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SEC O ND EDI T IO N

Death Scene
Investigation
Procedural Guide
SEC O ND EDI T IO N

Death Scene
Investigation
Procedural Guide

MICHAEL S. MALONEY, MFS

CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

© 2018 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

Printed on acid-free paper

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-5924-3 (Paperback)

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable
efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher
cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The
authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in
this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not
been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data

Names: Maloney, Michael S., author.

Title: Death scene investigation : procedural guide / by Michael S. Maloney.
Description: Second edition. | Boca Raton : CRC Press, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017018789| ISBN 9781498759243 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN
9781315107271 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Forensic pathology. | Death--Causes.
Classification: LCC RA1063.4 .M338 2018 | DDC 614/.1--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017018789

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Contents

Foreword xxix
Foreword, 1st Edition xxxi
Preface xxxiii
Acknowledgments xxxv
Author xxxvii

Section I
DEATH SCENE INVESTIGATION

1 Death Scene Response 3

Initial Notification 3
Preparation 4
Coordination en Route 4
Arrival at the Scene 5
Establish a Perimeter 5
Immediate On-Scene Coordination 5
Initial Scene Evaluation: Walk-Through (with Preservation of
Perishable Evidence) 6
Initial Approach to the Body 6
Preliminary Determination of Death 7
Documentation, Preservation, and/or Collection of Perishable
Evidence 7
Document Postmortem Indicators 7
Livor Mortis—Purplish Discoloration in Dependent Areas 7
Rigor Mortis—Stiffening of Muscles and Joints 7
Algor Mortis—Reduction in Body Temperature 8
Assessing and Establishing the Perimeter 8
Primary Scene: Inner Perimeter 8
Primary Scene: Outer Perimeter 8
Identifying Ancillary Scenes 9
Establishing Scene Controls 10
Scene Assessment, Planning, and Investigative Strategy 10

v
vi Contents

2 Natural Deaths 13
Definition of Natural Death 13
Worksheets and Documentation 13
Initial Scene Response 14
Scene Considerations 15
Death Scene Processing 15
Identifying Primary and Secondary Death Scenes 15
Primary Scene 15
Secondary Scenes 16
Take Control of Scene 16
Scene Organization 16
Legal Determination of Death 17
Plan Development 17
Conduct Team Briefing 18
Scene Processing 18
Processing the Body 19
Photographing the Body 19
Sketching the Body 19
Examination of the Body 20
Outdoor Death Scenes 20
Common Indicators of Natural Death 21
Related Searches 21
Death Scene Interviews 21
First Responders 21
Family Members 21
Decedent’s Physician 22
Death Notification 22
General Guidelines 22
Notification Procedure 23

3 Accidental Deaths 25
Definition of Accidental Death 25
Worksheets and Documentation 25
Initial Scene Response 26
Scene Considerations 27
Death Scene Processing 27
Identifying Primary and Secondary Death Scenes 28
Primary Scene 28
Secondary Scenes 28
Take Control of Scene 28
Scene Organization 29
Contents vii

Legal Determination of Death 29

Plan Development 29
Conduct Team Briefing 29
Scene Processing 30
Processing: Examining the Mechanism of Death 31
Processing 31
Examination 31
Documenting Scene Indicators 32
Processing the Body 32
Photographing the Body 32
Sketching Body 33
Documenting with Notes 33
Examination of Body 34
Outdoor Death Scenes 34
Evidence Commonly Associated with Accidental Deaths 35
Related Searches 35
Review of Operator (Victim) Training and Certification 35
Death Scene Interviews 36
First Responders 36
Witnesses 36
GSR Examination and Collection 36
Death Notification 37
General Guidelines 37
Notification Procedure 37

4 Suicidal Deaths 39
Definition of Suicide 39
Worksheets and Documentation 39
Initial Scene Response 40
Scene Considerations 41
Death Scene Processing 41
Identifying Primary and Secondary Death Scenes 42
Primary Scene 42
Secondary Scenes 42
Take Control of the Scene 42
Scene Organization 42
Legal Determination of Death 43
Plan Development 43
Conduct Team Briefing 43
Scene Processing 44
Documenting Scene Indicators 45
Processing the Body 45
viii Contents

Photography and Videography of the Body 45

Sketching the Body 46
Documenting with Notes 46
Examination of the Body 46
Outdoor Death Scenes 48
Evidence Commonly Associated with Suicides 48
Related Searches 48
Death Scene Interviews 49
First Responders 49
GSR Examination and Collection 49
Death Notification 49
General Guidelines 50
Notification Procedure 50

5 Homicidal Deaths 53
Definition of Homicide 53
Worksheets and Documentation 53
Initial Scene Response 54
Scene Considerations 55
Death Scene Processing 55
Identifying Primary and Secondary Death Scenes 55
Primary Scene 56
Secondary Scenes 56
Take Control of the Scene 56
Scene Organization 56
Legal Determination of Death 57
Plan Development 57
Conduct Team Briefing 57
Scene Processing 58
Document Scene Indicators 59
Processing Body 59
Photographing Body 59
Sketching the Body 60
Documenting with Notes 60
Examination of Body 62
Outdoor Death Scenes 62
Evidence Commonly Associated with Homicidal Deaths 62
Related Searches 63
Additional Functions Associated with the Death Scene 63
Death Scene Interviews 63
First Responders 63
Witnesses 64
Contents ix

GSR Examination and Collection Questions 64

Death Notification 65
General Guidelines 65
Notification Procedure 65

Section II
THE MEDICOLEGAL DEATH INVESTIGATION

6 The Role of the Medicolegal Death Investigator 69

Body and Scene Processing 70
Transportation of Remains 70
Death Notification 71
General Guidelines 71
Notification Procedure 71

7 The Role of the Coroner 73

Establishing Identity 74
Presumptive Identification 74
Confirmatory Identification 74
Establishing Cause of Death 74
Establishing Manner of Death 75
At the Death Scene 75
Scene Considerations 75
Death Notification 76
General Guidelines 76
Notification Procedure 76
Coroner’s Inquest 77

8 The Role of the Medical Examiner 79

Establishing Identity 79
Presumptive Identification 79
Confirmatory Identification 79
Establishing Cause of Death 80
Establishing Manner of Death 80
Establishing Postmortem Interval 81
At the Death Scene 81
Scene Considerations 81
On-Scene Body Processing Procedures 81
Circumstances Requiring Autopsy 82
The Forensic Autopsy 82
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x Contents

Procedures in Lieu of Autopsy 84

Reports and Reporting 84
Outbrief 84
Preliminary Autopsy Report 84
Toxicology Report 85
Final Autopsy Report 85

9 Autopsy Protocol and the Investigator’s Role 87

Circumstances Requiring Autopsy 87
Procedures in Lieu of Autopsy 87
Investigator’s Responsibilities at Autopsy 88
Equipment Required 88
Arrival 88
External Examination 89
Internal Examination 90
After Examination 90
Autopsy Photography Guidelines 92
General 92
ME Photographer 92
Investigator 93
Body at Autopsy Photography 93
Arrival 93
Clothed 93
Unclothed 94
Identification 95
Photography of Injuries 96
Injury Photography Guidelines 96
Injuries 96
Injuries (Injury Mapping) 96
Internal Examination Photographs 98
Evidence Photographs 100
Custody of Evidence from Autopsy 100
Outbrief with Medical Examiner 101

Section III
RECOVERY OF HUMAN REMAINS

10 Searching for Human Remains 105

Isolating a Search Area 105
Scientific Assistance 107
General Search Guidelines 108
Contents xi

