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Poirot Tracks a Silent Witness Through the Rain | A Hercule Poirot Mystery · Hercule Poirot Stories

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It was one of those grey English afternoons when the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: rain does not fall so much as it settles, a
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: quiet and persistent drizzle that softens the edges of the world.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: I remember it clearly for two reasons. First, because I
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: had not seen Hercule Poirot in nearly five weeks, an
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: astonishing interval given our usual companionship. And second, because of
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: the woman in the window. We had come to spend
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a weekend in the countryside, at the invitation of an
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: old acquaintance of mine, Colonel Archibald Godfrey, recently retired from
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: military service and newly settled at Willowbank Terrace, a long,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: ivy-clad manor overlooking the river. The house was handsome in
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: a way that suggested old English respectability, but it possessed,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: if I may say, an air of quiet unease, as
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: though some shadow clung to it that the sunlight could
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: not penetrate. As we arrived, I noticed her at once,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: a woman standing at the drawing room window, facing the
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: garden and the pale sheets of rain. She did not
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: turn her head as the motor car approached. She simply
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: watched the rain with still, intent focus, her hands clasped
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: loosely before her. I could not have said why, but
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: the sight unsettled me. Poirot, stepping from the car with
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: the fastidious care of a man alighting onto a museum
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: floor rather than gravel, observed her too. Ah, he murmured,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: There is grief in that stance. Grief and reflection. That woman, Hastings,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: she watches not the rain, but her thoughts. You can
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: tell that from all the way out here, I asked,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: though I should have known better. Poirot only smiled, and
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: the tips of his elegant moustache lifted like a pair
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: of amused feathers. We were greeted at the door by
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Colonel Godfrey himself, broad and loud as ever. though a
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: touch of fatigue lay beneath his jovial exterior. Poirot, Hastings,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: splendid to see you both. Come in, come in, don't
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: mind the weather. Damnable stuff but we make do, eh? Inside,
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: the drawing-room was warm, the fire crackling pleasantly. But the
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: woman at the window did not turn until the Colonel spoke.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: My wife, Clara.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: She looked at us then, her face pale, beautiful, and
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: marked with a sorrow so profound that I felt, in
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: that instant, I was intruding upon something deeply private. When
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: she extended her hand, it was with grace, but no warmth.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: We took tea. Small talk was attempted. Yet a tension
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: lay upon the room, unspoken but unmistakable. It was during
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: this unease that another guest entered. A young woman of
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: about twenty-four, with striking dark eyes and the kind of.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Careless, effortless beauty that suggests.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Vanity if one is inclined to judge, or simply youth
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: if one is inclined to forgive it. This is Miss
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Evangeline Drew, Colonel Godfrey said. She is staying with us
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: for a time. Clara Godfrey's teacup trembled just once before
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: she steadied it.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Poirot noticed. Of course, he noticed.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: But the true disturbance came only when the clock chimed five.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: The butler entered, looking strangely pale. Colonel, I believe you
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: should come with me at once. We followed him to
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: the library, and there, in the center of the ornate room,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: lay a man, face down on the polished wood floor,
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: his hand still clutching at the corner of a heavy desk.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: A silver letter opener protruded from his back, and a
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: dark stain was spreading across the rich carpet. Clarag's Godfrey gasped.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Evangeline Drew turned away, one hand pressed to her lips.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: The Colonel swore under his breath. Poirot, his expression sharpening
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: to pure focus, bent, not to touch the body, but
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: to look.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: Who? Who is he?
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: I managed to ask. Colonel Godfrey's voice was strained.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Lionel Avery. My solicitor. He came to discuss a matter of...
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: of family trust and property. We were to finalize the
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: paperwork today. I... I cannot imagine... Poirot raised a hand gently.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: No, Colonel.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: You must imagine. Everyone must imagine.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: And remember.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: That is how the truth begins. He stepped back, eyes narrowing.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: His entire being intent. The body is still warm. The
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: rain outside began in earnest only one hour ago. The
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: murderer has not been gone long. The room fell into
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: a tense silence. And then Clara Godfrey spoke, her voice soft, distant,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: as though spoken from a dream. He knew something, she said,
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: something meant to be kept hidden. Poirot looked at her,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: not with surprise, but with quiet, profound curiosity. And you
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: knew it also, madame. Her eyes did not leave the
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: rain-soaked window beyond the library door. No, she whispered, but
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: I feared it. Poirot nodded almost kindly. Then, mes amis,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: a murder has been committed in this house. The circle
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: is closed, the rain ensures no tracks, and the murderer
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: remains among us. He turned, his gaze sweeping each of
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: us in turn. We shall not leave until we find
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: the truth. The shock of the discovery lingered in the
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: atmosphere like the damp chill of the rain outside. We
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: returned to the drawing room, though no one sat at
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: ease now. The tea tray remained untouched, the cups cooling
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: in silence. The house at Willowbank Terrace, moments ago merely sombre,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: now felt claustrophobic, as though the very walls had drawn closer.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Poirot stood near the hearth, gently warming his hands. Not
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: out of comfort, I felt, but out of habit. The
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: familiar gesture of a man collecting his thoughts. placing every
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: detail into order. Colonel Godfrey paced the length of the room,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: rubbing his brow in distress. Good Lord, I cannot fathom it,
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: he muttered. Avery sunk, murdered. Here, in my home, and
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: at such a moment... At such a moment, Boirot echoed softly,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: without looking up. The Colonel froze, as though realising he
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: had said too much.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Well, yes.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: There were certain financial matters under discussion, family matters, personal matters,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: but none that would lead to.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: to this.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Poirot's eyes opened, dark, sharp, assessing. But he said nothing.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Not yet.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: Clara Godfrey sat again at the window, her posture unchanged.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: I watched her carefully. She had not wept. She did
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: not tremble. and yet she was not composed. Rather, she
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: seemed removed, as though her thoughts existed in some distant
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: room we could not enter. Miss Evangeline Drew stood near
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: the piano, arms crossed, her expression shifting between defiance and unease.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: She was restless, like an actress waiting for her cue,
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: though unsure whether she wished to perform. Poirot cleared his
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: throat with a soft, polite sound. If you permit, Colonel Godfrey.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: We shall proceed with order. There are five persons in
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: this house who matter to this investigation. He lifted a finger,
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: elegant as a conductor beginning a symphony. One, Colonel Archibald Godfrey,
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: owner of the house and host to the deceased. Two,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Madame Godfrey. He bowed his head respectfully toward Clara, who
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: did not acknowledge him. Three, Mademoiselle Evangeline Drew, who is
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: currently residing here. Evangeline's chin lifted a fraction, a reaction
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: one might miss. We're one, not Poirot. Four, Poirot continued,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: your butler, Reeves, and five, your maid, Lucy, a small
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: staff for a house of this size. The estate has
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: been difficult to maintain since, Colonel Godfrey began, and then
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: stopped again. Since the change in finances, Poirot supplied, with
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: a hint of gentle insistence. Godfrey hesitated before nodding. Poirot turned,
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: his voice taking on a tone both light and precise,
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: the tone of a surgeon asking a patient to describe
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: the first hints of pain. Now, each of you will
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: tell me where you were at the time when the
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: unfortunate Mr. Avery was killed. We begin with the Colonel.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Godfrey straightened as though addressing a superior officer. I was
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: in my study across the hall, Reeves can confirm. He
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: brought me correspondence at half-past four. Poirot looked to Reeves,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: who bowed his head. Yes, sir, that is correct. And
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: after that, Poirot asked. I remained there.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Writing.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: I did not hear any disturbance. Poirot allowed the statement
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: to settle without comment. He turned next to Clara. Madame,
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: and you? Clara did not turn from the window. When
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: she spoke, her voice was low, almost hollow. I have
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: been here, watching the rain.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: Since when?
