Agatha Christie - Cat Among the Pigeons

‘Within a few days another method was tried. A strange woman with a faked American accent waylaid Jennifer Sutcliffe as she was coming from the tennis courts, and told her a plausible story about a relative of hers having sent her down a new tennis racquet. Jennifer unsuspiciously accepted this story and gladly exchanged the racquet she was carrying for the new, expensive one the stranger had brought. But a circumstance had arisen which the woman with the American accent knew nothing about. That was that a few days previously Jennifer Sutcliffe and Julia Upjohn had exchanged racquets so that what the strange woman took away with her was in actual fact Julia Upjohn’s old racquet, though the identifying tape on it bore Jennifer’s name.

‘We come now to the second tragedy. Miss Vansittart for some unknown reason, but possibly connected with the kidnapping of Shaista which had taken place that afternoon, took a torch and went out to the Sports Pavilion after everybody had gone to bed. Somebody who had followed her there struck her down with a cosh or a sandbag, as she was stooping down by Shaista’s locker. Again the crime was discovered almost immediately. Miss Chadwick saw a light in the Sports Pavilion and hurried out there.

‘The police once more took charge at the Sports Pavilion, and again the killer was debarred from searching and examining the tennis racquets there. But by now, Julia Upjohn, an intelligent child, had thought things over and had come to the logical conclusion that the racquet she possessed and which had originally belonged to Jennifer, was in some way important. She investigated on her own behalf, found that she was correct in her surmise, and brought the contents of the racquet to me.

‘These are now,’ said Hercule Poirot, ‘in safe custody and need concern us here no longer.’ He paused and then went on, ‘It remains to consider the third tragedy.

‘What Mademoiselle Blanche knew or suspected we shall never know. She may have seen someone leaving the house on the night of Miss Springer’s murder. Whatever it was that she knew or suspected, she knew the identity of the murderer. And she kept that knowledge to herself. She planned to obtain money in return for her silence.

‘There is nothing,’ said Hercule Poirot, with feeling, ‘more dangerous than levying blackmail on a person who has killed perhaps twice already. Mademoiselle Blanche may have taken her own precautions but whatever they were, they were inadequate. She made an appointment with the murderer and she was killed.’

He paused again.

‘So there,’ he said, looking round at them, ‘you have the account of this whole affair.’

They were all staring at him. Their faces, which at first had reflected interest, surprise, excitement, seemed now frozen into a uniform calm. It was as though they were terrified to display any emotion. Hercule Poirot nodded at them.

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I know how you feel. It has come, has it not, very near home? That is why, you see, I and Inspector Kelsey and Mr Adam Goodman have been making the inquiries. We have to know, you see, if there is still a cat among the pigeons! You understand what I mean? Is there still someone here who is masquerading under false colours?’

There was a slight ripple passing through those who listened to him, a brief almost furtive sidelong glance as though they wished to look at each other, but did not dare do so.

‘I am happy to reassure you,’ said Poirot. ‘All of you here at this moment are exactly who you say you are . Miss Chadwick, for instance, is Miss Chadwick—that is certainly not open to doubt, she has been here as long as Meadowbank itself! Miss Johnson, too, is unmistakably Miss Johnson. Miss Rich is Miss Rich. Miss Shapland is Miss Shapland. Miss Rowan and Miss Blake are Miss Rowan and Miss Blake. To go further,’ said Poirot, turning his head, ‘Adam Goodman who works here in the garden, is, if not precisely Adam Goodman, at any rate the person whose name is on his credentials. So then, where are we? We must seek not for someone masquerading as someone else, but for someone who is, in his or her proper identity, a murderer.’

The room was very still now. There was menace in the air.

Poirot went on.

‘We want, primarily, someone who was in Ramat three months ago . Knowledge that the prize was concealed in the tennis racquet could only have been acquired in one way. Someone must have seen it put there by Bob Rawlinson. It is as simple as that. Who then, of all of you present here, was in Ramat three months ago? Miss Chadwick was here, Miss Johnson was here.’ His eyes went on to the two junior Mistresses. ‘Miss Rowan and Miss Blake were here.’

His finger went out pointing.

‘But Miss Rich—Miss Rich was not here last term, was she?’

‘I—no. I was ill.’ She spoke hurriedly. ‘I was away for a term.’

‘That is the thing we did not know,’ said Hercule Poirot, ‘until a few days ago somebody mentioned it casually. When questioned by the police originally, you merely said that you had been at Meadowbank for a year and a half. That in itself is true enough. But you were absent last term. You could have been in Ramat—I think you were in Ramat. Be careful. It can be verified, you know, from your passport.’

There was a moment’s silence, then Eileen Rich looked up.

‘Yes,’ she said quietly. ‘I was in Ramat. Why not?’

‘Why did you go to Ramat, Miss Rich?’

‘You already know. I had been ill. I was advised to take a rest—to go abroad. I wrote to Miss Bulstrode and explained that I must take a term off. She quite understood.’

‘That is so,’ said Miss Bulstrode. ‘A doctor’s certificate was enclosed which said that it would be unwise for Miss Rich to resume her duties until the following term.’

‘So—you went to Ramat?’ said Hercule Poirot.

‘Why shouldn’t I go to Ramat?’ said Eileen Rich. Her voice trembled slightly. ‘There are cheap fares offered to schoolteachers. I wanted a rest. I wanted sunshine. I went out to Ramat. I spent two months there. Why not? Why not, I say? ’

‘You have never mentioned that you were at Ramat at the time of the Revolution.’

‘Why should I? What has it got to do with anyone here? I haven’t killed anyone, I tell you. I haven’t killed anyone.’

‘You were recognized, you know,’ said Hercule Poirot. ‘Not recognized definitely, but indefinitely. The child Jennifer was very vague. She said she thought she’d seen you in Ramat but concluded it couldn’t be you because, she said, the person she had seen was fat , not thin.’ He leaned forward, his eyes boring into Eileen Rich’s face.

‘What have you to say, Miss Rich?’

She wheeled round. ‘I know what you’re trying to make out!’ she cried. ‘You’re trying to make out that it wasn’t a secret agent or anything of that kind who did these murders. That it was someone who just happened to be there, someone who happened to see this treasure hidden in a tennis racquet. Someone who realized that the child was coming to Meadowbank and that she’d have an opportunity to take for herself this hidden thing. But I tell you it isn’t true !’

‘I think that is what happened. Yes,’ said Poirot. ‘Someone saw the jewels being hidden and forgot all other duties or interests in the determination to possess them!’

‘It isn’t true, I tell you. I saw nothing—’

‘Inspector Kelsey.’ Poirot turned his head.

Inspector Kelsey nodded—went to the door, opened it, and Mrs Upjohn walked into the room.

II

‘How do you do, Miss Bulstrode,’ said Mrs Upjohn, looking rather embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry I’m looking rather untidy, but I was somewhere near Ankara yesterday and I’ve just flown home. I’m in a terrible mess and I really haven’t had time to clean myself up or do anything .’