Elephants Can Remember

Agatha Christie's Elephants Can RememberDramatised by Michael Bakewell
A provocative question posed by a formidable busybody sends Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver on a series of journeys to unravel the mystery of a tragedy from the distant past - provoked in equal measure by love and hate.
Hercule Poirot: John MoffatAriadne: Julia McKenzieChief Superintendent Garroway:Trevor CuthbertsonCelia: Rachel BavidgeDesmond: Ifan MeredithMrs Burton-Cox: Paula JacobsJulia: Jane WenhamNanny: Barbara AtkinsonMrs Buckle: Elizabeth ProudMrs Rosentelle: Jill BalconZelie: Alexandra BastedoMr Goby: Stephen ThorneGeorge: Patrick Garland
Music: Tom SmailProducer/Director:Enyd Williams
The Saturday Play:Sat 7th Jan 200614:30 on BBC Radio 4 FM
Hercule Poirot stood on the cliff-top. For here, many years earlier, there had been a tragic accident – the broken body of a woman was discovered on the rocks at the foot of the cliff. This was followed by the grisly discovery of two more bodies – a husband and wife – shot dead. But who had killed whom? Was it a suicide pact? A crime of passion? Or cold-blooded murder? Poirot delves back into a crime committed 15 years earlier and discovers that, when there is a distinct lack of physical evidence, it’s just as well that ‘old sins leave long shadows.'

Episode Transcript

(00:32):
We present John Moffatt as Hercule Paroand Julia McKenzie as Ariadney Oliver in Agatha
Christie's Elephants Can Remember. The wholestrange, sad story began when my old
friend Ariadney Oliver, celebrated author ofingenious detective stories, was invited to a

(00:57):
literary luncheon for famous writing of theyear. I'm always being invited to these
kinds of affairs, and I nevergo. But I thought I would see
what it felt like. After all, I wouldn't be expected to make a
speech or anything like that. I'venever been able to make speeches. I
get all nerve it much, stammerand say the same thing twice. I
feel silly, and I probably looksilly. Oh I do hope. I'm

(01:22):
going to enjoy myself, And infact, Missus Oliver did enjoy herself very
much. The food was excellent,the company agreeable, and her books were
praised. But then came what shealways regarded as the moment of peril,
when the company rose from table andmoved off towards the chairs and sofas,

(01:44):
where anyone could strike without warning.Missus Oliver, what a pleasure I've been
dying to meet you for such along time. I simply adore your books.
Do come and sit down. Thereare so many things I want to
ask you about. This famp metableseized Missus Oliver firmly by the elbow and

(02:05):
conducted her to a table in thecorner. There. Now we are settled.
I don't suppose you know my name. I am Missus Burton Cox.
Oh yes, I don't. Readingyour books. I have always been struck
by your understanding of human nature,and I feel that if anyone can give
me an answer to the question Iwant to ask, you will be the
one to do it. Will domy best. Of course, I know

(02:27):
you have a goddaughter. I believea girl called Celia Radneyscroft Celia Ravenscroft.
Oh Celia, Oh yes, ofcourse, I'm afraid I haven't seen her
for a long time. Now I'mgoing to confide in you, Missus Oliver.
Oh really, you see, it'sof the greatest importance to me,
because Celia is going to marry orthinks she is going to marry my son

(02:51):
Desmond. Oh really, at leastthat's their idea at present. And there
is something I want to know.It's not the kind of thing I could
ask a stranger. But I don'tfeel you are a stranger, dear missus.
Oliver. Well, it's a longtime since I What I want to
know is this, Did her motherkill her father? Or was it the

(03:13):
father who killed the mother killed?You mean some kind of accident. Oh,
no, it was not an accident. It was somewhere by the sea
Cornwall. I think they were bothfound on the cliff top and they'd been
shot. But there was nothing bywhich the police could tell whether the wife
shot the husband and then killed herself, or whether it was the other way

(03:34):
round. They thought it must havebeen a suicide pact. But of course
there are a lot of stories goingabout at that time. I'm afraid I
really don't know anything about it.I do remember now that there was such
a case, but I never knewanything at all about the details. But
you write those wonderful stories. Youknow all about crimes. I'm sure you
could get people to tell you thestory behind the story. I only write

(03:55):
books. I'm not a private detective. But you could ask your You could
ask Celia. Ask Celia. Idon't see how I could do that.
She must have been no more thana child. When all this happened,
I expect to you all about it. Children always do, and I'm sure
she'd tell you. Why don't youask her yourself? Oh? I really
couldn't do this. I don't thinkDesmond would like it. He's rather touchy

(04:18):
where Celia is concerned. It wouldbe much better if you were the one
to ask her. Dream of doingsuch a thing. But gracious, look,
at the time, I must fly, I have a really important appointment.
A goodbye missus. Bertram Mills Asorry, I can't help you.
We are arranged for her to comeand see me that evening. I seem

(04:43):
to remember that the lady rather likesa glass of kirsh sir, thank you,
George. That will do very well. Oh, I knew it sounds
mad. Well, I thought itwas man whether your god daughter's mother had
kids her father, or whether herfather had killed her mother. That's right,
But was that a matter of fact? Well, it was something that

(05:05):
really happened. They were both foundshort. I can't remember much about it,
but it created quite a sensation atthe time. It must have been
twelve years ago at least. Thewife had been at school with me and
I'd known her quite well. GeneralSir Allister and Lady Ravenscraft, a very
happy couple, had been all overthe world together. Then they bought this

(05:29):
house in Cornwall, and suddenly therewas this story in the papers about them
killing one another or whatever happened.I was in America at the time.
But why should this woman want toknow about it? Well, that's what
I'd like to know. Sheer impertinentof her. I could probably get hold
of Celia, but I haven't thoughtabout her for years. One forgets about

(05:51):
god children when they grow up.And Celia must be twenty five or so
not married. Well, no,apparently she's supposed to be marrying this Burton
coxwoman, and missus Baton Cox doesnot want her son to marry your goddaughter
because her father killed her mother,or her mother killed her father. Well,
I suppose, so it's the onlything I can think. Hmm,

(06:14):
I see your dilemma. It isreally quite intriguing. A woman you have
never met before has put this problemto you without giving any discernible reason.
Well, I might perhaps be ableto find out a little you mean,
through all those exciting friends you've got, Well, I would not call them

(06:35):
exactly exciting. But there are friendswho could go through the records and find
out what was thought about the caseat the time. And I'll track down
Celia and check if she knows anythingabout any of this. And I'd better
see this young man Desmond or whateverhis name is. Yes, I think
you should do that, m AndI suppose there might be people. Is

(06:58):
it likely that anyone would remember afterall this time? They might? What
we need is a few elephants.Pardon did you say elephants? People who
are like elephants, Well, youknow what they say, elephants never forget.
People who will remember things that everyoneelse has forgotten about. Who may

(07:19):
have known the Ravenscroft when they wereabroad or before they moved to Cornwall.
I think I might be able toscratch up a lot of things from people
I knew who knew them? Oram I just being a nosy parker like
this Burton Cox or no, no, no, no no. You have
been given an assignment, even ifit just by someone you instinctively dislike.

(07:42):
Now follow your own path, thepath trodden by your elephants, and who
knows, some of them may remember. And so I rummaged through tall boys,
and shelves and cupboards for my oldaddress books, books I had not
seen for years. By the timeI gone through the wall, I had

(08:05):
quite an assembly of elephants, andthen I set to work to find Celia.
I finally tracked her down to atelephone number in Islington and invited her
round for an early evening drink.Now, would you like sherry or something
else? Serry please? I supposeit must seem rather odd to you my

(08:26):
ringing out of the blue like that. I don't know that it does.
Particularly. I'm afraid I'm not avery conscientious godmother. Why should you be
at my age? I suppose oncegodmotherly duties do come to an end after
a time. I don't even remembercoming to your confirmation. Here you are,
Thank you. Now, i'd bettertell you the reason why I've been

(08:48):
trying to get hold of you.The whole thing is really rather distasteful,
sounds intriguing. You. See.I happen to go to a literary lunch
the day before yesterday, and awoman came up and spoke to me.
I didn't know her, she didn'tknow me, but she said, I
believe you have a goddaughter called CeliaRavenscroft. That was a bit hard.

