THEY DO IT WITH
IffireOreffi
Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is know n throughout the world as the Q ueen of Crim e. H er books have sold over a billion copies in English w ith another billion in over 100 foreign languages. She is the most widely published and translated author of all time and in any language; only the Bible and Shakespeare have sold more copies. She is the author o f 80 crim e novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six other novels. The Mousetrap, her most famous play, was first staged in 1952 in London and is still perform ed there —it is the longest-running play in history. Agatha C hristie’s first novel was published in 1920. It featured Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective w ho has becom e the most popular detective in crim e fiction since Sherlock Holmes. Collins has published Agatha Christie since 1926. This series has been especially created for readers worldw ide whose first language is not English. Each story has been shortened, and the vocabulary and gram m ar sim plified to m ake it accessible to readers w ith a good interm ediate know ledge o f the language. The follow ing features are included after the story: A List o f characters to help the reader identify w ho is who, and how they are connected to each other. Cultural notes to explain historical and other references. A Glossary o f words that some readers may not be fam iliar w ith are explained. There is also a Recording o f the story.
Agatha Christie They Do It W ith Mirrors
Collins
Collins H arp erC o llin s Publishers 77-85 F ulham Palace R o a d L ondon W 6 8JB w w w .collinselt.com C ollins ® is a registered trad em ark o f H arperC ollins Publishers Lim ited. T h is Collins English Readers ed ition published 2012 R e p rin t 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 First published in G reat B ritain by C ollins 1952 A G A TH A C H R IS T IE ™ M ISS M A R P L E ™ T hey D o It W ith M irrors™ C o p y rig h t © 1952 A gatha C h ristie L im ited. All rights reserved. C o p y rig h t © 2012 T h ey D o It W ith M irrors™ abridged edition Agatha C hristie Lim ited. A ll rights reserved, w w w. agathachristie .com ISBN: 978-0-00-745167-8 A catalogue record for this b o o k is available from the B ritish Library. C over by crushed.co.uk © H arp erC o llin s/A g ath a C hristie L td 2008 T ypeset by A ptara in India. P rin ted and b o u n d in G reat B ritain by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic. A ll rights reserved. N o p art o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, o r transm itted, in any form o r by any m eans, electronic, m echanical, p h o tocopying, recording or otherw ise, w ith o u t the p rio r perm ission o f th e publishers. T h is b o o k is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way o f trade or otherw ise, be lent, re-sold, h ired o ut or otherw ise circulated w ith o u t the publisher’s prio r consent in any form o f binding or cover other than that in w hich it is published and w ith o u t a sim ilar condition including this condition being im posed on th e subsequent purchaser. H arp erC o llin s does n o t w arrant th at w w w .collinselt.com or any o ther website m entioned in this title w ill be provided u n in terru p ted , that any website w ill be e rro r free, th at defects w ill be corrected, or th at the website o r the server th at m akes it available are free o f viruses or bugs. For full term s and conditions please refer to the site term s provided on the website.
Contents S to ry
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C h a ra c te r list
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C u ltu ra l n o te s
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G lossary
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Chapter 1 R u th Van R ydock was beautifully dressed. H er face, w ith its expensive m ake-up, appeared alm ost girlish at a distance. H er h air was m ore blue than grey and perfectly styled. E verything that m oney could do for M rs Van R ydock had been done. R u th Van R ydock sm iled at her friend. ‘D o you th in k m ost people w ould guess, Jane, that you and I are the same age?’ Miss M arple answ ered loyally. ‘N o t for a m om ent, I’m sure. I’m afraid, you know , that I look every day o f m y age!’ Miss M arple was w hite-haired, w ith a soft, pin k and w hite w rin k led face and innocent blue eyes. She looked a very sweet old lady. N o b o d y w ould have called M rs Van R ydock a sweet old lady. ‘I guess you do, Jane,’ said M rs Van R ydock. She grinned suddenly, ‘A nd so do I. O n ly no t in the same way.’ She sat on a silk-covered chair. ‘Jane, I w ant to talk to you.’ Miss M arple leant forw ard to listen carefully. She looked out o f place in this grand bedroom o f an expensive hotel, dressed as she was in old-fashioned black and carrying a large shopping bag. ‘I’m w orried, Jane. A bout C arrie Louise.’ ‘C arrie Louise?’ Miss M arple repeated. O h, the nam e took her a long way back, to the exciting days before the First W orld W ar w hen she was a student in Florence, sharing an apartm ent w ith tw o A m erican sisters. T hey had been very different to young Jane M arple, quietly brought up in a gentle English cathedral tow n. R u th was tall and full o f energy w hile C arrie Louise was small, delicate and dreamy, but bo th had that direct A m erican way o f talk in g and she had liked them at once. ‘W h e n did you last see C arrie Louise, Jan e?’
