10. The arrest by Agatha Christie
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the mysterious Affair at Styles chapter 10 the arrest

to my extreme annoyance, Poirot was not in, and_the old Belgian who answered my knock informed me that he believed he had gone to London .

i_was dumbfounded . what on earth could Poirot be doing in London ! was_it a sudden decision on_his part, or had he already made up his mind when he parted from me a few hours earlier ?

I retraced my steps to Styles in some annoyance . with Poirot away, i_was uncertain how to act . had he foreseen this arrest ? had he not, in all probability, been the cause of it ? those questions I_could_not resolve . but in_the meantime what_was I to_do ? should I announce the arrest openly at Styles, or not ? though I_did_not acknowledge it to myself, the thought of Mary Cavendish was weighing on me . would it not be a terrible shock to her ? for_the moment, I set aside utterly any suspicions of her . she_could_not_be implicated -- otherwise i_should_have heard some hint of it .

of_course, there_was no possibility of being able permanently to conceal Dr .Bauerstein's arrest from her . it would_be announced in every newspaper on_the morrow . still, I shrank from blurting it out . if only Poirot had_been accessible, I_could_have asked his advice . what possessed him to_go posting off to London in_this unaccountable way ?

in_spite of myself, my opinion of_his sagacity was immeasurably heightened . i_would never have dreamt of suspecting the doctor, had_not Poirot put it into my head . yes, decidedly, the little man was clever .

after some reflecting, I decided to_take John into my confidence, and leave him to make_the matter public or not, as he thought fit .

he_gave vent to a prodigious whistle, as I imparted the news .

" great Scot ! you were right, then .I couldn't believe it at_the_time .''

" no, it_is astonishing until you get used to_the idea, and_see how it makes everything fit in . now, what_are we to_do ? of_course, it_will_be generally known to- morrow .''

John reflected .

" never mind,'' he_said at last, " we won't say anything at present . there_is no need . as_you say, it_will_be known soon enough .''

but to my intense surprise, on getting down early the next morning, and eagerly opening the newspapers, there_was not a word about_the arrest ! there_was a column of mere padding about " the Styles Poisoning case,'' but nothing further . it_was rather inexplicable, but I supposed that, for some reason or other, Japp wished to_keep it out_of_the papers . it worried me just a little, for_it suggested the possibility that there_might_be further arrests to_come .

after breakfast, I decided to_go down to_the village, and_see if Poirot had returned yet; but, before I_could start, a well- known face blocked one_of_the windows, and_the well- known voice said:

"Bon jour, mon ami ! ''

"Poirot,'' I exclaimed, with relief, and seizing him by both hands, I dragged him into_the room ." i_was never so glad_to_see anyone . listen, I_have said nothing to anybody but John . is_that right ? ''

" my friend,'' replied Poirot, " I_do_not know what you_are talking about .''

"Dr .Bauerstein's arrest, of_course,'' I answered impatiently .

" is Bauerstein arrested, then ? ''

" did you not know it ? ''

" not the least in_the_world .'' but, pausing a moment, he added: " still, it does_not surprise me . after all, we_are only four miles from_the coast .''

" the coast ? '' I asked, puzzled ." what has_that got to_do with it ? ''

Poirot shrugged his shoulders .

" surely, it_is obvious ! ''

" not to_me . no_doubt I_am very dense, but I cannot_see what the proximity of_the coast has got to_do with_the murder of Mrs Inglethorp .''

" nothing at all, of_course,'' replied Poirot, smiling ." but we were speaking of_the arrest of Dr .Bauerstein .''

" well, he_is arrested for_the murder of Mrs Inglethorp -- -- ''

" what ? '' cried Poirot, in apparently lively astonishment ."Dr .Bauerstein arrested for_the murder of Mrs Inglethorp ? ''

" yes .''

" impossible ! that_would_be too good a farce ! who told you that, my friend ? ''

" well, no one exactly told me,'' I confessed ." but he_is arrested .''

"Oh, yes, very likely . but for espionage, mon ami .''

" espionage ? '' I gasped .

" precisely .''

" not for poisoning Mrs Inglethorp ? ''

" not unless our friend Japp has taken leave of_his senses,'' replied Poirot placidly .

" but -- but i_thought you thought so too ? ''

Poirot gave_me one look, which conveyed awondering pity, and_his full sense of_the utter absurdity of_such an idea .