(09:11):
Was she a friend of mine?I don't know. She said. Her
name was missus Burton Cox. Oh, and she said she thought her son
wanted to marry you. And doyou want to know whether that's so?
No, I don't particularly want toknow. But she said, because you
were my goddaughter, I might beable to ask you to give me a
piece of information which I was clearlymeant to pass on to her. What

(09:35):
information. I don't suppose you willlike what I'm going to say. I
don't like it at all myself.She said, can you find out if
her father murdered her mother or hermother murdered her father? She asked you
that, yes, and she didn'tknow you apart from being an authorss and

(09:58):
being at the party. She didn'tknow me at all. You knew what
she was talking about? Well,I know, I suppose what anyone would
know who was acquainted with your family. That my father and mother, after
he had retired from the army,bought a house by the sea, that
they went out for a walk alongthe cliff path, that they were found
there, both of them shot dead. There was a revolver lying between them

(10:18):
that belonged to my father. Therewas nothing to show whether it was a
suicide, pack to whether my fatherkilled my mother and then shot himself or
the other way round. But perhapsyou knew that already. I knew it
after a fashion. It happened abouttwelve years ago, didn't it about that?
Yes? At that time I wason a lecture tour in America.

(10:39):
I simply read about it in thepapers. I had known your father and
mother when we were much younger,especially your mother because of being at school
with her, and she did askme to be your godmother. But after
that they went abroad somewhere they wentto Malaya. Ah. Yes, Well,
although I saw very little of them, I did see you occasionally to

(11:00):
take me out to shows and thingsand give me lovely food. You were
an unusual child. You liked caviatI still do, though I don't get
off at it very often. Butthis Burton coxwoman, why does she want
to know? Surely it's no businessof hers. Everything's her business. But
let's get one thing straight. Areyou asking what she wanted you to ask

(11:24):
me? You mean, whether yourfather shot your mother or vice versa.
Yes, But what I really wantto know is whether you're going to go
back and tell her No. Quitedefinitely no, I've already told her.
I wouldn't dream of asking you.Oh, I don't mind telling you what
I know, such as it is. You needn't. I'm not asking you.
I know you're not. But theanswer is nothing. Nothing. After

(11:50):
all, I wasn't there. Iwas at a ponsna in Switzerland. Was
there anyone living in the house withthem at the time. There was an
elderly woman they called the house,but though she didn't actually live in and
there was a foreign girl who'd beenmy governess and who'd come back to look
after my mother because she'd just comeout of hospital. And there was an
aunt who I never liked very much. I don't know whether she was there,

(12:15):
but I can't imagine that any ofthem would have wanted to kill my
parents. I hope I hadn't distressedyou by bringing up all this. You
haven't distressed me. But what Ihave come to realize is that I don't
know what my mother and father werereally like, how they lived and what
mattered to them. And I wouldlike to know how they died and why

(12:39):
they had to die like that,because then I shouldn't have to think about
it anymore. You mean you dothink about it? Yes, I think
about it nearly all the time.Now I'm getting to have a thing about
it, if you know what Imean. And I know Desmond feels the
same. The following day I hadlunch in a quiet restaurant off Fitzroy Street

(13:03):
with an elephant of my own,an elephant my old friend's, Superintendent Spence,
had tracked down for me. I'mretired now, of course, but
one remember certain things, things thatthe general public has long forgotten. Chief
Superintendent Gallaway was a tall, thin, rather ecclesiastical looking man who had been

(13:26):
the officer in judge of the originalinvestigation. And I certainly remember the Ravenscroft
case very well. Wasn't an easyone to forget. You mean there were
discrepancies or alternative theories, O,nothing of that kind. All the evidence
supported the visible facts. And yetyes, it was all wrong. I

(13:46):
felt sure of it, but therewasn't anything I could do. The deaths
had all the marks of a suicidepact. But in most cases one some
idea of white app and in thiscase there was no real idea. Is
that it? Yes, that's it. They were at middle aged couple living
happily together. They went for walkswith a dog, played piquette and poker

(14:07):
patience with each other in the evenings. The children caused them no anxiety.
The boy was away at public school, the girl at the Poncion Aunt Switzerland.
What exactly happened on the day oftheir dead They went for a walk
and took the revolval with them,so that it couldn't have been a spur
of the moment decision. There wereblood fingerprints that chowd that both of them
had handled it, but there wasnothing to show which of them had actually

(14:31):
fired the shots. So why thetrouble was? I simply didn't know anything
about them. You mean the reasonmay have lain somewhere in the past.
That's what I wondered. Where wasI the look? Was it something that
had happened before they married or duringtheir time out in Malayer? So who
was in the house when the shootinghappened? I've made out a list.

(14:56):
There was a Missus Whitzaker, anelderly cook house keep her, but it
was her day off, so wecouldn't get much from her. There was
a young foreign woman staying there,who had been a governess to the Ravenscroft
children once, but she wasn't ableto contribute anything very much. And there
was a gardener who wasn't much usedto us either. That a stranger might
have come from outside, a strangerfrom the past. Is that your idea?

(15:22):
Just a theory? But there wasno evidence of any kind, and
so we had to settle for theidea of a suicide pact. Josh,
I am expecting missus Oliver to arriveat any moment. She will probably be

(15:43):
exhausted after chasing her elephants. Really, sir, if you would be so
good as to prepare coffee, yes, monsieur Warro, and some pity for
I rather think I owed it somerecently from Fortman Mason's. And a look
of any kind, sir um creameddemand perhaps, and my usual seeroptic has

(16:04):
he Let me tell you a fewof the things I've gathered have a pretty
fool thank you. Sweet things giveyou a lot of vitality, I always
think, hmm, oh, delicious. So I started off with the honorable
Julia Carstairs. I reckon she wasbound to remember the Ravenscrafts. They moved

(16:26):
in similar circles. She must beeighty if she's a day and lives in
a Grace and Favor apartment at HamptonCourt. But it took me some time
to steer her around to the matterin hand. Oh. Yes, the
general had a very distinguished career,didn't he. His wife was called Margaret.
I think we always called her Mollyat school. Ah, she used

(16:49):
to wear a week I'm not sureshe didn't try to persuade me to get
one. She said it was souseful when you went traveling abroad. She
had several of them, including aspecial one for evening wear. Was she
wearing awake when she was shot?I've really no idea. I mean,
if you were going to shoot yourhusband, you wouldn't wear a wig,

(17:10):
would you. Do you think shedid shoot him? Well, there are
a lot of stories going the roundsabout him or her. They said he
was involved with some young woman whodid some kind of secretarial work for him.
He was writing his memoirs and sheused to take dictation from him.
She wasn't very young, she wasn'tparticularly good looking. But people said that

(17:34):
he might have shot his wife becausehe wanted to marry her. Not that
I really believed it. What doyou think? Well? I did hear
from some cousins of mine who gotto know them in Malaya that she was
embroiled with some man or other,But there was nothing nearer home. You

(17:55):
know. I can't help thinking thatthere might have been the wigs. For
one thing. I don't see howthe whigs come into him wanting to improve
her appearance, and she always worea good deal of make up, so
it might have been a crime ofjealousy. It's quite possible. What kind

(18:15):
of hand bag was she carrying?I had no idea. You see,
if she were going to get ridof him, she would have had to
have taken the revolver with her inher hand bag, so it would have
had to have been quite roomy.One has to think of the practical side
of things. The difficulty is thatalthough people may remember what happened, they

(18:36):
have no idea why they are simplyinventing a solution to something they really know
nothing about. I didn't get somethingfrom my old nanny, though. Do
you mind if I had another prettyfor oh, please help yourself? Thanks.
She used to tell me about peopleshe'd met in the services abroad,
Indians I am, and so forth. So I went to see her because

(18:57):
I was certain she must have runinto the Rave and Scrofts, or at
least heard about them. She cameup with a very strange story. I
was out there in Malaya when ithappened, naturally, I wasn't mixed up
in it myself, but I shallnever forget it, mind you. They
said she'd always been queer ever sinceshe was a child. She took a

(19:17):
baby out of its pram and threwit into the river. Or jealousy,
some said. Other people thought shewanted the baby to go to heaven and
not have to wait, Is it, Lady Ravenscroft to me, Well,
that's what they said. Apparently she'dbeen in a kind of mental place ever
since she was eleven or twelve yearsold. But then they decided she was
all right again, and so shegot married to someone in the army.

(19:41):
But her husband died and she wentout to Malaya, and that was when
it happened. What happened. Therewas a little girl who'd come to play
that afternoon, and it was justlike the time before. Mind you.
There were some who said it wasn'ther at all, but the amma that
did it. That the amma hadbeen fond of the child and was very
upset. It can't possibly have beenLady Ravenscroft. She went out to Malaia

(20:04):
with her husband and her children,telling you what they told me. I
suppose it might have been her sisterand they got muddled, or the husband's
sister, whoever she was. Theytook her back to England after that,
and I never heard what became ofher. I haven't thought about it for
years. Do you think I couldhave a tiny glass of grem de manster?

