Chapter 12
Poirot Elucidates Certain Points‘Why did you measure that overcoat?’ I asked, with some curiosity, as we walked down the hot white road at a leisurely pace.
‘Parbleu! to see how long it was,’ replied my friend imperturbably.
I was vexed. Poirot’s incurable habit of making a mystery out of nothing never failed to irritate me. I relapsed into silence, and followed a train of thought of my own. Although I had not noticed them specially at the time, certain words Mrs Renauld had addressed to her son now recurred to me, fraught with a new significance. ‘So you did not sail?’ she had said, and then had added: ‘After all, it does not matter—now.’
What had she meant by that? The words were enigmatical—significant. Was it possible that she knew more than we supposed? She had denied a
