THE INCREDIBLE THEFT
CHAPTER 1
Asthe butler handed round the soufflé, Lord Mayfield leaned
confidentially towards hisneighb our
onthe right, Lady Julia
Carrington. Known as a perfect host, Lord Mayfield took
trouble to live up to his reputation. Although unmarried, he
was always charmi ng
to women.
Lady Julia Carrington was a woman offorty, tall, dark and
and
vivacious. She was very thin, but still beautiful. Herhands
feet in particular were exquisite. Her manner was abrupt and
restless, that of a woman who lived on her nerves.
About opposite to her atthe round table sat herhusband, Air
Marshal Sir George Carrington. His career had begun in the
Navy, and hestillretained the bluff breeziness ofthe ex-Naval
man. He was laughing and chaffing the beautiful Mrs
Vanderlyn, who was sitting onthe other side ofher host.
Mrs Vander extremely good-looking blonde. Her
was anlyn
voice held a soupcon of American accent, just enough to be
pleasant wit hou
undue t
exaggera tion.
On the other side of Sir George Carrington sat Mrs Macatta,
M.P. Mrs Macatta was a great authority on Housing and
Infant Welfare. She barked out short sentences rather than
spoke them, and was generally of somewhat alarming aspect. It
was perhaps natural that the Air Marshal would find his right-
er to talk to.
the pleasantour
hand neighb
Mrs Macatta, who always talked shop wherever she was,
barked out short spates of information on her special subjects
to her left-hand neighbour, young Reggie Carrington.
Reggie Carrington was twenty-one, and completely uninter-
ested in Housing, Infant Welfare, and indeed any political
64
subject. He said atintervals, ‘How frightful!’ and ‘I absolutely
agree with you,’ and his mind was clearly elsewhere. Mr
Carlile, Lord Mayfield’s private secretary, sat between young
Reggie and his mother. A pale young man with pince-nez and
an air of intelligent reserve, hetalked little, but was always
ready to fling himself intoany conversational breach. Noticing
that Reggie Carrington was struggling with a yawn, he leaned
forward and adroitly asked Mrs Macatta a question about her
‘Fit ne’ss
for Children scheme.
Round the table, moving silently inthe subdued amber light,
a butler and two footmen offered dishes and filled up wine-
glasse Lord Mayfield
s. paid a very high salary tohis chef, and
was noted as a connoisseu of wines.
r
The table was a round one, but there was no mistaking who
was the host. Where Lord Mayfield sat was so very decidedly
the head ofthetable. A big man,square-shouldere d,
with thick
silvery hair, a bigstraight nose and aslightly prominent chin.
It was a face that lent itself easily tocaricature. As Sir Charles
McLaughlin, Lord Mayf ie
had combin a political career
ed ld
with being the head ofa big engineering firm. He was himself
a first-class engineer. His peerage had come a year ago, and at
the same time he had been created first Minister of Arma-
” ments, a new ministry which had only just come into being.
The dessert had been placed on the table. The port had
circulated once. Catching Mrs Vanderlyn’s eye, Lady Julia
rose. The three women left the room. :
The port passed once more, and Lord Mayfield referred
ligto yts. The conversation for five minutes
pheasan
htl or so
was spor ti
Then SirngGeorge.said:
‘Expect you'd like to join the others inthe drawing-room,
Reggie, my boy. Lord Mayfield won’t mind.’
The boy took the hint easily enough.
‘Thanks, Lord Mayfield, I think I-will’
Mr Carlile mumured:
‘If you'll excuse me, Lord Mayfield - certain memoranda
and other work to get through...’
Lord Mayfield nodded. The two young men left theroom.
65
‘Shall we join the ladies in the drawing-room? We mustn’t
deprive your wife of her bridge.’
Sir George grunted:
‘Julia’s a damned sight too fond of her bridge. Drops a
packet over it. She can’t affordto playashighasshe does, and
T’ve told her so. The trouble is, Julia’s a born gambler.’
Coming round the table to join his host, hesaid:
‘Well, I hope your plan comes off, Charles.’
