The girl looked at him coldly. “You can search my things if you like,” she said disdainfully. “But you won’t find anything.”

Poirot suddenly interposed. “It was yesterday afternoon that Mr. Ackroyd dismissed you⁠—or you dismissed yourself, was it not?” he asked.

The girl nodded.

“How long did the interview last?”

“The interview?”

“Yes, the interview between you and Mr. Ackroyd in the study?”

“I⁠—I don’t know.”

“Twenty minutes? Half an hour?”