‘Bella Duveen. I know the name, but for a moment I can’t place it. What’s her line?’
‘That I do not know—but here is her photograph.’
Mr. Aarons studied it for a moment, then his face lighted.
‘Got it!’ He slapped his thigh. ‘The Dulcibella Kids, by the Lord!’
‘The Dulcibella Kids?’
‘That’s it. They’re sisters. Acrobats, dancers, and singers. Give quite a good little [unreadable]. They’re in the provinces, somewhere, I believe—if they’re not resting. They’ve been on in Paris for the last two or three weeks.’
‘Can you find out for me exactly where they are?’
‘Easy as a bird. You go home, and I’ll send you round the dope in the morning.’
With this promise we took leave of him. He was as good as his word. About eleven o’clock the following day, a scribbled note reached us.
‘The Dulcibella Sisters are on at the Palace in Coventry. Good luck to you.’
Without more ado, we started for Coventry. Poirot made no inquiries at the theatre, but contented himself with booking stalls for the variety performance that evening.
The show was wearisome beyond words—or perhaps it was only my mood that made it seem so. Japanese families balanced themselves precariously, would-be fashionable men, in greenish evening dress and exquisitely slicked hair, reeled off society patter and danced marvellously. Stout prima donnas sang at the top of the human register, a comic comedian endeavoured to be Mr. George Robey and failed—signally.
At last the number went up which announced the Dulcibella Kids. My heart beat sickeningly. There she was—there they both were, the pair of them, one flaxen-haired, one dark, matching as to size, with short fluffy skirts and immense ‘Buster Brown’ bows. They looked a pair of extremely piquant children. They began to sing. Their voices were fresh and true, rather thin and musically, but attractive.
It was quite a pretty little turn. They danced neatly, and did some clever little acrobatic feats. The words of their songs were crisp and catchy. When the curtain fell, there was a full minute of applause. Evidently the Dulcibella Kids were a success.
Suddenly I felt that I could remain no longer. I must get out into the air. I suggested leaving to Poirot.
‘Go by all means, mon ami. I amuse myself, and will stay to the end. I will rejoin you later.’
It was only a few steps from the theatre to the hotel. I went up to the sitting room, ordered a whisky and soda, and sat drinking it, staring meditatively into the empty grate. I heard the door open, and turned my head, thinking it was Poirot. Then I jumped to my feet. It was Cinderella who stood in the doorway. She spoke haltingly, her breath coming in little gasps.
‘I saw you in front. You and your friend. When you got up to go, I was waiting outside and followed you. Why are you here—in Coventry? What were you doing there tonight? Is the man who was with you the—the detective?’
She stood there, the cloak she had wrapped round her stage dress slipping from her shoulders. I saw the whiteness of her cheeks under the rouge, and heard the terror in her voice. And in that moment I understood everything—understood why Poirot was seeking her, and what she feared and understood at last my own heart.
‘Yes,’ I said gently.
‘Is he looking for—me?’ she half whispered.
Then, as I did not answer for a moment, she slipped down by the big chair, and burst into violent bitter weeping.
I knelt down by her, holding her in my arms, and smoothing the hair back from her face.
‘Don’t cry, child, don’t cry, for God’s sake. You’re safe here. I’ll take care of you. Don’t cry, darling. Don’t cry. I know—I know everything.’
‘Oh, but you don’t!’
‘I think I do.’ And after a moment, as her sobs grew quieter, I asked: ‘It was you who took the dagger, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘That was why you wanted me to show you round? And why you pretended to faint?’
Again she nodded.
‘Why did you take the dagger?’ I asked presently.
She replied as simply as a child: ‘I was afraid there might be finger-marks on it.’