(20:26):
Of course, madame. Of course, there's no way it could have
been Molly. It's quite ridiculous.Did she or the General have a sister?
I don't know about him, butMolly certainly did. One of my
elephants remembered her. Oh thank youdelicious. And if that frightful Burton coxwoman

(20:47):
has somehow got wind of the storiesabout the attacks on the children. That's
not necessarily know that the story ishow true. No, of course one
doesn't. But it might have sether wondering whether there was some streak of
madness in Molly, and whither shemight have shot her husband, in which
case Celia might have inherited some kindof homicidal gene, whereas if it was

(21:07):
the General who killed Molly it wouldbe all right. You mean she would
think that inherited insanity you could onlypass through the female line will She didn't
strike me as a very clever typeof woman. Hmm. And did your
Elephantine Horace searches produce any other theories? Oh? Yes. Missus Buckle,
who used to work for the Ravenscroftstwo or three mornings a week when they

(21:29):
lived in Cornwall, had a farmore down to earth explanation. She thought
the gardener might have done it.Wizzle. His name was Fred Whizzle.
They gather. He'd been in prisononce or twice earlier in his life.
But the General was very keen togive him a certain chance. And of
course leopards don't change their spots,do they. You mean the General caught

(21:52):
him doing something he shouldn't have beendoing, as cheating him or something like
that, and he was gonna suckhim. Were the Ravenscrofts in good health
during the time you worked for them? Wow? General was starting to feel
his age a bit. He'd hadsome heart trouble or a slight stroke or
something of the sort. And LadyRavenscroft she'd been in hospital for an operation

(22:14):
of some kind, though she nevertold me what it was. And how
was she when she came back fromhospital? Well, I thought she looked
lifelier if anything, and of courseshe looked very pretty in those wigs of
hers. They all was suited ather children were away at the time of
the shooting, weren't there, that'sright? The daughter what was her name,
now, Celia? She's my goddaughter, of course she is. I

(22:38):
remember you coming and taking her out. Oh, but she was in Switzerland
when it happened, I'm glad tosay, because it would have been a
terrible shock for her if she'd beenat home and discovered them. And there
was a boy too, wasn't there. Oh, yes, Master Edward,
But he wasn't at home at thetime of the murder. No, he'd
been sent back to school early forsome reason. And there was a sister,

(23:00):
yes there was, but she wasn'tthere either. I have an idea
that she was a half sister,though she did look rather like Lady Ravenscraft.
There was always a bit of troublewhen she came for a visit.
She was one of those people whodo like stirring things up. She said
things to annoy people. Was LadyRavenscroft fond of her? Well, if

(23:21):
you ask me, I don't thinkshe was really. I think her sister
more or less wished herself on toher, and she found her pretty trying
to have a round. The generalquite liked her. I think they used
to play chess together sometimes. Didyou like her? If you don't mind
my saying so, I didn't carefor at all A born troublemaker. But

(23:42):
as I say, she hadn't beendown there for some time when the tragedy
occurred. I still think it wasFred Wizzle a little more climbed amonth love
some thanks. In the end,we keep coming back to the same question.
Why Why were the deaths of thesetwo people necessary? They appear to

(24:03):
have been happy, and despite thatstory about the gardener, I do not
seriously believe that anyone bore a grudgeagainst them. But there must have been
some reason. Oh yes, yes, I am sure there was. But
how can one really know what happenedwhen one is separated from these people by
such a gulf of years? Doyou think we ought to give it all

(24:26):
up. I believe it would bevery wise to give it up. But
ah, there comes a time whenone no longer wants to be wise.
I have an interest now in thiscouple, and they're nice children. I
suppose they are nice children. Idon't really know Edward at all. I

(24:48):
don't even know whether he's in England. But I could arrange for you to
meet Celia if you like. Yes, I would like to meet her if
you can find some way to bringit about. And there is someone else
I would like to see. Whois that? Your nosy Parker friend,
Missus Burton Cox. She's no friendof mine, but you could resume your
acquaintance with her quite easily. Iwould think she'd probably jump at it.

(25:12):
I should like to find out whyshe wants to know these things. Yes,
yes, I suppose that might beuseful. Your chocolate, monsieur porro,
Thank you, Jarge. And there'sa message from a Desmond Burton Cox.
Ah, he wishes to make anappointment to come and see you.

(25:34):
He had been hoping to get intouch with Missus Oliver that he has been
given to understand that she is awayhunting elephants, and so he has applied
directly to you. Very good.Now, would you be so kind as
to inform Missus Lemon of all thisand Beranger? Time for the young gentleman
to come and see me? Certainlyso any time tomorrow would be perfectly suitable,

(25:57):
although perhaps not too early. It'sgoing to be rather difficult to explain.
I'm afraid many things are difficult toexplain. But you're not worried.
We have plenty of time. You'rea detective, aren't you. I mean
you find things out. People cometo you and ask you to find things

(26:19):
out for them. Yes, thatis one of my tasks in life.
Or I don't suppose you know anythingabout me. I know a little,
you mean from your friend Missus Oliver. She had a meeting with the goddaughter
of hers and miss Celia Raven'scraft.Yes, Celia told me about that.
But this, Missus Oliver, doesshe know my mother very well? I
believe she hardly knows her at all. According to Missus Oliver, your mother

(26:42):
approached her at a literary luncheon andmade her rather unusual request. She had
no business to do. So.Now I understand there is the possibility of
a marriage between you and Celia Raven'sCraft, perhaps in the near future.
Yes, but that's no reason whymy mother should go around approaching total strangers
with outragers questions me, Are youvery much attached to your mother? No,

(27:07):
I wouldn't say that, you see, as a matter of fact,
she really isn't my mother at all. Ah, I had not understood that
I'm adopted. She had a sonwho died when he was a little boy,
so she decided to adopt a child, and she brought me up as
her own. She always speaks ofme as hers and thinks of me as

(27:27):
hers, but I'm not. Withnothing in common. We don't look at
things in the same way, ofcourse, not why should you. I
don't seem to be getting on withwhat I wanted to ask you. She
want me to find out something,and I presume that's something concerned Celia Ravenscroft.
Yes, well that does cover it. I don't know whether you know

(27:49):
about well, what all the troubleis about. I know it concerns the
death of Miss Ravenscroft's parents. Nobodyseems to know exactly what happened. But
I don't see why we should getso worked up about it, and it's
certainly no business of my mother's.And she's got Celia into a state where
she doesn't really know whether she wantsto marry me or not? And wht

(28:11):
about you? Do you still wantto marry her? Yes, of course
I do. In fact, I'mabsolutely determined to marry her. But she
won't agree to our marrying until shefinds out exactly what happened all those years
ago. And she thinks my motherknows something about it. Did you know
General and Lady Ravenscroft personally? Imay have met them when I was a

(28:32):
child, but I don't really remember. But I've known Celia more or less
all my life. Her parents werein Malaya, and so were mine.
I think they must have met outthere. And is your father still alive?
No, he died out in Malaya. But it was while they were
out there that my mother heard rumorsabout the Raven's Crofts. And she keeps
hinting at things that can't possibly betrue, but she's got Celia worried sick

(28:57):
about it all. Tell me aboutthese rumors concerning the Ravenscrafts. Lady Ravenscroft
was supposed to have been in amental home. There's something to do with
a child who died in an accidentof some sort. It's probably nothing but
gossip. You know how they gettogether. All the servants have a good
old chin wag, saying things thatcan't possibly be true. Am I right

(29:19):
in thinking that Celia feels she cannotmarry you until she is quite sure?
There is no mental floor passed onto her by her mother. It's been
put into her head by my mother. And I have a nasty belief that
my mother wants there to be asuspicion of insanity in her heredity. It
will not be an easy thing toinvestigate. Whom do you suggest I should

(29:42):
question? Well, I don't meanI want you to go out to Malaya
or anything like that. I doubtwhether there's anyone out there who would still
remember. But there are two peoplein Switzerland who might know what happened and
why. But if that is thecase, why do you not go to
them? Well? I could,I suppose, but I know I wouldn't

(30:03):
be able to ask them some ofthe things I want to ask, and
I don't think Celia would either.You see, they're very nice people.
And I wouldn't want to make themfeel guilty. Why should they feel guilty
because they might have been able todo something to prevent what happened but didn't
or or couldn't. I'm afraid I'mputting this rather badly. No, no,

(30:25):
no, you're doing very well.Tell me, does Celia agree with
you about approaching these people? Ihaven't said much about it to her,
You see, she was very fondof Maddie and Zellie. Maddie and Zelli.
When Celia was quite a child atthe time when we used to stay

(30:45):
next door to one another, shehad a French well I suppose nowadays we'd
call her an au pair, butpeople said governess, then a French governess,
mademoiselle, and she played with allof us children, and Celia always
called her Maddie from mademoiselle. Yes, and you being French you see Belgian.