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Since some time before four o'clock. I do not know precisely.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: Poirot exchanged the smallest glance with me, a signal that
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: the imprecision, though understandable, was noted. And you, Mademoiselle Drew?
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Evangeline's dark eyes flicked quickly to Clara, then away. I
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: was in my room, she said.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: Reading.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: And can anyone confirm that? Poirot asked. No, she replied.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: I was alone, Poirot neither nodded nor frowned. His neutrality
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: at such moments was almost eerie.
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: And Reeves? Lucy?
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: They must be called. The butler stepped back and returned
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: moments later with Lucy, a timid young woman with anxious
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: hands and a tendency to look anywhere except at the
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: person addressing her. I was in the kitchen, she said immediately,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: almost before Poirot had asked.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: I didn't leave.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I heard nothing, I swear. Reeves spoke similarly. Calm, deliberate, respectful.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: I was assisting in setting the dinner service. I did
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: not go near the library, Monsieur Poirot. Poirot studied them both.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Not with distrust, but with careful distance. Like a chess
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: player examining odd but plausible moves. Colonel Godfrey exhaled heavily. Poirot,
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: surely you can see. None of us would do such
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: a thing.
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: Avery was.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: was a friend, a guest. Poirot raised one eyebrow, a subtle,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: devastating gesture. But one does not murder for dislike, mon ami.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: One murders for fear, or necessity, or love, or money,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: and sometimes, ah, sometimes one murders for pride. The room
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: was silent. Poirot moved then, lightly, as though conversing rather
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: than interrogating.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Avery was here to finalize documents of inheritance, yes? The
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: colonel stiffened.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: And the matter was in dispute? Poirot asked softly. Something
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: flickered in the colonel's expression. Something pained, defensive.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: And then vanished.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: A family arrangement. Nothing more. Poirot gave a tiny bow. Bien,
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: then already we have motive. But motive alone does not
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: make the murderer. We must examine character, opportunity, fear, desperation.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: He stepped back, folding his hands. The circle is closed.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: The murderer is among us. None shall leave this house,
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: and we shall proceed with order. His eyes narrowed, thoughtful, keen.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: For the truth, may I me, is always simple. It
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: is the lies that are complicated. Though he had already
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: begun to ask questions. It was in this next hour
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: that Poirot truly arrived, not just into the house at
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: Willowbank Terrace, but into the affair itself. If the discovery
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: of the body had cast unease, Poirot now placed the
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: house under the unmistakable atmosphere of inquiry, precision, and quiet scrutiny.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: No one dared leave the drawing-room until he dismissed them,
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: even Colonel Godfrey, who ordinarily had the air of a
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: man accustomed to being obeyed. weighted with visible restraint. Poirot
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: took a seat, neatly, elegantly, his shoes aligned, his cuffs immaculate,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: and surveyed the room as a general surveys a battlefield
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: before the first move. You will forgive me, he began,
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: for what must be a most uncomfortable afternoon. But murder,
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: mes amis, has a way of disturbing the peace, and
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: of revealing the truth that lies beneath the calm appearances
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: of daily life. His eyes shifted to Clara Godfrey, who
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: still sat at the window, rainlight blurring around her like
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: a halo of melancholy. You were acquainted with Mr. Avery
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: for many years, madame. Her reply came without hesitation, but
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: without emotion. Yes, Lionel Avery has been my husband's solicitor
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: since before our marriage. He has dined here many times.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: And you were fond of him, she turned her face slightly,
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: enough to show her profile.
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: Pale and drawn. No, I was not.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: A small ripple of surprise passed through the room, except,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: of course.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: For Poirot. He merely nodded. And why not, madame?
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: Clara's fingers tightened just slightly against one another. There are
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: some men, she said quietly, whose courtesy is a surface.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: Underneath lies coldness, a knowledge that one would rather they
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: did not possess. Poirot's gaze sharpened. You believed he knew
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: something about you? She did not answer, but the silence
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: itself was an answer. At once Colonel Godfrey stepped forward. Clara,
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: my dear, there is no need. Poirot held up a
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: single finger. The Colonel stopped mid-sentence. No, it is important
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: we allow the truth to speak for itself. Poirot then
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: turned smoothly to Evangeline Drew. And you, mademoiselle?
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Did you like Mr. Avery?
