Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie Read Free Book Online

psychiatric report, but I wouldn’t say there was much to it. It’s got to be someone at the party, though of course I suppose anyone could have come in from outside. A house isn’t usually locked up during a party. There’s a side door open, or a side window. One of our half-baked people, I suppose could have come along to see what was onand sneaked in. A pretty big risk to take. Would a child agree, a child who’d gone to a party, to go playing apple games with anyone she didn’t know? Anyway, you haven’t explained yet, Poirot, what brings you into it. You said it was Mrs. Oliver. Some wild idea of hers?”
    â€œNot exactly a wild idea,” said Poirot. “It is true that writers are prone to wild ideas. Ideas, perhaps, which are on the far side of probability. But this was simply something that she heard the girl say.”
    â€œWhat, the child Joyce?”
    â€œYes.”
    Spence leant forward and looked at Poirot inquiringly.
    â€œI will tell you,” said Poirot.
    Quietly and succinctly he recounted the story as Mrs. Oliver had told it to him.
    â€œI see,” said Spence. He rubbed his moustache. “The girl said that, did she? Said she’d seen a murder committed. Did she say when or how?”
    â€œNo,” said Poirot.
    â€œWhat led up to it?”
    â€œSome remark, I think, about the murders in Mrs. Oliver’s books. Somebody said something about it to Mrs. Oliver. One of the children, I think, to the effect that there wasn’t enough blood in her books or enough bodies. And then Joyce spoke up and said she ’d seen a murder once.”
    â€œBoasted of it? That’s the impression you’re giving me.”
    â€œThat’s the impression Mrs. Oliver got. Yes, she boasted of it.”
    â€œIt mightn’t have been true.”
    â€œNo, it might not have been true at all,” said Poirot.
    â€œChildren often make these extravagant statements when they wish to call attention to themselves or to make an effect. On the other hand, it might have been true. Is that what you think?”
    â€œI do not know,” said Poirot. “A child boasts of having witnessed a murder. Only a few hours later, that child is dead. You must admit that there are grounds for believing that it might—it’s a far-fetched idea perhaps—but it might have been cause and effect. If so, somebody lost no time.”
    â€œDefinitely,” said Spence. “How many were present at the time the girl made her statement re murder, do you know exactly?”
    â€œAll that Mrs. Oliver said was that she thought there were about fourteen or fifteen people, perhaps more. Five or six children, five or six grown-ups who were running the show. But for exact information I must rely on you.”
    â€œWell, that will be easy enough,” said Spence. “I don’t say I know offhand at the moment, but it’s easily obtained from the locals. As to the party itself, I know pretty well already. A preponderance of women, on the whole. Fathers don’t turn up much at children’s parties. But they look in, sometimes, or come to take their children home. Dr. Ferguson was there, the vicar was there. Otherwise, mothers, aunts, social workers, two teachers from the school. Oh, I can give you a list—and roughly about fourteen children. The youngest not more than ten—running on into teenagers.”
    â€œAnd I suppose you would know the list of probables amongst them?” said Poirot.
    â€œWell, it won’t be so easy now if what you think is true.”
    â€œYou mean you are no longer looking for a sexually disturbed personality. You are looking instead for somebody who has committed a murder and got away with it, someone who never expected it to be found out and who suddenly got a nasty shock.”
    â€œBlest if I can think who it could have been, all the same,” said Spence. “I shouldn’t have said we had