Chapter Chirteen A Conference


          Conferences!
         Much of my memories of the A B C case seem to be of conferences.
         Conferences at Scotland Yard.At Poirot's rooms.Official
     conferences.
         Unofficial conferences.
         This particular conference was to decide whether or not the facts
     relative to the anonymous letters should or should not be made public
     in the
     press.
         The Bexhill murder had attracted much attention than the Andover
     one.
         It had，of course，far more elements of popularity.To begin with
     the
     victim was a young and good-looking girl.Also，it had taken placed at
     a
     popular seaside resort.
         All the details of the crime were reported fully and rehashed
     daily in
     thin disguises.The A B C railway guide came in for its share of
     attention.
         The favourite theory was that it had been bought locally by the
     murderer
     and that it was a valuable clue to his identity.It also seemed to show
     that
     he had come to the place by train and was intending to leave for
     London.
         The railway guide had not figured at all in the meagre accounts of
     the
     Andover murder，so there seemed at present little likelihood of the
     two
     crimes being connected in the public eye.
         "We've got to decide upon a policy，"said the Assistant
     Commissioner.
         "The thing is-which way will give us the best results?Shall we
     give the
     public the facts-enlist their cooperation-after all，it'll be the
     cooperation of several million people，looking our for a madman-""He
     won't
     look like a madman，"interjected Dr Thompson.
         "-looking our for sales of A B C's-and so on.Against that I
     suppose
     there's the advantage of working in the dark-not letting our man know
     what
     we're up to，but then there's the fact that he knows very well that we
     know.He's drawn attention to himself deliberately by his letters.Eh，
     Crome，
     

     What's your opinion?"
         "I look at it this way，sir.If you make it public，you're playing
     A B
     C's game.That's what he wants-publicity-notoriety.That's what he's our
     after.I'm right，aren't I，doctor?He wants to make a splash."
         Thompson nodded.
         The Assistant Commissioner said thoughtfully:
         "So you're for balking him.Refusing him the publicity he's
     hankering
     after.What about you，M.Poirot?"
         Poirot did not speak for a minute.When he did it was with an air
     of
     choosing his words carefully.
         "It is difficult for me，Sir Lionel，"he said."I am，as you might
     say，
     an interested party.The challenge was sent to me.If I say "Suppose
     that
     fact-do not make it public，"may it not be thought that it is my
     vanity that
     speaks?That I am afraid for my reputation?It is difficult!To speak
     out-to
     tell all-that has its advantages.It is，at least，a warning......On
     the
     other hand，I am as convinced as Inspector Crome that it is what the
     murderer wants us to do."
         "H'm!"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.What's he likely to do?"
         "Commit another crime，"said the doctor promptly."Force your
     hand."
         "And if we splash the thing about in headlines.Then what's his
     reaction?"
         "Same answer.One way you feed his megalomania，the other you balk
     it.
         The result's the same.Another crime."
         "What do you say，M.Poirot?"
         "I agree with Dr Thompson."
         "A cleft stick-eh?How many crimes do you think this-lunatic has in
     mind?"
         Dr Thompson looked across at Poirot.
         "Looks like A to Z，"he said cheerfully.
         "Of course，"he went on，"he won't get there.Not nearly.You'll
     have him
     by the heels long before that.Interesting to know how he'd have dealt
     with
     the letter X."He recalled himself guiltily from this purely enjoyable
     speculation."But you'll have him long before that.G or H，let's say."
         The Assistant Commissioner struck the table with his fist.
         "My God，are you telling me we're going to have five more
     murders?"
         "It won't 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，I'd guarantee to
     get him
     by the time he gets to F."
         He turned to the Assistant Commissioner.
         "I think I've got the psychology of the case fairly clear.Dr
     Thompson
     will correct me if I'm wrong.I take it that every time A B C brings a
     crime
     off，his self-confidence increases about a hundred percent.Every time
     he
     feels "I'm clever-they can't catch me!"he becomes so over-weeningly
     confident that he also becomes careless.He exaggerates his own
     cleverness
     and everyone else's stupidity.Very soon he'd be hardly bothering to
     take any
     precautions at all.That's right，isn't it，doctor?"
         Thompson nodded.
         "That's usually the case.In non-medical terms it couldn't have
     been put
     better.You know something about such things，M.Poirot.Don't you
     agree?"
         I don't think that Crome liked Thompson's 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 girl's 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.It's also been recognised at a roadhouse place called the
     Scarlet
     Runner half-way between Bexhill and London.They say she was there
     about 9pm
     on the 24th with a man who looked like a naval officer.They can't both
     be
     right，but either of them's probable.Of course，there's a host of
     other
     identifications，but most of them not good for much.We haven't been
     able to
     trace the A B C."
         "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 weems to me that there is one very important clue-the
     discovery of
     the motive."
         "Isn't that pretty obvious?An alphabetical complex.Isn't that what
     you
     called it，doctor?"
         "Ca，oui，"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.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 tickling-what do
     you
     do?You endeavour to kill that fly.You have no qualms about it.You are
     important-the 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 potental
     source of
     danger to the community-the fly must go.So works the mind of the
     mentally
     deranged criminal.But consider now this case-if 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."
         "That's a point，"said Dr Thompson."I remember a case where a
     woman's
     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 isn't 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 doesn't 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，it's possible that there is a sex complex.Both
     victims have
     been women.We can tell better，of course，after the next crime-""For
     God's
     sake，Thompson，don't speak so glibly of the next crime，"said Sir
     Lionel
     irritably."We're going to do all we can to prevent another crime."
         Dr Thompson held his peace and blew his nose with some violence.
         "Have it your own way，"the noise seemed to say."If you won't face
     facts-"The Assistant Commissioner turned to Poirot.
         "I see what you're driving at，but I'm not quite clear yet."
         "I ask myself，"said Poirot，"what passes exactly in the mind of
     the
     murderer?He kills，it would seem from his letters，pour le sport-to
     amuse
     himself.Can that really be true?And even if it is true，on what
     principle
     does he select his victims apart from the merely alphabetical one?If
     he
     kills merely to amuse himself he would not advertise the fact，since，
     otherwise，he could kill with impunity.But no，he seeks，as well all
     agree，
     to make the splash in the public eye-to assert his personality.In what
     way
     has his personality been suppressed that one can connect with the two
     victims he has so far selected?A final suggestion:Is his motive direct
     personal hatred of me，of Hercule Poirot?Does he challenge me in
     public
     because I have (unknown to myself)vanquished him somewhere in the
     course of
     my career?Or is his animosity impersonal-directed against a
     foreigner?And if
     so，what again has led to that?What injury has he suffered at a
     foreigner's
     hand?"
         "All very suggestive questions，"said Dr Thompson.
         Inspector Crome cleared his throat.
         "Oh，yes?A little unanswerable at present，perhaps."
         "Nevertheless，my friend，"said Poirot，looking straight at him，
     "It is
     there，in those questions，that the solution lies.If we knew the exact
     reason-fantastic，perhaps，to us-but logical to him-of why our madman
     commits these crimes，we should know，perhaps，who the next victim is
     likely
     to be."
         Crome shook his head.
         "He selects them haphazard-that's my opinion."
         "The magnanimous murderer，"said Poirot.
         "What's that you say?"
         "I said-the magnanimous murderer!Franz Ascher would have been
     arrested
     for the murder of his wife-Donald Fraser might have been arrested for
     the
     murder of Betty Barnard-if it had not been for the warning letters of
     A B
     C.Is he，then，so soft-hearted that he cannot bear others to suffer
     for
     something they did not do?"
         "I've known stranger things happen，"said Dr Thompson."I've known
     men
     who've killed half a dozen victims all broken up because one of their
     victims didn't die instantaneously and suffered pain.All the same，I
     don't
     think that that is our fellow's reason.He wants the credit of these
     crimes
     for his own honour and glory.That's the explanation that fits best."
         "We've come to no decision about the publicity business，"said the
     Assistant Commissioner.
         "If I may make a suggestion，sir，"said Crome."Why not wait till
     the
     receipt of the next letter?Make it public then-special editions，
     etc.It will
     make a bit of a panic in the particular town named，but it will put
     everyone
     whose name begins with C on their guard，and it'll put A B C on his
     mettle.He'll be determined to succeed.And that's when we'll get him."
         How little we knew what the future held.

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