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risk is practically nil. The tragedy will not take place until nearly a fortnight
later. If anyone has seen either of them touching the medicine, they will
have forgotten it by that time. Miss Howard will have engineered her quarrel,
and departed from the house. The lapse of time, and her absence, will defeat
all suspicion. Yes, it was a clever idea! If they had left it alone, it is possible
the crime might never have been brought home to them. But they were not
satisfied. They tried to be too clever--and that was their undoing."
Poirot puffed at his tiny cigarette, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.
"
They arranged a plan to throw suspicion on John Cavendish, by buying
strychnine at the village chemist's, and signing the register in his hand-
writing.
"On Monday Mrs. Inglethorp will take the last dose of her medicine. On
Monday, therefore, at six o'clock, Alfred Inglethorp arranges to be seen by a
number of people at a spot far removed from the village. Miss Howard has
previously made up a cock and bull story about him and Mrs. Raikes to
account for his holding his tongue afterwards. At six o'clock, Miss Howard,
disguised as Alfred Inglethorp, enters the chemist's shop, with her story
about a dog, obtains the strychnine, and writes the name of Alfred
Inglethorp in John's handwriting, which she had previously studied
carefully.
"But, as it will never do if John, too, can prove an alibi, she writes him an
anonymous note--still copying his hand-writing--which takes him to a
remote spot where it is exceedingly unlikely that anyone will see him.
"So far, all goes well. Miss Howard goes back to Middlingham. Alfred
Inglethorp returns to Styles. There is nothing that can compromise him in
any way, since it is Miss Howard who has the strychnine, which, after all, is
only wanted as a blind to throw suspicion on John Cavendish.
"But now a hitch occurs. Mrs. Inglethorp does not take her medicine that
night. The broken bell, Cynthia's absence--arranged by Inglethorp through
his wife--all these are wasted. And then--he makes his slip.
"Mrs. Inglethorp is out, and he sits down to write to his accomplice, who, he
fears, may be in a panic at the nonsuccess of their plan. It is probable that
Mrs. Inglethorp returned earlier than he expected. Caught in the act, and
somewhat flurried he hastily shuts and locks his desk. He fears that if he
remains in the room he may have to open it again, and that Mrs. Inglethorp
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