Agatha Christie Readers Samples by Collins

Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express

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HarperCollins Publishers The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.collinselt.com Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited. This Collins English Readers edition fi rst published by HarperCollins Publishers 2017. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First published in Great Britain by Collins 1934 Copyright © 1934 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, POIROT and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. The Agatha Christie Roundel Copyright © 2013 Agatha Christie Limited. Used by permission. www.agathachristie.com ISBN: 978-0-00-824967-0 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd/Agatha Christie Ltd 2017 Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions, Glasgow Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd., Croydon, CR0 4YY All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. HarperCollins does not warrant that www.collinselt.com or any other website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.

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Contents Introduction

Story

Character list

Diagram of the Istanbulâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Calais carriage of the Simplon Orient Express

Cultural notes

Glossary

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Introduction About Collins English Readers Collins English Readers have been created for readers worldwide whose first language is not English. The stories are carefully graded to ensure that you, the reader, will both enjoy and benefit from your reading experience. Words which are above the required reading level are underlined the first time they appear in a story. All underlined words are defined in the Glossary at the back of the book. Books at levels 1 and 2 take their defi nitions from the Collins COBUILD Essential English Dictionary, and books at levels 3 and above from the Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Where appropriate, definitions are simplified for level and context. Alongside the glossary, a Character list is provided to help the reader identify who is who, and how they are connected to each other. Cultural notes explain historical, cultural and other references. Maps and diagrams are provided where appropriate. A downloadable recording is also available of the full story. To access the audio, go to www.collinselt.com/eltreadersaudio. The password is the third word on page 6 of this book. To support both teachers and learners, additional materials are available online at www.collinselt.com/readers. These include a Plot synopsis and classroom activities (both for teachers), Student activities, a level checker and much more.

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About Agatha Christie Agatha Christie (1890–1976) is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. She is the most widely published and translated author of all time and in any language; only the Bible and Shakespeare have sold more copies. Agatha Christie’s first novel was published in 1920. It featured Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective who has become the most popular detective in crime fiction since Sherlock Holmes. Collins has published Agatha Christie since 1926.

The Grading Scheme The Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme has been created using the most up-to-date language usage information available today. Each level is guided by a comprehensive grammar and vocabulary framework, ensuring that the series will perfectly match readers’ abilities. CEF band Level 1 elementary

Pages 64

Word count

Headwords

5,000–8,000

approx. 700

Level 2 pre-intermediate A2–B1 80

8,000–11,000

approx. 900

Level 3 intermediate

11,000–20,000 approx. 1,300

Level 4 upperintermediate

112-128 15,000–26,000 approx. 1,700

Level 5 upperintermediate+

B2+

128+

22,000–30,000 approx. 2,200

Level 6 advanced

144+

28,000+

2,500+

Level 7 advanced+

160+

varied

For more information on the Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme go to www.collinselt.com/readers/gradingscheme.

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Chapter 1 It was five o’clock on a winter morning in Syria. Beside the platform at Aleppo was the Taurus Express1. By the sleeping carriage stood a French lieutenant, and next to him a man wearing so many clothes that nothing could be seen but the end of his pink nose and the two points of his moustache. It was freezing, and both men were shaking with cold. Lieutenant Dubosc did not know why the other man, a Belgian, had come to Aleppo from England, except that it involved a very important job for the French Army. Everything had gone well and now the stranger, Monsieur Poirot, was leaving. ‘Let’s hope your train will not be stopped by snow!’ Lieutenant Dubosc said. ‘Does that happen?’ ‘Not yet this year.’ ‘Let us hope, then,’ said Poirot. ‘Are the weather reports from Europe bad?’ ‘Very bad. There’s a lot of snow in the Balkans.’ The conductor appeared a little further down the platform. ‘It’s time to leave, Monsieur,’ he called. Poirot climbed into his carriage. Lieutenant Dubosc waved goodbye, and the train moved slowly forward.

‘Voila, Monsieur! Here you are!’ The conductor showed Poirot to his sleeping compartment. Hercule Poirot placed money in his hand. ‘Thank you, Monsieur.’ ‘There are not many people travelling, I suppose?’ asked Poirot.

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Agatha Christie

‘No, Monsieur. I have only two other passengers – both English. A colonel travelling from India and a young lady from Baghdad.’ There were still two hours before sunrise so Poirot took a seat and fell asleep. He woke at 9.30 am and went for coffee. In the restaurant carriage was the young English lady. Tall, slim and dark-haired with cool grey eyes, she looked very efficient. Soon, another person entered; a tall, thin man of between forty and fifty. He bowed. ‘Morning, Miss Debenham.’ ‘Good morning, Colonel Arbuthnot.’ The Colonel stood with a hand on the chair opposite her. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked. ‘Of course not. Sit down.’ Like many English people, the Colonel and Miss Debenham did not talk much at breakfast. Soon Miss Debenham went back to her compartment. At lunch the two again shared a table and their conversation was more lively. Colonel Arbuthnot talked about India and asked Miss Debenham about Baghdad, where she had been a governess. Later, as they passed through the magnificent scenery of the Taurus mountains in southern Turkey, the Colonel and Miss Debenham stood together in the corridor. Miss Debenham sighed. Poirot was standing near them and heard her say: ‘It’s so beautiful! I wish I could enjoy it!’ ‘I don’t want you to be involved in all this,’ replied Arbuthnot. ‘Sssh, please. Sssh.’ ‘Oh!’ Arbuthnot glanced at Poirot with an annoyed look. ‘But I don’t like the idea of you as a governess – with those awful mothers and their children telling you what to do.’ She laughed with a laugh that sounded just a little mad, and they said no more. ‘Strange,’ thought Poirot. 2

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Murder on the Orient Express

They arrived at the city of Konya in central Turkey at half past eleven that night. The English travellers got out to have a short walk. Poirot, too, stepped down to the busy platform and began to walk along it. Soon he saw his companions standing in the shadow of the train. Arbuthnot was speaking. ‘Mary—’ The girl interrupted him. ‘Not now. When it’s all over – then…’ Politely, Poirot turned away. ‘Strange,’ he said to himself again. The next day they did not speak much and the girl looked anxious, with dark circles under her eyes. In the afternoon the train stopped and some men came and stood by the railway line. Poirot looked out of his compartment and spoke to the conductor who was hurrying past. When he turned away, he almost walked into Mary Debenham. ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked in a worried voice. ‘Why are we stopping?’ ‘Some trouble under the restaurant carriage, Mademoiselle. They are repairing the damage. There is no danger.’ She waved her hand as if danger was not important. ‘The time! We have to catch the Simplon Orient Express2 at nine. If we are delayed arriving into Istanbul, we will miss it.’ This was strange. Her lips were shaking. ‘Does it matter to you very much, Mademoiselle?’ Poirot asked. ‘Yes. I must catch that train.’ She turned away and went along the corridor to join Colonel Arbuthnot. However, she had no need to worry. Ten minutes later the train started again and continued its journey with no problem. 3

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Agatha Christie Dead Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Folly

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HarperCollins Publishers The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.collinselt.com Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited. This Collins English Readers edition fi rst published by HarperCollins Publishers 2017. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First published in Great Britain by Collins 1956 Copyright © 1956 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE, POIROT and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. The Agatha Christie Roundel Copyright © 2013 Agatha Christie Limited. Used by permission. www.agathachristie.com ISBN: 978-0-00-824970-0 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd/Agatha Christie Ltd 2017 Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions, Glasgow Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd., Croydon, CR0 4YY All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. HarperCollins does not warrant that www.collinselt.com or any other website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.