(31:06):
Oh, I'm so sorry, butyou know what I mean. I
thought she would tell you things shemight not talk about to other people.
You speaking the same language, yousee. And the other name you mentioned,
Zellie, I teach you said shewas another mademoiselle. She came after
Maddie had gone back home to Franceor Switzerland or wherever it was. She

(31:27):
was younger than Maddie. Celia calledher Zellie also shot for Mademoiselle. I
suppose it was. I never thoughtof that. She was very pretty and
played games with us, and wewere all frightfully fond of her, and
so was General Ravenscroft, I believe, and Lady Ravenruft. Oh, she

(31:48):
was devoted to Zelli, and Zelliwas devoted to her. That's why she
came back again, came back.Yes, when Lady Ravenscroft was ill and
came out of hospital, Zelle cameto stay as a sort of companion to
her and looked after her. Ibelieve, in fact, I'm almost positive
that she was at Overcliff at thetime of the tragedy, and so you
see, she'd almost certainly know whatreally happened. And do you have her

(32:12):
address? You know where she isnow? Oh? Yes, I know
where she is. I've got boththeir addresses. They're living in Switzerland,
not together, of course, butyou could go and talk to Maddie as
well as Zelie. I know it'sa lot to ask, but I believe
our happiness depends on it. Jorge, Superintendent Garaway is coming to see me

(32:39):
this evening. What should I givehim to drink? Is he still a
serving officer? Sir no, George, she retired long ago. If he
were a serving officer, I wouldhave recommended a bottle of beer, But
seeing this is not the case,a whiskey and soda would probably be best.
Very advisage, I myself shall havea hip hop off black Currant.

(33:07):
Well here's the suicide. It wassuicide, then what else could it have
been? Anyway, I've been doingmy best to sort out all the things
you asked me about. I'm sorryto have put you to so much trouble.
I am like the elephant's child inthe story by your mister Kipling.
I suffer from an insociable curiosity.What intrigues me is the way you go

(33:28):
from one thing to another. Doctor'sreports, who expected money makers and suppliers
of wigs? I've made a noteabout the last one. The person you're
looking for is a Madame rose EnTell used to have premises in Sloane Street,
but moved some years ago. Nowand as a place in Cheltenham.

(33:49):
Calls herself hair stylist and beautician,these days, same man, different hat,
as they used to say when Iwas young. Ah, what do
you mean? Aha? I amimmensely obliged to you. You have presented
me with an idea. How strangeto tears the way ideas are arriving one's

(34:10):
head. You've too many ideas inyour head already, you don't need any
more. Now then, I've checkedas thoroughly as I can on the Ravenscroft
family history, gone back through thefiles, and you're quite right about Lady
Ravenscroft being one of twin sisters,Dorothere and Margaret Preston Gray, known colloquially

(34:30):
as Dolly and Molly, identical twins, cut their first tooth on the same
day, both got scarlet fever onthe same day, fell in love with
the same kind of man, gotmarried at about the same time. Both
had husbands in the army. Therewas an early tragedy, though connected with
one of them. Lady Ravenscroft,no Doro Dolly. She married a Captain

(34:53):
Jarrow, and had two children.The younger one, a boy of four,
was it on the head with somekind of child's garden toy, a
spade or something of the sort andfell into an artificial pool and was drowned.
Apparently it was his elder sister,a child of nine, who did
it. Doesn't seem much doubt aboutit, but a story got around that

(35:13):
the mother did it, got angryand hit him. Not that it has
much bearing on a suicide pack enteredinto by the mother's sister and her husband
many years afterwards. Nevertheless, onelikes to know the background. Where was
Dorothea Jaro at the time of thesuicide? I understand she was not in
the house. No, she diedabout three weeks beforehand. And that's a

(35:36):
strange story too, A little morewhiskey perhaps, Well, I wouldn't say.
No. The funny thing was shewas staying at Overcliff with the Hoven's
crafts. Yes, apparently she walkedin her sleep, but done for years.
It seems she'd had one or twominor accidents before on that account.
On this occasion, she wandered alonga path by the edge of the c

(36:00):
I lost her footing and fell toher death. Oh thanks, she must
have been killed instantly. They didn'tfind her until the next day. And
how did Lady Ravenscroft react? Oh, she was completely devastated. She had
to be taking the hospital suffering fromshock. Is there any possibility that the
Ravenscroft suicide could have had a connectionwith this tragic accident? There was never

(36:22):
any suggestion of such a thing.Excuse me, can you come round to
tea or sherry at about half pastfive tomorrow afternoon, miss arl I've got
Celia coming, and later on therewill be Missus Burton Cox. That is
what you wanted, isn't it?Yes, madam, that is exactly what

(36:43):
I wanted. I shall look forwardto it with considerable interest. Or mad
am, that's pert you up ofit? Made a step forward, the
possibility of two steps forward, andsome thing to stimulate the little gray cells.

(37:10):
I don't suppose Celia will stay verylong. But you did say you
wanted to meet her. Oh,yes, yes, it is most important.
I must get to know her alittle before I can solve the enigma
of her parents' death. I canunderstand that. But why on earth do
you want to meet missus Burton Cox. She's nothing but a nosy Parker.
Because I am interested to learn whyshe wanted you to find out these things.

(37:32):
She must have some motives stronger thanmere curiosity. Why is she so
anxious to safeguard her son who isnot her son? What do you mean
not her son? He is adopted, adopted because her own son died.
How did her own child die?That? I do not know. You

(37:53):
mean there might be some link betweenher lost son and the Ravenscroft? Who
was that? Madame? I donot know either, But it raises possibilities,
does it not? Oh? Thatwill be Celia. Ah, you're
sure this is a good idea.You do want to meet her? Oh?

(38:13):
Yes? The question is will shewant to meet me? I didn't
expect that to be anyone else here. I don't know whether. Let me
introduce you. This is Monsieur Rkulparo, Whoma the asked to help me,
and in helping me, he willbe helping you too. I see.
I think I've heard of you.Mm hmm. Most people have. Please

(38:37):
sit down, mademoiselle, very well. Let me tell you this much about
myself. When I take up aninvestigation, I pursue it to the end.
I will bring to like the truthabout your parents death. And if
it is the truth you want,then I will deliver that knowledge to you.

(38:59):
But it may be that what youare looking for is reassurance, and
that is not the same as thetruth. You don't think i'd care to
face the truth? Is that it? I think that the truth might turn
out to be an unpleasant shock.And you might say, oh, why
did I not leave all this behindme? Why did I ask to know?

(39:19):
No? I want the truth.I'm quite capable of living with the
truth. You saw Desmond, didn'tyou, Yes, he came to visit
me. Did you not wish himto do some Mademoiselle? He didn't ask
me, And if he had,what would you have said? I don't
know. I don't know whether Ishould have encouraged him or told him to
keep his nose out of it?What did you think of him? I

(39:43):
thought he was a very attractive andlikable young man. Yes, I rather
think that too. But there issomething I must know if you and he
want to marry. Does it reallymatter to you what happened all those years
ago? What difference can it maketo either of you whether the death of
your p A was a double suicideor something quite different? Did Desmond tell

(40:05):
you that he was an adopted child? Yes, Mademoiselle, he did so.
Why did Missus Burton Cox worry MissusOliver with her stupid questions and ask
her to find out things. DoesDesmond care for her? Do you think
no? I'd say on the wholethat he dislikes her. I suspect he
always has. Is Desmond provided forfinancially? I believe some money was settled

(40:28):
on him when he was adopted.It wasn't a fortune, but he'd be
able to support me, to supporta wife. And does he know who
his real mother is? Presumably MissusBurton Cox does. He's never mentioned it.
I suppose he might have been anillegitimate child. They're usually the ones
put up for adoption, aren't they. She might have known something about his

(40:49):
real father or his real mother.And was Missus Burton Coxe acquainted with your
mother and father? She might haverun into them. I suppose they were
all out in Malay at roughly thesame time you yourself meet her when you
were a child. I'm pretty sureI didn't. The reason why I got
to know Desmond is that we wereboarded out with people who took in children
for the holidays, and both ourfamilies were abroad at that time. When

(41:14):
we met again at university, Weonly knew one another by a Christian names.
I really didn't know anything very muchabout Desmond, except that he was
very good at climbing trees. Butthen I don't really know anything about myself
either, and I want to knowhow can you get on with living your
life if you don't really know aboutthe things that made you what you are?

