Agatha Christie

“ But one thing is quite certain. The stolen plans have not left this house.'
Lord Mayfield stared at him.
'But, my dear M. Poirot, the man I saw leaving the study-'
'There was no man.'
'But I saw him -'
'With the greatest respect, Lord Mayfield, you imagined you saw him. The shadow cast by the branch of a tree deceived you. The fact that a robbery occurred naturally seemed a proof that what you had imagined was true.'
'Really, M. Poirot, the evidence of my own eyes-'
'Back my eyes against yours any day, old boy,' put in Sir George. ”

“ It means that her hair has been ruffled and that she is hastily getting it into shape again! Now then, mademoiselle, let us have the truth. Why did you scream on the stairs?'
'But monsieur it is true, I saw a tall figure all in white.'
'Mademoiselle, do not insult my intelligence. That story, it may have been good enough for M. Carlile, but it is not good enough for Hercule Poirot. The truth is that you had just been kissed, is it not so? And I will make a guess that it was M. Reggie Carrington who kissed you.'
Leonie twinkled an unabashed eye at him. ”

“ Poirot listened sympathetically. He heard a lot of the Air Marshal's accumulated grievances. The lack of grit and stamina in the younger generation, the fantastic way in which mothers spoilt their children and always took their side, the curse of gambling once it got hold of a woman, the folly of playing for higher stakes than you could afford. It was couched in general terms, Sir George did not allude directly to either his wife or his son, but his natural transparency made his generalizations very easy to see through. ”

“ Lady Julia clearly believed her son guilty. So there remained only two possibilities. Either Carlile did not put the papers on the desk but into his own pocket (and that is not reasonable, because, as you pointed out, he could have taken a tracing of them) , or else - or else the plans were there when you walked over to the desk, and the only place they could have gone was into your pocket. In that case everything was clear. Your insistence on the figure you had seen, your insistence on Carlile's innocence, your disinclination to have me summoned. ”

“ Poirot slid gently from the topic of the burglary to more personal matters. He himself had a great admiration for Lord Mayfield. As a member of the general public he felt that Lord Mayfield was a truly great man. Of course, Mrs Macatta, being in the know, would have a far better means of estimating that than himself.
'Lord Mayfield has brains,' allowed Mrs Macatta. 'And he has carved his career out entirely for himself. He owes nothing to hereditary influence. He has a certain lack of vision, perhaps. In that I find all men sadly alike. They lack the breadth of a woman's imagination. ”

“ Lady Julia went to her son's room last night and found it empty. She came downstairs to look for him, but did not find him. This morning she hears of the theft, and she also hears that her son declares that he went straight to his room and never left it. That, she knows, is not true. And she knows something else about her son. She knows that he is weak, that he is desperately hard-up for money. She has observed his infatuation for Mrs Vanderlyn. ”

“ Poirot repeated word for word the scene between himself and Lady Julia.
Lord Mayfield looked at him with a stupefied expression. 'But what does it mean? I don't understand.'
'It is very clear, is it not? Lady Julia knows who stole the plans.'
'You don't mean she took them herself?'
'Certainly not. Lady Julia may be a gambler. She is not a thief. But if she offers to return the plans, it means that they were taken by her husband or her son. Now Sir George Carrington was out on the terrace with you. That leaves us the son. ”

“ There was a pause, then Lord Mayfield said:
'Do you really know what you are saying, M. Poirot?'
'Yes, I know. I know that I am speaking to a very clever man. From the first it worried me that you, who were admittedly short-sighted, should be so positive about the figure you had seen leaving the window. You wanted that solution the convenient solution - to be accepted. Why? Later, one by one, I eliminated everyone else. Mrs Vanderlyn was upstairs, Sir George was with you on the terrace, Reggie Carrington was with the French girl on the stairs, Mrs Macatta was blamelessly in her bedroom. ”