Specific Search Guidelines 108

Point-to-Point Search 108
Line Search 108
Grid Search 110
Spiral Search 111

11 Surface Recovery of Human Remains:

Open Field Recovery and Expedient Graves 113
General Principles 113
Worksheets and Documentation 113
Locating Remains 114
Visual Techniques 114
Cadaver Dogs 114
Forward-Looking Infrared and Thermal Tomography 115
NecroSearch International 115
Body Processing 116
Scene Processing 116
Establishing Datum 116
Establishing a Grid 117
Surface Documentation and Recovery of Evidence 119
Recovery of Remains 120
Sifting Soil 120
Soil Evidence 121
Scientific Assistance 121

12 Recovery of Buried Human Remains: Shallow

Grave, Buried Remains, and Exhumation 123
General Principles 123
Worksheets and Documentation 123
Locating Remains 124
Visual Methods 124
Expedient Grave Indicators 124
Shallow Grave Indicators 124
Buried Remains Indicators 124
Exhumation Site Location 125
Probing Method 125
Cadaver Dogs 125
Technological Methods 126
Scientific Assistance 127
NecroSearch International 128
Recovery of Buried Remains 128
Surface Documentation and Recovery of Evidence 128
xii Contents

Surface Preparation 128

Establishing Datum 128
Establishing Grid 129
Preparing Sifting Site 130
Excavating the Grave 131
Sifting Soil 133
Impression Evidence 134
Soil Evidence 134
Exhumation of Remains 135

13 Aquatic Recovery of Human Remains 137

General Principles 137
Worksheets and Documentation 137
Locating Remains 138
Surface Search 138
Aerial Search 138
Underwater Search 138
Drift 140
Computer Simulation Modeling 140
Cadaver Dogs 140
Technological Search 141
Processing the Scene 143
Processing the Body 145
Documenting Recovery 145
Remains Recovered from Predator 145

14 Postmortem Changes: Estimating

Postmortem Interval (Time since Death) 147
Worksheets and Documentation 147
Determining Time Range 147
Immediate Postmortem Changes 148
Early Postmortem Changes 148
Postmortem Lividity (Livor Mortis) 148
Postmortem Rigidity (Rigor Mortis) 148
Postmortem Cooling (Algor Mortis) 149
Late Postmortem Changes 150
Decomposition 150
Adipocere Development 150
Mummification 151
Skeletonization 151
Other Postmortem Factors 151
Forensic Entomology 151
Contents xiii

Stomach Contents 151

Scene Indicators 152
References 152

Section IV
WOUND DYNAMICS AND
MECHANISM OF INJURY

15 Asphyxiation 155
Worksheets and Documentation 155
Strangulation 156
Manual Strangulation (Throttling) 156
General 156
Scene 156
Body 156
Ligature Strangulation (Garroting) 157
General 157
Scene 157
Body 158
Hanging 158
General 158
Scene 159
Body 160
Autoerotic Asphyxiation 161
General 161
Scene 161
Body 162
Choking 162
General 162
Scene 162
Body 162
Smothering 163
General 163
Scene 163
Body 163
Mechanical Asphyxia 164
General 164
Scene 165
Body 165
Chemical Asphyxia 165
General 165
xiv Contents

Scene 166
Helium or Nitrogen Scene (Exit Bag or Exit Hood) 166
Carbon Monoxide Scene: Heater 167
Carbon Monoxide Scene: Vehicle 167
Body 167
Drowning 168
General 168
Scene 168
Scuba Scene 169
Body 169

16 Sharp Force Injuries 171

General 171
Worksheets and Documentation 171
Scene 172
Body 172

17 Blunt Force Injuries: Blunt Instrument Blows,

Fall from a Height, Collisions 177
General 177
Worksheets and Documentation 177
Blunt Force Blows 178
Weapon or Striking Object 178
Body 178
Deceleration Injuries 179
Falls from a Height 179
Control Injuries 179
Automobile 180

18 Chopping Injuries 181

General 181
Worksheets and Documentation 181
Scene 182
Body 182

19 Firearm Injuries: Pistols and Rifles

(Rifled Bore Weapons) 183
Gunshot Wounds 183
Worksheets and Documentation 183
Entrance Wounds 183
Contents xv

Effects of Distance on Gunshot Wounds 184

Contact Gunshot Wounds 184
Hard Contact Wounds 184
Loose Contact Wounds 185
Angled Contact Wounds 185
Incomplete Contact Wounds 187
Near Contact Wounds 187
Intermediate Range Wounds 187
Distant Wounds 188
Rifle Entrance Wounds 189
Exit Wounds 190

20 Firearm Injuries: Shotguns (Smooth

Bore Weapons) 191
Worksheets and Documentation 191
Shotgun Entrance Wounds 191
Shotcup and Wadding Effect on Entrance Wound 191
Shot Effect on Entrance Wound 193
Effects of Distance on Wounds 193
Contact Wounds 193
Stellate Wounds 193
Hard Contact Head Wounds 193
Intraoral Wounds 193
Contact Wounds to Trunk 194
Near Contact Wounds 194
Close and Intermediate Range Wounds 194
Distant Range Wounds 196
Shotgun Exit Wounds 196

21 Explosive Injuries 197

General Considerations 197
Worksheets and Documentation 197
Scene 198
Body 198
Mechanisms of Blast Injuries 199
Primary 199
Secondary 199
Tertiary 199
Quaternary 199
Cautions 199
xvi Contents

22 Thermal Injuries 201

General Considerations 201
Scene 201
Worksheets and Documentation 202
Body 202
First-Degree Burns 202
Second-Degree Burns 202
Third-Degree Burns 203
Fourth-Degree Burns 203
Deaths from Fire-Related Injuries 204

23 Electrical Injuries 205

Worksheets and Documentation 205
Commercial and Residential Power Sources 205
Scene 205
Body 206
Lightning Strikes 206
Direct Strike 206
Scene 206
Body 207
Side Flash (Splash) 208
Ground Strike 208
Scene 209
Body 209
Conduction 209
Streamers 209

24 Poisoning 211
General Considerations 211
Worksheets and Documentation 211
Methods of Exposure 212
Inhaled Poisons 212
Danger 212
Commonly Inhaled Poisons 212
Ingested Poisons 213
Danger 213
Commonly Ingested Poisons 213
Skin Exposure (Dermal Absorption) 214
Common Skin Absorption Poisons 214
Bites and Envenomation 214
Common Methods of Envenomation 214
Contents xvii

The Body and Scene 214

Accidental Poisonings 214
Intentional Poisoning 215
The Body 215

25 Drug-Related Deaths 217

Worksheets and Documentation 217
Oral Ingestion 218
Intravenous, Subdermal, and Intramuscular Injection 218
Insufflation/Inhalation 219
Absorption 220
Drug-Related Death Scenes 220
Processing the Scene 221
Drug Scene Evidence 221
The Body at the Scene 221

Section V
SPECIAL DEATH INVESTIGATIONS

26 Infant Deaths 225

Worksheets and Documentation 225
Violent Death 226
Asphyxial 226
Asphyxial by Entrapment (Rollover) 226
Shaken Baby Syndrome and Shaken Baby with
Impact Syndrome 226
Medical Findings 227
Failure to Thrive 227
Organic Causes 227
Neglect Causes 228
Sudden Unexplained Infant Death 228
Victim 229
Scene 230
Dietary History 231
Medical History 232
Mother’s Pregnancy History 233

27 Child Deaths 235

Worksheets and Documentation 235
Physical Abuse and Violent Acts 236
xviii Contents

