Убийство Роджера Экройда

           MissRussellattendstothehouseholdmatters."Theinspectorremainedlostinthoughtforaminuteortwo.Thenhenoddedhisheadandremarked,"IthinkI’dbetterhaveawordwithMissRussell,andI’llseethegirlDaleaswell."PoirotandIaccompaniedhimtothehousekeeper’sroom.

           MissRussellreceiveduswithherusualsangfroid.

           ElsieDalehadbeenatFernlyfivemonths.Anicegirl,quickatherduties,andmostrespectable.Goodreferences.

           Thelastgirlintheworldtotakeanythingnotbelongingtoher.

           Whatabouttheparlourmaid?

           "She,too,wasamostsuperiorgirl.Veryquietandladylike.Anexcellentworker.""Thenwhyissheleaving?"askedtheinspector.

           MissRussellpursedupherlips.

           "Itwasnoneofmydoing.IunderstandMr.Ackroydfoundfaultwithheryesterdayafternoon.Itwasherdutytodothestudy,andshedisarrangedsomeofthepapersonhisdesk,Ibelieve.Hewasveryannoyedaboutit,andshegavenotice.Atleast,thatiswhatIunderstoodfromher,butperhapsyou’dliketoseeheryourselves?"Theinspectorassented.Ihadalreadynoticedthegirlwhenshewaswaitingonusatlunch.Atallgirl,withalotofbrownhairrolledtightlyawayatthebackofherneck,andverysteadygreyeyes.Shecameinanswertothehousekeeper’ssummons,andstoodverystraightwiththosesamegreyeyesfixedonus.

           "YouareUrsulaBourne?"askedtheinspector.