فصل دهم

Chapter ten

Next Hercule Poirot spoke to the guide, Mahmoud, whose English wasn’t very good - but who liked to talk. It was a while before Poirot could ask a question.

‘No, I do not think any servants were about at half-past five,’ said Mahmoud. ‘Lunch is late - two o’clock - and then all afternoon sleep. We all go to sleep by half-past three.

At five I get up but no one is there - they all go walking. For me, that is good - I can go back to sleep. At quarter to six trouble begin - large English lady - very important lady - comes back and wants tea.

She always complains - says water must be boiling. I have to do it myself. Ah, what a life - what a life! I do all I can - always I am blamed!’

‘I have another question,’ said Poirot. ‘The dead lady was angry with one of the servants. Do you know which servant it was and what it was about?’

‘I do not know,’ Mahmoud replied, ‘Old lady did not complain to me.’

‘Could you find out?’

‘No, that would be impossible. None of the servants would admit it. If the old lady was angry then naturally they would not tell. Abdul say it was Mohammed, and Mohammed say it was Aziz and Aziz say it was Aissa, and so on.’

Poirot finally managed to escape from Mahmoud, and went to talk to Colonel Carbury in his office.

‘Detecting crime is sometimes very easy,’ said Poirot. ‘All I have to do is let the criminal talk - and he will tell me everything.’ Briefly, Poirot told the Colonel about the interviews he had had that morning.

‘Raymond Boynton is definitely the most likely person,’ said the Colonel. ‘In a detective story he would certainly be innocent!’

‘Do you read detective stories?’ Poirot asked.

‘Thousands of them,’ said Colonel Carbury. He added, hopefully, ‘Can you write a list of significant facts, like they do in detective stories? You know, facts that don’t seem to mean anything but are really very important?’

‘Ah,’ said Poirot kindly. ‘I will do that for you with pleasure.’ On a piece of paper he wrote:

Significant facts

Mrs Boynton was taking a medicine containing digitalin.

Dr Gerard’s syringe was missing.

Mrs Boynton definitely enjoyed stopping her family having a good time with other people.

Mrs Boynton, on the afternoon of her death, encouraged her family to go away and enjoy themselves.

Mrs Boynton enjoyed being cruel to people.

The distance from the marquee to the place where Mrs Boynton was sitting is about two hundred yards.

Lennox Boynton said at first he did not know what time he returned to the camp, but later he admitted setting his mother’s watch to the right time.

Dr Gerard and Ginevra Boynton were staying in tents next door to each other.

At half-past six, when dinner was ready, a servant was sent to tell Mrs Boynton.

‘Excellent!’ said Colonel Carbury, smiling widely. ‘I don’t understand it at all. And you mention the servants a few times - I hope one of them didn’t kill Mrs Boynton. That wouldn’t be fair! ‘ Poirot smiled, but did not answer. As he left the office he said to himself, ‘Incredible! The English never grow up!’