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: Her answer came swift, too swift.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: Of course.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Why would I not? Poirot gave a soft little hum. Sometimes, mademoiselle,
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: the dislike is not spoken, but it is there, seen here.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: He tapped his chest lightly. In the quickening of the breath,
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: the tightening of the mouth, the glance that avoids. Evangeline flushed,
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: a bright, guilty rose. She did not reply. Poirot moved
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: no further in questioning for the moment. Instead, his gaze drifted, slowly, deliberately,
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: around the room. Over the mantle, the painting of a
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: hunting scene, the table where the tea cooled, the faint,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: damp footprints in the hallway beyond. It was as though
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: he were arranging invisible shapes, constructing a map known only
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: to him.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: Then he rose.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: Come, Hastings, he said. We shall look at the scene
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: of the crime. We left the others, who remained in tents,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: watching silence. The library was dim, the curtains drawn halfway,
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: the rain tapped gently on the glass. Lionel Avery's body
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: had been respectfully covered with a linen sheet, though the
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: dark stain beneath reminded one unmistakably of the violence that
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: had occurred. Poirot did not approach the body first. Instead,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: He walked the perimeter of the room, slowly, carefully. His
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: feet made no sound upon the carpet. He observed the desk,
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: the open ink bottle, the blotting paper, a pen lying sideways,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: though its alignment was clearly offset from habit or instinct.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: How often does the Colonel work in here? Poirot asked. Daily,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: I replied. He told us as much. Poirot nodded. And
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: yet Hastings, behold, the dust on the frame of the
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: painting there, thick, neglected, but the blotter is fresh, the
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: surface polished recently, very recently. He looked toward the fireplace
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: with gentle curiosity. A room prepared for conversation, not work.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: A room arranged for performance, très curieux. Poirot now finally
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: approached the body. He did not touch the sheet, nor
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: the handle of the blade. He merely crouched, observing the
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: manor inn, which the dead man's hand still clutched at
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: the desk. Not surprise, Poirot murmured, nor struggle. He was
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: leaning forward, reading. The attack was from behind, swift, deliberate, precise.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: He straightened.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: There is no sign of a quarrel, no papers scattered,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: no forced entry. The murderer stood close, spoke perhaps gently,
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: and then struck. Poirot's voice grew quiet, thoughtful. This was
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: not an act of passion, it was an act of decision.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: I felt a shiver run through me.
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: Poirot, I said.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: Do you think... He held up a hand once more.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Do not think ahead, Hastings. Thinking ahead leads to error.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: One must think exactly as far as the truth takes us,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: and no further. He then looked toward the rain-streaked window,
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: the view opening to the garden beyond, blurred and grey. Hastings,
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: mon ami, he said softly. Tell me, when we arrived,
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: what did we see? The woman at the window, I said.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: Clara. Yes, he nodded.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: The woman who watches the rain. He turned back to
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: the library door. There is always one person in every
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: case who already knows the truth. He paused, and a faint,
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: chilling smile touched his lips. We have not yet discovered
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: why she watched the rain, but we shall. After Poirot's
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: brief examination of the library, we returned to the drawing room,
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: where the household remained in various states of distress. Colonel
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Godfrey stood stiffly with his back to the fire, staring
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: into the flames as though hoping they might offer clarity.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Evangeline Drew leaned once again near the piano, though now
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: she tapped her fingers against the polished wood, a nervous,
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: irritated rhythm. Clara Godfrey had not moved from her position
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: at the window. Reeves and Lucy waited quietly along the wall,
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: both clearly uncomfortable. Poirot resumed his seat, lacing his fingers lightly. Now,
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: he said gently, we shall speak each one in turn.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Not interrogation, simply conversation. We will begin with the butler.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: Reeves stepped forward, his expression solemn but controlled. You understand, Reeves.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Poirot said, that I value truth. Even the smallest detail,
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: if remembered faithfully, can illuminate the entire darkness. Yes, Monsieur Poirot.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Good.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: Tell me, please, what you observed today. Reeves paused, not
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: to fabricate, but to build his memory with precision.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: Avery arrived shortly after half-past three. He asked to see
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: the Colonel at once. They spoke in the study for
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: some time, I could hear the tone of conversation, but
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: not the words. The colonel raised his voice only once.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Avery remained calm. Poirot made a small sound. Interest, not surprise.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: And after the conversation, he asked. They came to the
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: drawing room. Tea was brought.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: Mrs.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Godfrey was here already. Miss Drew joined a few minutes later.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: The atmosphere was strained. Poirot lifted a brow. Huh? In
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: what way strained? Reeves chose his words deliberately.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: Mrs.
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: Godfrey seemed troubled.
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Avery attempted conversation, but she answered only briefly. Miss Drew
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: appeared uneasy. The colonel tried to maintain chair. And then
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Poirot prompted.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: Avery requested to speak to the colonel again, privately. They
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: went to the library. The colonel returned five minutes later
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: and went to his study.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: Avery remained in the library alone. That was the last
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: I saw him alive. Poirot nodded. You saw no one
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: else enter the library?
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: No, sir. Poirot sat back slightly. Merci, Reeves.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: That was very orderly. He turned next to Lucy, the maid,
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: who stepped forward timidly. Lucy, Poirot began. You were in
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: the kitchen? But you see and hear more than others
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: might think.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: Tell me.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Did anything strike you as unusual today? Lucy's hands twisted
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: in her apron. Only Miss Drew, she said in a
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: small voice. Evangeline's head snapped up sharply. What about me?
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: Lucy swallowed. You were crying, earlier, before tea. A stillness
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: fell across the room. Evangeline's expression hardened, defensive, angry.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: That means nothing, she said. I had a headache. I
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: was tired.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: I wasn't crying about him. Poirot tilted his head, watching her,
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: not judging, merely observing. And yet you deny before being accused,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: he murmured. Her face coloured. It does not matter, she insisted.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Everything matters, Poirot said softly.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: Everything.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: He dismissed the servants for now. Reeves bowed. Lucy nearly fled.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Poirot now turned toward Evangeline Drew. Mademoiselle, he said, come,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: let us speak as friends. You have known the Godfrey
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: household how long?
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: She hesitated. Six months.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: And yet, Poirot said pleasantly, you are treated, how shall
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: I say, not as a guest, nor a governess, not
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: a servant, something between. Her jaw tightened. I am a
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: companion to Mrs.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Godfrey. Poirot nodded. To comfort her? Yes.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: And does she need comfort? At this, Clara Godfrey stirred.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: The first visible movement in some time. Evangeline lifted her chin. Yes,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: she said simply.
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: She does.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: Poirot leaned forward slightly. So, tell me, mademoiselle, what was
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: the subject of Mr. Avery's conversation with the Colonel today?
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: Evangeline's eyes flicked. Not to the colonel, but to Clara.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: That was all Poirot required. You see, he said softly,
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: to no one in particular. We do not need answers spoken.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Silence reveals much more. The colonel stepped forward abruptly.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Poirot, enough.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: I will not have my family prodded like criminals. Poirot's
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: voice remained calm. Your family, mon colonel, is not on trial.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Truth is, He rose now, moving toward the window. Toward Clara.
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: Madame Godfrey, he said gently. Do you wish to speak,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: or shall I speak in your place?