" do_you_mean to_say,'' I asked, slowly adapting myself to_the new idea, " that Dr .Bauerstein is a spy ? ''

Poirot nodded .

" have_you never suspected it ? ''

" it never entered my head .''

" it did_not strike you as peculiar that a famous London doctor should bury himself in a little village like this, and should_be in_the habit of walking about at all hours of_the night, fully dressed ? ''

" no,'' I confessed, "I never thought of_such a thing .''

" he_is, of_course, a German by birth,'' said Poirot thoughtfully, " though he has practiced so_long in_this country that nobody thinks of him as anything but an Englishman . he_was naturalized about fifteen years_ago .a very clever man -- aJew, of_course .''

" the blackguard ! '' I cried indignantly .

" not at all . he_is, on_the contrary, a patriot . think what he stands to lose .I admire the man myself .''

but I_could_not look at it in Poirot's philosophical way .

" and this_is_the man with_whom Mrs Cavendish has_been wandering about all over the country ! '' I cried indignantly .

" yes . i_should fancy he had found her very useful,'' remarked Poirot ." so_long as gossip busied itself in coupling their names together, any_other vagaries of_the doctor's passed unobserved .''

" then you_think he never really cared for her ? '' I asked eagerly -- rather too eagerly, perhaps, under the circumstances .

" that, of_course, I cannot_say, but -- shall I tell you my own private opinion, Hastings ? ''

" yes .''

" well, it is_this: that Mrs Cavendish does_not care, and never has cared one little jot about Dr .Bauerstein ! ''

" do_you really think so ? '' I_could_not disguise my pleasure .

" I_am quite_sure of it . and_I_will tell you why .''

" yes ? ''

" because she cares for some one else, mon ami .''

"Oh ! '' what did he mean ? in_spite of myself, an agreeable warmth spread over me . I_am not a vain man where women are concerned, but I remembered certain evidences, too lightly thought of at_the_time, perhaps, but which certainly seemed to indicate -- --

my pleasing thoughts were interrupted by_the sudden entrance of miss Howard . she glanced round hastily to_make sure there_was no one else in_the room, and quickly produced an old sheet of brown paper . this she handed to Poirot, murmuring as she did so the cryptic words:

" on top of_the wardrobe .'' then she hurriedly left the room .

Poirot unfolded the sheet of paper eagerly, and uttered an exclamation of satisfaction . he spread it out on_the table .

" come here, Hastings . now tell me, what_is that initial -- J . or L .? ''

it_was a medium sized sheet of paper, rather dusty, as_though it had lain by for some_time . but it was_the label that was attracting Poirot's attention . at_the top, it bore the printed stamp of Messrs .Parkson's, the well- known theatrical costumiers, and it_was addressed to " -- ( the debatable initial) Cavendish, Esq ., Styles court, Styles St .Mary, Essex .''

" it might_be T ., or it might_be L .,'' I_said, after studying the thing for a minute or two ." it certainly isn't aJ .''

" good,'' replied Poirot, folding up the paper again ."I, also, am of your way of thinking . it_is an L ., depend upon it ! ''

" where did it come from ? '' I asked curiously ." is_it important ? ''

" moderately so . it confirms a surmise of_mine .Having deduced its existence, I set miss Howard to search for_it, and, as you_see, she has_been successful .''

" what did she mean by ' on_the top of_the wardrobe' ? ''

" she meant,'' replied Poirot promptly, " that she found it on top of a wardrobe .''

"A funny place for a piece of brown paper,'' I mused .

" not at all . the top of a wardrobe is an excellent place for brown paper and cardboard boxes . I_have kept them there myself . neatly arranged, there_is nothing to offend the eye .''

"Poirot,'' I asked earnestly, " have_you_made up your mind about_this crime ? ''

" yes -- that_is_to_say, I believe I_know how it_was committed .''

"Ah ! ''

" unfortunately, I_have no proof beyond my surmise, unless -- -- '' with sudden energy, he caught me by_the arm, and whirled me down the hall, calling out in French in_his excitement: "Mademoiselle Dorcas, Mademoiselle Dorcas, un moment, s'il vous pla ? t ! ''

Dorcas, quite flurried by_the noise, came hurrying out_of_the pantry .

" my good Dorcas, I_have an idea -- a little idea -- if_it should prove justified, what magnificent chance ! tell me, on Monday, not Tuesday, Dorcas, but Monday, the day before_the tragedy, did anything go wrong with Mrs Inglethorp's bell ? ''

Dorcas looked very surprised .

