The Frenchman came in with a quick yet unhurried tread.As he shook hands
with Colonel Carbury he shot a keen,interested glance at Poirot.Carbury said:
"This is M.Hercule Poirot.Staying with me.Been talking to him about this
business down at Petra."
"Ah,yes?"Gerard's quick eyes looked Poirot up and down."You are interested?"
Hercule Poirot threw up his hands.
"Alas!one is always incurably interested in one's own subject."
"True,"said Gerard.
"Have a drink?"said Carbury.
He poured out a whisky and soda and placed it by Gerard's elbow.He held up
the decanter inquiringly,but Poirot shook his head.Colonel Carbury set it down
again and drew his chair a little nearer.
"Well,"he said,"where are we?"
"I gather,"said Poirot to Gerard,"that Colonel Carbury is not satisfied."
Gerard made an expressive gesture.
"And that,"he said,"is my fault!And I may be wrong.Remember that,Colonel
Carbury,I may be entirely wrong."
Carbury gave a grunt.
"Give Poirot the facts,"he said.
Dr Gerard began by a brief recapitulation of the events preceding the
journey to Petra.He gave a short sketch of the various members of the Boynton
family and described the condition of emotional strain under which they were
labouring .
Poirot listened with interest.
Then Gerard proceeded to the actual events of their first day at
Petra,describing how he had returned to the camp.
"I was in for a bad bout of malaria-cerebral type,"he explained."For that I
proposed to treat myself by an intravenous injection of quinine.That is the
usual method."
Poirot nodded his comprehension..
"The fever was on me badly.I fairly staggered into my tent.I could not at
first find my case of drugs,someone had moved it from where I had originally
placed it.Then,when I had found that,I could not find my hypodermic syringe.I
hunted for it for some time,then gave it up and took a large dose of quinine by
the mouth and flung myself on my bed.".
Gerard paused,then went on:
"Mrs Boynton's death was not discovered until after sunset.Owing to the way
in which she was sitting and the support the chair gave to her body,no change
occurred in her position and ii was not until one of the boys went to summon her
to dinner at six-thirty that it was noticed that anything was wrong."
He explained in full detail the position of the cave and its distance away
from the big marquee.
"Miss King,who is a qualified doctor,examined the body.She did not disturb
me,knowing that I had fever.There was,indeed,nothing that could be done.Mrs
Boynton was dead -and had been dead for some little time."
Poirot murmured: "How long exactly?"
Gerard said slowly:
"I do not think that Miss King gave much attention to that point.She did
not,I presume,think it of any importance."
"One can say,at least,when she was last definitely known to be alive?"said
Poirot.
Colonel Carbury cleared his throat and referred to an official-looking
document.
"Mrs Boynton was spoken to by Lady Westholme and Miss Pierce shortly after
4p.m.Lennox Boynton spoke to his mother about four-thirty.Mrs Lennox Boynton had
a long conversation with her about five minutes later.Carol Boynton had a word
with her mother at a time she is unable to state precisely -but which from the
evidence of others would seem to have been about ten minutes past five.
"Jefferson Cope,an American friend of the family,returning to the camp with
Lady Westholme and Miss Pierce,saw her asleep.He did not speak to her.That was
about twenty to six.Raymond Boynton,the younger son,seems to have been the last
person to see her alive.On his return from a walk he went and spoke to her at
about ten minutes to six.The discovery of the body was made at six-thirty when a
servant went to tell her dinner was ready."
"Between the time that Mr Raymond Boynton spoke to her and half-past six did
no one go near her?"asked Poirot.
"I understand not.,
"But someone might have done so?"Poirot persisted.
"I don't think so.From close on six onwards servants were moving about the
camp,people were going to and from their tents.No one can be found who saw
anyone approaching the old lady."
"Then Raymond Boynton was definitely the last person to see his mother
alive?"said Poirot.
Dr Gerard and Colonel Carbury interchanged a quick glance.Colonel Carbury
drummed on the table with his fingers.
"This is where we begin to get into deep waters,"he said."Go on,Gerard.This
is your pigeon."
"As I mentioned just now,Sarah King,when she examined Mrs Boynton,saw no
reason for determining the exact time of death.She merely said that Mrs Boynton
had been dead ""some little time"",but when,on the following day for reasons of
my own,I endeavoured to narrow things down and happened to mention that Mrs
Boynton was last seen alive by her son Raymond at a little before six,Miss
King,to my great surprise,said point-blank that that was impossible -that at
that time Mrs Boynton must already have been dead."
Poirot's eyebrows rose."Odd.Extremely odd.And what does M.Raymond Boynton
say to that?"
Colonel Carbury said abruptly: "He swears that his mother was alive.He went
up to her and said,""I'm back.Hope you have had a nice afternoon?""Something of
that kind.He says she just grunted,""Quite all right,""and he went on to his
tent."
Poirot frowned perplexedly.
