‘You arranged the robbery. Pretended to see the thief on the terrace—thereby clearing Carlile of suspicion. Even if he had not left the room, the desk was so near the window that a thief might have taken the plans while Carlile was busy at the safe with his back turned. You walked over to the desk, took the plans and kept them on your own person until the moment when, by prearranged plan, you slipped them into Mrs Vanderlyn’s dressing-case. In return she handed you the fatal letter disguised as an unposted letter of her own.’

Poirot stopped.

Lord Mayfield said:

‘Your knowledge is very complete, M. Poirot. You must think me an unutterable skunk.’

Poirot made a quick gesture.

‘No, no, Lord Mayfield. I think, as I said, that you are a very clever man. It came to me suddenly as we talked here last night. You are a first-class engineer. There will be, I think, some subtle alterations in the specifications of that bomber, alterations done so skilfully that it will be difficult to grasp why the machine is not the success it ought to be. A certain foreign power will find the type a failure … It will be a disappointment to them, I am sure …’

Again there was a silence—then Lord Mayfield said:

‘You are much too clever, M. Poirot. I will only ask you to believe one thing. I have faith in myself. I believe that I am the man to guide England through the days of crisis that I see coming. If I did not honestly believe that I am needed by my country to steer the ship of state, I would not have done what I have done—made the best of both worlds—saved myself from disaster by a clever trick.’

‘My lord,’ said Poirot, ‘if you could not make the best of both worlds, you could not be a politician!’

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Agatha Christie’s short stories typically appeared first in magazines and then in her short story books, which tended to be different collections in the UK and the US. This list attempts to catalogue the first publication of each, and gives alternative story titles when used.

Summer in the Pyrenees

Excerpted from An Autobiography (1977).

The Blood-Stained Pavement

First published in the UK in Royal Magazine No. 353, March 1928, and in the US as ‘Drip! Drip!’ in Detective Story Magazine, 23 June 1928. Reprinted in The Thirteen Problems (UK, 1932) and The Tuesday Night Club (US, 1933).

The Double Clue

First published in the UK in The Sketch No. 1610, 5 December 1923, and in the US in Blue Book Magazine Vol. 41, No. 4, August 1925. Reprinted in Poirot’s Early Cases (UK, 1974) and Double Sin (US, 1961).

Death on the Nile

First published in the UK in Nash’s Pall Mall Vol. 91, No. 482, July 1933, and in the US in Cosmopolitan, April 1933. Reprinted in Parker Pyne Investigates (UK, 1934) and Mr Parker Pyne, Detective (US, 1934).

Harlequin’s Lane