The Scene 236

Weapon or Item Used to Inflict Injury 236
Burns, Scalds, Immersion Burns 236
Falling Injuries and Staged Accidents 236
The Body 237
Skeletal System Injuries 237
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Injuries 237
Immersion, Contact, and Cigarette Burns 238
Head and Central Nervous System Injuries 239
Chest and Abdominal Injuries 240
Medicolegal Autopsy 240
Additional Questions for Medical Examiner 241
Medical Record Review 241
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy 242
Scene Investigation 242
Neglect 243
The Scene 243
General Living Conditions 243
Child’s Sleeping Area 243
Food Preparation and Eating Area 243

28 Child Sexual Abduction and Murder 245

Worksheets and Documentation 245
Abduction 246
Missing Child Report 246
Missing Adolescent Report 247
Scene 248
Sexual Assault 248
Searches Related to Pedophilia 249
Murder 250
Body Recovery 251
Evidence on Body 251
Examination of Suspect 252

29 Sexual Activities Resulting in Death 253

Worksheets and Documentation 253
Death during Coitus 254
The Scene 254
The Victim 255
The Intimate Partner 255
Hypoxic Deaths (Consensual, Breath Play) 255
The Scene 255
Contents xix

The Victim 257

The Intimate Partner 257
Hypoxic Deaths (Nonconsensual) 257
The Scene 257
The Victim 259
The Intimate Partner 259
Autoerotic Asphyxiation 260
General 260
The Scene 260
The Victim 261

30 Rape and Sexual Assault Resulting in Death 263

Worksheets and Documentation 263
Scene Context and Considerations 264
Acquaintance Rape/Sexual Assault 264
Drug-Facilitated Rape/Sexual Assaults 265
Stranger Rape/Sexual Assault 265
Victim Control 266
Unique Scene Indicators 266
Examination of Victim 266
Sexual Assault Evidence 266
Physical Assault Evidence 267
Examination of Suspect 267
Examination of Intimate Partner 268
Scene Considerations 268

31 Multiple Victim Death Scenes 271

Serial Murders 271
Spree Killing 272
Scene Considerations 272
Mass Murder 273
Scene Considerations 273

Section VI
DEATH SCENE MANAGEMENT:
TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

32 Death Scene Management 277

Arrival and Initial Organization 277
Task Prioritization 277
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xx Contents

Scene Coordination 278

Confirming the Scope of the Scene 279
Primary Scene: Inner Perimeter 279
Primary Scene: Outer Perimeter 279
Identifying Ancillary Scenes 279
Establishing Scene Controls 280
Major Scene Control Considerations 281
Media Area 281
Command Briefings 282
Legal Concerns 282
Scene Assessment, Planning, and Investigative Strategy 283
Scene Considerations 284
Available Personnel 284
Scene Documentation 285
Integrating with the Investigation (Information Flow) 285
Command Functions 285
Scene Completion and Post-Scene Activities 286
Before Releasing the Scene 286
Releasing the Scene 286
Post-Scene Activities 286
Personnel Issues 286
Evidence and Laboratory Issues 286
Reports and Follow-Up Analysis 287

33 Death Scene Sketching 289

Rough Sketch 289
Finished Sketch (Final Diagram) 289
General Components of a Sketch 291
Depictions 292
Types of Sketches 292
The Body 293
Scene Measurements 295
Methods of Measuring 298
Evidence Identification 301

34 Death Scene Photography 303

Equipment 303
Setup 304
Technique 305
General Photography Guidelines 305
Use of Flash 306
Use of Filters 307
Contents xxi

Scene Photography 308

Overlapping Method/Panographic 309
Progressive Method 309
Photographing Items of Evidence 309
Photographic Perspectives 309
Body at Scene Photography 311
In-Scene Context 311
Identification 312
Overall 312
Injuries 312
Body at Autopsy Photography 313

35 Death Scene Videography 315

WADI SAWABIN
Equipment 315
Setup 316
Technique 316
Deep Focus 317
Macro Focus 317
Zoom 317
Panorama Shot (Pan) 317
Vertical Panorama Shot (Tilts) 318
Use of Auxiliary Lighting 318
Use of Filters 318
The Death Scene 318
Record the Following 318
The Body at the Scene 319
General 319
Scene for Context 319
The Body (In Situ) 319
The Body at Autopsy 320
Bindings and Sequencing Issues 321

36 Death Scene Notes and Observation 323

Scene Observer Duties 323
Observations (Scene Indicators) for Indoor Scenes 324
Structure Type/Location 324
General Appearance 324
Possible Related Video Coverage 324
Entry/Exit 324
Windows 324
Kitchen and Dining Room 325
xxii Contents

Environmental Controls 325

Laundry and Utility Areas 325
Lighting (In Each Room as well as Outside Lights) 325
Telephones and Cellular Phones 325
Mail 326
Contents of Wastebaskets and Ashtrays 326
Bath and Toilet Areas 326
Calendars and Planners 326
Computers and Internet 326
Observations for Outdoor Scenes 327
Environmental Conditions 327
Immediate Area of Crime Scene 327
Extended Area of Crime Scene 327
Observations for Motor Vehicle Scenes 327
Exterior 327
Interior 328

Section VII
DEATH SCENE EVIDENCE PROCESSING

37 Documenting and Processing Bloodstain

Patterns at the Scene 331
Detection 331
Visual 331
Alternate Light Source 332
Infrared 332
Chemical Enhancement 332
Luminol 333
Modified Luminol Formulas (Such as BlueStar) 333
Fluorescein 334
Isolate and Identify Discrete Patterns 334
Spatter 334
Nonspatter Stains 335
Documentation through Mapping 336
Mapping 337
Mapping Large Area Patterns 338
Clothing 339
Photography 339
Sketching 340
Sampling and Collection 340
Contents xxiii

38 Documenting and Processing a Shooting Scene 341

Recovery of Firearms Evidence from the Scene 341
The Weapon 341
Weapons Safety Is of Paramount Concern 341
Documenting the Firearm 342
Make the Weapon Safe 342
Processing the Weapon On-Scene 342
Collecting and Packaging the Firearm 343
Recovery of a Firearm from Water 343
Recovery of Cartridges, Spent Bullet Cases, and Bullets 343
Additional Analysis Considerations 344
Documenting Bullet Defects 344
Chemical Testing to Determine If It Is a Bullet Defect 347
Testing for Copper 348
Testing for Lead 349
Recovery of Firearms Evidence from the Victim 350
Detection of Gunpowder Patterns 350
Visual 350
Infrared 351
Collection and Packaging of Clothing 351
Documentation and Collection of Gunshot Residue 352

39 Documenting and Processing Post-Blast

(Explosive Incident) Scenes 355
Initial Actions 355
Establishing a Perimeter 355
Legal Concerns 355
Establishing Context 356
Crime Scene Processing Guidelines 357
Initial Briefing 357
Initial Walk-Through 357
Blast Scene Mapping (Searching and Evidence Recovery) 358
Procedure for Mapping 358
Collecting the Evidence 360
Commonly Encountered Evidence 360
Identified Device and Component Parts 360
Post-Blast Debris 360
Explosive Evidence Collection Guidelines 361
Sampling for Explosive Residue 361
Collecting and Packaging 361
xxiv Contents

Liquids 361
Solids 362

40 Entomological Evidence 363

DONALD HOUSMAN
Terminology 363
General Guidelines 364
Collection of Samples 365
Adult and Flying Insects 365
Crawling Adult Insects 365
Maggots, Pupae, and Other Immature Insect Forms 365
Insects in Soil 366
Documentation of Entomological Evidence 367
Contact with the Servicing Forensic Entomologist 367