CHAPTER 2
In the drawing-room conversation had flagged more than
once. Mrs Vanderlyn was usually at a disadvantage when left
alone with members of her own sex. That charming sympa-
thetic manner of hers, so much appreciated by members of the
male sex, did not for some reason or other commend itself to
women. Lady Julia was a woman whose manners were either
very good or very bad. On this occasion she disliked Mrs
Vanderlyn, and was bored by Mrs Macatta, and made nosecret
of her feelings. Conversation languished, and might have
ceased altoge ther
but for the latter.
Mrs Macatta was a woman of great earnestness of purpose.
Mrs Vanderlyn she dismissed immediately as a useless and
parasitic type.Lady Julia shetried tointerest in a forthcoming
charity entertainment which she was organizing. Lady Julia
answered vaguely, stifled a yawn or two and retired into her
own inner preoccupation. Why didn’t Charles and George
come? How tiresome men were. Her commen ts
became even
more perfunctory as she became absorbedinher own thoughts
and worries.
The three women were sitting in silence when the men
finally entered the room.
Lord Mayfield thought to himself:
69
‘Julia looks illtonight. What a mass ofnerves the woman is.”
Aloud he said:
‘What about a rubber - eh?’
Lady Julia brightened at once. Bridge was as the breath of
life to her.
Reggie Carrington entered the room at that minute, and a-
four was arranged. Lady Julia, Mrs Vanderlyn, Sir George and
young Reggie sat down to the card-table. Lord Mayfield
devoted himself to the task of entertaining Mrs Macatta.
When two rubbers had been played, Sir George looked
ostentatiously at the clock on the mantelpiece.
‘Hardly worth while beginning another,’ he remarked.
His wife looked annoyed.
‘It’s only a quarter to eleven. A short one.’
‘They never are, my dear,’ said Sir George good-
temperedly. ‘Anyway, Charles and I have some work to do.’
Mrs Vanderlyn murmured:
‘How important that sounds! I suppose you clever men who
are at the top of things never get a real rest.’
‘No forty-eight hour week for us,’ said Sir George.
Mrs Vanderlyn murmured:
‘You know, I feel rather ashamed of myself as a raw
American, but I do get so thrilled at meeting people who
of a country. I expect that seems a very
control the destinies
crude point of view to you, Sir George.’
‘My dear Mrs Vanderlyn, I should never think of you as
i erale?* on. “raw.t??
He smiled into her eyes. There was, perhaps, a hint
of irony
in the voice which she did not miss. Adroitly she turned to
Reggie, smiling sweetly into his eyes.
‘I’m sorry we’re not continuing our partnership, That was a
frightfully clever four no-trump call of yours.’
Flushed and pleased, Reggie mumbled:
‘Bit of a fluke that it came off.’
‘Oh, no, it was really a clever bit of deduction on your part.
You’d deduced from the bidding exactly where the cards must
be, and you played accordingly. I thought it was brilliant.’
70
Lady Julia rose abruptly.
‘The woman lays it on with a palette-knife,’ she thought
disgustedly.
Then her eyes softened as they rested on her son. He
believed itall. How pathetically young and pleased he looked.
How incredibly ndive he was. No wonder he got into scrapes.
He was too trusting. The truth of it was he had too sweet a
nature. George didn’t understand him in the least. Men were
so unsympathetic in their judgments. They forgot that they
had even been young themselves, George was much too harsh
with Reggie.
Mrs Macatta had risen. Goodnights were said.
The three women went out of the room. Lord Mayfield
helped himself toa drink after giving one toSir George, then
he looked up as Mr Carlile appeared at the door.
‘Get out the files and all the papers, will you, Carlile?
Including the plans and the prints. The Air Marshal and I will
be along shortly. We'll just take a turn outside first, eh,
George? It’s stopped raining.’
Mr Carlile, turning to depart, murmured an apology as he
almost collided with Mrs Vanderlyn.
She drifted towards them, murmuring:
‘My book, I was reading itbefore dinner.’
Reggie sprang forward and held up a book.
‘Is this it? On the sofa?’
