They stood against the door watching him as he went quickly round the compartment. He noted the dead woman’s clothes neatly folded on the end of the berth, the big fur coat that hung from a hook, and the little red lacquer hat tossed on the rack. Then he passed through into the adjoining compartment, that in which Katherine had seen the maid sitting. Here the berth had not been made up. Three or four rugs were piled loosely on the seat; there was a hatbox and a couple of suitcases. He turned suddenly to Katherine.

“You were in here yesterday,” he said. “Do you see anything changed, anything missing?”

Katherine looked carefully round both compartments.

“Yes,” she said, “there is something missing⁠—a scarlet morocco case. It had the initials ‘ R. V. K. ’ on it. It might have been a small dressing-case or a big jewel-case. When I saw it, the maid was holding it.”

“Ah!” said Poirot.