Agatha C hristie
‘O h! N o t for m any years. O f course w e still send cards at C hristm as.’ Such a strange thing, friendship! She, young Jane M arple, and the tw o A m ericans, had separated after school, and yet the old affection was still there. A nd it was strange that R u th , whose hom e - or rather hom es — had been in A m erica, was the sister Jane had seen m ore often. N o, perhaps no t strange. Every year or tw o R u th had com e over to Europe, rush in g from London to Paris, on to the R iv ie ra , and back again, bu t she always saw her old friends. T h ere had been m any affectionate m eetings like this one. How ever, Jane had no t seen C arrie Louise for tw enty years, although C arrie Louise lived in England. B ut this was natural, because w hen you live in the same country as an old friend, but have very different lives, you do not m eet. T h e paths o f Jane M arple and C arrie Louise did not cross. It was as simple as that. ‘W h y are you w o rried about C arrie Louise, R u th ? ’ asked Miss M arple. ‘In a way, th at’s w hat w orries m e most! I d o n ’t know .’ ‘She’s not ill?’ ‘She’s very delicate — always has been. B ut no worse than usual.’ ‘U nhappy?’ ‘O h no.’ N o, it w ou ld n ’t be that, thought Miss M arple. It was difficult to im agine C arrie Louise being unhappy. ‘C arrie Louise,’ said R u th Van R ydock, ‘has always believed that everyone is like her: good-natured and w ith a kind heart. She was always the one o f us w ho had ideals. O f course it was the fashion w hen w e w ere young to have ideals —w e all had them ; it was the proper th in g for young girls. You w ere going to nurse
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lepers. Jane, and I was going to be a n u n . B ut w e got over all that nonsense. M arriage certainly m akes you face the real world. Still, m arriage has w orked well for m e.’ T h at was true, thought Miss M arple. R u th had been m arried three tim es, each tim e to a w ealthy m an, and each divorce had increased her ban k balance w ith o u t m ak in g her in the least b itter. ‘O f course,’ said M rs Van R ydock, ‘I’ve always been tough. I’ve n o t expected too m uch o f m en — and had no regrets. T om m y and I are still excellent friends, and Julius often asks m e m y opinion about business.’ She fro w n ed . ‘I believe th at’s w hat w orries m e about C arrie Louise - she’s always had a tendency, you know , to m arry cranks.’ ‘C ran k s?’ ‘Adults w ith ideals. C arrie Louise was always im pressed by ideals. T h ere she was, as pretty as can be, ju st seventeen and listening w ith her eyes w ide to old G ulbrandsen, talking about his plans for the hum an race. H e was over fifty, and she m arried him , a w idow er w ith a family o f gro w n -u p children —all because o f his philanthropic ideas. Miss M arple nodded thoughtfully. T h e nam e o f G ulbrandsen was k n o w n internationally; a m an w ho had earned a huge fortune and th en used it to create m any great charitable organizations. ‘She d id n ’t m arry h im for his m oney, you know ,’ said R u th , ‘I w ould have. B ut n o t C arrie Louise. A nd then he died w hen she was th irty -tw o . B ut then I really was happiest about C arrie Louise w hen she was m arried to Jo h n n ie R estarick. O f course he did m arry her for her money. Jo h n n ie was lazy, and pleasureloving, b u t th at’s so m uch safer than being a crank. All Jo h n n ie w anted was to live w ell and for C arrie Louise to enjoy herself. T h at k in d o f m an is so very safe. Give h im com fort and lu x u ry and h e’ll p u rr like a cat. I never to o k that theatrical designing o f