‘Oh, yes. Thank you so much.”
She smiled sweetly, said goodnight again and went out of the
room.
Sir George had opened one of the french windows.
‘Beaut night now,’ l d. ‘Go
he announce
ifu ideaodof yours to
tak e
aturn,’
Reggie said:
‘Well, goodnight, sir. I’ll betoddling off to bed.’
‘Goodnight, my boy,’ said Lord Mayfield.
Reggie picked up a detective story which he had begun
earlier in the evening and left the room.
Lord Mayfield and Sir George stepped out upon the terrace,
71
“Yes, Carlile.’
Poirot turned suddenly.
‘Tell me, Lord Mayfield, which paper was ontop when you
went over to the desk?’
Mayfield frowned alittle in the effort of remembrance.
“Let me see - yes, it was a rough memorandum of some sort
of our air defence positions.’
Deftly, Poirot nipped out a paper and brought it over.
‘Is this the one, Lord Mayfield?”
Lord Mayfield took itand glanced over it.
Yes, that’s
the one.”
Poirot took it over toCarrington.
‘Did you notice this paper on the desk?’
Sir George took it, held it away from him, then slipped on his
pince-nez.
"Yes, that’s right. I looked through them too, with Carlile
and Mayfield. This was on top.’
Poirot nodded thoughtfully. He repla ced
the paper on the
desk. Mayfield looked at him in a slightly puzzled manner.
“Ifthere are any other questions ~’ he began.
‘But yes, certainly there is a question. Carlile. Carlile is the
question!”
Lord Mayfield’s colour rose a little.
‘Carlile,M.Poirot, is quite above suspicion! He hasbeenmy
confidential secretary for nine years. He has access to all my
private papers, and I may point out to you that he could have
made a copy of the plans and a tracing of the specifications
quite easily without anyone being the wiser.’
‘I appreciate your point,’ said Poirot. ‘If he had been guilty
there would be no need for him to stage a clumsy robbery.’
“In any case,’ said Lord Mayfield, ‘I am sure ofCarlile. I will
guarantee him.”
‘Carlile,’ said Carrington gruffly, ‘is all right.’
Poirot spread out his hands gracefully.
‘And this Mrs Vanderlyn- she isallwrong?”
‘She’s
a wrong ’un all right,’ said SirGeorge.
Lord Mayfield said in more measured tones:
79
“Aha, you did not notice? But you are a young man. Does not
a young man notice when a girl ispretty?”
‘Really, M. Poirot, I can only repeat that J did not do so.”
Carlile cast an agonized glance at his employer. Sir George
Carrington gave a sudden chuckle.
‘M. Poirot seems determined to make you out a gay dog,
Carlile,’ heremarked.
‘Me, I always notice when agirl is pretty,’ announced Poirot
as he descended the stairs.
The silence with which Mr Carlile greeted this remark was
somewhat pointed. Poirot went on:
“And it was then she told this tale of having seen a ghost?”
Pees.
‘Did you believe the story?”
‘Well, hardly, M. Poirot!”
‘I do not mean, do you believe in ghosts. I mean, did itstrike
you that the girl herself really thought she had seen
ing?”
‘Oh, as to that, I couldn’t say. She was certainly breathing
_ fast and seemed upset.’
“You did not see or hear anything of her mistress?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I did. She came out of her room in
the gallery above and called, “Leonie.”’
‘And then?’
‘The girl ran up to her and I went back to the study.”
‘Whilst you were standing atthe foot ofthe stairs here, could
anyone have entered the study by the door you had left open?’
‘Not without passing me.Thestudy door is at theendofthe
Passage,
asyou sec.’
Poirot nodded thoughtfully. Mr Carlile went on in his
careful, precise voice.
‘I may say that I am very thankful that Lord Mayfield
actually saw the thief leaving the window. Otherwise I myself
should be in a very unpleasant position.’
‘Nonsense, my dear Carlile,’ broke in Lord Mayfield
impatiently. ‘No suspicion could possibly attach to you.’
85
“In that case, if M. Poirotiscorrect, suspicion automatically
attaches itself to me. I am the only person who could possibly
have committed the robbery.’
