After the official inquiries about Ackroyd’s death, Poirot and Sheppard talk to Inspector Raglan about the investigation. He declares the fingerprints on the knife do not match anyone in the household. Poirot is unsurprised by this and tells Raglan that the prints likely belong to Ackroyd, explicitly done to throw off the scent.

Later in the day, Poirot meets with Flora, Mrs. Ackroyd, Major Blunt, and Raymond to ask if anyone knows where Paton is; nobody does. Flora wants to publicly announce her engagement to Paton as a display of solidarity, but Poirot convinces her to wait a few days. He ends the meeting by accusing everyone, including Sheppard, of withholding information. They are all unable to meet his eye.

Sheppard wants to know Poirot’s method, which Poirot explains. He trusts nothing one person says and presumes everyone is lying until it is verified. Once he has heard something from two people separately, he trusts it.

Poirot knows Sheppard left Fernly Park at 8:50pm because Sheppard and Parker said so. The stranger’s presence outside Fernly Park that night is confirmed by a maid who also saw the man. To Sheppard’s guess that the stranger was from the United States, Poirot can support that theory with the goose feather quill, a popular method of taking heroin in that region.