(41:37):
So do I take it that youhave answered my question? Mademoiselle you
wish me to continue with my investigation, yes, if it's going to produce
any results. Though, I thinkit all comes back to the plain fact
that we're not talking about the storyof a life, but about the story
of a death. That's to say, of two deaths. There's a line

(42:00):
of Shakespeare or somewhere in death theywere not divided. I suspect that's all
there is to say. I suspectI may be able to find out a
little more than that. Mademoiselle.Do you usually succeed in finding out things?
Oh? Yes, I usually do. So what do you think of

(42:24):
her? She certainly has a verypositive personality, definitely a most interesting young
lady. But I would like youto tell me about her mother ly Ravenscroft,
we were at a sort of pasionatogether in Paris. People used to
send the girls there to be finished, though I've always thought that sounds more

(42:45):
like an introduction to a graveyard,for an introduction into so soiety. And
this Marie Preston Gray that was hername? Yes? Yes? Was she
a personality like her daughter? No? I don't think she was. I
think Molly was more more emotional thanCelia. Now would that perhaps be Missus

(43:07):
Burton Cox? Bang on time?Well, here we go. How very
kind of you to ask me togood evening, Good evening you come in.
What a delightful place you have been, and so charming of you to
spare me a little of your invaluabletime. Oh, I want to introduce

(43:30):
you to Monsieur her Cole Powell,Missus Burton Cox, Good evening, Madam,
good evening. I think he isthe only person who might be able
to solve the little mystery you talkedabout the other day. Oh really,
I cannot tell you how many friendsof mine he has assisted, and how
many I may call them mysteries hehas elucidated. You mean that this gentleman

(43:52):
is a detective. I suppose thatis one way of describing my activities,
madam, no, please do sitdown. What were you have? It's
far too late for teae. Aglass of sherry perhaps, thank you,
that would be very kind, Monsieur, I too will take a glass of
CHERI I have already indicated to MonsieurPoirot the particular inquiries you were so concerned

(44:14):
to make. How very good ofyou to prepare the ground, Missus Oliver.
You see, Monsieur, these youngpeople are so difficult nowadays. My
son is such a dear boy,and I have great hopes of him having
a brilliant future before him. Andthen there is this girl, Missus Oliver's
goddaughter. Of course, one neverknows, no, thank you, monsieur,

(44:36):
Thank you, madam. I mean, it's so important to know about
people's antecedents. Of course, I'maware that Celia's a very well born gow
and all that, but there's noescaping the fact that there was this tragedy.
Now, I understand from my friend, Missus Oliver, that you wanted
to know. Specifically, what yousaid you wanted to know was wherether Celia's

(44:58):
father shot her mother and then himself, or whether Celia's mother shot her father
and then I feel it makes adifference. A very interesting point of view.
I take it it is your son'sinterests that you are trying to safeguard.
Well, yes, in a marriage, I am sure you agree,
monsieur. One has to think ofthe children, the children that are to

(45:22):
come. I mean, I thinkwe now realize that her redity counts far
more than environment, and there arecertain very grave risks that one might not
want to take. But it isthe people who undertake those risks who should
make that decision. Your son andMissus Oliver's god daughter, it will be

(45:42):
their choice. Oh h, Iknow, I know parents are never allowed
to interfere or give advice, butI would like to know something about it.
I would like very much to know. Perhaps I am being foolish over
protective about my dear son, butmothers are like that. If you feel
you could undertake any investigation, pleaselet me know. Oh oh, but

(46:08):
just look at the time. I'mlate for another appointment. I am sorry
my dear Missus Oliver to run awayso soon, but you know how difficult
it is to find a taxi atthis time of evening. I'm sure Missus
Oliver has your address, monsieur,Please take my card. Ah, yes,
thank you, monsieur urcle puero.You are French, is that right?

(46:30):
I am Belgian? Ah, Belgique, I quite understand. I'm so
pleased to have met you, butI really must fly. Don't worry,
dear missus Oliver. I'll find myown way out. Thank you again.
Well what do you make of that? What do you she ran away?

(46:53):
You frightened her clean away? Yes? But in what way? I wonder?
She wants to dig up something nastyabout the ravenscrofts, but she doesn't
want you to carry out a thoroughinvestigation. There is something she does not
want to come to light, somethingthat concerns only herself. There is a

(47:15):
private reason why she does not wantDesmond to marry your god daughter. And
are you going to find out whatit is? Or? Naturally if I
can? So, what do wedo? Now? Where do we go
from here? You shall, Madame? I think you should go to Cheltenham,
Cheltenham? Where earth should I wantto go to? Cheltenham? I

(47:35):
want you to find out about thewigs. The wigs, oh, you
mean Molly's. We there were fourof them, and that seems perhaps a
little excessive, And so I wantyou to go to Cheltenham, to this
address, and there you will finda Madame Rosental, a woman no longer
young, who I believe supplied LadyRavenscroft with her wigs, and I would

(48:00):
like you to find out all aboutthem. And do you think she'll remember?
Elephants can remember, or so youare always telling me. Cheltenham turned
out to be a most agreeable surprise. It had a feeling of traditional English

(48:22):
security about it. Houses that wereproper houses, antique shops that sold genuine
antiques. And when I eventually attrackeddown Missus Rosentell in her hairdressing establishment,
she actually knew who I was.I'm such a lover of your books,
Missus Oliver, I must have reada dozen of them at least, And

(48:45):
now here you are in personal Nowtell me how can I help you.
Is it something to do with oneof your stories? Oh no, nothing
like that. I wanted to talkto you about something that happened a great
many years ago. It's to dowith a friend of mine here. I
see. I was at school withher, and then she married and went

(49:07):
out to Malaya and came back toEngland when her husband retired, and it
all had a rather tragic ending.I'm afraid, I'm so sorry. But
one of the things that people foundrather surprising was that she had many wigs,
and I think they had all beensupplied by your establishment when you were
in London. And what was thename of this friend of yours. Well,

(49:29):
her name when I knew her,was Preston Gray, but her married
name was Ravenscroft. Oh, LadyRavenscroft. Yes, oh, yes,
I remember her very well. Shewas so nice and really very very good
looking still, and I remember readingabout the tragedy in the paper and there

(49:50):
were pictures of them both, andI said to myself, why that's our
lady, Ravenscroft. It seems sosad. I heard they discovered he had
cancer and they couldn't do anything aboutit, and she couldn't face living anymore,
and he felt he didn't want togo on living without her. But

(50:12):
you said you wanted to know aboutthe wigs. Well, I understand the
police you investigated it all thought thatfour wigs were rather a lot, but
perhaps people do have four wigs ata time. Most of our customers had
two wigs, one to wear andone to be sent back to be service
as he were. But of courseI remember now Lady Ravenscroft sent a French

(50:37):
lady, a companion of some sort, very nice, spoke perfect English,
and she explained that Lady Ravenscroft wantedtwo extra wigs. Gave me the colors
and the styles we already had hermeasurements. Of course, it must have
been about a month later that Iread about the suicide. They were different

(50:59):
kinds of wigs, I presume,yes, one had a very pretty gray
streak, and there was one closecropped with curls. I was sorry not
to have seen Lady Ravenscroft again.I gathered that, aside from her illness,
she had become very distressed about asister who had recently died. She'd

(51:19):
always seemed such a happy woman beforeit was all very sad. Tell me,
do you think i'd find a winkuseful? I wouldn't advise it.
Missus Oliver, you have a splendidcrop of hair, and I imagine you
rather enjoy doing things with it outnever of you. It's quite true.
I do enjoy experimenting. It's suchfun. You enjoy life altogether, don't

(51:45):
you, Yes, I suppose Ido I enjoy the feeling that one never
knows what might be going to happennext, And yet that feeling is just
what makes so many people never stopworrying, isn't it. Mister Goby is

(52:06):
a private investigator who has been workingfor me for many years, and during
all that time he has never beenknown to address me directly. He delivers
his meticulously detailed reports to the televisionset, or the clock, or a
painting. On this particular occasion,his eyes were fixed firmly on the radiator.