Lord Mayfield sprang up.
‘Nonsense. Whatever M. Poirot thinks about it, I don’t
agree with him. I am convinced of your innocence, my dear
Carlile. In fact, I’m willing to guarantee it.’
Poirot murmured mildly:
‘But I have not said that I suspect M. Carlile.’
Carlile answered:
‘No, but you’ve made it perfectly clear that no one else had
a chance to commit the robbery.’
‘Du tout! Du tout!’
‘But I have told you nobody passed me in the hall to get to
the study door.’
‘Lagree. But someone might have come in through the study
window,”
‘But that is just what you said did not happen?’
‘I said that no one from outside could have come and left
without leaving marks on the grass. But it could have been
managed from inside the house. Someone could have gone out
from his room by one of these windows, slipped along the
terrace, in at the study window, and back again in here.’
Mr Carlile objected:
‘But Lord Mayfield and Sir George Carrington were on the
terrace.’
“They were on the terrace, yes, but they were en promenade.
Sir George Carrington’s eyes may be of the most reliable’ -
Poirot made alittle bow - ‘but he does not keep them in the
back of his head! The study window is at the extreme left of the
terrace, the windows of this room come next, but the terrace
continues to the right past one, two, three, perhaps four
rooms?”
‘Dining-room, billiard-room, morning room and library,’
said Lord Mayfield.
“And you walked up and down the terrace, how many times?”
“At least five or six.’
87
delicate and most convincing. Tomorrow, then, I conduct my
investigations. But tonight, I should like to begin by
interviewing you, Sir George and you, Lord Mayfield.’
He bowed to them both.
“You mean- alone?’
‘That was my meaning.’
Lord Mayfield raised his eyes slightly, then he said:
‘Certainly. I'll leave you alone with Sir George. When you
want me, you’ll find me in my study. Come, Carlile.”
He and the-secretary went out, shutting the door behind
Sir George sat down, reaching mechanically for a cigarette.
He turned a puzzled face to Poirot.
“You know,’ he said slowly. ‘I don’t quite get this.’
‘That is very simply explained,’ said Poirot with a smile. ‘In
two words, to be accurate. Mrs Vanderlyn!’
‘Oh,’ said Carrington. ‘I think I see. Mrs Vanderlyn?’
‘Precisely. It might be, you see, that it would not be very
delicate toask Lord Mayfield the question I want to ask.Why
Mrs Vanderlyn? This lady, she is known to be a suspicious
character. Why, then, should she be here? I say to myself there
are three explanations. One, that Lord Mayfield has a penchant
for the lady (and that is why I seek totalk toyou alone. I do not
wish to embarrass him). Two, that Mrs Vanderlyn is perhaps
the dear friend of someone else in the house?”
“You can count me out!’ said SirGeorge with a grin.
‘Then, if neither of those cases is true, the question returns
inredoubled force. Why Mrs Vanderlyn? And it seemstome I
perceive a shadowy answer. There was a reason. Her presence
at this particular juncture was definitely desired by Lord
Mayfield for a special reason. Am I right?”
Sir George nodded.
‘You're quite right,’ hesaid. ‘Mayfield istooold abird to fall
for her wiles. He wanted her here for quite another reason. It
was like this.’
He retailed the conversation that had taken place at the
dinner-table. Poirot listened attentively.
89
‘Ah,’ he said, ‘I comprehend now. Nevertheless, it seems
that the lady has turned the tables on you both rather neatly!”
Sir George swore freely.
Poirot watched him with some slight amusement, then he
said:
‘You do not doubt that this theft isher doing - I mean, that
she is responsible for it, whether or no she played an active
part?”
Sir George stared.
‘Of course not! There isn’t any doubt of that. Why, who else
would have any interest in stealing those plans?”
‘Ahl’ said Hercule Poirot. He leaned back and looked at the
ceiling. ‘And yet, Sir George, we agreed, not a quarter of an
hour ago, that these papers represented very definitely money.
