"What really happened?"Poirot repeated.
He reached behind him,drew forward a chair and sat down.His manner was now
friendly -informal.
"It is a question,is it not?For the digitoxin was taken -the syringe was
missing -there was the mark of a hypodermic on Mrs Boynton's wrist.
"It is true that in a few days"time we shall know definitely -the autopsy
will tell us -whether Mrs Boynton died of an overdose of digitalis or not.But
then it may be too late!It would be better to reach the truth tonight -while the
murderer is here under our hand."
Nadine raised her head sharply.
"You mean that you still believe -that one of us -here in this
room......"Her voice died away.
Poirot was slowly nodding to himself.
"The truth,that is what I promised Colonel Carbury.And so,having cleared our
path we are back again where I was earlier in the day,writing down a list of
printed facts and being faced straightway with two glaring inconsistencies."
Colonel Carbury spoke for the first time."Suppose,now,we hear what they
are?"he suggested.
Poirot said with dignity: "I am about to tell you.We will take once more
those first two facts on my list.Mrs Boynton was taking a mixture of digitalis
and Dr Gerard missed a hypodermic syringe.Take those facts and set them against
the undeniable fact (with which I was immediately confronted)that the Boynton
family showed unmistakably guilty reactions.It would seem,therefore,certain that
one of the Boynton family must have committed the crime!And yet,those two facts
I mentioned were all against the theory.For,you see,to take a concentrated
solution of digitalis -that,yes,it is a clever idea,because Mrs Boynton was
already taking the drug.But what would a member of her family do then?Ah,ma
foi!There was only one sensible thing to do.Put the poison into her bottle of
medicine!That is what anyone,anyone with a grain of sense and who had access to
the medicine would certainly do!
"Sooner of later Mrs Boynton takes a dose and dies -and even if the
digitalin is discovered in the bottle it may be set down as a mistake of the
chemist who made it up.Certainly nothing can be proved!
"Why,then,the theft of the hypodermic needle?
"There can be only two explanations of that -either Dr Gerard overlooked the
syringe and it was never stolen,or else the syringe was taken because the
murderer had not got access to the medicine -that is to say the murderer was not
a member of the Boynton family.Those two first facts point overwhelmingly to an
outsider as having committed the crime!
"I saw that -but I was puzzled,as I say,by the strong evidences of guilt
displayed by the Boynton family.Was it possible that,in spite of that
consciousness of guilt,the Boynton family were innocent?I set out to prove -not
the guilt -but the innocence of those people!
"That is where we stand now.The murder was committed by an outsider -that
is,by someone who was not sufficiently intimate with Mrs Boynton to enter her
tent or to handle her medicine bottle."
He paused.
"There are three people in this room who are,technically,outsiders,but who
have a definite connection with the case.
"Mr Cope,whom we will consider first,has been closely associated with the
Boynton family for some time.Can we discover motive and opportunity on his
part?It seems not.Mrs Boynton's death has affected him adversely -since it has
brought about the frustration of certain hopes.Unless Mr Cope's motive was an
almost fanatical desire to benefit others,we can find no reason for his desiring
Mrs Boynton's death.(Unless,of course,there is a motive about which we are
entirely in the dark.We do not know what Mr Cope's dealings with the Boynton
family have been.)"
Mr cope said with dignity: "This seems to me a little
farfetched,M.Poirot.You must remember I had absolutely no opportunity for
committing this deed and,in any case I told very strong views as to the sanctity
of human life."
"Your position certainly seems impeccable,"said Poirot with gravity."In a
work of fiction you would be strongly suspected on that account."
He turned a little in his chair."We now come to Miss King.Miss King had a
certain amount of motive and she had the necessary medical knowledge and is a
person of character and determination,but since she left the camp before three-
thirty with the others and did not return to it until six o"clock,it seems
difficult to see where she could have got her opportunity.
"Next we must consider Dr Gerard.Now here we must take into account the
actual time that the murder was committed.According to Mr Lennox Boynton's last
statement,his mother was dead at four thirty-five.According to Lady Westholme
and Miss Pierce,she was alive at four-sixteen when they started on their
walk.That leaves exactly twenty minutes unaccounted for.Now,as these two ladies
walked away from the camp,Dr Gerard passed them going to it.There is no one to
say what Dr Gerard's movements were when he reached the camp because the two
ladies"backs were towards it.They were walking away from it.Therefore it is
perfectly possible for Dr Gerard to have committed the crime.Being a doctor,he
could easily counterfeit the appearance of malaria.There is,I should say,a
possible motive.Dr Gerard might have wished to save a certain person whose
reason (perhaps more vital a loss than loss of life)was in danger,and he may
have considered the sacrifice of an old and worn-out life worth it!"
"Your ideas,"said Dr Gerard,"are fantastic!"
Without taking any notice,Poirot went on:
"But if so,why did Gerard call attention to the possibility of foul play?It
is quite certain that,but for his statement to Colonel Carbury,Mrs Boynton's
death would have been put down to natural causes.It was Dr Gerard who first
pointed out the possibility of murder.That,my friends,"said Poirot,"does not
make common sense!"
"Doesn't seem to,"said Colonel Carbury gruffly.
"There is one more possibility,"said Poirot."Mrs Lennox Boynton just now
negatived strongly the possibility of her young sister-in-law being guilty.The
force of her objection lay in the fact that she knew her mother-n-law to be dead
at the time.But remember this,Ginevra Boynton was at the camp all the
afternoon.And there was a moment -a moment when Lady Westholme and Miss Pierce
were walking away from the camp and before Dr Gerard had returned to it......"
Ginevra stirred.She leaned forward,staring into Poirot's face with a
strange,innocent,puzzled stare.
"I did it?You think I did it?"
Then suddenly,with a movement of swift incomparable beauty,she was up from
her chair and had flung herself across the room and down on her knees beside Dr
Gerard,clinging to him,gazing up passionately into his face.
"No,no,don't let them say it!They're making the walls close round me
again!It's not true!I never did anything!They are my enemies -they want to put
me in prison -to shut me up.You must help me.You must help me!"
"There,there,my child."Gently the doctor patted her head.Then he addressed
Poirot.
"What you say is nonsense -absurd."
"Delusions of persecution?"murmured Poirot.
"Yes;but she could never have done it that way.She would have done it,you
must perceive,dramatically -a dagger -something flamboyant -spectacular -never
this cool,calm logic!I tell you,my friends,it is so.This was a reasoned crime -a
sane crime."
Poirot smiled.Unexpectedly he bowed."Je suis entierement de votre
avis,"he said smoothly.
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