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: Her eyes closed.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: For a moment, the room seemed to hold its breath.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: Then she spoke, her voice quiet but steady. My husband
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: has been altering the inheritance. The estate is failing. There
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: are debts, large ones. Lionel Avery came today to finalize
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: the new will. Evangeline looked toward her sharply. Clara continued,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: still looking out at the rain. In the new will,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: I lose everything. The house, the land, even my personal funds.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: It will all go to... She stopped. Poirot finished the
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: sentence for her. Softly, gravely. To Miss Evangeline drew. A
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: stunned silence followed. The colonel turned scarlet. It was temporary.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: It was practical. Clara's health, her fragility. She would not
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: manage the estate. Clara did not look at him. Poirot's
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: voice was velvet, but velvet drawn over steel.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: So.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: We have motive, he murmured. The strongest motive of all.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: His eyes swept the room. Not accusing, not triumphant. Simply aware.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: But motive, mes amis. is only the first thread, and
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: there are many threads, and many lies, yet unspoken. He
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: stepped away from the window. The murderer has revealed themselves already,
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: in the contradictions, in the silences, in the smallest of words.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: He glanced toward the library door. But we shall not
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: name them, not yet. The atmosphere in the drawing-room had changed,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: charged now with something sharp and uneasy. The revelation of
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: the revised will that Evangeline drew and not Clara Godfrey,
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: was to inherit Willowbank Terrace, cast a long and unsettling
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: shadow across every face. And yet Poirot, rather than pressing further,
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: suggested we take a short recess. Let each of you,
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: he said pleasantly, reflect. The truth likes to breathe. But
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: I knew better than to mistake his calm for idleness.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Poirot was watching, always watching, every glance, Every silence, every
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: breath became part of the structure he was building in
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: that precise and elegant mind. As the others dispersed, the
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: Colonel to his study, Clara to the dim corridor, Evangeline
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: to the stairs, Poirot motioned for me to follow. We
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: returned again to the library. The rain outside had sharpened
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: to a steady patter. The fire hissed and crackled, casting
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: flickers of light across the sheet-covered form on the floor.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Poirot paced slowly, the way a man might walk a
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: labyrinth he has walked many times before. Hastings, he said suddenly.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Tell me, what is the most dangerous thing in the
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: mind of a murderer?
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: I hesitated. Hatred? None.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Hatred is loud. It is clumsy. It leaves traces. No,
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: the most dangerous thing is certainty. The murderer believes the
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: plan perfect, and so they fail to guard the smallest detail. Always,
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: there is a detail. He stopped before the desk.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: Observe.
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: On the blotter lay a sheet of paper. Cream-coloured, finely textured.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: At first glance, untouched. But Poirot pointed to the faintest indentation.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Someone wrote and removed. A note here. I leaned closer.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: True enough.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: The faint pressure marks of handwriting could still be seen.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: But how can we read it?
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: I asked.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: A mirror, some graphite. And patience, Poirot replied.
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: But later.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: Now we witness something else. He pointed to the carpet,
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: the thick, ornate rug beneath Avery's body. Hastings, look. The
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: blood has spread outward, evenly. Yet the body lies not
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: in the center of the stain, but slightly forward.
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: I frowned. Meaning?
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: The body was moved. Only a little, very little. But yes,
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: Poirot tapped his temple. Moved by someone who feared it
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: appeared too staged, yet by correcting, they left a second error.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: I felt a small thrill. Poirot had found something. Before
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: I could ask further, footsteps sounded in the doorway. It
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: was Reeves. Monsieur Poirot, he said quietly. Inspector Galloway from
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: the county police has arrived. Poirot sighed, not with dread,
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: but with the resignation of a man who must now
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: deal with an enthusiastic but unsubtle mind. Inspector Galloway was tall, broad,
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: and so thoroughly English he seemed carved from the countryside itself.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: His moustache, I regret to say, was large, bristling, and
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: tragically shapeless. Had Poirot seen it in another context, he
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: would have wept. Well, Galloway declared, upon being shown the body,
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: open and shut, is it not? These domestic murders always are.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: Poirot's eyelid gave a slight quiver. The closest he ever
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: came to wincing. Indeed, Poirot said politely. Oh yes, clear
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: as day, the inspector went on.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: The wife.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: Jealousy, financial pressure. Probably quarreled, grabbed the nearest object. The
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: nearest object? Poirot repeated softly. The letter opener, yes, Galloway said,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: as though granting Poirot a point he had already proven.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: Poirot inclined his head. But you see, Inspector, the letter
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: opener was taken not from the desk. He stepped aside
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: and pointed to a small lacquered case. It was taken
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: from there. A deliberate choice. Not a crime of passion.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: And there was no quarrel. The room shows no sign
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: of it. Galloway blinked but barreled onward. Well, be that
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: as it may, she had the strongest motive, didn't she?
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: The will. Mrs.
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: Godfrey loses everything. She was desperate. Poirot turned slowly to
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: Clara Godfrey, who had returned silently to the doorway. She
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: looked peaceful, empty. No, she said softly. I was not desperate.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: I was resigned. Poirot watched her a moment longer, then
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: turned to the inspector. Yet you will arrest her. Of
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: course I will, Galloway said. The motive is clear, the
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: opportunity is clear, the rest can sort itself later. He
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: stepped toward Clara, and that was the moment Poirot acted, swiftly, sharply,
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: with authority that filled the room like a crack of lightning. Non,
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: the inspector froze. Poirot's voice was no longer velvet, it
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: was steel, If you arrest Madame Godfrey now, you will
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: end the investigation. The true murderer will believe themselves safe.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: They will make no move. They will hide their final mistake,
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: and the truth will be lost. Galloway hesitated, but Poirot
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: did not waver. This woman is not the murderer. The
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: silence that followed was absolute. Even I felt stunned. Galloway swallowed.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: And your reasonings? Poirot's gaze swept the room, clear and certain.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: Because Madame Godfrey, he said softly, is the only person
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: in this house who has not lied. He turned from
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: the inspector, and he did not look back. The inspector,
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: though bristling visibly at being stalled, reluctantly agreed to postpone Mrs.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: Godfrey's arrest. Poirot's declaration had landed like a stone in
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: a still pond. the ripples of it spreading silently through
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: every mind in the house. Colonel Godfrey looked torn between
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: relief and bewilderment. Evangeline Drew's face, however, was the more
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: interesting study. A flicker of something, fear, shock, disappointment, crossed
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: her expression before she smoothed it into an icy neutrality.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: Poirot saw it. He did not react. Clara, for her part,
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: simply turned and resumed her seat by the window, the
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: rain once more her silent companion. Nothing seemed to move her,
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: nothing altered her slow, unbroken gaze. Poirot addressed the room
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: with gentle composure. It is time, he said softly, for clarity.