" yes, sir, now you mention it, it did; though I don't know how you came to hear of it .a mouse, or some such, must_have nibbled the wire through . the man came and put it right on Tuesday morning .''

with a long drawn exclamation of ecstasy, Poirot led the way back to_the morning- room .

" see you, one should_not ask for outside proof -- no, reason should_be enough . but the flesh is weak, it_is consolation to_find that one is on_the right track .Ah, my friend, I_am like a giant refreshed .I run ! I leap ! ''

and, in very truth, run and leap he_did, gambolling wildly down the stretch of lawn outside the long window .

" what_is your remarkable little friend doing ? '' asked a voice behind me, and I turned to_find Mary Cavendish at my elbow . she smiled, and so did I ." what_is it all about ? ''

" really, I_can't tell you . he asked Dorcas some question about a bell, and appeared so delighted with her answer that he_is capering about as you_see ! ''

Mary laughed .

" how ridiculous ! he's going out_of_the gate .Isn't he coming back to- day ? ''

"I don't know .I've given up trying to guess what he'll do next .''

" is he quite mad, Mr Hastings ? ''

"I honestly don't know .Sometimes, I_feel_sure he_is as mad as a hatter; and then, just as he_is at his maddest, I_find there_is method in_his madness .''

" I_see .''

in_spite of her laugh, Mary was looking thoughtful this_morning . she seemed grave, almost sad .

it occurred to_me that_it would_be a good opportunity to tackle her on_the_subject of Cynthia .I began rather tactfully, i_thought, but I had_not gone far before she stopped me authoritatively .

" you_are an excellent advocate, I_have no_doubt, Mr Hastings, but in this_case your talents are quite thrown away . Cynthia will run no risk of encountering any unkindness from me .''

I began to stammer feebly that I hoped she hadn't thought -- but again she stopped me, and her words were so unexpected that_they quite drove Cynthia, and her troubles, out of_my mind .

" Mr Hastings,'' she said, " do_you_think I and my husband are happy together ? ''

i_was considerably taken aback, and murmured something about_it's not being my business to_think anything of_the sort .

" well,'' she said quietly, " whether it_is your business or not, i_will tell you that we_are_not happy .''

I_said nothing, for I_saw that she had_not finished .

she began slowly, walking up and down the room, her head a little bent, and_that slim, supple figure of hers swaying gently as she walked . she stopped suddenly, and looked up at me .

" you don't know anything about me, do_you ? '' she asked ." where I come from, who i_was before I married John -- anything, in_fact ? well, i_will tell you . i_will make a father confessor of you . you_are kind, i_think -- yes, I_am_sure you_are kind .''

somehow, i_was not quite as elated as I might_have_been .I remembered that Cynthia had begun her confidences in much the same way . besides, a father confessor should_be elderly, it_is_not at all the r ? le for a young man .

" my father was English,'' said Mrs Cavendish, " but my mother was a Russian .''

"Ah,'' I_said, " now I understand -- ''

" understand what ? ''

"A hint of something foreign -- different -- that there has always been about you .''

" my mother was very beautiful, I believe .I don't know, because I never saw her . she died when i_was quite a little child .I believe there_was some tragedy connected with her death -- she took an overdose of some sleeping draught by mistake . however that_may_be, my father was broken-hearted . shortly afterwards, he went into_the consular service . everywhere he went, I went with_him . when i_was twenty- three, I had_been nearly all over the world . it_was a splendid life -- I loved it .''

there_was a smile on her face, and her head was thrown back . she seemed living in_the memory of_those old glad days .

" then my father died . he left me very badly off .I had to_go and live with some old aunts in Yorkshire .'' she shuddered ." you_will understand me when I_say that_it_was a deadly life for a girl brought up as I had_been . the narrowness, the deadly monotony of it, almost drove me mad .'' she paused a minute, and added in a different tone: " and then I met John Cavendish .''

" yes ? ''

" you_can imagine that, from my aunts' point of view, it_was a very_good match for_me . but I_can honestly say it_was not this fact which weighed with me . no, he_was simply a way of escape from_the insufferable monotony of_my life .''

I_said nothing, and after a moment, she went on:

"Don't misunderstand me . i_was quite honest with_him . i_told him, what_was true, that I liked him very_much, that I hoped to_come to like him more, but that i_was not in any_way what the world calls '

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