"You are a convert to Mr. Raikes's ideas?"
"I am – and I'm not.
Howard is – is wilder than most of his crowd.
There are people, you know, who – who agree with Howard up to a point.
They would be willing to – to try things – if Uncle Alistair and his crowd would agree.
But they never will!
They just sit back and shake their heads and say
'We could never risk that.'
And
'It wouldn't be sound economically.'
And
'We've got to consider our responsibility.'
And
'Look at history.'
But I think that one mustn't look at history.
That's looking back.
One must look forward all the time." Poirot said gently:
"It is an attractive vision." Jane looked at him scornfully.
"You say that, too!" "Perhaps because I am old.
Their old men have dreams – only dreams, you see."
He paused and then asked in a matter-of-fact voice:
"Why did Mr. Howard Raikes make that appointment in Queen Charlotte Street?"
"Because I wanted him to meet Uncle Alistair and I couldn't see otherwise how to manage it.
He'd been so bitter about Uncle Alistair – so full of – of – well – of hate really, that I felt if he could only see him – see what a nice, kindly, unassuming person he is – that – that he would feel differently… I couldn't arrange meeting here because of mother – she would have spoiled everything."
Poirot said: "But after having made that arrangement, you were – afraid."
Her eyes grew wide and dark.
She said: "Yes. Because – because – sometimes Howard gets carried away.
He – he -"
Hercule Poirot said: "He wants to take a short cut.
To exterminate -"
Jane Olivera cried, "Don't!"
Chapter 4 SEVEN, EIGHT, LAY THEM STRAIGHT
I Time went on. It was over a month since Mr. Morley's death and there was still no news of Miss Sainsbury Seale.
Japp became increasingly wrathful on the subject.
"Dash it all, Poirot, the woman's got to be somewhere."
"Indubitably, mon cher."
"Either she's dead or alive.
If she's dead, where's her body?
Say, for instance, she committed suicide -"
"Another suicide?"
"Don't let's get back to that.
You still say Morley was murdered – I say it was suicide."
"You haven't traced the pistol?"
"No, it's a foreign make."
"That is suggestive, is it not?"
"Not in the way you mean.
Morley had been abroad.
He went on cruises, he and his sister.
Everybody in the British Isles goes on cruises.
He may have picked it up abroad.