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Contents Introduction

Story

Character list

Cultural notes

Glossary

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Introduction About Collins English Readers Collins English Readers have been created for readers worldwide whose first language is not English. The stories are carefully graded to ensure that you, the reader, will both enjoy and benefit from your reading experience. Words which are above the required reading level are underlined the first time they appear in a story. All underlined words are defined in the Glossary at the back of the book. Books at levels 1 and 2 take their defi nitions from the Collins COBUILD Essential English Dictionary, and books at levels 3 and above from the Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Where appropriate, definitions are simplified for level and context. Alongside the glossary, a Character list is provided to help the reader identify who is who, and how they are connected to each other. Cultural notes explain historical, cultural and other references. Maps and diagrams are provided where appropriate. A downloadable recording is also available of the full story. To access the audio, go to www.collinselt.com/eltreadersaudio. The password is the last word on page 4 of this book. To support both teachers and learners, additional materials are available online at www.collinselt.com/readers. These include a Plot synopsis and classroom activities (both for teachers), Student activities, a level checker and much more.

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Pages 64

Word count

Headwords

5,000–8,000

approx. 700

Level 2 pre-intermediate A2–B1 80

8,000–11,000

approx. 900

Level 3 intermediate

11,000–20,000 approx. 1,300

Level 4 upperintermediate

112-128 15,000–26,000 approx. 1,700

Level 5 upperintermediate+

B2+

128+

22,000–30,000 approx. 2,200

Level 6 advanced

144+

28,000+

2,500+

Level 7 advanced+

160+

varied

For more information on the Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme go to www.collinselt.com/readers/gradingscheme.

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on ati St

Woodland and bushes

KEY

Front gates

n ow d oo H

Tennis court

Quay

Lodge

Drive

rk Pa

River

Folly

Summerhouse

Terrace

Flower garden

Boathouse

Fortunetellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tent

Upper garden

Tea tent

Lawn

Nasse House

Viewing circle

Hoodown Park

Gate Fence

Chapter 1 It was Miss Lemon, Poirot’s secretary, who picked up the telephone. ‘It’s Mrs Ariadne Oliver,’ she told Poirot. A memory came into Poirot’s mind of a lady with untidy grey hair, and a sharp face. He took the telephone. ‘This is Hercule Poirot,’ he announced. ‘Monsieur Poirot,’ said Mrs Oliver in her magnificent voice. ‘I don’t know if you’ll remember me…’ ‘Oh, of course I remember you, Madame. Who could forget you?’ ‘Well, people do,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘Perhaps it’s because I’m always changing my hair. Look, I need you. Immediately. Come by the twelve o’clock train from London. You’ve got forty-five minutes if my watch is right – though it isn’t usually.’ ‘But where are you, Madame? What is all this about?’ ‘Nasse House, Nassecombe, Devon1. A car will meet you at the station.’ ‘But what is this about?’ Poirot repeated. ‘Telephones are in such difficult places2,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘This one’s in the hall… People passing and talking… I can’t really hear. But I’ll be waiting for you. Everybody will be so excited to see you. Goodbye.’ She put down the phone. ‘Ariadne Oliver, writer of detective novels,’ said Poirot to Miss Lemon, ‘wants me to go to Devon – immediately.’ Miss Lemon looked surprised and not very pleased. ‘For what reason?’ ‘She did not tell me.’ ‘How very strange. Why not?’

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Agatha Christie

‘Because,’ said Hercule Poirot, thinking hard, ‘she was afraid that someone would hear her.’ ‘These artists and writers are a bit mad,’ said Miss Lemon. ‘They’re not very sensible at all. How can she think you’d hurry down to Devon for no reason—?’ Poirot waved his hand. ‘Please call me a taxi immediately.’ At Nassecombe station, only Hercule Poirot left the train. A large car was parked outside and a driver came forward. ‘Mr Hercule Poirot?’ he asked with respect. They drove away from the station along a country lane between high bushes. After a while, they had a beautiful view of a river with hills behind. The driver turned the car a little way off the road and stopped. ‘What a magnificent view!’ said Poirot. Two girls passed, climbing slowly up the hill. They were carrying heavy rucksacks and wore shorts, with bright scarves over their heads. ‘There’s a youth hostel 3 next door to us, sir,’ explained the driver, who had clearly made himself Poirot’s guide to Devon. ‘Hoodown Park. It’s completely full in summer time, over a hundred people a night.’ Poirot nodded. ‘Those girls’ rucksacks look heavy,’ he said quietly. ‘Yes, sir, and it’s two miles to Hoodown Park,’ said the driver. He paused. ‘If you don’t mind, sir, could we give them a lift?’ ‘Certainly,’ said Poirot. He was in an almost empty car and here were two young women carrying heavy rucksacks. The driver drove up beside the girls. They looked up in a hopeful way. Poirot opened the door and they got into the car. ‘It is kind of you, thank you,’ said one of the girls. She had fair hair and a strong accent. 2

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Dead Man’s Folly

The other girl, who had a face that was brown from the sun and golden-brown hair showing under her headscarf, nodded, smiled and said, ‘Grazie – Thank you.’ The fair girl continued in a cheerful voice. ‘I came to England from Holland for a two-week holiday. I like England. I see Exeter and Torquay – very nice – and tomorrow I cross river to Plymouth1.’ ‘And you, Mademoiselle?’ Poirot asked. But the other girl just smiled and shook her head. ‘She does not speak much English,’ said the Dutch girl. ‘We both speak a little French – so we talked in French on the train. She is from Italy.’ The driver stopped at a place where the road divided into two parts. The girls got out, said thank you in two languages, and took the left-hand road. The driver turned right into thick woods. ‘There are nice young women at that hostel,’ he said, ‘but they’re always trespassing, coming through our woods, and pretending they don’t understand it’s not allowed.’ He shook his head. They soon went through big iron gates, and along a drive to a large white house looking out over the river. A tall, black-haired butler appeared on the steps. ‘Mrs Oliver is expecting you, sir. She went for a walk in the woods.’ He showed Poirot a path through the wood with views of the river below. The path went down until it arrived at last at a viewing circle, a round open space with a low wall. Mrs Oliver, who was sitting on the wall, stood up. As she got up, she dropped some apples on the ground. ‘I don’t know why I always drop things,’ she said, with her mouth full of apple. ‘How are you, Monsieur Poirot?’ 3

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Agatha Christie

‘Very well, my dear Madame. And you?’ Mrs Oliver had again, as she had said, changed her hair. It was not the same hairstyle as Poirot remembered. Today, her hair was very curly. She was wearing a wool coat and skirt. ‘I knew you’d come,’ she said in a cheerful voice. ‘You could not know,’ said Poirot. ‘I still ask myself why I am here.’ ‘Well, I know the answer. You’re curious.’ There was a smile in Poirot’s eyes. ‘You have the famous ability of women to guess correctly.’ He looked round. ‘It is a beautiful place.’ ‘It belongs to some people called Stubbs.’ ‘Who are they?’ ‘Oh, nobody really,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘Just rich. I’ve been employed to arrange a murder.’ Poirot looked at her in surprise. ‘Not a real one,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘There’s a fête tomorrow and they wanted to do something new, so there’s going to be a Murder Hunt. Like a treasure hunt. They offered me a big fee to plan it.’ ‘How does it work?’ ‘You pay to enter and you get shown the first clue. You’ve got to find the victim, and the weapon and say who did it and what the motive was. And there are prizes.’ ‘Wonderful!’ said Poirot. ‘Actually,’ said Mrs Oliver, ‘it’s much harder to arrange than you’d think. Because there’s the possibility that real people are going to be intelligent – and in my books I don’t have to worry about that.’ ‘And is that why you have sent for me?’ asked Poirot. ‘Oh no,’ said Mrs Oliver. ‘Of course not.’ She pulled her ear, thinking. ‘Perhaps I’m a fool,’ she said. ‘But I think there’s something wrong.’ 4

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Agatha Christie Death on the Nile

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HarperCollins Publishers The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.collinselt.com Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited. This Collins English Readers edition fi rst published by HarperCollins Publishers 2017. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First published in Great Britain by Collins 1937 Copyright © 1937 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE, POIROT and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. The Agatha Christie Roundel Copyright © 2013 Agatha Christie Limited. Used by permission. www.agathachristie.com ISBN: 978-0-00-824968-7 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd/Agatha Christie Ltd 2017 Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions, Glasgow Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd., Croydon, CR0 4YY All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. HarperCollins does not warrant that www.collinselt.com or any other website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.

