Conference again.
The Assistant Commissioner，Inspector Crome，Poirot and myself.
The A.C.was saying:
"A good tip that yours，M.Poirot，about checking a large sale of
stockings."
Poirot spread out his hands.
"It was indicated.This man could not be a regular agent.He sold outright
instead of touting for orders."
"Got everything clear so far，inspector?"
"I think so，sir."Crome consulted a file.
"Shall I run over the position to date?"
"Yes，please."
"I've checked up with Churston，Paignton and Torquay.Got a list of
people where he went and offered stockings.I must say he did the thing
thoroughly.Stayed at the Pitt，small hotel near Torre Station.Returned to
the hotel at 10.30on the night of the murder.Could have taken a train from
Churston at 9.57，getting to Torre at 10.20.No one answering to his
description noticed on train or at station，but that Friday was Dartmouth
Regatta and the trains back from Kingswear were pretty full.
"Bexhill much the same.Stayed at the Globe under his own name.Offered
stockings to about a dozen addresses，including Mrs Barnard and including
the Ginger Cat.Left hotel early in the evening.
Arrived back in London about 11.30the following morning.As to Andover，
same procedure.Stayed at the Feathers.Offered stockings to Mrs Fowler，next
door to Mrs Ascher，and to half a dozen other people in the street.The pair
Mrs Ascher had I got from the niece (name of Drower)-they're identical with
Cust's supply."
"So far，good，"said the A.C.
"Acting on information received，"said the inspector，"I went to the
address given me by Hartigan，but found that Cust had left the house about
half an hour previously.He received a telephone message，I'm told.First time
such a thing had happened to him，so his landlady told me."
"An accomplice?"suggested the Assistant Commissioner.
"Hardly，"said Poirot."It is odd that-unless-"We all looked at him
inquiringly as he paused.
He shook his head，however，and the inspector proceeded.That search puts
the matter beyond doubt.I found a block of notepaper similar to that on
which the letters were written，a large quantity of hosiery and-at the back
of the cupboard where the hosiery was stored-a parcel much the same shape
and size but which turned out to contain-not hosiery-but eight new A B C
railway guides!"
"Proof positive，"said the Assistant Commissioner.
"I've found something else，too，"said the inspector-his voice becoming
suddenly almost human with triumph."Only found it this morning，sir.Not had
time to report yet.There was no sigh of the knife in his room-""It would be
the act of an imbecile to bring that back with him，"remarked Poirot.
"After all，he's not a reasonable human being，"remarked the inspector.
"Anway，it occurred to me that he might just possibly have brought it
back to the house and then realized the danger of hiding it (as M.Poirot
points out)in his room，and have looked about elsewhere.
What place in the house would he be likely to select?I got it straight
away.The hall stand-no one ever moves a hall stand.With a lot of trouble I
got it moved out from the wall-and there it was!"
"The knife?"
"The knife.Not a doubt of it.The dried blood's still on it."
"Good work，Crome，"said the A.C.
approvingly."We only need one thing more now."
"What's that?"
"The man himself."
"We'll get him，sir.Never fear."
The inspector's tone was confident.
"What do you say，M.Poirot?"
Poirot started out of a reverie.
"I beg your pardon?"
"We were saying that it was only a matter of time before we got our man.
Do you agree?"
"Oh，that-yes.Without a doubt."
His tone was so abstracted that the others looked at him curiously.
"Is there anything worrying you，M.Poirot?"
"There is something that worries me very much.
It is the why?The motive."
"But，my dear fellow，the man's crazy，"said the Assistant Commissioner
impatiently.
"I understand what M.Poirot means，"said Crome，coming graciously to the
rescue."He's quite right.There's got to be some definite obsession.I think
we'll find the root of the matter in an intensified inferiority
complex.There may be a persecution mania，too，and if so he may possibly
associate M.Poirot with it.He may have the delusion that M.Poirot is a
detective employed on purpose to hunt him down."
"H'm，"said the A.C."That's the jargon that's talked nowadays.In my day
if a man was mad and we didn't look about for scientific terms to soften it
down.I suppose a thoroughly up-to-date doctor would suggest putting a man
like A B C in a nursing home，telling him what a fine fellow he was for
forty-five days on end and then letting him out as a responsible member of
society."
Poirot smiled but did not answer.
The conference broke up.
"Well，"said the Assistant Commissioner.
"As you say，Crome，pulling him in is only a matter of time."
"We'd have had him before now，"said the inspector，"if he wasn't so
ordinary-looking.We've worried enough perfectly inoffensive citizens as it
is."
"I wonder where he is at this minute，"said the Assistant Commissioner.
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