41 Biological Evidence 369

Touch DNA 369
Detection 369
Preservation and Collection on Items of Evidence 370
Biological Fluids and Stains 370
Detection 370
The Body and Scene Analysis 371
Collection of Biological Stains 372
General 372
Dry Stains 374
The Body 374
The Scene 374
Wet Stains 375
The Body 375
The Scene 375
Liquid Stains 376
The Scene 376
Packaging 376

42 Trace Evidence 379

The Body 379
The Scene 380
General Processing Guidelines 380
Detection 380
General Collection 381
Packaging 382
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were a looker-on at life. You had the quiet, amused look of one who
sits back in the stalls and watches the play."
"And now?"
"Now, you no longer watch. It is an absurd thing, perhaps, that I say
here, but you have the wary look of a fighter who is playing a
difficult game."
"My old lady is difficult sometimes," said Katherine, with a smile;
"but I can assure you that I don't engage in deadly contests with
her. You must go down and see her some day, Monsieur Poirot. I
think you are one of the people who would appreciate her pluck and
her spirit."
There was a silence while the waiter deftly served them with chicken
en casserole. When he had departed, Poirot said:
"You have heard me speak of my friend Hastings?—he who said that
I was a human oyster. Eh bien, Mademoiselle, I have met my match
in you. You, far more than I, play a lone hand."
"Nonsense," said Katherine lightly.
"Never does Hercule Poirot talk nonsense. It is as I say."
Again there was a silence. Poirot broke it by inquiring:
"Have you seen any of our Riviera friends since you have been back,
Mademoiselle?"
"I have seen something of Major Knighton."
"A-ha! Is that so?"
Something in Poirot's twinkling eyes made Katherine lower hers.
"So Mr. Van Aldin remains in London?"
"Yes."
"I must try to see him to-morrow or the next day."
"You have news for him?"
"What makes you think that?"
"I—wondered, that is all."
Poirot looked across at her with twinkling eyes.
"And now, Mademoiselle, there is much that you wish to ask me, I
can see that. And why not? Is not the affair of the Blue Train our
own 'Roman Policier'?"
"Yes, there are things I should like to ask you."
"Eh bien?"
Katherine looked up with a sudden air of resolution.
"What were you doing in Paris, Monsieur Poirot?"
Poirot smiled slightly.
"I made a call at the Russian Embassy."
"Oh."
"I see that that tells you nothing. But I will not be a human oyster.
No, I will lay my cards on the table, which is assuredly a thing that
oysters do not do. You suspect, do you not, that I am not satisfied
with the case against Derek Kettering?"
"That is what I have been wondering. I thought, in Nice, that you
had finished with the case."
"You do not say all that you mean, Mademoiselle. But I admit
everything. It was I—my researches—which placed Derek Kettering
where he is now. But for me the Examining Magistrate would still be
vainly trying to fasten the crime on the Comte de la Roche. Eh bien,
Mademoiselle, what I have done I do not regret. I have only one
duty—to discover the truth, and that way led straight to Mr.
Kettering. But did it end there? The police say yes, but I, Hercule
Poirot, am not satisfied."
He broke off suddenly. "Tell me, Mademoiselle, have you heard from
Mademoiselle Lenox lately?"
"One very short, scrappy letter. She is, I think, annoyed with me for
coming back to England."
Poirot nodded.
"I had an interview with her the night that Monsieur Kettering was
arrested. It was an interesting interview in more ways than one."
Again he fell silent, and Katherine did not interrupt his train of
thought.
"Mademoiselle," he said at last, "I am now on delicate ground, yet I
will say this to you. There is, I think, some one who loves Monsieur
Kettering—correct me if I am wrong—and for her sake—well—for her
sake I hope that I am right and the police are wrong. You know who
that some one is?"
There was a pause, then Katherine said:
"Yes—I think I know."
Poirot leant across the table towards her.
"I am not satisfied, Mademoiselle; no, I am not satisfied. The facts,
the main facts, led straight to Monsieur Kettering. But there is one
thing that has been left out of account."
"And what is that?"
"The disfigured face of the victim. I have asked myself,
Mademoiselle, a hundred times, 'Was Derek Kettering the kind of
man who would deal that smashing blow after having committed the
murder?' What end would it serve? What purpose would it
accomplish? Was it a likely action for one of Monsieur Kettering's
temperament? And, Mademoiselle, the answer to these questions is
profoundly unsatisfactory. Again and again I go back to that one
point—'why?' And the only things I have to help me to a solution of
the problem are these."
He whipped out his pocket-book and extracted something from it
which he held between his finger and thumb.
"Do you remember, Mademoiselle? You saw me take these hairs
from the rug in the railway carriage."
Katherine leant forward, scrutinizing the hairs keenly.
Poirot nodded his head slowly several times.
"They suggest nothing to you, I see that, Mademoiselle. And yet—I
think somehow that you see a good deal."
"I have had ideas," said Katherine slowly, "curious ideas. That is why
I ask you what you were doing in Paris, Monsieur Poirot."
"When I wrote to you—"
"From the Ritz?"
A curious smile came over Poirot's face.
"Yes, as you say, from the Ritz. I am a luxurious person sometimes—
when a millionaire pays."
"The Russian Embassy," said Katherine, frowning. "No, I don't see
where that comes in."
"It does not come in directly, Mademoiselle. I went there to get
certain information. I saw a particular personage and I threatened
him—yes, Mademoiselle, I, Hercule Poirot, threatened him."
"With the police?"
"No," said Poirot drily, "with the Press—a much more deadly
weapon."
He looked at Katherine and she smiled at him, just shaking her
head.
"Are you not just turning back into an oyster again, Monsieur
Poirot?"
"No, no! I do not wish to make mysteries. See, I will tell you
everything. I suspect this man of being the active party in the sale of
the jewels of Monsieur Van Aldin. I tax him with it, and in the end I
get the whole story out of him. I learn where the jewels were
handed over, and I learn, too, of the man who paced up and down
outside in the street—a man with a venerable head of white hair, but
who walked with the light, springy step of a young man—and I give
that man a name in my own mind—the name of 'Monsieur le
Marquis.'"
"And now you have come to London to see Mr. Van Aldin?"
"Not entirely for that reason. I had other work to do. Since I have
been in London I have seen two more people—a theatrical agent
and a Harley Street doctor. From each of them I have got certain
information. Put these things together, Mademoiselle, and see if you
can make of them the same as I do."
"I?"
"Yes, you. I will tell you one thing, Mademoiselle. There has been a
doubt all along in my mind as to whether the robbery and the
murder were done by the same person. For a long time I was not
sure—"
"And now?"
"And now I know."
There was a silence. Then Katherine lifted her head. Her eyes were
shining.
"I am not clever like you, Monsieur Poirot. Half the things that you
have been telling me don't seem to me to point anywhere at all. The
ideas that came to me came from such an entirely different angle—"
"Ah, but that is always so," said Poirot quietly. "A mirror shows the
truth, but every one stands in a different place for looking into the
mirror."
"My ideas may be absurd—they may be entirely different from yours,
but—"
"Yes?"
"Tell me, does this help you at all?"
He took a newspaper cutting from her outstretched hand. He read it
and, looking up, he nodded gravely.
"As I told you, Mademoiselle, one stands at a different angle for
looking into the mirror, but it is the same mirror and the same things
are reflected there."
Katherine got up. "I must rush," she said. "I have only just time to
catch my train. Monsieur Poirot—"
"Yes, Mademoiselle."
"It—it mustn't be much longer, you understand. I—I can't go on
much longer."
There was a break in her voice.
He patted her hand reassuringly.
"Courage, Mademoiselle, you must not fail now; the end is very
near."