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Contents Introduction

Story

Character list

Cultural notes

Glossary

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Introduction About Collins English Readers Collins English Readers have been created for readers worldwide whose first language is not English. The stories are carefully graded to ensure that you, the reader, will both enjoy and benefit from your reading experience. Words which are above the required reading level are underlined the first time they appear in a story. All underlined words are defined in the Glossary at the back of the book. Books at levels 1 and 2 take their defi nitions from the Collins COBUILD Essential English Dictionary, and books at levels 3 and above from the Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Where appropriate, definitions are simplified for level and context. Alongside the glossary, a Character list is provided to help the reader identify who is who, and how they are connected to each other. Cultural notes explain historical, cultural and other references. Maps and diagrams are provided where appropriate. A downloadable recording is also available of the full story. To access the audio, go to www.collinselt.com/eltreadersaudio. The password is the third word on page 52 of this book. To support both teachers and learners, additional materials are available online at www.collinselt.com/readers. These include a Plot synopsis and classroom activities (both for teachers), Student activities, a level checker and much more.

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Pages 64

Word count

Headwords

5,000–8,000

approx. 700

Level 2 pre-intermediate A2–B1 80

8,000–11,000

approx. 900

Level 3 intermediate

11,000–20,000 approx. 1,300

Level 4 upperintermediate

112-128 15,000–26,000 approx. 1,700

Level 5 upperintermediate+

B2+

128+

22,000–30,000 approx. 2,200

Level 6 advanced

144+

28,000+

2,500+

Level 7 advanced+

160+

varied

For more information on the Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme go to www.collinselt.com/readers/gradingscheme.

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THE KARNAK PROMENADE DECK forward

22 Jim FANTHORP

observation room

23 Tim ALLERTON

promenade deck

23 starboard

port 41

38–39

26–27

36–37

28–29

34–35

30–31

baths

Cornelia ROBSON

Mrs ALLERTON

Jacqueline de BELLEFORT

Simon DOYLE

38–39

26–27

Andrew PENNINGTON

Linnet DOYLE

36–37

28–29

Dr BESSNER

Miss Van SCHUYLER

34–35

30–31

Mrs and Miss OTTERBOURNE

Hercule POIROT

Miss BOWERS

Colonel RACE

cabins with private bathrooms

stern

BOAT

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Chapter 1 ‘Oh Linnet, I think this house is going to be marvellous!’ The Honourable1 Joanna Southwood was in Linnet Ridgeway’s bedroom at Wode Hall 2. From the window you could see the beautiful gardens and, in the distance, woodlands. ‘It’s perfect, isn’t it?’ said Linnet. Her face was excited, alive. Beside her, Joanna, a thin young woman of twenty-seven, seemed a little uninteresting. She picked up a pearl necklace. ‘They are beautiful. What are they worth?’ ‘About fi fty thousand pounds.’ ‘Can I wear them till dinner time? Please say yes.’ Linnet laughed. ‘Of course.’ ‘Linnet, you really have got everything. You’re twenty, with lots of money, good looks, perfect health. Tell me, are you going to marry Lord Windlesham?’ ‘I don’t really want to marry anyone yet.’ The telephone rang. Linnet answered. ‘Yes? Jackie, how wonderful! We haven’t spoken for ages! Can you come down to see my new house? I’d love to show you around.’ ‘Actually, Linnet, I would love to come to see you,’ the voice on the other end of the phone said with excitement. ‘Well, jump into a train or a car. Come now!’ ‘Okay, I will, my sweet. See you very soon.’ Linnet hung up the phone and said to Joanna, ‘That’s my great friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort. Her parents lost all their money, so Jackie’s got nothing. I want to help her, but she won’t let me. She’s awfully proud and can get very angry about things.

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Agatha Christie

She once stuck a small knife into a boy who was being cruel to a dog. There was the most terrible argument!’ Linnet’s maid 3 entered; she took a dress from the wardrobe and went out. ‘What’s the matter with Marie?’ asked Joanna. ‘She’s been crying.’ ‘She wanted to marry a man who has a job in Egypt. I had to make sure he was a good man. Unfortunately, I found out that he already has a wife – and three children.’ ‘Oh dear. You must make a lot of enemies, Linnet.’ Linnet laughed. ‘Oh no, I don’t have a single enemy in the world!’

It was four o’clock when a rather old little car arrived. A girl got out – she was very attractive with lots of dark hair. Linnet was waiting. ‘Jackie! What have you been doing all these months?’ ‘Working. Ugly work with ugly women! I’m here to ask a great big favour! I’m engaged! His name’s Simon Doyle. He’s wonderful! He’s poor and he loves the countryside. And I shall die if I can’t marry him!’ ‘My darling, you are in love!’ ‘I know.’ Jackie’s dark eyes looked sad suddenly. ‘It’s… frightening sometimes! And you must help us, Linnet. Now that you’ve bought this place, you’ll have to have a land agent 2 ; I want you to give the job to Simon. He knows all about estates2 – he grew up on one. Oh, you will give him a job, won’t you, beautiful Linnet? Say you will!’ Linnet started to laugh. ‘Oh, Jackie! Bring your young man here and let me meet him.’ Jackie kissed her happily. ‘Oh, darling Linnet! I knew you wouldn’t let me down – ever!’ 2

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Death on the Nile

Gaston Blondin was the French owner of the famous restaurant, Chez Ma Tante. It was extremely rare for him to greet a guest and accompany him to a special table. On this night, however, Monsieur Blondin was accompanying a little man with a huge black moustache. ‘There is always a table for you, Monsieur Poirot! Do you have serious crimes to investigate?’ ‘No – I am a man of leisure. I am trying to enjoy life without work. This winter I will visit Egypt.’ ‘Ah! Egypt,’ repeated Monsieur Blondin. The orchestra began to play and everybody danced. Hercule Poirot looked around. How bored most of the faces were! One couple interested him – a tall man with broad shoulders dancing with a slim, attractive girl. They didn’t look bored. They moved together in happiness. The dance stopped and the couple returned to their table near Poirot. The girl was laughing, but there was something besides happiness in her eyes. Hercule Poirot shook his head. ‘She cares too much for him,’ he thought to himself. ‘It is not safe.’ Then he heard a word in their conversation. Egypt. ‘I’m not being silly, Simon. Linnet won’t let us down! It’s the right job for you. We’ll wait three months and—’ ‘And then I’ll marry you—’ ‘Yes, and we’ll go to Egypt for our honeymoon. The Nile, the Pyramids 4… But I wonder, do you care about me as much as I care about you?’ Her eyes opened wide, almost with fear. ‘Jackie – you are being silly.’ But the girl repeated: ‘I wonder…’ 3

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Hercule Poirot said to himself: ‘Yes, I wonder too.’

Joanna Southwood and Linnet were talking. Joanna said: ‘What if Simon’s terrible?’ ‘Oh, he won’t be. I trust Jackie. Now, I must go and look at the plans for my new swimming pool. Some old cottages will have to be destroyed to make space for it. I’m moving the people who live there to new homes.’ ‘Are the people who live in the cottages happy about their new houses?’ ‘Well, there are one or two who don’t seem to realize how much better their new homes will be!’ Joanna laughed. ‘You are awful!’ ‘I am not!’ replied Linnet. ‘You always do what you want. If you can’t buy something with cash, you buy it with a smile. You don’t let anything or anyone stop you. I really do wonder what will happen when someone does try to stop you.’ ‘Don’t be silly, Joanna.’ They heard the sound of a car through the open window. Jackie and her young man had arrived. Linnet hurried out to meet them. ‘Linnet!’ Jackie ran towards her. ‘This is Simon. Simon, here’s Linnet, the most wonderful person in the world.’ Linnet saw a very attractive young man with a very attractive smile… As he shook her hand, a wonderful feeling ran through her body. She thought: ‘I like Jackie’s young man… I like him a lot…’ And then she suddenly felt sad: ‘Lucky Jackie…’

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Agatha Christie The Body in the Library

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HarperCollins Publishers The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.collinselt.com Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited. This Collins English Readers edition fi rst published by HarperCollins Publishers 2017. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First published in Great Britain by Collins 1942 Copyright © 1942 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE, MISS MARPLE and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. The Agatha Christie Roundel Copyright © 2013 Agatha Christie Limited. Used by permission. www.agathachristie.com ISBN: 978-0-00-824969-4 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd/Agatha Christie Ltd 2017 Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions, Glasgow Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd., Croydon, CR0 4YY All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. HarperCollins does not warrant that www.collinselt.com or any other website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.

