Загадочное происшествие в Стайлзе
Chapter XII. The Last Link
Hewouldthenproducehisirreproachablealibi—and,heypresto,hewassafeforlife!”
“ButIstilldon’tseehowhemanagedtoprovehisalibi,andyetgotothechemist’sshop?”
Poirotstaredatmeinsurprise.
“Isitpossible?Mypoorfriend!YouhavenotyetrealizedthatitwasMissHowardwhowenttothechemist’sshop?”
“MissHoward?”
“But,certainly.Whoelse?Itwasmosteasyforher.Sheisofagoodheight,hervoiceisdeepandmanly;moreover,remember,sheandInglethorparecousins,andthereisadistinctresemblancebetweenthem,especiallyintheirgaitandbearing.Itwassimplicityitself.Theyareacleverpair!”
“Iamstillalittlefoggedastohowexactlythebromidebusinesswasdone,”Iremarked.
“Bon!Iwillreconstructforyouasfaraspossible.IaminclinedtothinkthatMissHowardwasthemastermindinthataffair.Yourememberheroncementioningthatherfatherwasadoctor?Possiblyshedispensedhismedicinesforhim,orshemayhavetakentheideafromoneofthemanybookslyingaboutwhenMademoiselleCynthiawasstudyingforherexam.Anyway,shewasfamiliarwiththefactthattheadditionofabromidetoamixturecontainingstrychninewouldcausetheprecipitationofthelatter.Probablytheideacametoherquitesuddenly.Mrs.Inglethorphadaboxofbromidepowders,whichsheoccasionallytookatnight.WhatcouldbeeasierthanquietlytodissolveoneormoreofthosepowdersinMrs.Inglethorp’slargesizedbottleofmedicinewhenitcamefromCoot’s?Theriskispracticallynil.
