Dumb Witness (Hercule Poirot 16)

“There was only one thing that illuminated her drab life, the expectation of her Aunt Emily’s death. Then she would have money, independence, the means to educate her children as she wished—and remember education meant a lot to her—she was a Professor’s daughter!

“She may have already planned the crime, or had the idea of it in her mind, before she came to England. She had a certain knowledge of chemistry, having assisted her father in the laboratory. She knew the nature of Miss Arundell’s complaint and she was well aware that phosphorus would be an ideal substance for her purpose.

“Then, when she came to Littlegreen House, a simpler method presented itself to her. The dog’s ball—a thread or string across the top of the stairs. A simple, ingenious woman’s idea.

“She made her attempt—and failed. I do not think that she had any idea that Miss Arundell was aware of the true facts of the matter. Miss Arundell’s suspicions were directed entirely against Charles. I doubt if her manner to Bella showed any alteration. And so, quietly and determinedly, this self-contained, unhappy, ambitious woman put her original plan into execution. She found an excellent vehicle for the poison, some patent capsules that Miss Arundell was in the habit of taking after meals. To open a capsule, place the phosphorus inside and close it again, was child’s play.

“The capsule was replaced among the others. Sooner or later Miss Arundell would swallow it. Poison was not likely to be suspected. Even if, by some unlikely chance it was, she herself would be nowhere near Market Basing at the time.

“Yet she took one precaution. She obtained a double supply of chloral hydrate at the chemist’s, forging her husband’s name to the prescription. I have no doubt of what that was for—to keep by her in case anything went wrong.

“As I say, I was convinced from the first moment I saw her that Mrs. Tanios was the person I was looking for, but I had absolutely no proof of the fact. I had to proceed carefully. If Mrs. Tanios had any idea I suspected her, I was afraid that she might proceed to a further crime. Furthermore, I believed that the idea of that crime had already occurred to her. Her one wish in life was to shake herself free of her husband.

“Her

original murder had proved a bitter disappointment. The money, the wonderful all-intoxicating money, had all gone to Miss Lawson! It was a blow, but she set to work most intelligently. She began to work on Miss Lawson’s conscience which, I suspect, was already not too comfortable.”

There was a sudden outburst of sobs. Miss Lawson took out her handkerchief and cried into it.

“It’s been dreadful,” she sobbed. “I’ve been wicked! Very wicked. You see, I was very curious about the will—why Miss Arundell had made a new one, I mean. And one day, when Miss Arundell was resting, I managed to unlock the drawer in the desk. And then I found she’d left it all to me! Of course, I never dreamed it was so much. Just a few thousand—that’s all I thought it was. And why not? After all, her own relations didn’t really care for her! But then, when she was so ill, she asked for the will. I could see—I felt sure—she was going to destroy it… And that’s when I was so wicked. I told her she’d sent it back to Mr. Purvis. Poor dear, she was so forgetful. She never remembered what she’d done with things. She believed me. Said I must write for it and I said I would.

“Oh, dear—Oh, dear—and then she got worse and couldn’t think of anything. And she died. And when the will was read and it was all that money I felt dreadful. Three hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds. I’d never dreamed for a minute it was anything like that or I wouldn’t have done it.

“I felt just as though I’d embezzled the money—and I didn’t know what to do. The other day, when Bella came to me, I told her that she should have half of it. I felt sure that then I would feel happy again.”

“You see?” said Poirot, “Mrs. Tanios was succeeding in her object. That is why she was so averse to any attempt to contest the will. She had her own plans and the last thing she wanted to do was to antagonize Miss Lawson. She pretended, of course, to fall in at once with her husband’s wishes, but she made it quite clear what her real feelings were.

“She had at that time two objects, to detach herself and her children from Dr. Tanios and to obtain her share of the money. Then she would have what she wanted—a rich contented life in England with her children.

“As time went on she could no longer conceal her dislike for her husband. In fact, she did not try to. He, poor man, was seriously upset and distressed. Her actions must have seemed quite incomprehensible to him. Really, they were logical enough. She was playing the part of the terrorized woman. If I had suspicions—and she was fairly sure that that must be the case—she wished me to believe that her husband had committed the murder. And at any moment that second murder which I am convinced was already planned in her mind might occur. I knew that she had a lethal dose of chloral in her possession. I feared that she would stage a pretended suicide and confession on his part.

“And still I had no evidence against her! And then, when I was quite in despair, I got something at last! Miss Lawson told me that she had seen Theresa Arundell kneeling on the stairs on the night of Easter Monday. I soon discovered that Miss Lawson could not have seen Theresa at all clearly—not clearly enough to recognize her features. Yet she was quite positive in her identification. On being pressed she mentioned a brooch with Theresa’s initials—T.A.

“On my request Miss Theresa Arundell showed me the brooch in question. At the same time she absolutely denied having been on the stairs at the time stated. At first I fancied someone else had borrowed her brooch, but when I looked at the brooch in the glass the truth leaped at me. Miss Lawson waking up had seen a dim figure with the initials T.A. flashing in the light. She had leapt to the conclusion it was Theresa.

“But if in the glass she had seen the initials T.A.—then the real initials must have been A.T. since the glass naturally reversed the order.

“Of course! Mrs. Tanios’ mother was Arabella Arundell. Bella is only a contraction. A.T. stood for Arabella Tanios. There was nothing odd in Mrs. Tanios possessing a similar type of brooch. It had been exclusive last Christmas but by the spring they were all the rage, and I had already observed that Mrs. Tanios copied her cousin Theresa’s hats and clothes as far as she was able with her limited means.

“In my own mind, at any rate, my case was proved.

“Now—what was I to do? Obtain a Home Office order for the exhumation of the body? That could doubtless be managed. I might prove that Miss Arundell had been poisoned with phosphorus though there was a little doubt about that. The body had been buried two months, and I understand that there have been cases of phosphorus poisoning where no lesions have been found and where the postmortem appearances are very indecisive. Even then, could I connect Mrs. Tanios with the purchase or possession of phosphorus? Very doubtful, since she had probably obtained it abroad.

“At this juncture Mrs. Tanios took a decisive action. She left her husband, throwing herself on the pity of Miss Lawson. She also definitely accused her husband of the murder.

“Unless I acted I felt convinced that he would be her next victim. I took steps to isolate them one from the other on the pretext that it was for her safety. She could not very well contradict that. Really, it was his safety I had in mind. And then—and then—” He paused—a long pause. His face had gone rather white.

“But that was only a temporary measure. I had to make sure that the killer would kill no more. I had to assure the safety of the innocent.

“So I wrote out my construction of the case and gave it to Mrs. Tanios.”

There was a long silence.

Dr. Tanios cried out:

“Oh, my God, so that’s why she killed herself.”

Poirot said gently: