Chapter 25: The Whole Truth

⁠​​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌⁠A slight gesture from Poirot enjoined me to stay behind the rest. I obeyed, going over to the fire and thoughtfully stirring the big logs on it with the toe of my boot.

I was puzzled. For the first time I was absolutely at sea as to Poirot’s meaning. For a moment I was inclined to think that the scene I had just witnessed was a gigantic piece of bombast—that he had been what he called “playing the