Part 44 (1/2)
Who would not be ? A brutal crime--a sensitive artist attacked in a lonely cottage. Terrible for her family. But terrible, also, I imagine, for you. Since Mrs. Timothy Abernethie gives me to understand that you were there at the time ?”
”Yes, I was. And if you'll excuse me, M. Pontarlier, I don't want to talk about it.”
”I understand---oh yes, I completely understand.”
Itaving said this, Poirot waited. And, as he had thought, Miss Gilchrist immediately did begin to talk about it.
He heard nothing from her that he had not heard before, but he played his part with perfect sympathy, uttering little cries of comprehension and listening with an absorbed interest which Miss Gilchrist could not but help enjoy.
Not until she had exhausted the subject of what she herself had felt, and what the doctor had said, and how kind Mr. Entwhistle had been, did Poirot proceed cautiously to the next point.
”You were wise, I think, not to remain alone down in that cottage.”
”I couldn't have done it, M. Pontarlier. I really couldn't have done it.”
”No.
I understand even that you were afraid to remain alone in the house of Mr. Timothy Abernethie whilst they came here ?”
Miss Gilchrist looked guilty.
I'm terribly ashamed about that. So foolish really. It was just a kind of panic I had--I really don't know ”But of course one knows why. You had just recovered from a dastardly attempt to poison you ”
x4x
Miss Gilchrist here sighed and said she simply couldn't understand it. Why should anyone try to poison her ?
”But obviously, my dear lady, because this criminal, this a.s.sa.s.sin, thought that you knew something that might lead to his apprehension by the police.”
”But what could I know ? Some dreadful tramp, or semi-crazed creature.”
”If it was a tramp. It seems to me unlikely”
”Oh, please, M. Pontarlier--” Miss Gilchrist became suddenly very upset.
”Don't suggest such things. I don't want to believe it.”
”You do not want to believe what ?”
”I don't want to believe that it wasn't--I mean--that it was.- She paused, confused.
”And yet,” said Poirot shrewdly, ”you do believe.”
”Oh, I don't. I don't I” ”But I think you do. That is why you are frightened...
You are still frightened, are you not ?”
”Oh, no, not since I came here. So many people. And such a nice family atmosphere. Oh, no, everything seems quite all right here.”
”It seems to me--you must excuse my interest--I am an old man, somewhat infirm and a great part of my time is given to idle speculation on matters which interest me---it seems to me that there must have been some definite occurrence at Stansfield Grange which, so to speak, brought your fears to a head. Doctors recognise nowadays how much takes place in our subconscious.”
”Yes, yes--I know they say so.”
”And I think your subconscious fears might have been brought to a point by some small concrete happening, something, perhaps, quite extraneous, serving, shall we say, as a focal point.”
Miss Gilchrist seemed to lap this up eagerly.
”I'm sure you are right,” she said.
”Now what, should you think, was this--er---extraneous circ.u.mstance ?”
Miss Gilchrist pondered a moment, and then said, unexpectedly: ”I think, you know, M. Pontarlier, it was the nun.”
Before Poirot could take this up, Susan and her husband came in, closely followed by Helen.
”A nun,” thought Poirot... ”Now where, in all this, have I heard something about a nun ?”
142
lie resolved to lead the conversation on to nuns sometime in the course of the evening.
CHAPTER XIX