There was silence for a minute and a half. Then I laughed. «You are mad,» I said. «No,» said Poirot quietly. «I am not mad. I began to suspect you at the very beginning, when I noticed a little discrepancy in time.»
«Discrepancy in time?» I asked, surprised.
«Yes. Remember: everybody says, and you, too, that it takes five minutes to walk from the front door of the house to the gate. But you left the house at ten minutes to nine — both you and Parker said it — and when you were passing through the gates, it was nine o’clock. It was a cold night, the weather was bad, nobody likes to take a walk on such a night: why did it take you ten minutes instead of five? Then there is one more thing. You said that the study window was closed, but nobody saw it. Ackroyd had asked you to close the window, but he had not looked to see if it was really closed. Supposing the window was not closed? And supposing you killed Ackroyd before you left — as you were standing near his chair? Then you went out of the front door, ran round the house, put on Ralph’s shoes which you had brought in your doctor’s bag, got into the study through the window, leaving footmarks on the window-sill, locked the study door on the inside, got out of the window, changed into your own shoes again, and ran to the gate. Then you went home — and you had a perfect alibi — because you had timed the dictaphone for half past nine.»
«My dear Poirot,» I said, and my voice sounded strange even to my own ears, «what was the reason for me to kill Roger Ackroyd? What did I gain by murdering him?»
«Safety. It was you who blackmailed Mrs. Ferrars. You are a doctor and you treated Mrs. Ferrars’ husband during his last illness, and you knew the secret of his death. When you spoke to me that first day in the garden — when we got first acquainted, you remember? — you said that you had received a legacy a year before. A legacy of twenty thousand pounds. I checked it later. You had not received any legacy. It was Mrs. Ferrars’ money.»
«And the telephone call?» I asked. «I suppose you have an explanation of that, too?»
«That was a very clever idea of yours,» said Poirot. «It was necessary for you to invent a reason to go back to Fernly that evening, to be among the first people who discovered the body, and to get the chance to carry away the dictaphone on which your alibi depended. I did not know who was your accomplice. So I decided to look for him among your patients. And I was lucky. I found out that among your patients that morning there was a sailor from an American ship. His ship was sailing from Liverpool on Saturday, and so to get on his ship he had to leave for Liverpool from King’s Abbot station on Friday evening. He was a very convenient man for you, I said to myself: he telephoned you on Friday evening, just before getting on the train, got on his ship on Saturday, and now he is far away, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. I found out the name of the sailor and sent him a telegram on board his ship. And the telegram which I have just received is his answer.»
He showed me the telegram. This is the text of it:
«Quite correct. Dr. Sheppard asked me to take a note to the nursing home in Cranchester. He also asked me to ring him up in the evening from the station and tell him what they said in reply. The reply was No answer.»
«It was a clever idea,» repeated Poirot. «Your sister heard the telephone ring and saw that you answered. But of course she did not know who was speaking and what the man said, so she believed you that it was Parker.»
«All this,» I said, «is very interesting. But of course it is all nonsense.»
«You think nonsense? Remember what I said — the truth goes to Inspector Raglan in the morning. But thinking about your sister, I’d like to give you the chance of a way out — not to speak to the police. You are a doctor yourself, so you know these things. Perhaps an overdose of veronal. Do you understand me? By the way, it will be very good if you finish your very interesting manuscript — only don’t be too modest about your own role in these events.»
«Are you sure that you have said everything?» I said, standing up. «Then I shall go because it is already late. Thank you for a very interesting evening.»
I said good-bye and went home.