Not perhaps, inquite soobvious a form as banknotes, orgold,
or jewellery, but nevertheless they were potential money. If
there were anyone here who was hard up ~”
The other interrupted him with a snort.
‘Who isn’t these days? I suppose I can say it without
incriminating myself.’
He smiled and Poirot smiled politely back at him and
murmured:
‘Mais oui, you can say what you like, for you, Sir George,
have the one unimpeacha alibi inthis
bleaffair.’
‘But I’m damned hard up myself!’
Poirot shook his head sadly.
"Yes, indeed, a man in your position has heavy living
expenses. Then you have a young son at a most expensive age —”
Sir George groaned.
‘Educa tio
bad enough, debts ontop of it. Mind you,
thenn’s
this lad’s not a bad lad.”
Poirot listened sympathetically. He heard a lot of the Air
Marshal’s accumulated grievances. The lack of grit and
stamina in the younger generation, the fantastic way in which
mothers spoilt their children and always took their side, the
curse of gambling once it got hold of a woman, the folly of
playing for higher sta than you could afford. It was couched
kes
90
motive to consider. But the motive might possibly be some-
thing quite different.’
‘Such as ~”
Poirot said slowly:
‘Tt might have been done definitely with the idea of
‘Possibly Mr Carlile. He would be the obvious suspect. But
there might be more to it than that. The men who control the
destiny ofa country, Lord Mayfield, are particularly vulnera-
ble to displays of popular feeling.’
‘Meaning that the theft was aimed at damaging me?’
Poirot nodded.
‘I think I am correct in saying, Lord Mayfield, that about
five years ago you passed through a somewhat trying time. You
were suspected of friendship with a European Power at that
time bitterly unpopular with the electorate of this country.’
‘Quite true, M. Poirot.’
‘A statesman in these days has a difficult task. He has to
pursue the policy hedeems advantageousto his country, but he
has at the same time to recognize the force of popular feeling.
Popular feeling is very often sentimental, muddle-headed, and
eminently unsound, but it cannot be disregarded for all that.’
‘How well you express it! That is exactly the curse of a
Ppolitician’s life. He has to bow to the country’s feeling, however
dangerous and foolhardy he knows it to be.’
‘That was your dilemma, I think. There were rumours that
you had concluded an agreement with the country in question.
This country and the newspapers were up in arms about it.
Fortunately the Prime Minister was able categorically to deny
the story, and you repudiated it, though still making no secret
of the way your sympathies lay.”
‘All this is quite true, M. Poirot, but why rake up past
history?”
“Because I consider it possible that an enemy, disappointed
in the way you surmounted that crisis, might endeavour to
stage a further dilemma. You soon regained public confidence.
95
Those particular circumstances have passed away, you are
now, deserved of the most popular figures in political
onely,
life. You are spoken offreely asthe next Prime Minister when
Mr Hunberly retires.’
‘You think this is anattempt todiscredit me? Nonsense!’
‘Tout de méme, Lord Mayfield, itwould not look well ifit
were known that the plans of Britain’s new bomber had been
stolen during a weekend when a certain very charming lady had
been your guest. Little hints in the newspapers as to your
relationship with that lady would create a feeling ofdistrust in
you.’
‘Such a thing could not really betaken seriously.’
‘My dear Lord Mayfield, you know perfectly well itcould!
It takes solittle to undermine public confidence in a man.”
‘Yes, that’s true,’ said Lord Mayfield. He looked suddenly
very worried. ‘God! how desperately complicated this business
isbecoming. Do you really think - but it’s impossible -
impossible.’
"You know of nobody who is — jealous of you?”
“Absurd!”
‘At any rate you will admit that my questions about your
personal relationships with the members of this house-party
are not totally irrelevant.”
‘Oh, perh-aps perhaps. You asked me about Julia Carring-
ton. There’s really not very much tosay. I’ve never taken toher
very much, and I don’t think she cares for me. She’s one of
these restless, nervy women, recklessly extravagant and mad
about cards. She’s old-fashioned enough, I think, to despise
me as being a self-made man.’
Poirot said:
‘I looked you up in Who’s Who before I came down. You
were the head of a famous engineering firm and you are
yourselfafirst-class engineer.’
