Poirot grinned.
“I know you did.”
“But John! My old friend John!”
“Every murderer is probably somebody’s old friend,” observed Poirot philosophically. “You cannot mix up sentiment and reason.”
“I must say I think you might have given me a hint.”
“Perhaps, mon ami, I did not do so, just because he was your old friend.”
I was rather disconcerted by this, remembering how I had busily passed on to John what I believed to be Poirot’s views concerning Bauerstein. He, by the way, had been acquitted
mistaken, he’s got something up his sleeve. Isn’t that so, moosier?”
Poirot smiled.
“I have drawn certain conclusions—yes.”
Summerhaye was still looking rather sceptical, but Japp continued his scrutiny of Poirot.
“It’s this way,” he said, “so far, we’ve only seen the case from the outside. That’s