Poirot said deliberately: "We have certain ideas, madame, as to who did not do it."

Lydia said, almost impatiently: "It's like a nightmare-so fantastic-I can't believe it's real!"

She added: "What about Horbury? Was he really at the cinema, as he said?"

"Yes, madame, his story has been checked. He was speaking the truth."

Lydia stopped and plucked at a bit of yew. Her face went a little paler. She said: "But that's awful! It only leaves-the family!"

"Exactly."

"M. Poirot, I can't believe it!"

"Madame, you can and you do believe it!"

She seemed about to protest. Then suddenly she smiled ruefully.

She said: "What a hypocrite one is!"

He nodded.

"If you were to be frank with me, madame," he said, "you would admit that to you it seems quite natural that one of his family should murder your father-in-law."

Lydia said sharply: "That's really a fantastic thing to say, M. Poirot!"

"Yes, it is. But your father-in-law was a fantastic person!"

Lydia said: "Poor old man. I can feel sorry for him now. When he was alive, he just annoyed me unspeakably!"

Poirot said: "So I should imagine!"

He bent over one of the stone sinks.

"They are very ingenious, these. Very pleasing."

"I'm glad you like them. It's one of my hobbies. Do you like this Arctic one with the penguins and the ice?"

"Charming. And this-what is this?"

"Oh, that's the Dead Sea-or going to be. It isn't finished yet. You mustn't look at it. Now this one is supposed to be Piana in Corsica. The rocks there, you know, are quite pink and too lovely where they go down into the blue sea. This desert scene is rather fun, don't you think?"

She led him along. When they had reached the farther end she glanced at her wristwatch.

"I must go and see if Alfred is awake."

When she had gone Poirot went slowly back again to the garden representing the Dead Sea. He looked at it with a good deal of interest. Then he scooped up a few of the pebbles and let them run through his fingers.

Suddenly his face changed. He held up the pebbles close to his face.

"Sapristi!" he said. "This is a surprise! Now what exactly does this mean?"

PART FIVE.

DECEMBER 26TH.

The chief constable and Superintendent Sugden stared at Poirot incredulously. The latter returned a stream of small pebbles carefully into a small cardboard box and pushed it across to the chief constable.

"Oh, yes," he said. "It is the diamonds all right."

"And you found them where, did you say? In the garden?"

"In one of the small gardens constructed by Madame Alfred Lee."

"Mrs. Alfred?" Sugden shook his head. "Doesn't seem likely."

Poirot said: "You mean, I suppose, that you do not consider it likely that Mrs. Alfred cut her father-in-law's throat?"

Sugden said quickly: "We know she didn't do that. I meant it seemed unlikely that she pinched these diamonds."

Poirot said: "One would not easily believe her a thief-no."

Sugden said: "Anybody could have hidden them there."

"That is true. It was convenient that in that particular garden-the Dead Sea as it represents-there happened to be pebbles very similar in shape and appearance."

Sugden said: "You mean she fixed it like that beforehand? Ready?"

Colonel Johnson said warmly: "I don't believe it for a moment. Not for a moment. Why should she take the diamonds in the first place?"

"Well, as to that-" Sugden said slowly.

Poirot nipped in quickly: "There is a possible answer to that. She took the diamonds to suggest a motive for the murder. That is to say she knew that murder was going to be done though she herself took no active part in it."

Johnson frowned.

"That won't hold water for a minute. You're making her out to be an accomplice-but whose accomplice would she be likely to be? Only her husband's. But as we know that he, too, had nothing to do with the murder, the whole theory falls to the ground."

Sugden stroked his jaw reflectively.

"Yes," he said, "that's so. No, if Mrs. Lee took the diamonds-and it's a big if-it was just plain robbery, and it's true she might have prepared that garden specially as a hiding place for them till the hue and cry had died down. Another possibility is that of coincidence. That garden, with its similarity of pebbles, struck the thief, whoever he or she was, as an ideal hiding place."

Poirot said: "That is quite possible. I am always prepared to admit one coincidence."

Superintendent Sugden shook his head dubiously.

Poirot said: "What is your opinion, Superintendent?"

The superintendent said cautiously: "Mrs. Lee's a very nice lady. Doesn't seem likely that she'd be mixed up in any business that was fishy. But, of course, one never knows."

Colonel Johnson said testily: "In any case, whatever the truth is about the diamonds, her being mixed up in the murder is out of the question. The butler saw her in the drawing room at the actual time of the crime. You remember that, Poirot?"

