Sad Cypress (Hercule Poirot 22)

“She didn’t know that. She’d no idea her aunt had never made a will.”

“That, my friend, is what she says. She may have known.”

“Look here, Poirot, are you the Prosecuting Counsel?”

“At the moment, yes. I must know the full strength of the case against her. Could Elinor Carlisle have taken the morphine from the attaché case?”

“Yes. So could anyone else. Roderick Welman. Nurse O’Brien. Any of the servants.”

“Or Dr. Lord?”

Peter Lord’s eyes opened wide. He said:

“Certainly… But what would be the idea?”

“Mercy, perhaps.”

Peter Lord shook his head.

“Nothing doing there! You’ll have to believe me!”

Hercule Poirot leaned back in his chair. He said:

“Let us entertain a supposition. Let us say that Elinor Carlisle did take that morphine from the attaché case and did administer it to her aunt. Was anything said about the loss of the morphine?”

“Not to the household. The two nurses kept it to themselves.”

Poirot said:

“What, in your opinion, will be the action of the Crown?”

“You mean if they find morphine in Mrs. Welman’s body?”

“Yes.”

Peter Lord said grimly:

“It’s possible that if Elinor is acquitted of the present charge she will be rearrested and charged with the murder of her aunt.”

Poirot said thoughtfully:

“The motives are different; that is to say, in the case of Mrs. Welman the motive would have been gain, whereas in the case of Mary Gerrard the motive is supposed to be jealousy.”

“That’s right.”

Poirot said:

“What line does the defence propose to take?”

Peter Lord said:

“Bulmer proposes to take the line that there was no motive. He’ll put forward the theory that the engagement between Elinor and Roderick was a family business, entered into for family reasons, to please Mrs. Welman, and that the moment the old lady was dead Elinor broke it off of her own accord. Roderick Welman will give evidence to that effect. I think he almost believes it!”

“Believes that Elinor did not care for him to any great extent?”

“Yes.”

“In which case,” said Poirot, “she would have no reason for murdering Mary Gerrard.”