(52:36):
Missus Burton Cox married first mister CecilAlbury, a manufacturer of buttons and
mp for Little Stanmere. He waskilled in a traffic accident four years later,
and the only child of the marriagedied of pneumonia six weeks afterwards.
The state was inherited by his wife, but was much smaller than had been
expected. However, a much largerwas left to a Miss Kathleen Fenn,

(53:05):
an actress and a popular singer.Three years later, Missus Burton Cox adopted
a child which had been born toMiss Kathleen Fenn, whom Miss Fenn insisted
was the son of the late misterAlbrey I've made extensive inquiries, and I
find that this is somewhat difficult toconfirm. Miss Fenn had enjoyed many relationships,

(53:25):
usually with gentlemen of ample means andwith well filled wallets. But after
all, everyone has his price.I'm afraid I may have to send you
quite a serious account for all this. But you did say you wanted it
carried out quickly. It is ofno consequence. Pray continue, mister Golby.

(53:46):
The widowed Missus Albury married again aMajor Burton Cox. Miss Kathleen Fenn,
who by then had become a celebratedsinger and a film style and was
earning a considerable amount of money,wrote to Missus Burton Cox saying that she
would be willing to take back theadopted child, but Missus Burton Cox would

(54:07):
have none of it. By then, her husband, the Major, had
been killed while they were out inMalaya, and she'd been left moderately well
off. I have obtained a furtherpiece of information, which is that Miss
Kathleen Fenn, who died eighteen monthsago, left her entire and very considerable

(54:27):
fortune to her natural son, knownby the name of Desmond Burton Cox,
and has the boy actually inherited themoney. It was left in trust for
him until he reached the age oftwenty five. Does he know about the
inheritance. No. By the termsof his mother's will, it was to
be kept a secret from him untilhis twenty fifth birthday. Does missus Burton
Cox know about it? Yes,I believe she was informed by Miss Fenn's

(54:52):
solicitor in strict confidence. Has theboy Desmond made a will? Ah?
I had not anticipated that question,but I have the means of finding out.
I'll come back to you on thematter. Yes. It was the
French companion or whatever she was,who ordered the weeks, and this was

(55:13):
only a few weeks before the tragedyoccurred. Ah. That is very interesting,
is it not. It seems perfectlynormal to me. Weeks don't last
for ever, you know anyway?What about you? Have you done anything?
Oh? You are always so skeptical. Madame should think that I do
nothing but sit in my chair andor repose myself. Well, I suppose

(55:36):
you do do a bit of thinkingwhile you're sitting there, but you don't
go out and do things very often. In the near future, I may
well go out and do things,and then you will be pleased with me.
I may even cross the channel,though certainly not in a boat.
I will call on you before Idepart. Or Avois, Madame Garroy,

(56:04):
my dear Superintendent Dijzechi Parol. Ido not defend you. I hope.
I was about to go out intothe garden and do a little dead heading,
but it can wait. What canI do for you? That is
something I want to ask you aboutthe ravenscroft case. Yes, you said
there was a dog that they usedto take with them on their walks.
Yes, there was mention of adog. I seem to remember the housekeeper

(56:25):
saying something about it. When Iexamined the body of Lady Raven's cruft,
was there any sign that she hadbeen Well, it's odd you should ask
that, because I wouldn't have rememberedit if you hadn't mentioned it. But
there were a couple of scars,and come to think of it, the
housekeeper said that the dog had attackedits mistress on more than one occasion.

(56:49):
But it can't have been very serious. There was no question of tetanus and
Jackson's or anything of that sort.What's the quotation the dog? It was
that died. Would like to haveknown that dog. He was perhaps extremely
intelligent. Now, what can youtell me about the Ravenscroft housekeeper? I
know nothing about her. I can'tbelieve it. You're actually going to venture

(57:17):
out and do something In twenty fourhours time, I take the plant to
Geneva. You see, in theinterest of this investigation, I not only
venture out, but I fly muchas I read the experience. Good for
you, and have you got anelephant in Switzerland? I hope I may

(57:37):
have two? Well, I wishyou better luck than I had. I
don't know who. I can't goto to find out anymore. By the
way, Madam, I think Inow understand why missus Burton Cox wanted you
to find out about the death ofthe Ravenscrafts. You mean she wasn't just
being a nosey park Oh no,no, no, it was all to
do with her adopted sons inheritance.No, he had one. Surely she

(58:01):
is not all that rich. Sheis not, but his real mother was,
and she left him the whole ofher considerable fortune, which he will
inherit on his twenty fifth birthday.But my sources informed me that when he
was twenty one, missus Burton Coxpersuaded him to make a will leaving everything

(58:22):
to her. Presumably at that timehe had nobody else to leave it to,
and of course he had no knowledgeof the money his real mother had
left to him. I am sureI am being accessively dim witted, but
I can't see what any of thishas to do with the Ravenscroft suicide.
Can you not? If Desmond wereto marry Celia, he would almost certainly

(58:44):
make a new will in her favor, and missus Burton Cox wouldn't be able
to get her claws on his realmother's fortune. She wanted to find out
something that might prevent her son frommarrying Celia. I think she hoped,
and in all probability believed that LadyRavenscraft killed her husband and then shot herself

(59:04):
and that would discourage Desmond from wantingto marry Celia. Ah. But even
if missus Burton Cox had frightened himoff marrying her, in the course of
time, Desmond would have found someother girl. And what would happen then?
Would missus Burton Cox try to rakeup some sinister episode in her past
as well? I do not thinkshe is a woman who thinks very far
ahead. All she was concerned aboutwas not to let her sons inheritance slip

(59:29):
through her fingers. Oh, perhapsshe was getting to murder Desmond on the
day after his twenty fifth birthday.Wouldn't put it past her. She's not
exactly a nice woman. If sheno, she is not a nice woman.
So that was why she fled thatevening, because she was frightened you
might find out what she was upto. And she was right. But

(59:49):
it is time I left. Ithought your flight wasn't until tomorrow. That
is true. But there is aplace I have to visit first, a
place I must see with my owneyes. It is quite a way,
but a car is waiting to takeme there. It all sounds very mysterious,
but I'm sure you'll tell me aboutit when the time is ripe.
Take a few apples with you.I always find the most sustaining on a

(01:00:14):
long car journey. The Ravenscroft's oldhouse Overcliff stood a few hundred yards from
the edge of the sea. Alittle way inland, I came to the
churchyard where they were buried. Asmall bunch of wild flowers had been left

(01:00:35):
on the grave through the memory ofDorothea Shardrow died September fifteenth, nineteen sixty,
also of Margaret Ravenscroft died October thethird, nineteen sixty, her sister,
also of Alistair Ravenscroft died October thethird, nineteen sixty, husband of

(01:01:00):
Margaret. In their deaths, theywere not divided. I believe I know
what happened and why. I understandthe pity and the tragedy. But I
must bring it to light. Oneof the women in Switzerland must know the

(01:01:23):
truth. But I wonder if Ican persuade them to take the long journey
back into the past and tell me. But from Mademoiselle Rouselle, in her
comfortable flat overlooking the waters of theLake Geneva, I learned nothing. She

(01:01:46):
remembered Seria and Desmond with great affection, and was delighted to recall that they
had called her Maddie. But shecould shed no light on the mystery of
the Ravenscroft's death, for by thenshe had returned home to as her dying
mother. I must go to Lausanne, she told me, for if anyone

(01:02:06):
knew what had happened on that fatalday at Overcliff. It was Zellie Mademoiselle
muhah, But would she tell meI was expecting you, monsieur ah Mademoiselle.
She received my letter. No,our personal self has been very uncertain
of the last few weeks. ButI had a telephone call from a young

(01:02:29):
man named Desmond Burton Cox to prepareme for your rival. Good. He
is intelligent and waste no time.He was very insistent that I should come
and see you. I gather thereis a problem which concerns him and Celia.
They are in love with one anotherand wish to marry. That difficulties
are being put in their way byhis mother. I understand she's trying to
prevent the marriage because of doubts raisedby the tragedy of Celia's parents' death.