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Contents Introduction

Story

Character list

Cultural notes

Glossary

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Introduction About Collins English Readers Collins English Readers have been created for readers worldwide whose first language is not English. The stories are carefully graded to ensure that you, the reader, will both enjoy and benefit from your reading experience. Words which are above the required reading level are underlined the first time they appear in a story. All underlined words are defined in the Glossary at the back of the book. Books at levels 1 and 2 take their defi nitions from the Collins COBUILD Essential English Dictionary, and books at levels 3 and above from the Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Where appropriate, definitions are simplified for level and context. Alongside the glossary, a Character list is provided to help the reader identify who is who, and how they are connected to each other. Cultural notes explain historical, cultural and other references. Maps and diagrams are provided where appropriate. A downloadable recording is also available of the full story. To access the audio, go to www.collinselt.com/eltreadersaudio. The password is the tenth word on page 5 of this book. To support both teachers and learners, additional materials are available online at www.collinselt.com/readers. These include a Plot synopsis and classroom activities (both for teachers), Student activities, a level checker and much more.

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Pages 64

Word count

Headwords

5,000–8,000

approx. 700

Level 2 pre-intermediate A2–B1 80

8,000–11,000

approx. 900

Level 3 intermediate

11,000–20,000 approx. 1,300

Level 4 upperintermediate

112-128 15,000–26,000 approx. 1,700

Level 5 upperintermediate+

B2+

128+

22,000–30,000 approx. 2,200

Level 6 advanced

144+

28,000+

2,500+

Level 7 advanced+

160+

varied

For more information on the Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme go to www.collinselt.com/readers/gradingscheme.

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Chapter 1 In her sleep Mrs Dolly Bantry frowned. Something was waking her – someone was coming – too quickly and too early. This was not Mary bringing the morning cup of tea. A knock came at the door. Without properly waking up, Mrs Bantry said: ‘Come in.’ The door opened and Mary’s frightened voice said: ‘Oh, Mrs Bantry, Mrs Bantry, there’s a body in the library.’ And then she ran out again in tears. Mrs Bantry sat up and shook her husband. ‘Arthur, Arthur! Wake up!’ Colonel Bantry1 grunted but he didn’t wake up. ‘Arthur! Did you hear what Mary said? There’s a body in the library!’ ‘You’ve been dreaming, Dolly,’ he said. ‘It’s that detective story you were reading where a beautiful blonde woman is found dead on the library rug. Bodies are always found in libraries in those stories. It doesn’t happen in real life.’ ‘Arthur, you’ve got to get up and see.’ ‘But Dolly, it must have been a dream.’ Mrs Bantry jumped out of bed and pulled open the curtains. ‘I did not dream it, Arthur! Go and see about it.’ Colonel Bantry grunted again but put on his dressing gown and left the room. The servants2 were all standing together at the bottom of the stairs, looking worried. Lorrimer, the butler2, stepped forward. ‘I said that we shouldn’t do anything until you came, sir. Shall I ring the police now?’ ‘About what?’

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The butler glanced at Mary, who was crying on the cook’s shoulder. ‘I understood, sir, that Mary had told you. She went into the library – and almost fell over the body.’ ‘Do you mean to tell me,’ demanded Colonel Bantry, ‘that there is a dead body in my library?’ Miss Jane Marple’s telephone rang when she was dressing. ‘Dear me, I wonder who that is?’ Neighbours in the village3 of St Mary Mead called each other between nine o’clock and nine-thirty in the morning to make plans for the day, but it was now only a quarter to eight. ‘It must be a wrong number,’ thought Miss Marple. She answered the phone. ‘Yes?’ ‘Is that you, Jane?’ Mrs Bantry sounded excited. ‘The most awful thing has happened. We’ve found a body in the library.’ ‘A what?’ ‘I know. I thought they only happened in books.’ ‘But whose body is it?’ ‘It’s a blonde girl – lying in the library, dead, so I’m sending the car to get you – you’re so good at murders. She’s been strangled, you see. And if I’ve got to have a murder in my house, I suppose I’ll have to try and enjoy it. That’s why I want you to come and help me find out who did it. It is rather exciting! I know it’s very sad, but I don’t know the girl – and she doesn’t look real. You’ll understand what I mean when you see her.’ When they arrived at Gossington Hall 2, the driver held the door open and Miss Marple got out of the Bantrys’ car. Colonel Bantry came out onto the front steps, looking a little surprised. ‘Miss Marple? – er – I’m very pleased to see you.’ 2

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The Body in the Library

‘Your wife called,’ explained Miss Marple. ‘Good. She should have someone with her. It’s been a shock.’ At this moment Mrs Bantry appeared. ‘Go back into the dining room and eat your breakfast, Arthur,’ she said. Her husband did as he was told. Mrs Bantry turned happily to Miss Marple. ‘Now! Come on.’ She led the way to the library door where the village policeman, Palk, was standing guard. ‘I’m afraid nobody is allowed in, ladies,’ he said. ‘Oh, Palk. You know Miss Marple, and it’s very important that she sees the body,’ replied Mrs Bantry. Constable Palk4 gave in. He always gave in. ‘Don’t touch anything,’ he warned. ‘Of course not,’ said Mrs Bantry. ‘We know that.’ Mrs Bantry led her friend to the middle of the room and pointed dramatically. ‘There!’ The library was large with one or two good family portraits on the walls, and some other low quality paintings. It was a wellused room, with a feeling of history to it. And lying across the old rug was something new and crude that did not fit the room – a girl with fashionably curly, dyed blonde hair. Her thin body was dressed in a cheap evening dress of white silk with sparkles. She wore lots of make-up on her swollen face. Her lips and her fingernails were painted blood red. Miss Marple understood what her friend had meant when she said the dead girl didn’t look real. Miss Marple said in a gentle voice: ‘She’s very young.’ She bent down. The girl’s fingers were gripping the front of her dress – she had pulled at it in her last horrible fight for breath. 3

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There was the sound of a car outside. Constable Palk said urgently: ‘It’s Inspector Slack4…’ Mrs Bantry immediately moved to the door and Miss Marple followed her. Colonel Bantry was pleased to see Colonel Melchett, the Chief Constable4, getting out of the car with Inspector Slack. He had never liked Slack – he was a man who didn’t care about the feelings of anyone he didn’t think was important. But Melchett was Bantry’s friend. ‘Morning, Bantry,’ said Melchett. ‘I thought I should come along myself. Do you know who the woman is?’ ‘No, no idea!’ ‘Right,’ said the Chief Constable. ‘I hope your wife isn’t too upset, Bantry?’ ‘No, she’s been wonderful. She’s got Miss Marple with her – from the village. A woman wants another woman when something important happens, don’t you think?’ Colonel Melchett laughed: ‘If you ask me, your wife’s going to try a little amateur detective work. Miss Marple’s quite famous for it around here!’ In the dining room, Mrs Bantry said: ‘Well, Jane? Doesn’t it remind you of anything?’ Miss Marple was famous for her ability to connect simple events that happened in the village with more serious problems. Then the serious problems could be seen more clearly. ‘No, I can’t say it does,’ she replied. ‘I was reminded a little of Mrs Chetty’s youngest child, Edie, but I think that was just because this poor girl bit her nails and her front teeth stuck out a little. And, of course, her dress. Very bad quality.’

