Chapter 9 Section 9

The next morning, the weather was fine, and Poirot felt that his stomach was doing well.He and Fournier boarded an 8:45 flight to Paris with only seven or eight passengers on board.Poirot intended to use the time of the journey for experiments.He took a bamboo tube from his pocket and held it to his mouth to aim at something.He tried 3 times in a row, causing some passengers to look at him strangely. Fournier hid in his seat, not happy with Poirot's stupidity, "People must think you are funny, my friend." "It's natural. But the result of this public demonstration is so obvious that everyone can see you."

"Not all of them." "You're right. A successful killer will make sure no one sees him." "While it's unlikely," Fournier said, "there must have been a moment of distraction." Poirot hesitated, and said slowly: "There must be, but I think you are slightly different. I think vision may deceive us. Close your eyes, open the windows of your mind, and let the cells in your heart become active." .” "I don't understand you, M. Poirot." "Because you have designed the target of sight in your mind in advance, so what you observe is the truth." Poirot leaned back and closed his eyes. After 5 minutes, he had fallen asleep.

Arriving in Paris, they headed straight for 3 rue Jollet.The janitor seemed displeased with another visit from the police.After Fournier's explanation, the janitor tore off the seal on the first floor and let them into Mrs. Giselle's office.Fournier looked around, then shrugged, "It seems that there are no new discoveries." Poirot went around the desk and sat down on the chair facing Fournier. "Here's a bell," he said. "Yes, that's called the porter." Poirot opened the drawer. There were stationery, a calendar, pens and pencils, but nothing of interest.He looked at the safe in the corner, "Is it empty?"

"Yes, burned by that damned servant." "Well, the personal servant. There's nothing here, we'll go see her right away." Alice Glandier was a stocky, middle-aged woman whose eyes scanned Fournier and his companion warily. "M. Poirot and I have come from London today. The hearing was held yesterday. There is no doubt that Madame has been poisoned." The French woman shook her head heavily, "Poisoned to death?! It's terrible. Who would do such a thing?" "Perhaps you can help us," Fournier said. "Do you know any enemies the Madame has?"

"No." Elise was a little excited. "It is true that Madam's clients are sometimes unreasonable. They shout, complain, and argue that they cannot pay back the money." "Sometimes they don't pay their debts?" asked Poirot. "Yes, but it paid off in the end." "Madame is a tough woman." Fournier. "But she is fair. Of course she borrows money and expects to pay it back. She owes no one. You say she is tough, but that is not true. The lady is very kind, and she donates to many charities. The caretaker's wife is sick, Madam paid for her to be sent to the hospital." She blushed with anger, "You don't understand Madam."

Fournier waited for her anger to pass and said, "You said that her client eventually repaid the debt, so how did Madam force them to do so?" "I know nothing, sir." "You burned Madame's papers." "She said that if an accident happened, the files in the safe would be burned." "The papers in the safe downstairs?" said Poirot. "Yes. That's Madam's order." "No, I know the papers are not in the safe," said Poirot, "because the safe is so old that any layman can open it. The papers are supposed to be somewhere else, say in Madame's bedroom?"

"You're right. The safe is just a cover. Everything is in the lady's bedroom." Giselle's bedroom is filled with bulky furniture.Elise went to a corner, opened an outdated trunk, and took out a camel hair coat with a deep pocket in the front. "The papers are in the big envelope inside," Elise said. "You didn't mention this when I asked you three days ago," Fournier said sharply. "I'm sorry, sir. When you asked me if there were any documents in the safe, I said I burned it." She said with a dejected face, "That was Madam's order."

"I don't blame you," Fournier reassured her. "Now I want you to understand, miss. The lady is dead. She was killed by someone who knew. Those circumstances are in the documents. I I want to ask you another question, and you don’t need to answer it immediately. Did you read the contents of the document when you burned it? I want to remind you that any relevant information will be of great help to our detection.” Elise breathed heavily, and then said firmly, "No, sir. When I took the envelopes out of my pocket, I burned them without even breaking the seal."