“But hang it all, man, Parker saw her coming out of the door.”

“No.” Poirot’s voice rang out with sudden sharpness. “That is just what he did not see. I satisfied myself of that by a little experiment the other day⁠—you remember, doctor? Parker saw her outside the door, with her hand on the handle. He did not see her come out of the room.”

“But⁠—where else could she have been?”

“Perhaps on the stairs.”

“The stairs?”

“That is my little idea⁠—yes.”

“But those stairs only lead to Mr. Ackroyd’s bedroom.”

“Precisely.”