‘There’s certainly nothing I don’t know about the practical
side. I’ve workedmy way up from the bottom.’
Lord Mayfield spoke rather grimly.
‘Ohla la!’ cried Poirot. ‘I have been a fool — but a fool!’
96
‘Well, let me see, we played bridge - in the drawing-room.
After that I went up to bed.’
“That was at what time?”
‘Just before eleven. I suppose the robbery took place after
that?”
‘Yes, after that. You did not hear or see anything?”
Reggie shook his head regretfully.
‘Tm afraid not. 1 went straight to bed and I sleep pretty
‘You went straight up from the drawing-room to your
bedroom and remained there until the morning?’
“That's right.”
‘What do you mean, curious?’
“You did not, for instance, hear a scream?”
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Ah, very curious.’
Bei ae Yate beonrsaat sens ea?
‘You are, perhaps,slightly deaf?”
‘Certainly not.’
See Nidtied was poucible thats wascerca ae
word curious for the third time, Then he said:
‘Well, thank you, Mr Carrington, that isall.’
Reggie got up and stood rather irresolutely.
“You know,’ he said, ‘now you come to mention it, I believe
I did hear something of the kind.’
‘Ah, you did hear something?”
“Yes, but you see, I was reading a book - a detective story as
a matter of fact - and I - well, I didn’t really quite take it in.’
‘Ah,’ said Poirot, ‘a most satisfying explanation.’
His face was quite impassive.
Reggie still hesitated, then he turned and walked slowly to
the door. There he paused and asked:
‘I say, what was stolen?’
‘Something of great value, Mr Carrington. That is all I am
at liberty to say.’
101
She smiled, a warm, compelling smile of perfect health and
‘Do tell me if there’s anything at all I can do?’
‘I thank you, madame. You played bridge in the drawing-
room last night?’
Yes.’
‘I understand that then all the ladies went up to bed?”
‘That isright.’
“But someone came back to fetch a book. That was you, was
it not, Mrs Vanderlyn?’
‘I was the first one to come back — yes.”
‘What do you mean - the first one?’ said Poirot sharply.
“I came back right away,’ explained Mrs Vanderlyn. Then I
went up and rang for my maid. She was a long time in coming.
Trang again. Then I went out on the landing. I heard her voice
_ and I called her. After she had brushed my hair I sent her away,
she was in a nervous, upset state and tangled the brush in my
hair once ortwice. It was then, just asI sent her away, that I saw
Lady Julia coming up the stairs. She told me she had been
down again for a book, too. Curious, wasn’t it?’
__ Mrs Vanderlyn smiled as she finished, a wide, rather feline
_ smile. Hercule Poirot thought to himself that Mrs Vanderlyn
| did not like Lady Julia Carrington.
*As you say, madame. Tell me, did you hear your maid
scream?”
‘Why, yes, I did hear something of that kind.’
‘Did you ask her about it?”
“Yes. She told me she thought she had seen afloating figure
in white - such nonsense!’
‘What was Lady Julia wearing last night?’
‘Oh, you think perhaps - Yes, I see. She was wearing a white
evening-dress. Of course, that explains it. She must have
caught sight of her in the darkness just asa white figure. These
girls are so superstitious.”
“Your maid has been with you a long time, madame?’
‘Oh, no.’ Mrs Vanderlyn opened her eyes rather wide. ‘Only
about five months.’
103
Leonie responded promptly. She flashed him a glance out of
the corner of her eyes and murmured softly:
‘Monsieur is very kind.’
‘Figure to yourself,’ said Poirot. ‘I demand of M. Carlile
whether you are or not good-looking and he replies that he does
not know!’
Leonie cocked her chin up contemptuously.
‘That image!’
‘That describes
him very well.’
‘I do not believe he has ever looked ata girl inhis life, that
one.”
‘Probably not. A pity. He has missed a lot, But there are
others in this house who are more appreciative, is it not so?”
‘Really, I do not know what monsieur means.’
