I shall never forget her.
No - I shall never forget her..."
George Mayhew was cautious and noncommittal.
He remembered the case, of course, but not at all clearly.
His father had been in charge of the case - he himself had been only nineteen at the time.
Yes, the case had made a great stir. Because of Crale's being such a well-known man. His pictures were very fine, fine indeed. Two of them were in the Tate. Not that that meant anything.
M. Poirot would excuse him, but he didn't see quite what M. Poirot's interest was in the matter - Oh, the daughter!
Really?
Indeed? Canada?
He had always heard it was New Zealand.
George Mayhew became less rigid. He unbent.
A shocking thing in a girl's life.
He had the deepest sympathy for her.
Really it would have been better if she had never learned the truth.
Still, it was no use saying that now.
She wanted to know?
Yes, but what was there to know?
There were the reports of the trial, of course.
He himself didn't really know anything. No, he was afraid there wasn't much doubt as to Mrs Crale's being guilty.
There was a certain amount of excuse for her.
These artists - difficult people to live with. With Crale, he understood, it had always been some woman or other. And she herself had probably been the possessive type of woman. Unable to accept facts. Nowadays she'd simply have divorced him and got over it.
He added cautiously, "Let me see - er - Lady Dittisham, I believe, was the girl in the case."
Poirot said he believed that that was so.
"The newspapers bring it up from time to time," said Mayhew. "She's been in the divorce court a good deal.
She's a very rich woman, as I expect you know.
She was married to that explorer fellow before Dittisham. She's always more or less in the public eye.
The kind of woman who likes notoriety, I should imagine."
"Or possibly a hero worshiper," suggested Poirot.
The idea was upsetting to George Mayhew.
He accepted it dubiously.
"Well, possibly - yes, I suppose that might be be."
Poirot said,
"Had your firm acted for Mrs Crale for a long period of years?"
George Mayhew shook his head.
"On the contrary.
Johnathan and Johnathan were the Crale solicitors.
Under the circumstances, however, Mr Johnathan felt that he could not very well act for Mrs Crale and he arranged with us - with my father - to take over her case.
You would do well, I think, M. Poirot, to arrange a meeting with old Mr Johnathan.
He has retired from active work - he is over seventy - but he knew the Crale family intimately, and he could tell you far more than I can.
Indeed, I myself can tell you nothing at all. I was a boy at the time.
I don't think I was even in court."
Poirot rose, and George Mayhew, rising, too, added,
"You might like to have a word with Edmunds, our managing clerk.
He was with the firm then and took a great interest in the case."
Chapter 2 Edmunds was a man of slow speech.
His eyes gleamed with legal caution.
He took his time in sizing up Poirot, before he let himself be betrayed into speech.
He said, "Aye, I mind the Crale case." He added severely, "It was a disgraceful business." His shrewd eyes rested appraisingly on Hercule Poirot. He said, "It's a long time since to be raking things up again."
"A court verdict is not always an ending."
Edmunds's square head nodded slowly.