:41:00
is Mrs. Armstrong's
surviving younger sister.
:41:03
Pierre, your passkey.
:41:06
Voilà, monsieur.
:41:08
And will you discreetly procure
me a lady's hatbox,
:41:09
Her Christian name is Helena.
:41:12
Not Elena. No, no, no.
:41:13
one of the big, old-fashioned kind,
:41:14
But Helena.
:41:15
perhaps from the
Princess Dragomiroff's maid?
:41:16
And where did she lose
her Christian name's initial H?
:41:20
Give me five minutes, doctor.
:41:20
She lost it under a convenient grease
spot in her husband's passport.
:41:22
Mr. McQueen, I regret
to have kept you waiting,
:41:24
but there has been much to establish.
:41:26
And why was the grease
spot purposely applied?
:41:27
Please be seated. Now,
Mr. McQueen, I should be grateful
:41:30
for anything you can usefully tell me.
What, for example, is...?
:41:30
Because she and her
husband were afraid
:41:33
Let's get just a couple
of things straight first, Mr. Poirot.
:41:34
that this handkerchief,
bearing the initial H...
:41:36
Who, for example, are you,
and what is your status here?
:41:38
...might lead me to suspect her
of complicity in the murder.
:41:39
Excuse me.
:41:41
I swear before God and on my
word of honor as a gentleman,
:41:41
Monsieur Poirot is a detective,
:41:44
officially delegated to investigate
this case by me.
:41:44
that this handkerchief
does not belong to my wife.
:41:46
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Not at...
:41:47
Let us proceed with the matter in
hand. Your relationship with Ratchett?
:41:48
No. No.
No. No. No.
:41:49
It does not.
:41:50
I'm his... I was his secretary.
:41:51
No. Nor does it belong
to Mrs. Harriet Belinda Hubbard.
:41:52
- For how long?
- A year, give or take.
:41:53
- Where did you meet?
- In Persia.
:41:55
Nor to Fräulein Hildegarde Schmidt,
:41:56
He was collecting Gorgan pottery
with considerable success.
:41:59
whose finest quality is her loyalty.
:42:00
And I was trying to collect oil
concessions, you know,
:42:02
with so little success
that I went bankrupt,
:42:02
The initial is wrong.
:42:04
What is the princess's first name?
:42:04
and he offered me the job. I took it.
:42:06
- And since then?
- Well, we've traveled around.
:42:07
Natalia, mein Herr.
It is a Russian name.
:42:10
He was hampered
by not knowing any languages.
:42:11
In the Russian, or Cyrillic, alphabet,
:42:12
I acted more as his courier
than as his secretary.
:42:13
their capital N
:42:14
It was a pleasant enough job.
:42:15
is written like our capital H.
:42:16
What part of America
did Ratchett come from?
:42:19
I don't know.
:42:20
The fact is, he never talked
about his background.
:42:21
Madame la Princess,
:42:22
should this costly handkerchief
cease to remain an exhibit,
:42:24
- Why, do you think?
- Well, I used to...
:42:25
it will be returned to your
loyal maid for laundering.
:42:27
Well, I began to believe
that he had left America
:42:29
Or is Hildegarde Schmidt
really your maid?
:42:30
to escape something, you know.
:42:32
I have, perhaps, a nose for the aura
of fine food and laid a trap.
:42:32
Or someone. And until a couple
of weeks ago, I think he succeeded.
:42:36
And then?
:42:37
Well, he began to get these
anonymous letters,
:42:37
You are a good cook,
are you not?
:42:40
All my ladies have said so. I...
:42:40
threatening letters, like these.
:42:43
If you are a lady's maid,
:42:45
"I kill killers."
:42:45
your ladies never have a chance
of discovering if you are a good cook.
:42:49
As good a cook as
Hildegarde Schmidt must have been
:42:50
"Prepare to die."
:42:51
to the Armstrong household.
:42:52
- How brief.
- But in a sense, how complicated.
:42:56
Enfin.
:42:56
Last night, I noticed you dispatching
a telegram from Belgrade Station.
:42:58
Who do we now
have here in this car...