One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

‘Then he must have gone out soon after me?’

‘That’s right, sir. You went out after I’d taken up a toff what come in a Rolls. Coo—it was a loverly car, Mr Blunt—eleven-thirty. Then I come down and let you out, and a lady in. Miss Some Berry Seal, or something like that—and then I—well, as a matter of fact I just nipped down to the kitchen to get my elevenses, and when I was down there the buzzer went—Mr Reilly’s buzzer—so I come up and, as I say, the American gentleman had hooked it. I went and told Mr Reilly and he swore a bit, as is his way.’

Poirot said:

‘Continue.’

‘Lemme see, what happened next? Oh, yes, Mr Morley’s buzzer went for that Miss Seal, and the toff came down and went out as I took Miss Whatsername up in the lift. Then I come down again and two gentlemen came—one a little man with a funny squeaky voice—I can’t remember his name. For Mr Reilly, he was. And a fat foreign gentleman for Mr Morley.

‘Miss Seal wasn’t very long—not above a quarter of an hour. I let her out and then I took up the foreign gentleman. I’d already taken the other gent into Mr Reilly right away as soon as he came.’

Japp said:

‘And you didn’t see Mr Amberiotis, the foreign gentleman, leave?’

‘No, sir, I can’t say as I did. He must have let himself out. I didn’t see either of those two gentlemen go.’

‘Where were you from twelve o’clock onwards?’

‘I always sit in the lift, sir, waiting until the front-door bell or one of the buzzers goes.’

Poirot said:

‘And you were perhaps reading?’

Alfred blushed again.

‘There ain’t no harm in that, sir. It’s not as though I could be doing anything else.’

‘Quite so. What were you reading?’

‘Death at Eleven-Forty-Five, sir. It’s an American detective story. It’s a corker, sir, it really is! All about gunmen.’

Poirot smiled faintly. He said:

‘Would you hear the front door close from where you were?’

‘You mean anyone going out? I don’t think I should, sir. What I mean is, I shouldn’t notice it! You see, the lift is right at the back of the hall and a little round the corner. The bell rings just behind it, and the buzzers too. You can’t miss them.’

Poirot nodded and Japp asked:

‘What happened next?’

Alfred frowned in a supreme effort of memory.

‘Only the last lady, Miss Shirty. I waited for Mr Morley’s buzzer to go, but nothing happened and at one o’clock the lady who was waiting, she got rather ratty.’

‘It did not occur to you to go up before and see if Mr Morley was ready?’

Alfred shook his head very positively.

‘Not me, sir. I wouldn’t have dreamed of it. For all I knew the last gentleman was still up there. I’d got to wait for the buzzer. Of course if I’d knowed as Mr Morley had done himself in—’

Alfred shook his head with morbid relish.

Poirot asked:

‘Did the buzzer usually go before the patient came down, or the other way about?’

‘Depends. Usually the patient would come down the stairs and then the buzzer would go. If they rang for the lift, that buzzer would go perhaps as I was bringing them down. But it wasn’t fixed in any way. Sometimes Mr Morley would be a few minutes before he rang for the next patient. If he was in a hurry, he’d ring as soon as they were out of the room.’

‘I see—’ Poirot paused and then went on:

‘Were you surprised at Mr Morley’s suicide, Alfred?’

‘Knocked all of a heap, I was. He hadn’t no call to go doing himself in as far as I can see—oh!’ Alfred’s eyes grew large and round. ‘Oo—er—he wasn’t murdered, was he?’

Poirot cut in before Japp could speak.

‘Supposing he were, would it surprise you less?’

‘Well, I don’t know, sir, I’m sure. I can’t see who’d want to murder Mr Morley. He was—well, he was a very ordinary gentleman, sir. Was he really murdered, sir?’

Poirot said gravely:

‘We have to take every possibility into account. That is why I told you you would be a very important witness and that you must try and recollect everything that happened this morning.’

He stressed the words and Alfred frowned with a prodigious effort of memory.

‘I can’t think of anything else, sir. I can’t indeed.’

Alfred’s tone was rueful.

‘Very good, Alfred. And you are quite sure no one except patients came to the house this morning?’

‘No stranger did, sir. That Miss Nevill’s young man came round—and in a rare taking not to find her here.’

Japp said sharply:

‘When was that?’

‘Some time after twelve it was. When I told him Miss Nevill was away for the day, he seemed very put out and he said he’d wait and see Mr Morley. I told him Mr Morley was busy right up to lunch time, but he said: Never mind, he’d wait.’

Poirot asked:

‘And did he wait?’

A startled look came into Alfred’s eyes. He said: