Читать книгу The Murder of Roger Ackroyd / Убийство Роджера Экройда онлайн

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Parker transferred a respectful attention to Poirot.

‘Parker,’ said the little man, ‘when you broke down the door with dr Sheppard last night, and found your master dead, what was the state of the fire?’

Parker replied without a pause.

‘It had burned very low, sir. It was almost out.’

‘Ah!’ said Poirot. The exclamation sounded almost triumphant. he went on: ‘Look round you, my good Parker. Is this room exactly as it was then?’

The butler’s eye swept round. It came to rest on the windows.

‘The curtains were drawn, sir, and the electric light was on.’

Poirot nodded approval.

‘Anything else?’

‘Yes, sir, this chair was drawn out a little more.’ he indicated a big grandfather chair to the left of the door between it and the window. I append a plan of the room with the chair in question marked with an X.

‘Just show me,’ said Poirot.

The butler drew the chair in question out a good two feet from the wall, turning it so that the seat faced the door.

‘Voilà ce qui est curieux,’ murmured Poirot. ‘No one would want to sit in a chair in such a position, I fancy. Now who pushed it back into place again, I wonder? did you, my friend?’