would be no train until the 9.20.’
‘In what direction did he go for a walk?’ asked Poirot.
The Superintendent consulted his notes.
‘Says by Downe Copse, Bats Hill and Long Ridge.’
‘In fact, a complete circular tour round the White House!’
‘My word, you pick up local geography quickly, M. Poirot!’
Poirot smiled and shook his head.
‘No, I did not know the places you named. I was making a guess.’
‘Oh, you were, were you?’ The Superintendent cocked his head on one side.
‘Then, according to him, when he was up on Long Ridge, he realized he was cutting it rather fine and fairly hared it for Warmsley Heath station, going across country. He caught the train by the skin of his teeth, arrived at Victoria 10.45, walked to Shepherd’s Court, arriving there at eleven o’clock, which latter statement is confirmed by Mrs Gordon Cloade.’
‘And what confirmation have you of the rest of it?’
‘Remarkably little — but there is some. Rowley Cloade and others saw him arrive at Warmsley Heath. The maids at Furrowbank were out (he had his own key of course) so they didn’t see him, but they found a cigarette stump in the library which I gather intrigued them and also found a good deal of confusion in the linen cupboard. Then one of the gardeners was there working late — shutting up greenhouses or something and he caught sight of him. Miss Marchmont met him up by Mardon Wood — when he was running for the train.’
‘Did any one see him catch the train?’
‘No — but he telephoned from London to Miss Marchmont as soon as he got back — at 11.05.’
‘That is checked?’
‘Yes, we’d already put through an inquiry about calls from that number. There was a Toll call out at 11.04 to Warmsley Vale 34. That’s the Marchmonts’ number.’
‘Very, very interesting,’ murmured Poirot.
But Spence was going on painstakingly and methodically.
‘Rowley Cloade left Arden at five minutes to nine. He’s quite definite it wasn’t earlier. About 9.10 Lynn Marchmont sees Hunter up at Mardon Wood. Granted he’s run all the way from the Stag, would he have had time to meet Arden, quarrel with him, kill him and get to Mardon Wood? We’re going into it and I don’t think it can be done. However, now we’re starting again. Far from Arden being killed at nine o’clock, he was alive at ten minutes past ten — that is unless your old lady is dreaming. He was either killed by the woman who dropped the lipstick, the woman in the orange scarf — or by somebody who came in after that woman left. And whoever did it, deliberately put the hands of the watch back to nine-ten.’
‘Which if David Hunter had not happened to meet Lynn Marchmont in a very unlikely place would have been remarkably awkward for him?’ said Poirot.
‘Yes, it would. The 9.20 is the last train up from Warmsley Heath. It was growing dark. There are always golfers going back by it. Nobody would have noticed Hunter — indeed the station people don’t know him by sight. And he didn’t take a taxi at the other end. So we’d only have his sister’s word for it that he arrived back at Shepherd’s Court when he said he did.’
Poirot was silent and Spence asked:
‘What are you thinking about, M. Poirot?’
Poirot said, ‘A long walk round the White House. A meeting in Mardon Woods. A telephone call later…And Lynn Marchmont is engaged to Rowley Cloade…I should like very much to know what was said over that telephone call.’
‘It’s the human interest that’s getting you?’
‘Yes,’ said Poirot. ‘It is always the human interest.’
Chapter 8
It was getting late, but there was still one more call that Poirot wanted to make. He went along to Jeremy Cloade’s house.
There he was shown into Jeremy Cloade’s study by a small, intelligent-looking maid.
Left alone, Poirot gazed interestedly round him. All very legal and dry as dust, he