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: It is not enough to speak. We must observe. It
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: is in human behaviour that the truth reveals itself. He
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: nodded to Reeves. Arrange tea in the drawing room. We
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: will speak together as if we are friends.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: Tea?
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: Inspector Galloway sputtered, absolutely scandalized. There has been a murder,
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: Poirot turned elegantly. And the murderer drinks tea, Inspector. There
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: was no arguing with him. We moved to the drawing
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: room once more. The tea service was set. The atmosphere
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: was wrong for such gentility, and yet the ritual of it,
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: The pouring, the clinking of spoons, acted like fine surgical instruments,
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: slicing open the quiet. Poirot remained standing, one hand lightly
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: resting on the back of an armchair. Madame Godfrey, he began,
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: may we speak of your sadness? Clara blinked just once.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: Slow, weary.
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: I am not sad, she said. Sadness is when one
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: hopes for change. I do not hope. Poirot inclined his head.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: Not in pity, but respect. And you have been this way.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: Long before today.
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: Since before Miss Drew's arrival. Colonel Godfrey flinched. Evangeline's fingers
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: tightened around her teacup, though her expression remained composed. Clara
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: spoke quietly, almost gently.
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: Poirot shifted his gaze to the Colonel. You brought Mademoiselle
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: Drew into the house, he said. As a companion for
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: your wife, you believed it would ease her melancholy. The
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: Colonel nodded. Yes, she was recommended. And Clara? Clara was
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: growing more distant. I thought a friend, a bright young presence,
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: might bring her some warmth. Poirot raised one brow.
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: And did it. Silence. Clara answered for him. No.
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: Evangeline's lips pressed together. but whether in guilt or resentment
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: I could not say. Poirot continued softly. Mademoiselle Drew, you
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: are young, charming, intelligent, but this house has sadness, yes?
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: A cloud, and one who lives beneath a cloud does
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: not easily welcome the sun. Evangeline's composure cracked just for
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: a breath. I tried, she said, and suddenly the veneer
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: of cold poise gave way, revealing something sharp beneath. Frustration, exhaustion,
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: perhaps even hurt. I have listened to her silence day
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: after day. I have walked with her by the river
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: while she did not speak. I was kind to her.
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: I sat beside her every evening, and she never once
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: looked at me. Do you know what it is to
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: be unseen in the place where you live? Poirot nodded, slowly. Oui,
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: it is a terrible thing. Clara did not react. or
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: perhaps she reacted too deeply for expression. Poirot turned his gaze,
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: very gently, to Evangeline. So, let us speak plainly. You
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: were to inherit the estate. Evangeline's throat tightened. I did
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: not want it, she whispered. I only wanted to be valued.
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: And with those words, scarcely more than a sigh, the
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: room shifted. Colonel Godfrey looked at her, truly seeing her
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: for the first time, But Poirot did not allow the
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: emotional current to distract him. He stepped closer. Very small,
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: very precise steps. Mademoiselle, he said. You were crying earlier today.
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: Evangeline did not deny it this time.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: Yes. Because of Mr. Avery? A pause. A breath. Yes,
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: she whispered.
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: Poirot lowered his voice so that even I had to
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: lean closer to hear. And was it because he threatened you?
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: The effect was immediate. Evangeline gasped. The Colonel stared. Clara
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: turned her head, just slightly, as though awakening. Poirot continued.
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: Avery was a solicitor, and solicitors know secrets. He knew
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: that the will favoured you. He also knew, perhaps, how it.
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: Appeared to others.
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: He may have warned you, or demanded something, or threatened
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: to withdraw his support. Evangeline's composure collapsed then, not into tears,
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: but into fury. He told me, she said through clenched teeth,
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: that the Colonel would never truly choose me, that it
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: was a convenience, that I was temporary, a replacement in
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: a household where I would never belong. Poirot nodded, as
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: though this confirmed something already known to him. And so
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: you hated him? Evangeline stared at him. No.
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: She whispered. I believed him.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: That, I think, was the first moment that Clara Godfrey
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: looked at Evangeline with anything like recognition. Not warmth, but
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: understanding of shared suffering. Poirot spoke then, not to accuse,
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: but to set the stage.
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: Very good.
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: Now we see the emotional landscape, but emotion alone is
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: not murder. He turned away, slowly, deliberately. No, The murderer
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: is calm at this moment, silent, watching. His eyes slid,
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: just briefly, to the doorway, where Reeve stood, not startled,
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: not uncomfortable, perfectly still, too still. Poirot smiled, faintly. The game,
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: he said softly, has begun. It was nearing seven o'clock
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: when the house seemed to grow darker, though the lamps
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: had been lit. The rain had not ceased. It pressed
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: against the windows with a soft and steady insistence, as
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: though the world outside wished to come in. Poirot, having
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: concluded his delicate probing during tea, suggested that each member
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: of the household retire briefly to collect themselves. The inspector
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: grumbled at such leniency, but Poirot insisted. A murderer who
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: believes himself unwatched, he murmured, will show his hand.
• 40:16
  Speaker 2: I accompanied him.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: To the hall as the others dispersed to their rooms.
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: You believe we are close? I asked quietly. Poirot smiled,
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: not triumphantly, but thoughtfully. Close, yes, but not ready. There
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: is one more move the murderer must make before the
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: shape of the truth is complete. One more piece must fall.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: I did not ask what piece. I had learned that Poirot,
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: like an artist, preferred to paint the picture before naming
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: what it depicted. It could not have been more than
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: twenty minutes later when the house was roused by a cry. Sharp, startled,
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: echoing from the upper floor. Poirot and I exchanged a
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: glance and hurried toward the sound. The source was the
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: corridor upstairs. And there, near the end, Evangeline Drew stood,
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: her hands clasped to her mouth, her breath shaking.
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: What has happened? Poirot asked.
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: She pointed, speechless. toward the door of Clara Godfrey's room.
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: At once, Poirot pushed the door open. Clara lay collapsed
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: beside her writing desk, her body crumpled in an unnatural angle.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: A small bottle lay on the carpet, its contents spilled.
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: Beside it, a glass. I felt the blood drain from
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: my face.
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: Poirot, I gasped.
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: She's... Poirot was already kneeling, his precision intact even under urgency.
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: He examined her pulse, her breath, her eyes. Not dead,
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: he said sharply, but nearly. Hastings, call Reeves quickly.
• 41:57
  Speaker 2: I ran.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: Reeves fetched smelling salts and sent Lucy rushing to summon
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: the village doctor who lived a quarter mile down the road.
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: Poirot directed us with calm clarity. Clara, pale as rain light,
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: breathed faintly, trembling. Poirot lifted the bottle.