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his very seriously. B ut C arrie Louise loved it —she thought it was very artistic w ork and w anted h im to go back into the theatre, and then that terrible Yugoslavian w om an got hold o f him and took h im away.’ ‘Was C arrie Louise very upset?’ asked Miss M arple. ‘I don’t believe she was. She was absolutely sweet about it — but then she is sweet. She gave Alex and Stephen, Jo h n n ie ’s sons by his first m arriage, a hom e w ith her. A nd that Yugoslavian w om an gave Jo h n n ie a terrible six m onths and then, in a tem per, drove h im over a cliff in a car! ’ M rs Van R ydock paused. ‘A nd w hat does C arrie Louise do next, but m arry this m an Lewis Serrocold. A n other crank! A nother m an w ith ideals! O h, he certainly loves h er — but he also wants to im prove everybody’s lives for them . A nd really, you know, nobody can do that for you —you have to do it yourself.’ ‘I w onder,’ said Miss M arple. ‘Only, o f course, there’s a fashion in philanthropy, just like there is in clothes. It used to be “education for all” in G ulbrandsen’s tim e. B ut th at’s o u t o f date. T he governm ent does that now. Everyone expects education as a right —and doesn’t th in k m uch o f it w hen they get it! Juvenile delinquency is the top fashion nowadays. All these young crim inals — everyone’s m ad about them . You should see Lewis Serrocold’s eyes shine behind those thick glasses o f his. M ad w ith enthusiasm! H e is one o f those m en w ith huge w illpow er w ho likes living on a banana and a piece o f toast and puts all th eir energies into a cause. A nd C arrie Louise loves it —just as she always did. B ut I don’t like it, Jane. T h ey ’ve had m eetings o f the trustees and Stonygates is now a training establishm ent for juvenile crim inals, full o f boys w ho aren’t norm al, w ith psychiatrists and psychologists and occupational therapists and teachers, h a lf o f them quite m ad. C ranks, the lot
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o f them , and m y little C arrie Louise is in the m iddle o f it all!’ She paused —and stared helplessly at Miss M arple. Miss M arple said, ‘B ut you haven’t told m e yet, R u th , w hat you are really afraid of.’ ‘I tell you, I do n’t know! A nd th at’s w hat w orries me. I’ve just been d ow n to Stonygates and I felt there was som ething w rong. B ut I do n ’t k n o w if it’s these y oung crim inals, or if it’s som ething m ore personal. I can’t say w hat it is. A nd I w ant you, Jane, to go dow n there rig h t away and find out exactly w hat is w rong.’ ‘M e?’ exclaim ed Miss M arple. ‘W h y m e?’ ‘Because you k now about these things, Jane. N o th in g has ever surprised you, you always believe the w orst.’ ‘T h e w orst is so often true,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I can’t th in k w hy you have such a poor opinion o f hum an nature, living in that peaceful village o f St M ary M ead.’ ‘H u m an nature, dear, is very m uch the same everyw here. T he things th at happen in a peaceful village w ould probably surprise you. It is m ore difficult to notice them in a city, that is all.’ ‘M y p o in t is that they don’t surprise you. So you w ill go dow n to Stonygates and find out w hat’s w rong, w on’t you?’ ‘B ut, R u th dear, that w ould be m ost difficult.’ ‘N o, it w o u ld n ’t. I’ve thought it all out. Please don’t be angry w ith m e.’ M rs Van R ydock began a nervous explanation. ‘You’ll adm it, I’m sure, th at things have been difficult since the war, for people w ith small, fixed incom es - for people like you, Jane.’ ‘O h yes, indeed. If it wasn’t for the great generosity o f my nephew R ay m o n d, I really don’t kn o w how I w ould m anage w ith m oney.’ ‘C arrie Louise know s noth in g about your nephew,’ said M rs Van R ydock. ‘T h e point, as I pu t it to C arrie Louise, is that it’s
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just too bad about dear Jane. Som etim es she doesn’t have enough to eat and she’s m uch too proud to ask old friends for anything. You couldn’t offer h er m oney — but a nice long rest in lovely surroundings, w ith an old friend and w ith plenty o f good food,’ R u th Van R ydock paused and then added, ‘N o w go on — be angry if you w ant.’ Miss M arple opened her blue eyes in gentle surprise. ‘B ut w hy should I be angry at you, R u th ? It was a very good approach. I’m sure C arrie Louise responded.’ ‘She’s w ritin g to you. Honestly, Jane, you don’t m in d . . . ?’ She hesitated and Miss M arple pu t her thoughts neatly into words. ‘G oing to Stonygates and pretending to be in need o f charity? N o t in the least. You th in k it is necessary —and I agree w ith you.’ M rs Van R ydock stared at her. ‘B ut why? W h a t have you heard?’ ‘I haven’t heard anything. It’s you that I trust, R u th .’