‘Oh, yes, Mademoiselle Leonie, you know very well. A
pretty history that you recount last night about a ghost that you
have seen. As soon as I hear that you are standing there with
your hands to your head, I know very well that there is no
question of ghosts. If a girl is frightened she clasps her heart, or
she raises her hands to her mouth tostifle a cry, but if her hands
are on her hair it means something very different. Jt means that
her hair has been ruffled and that she ishastily getting itinto shape
again! Now then, mademoiselle, let ushave the truth. Why did
you scream on the stairs?’
‘But monsieur itis true, I saw a tall figure all in white —”
‘Mademoiselle, do not insult my intelligence. That story, it
may have been good enough for M. Carlile, but it isnot good
enough for Hercule Poirot. The truth is that you had just been
kissed, is it not so? And I will make a guess that it was M.
Reggie Carrington who kissed you.”
Leonie twinkled an unabashed eye at him.
‘Eh bien,’ she demanded, ‘after all, what is a kiss?’
‘What, indeed?’ said Poirot gallantly.
“You see, the young gentleman he came up behind me and
caught me round the waist - and so naturally he startled me and
I screamed. If I had known - well, then naturally I would not
have screamed.’
105
‘Naturally,’ agreed Poirot.
‘But he came upon me like a cat. Then the study door opened
and out came M. lesecrétaire and the young gentleman slipped
away upstairs and there I was looking like a fool. NaturallyI
had to saysomething- especially to-’she broke into French,
‘un jeune homme comme ¢a, tellcomme emen t
ilfaut!”
‘So you invent a ghost?’
“Indeed, monit siewas allIur, all
could think of. A tall figure
in whit floated. It is ridiculous but what else could I do?”
thate,
‘Nothing. So now, allisexplained. I had my suspicions from
the first.’
Leonie shot him a provocative glance.
‘Monsiis eurvery clever, and very sympathetic.’
‘And since I am not going to make you any embarrassments
overtheaffair youwill dosomething formein return?
“Most willingly, monsieur.
“How much doyouknow of your mistress’s affairs?”
The girl shrugged her shoulders.
‘Not very much, monsieur. I have my ideas, ofcourse.”
‘And those ideas?”
‘Well, it does not escape me that the friends of madame are
always soldiers orsailors or airmen. And then there are other
friends - foreign gentlemen who come tosec her very quietly
sometimes. Madame is very handsome, though I do not think
she will beso much longer. The young men, they find her very
attractive. Sometimes I think, they saytoo much. Butitis only
my idea, that. Madame does not confide in me.’
“What you would have me to understand is that madame
pla ys
a lone hand?’
‘That is right, monsieur.’
‘In other words, you cannot help me.’
‘I fear not, monsieur. I would do if I could.’
‘Tell me, your mistress is in a good mood today?
‘Decidedly, monsieur.’
“Something has happened to please her?’
‘She has been in good spirits ever since she came here.”
‘Well, Leonie, you should know.’
106
As he did not answer, she repeated urgently:
‘Will you guarantee that there will be no publicity?”
He answered then - very gravely:
“Yes, madame, I will guarantee that.’
“Then everything can be arranged.’
She passed abruptly from
the room. A moment
later Poirot
heardthe car drive away.
He crossed the hall and went along the passage to the study.
Lord Mayfield was there. He looked up as Poirot entered.
‘Well?’ he said.
‘Poirot spread out his hands. ;
‘The case is ended, Lord Mayfield.’
‘What?’
Poirot repeated word for word the scene between himself
and Lady Julia.
Lord Mayfield looked at him with a stupefied expression.
“But what does it mean? I don’t understand.”
‘It is very clear, isit not? Lady Julia knows who stole the
plans.”
*You don’t mean she took them herself?’
‘Certainly not. Lady Julia may be a gambler. She is not a
thief. But if she offers to return the plans, it means that they
were taken by her husband or her son. Now Sir George
Carrington was out on the terrace with you. That leaves us the
son. I think I can reconstruct the happenings of last night fairly
accurately. Lady Julia went to her son’s room last night and
found it empty. She came downstairs to look for him, but did
not find him. This morning she hears of the theft, and she also
hears that her son declares that he went straight tohis roomand —
never left it. That, she knows, is not true. And she knows
something else about her son. She knows that he is weak, that
he is desperately hard-up for money. She has observed his
infatuation for Mrs Vanderlyn. The whole thing is clear to her.