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: Laudanum, he murmured.
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: Strong, enough to still a heart, taken all at once.
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: The inspector stormed in a moment later. Attempted suicide, he
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: declared at once. Guilt, it proves everything. Poirot rose, turning slowly,
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: very slowly, to face him.
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: No.
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: The certainty in his voice was so stark that the
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: room itself seemed to draw still. No, the inspector sputtered.
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: Poirot held out the bottle. There are fingerprints, but not hers.
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: The inspector blinked. Evangeline, standing in the doorway, gasped. Colonel
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: Godfrey hurried forward, his voice hoarse and breaking. Clara, Clara,
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: my dear, why... She stirred, her eyelids fluttered. For a moment,
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: her voice, weak and distant, emerged like a whisper from
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: far away. I did not choose this, Poirot nodded.
• 43:17
  Speaker 2: I know, madame.
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: Clara sank back again, barely conscious. Poirot turned to the colonel.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: Someone wished it to appear as though your wife took
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: her own life, he said, either to escape guilt or grief,
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: to close the matter, to end suspicion. But she did
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: not do this of.
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: Her own will.
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: The colonel stared at the bottle as though it were
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: a serpent. My God, he whispered, you mean someone tried
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: to kill my wife? Poirot gave a small solemn bow. Yes, Colonel,
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: and this attempt tells us something very important. He began
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: to pace, not theatrically, but with intense clarity, every movement
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: part of the deduction taking shape before our eyes. Consider,
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: if Clara dies, the suspicion of her guilt seems complete.
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: The murderer would be safe. The inheritance matters would go
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: forward without objection. The household returns to silence. Only one
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: person benefits from such an ending. Evangeline flinched.
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: Just slightly.
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: Poirot saw it. But he did not accuse.
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: Not yet.
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: Instead, he turned, slowly, to Reeves, who stood in the
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: corner of the room, hands folded, posture composed. You brought
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: tea earlier, Reeves.
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: You poured for Madame Godfrey yourself.
• 44:44
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Poirot's voice dropped. Quiet, devastating. And you brought milk,
• 44:50
  Speaker 2: did you not? Yes.
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: Poirot held his gaze a moment longer, then turned to
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: the writing desk. Clara's diary lay open. Poirot did not
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: touch it. He simply read. Her final written words were
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: visible at the top of the page. If he signs
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: the will today, then all is lost. Poirot closed his eyes.
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: Just once.
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: As though confirming something deeply, privately known to him. He
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: looked back to Reeves. You are a man accustomed to
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: being overlooked, he said softly. A man in every room,
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: yet invisible. A man who carries the keys, the cups,
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: the letters. He stepped closer. And a man who hears
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: far more than others realize. Reeves' expression did not change,
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: but his breath did. It hitched, the faintest, smallest sound,
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: But Poirot heard it. We all heard it. Evangeline gasped.
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: Colonel Godfrey staggered back as though struck. Poirot did not
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: yet name him. He simply said, the murderer is afraid.
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: Reeves's jaw clenched. Poirot's voice, soft as rain, finished. And fear,
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: mes amis, reveals everything. The doctor arrived within minutes. a thin,
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: spectacled man with an air of quiet competence. Clara Godfrey
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: was carried gently to the eye-taught guest-room adjacent to the
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: landing where the doctor administered treatment and assured us she
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: would recover consciousness by morning, if undisturbed. The laudanum had
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: not been enough, by some providence, to end her life,
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: but the intent was unmistakable. Inspector Galloway was determined to
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: act at once. I'll take the butler in for questioning,
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: he declared, puffing himself up like a kettle about to whistle.
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: A man in his position, access to everything, motive to
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: secure advantage for the girl, perhaps. Poirot raised a hand.
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: Just a hand, one gesture, and the inspector stopped speaking.
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: No, no, no, you think.
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: Too quickly, always too quickly, Poirot murmured. Reeves is connected,
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: but not by greed. not by inheritance, not by personal gain.
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: He turned to the colonel. You must tell us the
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: truth now. Colonel Godfrey looked exhausted, older than he had
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: when we arrived only hours earlier. I don't know what
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: you mean, he said, but the words were hollow, rehearsed.
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: Poirot nodded as though expecting exactly that. He moved to
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: the library once again.
• 47:37
  Speaker 2: We followed.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: The colonel reluctantly, Evangeline hesitantly, Inspector Galloway, indignantly. Reeves came last,
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: silent as always. Poirot stood before the desk, before the
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: blotter with the faint indentation of writing. Hastings, he said,
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: the graphite if you please. I took a soft pencil
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: and a sheet of thin paper from Poirot's case, which
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: he always carried, much as a soldier carries ammunition. Poirot
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: laid the clean paper gently atop the blotter, and shaded lightly.
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: Back and forth, impatient, delicate strokes. Slowly, the shape of
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: words emerged, as though a ghost had begun speaking from
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: the fibers of the page. Avery's handwriting unmistakable.
• 48:27
  Speaker 2: She knows.
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: She has found out. The room went very still. Poirot
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: stepped aside so each person could see the words.
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: She knows. She has found out.
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: The Repetition in silence, carried accusation. Clara Godfrey. She knew something,
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: and Avery knew she knew. Poirot spoke softly. Lionel Avery
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: did not come merely to discuss the will today. He
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: came because something had changed. Someone had revealed something to
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: Clara Godfrey that should have remained hidden. Something that, once known,
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: placed someone in danger. Evangeline was pale now.
• 49:09
  Speaker 2: Not with anger. But fear. What did she know? She whispered.
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: Poirot's eyes flicked upward. Ah, the question he had been
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: waiting for.
• 49:20
  Speaker 2: For.
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: You ask, Poirot said gently, as though you do not
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: already know. Evangeline flinched. Poirot turned. Not to Evangeline, not
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: to the Colonel, but to Reeves. You have served this
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: household for how many years?
• 49:37
  Speaker 2: Thirty-two, sir.
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: And in that time you have seen everything. Lovers' quarrels, illnesses, finances, betrayals.
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: A flicker, just a flicker, crossed Reeves' steady expression. Poirot's
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: voice softened further. You cared for Clara. Greatly, Reeves swallowed.
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: Not denial, not yet admission, but reaction. Poirot continued. You
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: saw her fade. You saw the Colonel grow weary of
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: her sadness. You saw the loneliness that settled on her
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: like a veil. The Colonel closed his eyes. Evangeline bowed
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: her head. Poirot did not look away from Reeves. And
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: when Evangeline came, lively, kind, capable, you saw the Colonel
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: turn toward her instead. The truth slipped into the room then.
