Chapter 17 Section 17

While Henry Mitchell was having lunch with his wife, he was overtaken by a visiting Mr. Poirot.He insisted that Mr. Mitchell continue to eat, saying that he would not delay too long.He accepted Mr. Mitchell's offer of giving up his seat and explained his purpose. "I think it's a difficult case," Mitchell said. "Everyone on the plane said they didn't see anything unusual." "you are right." "It makes Henry so uneasy," said his wife, "that he can't sleep sometimes at night." "I understand your feelings," said Poirot sympathetically, "but you are too sensitive, and it is not your fault that this happened."

"I told him not to keep beating himself up like this," Mrs Mitchell said. "It was despicable that foreigners were killing each other and it happened on a British plane." Mr. Mitchell shook his head with a perplexed expression. "The gentlemen of Scotland Yard have asked me again and again if I had noticed anything unusual. No—I have given it serious thought. If I Wake her up when the bills start, maybe—” "It doesn't make any difference. You are just flight attendants and you cannot avoid this kind of thing." said Poirot. "There is one thing I want to ask you, Mitchell. When you cleared Mrs. Giselle's little table , was her cutlery relocated?"

"You mean when I found out she was dead?" "Yes. Like spoons, knives and forks, and salt shakers." Mitchell, the flight attendant, shook his head. "There was nothing on the table. It was all taken away—except for the coffee cup. I was panicked. The police came, they checked the plane." "Well," said Poirot, "I would like some time to speak to your colleague Davies." "He's serving on the morning flight now." "Did it affect him a lot?" "Oh, you know, he's a young man, and that's a thrill. He's invited to dinner, and he tells the story."

"Has he had a girlfriend?" said Poirot. "It must have frightened her." "He's after Johnson's daughter," Mrs Mitchell said, "and she doesn't want her boyfriend to have anything to do with the murder." "What an insight," said Poirot, rising. "Thank you. Don't worry about it." A few hours after Poirot left the Mitchells' house, he approached Davis, the flight attendant, who asked him the same question. "Nothing on the table has been touched." "Like, is there something missing?" Davis thought for a moment and said, "It seems there is. After the police inspected the plane, I went to clear the table. I noticed that there were two coffee spoons in the plate of the deceased. Of course, sometimes due to mistakes in our work, this also happens. "

Poirot asked another question: "What do you think of French girls, Davies?" "English girls are enough for me."