“ Mr Carlile, Lord Mayfield's private secretary, sat between young Reggie and his mother. A pale young man with pince-nez and an air of intelligent reserve, he talked little, but was always ready to fling himself into any conversational breach. Noticing that Reggie Carrington was struggling with a yawn, he leaned forward and adroitly asked Mrs Macatta a question about her 'Fitness for Children' scheme. ”

“ Lord Mayfield clipped off the end of a cigar, lit it with precision and, throwing his head back, dropped out his words with careful deliberation.
'What do I know about Mrs Vanderlyn? I know that she's an American subject. I know that she's had three husbands, one Italian, one German and one Russian, and that in consequence she has made useful what I think are called "contacts" in three countries. I know that she manages to buy very expensive clothes and live in a very luxurious manner, and that there is some slight uncertainty as to where the income comes from which permits her to do so." ”

“ You walked over to the desk, took the plans and kept them on your own person until the moment when, by prearranged plan, you slipped them into Mrs Vanderlyn's dressing-case. In return she handed you the fatal letter disguised as an unposted letter of her own.'
Poirot stopped.
Lord Mayfield said:
'Your knowledge is very complete, M. Poirot. You must think me an unutterable skunk.'
Poirot made a quick gesture.
'No, no, Lord Mayfield. I think, as I said, that you are a very clever man. It came to me suddenly as we talked here last night. You are a first-class engineer. ”

“ With a grin, Sir George Carrington murmured:
'Your spies have not been inactive, Charles, I see.'
'I know,' Lord Mayfield continued, 'that in addition to having a seductive type of beauty, Mrs Vanderlyn is also a very good listener, and that she can display a fascinating interest in what we call "shop". That is to say, a man can tell her all about his job and feel that he is being intensely interesting to the lady! Sundry young officers have gone a little too far in their zeal to be interesting, and their careers have suffered in consequence. ”

“ Where Lord Mayfield sat was so very decidedly the head of the table. A big man, square-shouldered, with thick silvery hair, a big straight nose and a slightly prominent chin. It was a face that lent itself easily to caricature. As Sir Charles McLaughlin, Lord Mayfield had combined a political career with being the head of a big engineering firm. He was himself a first-class engineer. ”

“ I think a woman smothered in cheap scent is one of the greatest abominations known to mankind.'
Sir George glanced up at the sky. ”

“ We've got to tempt her with something big.'
'Something big being the specification of the new bomber?'
'Exactly. It's got to be something big enough to induce her to take a risk-to come out into the open. And then-we've got her!'
Sir George grunted.
'Oh, well,' he said. 'I dare say it's all right. But suppose she won't take the risk?'
"That would be a pity,' said Lord Mayfield. Then he added: 'But I think she will...'
He rose.
'Shall we join the ladies in the drawing-room? We mustn't deprive your wife of her bridge.'
Sir George grunted:
'Julia's a damned sight too fond of her bridge. ”

“ Mrs Macatta was a woman of great earnestness of purpose. Mrs Vanderlyn she dismissed immediately as a useless and parasitic type. Lady Julia she tried to interest in a forthcoming charity entertainment which she was organizing. Lady Julia answered vaguely, stifled a yawn or two and retired into her own inner preoccupation. Why didn't Charles and George come? How tiresome men were. ”

“ He slid to the topic of Mrs Vanderlyn. Was it true, as he had heard hinted, that she and Lord Mayfield were very close friends?
'Not in the least. To tell you the truth I was very surprised to meet her here. Very surprised indeed.'
Poirot invited Mrs Macatta's opinion of Mrs Vanderlyn-and got it.
'One of those absolutely useless women, M. Poirot. Women that make one despair of one's own sex! A parasite, first and last a parasite.'
'Men admired her?'
'Men!' Mrs Macatta spoke the word with contempt. 'Men are always taken in by those very obvious good looks. ”

“ I was looking straight down the terrace, and I'd have seen anything there was to be seen. There's precious little I don't see even if I do have to hold a newspaper at arm's length.'
Lord Mayfield chuckled.
'I can put one over on you there, George. I read easily without glasses.'
'But you can't always distinguish the fellow on the other side of the House. Or is that eyeglass of yours sheer intimidation?'
Laughing, the two men entered Lord Mayfield's study, the french window of which was open.
Mr Carlile was busy arranging some papers in a file by the safe. ”