Mrs Vanderlyn has persuaded Reggie to steal the plans. But
she determines to play her part also. She will tackle Reggie, get
hold of the papers and return them.”
112
“But the whole thing is quite impossible,’ cried Lord
Mayfield.
“Yes, itisimpossible, but Lady Julia does not know that. She
does not know what I, Hercule Poirot, know, that young
Reggie Carrington was not stealing papers last night, but
instead was philanderingwith Mrs Vanderlyn’s French maid.”
‘The whole thing is a mare’s nest!’
“And the case is not ended at all!’
“Yes, itis ended. I, Hercule Poirot, know
the truth. You
do not
believe me? You did not believe me yesterday when I said I
knew where the plans were. But I did know. They were very
close
at hand.’
‘Where?’
‘They were in your pocket, my lord.’
There was a pause, then Lord Mayfield said:
‘Do you really know what you are saying, M. Poirot?’
“Yes, I know. I know that I am speaking toa very clever man.
From the first it worried me that you, who were admittedly
short-sighted, should be so positive about the figure you had
seen leaving the window. You wanted that solution - the
convenient solution - to be accepted. Why? Later, one by one,
I eliminated everyone else. Mrs Vanderlyn was upstairs, Sir
George was with you on the terrace, Reggie Carrington was
with the French girl onthe stairs, Mrs Macatta was blamelessly
in her bedroom. (Itisnext to the housekeeper’s room, and Mrs
_ Macatta snores!) Lady Julia clearly believed her son guilty. So
there remained only two possibilities. Either Carlile did not put
the papers on the desk but into his own pocket (and that is not
reasonable, because, as you pointed out, he could have taken a
tracing of them), or else - orelse the plans were there when you
walked over to the desk, and the only place they could have
gone was into your pocket. In that case everything was clear.
Your insistence on the figure you had seen, your insistence on
Carlile’s innocence, your disinclination
to have me summoned.
“One thing did puzzle me - the motive. You were, I was
convinced,
an honest man, a man of integrity. That showed in
113
your anxiety that no innocent person should be suspected. It
was also obvious that the theft of theplans might easily affect
your career unfavourably. Why, then, this wholly unreason-
able theft? And atlast the answer came to me. The crisis inyour
career, some years ago, the assurances given to the world by the
Prime Minister that you had had no negotiations with the
pow question. Suppose that that was not strictly true, that
iner
there remained some reco ~ardletter, perh- showing that
aps
in actual fact you had done what you had publicly denied. Such
a denial was necessary inthe interests of public policy. But it is
doubtful ifthe man inthe street would see it that way. It might
mean that at the moment when supreme power might be given
into your hands, some stupid echo from the past would undo
everything.
‘I suspect that that letter has been preserved in the hands of
a certain government, that that government offered to trade
with you - the letter in exchange for the plans of the new
bomber. Som would have refused. You
men e - did not! You
agreed, Mrs Vanderlyn was the agent in the matter. She came
here by arrangement to make the exchange. Yougave yourself
away when you admitted that you had formed no definite
stratagem for entrapping her. That admission made your
reason for inviting her here incredibly weak.
‘You arranged the robbery. Pretended tosee the thief on the
terrace - thereby clearing Carlile ofsuspicion. Even if he had
not left the room, the desk was so near the window that a thief
might have taken the plans while Carlile was busy at the safe
with his back turned. You walked over to the desk, took the
plans and kept them on your own person until the moment
when, by prearranged plan, you slipped them into Mrs
Vanderlyn’s dressing-case. In return she handed you the fatal
letter disgui as ansed
unposted letter of her own.’
Poirot stopped.
Lord Mayfield said:
“Your knowledge is very complete, M. Poirot. You must
think me an unutterable skunk.”
Poirot made a quick gesture.
114
