JollyRoger Hotel. You identify this lady as a fellow guest of yours at the hotelâthe wife of a Captain Marshall?â
Emily Brewster nodded.
âThen, I think,â said Inspector Colgate, âthat weâll adjourn to the hotel.â
He beckoned to a constable.
âHawkes, you stay here and donât allow anyone on to this cove. Iâll be sending Phillips along later.â
II
âUpon my soul!â said Colonel Weston. âThis is a surprise finding you here!â
Hercule Poirot replied to the Chief Constableâs greeting in a suitable manner. He murmured:
âAh, yes, many years have passed since that affair at St. Loo.â
âI havenât forgotten it, though,â said Weston. âBiggest surprise of my life. The thing Iâve never got over, though, is the way you got round me about that funeral business. Absolutely unorthodox, the whole thing. Fantastic!â
âTout de même, mon Colonel,â said Poirot. âIt produced the goods, did it not?â
âErâwell, possibly. I dare say we should have got there by more orthodox methods.â
âIt is possible,â agreed Poirot diplomatically.
âAnd here you are in the thick of another murder,â said the Chief Constable. âAny ideas about this one?â
Poirot said slowly:
âNothing definiteâbut it is interesting.â
âGoing to give us a hand?â
âYou would permit it, yes?â
âMy dear fellow, delighted to have you. Donât know enough yet to decide whether itâs a case for Scotland Yard or not. Offhand it looks as though our murderer must be pretty well within a limited radius. On the other hand, all these people are strangers down here. To find out about them and their motives youâve got to go to London.â
Poirot said:
âYes, that is true.â
âFirst of all,â said Weston, âweâve got to find out who last saw the dead woman alive. Chambermaid took her her breakfast at nine. Girl in the bureau downstairs saw her pass through the lounge and go out about ten.â
âMy friend,â said Poirot, âI suspect that I am the man you want.â
âYou saw her this morning? What time?â
âAt five minutes past ten. I assisted her to launch her float from the bathing beach.â
âAnd she went off on it?â
âYes.â
âAlone?â
âYes.â
âDid you see which direction she took?â
âShe paddled round that point there to the right.â
âIn the direction of Pixyâs Cove, that is?â
âYes.â
âAnd the time then wasâ?â
âI should say she actually left the beach at a quarter past ten.â
Weston considered.
âThat fits in well enough. How long should you say that it would take her to paddle round to the Cove?â
âAh me, I am not an expert. I do not go in boats or expose myself on floats. Perhaps half an hour?â
âThatâs about what I think,â said the Colonel. âShe wouldnât be hurrying, I presume. Well, if she arrived there at a quarter to eleven, that fits in well enough.â
âAt what time does your doctor suggest she died?â
âOh, Neasden doesnât commit himself. Heâs a cautious chap. A quarter to eleven is his earliest outside limit.â
Poirot nodded. He said:
âThere is one other point that I must mention. As she left, Mrs. Marshall asked me not to say I had seen her.â
Weston stared.
He said:
âHâm, thatâs rather suggestive, isnât it?â
Poirot murmured.
âYes. I thought so myself.â
Weston tugged at his moustache. He said:
âLook here, Poirot. Youâre a man of the world. What sort of a woman was Mrs. Marshall?â
A faint smile came to Poirotâs lips.
He asked:
âHave you not already heard?â
The Chief Constable said dryly:
âI know what the women say