“ She arranges with her maid to scream and get Carlile away from the study. Then she slips in and out by the windows as you said.'
'You forget it could not have been Mrs Vanderlyn. Carlile heard her call the maid from upstairs while he was talking to the girl.'
Lord Mayfield bit his lip.
'True. I forgot that.' He looked thoroughly annoyed.
'You see,' said Poirot gently. 'We progress. We have first the simple explanation of a thief who comes from outside and makes off with the booty. A very convenient theory as I said at the time, too convenient to be readily accepted. ”

“ Poirot nodded.
'Exactly. Lord Mayfield, he fancies he sees a shadow. Then there comes the robbery and he is sure but sure! It is no longer a fancy - he actually saw the man. But that is not so. Me, I do not concern myself much with footprints and such things but for what it is worth we have that negative evidence. There were no footprints on the grass. It had rained heavily this evening. If a man had crossed the terrace to the grass this evening his footprints would have shown.'
Sir George said, staring: 'But then - but then -'
'It brings us back to the house. ”

“ Lord Mayfield said sharply:
'What on earth-' when Carlile interrupted.
'In the normal course of events, Lord Mayfield, I should not, of course, have dreamt of leaving the room when important papers were lying about, but hearing a woman scream-'
'A woman scream?' ejaculated Lord Mayfield in a surprised voice.
'Yes, Lord Mayfield. It startled me more than I can say. I was just laying the papers on the desk when I heard it, and naturally I ran out into the hall.'
'Who screamed?'
'Mrs Vanderlyn's French maid. ”

“ Popular feeling is very often sentimental, muddle-headed, and eminently unsound, but it cannot be disregarded for all that.'
'How well you express it! That is exactly the curse of a politician's life. ”

“ Mrs Vanderlyn and Lady Julia?
Mrs Vanderlyn and Mr Carlile?
He shook his head in a dissatisifed manner, murmuring: 'C'est plus simple que ça.'
Then he added a few short sentences.
Did Lord Mayfield see a 'shadow'? If not, why did he say he did? Did Sir George see anything? He was positive he had seen nothing AFTER I examined flower-bed. Note: Lord Mayfield is near-sighted, can read without glasses but has to use a monocle to look across a room. Sir George is long-sighted. Therefore, from the far end of the terrace, his sight is more to be depended upon than Lord Mayfield's. ”

“ The papers may have been stolen with the object of turning them into cash. That is the simplest motive to consider. But the motive might possibly be something quite different.'
'Such as -'
Poirot said slowly:
'It might have been done definitely with the idea of damaging someone.'
'Who?'
'Possibly Mr Carlile. He would be the obvious suspect. But there might be more to it than that. The men who control the destiny of a country, Lord Mayfield, are particularly vulnerable to displays of popular feeling.'
'Meaning that the theft was aimed at damaging me?'
Poirot nodded. ”

“ Nonsense!'
'Tout de même, Lord Mayfield, it would not look well if it were known that the plans of Britain's new bomber had been stolen during a weekend when a certain very charming lady had been your guest. Little hints in the newspapers as to your relationship with that lady would create a feeling of distrust in you.'
'Such a thing could not really be taken seriously.'
'My dear Lord Mayfield, you know perfectly well it could! It takes so little to undermine public confidence in a man.'
'Yes, that's true,' said Lord Mayfield. He looked suddenly very worried. 'God! ”

“ Some men would have refused. You did not! You agreed. Mrs Vanderlyn was the agent in the matter. She came here by arrangement to make the exchange. You gave yourself away when you admitted that you had formed no definite stratagem for entrapping her. That admission made your reason for inviting her here incredibly weak.
'You arranged the robbery. Pretended to see the thief on the terrace - thereby clearing Carlile of suspicion. Even if he had not left the room, the desk was so near the window that a thief might have taken the plans while Carlile was busy at the safe with his back turned. ”