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‘But what could she possibly be doing in our library? Palk told me that the window was broken. Maybe she came here with a burglar and then they argued?’ ‘She wasn’t exactly dressed for that,’ said Miss Marple. ‘No, she was dressed for dancing or a party. But there’s nothing like that around here.’ ‘Well…’ said Miss Marple. ‘What, Jane?’ asked Mrs Bantry. ‘Basil Blake.’ Mrs Bantry cried: ‘Oh, no! I know his mother – she’s the nicest woman.’ ‘I’m sure she is, but there has been a lot of talk about Basil.’ ‘Oh, I know. And he was very rude to Arthur recently, and now Arthur won’t hear a good word about him. And the clothes he wears! Oh, but he was the sweetest baby…’ ‘There was a lovely picture of the Cheviot murderer as a baby in the paper last Sunday,’ said Miss Marple. ‘Jane! You don’t think he—’ ‘No, no, I didn’t mean that at all. I was just trying to fi nd a reason why that young woman was here. Basil does have parties. People come from London to them, you know, and recently there’s been a young woman with him – a blonde.’ ‘You don’t think it’s this one?’ ‘Well, I’ve only seen her getting in and out of the car, I’ve never seen her face and all these girls with their make-up and their hair look so alike.’ ‘Yes. So, it might be her. It’s an idea, Jane.’

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Agatha Christie The Witness for the Prosecution and other stories

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HarperCollins Publishers The News Building 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.collinselt.com Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited. This Collins English Readers edition fi rst published by HarperCollins Publishers 2017. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The Witness for the Prosecution Copyright © 1925 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. The Rajah’s Emerald Copyright © 1926 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. Philomel Cottage Copyright © 1924 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. The Actress Copyright © 1923 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved. AGATHA CHRISTIE and the Agatha Christie Signature are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere. All rights reserved. www.agathachristie.com ISBN: 978-0-00-824971-7 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd/Agatha Christie Ltd 2017 Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions, Glasgow Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd., Croydon, CR0 4YY All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. HarperCollins does not warrant that www.collinselt.com or any other website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.

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Contents Introduction

The Witness for the Prosecution

The Rajahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Emerald

Philomel Cottage

The Actress

Character list

Cultural notes

Glossary

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Introduction About Collins English Readers Collins English Readers have been created for readers worldwide whose first language is not English. The stories are carefully graded to ensure that you, the reader, will both enjoy and benefit from your reading experience. Words which are above the required reading level are underlined the first time they appear in a story. All underlined words are defined in the Glossary at the back of the book. Books at levels 1 and 2 take their defi nitions from the Collins COBUILD Essential English Dictionary, and books at levels 3 and above from the Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Where appropriate, definitions are simplified for level and context. Alongside the glossary, a Character list is provided to help the reader identify who is who, and how they are connected to each other. Cultural notes explain historical, cultural and other references. Maps and diagrams are provided where appropriate. A downloadable recording is also available of the full story. To access the audio, go to www.collinselt.com/eltreadersaudio. The password is the last word on page 3 of this book. To support both teachers and learners, additional materials are available online at www.collinselt.com/readers. These include a Plot synopsis and classroom activities (both for teachers), Student activities, a level checker and much more.

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Pages 64

Word count

Headwords

5,000–8,000

approx. 700

Level 2 pre-intermediate A2–B1 80

8,000–11,000

approx. 900

Level 3 intermediate

11,000–20,000 approx. 1,300

Level 4 upperintermediate

112-128 15,000–26,000 approx. 1,700

Level 5 upperintermediate+

B2+

128+

22,000–30,000 approx. 2,200

Level 6 advanced

144+

28,000+

2,500+

Level 7 advanced+

160+

varied

For more information on the Collins COBUILD Grading Scheme go to www.collinselt.com/readers/gradingscheme.

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The Witness for the Prosecution

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The Witness for the Prosecution

Mr Mayherne was a small man. He had clever grey eyes, wore good quality clothes and he always looked neat and tidy. Everybody knew that he was a very good lawyer1. Mayherne touched his glasses and coughed. He always did this when he was thinking. Then he looked again at the man sitting opposite him, the man charged with murder. He felt a little sorry for his client. ‘This is very serious. You must be completely honest with me.’ Leonard Vole looked at him miserably. ‘I know,’ he said in a hopeless voice. ‘You keep telling me that it’s serious. But I just can’t believe that I’m charged with murder – murder.’ ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ he said. Mayherne was not emotional – he was a sensible man. He coughed again, took off his glasses, cleaned them carefully, and put them back on his nose. Now, my dear Mr Vole, I’m going to try very hard to prove that you’re innocent – and I will succeed – we will succeed. But I must have all the facts.’ The young man still looked at him in the same confused, hopeless way. ‘You think I’m guilty,’ said Leonard Vole. ‘But I promise, I’m not! I didn’t do it, Mr Mayherne. I didn’t!’ Even though Mr Mayherne knew that any man in his position would say the same, he thought maybe Leonard Vole might really be innocent. 3

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‘You’re right, Mr Vole,’ he said in a serious voice. ‘The case against you looks very bad. But I believe you. Now, let’s talk about the facts. I want you to tell me exactly how you met Miss Emily French.’ ‘It was in Central London. I saw an elderly lady crossing the road. She was carrying a lot of parcels and she dropped them in the middle of the street. She tried to pick them up but a bus came along and she had to rush to the pavement. Then I picked up the parcels for her.’ ‘Did you save her life?’ ‘Oh no! All I did was pick up the parcels, but she was very grateful. She thanked me and said something about me being more helpful than most young people – I can’t remember the exact words. I said goodbye and went on with my day. I never expected to see her again. ‘But life is full of surprises. That same evening, I met her again at a party. She recognized me. I then found out that she was Miss Emily French and that she lived at Cricklewood. I talked to her for a while. I think Emily French was a lady who decided quickly whether she liked someone. She decided that she liked me because I had helped her, but anyone would have done the same. She asked me to come and visit her some time – I said, of course, that I would. I didn’t particularly want to go, but it would have been rude to refuse. She asked me when, so I said I would go the following Saturday. ‘After she’d gone, my friends told me that she was rich and that she lived alone with just a maid.’ ‘I see,’ said Mayherne. ‘So you knew she was rich soon after you’d met her?’ Leonard Vole was angry. ‘If you mean did I ask if she was rich—’ he began, but Mayherne interrupted him.

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‘I have to look at the case the way the prosecution will explain it in court1. Miss French didn’t look rich, she didn’t spend much money or have many things. Unless someone told you, you would probably have thought that she was poor. Who was it who told you that she had money?’ ‘My friend, George Harvey. It was his party.’ ‘Will he remember telling you?’ ‘I really don’t know. It was a while ago.’ ‘Mr Vole, the prosecution will show that you needed money – that is true, isn’t it?’ Leonard Vole looked embarrassed. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly. ‘So, they’ll say you needed money and you met this rich old lady and tried hard to develop a friendship with her. Now, if we can say that you didn’t know that she was rich, and that you visited her to be kind—’ ‘Which is true.’ ‘I’m sure it is. But remember I’m looking at it like the prosecution will do. So, it’s important to know what Mr Harvey remembers. Is he likely to remember that conversation, or not? Could we make him think that the conversation took place later?’ Leonard Vole thought for a moment. Then he said: ‘No, I don’t think that that would be successful, Mr Mayherne. Several people heard him tell me at the party.’ The lawyer tried to hide his disappointment. ‘That’s unfortunate,’ he said. ‘But thank you for being honest, Mr Vole. You’re quite right – that won’t work. ‘So, you met Miss French, you visited her at her home, and a friendship developed. We need to give a good reason for all this. Why did you, a young man of thirty-three, good-looking,