Chapter 2 Before she caught her train back to St M ary M ead, Miss M arple, in a business-like way, asked for details. ‘It’s ju st the facts I need, R u th dear - and some idea o f w ho I w ill m eet at Stonygates.’ ‘W ell, you k n o w about C arrie Louise’s m arriage to G ulbrandsen. T here w ere no children and C arrie Louise was very upset by that. G ulbrandsen was a w idow er, and had three g ro w n -u p sons. Eventually he and C arrie Louise adopted a child. Pippa, they called her - a lovely little girl just tw o years old. A nd th e n ex t th in g that happened was that C arrie Louise had a baby after all. I understand from doctors that that quite often happens.’ Miss M arple nodded. ‘I believe so.’ ‘Anyway, it did happen, but then their daughter M ildred, w hen she arrived, was a very unattractive child. She looked like the Gulbrandsens, w ho are good people bu t very plain. C arrie Louise was so anxious to m ake no difference betw een the adopted child and her ow n that I th in k she gave even m ore attention to Pippa - w hich m ade M ildred unhappy. Pippa grew up a very beautiful girl and M ildred grew up a plain one. G ulbrandsen left an equal am o u n t o f m oney to b o th daughters - and at tw enty Pippa m arried an Italian aristocrat. M ildred m arried C anon Strete — a nice m an, but he often had colds in the head. H e was about fifteen years older than she was. It was quite a happy m arriage, I believe. ‘H e died a year ago and M ildred has com e back to Stonygates to live w ith h er m other. B ut I’ve m issed a m arriage or tw o. I’ll go back to them . Pippa m arried her Italian, Guido. A year later
Agatha C hristie
Pippa had a daughter called Gina and died in childbirth. It was a terrible tragedy and G uido was in a very bad way. C arrie Louise w ent to Italy so very often, to see him and his daughter - and it was in R o m e th at she m et Jo h n n ie R estarick and m arried him . G uido m arried again and he was happy for his daughter to be brought up in E ngland by her very w ealthy grandm other. So they all lived at Stonygates, Jo h n n ie R estarick and C arrie Louise, and Jo h n n ie’s tw o boys, Alex and Stephen, and the baby Gina. T h en came this business w ith the Yugoslavian w om an. B ut the boys are devoted to C arrie Louise - and then in 1938, C arrie Louise m arried Lewis Serrocold.’ M rs Van R ydock paused for breath. ‘You’ve n o t m et Lew is?’ Miss M arple shook her head. ‘N o, I th in k I last saw C arrie Louise in 1928. She very kindly took m e to the opera.’ ‘W ell, Lewis was a very appropriate person. H e was the head o f a very respectable com pany o f accountants. I th in k he m et her first concerning some questions about the finances o f the G ulbrandsen charitable organizations. H e was w ealthy enough, her ow n age, and very respectable. B ut he was a crank. H e was absolutely d eterm in ed to save young crim inals.’ R u th Van R ydock sighed. ‘As I said ju st now , Jane, there are fashions in philanthropy. A nd the G ulbrandsen T rust and E ducation F und was in some difficulties because the governm ent was tak in g over its functions. T h en Lewis cam e along w ith his passionate enthusiasm about tra in in g for ju v en ile delinquents. It all began w ith his w ork, ex am in in g accounts w here clever y o u n g m en had co m m itted frauds. H e was sure th at ju v en ile delinquents had good brains and abilities and only n eeded to be show n the rig h t d irectio n .’
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‘T h at is a good idea,’ said Miss M arple. ‘B ut it is n o t entirely true. I rem em ber . . .’ She broke o ff and looked at her watch. ‘O h dear —I m ustn’t miss the 6.30 train hom e.’ R u th Van R ydock said urgently, ‘A nd you w ill go to Stonygates? Prom ise, Jane?’ Jane M arple prom ised.