33. A New Theory

"Monsieur Poirot wants to see you, sir."
"Damn the fellow!" said Van Aldin.
Knighton remained sympathetically silent.
Van Aldin got up from his chair and paced up and down.
"I suppose you have seen the cursed newspapers this morning?"
"I have glanced at them, sir."
"Still at it hammer and tongs?"
"I am afraid so, sir."
The millionaire sat down again and pressed his hand to his forehead.
"If I had had an idea of this," he groaned. "I wish to God I had
never got that little Belgian to ferret out the truth. Find Ruth's
murderer—that was all I thought about."
"You wouldn't have liked your son-in-law to go scot free?"
Van Aldin sighed.
"I would have preferred to take the law into my own hands."
"I don't think that would have been a very wise proceeding, sir."
"All the same—are you sure the fellow wants to see me?"
"Yes, Mr. Van Aldin. He is very urgent about it."
"Then I suppose he will have to. He can come along this morning if
he likes."
It was a very fresh and debonair Poirot who was ushered in. He did
not seem to see any lack of cordiality in the millionaire's manner, and
chatted pleasantly about various trifles. He was in London, he
explained, to see his doctor. He mentioned the name of an eminent
surgeon.
"No, no, pas la guerre—a memory of my days in the police force, a
bullet of a rascally Apache."
He touched his left shoulder and winced realistically.
"I always consider you a lucky man, Monsieur Van Aldin; you are not
like our popular idea of American millionaires, martyrs to the
dyspepsia."
"I am pretty tough," said Van Aldin. "I lead a very simple life, you
know; plain fare and not too much of it."
"You have seen something of Miss Grey, have you not?" inquired
Poirot, innocently turning to the secretary.
"I—yes; once or twice," said Knighton.
He blushed slightly and Van Aldin exclaimed in surprise:
"Funny you never mentioned to me that you had seen her,
Knighton?"
"I didn't think you would be interested, sir."
"I like that girl very much," said Van Aldin.
"It is a thousand pities that she should have buried herself once
more in St. Mary Mead," said Poirot.
"It is very fine of her," said Knighton hotly. "There are very few
people who would bury themselves down there to look after a
cantankerous old woman who has no earthly claim on her."
"I am silent," said Poirot, his eyes twinkling a little; "but all the same
I say it is a pity. And now, Messieurs, let us come to business."
Both the other men looked at him in some surprise.
"You must not be shocked or alarmed at what I am about to say.
Supposing, Monsieur Van Aldin, that, after all, Monsieur Derek
Kettering did not murder his wife?"
"What?"
Both men stared at him in blank surprise.
"Supposing, I say, that Monsieur Kettering did not murder his wife?"
"Are you mad, Monsieur Poirot?"
It was Van Aldin who spoke.
"No," said Poirot, "I am not mad. I am eccentric, perhaps—at least
certain people say so; but as regards my profession, I am very
much, as one says, 'all there.' I ask you, Monsieur Van Aldin,
whether you would be glad or sorry if what I tell you should be the
case?"
Van Aldin stared at him.
"Naturally I should be glad," he said at last. "Is this an exercise in
suppositions, Monsieur Poirot, or are there any facts behind it?"
Poirot looked at the ceiling.
"There is an off-chance," he said quietly, "that it might be the Comte
de la Roche after all. At least I have succeeded in upsetting his
alibi."
"How did you manage that?"
Poirot shrugged his shoulders modestly.
"I have my own methods. The exercise of a little tact, a little
cleverness—and the thing is done."
"But the rubies," said Van Aldin, "these rubies that the Count had in
his possession were false."
"And clearly he would not have committed the crime except for the
rubies. But you are overlooking one point, Monsieur Van Aldin.
Where the rubies were concerned, some one might have been
before him."
"But this is an entirely new theory," cried Knighton.
"Do you really believe all this rigmarole, Monsieur Poirot?" demanded
the millionaire.
"The thing is not proved," said Poirot quietly. "It is as yet only a
theory, but I tell you this, Monsieur Van Aldin, the facts are worth
investigating. You must come out with me to the south of France
and go into the case on the spot."
"You really think this is necessary—that I should go, I mean."
"I thought it would be what you yourself would wish," said Poirot.
There was a hint of reproach in his tone which was not lost upon the
other.
"Yes, yes, of course," he said. "When do you wish to start, Monsieur
Poirot?"
"You are very busy at present, sir," murmured Knighton.
But the millionaire had now made up his mind, and he waved the
other's objections aside.
"I guess this business comes first," he said. "All right, Monsieur
Poirot, to-morrow. What train?"
"We will go, I think, by the Blue Train," said Poirot, and he smiled.