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good at sports, popular with your friends, spend so much time with an elderly woman? You must have had hardly anything in common.’ Leonard Vole looked nervous. ‘I don’t know – I really don’t know. After the first visit, she asked me to come again. It was clear that she liked me. She said she was lonely and unhappy, so it was difficult to say no. ‘You see, Mr Mayherne, I’m one of those people who can’t say no. And believe it or not, after the third or fourth visit I really did start to like her. My mother died when I was young, and I was brought up by an aunt who died before I was fifteen. If I told you that I enjoyed her acting like a mother to me, I think you’d laugh.’ Mayherne didn’t laugh. Instead he took off his glasses again and cleaned them. This was always a sign that he was thinking. ‘I believe you, Mr Vole,’ he said at last. ‘I just don’t know whether a jury1 would. ‘Please continue. When did Miss French fi rst ask for your advice about business?’ ‘After my third or fourth visit. She didn’t understand very much about money, and was worried about some investments.’ Mayherne looked up quickly. ‘Be careful, Mr Vole. The maid, Janet Mackenzie, says that Miss French was a good businesswoman, and her bank manager agrees.’ ‘I can’t help that,’ said Vole seriously. ‘That’s what she said to me.’ This answer made Mayherne believe Leonard Vole even more. He knew a little about elderly ladies. He could imagine Miss French, enjoying the company of the good-looking young man, trying to find reasons for him to visit her. Of course she

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would say that she didn’t understand business and ask him to help her. She knew that most men like to be asked for help. Leonard Vole had liked being asked. Perhaps she had wanted this young man to know that she was rich. Perhaps Emily French had been willing to pay for what she wanted. All these thoughts passed quickly through Mayherne’s mind, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he asked another question. ‘And did you help her when she asked you to?’ ‘I did.’ ‘Mr Vole,’ said the lawyer, ‘I’m going to ask you a very serious question, and it’s important that you tell me the truth. You needed money. You were helping an old lady with her investments – an old lady who said she knew little or nothing about business. Did you at any time, or in any way, move any of Emily French’s investments or money to your own accounts—? ‘Now, wait a minute before you answer. We have two options. Either we concentrate on you being honest. We explain that it’s unlikely that you would murder Miss French as you could have easily taken her money anyway. However, if the prosecution can prove that you swindled the old lady in any way, we must instead say that you had no reason to murder her, since you already had her money. Do you understand the difference? ‘Now, please think carefully before you answer.’ But Leonard Vole answered quickly. ‘I did not swindle Miss French.’ ‘Thank you,’ said Mayherne. ‘I’m pleased to hear that. I know that you’re far too clever to lie to me about such an important thing.’ ‘Good! So,’ said Vole with excitement, ‘the strongest point in my case is that I have no reason to have hurt her. Yes, I developed a friendship with a rich old lady. Yes, I suppose I hoped to get

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some money from a friendship with her, but isn’t it clear that her death has ended all my hopes?’ The lawyer looked at him seriously. Then, he repeated his habit of cleaning his glasses. He didn’t speak until they were back on his nose. ‘Do you not know, Mr Vole, that Miss French left a will and that in her will she leaves most of her money to you?’ ‘What?’ The prisoner jumped to his feet. ‘What are you saying? She left her money to me?’ Mayherne nodded his head slowly. Vole sat down again. He put his head in his hands. ‘You didn’t know anything about this will?’ ‘No, I knew nothing about it.’ ‘What would you say if I told you that the maid, Janet Mackenzie, says that you did know? She says that Miss French told her that she had talked to you about it.’ ‘What would I say?’ Leonard Vole repeated. ‘I’d say that she’s lying! No, no that isn’t fair. Janet loved Miss French, and she didn’t like me. She was jealous and suspicious of me. Perhaps Miss French told Janet what she was going to do, and Janet either didn’t understand properly, or convinced herself that I had persuaded the old lady to do it.’ ‘Do you think she dislikes you enough to lie in court?’ Leonard Vole looked shocked. ‘No! Why would she?’ ‘I don’t know,’ said Mayherne. ‘But she really doesn’t like you.’ ‘I’m beginning to see,’ Leonard Vole said quietly. ‘The prosecution will say that I encouraged the friendship, that I got her to make a will leaving her money to me, and then that I went to her house that night, and there was nobody else there – then they find her dead the next day – oh! It’s awful!’

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‘You’re wrong about there being nobody else in the house,’ said Mayherne, moving the conversation on. ‘Janet was planning to go out for the evening. She did go out, but at about half past nine she returned home to get something she had forgotten. She came in through the back door, went upstairs and fetched it, and went out again. She heard voices in the sitting room. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she’s sure that one of them was Miss French’s voice and the other was a man’s.’ ‘At half past nine,’ said Leonard Vole, thinking. ‘At half past nine…’ He jumped to his feet again. ‘Then I’m saved – saved!’ ‘What do you mean, saved?’ asked Mayherne, surprised. ‘By half past nine I was at home again! My wife can prove that. I left Miss French at about five minutes to nine. I arrived home at about twenty past nine. My wife was there waiting for me. Oh, thank goodness – thank goodness! And thanks to Janet Mackenzie for forgetting something.’ Leonard Vole was so happy, he didn’t notice that Mayherne still looked serious. ‘Who do you think murdered Miss French, then?’ asked the lawyer. ‘A burglar, of course. The window was open, wasn’t it? She was killed with a crowbar, and the crowbar was found lying on the floor beside the body. And several things were missing. After all, the police first thought it was a burglar. It’s only because Janet told the police she was suspicious of me that I was charged.’ ‘That’s not good enough, Mr Vole,’ said the lawyer. ‘The things that were missing were cheap. Someone took them to make it look like it was a burglar. ‘Besides, think about it. You say you weren’t in the house at half past nine. So who was the man Janet heard talking to

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Miss French in the sitting room? She wouldn’t have a friendly conversation with a burglar, would she?’ ‘No,’ said Vole. ‘No…’ He looked confused. ‘But anyway,’ he added suddenly looking happier again, ‘it means it wasn’t me. I’ve got an alibi. You must see Romaine – my wife – as soon as possible.’ ‘Certainly,’ said the lawyer. ‘I would have already seen Mrs Vole, but she’s been away since you were charged. I believe that she arrives back tonight, so I’m going to see her when I leave here.’ Vole nodded, satisfied. ‘Yes, Romaine will tell you. How lucky is that?’ ‘Excuse me, Mr Vole, but are you very fond of your wife?’ ‘Of course!’ ‘And is she fond of you?’ ‘Romaine loves me very much. She’d do anything for me.’ The lawyer’s hopes grew smaller. A wife in love with her husband – would a jury really believe her? ‘Was there anyone else who saw you return at 9.20? A maid, for instance?’ ‘No, we don’t have a maid.’ ‘Did you meet anyone in the street on the way back?’ ‘Nobody I knew. I took the bus part of the way. The driver might remember me.’ Mayherne doubted this. ‘There isn’t anyone else, then, who can say when you arrived home?’ ‘No. But is that necessary?’ ‘Maybe not. Maybe not,’ said Mayherne quickly. He continued: ‘Now, there’s just one more thing. Did Miss French know that you were a married man?’

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‘Oh, yes.’ ‘Yet you never took your wife to see her. Why was that?’ For the first time, Leonard Vole was slow to answer. ‘Well – I don’t know.’ ‘Janet Mackenzie says that Miss French believed that you were single, and that she talked about marrying you.’ Vole laughed. ‘There was forty years’ difference in age between us.’ ‘It has been done before,’ said the lawyer, not laughing. ‘The fact is that your wife never met Miss French?’ ‘No…’ Again the answer was slow. ‘I must say,’ said the lawyer, ‘I don’t understand why they never met.’ Vole looked embarrassed. ‘I’ll be honest. I needed money, as you know. I hoped that Miss French might lend me some. She was fond of me, but she wasn’t at all interested in a young couple’s problems. I soon realized that she thought that my wife and I didn’t get on – that we weren’t living together. Mr Mayherne, I wanted the money – for Romaine. So, I didn’t say anything. I let the old lady think what she wanted. She said I was like a son to her. There was never any conversation about marriage – that must be just Janet’s imagination.’ ‘And that’s all?’ ‘Yes – that’s all.’ Did Leonard Vole pause before he said that, Mayherne wondered? He couldn’t tell. He stood up and held out his hand. ‘Goodbye, Mr Vole.’