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Chapter 3 Miss M arple got out o f the train at M arket K indle station, holding tightly a string bag and an old leather handbag and looking m ore poorly dressed th an usual. Miss M arple was looking around the w indy station — there w ere no passengers or railway staff anyw here - w hen a young m an came up to her. ‘Miss M arple?’ H is voice had an unexpectedly dram atic quality, as th o u g h he was playing a part in a theatre. ‘I’ve com e to m eet you —from Stonygates.’ T h e personality o f this young m an did no t m atch his voice. H is loud voice was m eant to m ake h im seem im portant, w hen in fact he was alm ost nervous. ‘O h th ank you,’ said Miss M arple. ‘T h ere’s ju st this suitcase.’ T h e young m an raised a hand at a p o rter w ho was pushing some large boxes past on a handcart. ‘B ring it out, please,’ he said, and added im portantly, ‘for Stonygates.’ ‘I w on’t be long,’ the p o rter said cheerfully. Miss M arple th o u g h t that the young m an was n o t too pleased about this delay. T aking Miss M arple towards the exit, he said, ‘I’m Edgar Lawson. M rs Serrocold asked m e to m eet you. I help M r Serrocold in his w ork.’ H e behaved as if he w ere a busy and im p o rtan t m an w ho had, very charm ingly, put im portant business on one side to be polite to his em ployer’s wife. A nd again it was no t com pletely successful —it had a theatrical flavour. Miss M arple began to w onder about Edgar Lawson. T hey came out o f the station to w here a rather old Ford was standing - ju st then a new tw o-seater R olls B entley came into
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the station yard and stopped in front o f the Ford. A beautiful young w om an ju m p ed out. T h e fact that she w ore old trousers and a simple shirt seemed som ehow to m ake it m ore obvious that she was n o t only beautiful, but expensive. ‘T h ere you are, Edgar. I see you’ve got Miss M arple. I cam e to m eet her.’ She sm iled brilliantly at Miss M arple, show ing lovely teeth in a sunburnt face. ‘I’m G ina,’ she said. ‘C arrie Louise’s granddaughter. W h a t was your jo u rn e y like? Simply horrible? W h at a nice string bag. I love string bags. I’ll take it and you get in .’ E dgar’s face blushed red. H e com plained. ‘L ook here, G ina, I came to m eet Miss M arple. It was all arranged.’ A gain th at w ide smile. ‘O h I know , Edgar, but I suddenly th o u g h t it w ould be nice if I came. I’ll take her w ith m e and you can w ait and b rin g her cases.’ She shut the door on Miss M arple, ju m p ed in the driving seat, and they drove quickly out o f the station. Miss M arple looked back at Edgar Lawson’s face. ‘I don’t th in k , m y dear,’ she said, ‘that M r Lawson is very pleased.’ G ina laughed. ‘E dgar’s such a fool,’ she said. ‘Always so selfim portant. H e really thinks he is im p o rtan t!’ Miss M arple asked, ‘Isn’t he im portant? ’ ‘E dgar?’ T here was a thoughtless cruelty in G ina’s laugh. ‘O h , h e’s m ad anyway.’ ‘M ad ?’ ‘O h , you know ,’ said Gina. ‘Crazy. T h ey ’re all m ad at Stonygates. I do n ’t m ean Lewis and G randm a and m e and the boys - and n o t Miss Believer, o f course. B ut the others. Som etim es I feel I’m going a bit m ad m yself living there.’ G ina gave h er a quick sideways look. ‘You were at school w ith G randm a, w eren’t you?’
