was now in Broadmoor.
He was obviously a suitable person to undertake the present case, but I thought that he was just a little too aware of the fact himself. His manner to Poirot was a shade patronising. He deferred to him as a younger man to an older oneâin a rather self-conscious, âpublic schoolâ way.
âIâve had a good long talk with Dr. Thompson,â he said. âHeâs very interested in the âchainâ or âseriesâ type of murder. Itâs the product of a particular distorted type of mentality. As a layman one canât, of course, appreciate the finer points as they present themselves to a medical point of view.â He coughed. âAs a matter of factâmy last caseâI donât know whether you read about itâthe Mabel Homer case, the Muswell Hill schoolgirl, you knowâthat man Capper was extraordinary. Amazingly difficult to pin the crime on to himâit was his third, too! Looked as sane as you or I. But there are various testsâverbal traps, you knowâquite modern, of course, there was nothing of that kind in your day. Once you can induce a man to give himself away, youâve got him! He knows that you know and his nerve goes. He starts giving himself away right and left.â
âEven in my day that happened sometimes,â said Poirot.
Inspector Crome looked at him and murmured conversationally: âOh, yes?â
There was silence between us for some time. As we passed New Cross Station, Crome said:
âIf thereâs anything you want to ask me about the case, pray do so.â
âYou have not, I presume, a description of the dead girl?â
âShe was twenty-three years of age, engaged as a waitress at the Ginger Cat caféââ
â Pas ça. I wonderedâif she were pretty?â
âAs to that Iâve no information,â said Inspector Crome with a hint of withdrawal. His manner said: âReallyâthese foreigners! All the same!â
A faint look of amusement came into Poirotâs eyes.
âIt does not seem to you important, that? Yet, pour une femme, it is of the first importance. Often it decides her destiny!â
Another silence fell.
It was not until we were nearing Sevenoaks that Poirot opened the conversation again.
âWere you informed, by any chance, how and with what the girl was strangled?â
Inspector Crome replied briefly.
âStrangled with her own beltâa thick, knitted affair, I gather.â
Poirotâs eyes opened very wide.
âAha,â he said. âAt last we have a piece of information that is very definite. That tells one something, does it not?â
âI havenât seen it yet,â said Inspector Crome coldly.
I felt impatient with the manâs caution and lack of imagination.
âIt gives us the hallmark of the murderer,â I said. âThe girlâs own belt. It shows the particular beastliness of his mind!â
Poirot shot me a glance I could not fathom. On the face of it it conveyed humorous impatience. I thought that perhaps it was a warning not to be too outspoken in front of the inspector.
I relapsed into silence.
At Bexhill we were greeted by Superintendent Carter. He had with him a pleasant-faced, intelligent-looking young inspector called Kelsey. The latter was detailed to work in with Crome over the case.
âYouâll want to make your own inquiries, Crome,â said the superintendent. âSo Iâll just give you the main heads of the matter and then you can get busy right away.â
âThank you, sir,â said Crome.
âWeâve broken the news to her father and mother,â said the superintendent. âTerrible shock to them, of course. I left them to recover a bit before questioning them, so you can start from the beginning there.â
âThere are other members of the familyâyes?â asked Poirot.
âThereâs a sisterâa typist in
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