"Curious,"he said."Extremely curious.Tell me,was it growing dusk by then?"
"The sun was just setting."
"Curious,"said Poirot again."And you,Dr Gerard,when did you see the body?"
"Not until the following day.At 9a.m.to be precise."
"And your estimate of the time death had occurred?"
The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders.
"It is difficult to be exact after that length of time.There must
necessarily be a margin of several hours.Were I giving evidence on oath I could
only say that she had been dead certainly twelve hours and not longer than
eighteen.You see,that does not help at all."
"Go on,Gerard,"said Colonel Carbury."Give him the rest of it."
"On getting up in the morning,"said Dr Gerard,"I found my hypodermic syringe
-it was behind a case of bottles on my dressing-table."
He leaned forward.
"You may say,if you like,that I had overlooked it the day before.I was in a
miserable state of fever and wretchedness,shaking from head to foot,and how
often does one look for a thing that is there all the time and yet be unable to
find it!I can only say that I am quite positive the syringe was not there then."
"There's something more still,"said Carbury.
"Yes,two facts for what they are worth and they mean a great deal.There was
a mark on the dead woman's wrist -a mark such as would be caused by the
insertion of a hypodermic syringe.Her daughter,I may say,explains it as having
been caused by the prick of a pin -"
Poirot stirred."Which daughter?"
"Her daughter Carol.,
"Yes,continue,I pray you."
"And there is the last fact.Happening to examine my little case of drugs,I
noticed that my stock of digitoxin was very much diminished."
"digitoxin,"said Poirot,"is a heart poison,is it not?"
"Yes.It is obtained from digitalis purpurea -the common foxglove.There arc
four active principles -digitalin -digitonin-digitalein -and digitoxin.Of these
degitoxin is considered the most active poisonous constituent of digitalis
leaves.According to Kopp's experiments it is from six to ten times stronger than
digitalin or digitalein.It is official in France -but not in the British
Pharmacopoeia."
"And a large dose of digitoxin?"
Dr Gerard said gravely: "A large dose of digitoxin thrown suddenly on the
circulation by intravenous injection would cause sudden death by quick palsy of
the heart.It has been estimated that four milligrams might prove fatal to an
adult man."
"And Mrs Boynton already suffered with heart trouble?"
"Yes,as a matter of fact she was actually taking a medicine containing
digitalin."
"That,"said Poirot,"is extremely interesting."
"d"you mean,"asked Colonel Carbury,"that her death might have been
attributed to an overdose of her own medicine?"
"That -yes.But I meant more than that."
"In some senses,"said Mr Gerard,"digitalin may be considered a cumulative
drug.Moreover,as regards post-mortem appearance,the active principles of the
digitalis may destroy life and leave no appreciative sign."
Poirot nodded slow appreciation.
"Yes,that is clever --very clever.Almost impossible to prove satisfactorily
to a jury.Ah,but let me tell you,gentlemen,if this is a murder,ii is a very
clever murder!The hypodermic replaced,the poison employed,a poison which the
victim was already taking -the possibilities of a mistake -or accident -are
overwhelming.Oh,yes,there are brains here.There is thought --care -genius."
For a moment he sat in silence,then he raised his head."And yet,one thing
puzzles me."
"What is that?"
"The theft of the hypodermic syringe."
"It was taken,"said Dr Gerard quickly.
"Taken -and returned?"
"Yes."
"Odd,"said Poirot.'very odd.Otherwise everything fits so well ..."
Colonel Carbury looked at him curiously.
"Well?"he said."What's your expert opinion?Was it murder -or wasn't it?"
Poirot held up a hand.
"One moment.We have not yet arrived at that point.There is still some
evidence to consider."
"What evidence?You've had it all."
"Ah!but this is evidence that I,Hereule Poirot,bring to you."
He nodded his head and smiled a little at their two astonished faces.
"Yes,it is droll,that!That I,to whom you tell the story,should in return
present you with a piece of evidence about which you do not know.It was like
this.In the Solomon Hotel,one night,I go to the window to make sure it is closed
-"
"Closed -or open?"asked Carbury.
"Closed,"said Poirot firmly."It was open,so naturally I go to close it But
before I do so,as my hand is on the latch,I hear a voice speaking -an agreeable
voice,low and clear with a tremor in it of nervous excitement.I say to myself it
is a voice I will know again.And what does it say,this voice?It says these
words,""You do see,don't you,that she's got to be killed?"""
"At the moment,naturellement,I do not take those words as referring to a
killing of flesh and blood.I think it is an author or perhaps a playwright who
speaks.But now -I am not so sure.That is to say I am sure it was nothing of the
kind."
Again he paused before saying: "messieurs,I will tell you this -to the best
of my knowledge and belief those words were spoken by a young man whom I saw
later in the lounge of the hotel and who was,so they told me on inquiring,a
young man of the name of Raymond Boynton."
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