The Murder of Roger Ackroyd / Убийство Роджера Экройда - стр. 48

‘Oh, of course; well, we all use them, I suppose.’

‘In a greater or lesser degree,’ murmured Poirot. ‘And there are, too, differences in quality. Then there is the psychology of a crime. One must study that.’

‘Ah!’ said the inspector, ‘you’ve been bitten with all this psycho-analysis stuff? Now, I’m a plain man-’

‘Mrs Raglan would not agree, I am sure, to that,’ said Poirot, making him a little bow.

Inspector Raglan, a little taken aback, bowed.

‘You don’t understand,’ he said, grinning broadly. ‘Lord, what a lot of difference language makes. I’m telling you how I set to work. first of all, method. Mr Ackroyd was last seen alive at a quarter to ten by his niece, Miss Flora Ackroyd. That’s fact number one, isn’t it?’

‘If you say so.’

‘Well, it is. At half-past ten, the doctor here says that Mr Ackroyd had been dead at least half an hour. you stick to that, doctor?’

‘Certainly,’ I said. ‘Half an hour or longer.’

‘Very good. That gives us exactly a quarter of an hour in which the crime must have been committed. I make a list of everyone in the house, and work through it, setting down opposite their names where they were and what they were doing between the hour of 9.45 and 10 p. m.’

He handed a sheet of paper to Poirot. I read it over his shoulder. It ran as follows, written in a neat script:

Major Blunt – In billiard room with Mr Raymond. (Latter confirms.)

Mr Raymond – Billiard room. (See above.)

Mrs Ackroyd-9.45 watching billiard match. Went up to bed 9.55. (Raymond and Blunt watched her up staircase.)

Miss Ackroyd – Went straight from her uncle’s room upstairs. (Confirmed by Parker, also housemaid, Elsie Dale.)

Servants:

Parker – Went straight to butler’s pantry. (Confirmed by housekeeper, Miss Russell, who came down to speak to him about something at 9.47, and remained at least ten minutes.)

Miss Russell – As above. Spoke to housemaid, Elsie Dale, upstairs at 9.45.

Ursula Bourne – (parlourmaid) – In her own room until 9.55. Then in Servants’ Hall.

Mrs Cooper – (cook) – In Servants’ Hall.

Gladys Jones – (second housemaid) – In Servants’ Hall.

Elsie Dale – Upstairs in bedroom. Seen there by Miss Russell and Miss Flora Ackroyd.

Mary Thripp (kitchenmaid) – Servants’ Hall.

‘The cook has been here seven years, the parlourmaid eighteen months, and Parker just over a year. The others are new. except for something fishy about Parker, they all seem quite all right.’

‘A very complete list,’ said Poirot, handing it back to him. ‘I am quite sure that Parker did not do the murder,’ he added gravely.