Hm! said the Assistant Commissioner, rubbing his chin. He looked across at Dr Thompson. Suppose we refuse our lunatic the satisfaction of the publicity he craves. Whats he likely to do?
Commit another crime, said the doctor promptly.
Force your hand[157].
And if we splash the thing about in headlines. Then whats his reaction?
Same answer. One way you feed his megalomania, the other you balk it. The results the same. Another crime.
What do you say, M. Poirot?
I agree with Dr Thompson.
A cleft stick[158]eh? How many crimes do you think thislunatic has in mind?
Dr Thompson looked across at Poirot.
Looks like A to Z, he said cheerfully.
Of course, he went on, he wont get there. Not nearly. Youll have him by the heels long before that. Interesting to know how hed have dealt with the letter X. He recalled himself guiltily from this purely enjoyable speculation. But youll have him long before that. G or H, lets say.
The Assistant Commissioner struck the table with his fist.
My God, are you telling me were going to have five more murders?
It wont be as much as that, sir, said Inspector Crome. Trust me.
He spoke with confidence.
Which letter of the alphabet do you place it at, inspector? asked Poirot.
There was a slight ironic note in his voice. Crome, I thought, looked at him with a tinge of dislike adulterating the usual calm superiority.
Might get him next time, M. Poirot. At any rate, Id guarantee to get him by the time he gets to F.
He turned to the Assistant Commissioner.
I think Ive got the psychology of the case fairly clear. Dr Thompson will correct me if Im wrong. I take it that every time ABC brings a crime off, his self-confidence increases about a hundred per cent. Every time he feels Im cleverthey cant catch me! he becomes so over-weeningly confident that he also becomes careless. He exaggerates his own cleverness and everyone elses stupidity. Very soon hed be hardly bothering to take any precautions at all. Thats right, isnt it, doctor?
Thompson nodded.
Thats usually the case. In non-medical terms it couldnt have been put better. You know something about such things, M. Poirot. Dont you agree?
I dont think that Crome liked Thompsons appeal to Poirot. He considered that he and he only was the expert on this subject.
It is as Inspector Crome says, agreed Poirot.
Paranoia, murmured the doctor.
Poirot turned to Crome.
Are there any material facts of interest in the Bexhill case?
Nothing very definite. A waiter at the Splendide at Eastbourne recognizes the dead girls photograph as that of a young woman who dined there on the evening of the 24th in company with a middle-aged man in spectacles. Its also been recognized at a roadhouse place called the Scarlet Runner halfway between Bexhill and London. They say she was there about 9 p.m. on the 24th with a man who looked like a naval officer. They cant both be right, but either of thems probable. Of course, theres a host of other identifications, but most of them not good for much. We havent been able to trace the ABC.
Well, you seem to be doing all that can be done, Crome, said the Assistant Commissioner. What do you say, M. Poirot? Does any line of inquiry suggest itself to you?
Poirot said slowly:
It seems to me that there is one very important cluethe discovery of the motive.
Isnt that pretty obvious? An alphabetical complex. Isnt that what you called it, doctor?
Ça, oui[159], said Poirot. There is an alphabetical complex. But why an alphabetical complex? A madman in particular has always a very strong reason for the crimes he commits.
Come, come, M. Poirot, said Crome. Look at Stoneman in 1929[160]. He ended by trying to do away with anyone who annoyed him in the slightest degree.
Poirot turned to him.
Quite so. But if you are a sufficiently great and important person, it is necessary that you should be spared small annoyances. If a fly settles on your forehead again and again, maddening you by its ticklingwhat do you do? You endeavour to kill that fly. You have no qualms[161] about it. You are importantthe fly is not. You kill the fly and the annoyance ceases. Your action appears to you sane and justifiable. Another reason for killing a fly is if you have a strong passion for hygiene. The fly is a potential source of danger to the communitythe fly must go. So works the mind of the mentally deranged criminal. But consider now this caseif the victims are alphabetically selected, then they are not being removed because they are a source of annoyance to the murderer personally. It would be too much of a coincidence to combine the two.
Thats a point, said Dr Thompson. I remember a case where a womans husband was condemned to death. She started killing the members of the jury one by one. Quite a time before the crimes were connected up. They seemed entirely haphazard. But as M. Poirot says, there isnt such a thing as a murderer who commits crimes at random. Either he removes people who stand (however insignificantly) in his path, or else he kills by conviction. He removes clergymen, or policemen, or prostitutes because he firmly believes that they should be removed. That doesnt apply here either as far as I can see. Mrs Ascher and Betty Barnard cannot be linked as members of the same class. Of course, its possible that there is a sex complex. Both victims have been women. We can tell better, of course, after the next crime