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Five Little Pigs :: Christie Agatha
Страница: 142 из 147’
Angela Warren said: ‘I did nothing of the kind-not-at least-’
‘Ah!’ Poirotgave a yelp of triumph. ‘You have remembered. You told me, did you not, that to play a malicious joke on Amyas Crale you pinched some of what you called “the cat stuff”-that is how you put it-’
Meredith Blake said sharply:
‘Valerian! Of course.’
‘Exactly.That is what made you sure in your mind that it was a cat who had been in the room. Your nose is very sensitive. You smelled the faint, unpleasant odour of valerian without knowing, perhaps, that you did so-but it suggested to your subconscious mind “Cat”. Cats love valerian and will go anywhere for it. Valerian is particularly nasty to taste, and it was your account of it the day before which made mischievous Miss Angela plan to put some in her brother-in-law’s beer, which she knew he always tossed down his throat in a draught.’
Angela Warren said wonderingly: ‘Was it really that day? I remember taking it perfectly. Yes, and I remember getting out the beer and Caroline coming in and nearly catching me! Of course I remember…But I’ve never connected it with that particular day.’
‘Of course not-because there was no connectionin your mind. The two events were entirely dissimilar to you. One was on a par with other mischievous pranks-the other was a bombshell of tragedy arriving without warning and succeeding in banishing all lesser incidents from your mind. But me, I noticed when you spoke of it that you said: “I pinched, etc., etc.,to put it in Amyas’s drink.” You did not say you had actuallydone so.’
‘No, because I never did. Caroline came in just when I was unscrewing the bottle. Oh!’ It was a cry. ‘And Caroline thought-she thought it wasme -!’
She stopped. She looked round. She said quietly in her usual cool tones: ‘I suppose you all think so, too.’
She paused and then said: ‘I didn’t kill Amyas. Not as the result of a malicious joke nor in any other way. If I had I would never have kept silence.’
Miss Williams said sharply:
‘Of course you wouldn’t, my dear.’ She looked at Hercule Poirot. ‘Nobody but afool would think so.’
Hercule Poirot said mildly:
‘I am not a fool and I do not think so.I know quite well who killed Amyas Crale.’
He paused.
‘There is always a danger of accepting facts as proved which are really nothing of the kind. Let us take the situation at Alderbury. A very old situation. Two women and one man. We have taken it for granted that Amyas Crale proposed to leave his wife for the other woman.
Angela Warren said: ‘I did nothing of the kind-not-at least-’
‘Ah!’ Poirotgave a yelp of triumph. ‘You have remembered. You told me, did you not, that to play a malicious joke on Amyas Crale you pinched some of what you called “the cat stuff”-that is how you put it-’
Meredith Blake said sharply:
‘Valerian! Of course.’
‘Exactly.That is what made you sure in your mind that it was a cat who had been in the room. Your nose is very sensitive. You smelled the faint, unpleasant odour of valerian without knowing, perhaps, that you did so-but it suggested to your subconscious mind “Cat”. Cats love valerian and will go anywhere for it. Valerian is particularly nasty to taste, and it was your account of it the day before which made mischievous Miss Angela plan to put some in her brother-in-law’s beer, which she knew he always tossed down his throat in a draught.’
Angela Warren said wonderingly: ‘Was it really that day? I remember taking it perfectly. Yes, and I remember getting out the beer and Caroline coming in and nearly catching me! Of course I remember…But I’ve never connected it with that particular day.’
‘Of course not-because there was no connectionin your mind. The two events were entirely dissimilar to you. One was on a par with other mischievous pranks-the other was a bombshell of tragedy arriving without warning and succeeding in banishing all lesser incidents from your mind. But me, I noticed when you spoke of it that you said: “I pinched, etc., etc.,to put it in Amyas’s drink.” You did not say you had actuallydone so.’
‘No, because I never did. Caroline came in just when I was unscrewing the bottle. Oh!’ It was a cry. ‘And Caroline thought-she thought it wasme -!’
She stopped. She looked round. She said quietly in her usual cool tones: ‘I suppose you all think so, too.’
She paused and then said: ‘I didn’t kill Amyas. Not as the result of a malicious joke nor in any other way. If I had I would never have kept silence.’
Miss Williams said sharply:
‘Of course you wouldn’t, my dear.’ She looked at Hercule Poirot. ‘Nobody but afool would think so.’
Hercule Poirot said mildly:
‘I am not a fool and I do not think so.I know quite well who killed Amyas Crale.’
He paused.
‘There is always a danger of accepting facts as proved which are really nothing of the kind. Let us take the situation at Alderbury. A very old situation. Two women and one man. We have taken it for granted that Amyas Crale proposed to leave his wife for the other woman.