Poirot said: "I had not forgotten that."

The chief constable turned to his subordinate.

"We'd better get on. What have you to report? Anything fresh?"

"Yes, sir. I've got hold of some new information. To start with-Horbury. There's a reason why he might be scared of the police."

"Robbery? Eh?"

"No, sir. Extorting money under threats. Modified blackmail. The case couldn't be proved so he got off, but I rather fancy he's got away with a thing or two in that line. Having a guilty conscience, he probably thought we were on to something of that kind when Tressilian mentioned a police officer last night and it made him get the wind up."

The chief constable said: "H'm! So much for Horbury. What else?"

The superintendent coughed.

"Er-Mrs. George Lee, sir. We've got a line on her before her marriage. Was living with a Commander Jones. Passed as his daughter-but she wasn't his daughter . . . I think from what we've been told, that old Mr. Lee summed her up pretty correctly-he was smart where women were concerned, knew a bad lot when he saw one-and was just amusing himself by taking a shot in the dark. And he got her on the raw!"

Colonel Johnson said thoughtfully: "That gives her another possible motive-apart from the money angle. She may have thought he knew something definite and was going to give her away to her husband. That telephone story of hers is pretty fishy. She didn't telephone."

Sugden suggested: "Why not have them in together, sir, and get at that telephone business straight? See what we get."

Colonel Johnson said: "Good idea."

He rang the bell. Tressilian answered it.

"Ask Mr. and Mrs. George Lee to come here."

"Very good, sir."

As the old man turned away, Poirot said: "The date on that wall calendar, has it remained like it is since the murder?"

Tressilian turned back.

"Which calendar, sir?"

"The one on the wall over there."

The three men were sitting once more in Alfred Lee's small sitting room. The calendar in question was a large one with tear-off leaves, a bold date on each leaf.

Tressilian peered across the room, then shuffled slowly across till he was a foot or two away.

He said: "Excuse me, sir, it has been torn off. It's the twenty-sixth today."

"Ah, pardon. Who would have been the person to tear it off?"

"Mr. Lee does, sir, every morning. Mr. Alfred, he's a very methodical gentleman."

"I see. Thank you."

Tressilian went out. Sugden said, puzzled: "Is there anything fishy about that calendar, Mr. Poirot? Have I missed something there?"

With a shrug of his shoulders Poirot said: "The calendar is of no importance. It was just a little experiment I was making."

Colonel Johnson said: "Inquest tomorrow. There'll be an adjournment, of course."

Sugden said: "Yes, sir, I've seen the Coroner and it's all arranged for."

II.

George Lee came into the room, accompanied by his wife.

Colonel Johnson said: "Good morning. Sit down, will you? There are a few questions I want to ask both of you. Something I'm not quite clear about."

"I shall be glad to give you any assistance I can," said George, somewhat pompously.

Magdalene said faintly: "Of course!"

The chief constable gave a slight nod to Sugden. The latter said: "About those telephone calls on the night of the crime. You put through a call to Westeringham, I think you said, Mr. Lee?"

George said coldly: "Yes, I did. To my agent in the constituency. I can refer you to him and-"

Superintendent Sugden held up his hand to stem the flow.

"Quite so-quite so, Mr. Lee. We're not disputing that point. Your call went through at 8:59 exactly."

"Well-I-er-couldn't say as to the exact time."

"Ah," said Sugden. "But we can! We always check up on these things very carefully. Very carefully indeed. The call was put through at 8:59 and it was terminated at 9:4. Your father, Mr. Lee, was killed about 9:15. I must ask you once more for an account of your movements."

"I've told you-I was telephoning!"

"No, Mr. Lee, you weren't."

"Nonsense-you must have made a mistake! Well, I may, perhaps, have just finished telephoning-I think I debated making another call-was just considering whether it was-er-worth-the expense-when I heard the noise upstairs."

"You would hardly debate whether or not to make a telephone call for ten minutes."

George went purple. He began to splutter.

"What do you mean? What the devil do you mean? Damned impudence! Are you doubting my word? Doubting the word of a man of my position? I-er-why should I have to account for every minute of my time?"

Superintendent Sugden said with a stolidness that Poirot admired: "It's usual."

George turned angrily on the chief constable.

"Colonel Johnson. Do you countenance this-this unprecedented attitude?"