34. The Blue Train Again

"The Millionaire's Train," as it is sometimes called, swung round a
curve of line at what seemed a dangerous speed. Van Aldin,
Knighton, and Poirot sat together in silence. Knighton and Van Aldin
had two compartments connecting with each other, as Ruth
Kettering and her maid had had on the fateful journey. Poirot's own
compartment was further along the coach.
The journey was a painful one for Van Aldin, recalling as it did the
most agonizing memories. Poirot and Knighton conversed
occasionally in low tones without disturbing him.
When, however, the train had completed its slow journey round the
ceinture and reached the Gare de Lyon, Poirot became suddenly
galvanized into activity. Van Aldin realized that part of his object in
travelling by the train had been to attempt to reconstruct the crime.
Poirot himself acted every part. He was in turn the maid, hurriedly
shut into her own compartment, Mrs. Kettering, recognizing her
husband with surprise and a trace of anxiety, and Derek Kettering
discovering that his wife was travelling on the train. He tested
various possibilities, such as the best way for a person to conceal
himself in the second compartment.
Then suddenly an idea seemed to strike him. He clutched at Van
Aldin's arm.
"Mon Dieu, but that is something I have not thought of! We must
break our journey in Paris. Quick, quick, let us alight at once."
Seizing suit-cases he hurried from the train. Van Aldin and Knighton,
bewildered but obedient, followed him. Van Aldin having once
formed his opinion of Poirot's ability was slow to part from it. At the
barrier they were held up. Their tickets were in charge of the
conductor of the train, a fact which all three of them had forgotten.
Poirot's explanations were rapid, fluent, and impassioned, but they
produced no effect upon the stolid-faced official.
"Let us get quit of this," said Van Aldin abruptly. "I gather you are in
a hurry, Monsieur Poirot. For God's sake pay the fares from Calais
and let us get right on with whatever you have got in your mind."
But Poirot's flood of language had suddenly stopped dead, and he
had the appearance of a man turned to stone. His arm, still outflung
in an impassioned gesture, remained there as though stricken with
paralysis.
"I have been an imbecile," he said simply. "Ma foi, I lose my head
nowadays. Let us return and continue our journey quietly. With
reasonable luck the train will not have gone."
They were only just in time, the train moving off as Knighton, the
last of the three, swung himself and his suitcase on board.
The conductor remonstrated with them feelingly, and assisted them
to carry their luggage back to their compartments. Van Aldin said
nothing, but he was clearly disgusted at Poirot's extraordinary
conduct. Alone with Knighton for a moment or two, he remarked:
"This is a wildgoose chase. The man has lost his grip on things. He
has got brains up to a point, but any man who loses his head and
scuttles round like a frightened rabbit is no earthly darned good."
Poirot came to them in a moment or two, full of abject apologies and
clearly so crestfallen that harsh words would have been superfluous.
Van Aldin received his apologies gravely, but managed to restrain
himself from making acid comments.
They had dinner on the train, and afterwards, somewhat to the
surprise of the other two, Poirot suggested that they should all three
set up in Van Aldin's compartment.
The millionaire looked at him curiously.
"Is there anything that you are keeping back from us, Monsieur
Poirot?"
"I?" Poirot opened his eyes in innocent surprise. "But what an idea."
Van Aldin did not answer, but he was not satisfied. The conductor
was told that he need not make up the beds. Any surprise he might
have felt was obliterated by the largeness of the tip which Van Aldin
handed to him. The three men sat in silence. Poirot fidgeted and
seemed restless. Presently he turned to the secretary.
"Major Knighton, is the door of your compartment bolted? The door
into the corridor, I mean."
"Yes; I bolted it myself just now."
"Are you sure?" said Poirot.
"I will go and make sure, if you like," said Knighton smiling.
"No, no, do not derange yourself. I will see for myself."
He passed through the connecting door and returned in a second or
two, nodding his head.
"Yes, yes, it is as you said. You must pardon an old man's fussy
ways."
He closed the connecting door and resumed his place in the right-
hand corner.
The hours passed. The three men dozed fitfully, waking with
uncomfortable starts. Probably never before had three people
booked berths on the most luxurious train available, then declined to
avail themselves of the accommodations they had paid for. Every
now and then Poirot glanced at his watch, and then nodded his head
and composed himself to slumber once more. On one occasion he
rose from his seat and opened the connecting door, peered sharply
into the adjoining compartment, and then returned to his seat,
shaking his head.
"What is the matter?" whispered Knighton. "You are expecting
something to happen, aren't you?"
"I have the nerves," confessed Poirot. "I am like the cat upon the
hot tiles. Every little noise it makes me jump."
Knighton yawned.
"Of all the darned uncomfortable journeys," he murmured. "I
suppose you know what you are playing at, Monsieur Poirot."
He composed himself to sleep as best he could. Both he and Van
Aldin had succumbed to slumber, when Poirot, glancing for the
fourteenth time at his watch, leant across and tapped the millionaire
on the shoulder.
"Eh? What is it?"
"In five or ten minutes, Monsieur, we shall arrive at Lyons."
"My God!" Van Aldin's face looked white and haggard in the dim
light. "Then it must have been about this time that poor Ruth was
killed."
He sat staring straight in front of him. His lips twitched a little, his
mind reverting back to the terrible tragedy that had saddened his
life.
There was the usual long screaming sigh of the brake, and the train
slackened speed and drew into Lyons. Van Aldin let down the
window and leant out.
"If it wasn't Derek—if your new theory is correct, it is here that the
man left the train?" he asked over his shoulder.
Rather to his surprise Poirot shook his head.
"No," he said thoughtfully, "no man left the train, but I think—yes, I
think, a woman may have done so."
Knighton gave a gasp.
"A woman?" demanded Van Aldin sharply.
"Yes, a woman," said Poirot, nodding his head. "You may not
remember, Monsieur Van Aldin, but Miss Grey in her evidence
mentioned that a youth in a cap and overcoat descended on to the
platform ostensibly to stretch his legs. Me, I think that that youth
was most probably a woman."
"But who was she?"
Van Aldin's face expressed incredulity, but Poirot replied seriously
and categorically.
"Her name—or the name under which she was known, for many
years—is Kitty Kidd, but you, Monsieur Van Aldin, knew her by
another name—that of Ada Mason."
Knighton sprang to his feet.
"What?" he cried.
Poirot swung round to him.
"Ah!—before I forget it." He whipped something from a pocket and
held it out.
"Permit me to offer you a cigarette—out of your own cigarette case.
It was careless of you to drop it when you boarded the train on the
ceinture at Paris."
Knighton stood staring at him as though stupefied. Then he made a
movement, but Poirot flung up his hand in a warning gesture.
"No, don't move," he said in a silky voice; "the door into the next
compartment is open, and you are being covered from there this
minute. I unbolted the door into the corridor when we left Paris, and
our friends the police were told to take their places there. As I
expect you know, the French police want you rather urgently, Major
Knighton—or shall we say—Monsieur le Marquis?"
 35. Explanations
"Explanations?"
Poirot smiled. He was sitting opposite the millionaire at a luncheon
table in the latter's private suite at the Negresco. Facing him was a
relieved but very puzzled man. Poirot leant back in his chair, lit one
of his tiny cigarettes, and stared reflectively at the ceiling.
"Yes, I will give you explanations. It began with the one point that
puzzled me. You know what that point was? The disfigured face. It is
not an uncommon thing to find when investigating a crime and it
rouses an immediate question, the question of identity. That
naturally was the first thing that occurred to me. Was the dead
woman really Mrs. Kettering? But that line led me nowhere, for Miss
Grey's evidence was positive and very reliable, so I put that idea
aside. The dead woman was Ruth Kettering."
"When did you first begin to suspect the maid?"
"Not for some time, but one peculiar little point drew my attention to
her. The cigarette case found in the railway carriage and which she
told us was one which Mrs. Kettering had given to her husband. Now
that was, on the face of it, most improbable, seeing the terms that
they were on. It awakened a doubt in my mind as to the general
veracity of Ada Mason's statements. There was the rather suspicious
fact to be taken into consideration, that she had only been with her
mistress for two months. Certainly it did not seem as if she could
have had anything to do with the crime since she had been left
behind in Paris and Mrs. Kettering had been seen alive by several
people afterwards, but—"
Poirot leant forward. He raised an emphatic forefinger and wagged it
with intense emphasis at Van Aldin.
"But I am a good detective. I suspect. There is nobody and nothing
that I do not suspect. I believe nothing that I am told. I say to
myself: how do we know that Ada Mason was left behind in Paris?
And at first the answer to that question seemed completely
satisfactory. There was the evidence of your secretary, Major
Knighton, a complete outsider whose testimony might be supposed
to be entirely impartial, and there was the dead woman's own words
to the conductor on the train. But I put the latter point aside for the
moment, because a very curious idea—an idea perhaps fantastic and
impossible—was growing up in my mind. If by any outside chance it
happened to be true, that particular piece of testimony was
worthless.
"I concentrated on the chief stumbling-block to my theory, Major
Knighton's statement that he saw Ada Mason at the Ritz after the
Blue Train had left Paris. That seemed conclusive enough, but yet,
on examining the facts carefully, I noted two things. First, that by a
curious coincidence he, too, had been exactly two months in your
service. Secondly, his initial letter was the same—'K.' Supposing—
just supposing—that it was his cigarette case which had been found
in the carriage. Then, if Ada Mason and he were working together,
and she recognized it when we showed it to her, would she not act
precisely as she had done? At first, taken aback, she quickly evolved
a plausible theory that would agree with Mr. Kettering's guilt. Bien
entendu, that was not the original idea. The Comte de la Roche was
to be the scapegoat, though Ada Mason would not make her
recognition of him too certain, in case he should be able to prove an
alibi. Now, if you will cast your mind back to that time, you will
remember a significant thing that happened. I suggested to Ada
Mason that the man she had seen was not the Comte de la Roche,
but Derek Kettering. She seemed uncertain at the time, but after I
had got back to my hotel you rang me up and told me that she had
come to you and said that, on thinking it over, she was now quite
convinced that the man in question was Mr. Kettering. I had been
expecting something of the kind. There could be but one explanation
of this sudden certainty on her part. After my leaving your hotel, she
had had time to consult with somebody, and had received
instructions which she acted upon. Who had given her these
instructions? Major Knighton. And there was another very small
point, which might mean nothing or might mean a great deal. In
casual conversation Knighton had talked of a jewel robbery in
Yorkshire in a house where he was staying. Perhaps a mere
coincidence—perhaps another small link in the chain."
"But there is one thing I do not understand, Monsieur Poirot. I guess
I must be dense or I would have seen it before now. Who was the
man in the train at Paris? Derek Kettering or the Comte de la
Roche?"
"That is the simplicity of the whole thing. There was no man. Ah—
mille tonnerres!—do you not see the cleverness of it all? Whose
word have we for it that there ever was a man there? Only Ada
Mason's. And we believe in Ada Mason because of Knighton's
evidence that she was left behind in Paris."
"But Ruth herself told the conductor that she had left her maid
behind there," demurred Van Aldin.