(01:02:54):
Celia has a godmother who was askedby Desmond's mother to try and find out
the exact circumstances under which their suicideoccurred. There is no sense in that
Celia could not give her the informationbecause she knows nothing of what happened.
Was the information deliberately kept from her? If you wish to put it like
that, it was thort advisable,And did you approve of the decision,

(01:03:15):
Mademoiselle, It is difficult to besure. Celier, as far as I
know, was never troubled by it. She accepted her parents' death as she
would have accepted a car crash ofan ever plain disaster. And she was
not there when a tragedy occurred.That you were at Dovercliff at the time
of the Ravencroft's deaths yes, Iwas there. They went out for a

(01:03:37):
walk, as was their habit,but they did not return. They were
found dead shot. The pistol waslying by them. It was one that
belonged to General Ravenscroft and had alwaysbeen kept in a drawer in his study.
The finger marks of both of themwere found on that weapon. There
was no definite indication of which ofthem had held it last. The obvious

(01:03:59):
solution was a double suicide. Andyou found no reason to disbelieve that.
The police found no reason, orso I understand. Ah, So you
can tell me nothing more, Mademoisellemhurra I fear not. It was a
long time ago. You seem toremember it well enough. One cannot entirely
forget such a sad thing. Butyou agreed that Celia should be told nothing

(01:04:19):
of what had led up to herparents' deaths. There was nothing to tell.
However, there are things that youdo know. I think if I
do, I see no reason forbringing them back to mine now. Is
it not better to leave matters asthey are when they have been accepted for
a long time? I believe Iknow what happened, and what had been

(01:04:43):
happening for some time before that.I will ask you one question. It
is not a matter of direct information. What were the feelings of General Ravenscroft
towards the twin sisters? I understandwhat you are saying, and I will
tell you what I have heard.Dorothea was the one the General first fell

(01:05:04):
in love with, although she wasdeeply disturbed, she was exceedingly attractive,
sexually attractive. He was passionately inlove with her. Hunted ah. I
don't know whether he discovered in hersomething which alarmed or repelled him. Perhaps
he saw the beginnings of insanity.But his love went to the other sister

(01:05:27):
too, Margaret, and once thathad happened he never wavered. He married
her and was devoted to her.He relied on her, and she on
him. He was a very lovableman. Were you a little in love
with him yourself? Mademoiselle? Whaton earth do you mean by that?
Oh, forgive me. I amnot suggesting that you had am an affair

(01:05:47):
or anything of that kind. Butfrom your tone of voice as you spoke
of him, I suspect that youloved him. Yes, I suppose I
did. There is nothing to beashamed of in that he trusted me and
relied on me, But he wasnever in love with me. You can

(01:06:09):
love and self and still be happy. I wanted no more than I had,
and you did what you could tohelp him through the most terrible crisis
of his life. There are thingsyou do not wish to tell me,
But there are things I have deducedin investigating this case. And I know
something of the tragedy of Dorotheer Sharrow'slife, the sorrow and the hatred,

(01:06:32):
the street perhaps of evil, theurge towards destruction. If she loved so
passionately the man who forsook over hersister, she must have felt hatred towards
her. But what about Lady Ravenscroft. What did she feel about Dorothea?
She loved her, She loved herwith a deep and protective love. She

(01:06:54):
wanted how to make her home withthem. She wanted to try and save
her from her fits of destruct rage. Mademoiselle, it is time for me
to tell you what I believe happenedon that last day and what had been
happening in the weeks that led upto it. And if I will not
listen to you, missus, youwill listen to me. You may say

(01:07:15):
it is all false, but Ido not think you will. I believe
with all my heart that what isneeded now is the truth. There is
a girl and a young man wholove each other and who are frightened of
the future because of what happened andwhat might be handed on from mother to
daughter. So they must be toldexactly what took place on that last day.

(01:07:41):
Only then can they face the futurewithout fear. So will you listen
to me, mademoiselle, Yes,Monsieur Boar, I suspect that you understand
more than I could have imagined anyonecould know. Speak and I will.
Yes. Hello, Celia Resiscrope,Thank goodness I've caught you at home.

(01:08:17):
I've had a message from Monsieur Parra. He wants us all to go to
Cornwall and get together on Tuesday afternoonat Overcliff. And you're to bring Desmond
with you. It's most important thathe's there as well. Where to attend
what Monsieur Paro calls a court ofinquiry? And we're to meet outside your
parents old house. It's for sale. Apparently I've managed to get the key

(01:08:43):
of the house from the estate agent. This is the third time in five
years that the place has been upfor sale. I don't imagine there'd be
much to recapture there, now,do you. Mossuurquarall houses sometimes for retaining
an impression of the events that havetaken place within them. But in this
case, it's belonged to so manydifferent it must have changed a lot.
Oh, that must be missus Oliver. She said she'd come by train and

(01:09:05):
get a taxi from the station.Look, darling, she's brought someone with
her. I am curious to seeif you know who it is. Good
afternoon, mister pow, Good afternoon, Celia. It's silly, it is,
isn't it? Is it really you? Yes, it is silly all.

(01:09:28):
It's so wonderful to see you.But how mister Poole asked me to
come, and I telephone Zelli ifI may still call you that, Yes,
you may always call me that.It recalls the happy times. But
I'm not sure that I really wantedto come back to this place. When
I met Mademoiselle at the station,she was looking up the time of the

(01:09:49):
next train back. I am veryglad you have come. Ellie. You
are the only person who can tellus what really happened here. What we
want to know, quite simply,is whether the death of my parents was
suicide or murder. Ugh, Please, if you do not mind, I

(01:10:09):
would prefer not to go into thehouse. Could we all remain outside.
We will sit down on the chairsbeneath the beech tree and conduct our court
of inquiry there, how civilized hebbyAnne, Mademoiselle Cilia. For you,

(01:10:30):
it has to be a definite choice, murder or suicide. What else is
there? One of them must betrue. I shall show you that both
out all. But there is morethan that. According to my understanding of
the tragedy, we have here amurder, a suicide, and what I

(01:10:50):
shall call an execution. An executionI don't understand. I will tell you
what I believe happened, and howI came to my conclude. Two things
stood out from all I had learnedabout the case, things that were very
commonplace, not evidence at all,you might think. The first was that

(01:11:11):
among Lady Ravenscroft's effects the police foundfour weeks. And the second was the
behavior of the Raven's Croft's dog,the dog. What did the dog do?
The dog bit its mistress. Itwas said to be devoted to her,
but in the last weeks of herlife, the dog turned on her

(01:11:35):
more than once. Had she beenmaltreating it? No, no, no,
no no. You see that dogknew what no one else seemed to
have perceived, That its mistress wasnot in fact its mistress. You mean
someone was impersonating my mother. ConsiderMademoiselle, the housekeeper, who was slightly

(01:11:57):
blind and rather deaf. She sawa woman who wore Lady Ravensthrof's clothes and
the most recognizable of her weeks.And something that Superintendent Garaway said gave me
the vital crew. Same man,different hat, I thought, ah,
same weig, different woman. Thedog knew, he knew by what his

(01:12:26):
senses told him that it was adifferent woman, not the mystress. He
loved, but someone he disliked andfeared. And I thought, suppose that
woman was not Margaret Ravenscraft, buther twin sister, Dorothea Garrod. But
that's impossible. She was dead.Patience, mademoiselle, you will soon understand.

(01:12:54):
Remember that they were twins at firstas children. They loved each other
very devotedly, as swins do.Indeed, everything alike, had illnesses at
the same time, and then somethinghappened that divided them forever. They fell
in love with the same man,if you wish. Alisair Ravenscroft, as

(01:13:14):
a young subaltern, fell in lovewith Dorothea Preston Gray, but after a
time his affections turned to her sister, Margaret, whom he married, and
that led inevitably to an estrangement betweenthe sisters. Margaret continued to be deeply
attached to her twin, but Dorothea'sfeelings were close to hatred. Yes,

(01:13:38):
I suppose I knew that. Reallythere was always a feeling of tension when
she was around. Dorothea was atragic figure. She had always been mentally
unstable, and she developed, forsome reason which has never been made clear,
a dislike of small children. Andthere is every reason to believe that

(01:13:58):
she killed her own small son.Oh that's horrible. But why didn't they
put her away? Or they dideven though there was no conclusive evidence against
her, But in due cause,the doctors decided that it was time for
her to lead a normal life,and she went out to Malaya to join
the Ravenscrafts and the same thing happenedagain. A child was killed. One

(01:14:20):
of my elephants told me about it, but a lot of people thought the
Amma must have done it. Itwas clear she could not remain in Malaya,
and the Ravenscrafts brought her back toEngland, where once again she was
placed under psychiatric care, and onceagain she appeared to be cured, but
Lady Ravenscroft thought that her sister shouldstay with them so they could watch closely

(01:14:43):
for any danger signs. I donot think the General approved. So are
you saying it was Dorothea who shotboth the Ravens? No? No,
no, no, that she's notwhat I am saying. I believe that
what happened was this. Dorothea killedher sister while they were walking together along
the cliff park. She pushed herover and she fell to her death.

