“It’s clear enough now,” he said bitterly. “They’ve got her-got Tuppence. That Russian devil has given us the slip. The Hospital Nurse and the boy were accomplices. They stayed here for a day or two to get the Hotel people accustomed to their presence. The man must have realized at lunch that he was trapped and proceeded to carry out his plan. Probably he counted on the room next door being empty since it was when he fixed the bolts. Anyway he managed to silence both the woman next door and Tuppence, brought her in here, dressed her in boy’s clothes, altered his own appearance, and walked out as bold as brass. The clothes must have been hidden ready. But I don’t quite see how he managed Tuppence’s acquiescence.”
“I can see,” said Mr. Carter. He picked up a little shining piece of steel from the carpet. “That’s a fragment of a hypodermic needle. She was doped.”
“My God!” groaned Tommy. “And he’s got clear away.”
“We won’t know that,” said Carter quickly. “Remember every exit is watched.”
“For a man and a girl. Not for a Hospital Nurse and an invalid boy. They’ll have left the Hotel by now.”
Such, on inquiry, proved to be the case. The nurse and her patient had driven away in a taxi some five minutes earlier.
“Look here, Beresford,” said Mr. Carter. “For God’s sake, pull yourself together. You know that I won’t leave a stone unturned to find that girl. I’m going back to my office at once and in less than five minutes every resource of the department will be at work. We’ll get them yet.”
“Will you, sir? He’s a clever devil, that Russian. Look at the cunning of this coup of his. But I know you’ll do your best. Only-pray God it’s not too late. They’ve got it in for us badly.”
He left the Blitz Hotel and walked blindly along the street, hardly knowing where he was going. He felt completely paralyzed. Where to search? What to do?
He went into the Green Park, and dropped down upon a seat. He hardly noticed when someone else sat down at the opposite end, and was quite startled to hear a well known voice.
“If you please, sir, if I might make so bold-”
Tommy looked up.
“Hullo, Albert,” he said dully.
“I know all about it, sir-but don’t take on so.”
“Don’t take on-” He gave a short laugh. “Easily said, isn’t it?”
“Ah, but think, sir. Blunt’s Brilliant Detectives! Never beaten. And if you’ll excuse my saying so, I happen to overhear what you and the Missus was ragging about this morning. Mr. Poirot, and his little grey cells. Well, sir, why not use your little grey cells, and see what you can do?”
“It’s easier to use your little grey cells in fiction than it is in fact, my boy.”
“Well,” said Albert stoutly, “I don’t believe anybody could put the Missus out, for good and all. You know what she is sir, just like one of those rubber bones you buy for little dorgs-guaranteed indestructible.”
“Albert,” said Tommy, “you cheer me.”
“Then what about using your little grey cells, sir?”
“You’re a persistent lad, Albert. Playing the fool has served us pretty well up to now. We’ll try it again. Let us arrange our facts neatly, and with method. At ten minutes past two exactly, our quarry enters the lift. Five minutes later we speak to the lift man, and having heard what he says, we also go up to the third floor. At, say, nineteen minutes past two we enter the suite of Mrs. Van Snyder. And now, what significant fact strikes us?”
There was a pause, no significant fact striking either of them.
“There wasn’t such a thing as a trunk in the room, was there?” asked Albert, his eyes lighting suddenly.
“Mon ami,” said Tommy. “You do not understand the psychology of an American woman who has just returned from Paris. There were, I should say, about nineteen trunks in the room.”
“What I meantersay is, a trunk’s a handy thing if you’ve got a dead body about you want to get rid of-not that she is dead, for a minute.”