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Five Little Pigs :: Christie Agatha
Страница: 30 из 147’
‘The girl was a good looker, all right,’ said Hale. ‘Lots of make-up and next to no clothes on. It isn’t decent the way these girls go about. And that was sixteen years ago, mind you. Nowadays one wouldn’t think anything of it. But then-well, it shocked me. Trousers and one of those canvas shirts, open at the neck-and not another thing, I should say!’
‘You seem to remember these points very well,’ murmured Poirot slyly.
Superintendent Hale blushed. ‘I’m just passing on the impression I got,’ he said austerely.
‘Quite-quite,’ said Poirot soothingly. He went on:
‘So it would seem that the principal witnesses against Mrs Crale were Philip Blake and Elsa Greer?’
‘Yes. Vehement, they were, both of them. But the governess was called by the prosecution too, and what she said carried more weight than the other two. She was on Mrs Crale’s side entirely, you see. Up in arms for her. But she was an honest woman and gave her evidence truthfully without trying to minimize it in any way.’
‘And Meredith Blake?’
‘He was very distressed by the whole thing, poor gentleman. As well he might be! Blamed himself for his drug brewing-and the coroner blamed him for it too. Coniine and AE Salts comes under Schedule I of the Poisons Acts. He came in for some pretty sharp censure. He was a friend of both parties, and it hit him very hard-besides being the kind of county gentleman who shrinks from notoriety and being in the public eye.’
‘Did not Mrs Crale’s young sister give evidence?’
‘No. It wasn’t necessary. She wasn’t there when Mrs Crale threatened her husband, and there was nothing she could tell us that we couldn’t get from someone else equally well. She saw Mrs Crale go to the refrigerator and get the iced beer out and, of course, the Defence could have subp?naed her to say that Mrs Crale took it straight down without tampering with it in any way. But that point wasn’t relevant because we never claimed that the coniine was in the beer bottle.’
‘How did she manage to put it in the glass with those two looking on?’
‘Well, first of all, they weren’t looking on. That is to say, Mr Crale was painting-looking at his canvas and at the sitter. And Miss Greer was posed, sitting with her back almost to where Mrs Crale was standing, and her eyes looking over Mr Crale’s shoulder.’
Poirot nodded.
‘As I say neither of the two was looking at Mrs Crale. She had the stuff in one of those pipette things-one used to fill fountain pens with them.
‘The girl was a good looker, all right,’ said Hale. ‘Lots of make-up and next to no clothes on. It isn’t decent the way these girls go about. And that was sixteen years ago, mind you. Nowadays one wouldn’t think anything of it. But then-well, it shocked me. Trousers and one of those canvas shirts, open at the neck-and not another thing, I should say!’
‘You seem to remember these points very well,’ murmured Poirot slyly.
Superintendent Hale blushed. ‘I’m just passing on the impression I got,’ he said austerely.
‘Quite-quite,’ said Poirot soothingly. He went on:
‘So it would seem that the principal witnesses against Mrs Crale were Philip Blake and Elsa Greer?’
‘Yes. Vehement, they were, both of them. But the governess was called by the prosecution too, and what she said carried more weight than the other two. She was on Mrs Crale’s side entirely, you see. Up in arms for her. But she was an honest woman and gave her evidence truthfully without trying to minimize it in any way.’
‘And Meredith Blake?’
‘He was very distressed by the whole thing, poor gentleman. As well he might be! Blamed himself for his drug brewing-and the coroner blamed him for it too. Coniine and AE Salts comes under Schedule I of the Poisons Acts. He came in for some pretty sharp censure. He was a friend of both parties, and it hit him very hard-besides being the kind of county gentleman who shrinks from notoriety and being in the public eye.’
‘Did not Mrs Crale’s young sister give evidence?’
‘No. It wasn’t necessary. She wasn’t there when Mrs Crale threatened her husband, and there was nothing she could tell us that we couldn’t get from someone else equally well. She saw Mrs Crale go to the refrigerator and get the iced beer out and, of course, the Defence could have subp?naed her to say that Mrs Crale took it straight down without tampering with it in any way. But that point wasn’t relevant because we never claimed that the coniine was in the beer bottle.’
‘How did she manage to put it in the glass with those two looking on?’
‘Well, first of all, they weren’t looking on. That is to say, Mr Crale was painting-looking at his canvas and at the sitter. And Miss Greer was posed, sitting with her back almost to where Mrs Crale was standing, and her eyes looking over Mr Crale’s shoulder.’
Poirot nodded.
‘As I say neither of the two was looking at Mrs Crale. She had the stuff in one of those pipette things-one used to fill fountain pens with them.