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Agatha Christie

He looked into Leonard’s tired young face and, without planning to, said, ‘In spite of the many facts against you, I believe you’re innocent. I hope to prove it.’ Vole smiled at him. ‘You’ll see that my alibi is true,’ he said. He hardly noticed that the lawyer didn’t smile back. Mayherne said, ‘I think what Janet Mackenzie tells the jury is very important. She hates you. That much is clear.’ ‘Oh, no! She dislikes me, but I don’t think she hates me,’ said the young man. The lawyer shook his head as he went out. He was unhappy with the way the case was developing. ‘Now to visit Mrs Vole,’ he said to himself.

The Voles lived in a small, shabby house near Paddington Green. Mayherne rang the bell when he arrived. A big woman in dirty clothes answered the door. ‘I’m looking for Mrs Vole. Is she home yet?’ ‘She got back an hour ago. But I don’t know if you can see her.’ ‘Please tell her it’s Mr Mayherne,’ said the lawyer quietly. ‘I’m sure she will see me.’ The woman closed the door in his face and left him waiting outside. In a few minutes, however, she returned and was a little nicer to him. ‘Come inside, please.’ She took him into a tiny sitting room. Mayherne, who was looking at a drawing on the wall, jumped as he noticed a tall, pale woman who had entered so quietly that he hadn’t heard her.

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‘Mr Mayherne? You’re my husband’s lawyer, aren’t you? Will you please sit down?’ When she spoke, he realized that she was not English. Now, looking at her more closely, he noticed that she was a pretty woman, and that she made little movements with her hands that made her seem nervous. A strange woman, very quiet. She made him want to leave. ‘My dear Mrs Vole,’ he began, ‘you mustn’t worry—’ He stopped. He realized, with surprise, that it was very obvious that Romaine Vole was not at all worried. She was perfectly calm. ‘Please tell me all about it,’ she said. ‘I must know everything. How bad is it?’ She stopped for a second, then repeated in a quieter, stranger voice: ‘How bad is it?’ Mayherne described his interview with Leonard Vole. She listened, nodding her head as she did. ‘I see,’ she said, when he had finished. ‘So he wants me to say that he came in at twenty minutes past nine that night?’ ‘Did he come in at that time?’ asked Mayherne quickly. ‘That isn’t the point,’ she said. ‘If I say he did, will they find him innocent? Will they believe me?’ Mayherne was shocked. She had jumped to the heart of the situation so quickly. ‘That’s what I want to know,’ she said. ‘Will it be enough? Is there anyone else who can also speak for him in court?’ The way she said this made him feel worried. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had no choice: ‘So far there is no one else.’ ‘I see,’ said Romaine Vole. She sat perfectly still for a minute or two. There was a little smile on her lips.

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The lawyer grew more and more worried. ‘Mrs Vole,’ he began. ‘I know what you must feel—’ ‘Do you?’ she asked. ‘I wonder.’ ‘In the situation you find yourself in—’ ‘In the situation I find myself in,’ she interrupted him, ‘I’m going to make my own decision about what I do.’ He was very worried now. ‘But, my dear Mrs Vole – you’re obviously upset. As you love your husband—’ ‘Pardon?’ Her voice made him jump. He repeated more slowly: ‘As you love your husband…’ Romaine nodded slowly, a strange smile on her lips. ‘Did he tell you that I love him?’ she asked in a soft voice. ‘Yes, I can see that he did. How stupid men are! Stupid, stupid, stupid.’ She stood up suddenly. ‘I hate him, I tell you! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! I’d like to see him hanged 2.’ The lawyer stepped backwards, shocked. She moved a step nearer to him: ‘Perhaps I will see it. What if I tell you that he didn’t come in that night at twenty past nine, but at twenty past ten? He tells you he knew nothing about the money in the will. What if I tell you he knew all about it, and he murdered her to get it? What if I tell you that he told me what he’d done that night when he got home? That there was blood on his clothes? What then? What if I say all these things in court?’ With an effort, Mayherne hid his feelings and tried to speak calmly. ‘A wife can’t give evidence against her husband—’

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‘He isn’t my husband!’ She said the words so quickly that he wondered if he had heard them correctly. ‘Pardon? I—’ ‘He isn’t my husband.’ In the silence that followed, you could have heard a pin drop. ‘I was an actress in Vienna before I met Leonard. I’m married, but my husband is in a psychiatric hospital. So Leonard and I couldn’t get married. My real name is Romaine Heilger.’ Mayherne tried to quickly understand everything she was saying, thinking only of the case. ‘I’d like you to tell me one thing,’ he said. ‘Why do you hate Leonard Vole so much?’ She smiled. ‘Yes, I’m sure you’d like to know. But I won’t tell you. It’s my secret…’ Equally confused and annoyed, Mayherne stood up. ‘Then there is no point in continuing this conversation,’ he said. ‘You‘ll hear from me again after I’ve spoken with my client.’ She came closer to him, looking into his eyes with her own beautiful dark ones. ‘Tell me,’ she said. ‘Did you honestly believe that he was innocent when you came here today?’ ‘I did,’ said Mayherne. ‘You poor little man,’ she laughed. ‘And I still believe he is,’ finished the lawyer. She looked surprised. ‘Good evening, madam.’ He left.

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‘This is going to be very difficult,’ said Mr Mayherne to himself as he walked quickly along the street away from the house. The whole case was extraordinary. And she was an extraordinary woman – and a very dangerous one. What could he do? That poor young man had no chance now. Of course, it was possible that he was guilty… ‘No,’ said Mayherne to himself. ‘No – there’s almost too much evidence against him. I don’t believe this woman. She was making up the whole story. But she’ll never tell it in court.’ He just wished he felt more sure about this.

Mayherne didn’t know what to do. The case against Leonard Vole was looking very bad. Even the famous court lawyer Sir Charles, who Mayherne had employed to speak for Vole in court1, was not very hopeful. ‘Our only chance,’ he told them, ‘is to show that Romaine is lying. But how?’ Mayherne tried to think. If Leonard Vole was telling the truth, and he did leave the murdered woman’s house at nine o’clock, then who was the man Janet had heard talking to Miss French at half past nine? Then no one had seen Leonard Vole leaving Miss French’s house or entering his own house. No one had seen any other man enter or leave Miss French’s house either. So how could he prove what Vole had told him about his movements? Mayherne had no more ideas. Days passed, and Mayherne still had no plan for how to prove his client was innocent.

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Then, the day before the trial, he received a letter that changed everything. It was written very badly on cheap, old paper. The envelope was dirty and the stamp was stuck in the wrong place. Dear Mister: You’re the lawyer who is working for the young man. If you want to show what that awful woman is really like and that everything she says is a lie, come to 16 Shaw’s Rents, Stepney, tonight. It’ll cost you 200 pounds. Ask for Mrs Mogson. The lawyer read and re-read this strange letter. Was it real? He thought it probably was. He also thought it was Vole’s only hope. Mayherne made up his mind. It was his job to try to save his client. He had to go and meet this lady. When he arrived at Shaw’s Rents that night, it was a horrible place. He asked for number 16 and was sent up to a room on the third floor. He knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he knocked again. At this second knock, he heard a sound inside. He waited and the door opened a few centimetres. Suddenly he heard a woman’s laugh from inside, and the door opened wider. He still couldn’t see anyone. ‘So it’s you,’ she said, in a low voice from behind the door. ‘There’s nobody with you, is there? Then you can come in.’ Although he didn’t really want to, the lawyer stepped into the small, dirty, dark room. There was an untidy bed in a corner, a plain table and two old chairs. Mayherne looked at the woman as she followed him into the room. She was middle-aged, with lots of unbrushed grey hair and a scarf covering most of her face. She saw him looking at this and she laughed again.