"Ah! I am coming to that. We have Mrs. Kettering's own evidence
there, but, on the other hand, we have not really got her evidence,
because, Monsieur Van Aldin, a dead woman cannot give evidence.
It is not her evidence, but the evidence of the conductor of the train
—a very different affair altogether."
"So you think the man was lying?"
"No, no, not at all. He spoke what he thought to be the truth. But
the woman who told him that she had left her maid in Paris was not
Mrs. Kettering."
Van Aldin stared at him.
"Monsieur Van Aldin, Ruth Kettering was dead before the train
arrived at the Gare de Lyon. It was Ada Mason, dressed in her
mistress's very distinctive clothing, who purchased a dinner basket
and who made that very necessary statement to the conductor."
"Impossible!"
"No, no, Monsieur Van Aldin; not impossible. Les femmes, they look
so much alike nowadays that one identifies them more by their
clothing than by their faces. Ada Mason was the same height as your
daughter. Dressed in that very sumptuous fur coat and the little red
lacquer hat jammed down over her eyes, with just a bunch of
auburn curls showing over each ear, it was no wonder that the
conductor was deceived. He had not previously spoken to Mrs.
Kettering, you remember. True, he had seen the maid just for a
moment when she handed him the tickets, but his impression had
been merely that of a gaunt, black-clad female. If he had been an
unusually intelligent man, he might have gone so far as to say that
mistress and maid were not unlike, but it is extremely unlikely that
he would even think that. And remember, Ada Mason, or Kitty Kidd,
was an actress, able to change her appearance and tone of voice at
a moment's notice. No, no; there was no danger of his recognizing
the maid in the mistress's clothing, but there was the danger that
when he came to discover the body he might realize it was not the
woman he had talked to the night before. And now we see the
reason for the disfigured face. The chief danger that Ada Mason ran
was that Katherine Grey might visit her compartment after the train
left Paris, and she provided against that difficulty by ordering a
dinner basket and by locking herself in her compartment."
"But who killed Ruth—and when?"
"First, bear it in mind that the crime was planned and undertaken by
the two of them—Knighton and Ada Mason, working together.
Knighton was in Paris that day on your business. He boarded the
train somewhere on its way round the ceinture. Mrs. Kettering would
be surprised, but she would be quite unsuspicious. Perhaps he draws
her attention to something out the window, and as she turns to look
he slips the cord round her neck—and the whole thing is over in a
second or two. The door of the compartment is locked, and he and
Ada Mason set to work. They strip off the dead woman's outer
clothes. Mason and Knighton roll the body up in a rug and put it on
the seat in the adjoining compartment amongst the bags and suit-
cases. Knighton drops off the train, taking the jewel-case containing
the rubies with him. Since the crime is not supposed to have been
committed until nearly twelve hours later he is perfectly safe, and his
evidence and the supposed Mrs. Kettering's words to the conductor
will provide a perfect alibi for his accomplice.
"At the Gare de Lyon Ada Mason gets a dinner basket, and shutting
herself into the toilet compartment she quickly changes into her
mistress's clothes, adjusts two false bunches of auburn curls, and
generally makes up to resemble her as closely as possible. When the
conductor comes to make up the bed, she tells him the prepared
story about having left her maid behind in Paris; and whilst he is
making up the berth, she stands looking out of the window, so that
her back is towards the corridor and people passing along there.
That was a wise precaution, because, as we know, Miss Grey was
one of those passing, and she, among others, was willing to swear
that Mrs. Kettering was still alive at that hour."
"Go on," said Van Aldin.
"Before getting to Lyons, Ada Mason arranged her mistress's body in
the bunk, folded up the dead woman's clothes neatly on the end of
it, and herself changed into a man's clothes and prepared to leave
the train. When Derek Kettering entered his wife's compartment,
and, as he thought, saw her asleep in her berth, the scene had been
set, and Ada Mason was hidden in the next compartment waiting for
the moment to leave the train unobserved. As soon as the conductor
had swung himself down on to the platform at Lyons, she follows,
slouching along as though just taking a breath of air. At a moment
when she is unobserved, she hurriedly crosses to the other platform,
and takes the first train back to Paris and the Ritz Hotel. Her name
has been registered there as taking a room the night before by one
of Knighton's female accomplices. She has nothing to do but wait
there placidly for your arrival. The jewels are not, and never have
been, in her possession. No suspicion attaches to him, and, as your
secretary, he brings them to Nice without the least fear of discovery.
Their delivery there to Monsieur Papopolous is already arranged for
and they are entrusted to Mason at the last moment to hand over to
the Greek. Altogether a very neatly planned coup, as one would
expect from a master of the game such as the Marquis."
"And you honestly mean that Richard Knighton is a well-known
criminal, who has been at this business for years?"
Poirot nodded.
"One of the chief assets of the gentleman called the Marquis was his
plausible, ingratiating manner. You fell a victim to his charm,
Monsieur Van Aldin, when you engaged him as a secretary on such a
slight acquaintanceship."
"I could have sworn that he never angled for the post," cried the
millionaire.
"It was very astutely done—so astutely done that it deceived a man
whose knowledge of other men is as great as yours is."
"I looked up his antecedents too. The fellow's record was excellent."
"Yes, yes; that was part of the game. As Richard Knighton his life
was quite free from reproach. He was well born, well connected, did
honourable service in the War, and seemed altogether above
suspicion; but when I came to glean information about the
mysterious Marquis, I found many points of similarity. Knighton
spoke French like a Frenchman, he had been in America, France,
and England at much the same time as the Marquis was operating.
The Marquis was last heard of as engineering various jewel robberies
in Switzerland, and it was in Switzerland that you had come across
Major Knighton; and it was at precisely that time that the first
rumours were going round of your being in treaty for the famous
rubies."
"But why murder?" murmured Van Aldin brokenly. "Surely a clever
thief could have stolen the jewels without running his head into a
noose."
Poirot shook his head. "This is not the first murder that lies to the
Marquis's charge. He is a killer by instinct; he believes, too, in
leaving no evidence behind him. Dead men and women tell no tales.
"The Marquis had an intense passion for famous and historical
jewels. He laid his plans far beforehand by installing himself as your
secretary and getting his accomplice to obtain the situation of maid
with your daughter, for whom he guessed the jewels were destined.
And, though this was his matured and carefully thought-out plan, he
did not scruple to attempt a shortcut by hiring a couple of Apaches
to waylay you in Paris on the night you bought the jewels. That plan
failed, which hardly surprised him, I think. This plan was, so he
thought, completely safe. No possible suspicion could attach to
Richard Knighton. But like all great men—and the Marquis was a
great man—he had his weaknesses. He fell genuinely in love with
Miss Grey, and suspecting her liking for Derek Kettering, he could
not resist the temptation to saddle him with the crime when the
opportunity presented itself. And now, Monsieur Van Aldin, I am
going to tell you something very curious. Miss Grey is not a fanciful
woman by any means, yet she firmly believes that she felt your
daughter's presence beside her one day in the Casino Gardens at
Monte Carlo, just after she had been having a long talk with
Knighton. She was convinced, she says, that the dead woman was
urgently trying to tell her something, and it suddenly came to her
that what the dead woman was trying to say was that Knighton was
her murderer! The idea seemed so fantastic at the time that Miss
Grey spoke of it to no one. But she was so convinced of its truth that
she acted on it—wild as it seemed. She did not discourage
Knighton's advances, and she pretended to him that she was
convinced of Derek Kettering's guilt."
"Extraordinary," said Van Aldin.
"Yes, it is very strange. One cannot explain these things. Oh, by the
way, there is one little point that baffled me considerably. Your
secretary has a decided limp—the result of a wound that he received
in the War. Now the Marquis most decidedly did not limp. That was a
stumbling-block. But Miss Lenox Tamplin happened to mention one
day that Knighton's limp had been a surprise to the surgeons who
had been in charge of the case in her mother's hospital. That
suggested camouflage. When I was in London I went to the surgeon
in question, and I got several technical details from him which
confirmed me in that belief. I mentioned the name of that surgeon in
Knighton's hearing the day before yesterday. The natural thing
would have been for Knighton to mention that he had been attended
by him during the War, but he said nothing—and that little point, if
nothing else, gave me the last final assurance that my theory of the
crime was correct. Miss Grey, too, provided me with a cutting,
showing that there had been a robbery at Lady Tamplin's hospital
during the time that Knighton had been there. She realized that I
was on the same track as herself when I wrote to her from the Ritz
in Paris.
"I had some trouble in my inquiries there, but I got what I wanted—
evidence that Ada Mason arrived on the morning after the crime and
not on the evening of the day before."
There was a long silence, then the millionaire stretched out a hand
to Poirot across the table.
"I guess you know what this means to me, Monsieur Poirot," he said
huskily. "I am sending you round a cheque in the morning, but no
cheque in the world will express what I feel about what you have
done for me. You are the goods, Monsieur Poirot. Every time, you
are the goods."
Poirot rose to his feet; his chest swelled.
"I am only Hercule Poirot," he said modestly, "yet, as you say, in my
own way I am a big man, even as you also are a big man. I am glad
and happy to have been of service to you. Now I go to repair the
damages caused by travel. Alas! my excellent Georges is not with
me."
In the lounge of the hotel he encountered a friend—the venerable
Monsieur Papopolous, his daughter Zia beside him.
"I thought you had left Nice, Monsieur Poirot," murmured the Greek
as he took the detective's affectionately proffered hand.
"Business compelled me to return, my dear Monsieur Papopolous."
"Business?"
"Yes, business. And talking of business, I hope your health is better,
my dear friend?"
"Much better. In fact, we are returning to Paris to-morrow."
"I am enchanted to hear such good news. You have not completely
ruined the Greek ex-Minister, I hope."
"I?"
"I understand you sold him a very wonderful ruby which—strictly
entre nous—is being worn by Mademoiselle Mirelle, the dancer?"
"Yes," murmured Monsieur Papopolous; "yes, that is so."
"A ruby not unlike the famous 'Heart of Fire'."
"It has points of resemblance, certainly," said the Greek casually.
"You have a wonderful hand with jewels, Monsieur Papopolous. I
congratulate you. Mademoiselle Zia, I am desolate that you are
returning to Paris so speedily. I had hoped to see some more of you
now that my business is accomplished."
"Would one be indiscreet if one asked what that business was?"
asked Monsieur Papopolous.
"Not at all, not at all. I have just succeeded in laying the Marquis by
the heels."
A far-away look came over Monsieur Papopolous' noble countenance.
"The Marquis?" he murmured; "now why does that seem familiar to
me? No—I cannot recall it."
"You would not, I am sure," said Poirot. "I refer to a very notable
criminal and jewel robber. He has just been arrested for the murder
of the English lady, Madame Kettering."
"Indeed? How interesting these things are!"
A polite exchange of farewells followed, and when Poirot was out of
earshot, Monsieur Papopolous turned to his daughter.
"Zia," he said, with feeling, "that man is the devil!"
"I like him."
"I like him myself," admitted Monsieur Papopolous. "But he is the
devil, all the same."