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‘Yes, indeed,’ said Miss M arple, th in k in g o f being young and struggling w ith English literature. ‘A nd it is a long tim e since I’ve seen her. I w onder i f I’ll find her m uch changed.’ ‘She walks w ith a stick because o f her arthritis. It’s got m uch worse lately. Have you been to Stonygates before?’ ‘N o .’ ‘T h e house is p retty horrible, really,’ said G ina cheerfully. ‘A nd ev erything’s very serious, w ith psychiatrists everywhere. B ut the young crim inals are fun, some o f them . O n e showed me how to open locks w ith a bit o f w ire and one child taught me how to knock people o u t.’ Miss M arple considered this thoughtfully. ‘It’s the violent ones I like best,’ said Gina. ‘I don’t like the m ad ones so m uch. O f course Lewis and D r M averick th in k they’re all m ad - I m ean they th in k it’s because they’ve had a bad hom e life —w ith m others w ho ran away w ith soldiers and all that. I don’t really agree because some people have had terrible hom e lives and yet have m anaged to grow up all right.’ ‘I’m sure it is a difficult problem ,’ said Miss M arple. ‘T he young m an w ho m et m e at the station, is he M r Serrocold’s secretary?’ ‘O h E dgar hasn’t got enough brains to be a secretary. H e’s m ad, really. H e used to stay at hotels and pretend he was an A ir Force pilot w ith m edals. H e used to bo rro w m oney and then ru n off. I th in k he’s just bad. B ut Lewis m akes them all feel one o f the fam ily and gives them jobs to do to encourage them to be responsible. I expect w e’ll be m urdered by one o f them one o f these days.’ G ina laughed happily. Miss M arple did n o t laugh. T h ey tu rn ed th ro ugh some large gates w here a m an was standing on duty and w ent up a drive w ith bushes on both sides. T h e drive and gardens w ere not at all cared for.
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U nderstanding Miss M arple’s look, G ina said, ‘It does look terrible. T here w ere no gardeners d u rin g the war, and since then w e haven’t spent any m oney on it.’ T hey came ro und a curve and Stonygates appeared. It was huge —and as G ina had said, horrible. ‘Ugly, isn’t it? ’ said G ina affectionately. ‘T h ere’s G randm a on the terrace. I’ll stop here and you can go and m eet her.’ ★★★ M iss M arple w alked along the terrace tow ards h er old friend. From a distance, the slim little figure looked girlish, even though she was leaning on a stick and m oving slowly and painfully. It was as though a young girl was acting an old w om an. ‘J ane,’ said M rs Serrocold. ‘D ear C arrie Louise.’ Yes, unm istakably C arrie Louise. Strangely unchanged still, although, u n lik e her sister, she used n o th in g artificial to m ake her look young. H er hair was grey, bu t it had always been silvery and had changed very little. H er skin was still pink and w hite, th o u g h n o w it was w rinkled. H er eyes still had their innocence. She had the slim figure o f a girl and looked at the w orld w ith all the b rig h t interest that her friend rem em bered. ‘I do blam e myself,’ said C arrie Louise in her sweet voice, ‘for lettin g it be so long. It has been years since I saw you, Jane dear. It’s lovely th at yo u ’ve com e here at last.’ From the end o f the terrace G ina called, ‘You ought to com e in, G randm a. It’s getting cold - and Jolly w ill be angry.’ C arrie Louise gave her little m usical laugh. ‘T hey all take care o f m e as i f I was an old w om an.’ ‘A nd you do n ’t feel like o n e?’
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‘N o , I don’t, Jane. Even w ith all m y pains, inside I still feel ju st like a young girl. Perhaps everyone does. It seems only a few m onths ago that w e w ere in Florence. D o you rem em ber Fraulein Schweich and her boots?’ T h e tw o w om en laughed together at events that had happened nearly h a lf a century ago. T hey w alked together to a side door w here a very th in elderly lady m et them . She had a p roud nose, a short h aircut and w ore thick w ell-m ade clothes. She said fiercely, ‘It’s so bad o f you, C arrie Louise, to stay out so late. You ju st do n o t take care o f yourself. W h a t w ill M r Serrocold say?’ ‘Please don’t be angry, Jolly,’ said C arrie Louise. She introduced Miss M arple. ‘This is Miss Believer, w ho is simply everything to me. N urse, secretary, housekeeper and very faithful friend.’ Ju liet ‘J olly’ Believer sniffed, and the end o f her big nose tu rn ed rather pink, a sign o f em otion. ‘I do w hat I can,’ she said in her deep voice. ‘T his is a very unorganized household. You simply cannot arrange any kin d o f routine.’ ‘D arling Jolly, w here are you p u ttin g Miss M arple?’ ‘In the Blue R o o m . Shall I take her u p ?’ asked Miss Believer. ‘Yes, please do, Jolly. A nd then bring her dow n to tea in the H all.’ T h e Blue R o o m had heavy curtains o f a rich blue that m ust have been, Miss M arple thought, fifty years old. T h e fu rn itu re was big and solid. Miss Believer opened a door into a bathroom . T his was unexpectedly m odern. ‘J o h n R estarick had ten bathroom s p u t into the house,’ Miss Believer explained. ‘T h a t’s about the only th in g th at’s ever been m odernized. D o you w ant a wash before tea?’ ★★ ★
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Miss B eliever to o k Miss M arple dow n the big g rim staircase and across a huge dark hall and in to a ro o m w here bookshelves w ent up to the ceiling and a big w in d o w looked out over a lake. C arrie Louise was standing by the w in d o w and Miss M arple jo in ed her. ‘W h at a large house this is,’ said M iss M arple. ‘I feel quite lost in it.’ ‘Yes, there w ere fourteen living room s —all huge. W h a t can people do w ith m ore than one living room ? A nd all those huge bedroom s —so m uch unnecessary space.’ ‘You haven’t had it m odernized?’ C arrie Louise looked surprised. ‘N o. T hose things don’t m atter, do they? T here are so m any things that are m uch m ore im portant. W e’ve ju st kept the G reat H all and the nearest room s. B ut the East and W est w ings have been divided up, so that we have offices and bedroom s for the teaching staff. T he boys are all in the C ollege bu ilding —you can see it from here.’ Miss M arple looked out to w here large red brick buildings showed th ro u g h some trees. T h en her eyes fell on som ething nearer, and she smiled. ‘W h a t a beautiful girl Gina is,’ she said. C arrie Louise’s face lit up. ‘Yes, isn’t she?’ she said softly. ‘It’s so lovely to have her back here again. I sent her to A m erica at the b eg in n in g o f the w ar - to R u th . P oor R u th ! She was so upset about G ina’s m arriage. B ut I don’t blam e her. R u th doesn’t realize, as I do, th at the old class differences are gone - or are going. G ina was doing her w ar w ork —and she m et this young m an, W alter H udd. H e was a M arine and had a very good w ar record. A nd a w eek later they w ere m arried. It was all far too quick, o f course —there was no tim e to find out if they w ere really suited to each o th er —but th at’s the way o f things nowadays. W e
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may th in k y o ung people are unwise, bu t w e have to accept their decisions. R u th , though, was terribly upset.’ ‘She did n ’t th in k the young m an was suitable?’ ‘H e came from the M idw est o f A m erica and had no m oney and no profession. H e w asn’t R u th ’s idea o f w hat was right for Gina. H owever, the th in g was done. I was so pleased w hen they accepted my invitation to com e over here. T h ere’s so m uch going on here —jo b s o f every kind. If W alter w ants to m ake a start in m edicine o r get a degree or anything, he could do it in this country. A fter all, this is G ina’s hom e. It’s delightful to have her back.’ Miss M arple n o dded and looked out o f the w indow again at the tw o young people standing near the lake. ‘T h ey ’re a very handsom e couple, too,’ she said. ‘I’m no t surprised G ina fell in love w ith h im !’ ‘O h , b u t that isn’t W alter. T h at’s Steve - the younger o f Jo h n n ie R estarick ’s tw o boys. Steve is in charge o f o u r D ram a now. W e have a theatre, you know , and plays —w e encourage all the arts. Lewis says that so m uch o f this juvenile crim e is due to show ing-off: m ost o f the boys have had such an unhappy hom e life that their crim es m ake them feel like heroes. W e encourage them to w rite th eir o w n plays and act in them and design and paint their ow n scenery. Steve is in charge o f the theatre. It’s w onderful, h e’s so enthusiastic.’ ‘I see,’ said Miss M arple. She did see very clearly the handsom e face o f Stephen R estarick as he stood talking eagerly to Gina. G ina’s face she could not see, b u t there was no m istaking Stephen’s expression. ‘I suppose you realize, C arrie Louise,’ said Miss M arple, ‘that h e’s in love w ith her.’ ‘O h no —’ C arrie Louise looked troubled. ‘I do hope no t.’
