00:00Well, Mr. Poirot, you get that down, well, Mr. Poirot, you get that down, yeah, and I reckons you'll live to fight another day.
00:24Ah, Chiefist Patricia, this is Monsieur Anstruther of the London Med...
00:29Chiefist Patricia, this is Monsieur Anstruther of the London Brother of the London Midland and Scottish Railway.
00:35Afternoon, gents. Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back.
00:40A railway don't run itself, you know. I'll drop in tomorrow with some more blackberry tea.
00:44Thank you very much.
00:46Oh, and don't forget my bike, will you?
00:49Certainly not.
00:49That bike means a lot to me, that bike does. Man and boy, I've had that bike.
00:55Au revoir.
00:56Au revoir, Monsieur Anstruther.
01:00Obsessed with what?
01:02This bike?
01:03This bike?
01:05Yes, indeed, Chief Inspector.
01:07It has been stolen.
01:09He is also obsessed with other things.
01:11He knows every final detail about the movements of the trains in and out of his little station.
01:17Oh, yes.
01:18Been doing some investigation, have we?
01:20How can I, Chief Inspector? I am prostrated.
01:23I toy with the little lines of inquiry, that is all.
01:27You, of course, will be well ahead of me.
01:30Well, we've got a description of the murderer.
01:33He is a man of medium height, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, sporting a beard that is large and fluffy.
01:38How did you know that?
01:39Because that is a description of the man who stole the bicycle of Monsieur Anstruther.
01:43It is essential that we find it, Hastings.
01:46Oh, right.
01:48Find what?
01:49Also, I am most anxious to establish whether or not Monsieur Archie Havering had an alibi for the time that Monsieur Pace was shot.
02:03Look, I am sorry about this.
02:05I am afraid I have to ask you.
02:07Poirot wants to know what you were doing yesterday evening at the time of your uncle's death.
02:16How dare you?
02:19What on earth makes you think I want to kill a man like my Uncle Harry?
02:23I tell you, he was beneath contempt.
02:27Mean, selfish.
02:30You know Stoller, the gamekeeper, is his half-brother.
02:32One of his father's bastards.
02:34Good Lord.
02:35His own blood.
02:37And he used him like a servant.
02:40How did he get his money in the first place?
02:43I'll tell you.
02:44He's cheated his partner in County Mayo, then used the money for profiteering in the war.
02:50And people liked him.
02:53He boasted about it and people applauded.
02:58Clear off!
02:59Hello?
03:18Chief Inspector?
03:24Hello?
03:26Chief Inspector?
03:27Ah, how's the cold, Poirot?
03:29It is not a cold.
03:31It is a deadly fever.
03:32Hmm.
03:33Nasty.
03:34However, I have asked Monsieur and Madame Havering to come to the hotel convinced that Monsieur Roger Havering has not been telling the truth.
03:43You say, Monsieur Havering, that you arrived at London at 9 o'clock.
03:49The only witness that you can produce is the doorman at your club where you arrived at 10 o'clock.
03:53You say, that you spent this hour walking between King's Cross and St. James's, and yet, you can describe none of the movements, no events, no street names, rien, nothing.
04:04This isn't the line I've been following at all, Poirot.
04:07What are you driving at?
04:08I am driving at a curve in the line of the local railway, a loop of iron which connects Ashby-Pickard with the little station of Ashby-Lewalkin.
04:17What?
04:18It is quite possible, Monsieur Havering, for a man to catch the 615 train at one station and get off at the next.
04:24With the aid of the bicycle, he returns to Hunter's Lodge, disguised with a beard and wearing the broad-brimmed hat.
04:29He shoots the man he wishes to shoot.
04:31Then he catches the 720 from Ashby-Pickard, a train that is faster than the 615, which will get him to London in time to be at his club by 10 o'clock.
04:38My God.
04:40You're serious, aren't you?
04:41It is a serious affair.
04:44A man has been killed, and you are about to be accused of his murder.
04:47Me?
04:48You, sir.
04:50Do you not see it, Monsieur?
04:53You must tell us of your movements that night.
04:57Absolutely not.
04:59I can't.
05:00For God's sake, Roger, why not?
05:02I just can't.
05:04Well, Poirot.
05:04Carry on, Chief Inspector.
05:10I would like you to accompany me to the local police station, sir.