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: Not explosive, but quiet. I felt it as one feels
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: the closing of a door. Reeves's voice, when it came,
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: was low. She suffered, he said.
• 50:42
  Speaker 2: Mrs.
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: Godfrey, she suffered while he, while they. But Poirot raised
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: a finger once more, not to silence him, but to
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: direct him. Yes, Poirot said. And you believed you were
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: protecting her, shielding her. But Monsieur Avery, he knew, he saw.
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: He was a man who watched the weaknesses of others,
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: and he discovered yours. Reeves' hands were no longer still.
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: He threatened to tell, Reeves whispered. To reveal everything, the
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: Colonel's intentions, the new will, Evangeline's, her presence.
• 51:19
  Speaker 2: He would have.
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: Destroyed Madame entirely. Boirot nodded, and then... He surprised us.
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: He stepped closer to Reeves.
• 51:28
  Speaker 2: Closely.
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: Close enough to touch him. And so you killed him.
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: Reeves closed his eyes. But Poirot did not accuse further,
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: because something was wrong. Poirot's voice sharpened. No, not quite.
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: You did not kill him for Clara. You're too honest,
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: too loyal, too straightforward a man. Reeves opened his eyes slowly.
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: Something lost there. Poirot stepped back. You killed because someone
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: asked you to. Evangeline gasped. The colonel staggered and gripped
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: the back of a chair. Poirot turned, slowly, to the doorway.
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: Clara Godfrey stood there, awake, pale, still, watching the rain.
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: She spoke at last. Her voice was calm, not weak,
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: not broken, clear. I told him, she said. I told
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: Reeves to do it. The silence that followed was absolute,
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: rain tapping softly against glass. Poirot bowed his head, not
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: in triumph, but in grief. For love, he said quietly.
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: For the kind of love that suffers in silence. Clara nodded.
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: He would have taken everything, she whispered. Not the house,
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: not the money, everything. My dignity, my place, my life.
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: Evangeline stared, tears rising. The colonel covered his face. Reeves
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: bowed his head. Poirot lifted his gaze. The truth, mes amis?
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: is not finished, but now we see the heart of it.
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: We assembled in the drawing room for the last time,
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: though assembled is perhaps not the right word. We did
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: not gather by choice. We gathered because Poirot willed it,
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: and when Hercule Poirot wills a gathering, one does not refuse.
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: Clara Godfrey sat in the high-backed chair near the window,
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: hands folded in her lap, her eyes fixed, not on
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: the rain now, but on the people in the room,
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: She looked composed. Not cold, not numb. Composed as though
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: a decision had finally settled into place inside her. Reeves
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: stood behind her. Not beside her. Behind her, like a
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: sentinel who had already chosen the end of his road,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: whatever it may be. Colonel Godfrey was by the fireplace,
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: though I doubt he felt its warmth. He looked hollowed,
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: a man suddenly aware that the world is larger, darker,
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: and more fragile than he had believed. The edges of
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: his certainty had frayed. Evangeline sat rigid, her face pale,
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: her hands clasped tightly in her lap. I could not
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: tell if she was terrified of what would be revealed,
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: or of what would remain unsaid. Inspector Galloway waited grudgingly,
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: notebook in hand, frustration wrestling with reluctant respect. He was
• 54:26
  Speaker 1: beginning at last to understand that Poirot's methods were not indulgence,
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: They were precision. Poirot stood in the center of the room,
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: small and immaculate, every line of his suit in perfect order.
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: It struck me then that he seemed not triumphant, but sorrowful.
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: He loved truth, but he did not enjoy the wounds
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: it exposed. He began quietly. There are two crimes we
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: speak of today, one that has been committed and one
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: that was attempted, and both mes amis. were born of
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: the same emotional poison. He turned to the colonel. You
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: loved your wife once, deeply, and she loved you, but
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: sorrow came to her, not suddenly, but slowly, like fog
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: gathering over water. She withdrew, not because she ceased to care,
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: but because she could not find the way back to
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: the world. The colonel's expression trembled. I know, he whispered.
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: I know. I did not know how to reach her.
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: And so you stopped trying, Poirot said. Not harshly, simply truthfully.
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: And in your loneliness, you turned to Mademoiselle Drew. Evangeline
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: flinched but did not protest. It was not an affair
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: of passion, Poirot continued. It was an affair of warmth,
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: of being seen, of being listened to. But such warmth,
• 55:55
  Speaker 1: given in the presence of a suffering wife, becomes a cruelty.
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: whether intended or not. Clara spoke then, her voice clear.
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: It was not the love that hurt me, it was
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: the replacement. The Colonel bowed his head, stricken. Poirot nodded gently,
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: then turned his gaze to Reeves. You, Reeves, saw this pain.
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: You saw Madame losing everything that tethered her to this world.
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: Her identity, her home, her dignity. You loved her, not romantically.
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: but with loyalty, devotion, constancy. You loved her more faithfully, perhaps,
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: than her own husband. Reeves closed his eyes. Just once.
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: Poirot continued. When Lionel Avery discovered the intimacy, emotional or otherwise,
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: between the Colonel and Mademoiselle Drew, he saw opportunity. He
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: used it to persuade the Colonel to change the will.
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: Not for Evangeline's sake. Avery cared nothing for her. but
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: for legal control, influence, power. A solicitor with a fragile
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: marriage at his disposal is a dangerous creature. Colonel Godfrey
• 57:06
  Speaker 1: made a sound of pain, a quiet, breaking sound. Poirot
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: spoke more softly now, the tone of a man revealing
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: something delicate. Clara discovered the truth. She confronted Avery, and
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: she told Reeves. Clara's eyes lifted to Reeves, and this time,
• 57:27
  Speaker 1: The expression between them was unmistakable. Shared suffering. Shared guilt.
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: Shared love. But Poirot held up a finger. Madame Godfrey
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: did not ask Reeves to kill Avery. No. She simply
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: said that she could bear no more. Clara's voice was
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: barely more than breath. I did not say the words.
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: I did not need to. He understood. Poirot nodded. And
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: so Reeves took the letter opener. He entered the library quietly.
• 58:00
  Speaker 1: Avery was turned away. One swift motion, planned precise. And
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: it was done. The room did not move. No breath,
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: no gasp, only the soft ticking of the clock. But
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: the murderer did not attempt to poison Madame Godfrey. Poirot continued,
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: turning his gaze now, slowly, toward Evangeline. Evangeline's face drained
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: of all choler. Poirot's voice remained calm. Mademoiselle Drew brought
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: the laudanum. She placed it in the tea. Because Reeves
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: killed for love. But you tried to kill for fear.