(01:15:10):
But you must have been here whenit happens, Ellie, you must have
known, Yes, Celia, Iknew. The Ravenscroffs had been growing increasingly
anxious about Dorothea for some time.She had made several attempts to how little
Edward and he had been sent tostay with friends before the school term began.

(01:15:30):
And did they feel I'd be saferout of the way as well?
That was part of the reason whythey wanted you to go to Switzerland.
After you had settled in, Icame back to Overcliff, the General,
Lady Ravenscroff, Dorothy and I werealone in the house. The housekeeper had
taken to living in a cottage inthe village. And how was Dorothea?

(01:15:54):
She seemed strangely quiet and withdrawn.And then it happened. The two sisters
went out together, but Dorothier returnedalone. Her cheeks were flushed and she
seemed in a highly nervous state.She said Molly wanted to be by herself
for a while and would return later. We all sat down together at the

(01:16:15):
tea table. It was then thatthe General Ravenscroft noticed that there was blood
on her right hand and asked ifshe had had a fall. She said
she must have scratched her hand ona horse bush. But there were no
roses crying along the cliffs. GeneralRavenscroft went out and I followed him.

(01:16:38):
We were certain that something had happenedto his wife. We found her on
a ledge some way down the cliff. She had been battered with rocks and
stones, but she was just aboutalive. We did not dare remove her,
and then she opened her eyes.She didn't know what she was doing,

(01:17:03):
She didn't know alistair shehing she does, She can't help it. Promise
me you won't let the police takeher. Promise me she'll not be put
on trial. Don't let her beshut up for life like a criminal.

(01:17:25):
Hide my body away somewhere, Molly. I love you more than anything in
the world. If I could livefor you, I would, But I
know one dying Promise me, bothof you that you will say, Dolly,
Promise me for all the love wehave for each other. She died

(01:17:55):
a few minutes later. We hither body in a place a little further
along the cliff and covered it upas best we could, and then we
went back to the house. Dollywas waiting for us. She was desperate
with fright, but at the sametime, she was grotesquely proud of what
she'd done. She took you awayfrom me, Alistair. You belong to

(01:18:18):
me, But she took you awayand made you marry her, And so
I had to kill her. I'vebeen wanting to do it for years.
I wanted to destroy her, tosee her broken and pleading, but I
didn't want you to find her.What are you going to do? I
can't be shut up again. Don'tlet them do that to me. Say
it was an accident. She justfell down the cliff. Don't tell them

(01:18:41):
I did it. It's a horriblestory. Yes, it is a horrible
story, but it's better to knowmy poor mother, so devoted and so
understanding and forgiving. So what didyou do, Zelly? It was quite
It's simple, really. Your fatherremembered that years before, Dolly sometimes used

(01:19:04):
to walk in her sleep, andthey were identical twins. After all,
we just say that it's Dorothea's body, and that she walked in her sleep
and fell to her death. It'sthe only thing we can do, and
Dorothea will have to pretend she's Molly. It's the only way I can think

(01:19:26):
of to save her if she's capableof carrying it off. So how did
you manage it? We took Dorotheato a deserted cottage that we knew of,
and the general told everyone that hiswife had gone into a private hospital
suffering from shock after the discovery ofher sister's death. And then after a

(01:19:46):
week we brought Dorothea back, broughther back as her sister, wearing Lady
Ravenscroft's clothes and one of her weeks. Surely everyone must have noticed the change
in her behavior. I mean,it must have been very different. Everyone
thought she was suffering from shock.It seemed quite normal. That was the
horrible part of it. But howdid she manage to keep it up?

(01:20:11):
It must have been dreadfully difficult.Oh no, she did not find it
difficult at all. She had gotwhat she wanted, you see, she
had got your father. How couldhe bear it? He saw it as
his duty, and he told meexactly what he proposed to do. There's
only one course open to me.I promised Margaret I would not hand her

(01:20:33):
sister over to the police, andthat it should never be known that she
was a murderess. But Dolly hasgot to be stopped from living. If
she's allowed near children, she's boundto attack them, and I can't keep
watch on her night and day.You must understand, Zelly, that because

(01:20:53):
of what I have to do,I must pay with my own life too.
I shall live here quietly for alittle with Dolly, and and then
there will be another accident. Ididn't understand what you meant. I thought
you was talking about another sleep walkingaccident. What the world will be led

(01:21:15):
to believe is that Molly and Ihave both committed suicide. I don't suppose
anyone will ever work out a reasonfor it. But you must help me,
Selly. You're the only person whoreally loves me and loves Molly and
loves the children. If Dolly hasto die, I'm the person who must
carry it out. She won't beunhappy or frightened. I shall shoot her,

(01:21:40):
and then myself. I shall arrangefor both our fingerprints to be on
the revolver. Justice has to bedone, and I have to be the
executioner. The thing I want youto know is that I did and still
do love them both, Molly morethan my life Dolly, because I pity

(01:22:02):
her so much for her terrible affliction. But you must promise me that the
children will never be told. Andnow I have broken that promise. I
meant never to reveal what had happenedto you or to any one else,
but Monsieur Prad made me feel differently. I am sorry you had to break

(01:22:25):
your word, but you have leftit an enormous burden from us. Yes,
we shall be eternally grateful to you, Zelly, But I can tell
you one thing, Celia, mymother is never going to hear anything about
this. No one must ever hearabout it. I think perhaps you should
know, Desmond, why your stepmotherwas so anxious to come between you and
Celia and to try and frighten youaway. You see, your real mother,

(01:22:50):
who died not very long ago,left all her money to you,
and when you reached the age oftwenty five, you will come into a
considerable fortune. And did my stepmotherknow about this? She most certainly did.
Was that why she persuaded me tomake a will in her favor so
that she could keep the money inthe family. But that's ridiculous. How

(01:23:12):
is she going to go about it? Put arsenic in your cocoa. Well,
I mustn't be too hard on her, after all, she did adopt
me and bring me up and allthe rest of it. I'll settle some
of the money on her. Butnow that our anxieties are all behind us,
I think we should get married assoon as possible. Yes, we
can do that now. Thanks toZelli and Missus Oliver and Monsieur Poirot.

(01:23:39):
I now know that my father andmother were splendid and courageous people, and
I'm proud to be their daughter,and they would be proud of you.
Well, now I think we shouldgo. Thank you, all of you.
We'll never forget what you've done forus. Au revoir, Zelly,
we shall send you an invitation toour wedding. It was very brave of

(01:24:02):
you to break the promise you madeto my father. At least now I
know that I did not do anyharm, and I too, am glad
that the truth has come to lightat last, Our dear children, even
if you are not children anymore.Tell me, Monsieur Parle, will you

(01:24:25):
have to inform anyone about this?There is one person I might tell,
but strictly in confidence. He isa retired police officer. I know he
will not feel it his duty tointerfere with what time has wiped clear,
so the only record will be whatis carved on their gravestones. You do
not blame me, mademoiselle, forcoming to you and persuading you to do

(01:24:47):
what you have done. No,I am glad you are right. They
are very charming, those children,and I'm sure they will be happy.
We are standing where two lovers lived, and were two lovers died. His
was a brave act, an honorableone. He continued to love Dolly as
well as Molly. Did he not, Oh yes, right up to the

(01:25:10):
end, and that's why he waswilling to save Dolly from prison. It
was a kind of love death forher. I have often wondered which of
them he loved best. We mustleave this place and drive back to London.
It is time to return to everydaylife and to put these tragedies and

(01:25:31):
loves behind us. Elephants can remember, but thankfully we are mere human beings,
and human beings, if they choose, can't forget m oo. In

(01:26:12):
Agatha Christie's Elephants can Remember. HerculePoirot was played by John moffatt Ariadne Oliver,
Julia Mackenzie, Zelli, Alexander Bastido, Celia, Rachel Babbage, Desmond
Ivan, Meredith, Missus Burton Cox, Paula Jacobs, Julia, Jane Wenham,
Nanny Barbara Atkinson, Missus Buckle,Elizabeth Proud, Missus Rosentel, Jill

(01:26:39):
Balkan, Chief Superintendent Garaway, TrevorCuthbertson, Mister Gobie, Stephen Thorne,
George Patrick Garland. Other parts wereplayed by Elizabeth Proud and Stephen Thorn.
The music was composed by Tom Smail. Elephants Can Remember was dramatized for radio

(01:27:00):
by Michael Bakewell and directed by EnidWilliams. M