05:14What?
05:15I wish to question you in connection with the murder of your uncle, Mr. Harrington Pace,
05:19and with the disappearance of the housekeeper, Mrs. Middleton.
05:29Yes?
05:31Inspector.
05:31Right.
05:41What is it?
05:43They found Mrs. Middleton.
05:45They found Mrs. Middleton.
05:45It's not late, are we?
06:13No, she hasn't arrived yet.
06:18Please, do not fuss.
06:20You look like you're a dead...
06:21Do not fuss.
06:22You look like you're a dead's door last night.
06:24Unfortunately, Chief Inspector, it was my appetite that was dead.
06:27My tetra, her hangoise, it was fed to the cat.
06:31Yes, I'm Mrs. Middleton.
06:47Mrs. Middleton.
06:49What have you brought me here for?
06:50The instructions from the agency were to go to Ashby Pickard by train, and I'd be met
07:03there, and the engagement would be for one month.
07:07So, I did.
07:08And I was met by a very nice Irish lady who...
07:12Irish?
07:12Are you sure?
07:13Oh, yes.
07:14She said she was Mrs. Pace, and she said there'd been an embarrassing mix-up.
07:20What sort of mix-up?
07:21She said they were cancelling the shooting this year, and there was no household for me
07:26to keep.
07:26So, anyway, she said she'd be grateful if I didn't say anything to the agency, because
07:32she didn't want them to think she was unreliable, you know.
07:36And she was very generous.
07:39She said she'd give me two months' wages in lieu if I'd agree not to put myself back on
07:44the agency books for a full month.
07:46And you agree?
07:48Yes.
07:49She's...
07:56It changes everything, this testimony of Madam Middleton.
07:59Well, it all seems pretty straightforward to me.
08:01We still have to find this...
08:02...money of Madam Middleton.
08:03Well, it all seems pretty straightforward to me.
08:05We still have to find this other woman who pretended to be a housekeeper.
08:09Agreed?
08:11I think it would be more fruitful to find the bicycle of Monsieur Anstruther.
08:15What on earth for?
08:16Because, Hastings, it was stolen to transport the murderer to Hunter's Lodge.
08:20Why has it disappeared?
08:21Sir?
08:22Sir?
08:23What is it, Forgan?
08:25It's Mr. Avering, sir.
08:27He's asking to see you.
08:31Well, let's hope it won't be necessary.
08:34I mean, let's hope it won't be necessary.
08:37I'll make no promises.
08:39Very well, then.
08:41I was with Lord Quornby.
08:43Lord Quornby?
08:44The racing ho?
08:45Yes, he's chairman of the board in charge of Encore's betting.
08:48I wanted him to get me off the hook.
08:51Well, buy me some time on a couple of my debts.
08:53Why were you so reluctant to tell us this?
08:56A few months ago, you see, I promised Zoe that I'd never back another horse as long as I lived.
09:02And will Lord Quornby verify that you were with him?
09:05Of course he will.
09:12Madam, when was the last time that you saw Madam Middleton?
09:16She was in the car with...
09:17Mr. Avering when they dropped me off at home.
09:19He was on his way to the station, and he gave her a lift over to Mr. Stoddart's house.
09:29Mr. Stoddart the gamekeeper?
09:30Yes, sir.
09:31Oh, yes, of course, Mr. Stoddart.
09:35You hope to be his wife one day, do you know?
09:38No one's supposed to know that, sir.
09:40I comprehend.
09:42Tell me more about Madam Middleton.
09:45Oh, she was that strict.
09:47Always leaving little notes about the place, criticizing.
09:51Mr. Stoddart didn't like her.
09:53We used to be quite sharp with each other.
09:57Did Madam Middleton ever talk to you about herself?
10:00No, not really.
10:02She said you were from Ireland.
10:05Mayo, I think.
10:07But she always kept herself to them, like.
10:14This apron.
10:15Oh, that's...
10:16Apron.
10:17Oh, that's Mrs. Middleton, sir.
10:20Thank you, that will be all.
10:23Brangton Pace was living in Ireland.
10:26He cheated his...
10:27He cheated his partner and ruined him.
10:29Then this mysterious woman,
10:31who was also from County Mayo,
10:33turns up and replaces Mrs. Middleton.
10:36She was probably a relation of the ruined man.