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: If Clara lived, the truth would emerge. The inheritance matter
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: would unravel. You would be cast out.
• 58:43
  Speaker 2: Again. Unseen.
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: Unwanted.
• 58:47
  Speaker 2: Forgotten. Tears spilled. Silent.
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: Unrestrained. Down Evangeline's face. I couldn't go back, she whispered.
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: not to nothing, not again. Poirot gave a small sorrowful nod.
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: The crime of Reeves was loyalty twisted. The crime of
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: Mademoiselle Drew was desperation made reckless, both tragic, both human.
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: He stepped back. The law will take one.
• 59:14
  Speaker 2: Life, the other. There was no dramatic outcry. No collapse.
• 59:20
  Speaker 2: Only quiet.
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: Evangeline wept softly. Reeves placed his hands behind his back
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: for shackles that had not yet been offered. Clara closed
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: her eyes, but did not weep. The colonel knelt beside her,
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: not as a husband claiming his wife, but as a
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: man petitioning forgiveness. Poirot looked toward the rain-washed window. Human hearts,
• 59:45
  Speaker 1: he murmured, are the most fragile instruments, and the most dangerous.
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: It was near midnight when the house at Willowbank Terrace
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: grew still again. The storm outside had softened to a
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: fine mist and the rain now barely more than a
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: memory pressing against the darkened panes. The air inside the
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: drawing room remained heavy, though not with dread now, but
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: with consequence. Inspector Galloway, after a long and reluctant silence,
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 1: stepped toward Reeves. I'm afraid, he said heavily. I must
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: place you under arrest for the murder of Lionel Avery.
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: Reeves nodded once. Not as a man defeated, but as
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: a man who accepts a debt long owed, There's no
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: need for handcuffs, sir, he said quietly.
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 2: I will come willingly.
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: Before Galloway could escort him out, Clara Godfrey rose from
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: her chair.
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 2: Wait.
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: Reeves turned to her, and in that moment, for the
• 1:00:45
  Speaker 1: first time since we had arrived, she looked at him.
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 2: Fully. Directly.
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: The quiet, unwavering gaze of a woman who has nothing
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: left to hide. You should not have done it, she
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: said softly. Reeves held her gaze.
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: She stepped closer. But I understand why you did. Something
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: passed between them. Not romance, not longing.
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 2: Something deeper. Recognition.
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: That they had lived, side by side, in the same grief,
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 1: the same silence, the same dimming of the world. Reeves
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: bowed his head once and allowed the inspector to lead
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 1: him away. The door closed behind them, Evangeline Drew remained seated,
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 1: as though held there by invisible weight. Galloway had not
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 1: arrested her.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 2: Not yet.
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: The law would require deliberation, statements, examination of Clara's near poisoning.
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: Poirot had offered no official condemnation, merely truth. The law
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: would decide her fate. Yet Evangeline did not look to him,
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 1: nor to the inspector. She looked only at Clara.
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry. she whispered.
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: For what I did. For what I was. For what
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: I wanted. Clara did not answer immediately. Then, we were
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: both drowning, Clara said. You reached for something to hold you.
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: I reached for nothing. That is the only difference. Evangeline's
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: shoulders shook. Not the violence of sobbing, but the quiet
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 1: collapse of a life that has finally stopped pretending. Poirot
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 1: stepped toward her. his voice gentle, astonishingly gentle. Mademoiselle Drew,
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 1: you are young. You believed love could replace emptiness. You
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: believed recognition would heal you. These are tender and human mistakes,
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: but they led you to a terrible act. A tear
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 1: slid down her cheek. Poirot continued. You must surrender yourself
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 1: before the law. You must accept what comes, and then,
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: when the years have softened what now feels unbearable, you
• 1:02:58
  Speaker 1: may yet begin again. Evangeline nodded, slowly, painfully, as though
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 1: each movement cost her breath. It was Colonel Godfrey who
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: finally spoke. I will see that she has counsel, he
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: said hoarsely. Clara looked at him, only briefly, and for
• 1:03:18
  Speaker 1: the first time, there was no accusation there. No pain,
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 1: only exhaustion. Poirot inclined his head. You will do what
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 1: is right, Colonel. Not for yourself. Not for forgiveness. But
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: because decency is sometimes all that remains to us. Later,
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: Poirot and I stood in the entrance hall, preparing to depart.
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: The house was silent now, though not empty. Lives were
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 1: still inside it. Wounds, futures, consequences. And yet, the air
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: felt lighter. The storm had passed. I turned to Poirot.
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 1: There were moments, I admitted, when I thought you were wrong,
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: when I believed Clara had done it, when I believed
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 1: Reeves acted alone, when I believed Evangeline was merely a victim.
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: Poirot smiled, the faintest curve of his moustache. Cher Hastings,
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: you always see the pieces, but not the design. It
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: is your great charm and your great limitation. I bristled, faintly.
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 1: Then what was the key? The first clue, I mean.
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 1: Poirot lifted one elegant finger.
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 2: The rain. I blinked. The rain? Yes.
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 1: The woman who watches the rain, he said softly. A
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 1: woman who watches the world pass, but does not move.
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 1: A woman who has ceased to act. A woman resigned.
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: Such a woman does not kill.
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 2: She endures. She sinks. She suffers. But she does not stab.
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: It was her nature that solved the crime.
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 2: He stepped toward the door. And Reeves? His shoes were.
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: Dry when we found the body. The library windows were open.
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 1: The rain drifted inside. Anyone who had been outside would
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: have left damp prints. Reeves had not left Clara's side
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: before the murder. I could read it in the way
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: she held herself. Their loyalty was shared, not hidden. His
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 1: violence was her grief given shape. but her hands were
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 1: clean of the act. Poirot paused, adjusting his hat.
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 2: And Evangeline?
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 1: Ah, when someone tries to disappear, Hastings, watch the desperation
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: in their eyes. The laudanum was not Reeve's way. It
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: was hers. We stepped outside. The rain had stopped entirely now,
• 1:05:47
  Speaker 1: leaving the air cool, sweet, faintly fragrant with wet earth.
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 1: Poirot breathed it in. There is always a moment, he
• 1:05:56
  Speaker 1: said quietly, when a heart breaks. And if one listens closely,
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 1: one can hear the sound. He looked back at the
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: house one last time. Come, mon ami, there is nothing
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 1: more to be done here. And we left Willowbank Terrace
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: behind us, a house forever changed by what had been
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 1: hidden and what had been revealed.