36. By the Sea

The mimosa was nearly over. The scent of it in the air was faintly
unpleasant. There were pink geraniums twining along the balustrade
of Lady Tamplin's villa, and masses of carnations below sent up a
sweet, heavy perfume. The Mediterranean was at its bluest. Poirot
sat on the terrace with Lenox Tamplin. He had just finished telling
her the same story he had told to Van Aldin two days before. Lenox
had listened to him with absorbed attention, her brows knitted and
her eyes sombre.
When he had finished she said simply:
"And Derek?"
"He was released yesterday."
"And he has gone—where?"
"He left Nice last night."
"For St. Mary Mead?"
"Yes, for St. Mary Mead."
There was a pause.
"I was wrong about Katherine," said Lenox. "I thought she did not
care."
"She is very reserved. She trusts no one."
"She might have trusted me," said Lenox, with a shade of bitterness.
"Yes," said Poirot gravely, "she might have trusted you. But
Mademoiselle Katherine has spent a great deal of her life listening,
and those who have listened do not find it easy to talk; they keep
their sorrows and joys to themselves and tell no one."
"I was a fool," said Lenox; "I thought she really cared for Knighton. I
ought to have known better. I suppose I thought so because—well, I
hoped so."
Poirot took her hand and gave it a little friendly squeeze. "Courage,
Mademoiselle," he said gently.
Lenox looked very straight out across the sea, and her face, in its
ugly rigidity, had for the moment a tragic beauty.
"Oh, well," she said at last, "it would not have done. I am too young
for Derek; he is like a kid that has never grown up. He wants the
Madonna touch."
There was a long silence, then Lenox turned to him quickly and
impulsively. "But I did help, Monsieur Poirot—at any rate I did help."
"Yes, Mademoiselle. It was you who gave me the first inkling of the
truth when you said that the person who committed the crime need
not have been on the train at all. Before that, I could not see how
the thing had been done."
Lenox drew a deep breath.
"I am glad," she said; "at any rate—that is something."
From far behind them there came a long-drawn-out scream of an
engine's whistle.
"That is that damned Blue Train," said Lenox. "Trains are relentless
things, aren't they, Monsieur Poirot? People are murdered and die,
but they go on just the same. I am talking nonsense, but you know
what I mean."
"Yes, yes, I know. Life is like a train, Mademoiselle. It goes on. And
it is a good thing that that is so."
"Why?"
"Because the train gets to its journey's end at last, and there is a
proverb about that in your language, Mademoiselle."
"'Journeys end in lovers meeting.'" Lenox laughed. "That is not going
to be true for me."
"Yes—yes, it is true. You are young, younger than you yourself
know. Trust the train, Mademoiselle, for it is le bon Dieu who drives
it."
The whistle of the engine came again.
"Trust the train, Mademoiselle," murmured Poirot again. "And trust
Hercule Poirot. He knows."
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF
THE BLUE TRAIN ***

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