Agatha Christie - Murder in Mesopotamia: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

Agatha Christie

FOREWORD BY GILES REILLY, M.D.

The events chronicled in this narrative took place some four yearsago. Circumstances have rendered it necessary, in my opinion, that astraightforward account of them should be given to the public. Therehave been the wildest and most ridiculous rumours suggesting thatimportant evidence was suppressed and other nonsense of that kind.Those misconstructions have appeared more especially in theAmerican press.

For obvious reasons it was desirable that the account should not comefrom the pen of one of the expedition staff, who might reasonably besupposed to be prejudiced.

I therefore suggested to Miss Amy Leatheran that she shouldundertake the task. She is obviously the person to do it. She has aprofessional character of the highest, she is not biased by having anyprevious connection with the University of Pittstown Expedition to Iraqand she was an observant and intelligent eye-witness.

It was not very easy to persuade Miss Leatheran to undertake thistask-in fact, persuading her was one of the hardest jobs of myprofessional career - and even after it was completed she displayed acurious reluctance to let me see the manuscript. I discovered that thiswas partly due to some critical remarks she had made concerning mydaughter Sheila. I soon disposed of that, assuring her that as childrencriticize their parents freely in print nowadays, parents are only toodelighted when their offspring come in for their share of abuse! Herother objection was extreme modesty about her literary style. Shehoped I would "put the grammar right and all that." I have, on thecontrary, refused to alter so much as a single word. Miss Leatheran'sstyle in my opinion is vigorous, individual and entirely apposite. If shecalls Hercule Poirot "Poirot" in one paragraph and "Mr. Poirot" in thenext, such a variation is both interesting and suggestive. At onemoment she is, so to speak, "remembering her manners" (and hospitalnurses are great sticklers for etiquette) and at the next her interest inwhat she is telling is that of a pure human being - cap and cuffsforgotten!

The only thing I have done is to take the liberty of writing a firstchapter - aided by a letter kindly supplied by one of Miss Leatheran'sfriends. It is intended to be in the nature of a frontispiece - that is, itgives a rough sketch of the narrator.

Chapter 1

FOREWORD

In the hall of the Tigris Palace Hotel in Baghdad a hospital nurse wasfinishing a letter. Her fountain-pen drove briskly over the paper.

"... Well, dear. I think that's really all my news. I must say it's been niceto see a bit of the world - though England for me every time, thank you!

The dirt and the mess in Baghdad you wouldn't believe - and notromantic at all like you'd think from the Arabian Nights! Of course, it'spretty just on the river, but the town itself is just awful - and no propershops at all. Major Kelsey took me through the bazaars, and of coursethere's no denying they're quaint - but just a lot of rubbish andhammering away at copper pans till they make your head ache - andnot what I'd like to use myself unless I was sure about the cleaning.You've got to be so careful of verdigris with copper pans.

"I'll write and let you know if anything comes of the job that Dr. Reillyspoke about. He said this American gentleman was in Baghdad nowand might come and see me this afternoon. It's for his wife - she has

'fancies,' so Dr. Reilly said. He didn't say any more than that, and ofcourse, dear, one knows what that usually means (but I hope notactually D.T.'s!). Of course, Dr. Reilly didn't say anything - but he had alook - if you know what I mean. This Dr. Leidner is an archaeologist andis digging up a mound out in the desert somewhere for some Americanmuseum.

"Well, dear, I will close now. I thought what you told me about littleStubbins was simply killing! Whatever did Matron say?

"No more now.

"Yours ever,

"Amy Leatheran."

Enclosing the letter in an envelope, she addressed it to SisterCurshaw, St. Christopher's Hospital, London.

As she put the cap on her fountain pen, one of the native boysapproached her.

"A gentleman come see you. Dr. Leidner."

Nurse Leatheran turned. She saw a man of middle height with slightlystooping shoulders, a brown beard and gentle tired eyes.

Dr. Leidner saw a woman of thirty-five of erect, confident bearing. Hesaw a good-humoured face with slightly prominent blue eyes andglossy brown hair. She looked, he thought, just what a hospital nursefor a nervous case ought to look. Cheerful, robust, shrewd and matterof fact.

Nurse Leatheran, he thought, would do.

Chapter 2

INTRODUCING AMY LEATHERAN

I don't pretend to be an author or to know anything about writing. I'mdoing this simply because Dr. Reilly asked me to, and somehow whenDr. Reilly asks you to do a thing you don't like to refuse.

"Oh, but, doctor," I said, "I'm not literary - not literary at all."

"Nonsense!" he said. "Treat it as case notes, if you like."

Well, of course, you can look at it that way.

Dr. Reilly went on. He said that an unvarnished plain account of theTell Yarimjah business was badly needed.

"If one of the interested parties writes it, it won't carry conviction.They'll say it's biased one way or another."

And of course that was true, too. I was in it all and yet an outsider, soto speak.

"Why don't you write it yourself, doctor?" I asked.

"I wasn't on the spot - you were. Besides," he added with a sigh, "mydaughter won't let me."

The way he knuckles under to that chit of a girl of his is downrightdisgraceful. I had half a mind to say so, when I saw that his eyes weretwinkling. That was the worst of Dr. Reilly. You never knew whether hewas joking or not. He always said things in the same slow melancholyway - but half the time there was a twinkle underneath it.

"Well," I said doubtfully. "I suppose I could."

"Of course you could."

"Only I don't quite know how to set about it."

"There's a good precedent for that. Begin at the beginning, go on tothe end and then leave off."

"I don't even know quite where and what the beginning was," I saiddoubtfully.

"Believe me, nurse, the difficulty of beginning will be nothing to thedifficulty of knowing how to stop. At least that's the way it is with mewhen I have to make a speech. Some one's got to catch hold of mycoat-tails and pull me down by main force."

"Oh, you're joking, doctor."

"It's profoundly serious I am. Now what about it?"

Another thing was worrying me. After hesitating a moment or two Isaid:

"You know, doctor, I'm afraid I might tend to be - well, a little personalsometimes."

"God bless my soul, woman, the more personal you are the better! Thisis a story of human beings - not dummies! Be personal - be prejudiced -be catty - be anything you please! Write the thing your own way. We