Battle in his turn reached the nearest bank and went in. Despard had just brought Rhoda successfully to shore. He hauled her up. Hung her down, and plunged in again, swimming toward the spot where Anne had just gone under.
"Be careful," called Battle. "Weeds."
He and Battle got to the spot at the same time, but Anne had gone under before they reached her.
They got her at last and between them towed her to shore.
Rhoda was being ministered to by Poirot.
She was sitting up now, her breath coming unevenly.
Despard and Battle laid Anne Meredith down.
"Artificial respiration," said Battle. "Only thing to do. But I'm afraid she's gone."
He set to work methodically. Poirot stood by ready to relieve him.
Despard dropped down by Rhoda.
"Are you all right?" he asked hoarsely.
She said slowly, "You saved me. You saved me -" She held out her hands to him and as he took them she burst suddenly into tears.
He said, "Rhoda -" Their hands clung together.
He had a sudden vision - of African scrub, and Rhoda, laughing and adventurous by his side.
Chapter 30 MURDER
"Do you mean to say," said Rhoda, incredulously, "that Anne meant to push me in? I know it felt like it.
And she knew I can't swim.
But - but was it deliberate?"
"It was quite deliberate," said Poirot.
They were driving through the outskirts of London.
"But - but - why?"
Poirot did not reply for a minute or two.
He thought he knew one of the motives that had led Anne to act as she had done and that motive was sitting next to Rhoda at the minute.
Superintendent Battle coughed.
"You'll have to prepare yourself, Miss Dawes, for a bit of a shock. This Mrs. Benson your friend lived with, her death wasn't quite the accident that it appeared - at least so we've reason to suppose."
"What do you mean?"
"We believe," said Poirot, "that Anne Meredith changed two bottles."
"Oh, no - no, how horrible!
It's impossible.
Anne?
Why should she?"
"She had her reasons," said Superintendent Battle. "But the point is, Miss Dawes, that, as far as Miss Meredith knew, you were the only person who could give us a clue to that incident.
You didn't tell her, I suppose, that you'd mentioned it to Mrs. Oliver?"
Rhoda said slowly, "No. I thought she'd be annoyed with me."
"She would.
Very annoyed," said Battle grimly. "But she thought that the only danger could come from you, and that's why she decided to - er - eliminate you."
"Eliminate?
Me?
Oh, how beastly!
It can't be all true."
"Well, she's dead now," said Superintendent Battle. "so we might as well leave it at that, but she wasn't a nice friend for you to have, Miss Dawes, and that's a fact."
The car drew up in front of a door.
"We'll go in to Monsieur Poirot's," said Superintendent Battle, "and have a bit of a talk about it all."
In Poirot's sitting-room they were welcomed by Mrs. Oliver who was entertaining Doctor Roberts.
They were drinking sherry.
Mrs. Oliver was wearing one of the new horsy hats and a velvet dress with a bow on the chest, on which reposed a large piece of apple core.
"Come in. Come in," said Mrs. Oliver hospitably and quite as though it were her house and not Poirot's. "As soon as I got your telephone call, I rang up Doctor Roberts and we came round here, and all his patients are dying but he doesn't care.
They're probably getting better really.
We want to hear all about everything."
"Yes, indeed, I'm thoroughly fogged," said Roberts.