“Bien sûr,” said Poirot immodestly. “Do not forget, ladies and gentlemen, that the same name does not necessarily mean the same person. When Signor Lazzari described to me the woman who took a room in this hotel using the name Jennie Hobbs, I thought that she was probably the same woman I had met at Pleasant’s Coffee House. She sounded similar: fair hair, dark brown hat, lighter brown coat. But two men who have each seen a woman fitting this description only once, they cannot be certain they have seen the same woman.

“This led me to ruminate. I already suspected that the dead Richard Negus whose body I saw and the living Richard Negus seen by Rafal Bobak and Thomas Brignell on the night of the murders were two different men. Then I remembered being told that on arrival at the Bloxham on the Wednesday, Richard Negus was dealt with by Thomas Brignell. If I was right in my suppositions, then this would have been a different Richard Negus, the real one. Suddenly I understood Thomas Brignell’s predicament. How could he say publicly that this one man appeared to have two faces? Everyone would think him a lunatic!”

“You’re the one that sounds half-crazed, Mr. Poirot,” said Samuel Kidd with a sneer.

Poirot went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “This impostor might not have resembled Richard Negus in appearance, but I have no doubt that his voice was a perfect imitation. He is an excellent mimic—are you not, Mr. Kidd?”

“Don’t listen to this man! He’s a liar!”

“No, Mr. Kidd. It is you who are the liar. You have impersonated me more than once.”

Fee Spring stood up at the back of the room. “You should all believe Mr. Poirot,” she said. “He’s telling the truth, all right. I’ve heard Mr. Samuel Kidd speak in his accent. With my eyes closed, I’d not know the difference.”

“It is not only with his voice that Samuel Kidd lies,” said Poirot. “The first time I met him, he presented himself as a man of below average intelligence and slovenly appearance: his shirt with the missing button and the stain. Also the incomplete beard—he had shaved only one small patch of his face. Mr. Kidd, please tell everybody here why you went to great lengths to make yourself look so disheveled the first time we met.”

Samuel Kidd stared resolutely ahead. He said nothing. His eyes were full of loathing.