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‘I suppose you’re wondering why I hide my beauty? Hah, I’ll show you.’ She removed the scarf and the lawyer stepped backwards, shocked. Her face was covered with a huge red scar. She laughed again, then put the scarf back on. ‘And yet I was a pretty girl once – not as long ago as you’d think. Acid – that’s what did it. But they’ll be sorry…’ He noticed her hands opening and closing angrily. ‘Enough,’ said the lawyer. ‘I’ve come here because I believe you can give me information which will help my client, Leonard Vole. Is that correct?’ ‘What about the money?’ she said. ‘Two hundred pounds, you remember?’ ‘Now, listen. It’s your duty to tell me, and I can make you tell me in court if I have to.’ ‘Oh no, that won’t happen. You see, I’m getting old, and I don’t remember anything. But if you give me two hundred pounds, perhaps I can remember something…’ ‘What?’ ‘A letter from her. But before I’ll say more, I want my money.’ Mayherne made up his mind. ‘I’ll give you ten pounds, and nothing more. And only if this letter you talk about is helpful and real.’ ‘Ten pounds?’ She screamed at him. ‘Twenty,’ said Mayherne, ‘and that’s my last offer.’ He stood up, ready to leave if she refused. Then, watching her closely, he took out his wallet, and counted out twenty pounds. ‘You see?’ he said. ‘This is all I have with me. You can take it or leave it.’

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But already he knew that the sight of the money was too much for her. She complained, but she went over to the bed and took something out from under it. ‘Here you are!’ she said angrily, throwing him a pile of letters. ‘You need the top one.’ Mayherne read each letter through calmly, then returned again to the top one and read it a second time. They were love letters, written by Romaine Heilger – but the man they were written to was not Leonard Vole… ‘I was telling the truth, wasn’t I?’ said the woman. ‘Those letters prove she’s lying, don’t they?’ Mayherne put the letters in his pocket. The woman hadn’t finished. ‘I know something else too,’ she said. ‘You must fi nd out where Romaine was at twenty past ten – the time she says she was at home. Ask at the Lion Road Cinema.’ ‘Who’s the man she wrote all these letters to?’ asked Mayherne. ‘There’s only a first name here.’ The woman’s voice changed, her hands opened and closed again. Finally she lifted one hand to her face. ‘He’s the man that did this to me. She took him away from me. And when I tried to get him back, he threw acid at me. And she laughed! I’ve hated them for years. I’ve followed them and watched them. And now they’ll be sorry. What will happen to her, Mr Lawyer? Something bad?’ ‘Yes, she’ll probably go to prison for lying in court,’ said Mayherne, standing up calmly and quietly. ‘Good – that’s what I want. Are you leaving? Where’s my money?’ Without a word, Mayherne put the money down on the table. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned and left the awful room.

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Agatha Christie

He went straight to the Lion Road Cinema. He showed a photograph of Romaine Heilger to the man in the ticket office who recognized her immediately. She had arrived at the cinema with a man a little after ten o’clock. He couldn’t remember the man very well, but he remembered the woman. She had spoken to him about the fi lm. They stayed until the end, about an hour later. So, everything Romaine Heilger had said was a lie, from beginning to end. She had only said it because she hated Leonard Vole. The lawyer wondered whether he would ever know why she hated Vole so much. What had he done to her? He had seemed confused when the lawyer had told him that she had said she hated him. He had said that it wasn’t possible – yet Mayherne had thought that perhaps Leonard Vole did know already. He knew, but he wasn’t going to tell Mayherne the truth. Mayherne wondered if one day he would learn what their secret was. The lawyer glanced at his watch. It was late – he had to hurry. ‘I must tell Sir Charles straight away,’ he said to himself.

The trial of Leonard Vole for the murder of Emily French was very popular. Vole was young and good looking, the crime was nasty, and the public was fascinated by the most important witness for the prosecution, Romaine Heilger. There had been pictures of her in the newspapers, and many different stories made up about her life. Janet Mackenzie was called first. To begin with, she told the same story as before. Then Sir Charles questioned her and had some success. She admitted that she couldn’t be sure that the man’s voice she had heard in the sitting room that night was

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Vole’s. He also managed to show that she was jealous of the prisoner and disliked him. Then it was the turn of the next witness. ‘Is your name Romaine Heilger?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘You are Austrian, correct?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘But for the last three years you’ve lived here in England with the prisoner and pretended to be his wife?’ Just for a moment, Romaine Heilger looked at Leonard Vole. Her look was strange. Mayherne couldn’t tell what she was thinking. ‘Yes.’ The questions continued. She told her story. On that night the prisoner had taken a crowbar with him from their home. He had returned home at twenty minutes past ten, and had told her that he had killed the old lady. His clothes had blood on them, and he had burned them. He had told her to keep his secret or he would hurt her. As she continued her story, everyone listening began to believe that the prisoner was guilty. Even Leonard Vole looked as if he knew there was no hope for him now. Then Sir Charles stood up, looking very serious. He began his questions. Mayherne watched from the back of the room. He was nervous. This was the big moment. Sir Charles suggested that her story was totally made up, from start to finish – that she had not even been in her own house at the time she said Vole came home, that she was in love with another man and that she was trying to send Vole to his death for a crime he did not do.

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Agatha Christie

Then Sir Charles produced the letter. He read it aloud to a silent court. Max, my love, I can’t believe our luck! Leonard has been arrested for murder – yes, the murder of an old lady! Leonard, who wouldn’t hurt a fly! At last I’ll have my revenge. I’ll say that he came in that night with blood on him – that he told me what he had done. He’ll be hanged, Max – and when he hangs he’ll know that it was Romaine who sent him to his death. And then – happiness for us, at last! When she heard the letter being read, Romaine started to cry and admitted everything. Leonard Vole had returned to the house at the time he said, twenty past nine. She had made up the whole story. The case for the prosecution was over. The judge reminded the jury to take the time to consider all the evidence, but the jury didn’t need much time at all1. ‘We find the prisoner not guilty,’ they announced. Mayherne knew that he should immediately go and offer his congratulations to his client. But instead he found himself cleaning his glasses, and made an effort to stop. His wife had told him the night before that it was becoming a habit. Habits were very strange things, he thought to himself. People never knew they had them. It had been an interesting case – a very interesting case. That woman, Romaine Heilger… When he thought about the case, he could think of nothing except her. She had seemed like a pale, quiet woman in the house at Paddington, but in court she had been colourful and lively. She had seemed like a tropical flower in an English garden.

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If he closed his eyes he could see her now, tall, calm, her perfect body a little forward, that strange movement with her hands. Yes, habits were very strange things. Moving her hand like that was her habit, he supposed. Yet he had seen someone else do it quite recently. Who was it? Quite recently… Suddenly he remembered. The woman in Shaw’s Rents… It was impossible – impossible! Yet, Romaine Heilger was an actress… Sir Charles came up behind him. ‘Have you spoken to our man yet? He’s very lucky, you know. Come and see him.’ But the lawyer wanted only one thing – to see Romaine Heilger. And that wouldn’t happen for some time.

‘So you’ve guessed,’ she said, when Mayherne did manage to see her and had told her what he was thinking. ‘What do you want to know? The scar on the woman’s face? Oh, that was easy – just a bit of make-up, and the light was too bad for you to see it properly.’ ‘But why— why—?’ He didn’t know what to say. ‘For Leonard – I had to save him. The words of a woman in love with a man would not have been enough for the jury. But if they believed that my evidence was false, that I wanted to hurt the prisoner, then they would feel sorry for him.’ ‘And why so many letters?’ ‘If I had only given you one, you probably would have thought it wasn’t real.’ ‘So there never was a man called Max?’ ‘No, he never existed.’

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Agatha Christie

‘Well,’ said Mayherne, who was a bit annoyed, ‘I still think we could have proved he was innocent by the – er – normal method.’ ‘Maybe, but I had to be sure. You see, you thought he was innocent—’ ‘And you knew it? I see,’ said Mayherne. ‘Oh no, my dear Mr Mayherne,’ said Romaine, smiling. ‘You don’t see at all. I knew he was guilty!’

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