Hallowe'en Party / Вечеринка на Хэллоуин. Книга для чтения на английском языке

It just seems—seems incredible. Personally I consider myself that there must be what I call an outside significance to this. Someone walked into the house—not a difficult thing to do under the circumstances—someone of highly disturbed mentality, I suppose, the kind of people who are let out of mental homes simply because there is no room for them there, as far as I can see. Nowadays, room has to be made for fresh patients all the time. Anyone peeping in through a window could see a children’s party was going on, and this poor wretch—if one can really feel pity for these people, which I really must say I find it very hard to do myself sometimes—enticed this child away somehow and killed her.

�Perhaps you would show me where—’

�Of course. No more coffee?’

�I thank you, no.’

Mrs Drake got up. �The police seem to think it took place while the Snapdragon was going on. That was taking place in the dining-room.

She walked across the hall, opened the door and, rather in the manner of someone doing the honours of a stately home to a party of charabanc goers[64 - rather in the manner of someone doing the honours of a stately home to a party of charabanc goers – с видом человека, демонстрирующего старинную усадьбу группе туристов, приехавших на автобусе], indicated the large dining-table and the heavy velvet curtains.

�It was dark here, of course, except for the blazing dish. And now—’

She led them across the hall and opened the door of a small room with arm-chairs, sporting prints and bookshelves.

�The library,’ said Mrs Drake, and shivered a little. �The bucket was here. On a plastic sheet, of course—’

Mrs Oliver had not accompanied them into the room. She was standing outside in the hall—

�I can’t come in,’ she said to Poirot. �It makes me think of it too much.

�There’s nothing to see now,’ said Mrs Drake. �I mean, I’m just showing you where, as you asked.’

�I suppose,’ said Poirot, �there was water—a good deal of water.’

�There was water in the bucket, of course,’ said Mrs Drake.

She looked at Poirot as though she thought that he was not quite all there[65 - as though she thought that he was not quite all there – как будто бы думала, что он туповат].