16
They Do It W ith Mirrors
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Chapter 4 Before M rs Serrocold could say anything m ore, her husband came in from the hall carrying some letters. Lewis Serrocold was a short m an, b u t he had a strong personality. H e was full o f energy and he concentrated com pletely on w ho he was speaking to. ‘Bad news, dearest,’ he said. ‘T h at boy, Jackie Flint. H e ’s in trouble again. A nd I really did th in k he m eant to stay honest this tim e. H e seemed so sincere about it. You k n o w he always liked railways - and D r M averick and I tho u g h t that i f he got a railways jo b he w ould be good at it. B ut it’s the same story. H e ’s been stealing from the parcels office. W e haven’t got the answer to his troubles yet. B ut I’m no t giving up.’ ‘Lewis - this is m y old friend, Jane M arple.’ ‘O h how do you do,’ said M r Serrocold, n o t really noticing Jane. ‘J ackie is a nice boy, too, not too m any brains, bu t a really nice boy. Terrible hom e he came from . I - ’ H e suddenly gave all his attention to the guest. ‘W hy, Miss M arple, I’m delighted you’ve com e to stay w ith us. It w ill m ake such a great difference to C arrie to have a friend from the old days she can exchange m em ories w ith. She has in m any ways a bad tim e here - so m uch sadness in the stories o f these poor children. W e do hope you’ll stay w ith us a long tim e.’ Miss M arple could understand w hy her friend had been so attracted to this charm ing m an. T hough she was sure that Lewis Serrocold w ould always th in k that causes w ere m ore im portant th an people. It m ig h t have m ade some w om en angry, bu t not C arrie Louise. Lewis Serrocold took out another letter. ‘A nd w e do have some good news. This is from the bank. Y oung M orris is
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doing extrem ely well. T h ey ’re very satisfied w ith h im and are p rom oting him . I knew that all he needed was responsibility that, and a th o ro u g h training in dealing w ith m oney.’ H e tu rn ed to Miss M arple. ‘H a lf these boys don’t know w hat m oney is. It m eans no m ore to them than buying cigarettes —yet th ey ’re clever w ith num bers and find it exciting to use them . W ell, I believe in training them — in accountancy - to show them how m oney works. Give them skill and then responsibility. O u r greatest successes have been that way - only tw o out o f th irty -eig h t have failed us. O ne is a head cashier — a really responsible position.’ H e broke o ff to say, ‘Tea’s all ready in the H all, dearest,’ to his wife. C arrie Louise linked her arm th ro u g h Miss M arple’s and they w ent in to the G reat Hall. Tea seemed rather strange in these surroundings. T he tea things w ere in a pile on a tray — inexpensive w hite cups m ixed w ith the rem ains o f some very good quality old tea services. T here was a lo af o f bread, tw o pots o f jam , and some cheap-looking cakes. A plum p m iddle-aged w om an w ith grey hair sat behind the tea table and M rs Serrocold said, ‘J ane, this is m y daughter M ildred. You haven’t seen her since she was a tiny girl.’ M ildred Strete looked exactly like a C anon’s w idow , wealthy, respectable and slightly boring. She was a plain w om an w ith a large face. She had been, Miss M arple rem em bered, a very plain little girl. ‘A nd this is W alter H udd - G ina’s husband.’ W alter was a big young m an w ith h air brushed up on his head and a b ad-tem pered expression. H e nodded uncom fortably and continued p u ttin g cake into his m outh. Soon after, G ina came in w ith Stephen R estarick. T hey w ere b o th excited.
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‘G ina’s got a w onderful idea for that scenery’ said Stephen. ‘You know , Gina, yo u’ve got a talent for theatrical designing.’ G ina laughed and looked pleased. E dgar Lawson came in and sat dow n by Lewis Serrocold. W h en G ina spoke to him , he did n o t answer. ★★ ★ T here w ere m ore people at dinner, a young D r M averick, w ho was a psychiatrist, and whose detailed m edical conversation was n o t easy to understand. T here w ere also tw o young teachers, and a M r B aum garten, w ho was an occupational therapist, and three very shy y oung m en. W h e n there w ere guests, a few boys w ere chosen to learn how to behave properly at the dinner table. O n e o f them , a fair-haired boy w ith blue eyes, was, Gina w hispered to her, the expert at knocking people out. T h e meal was badly cooked and badly served. A fter d in n er Lewis Serrocold w ent away w ith D r M averick to his office. T h e therapist and the teachers w ent away to their ow n room s. T h e three ju venile cases’ w ent back to the college. Gina and Stephen w ent to the college theatre. M ildred kn itted and Miss Believer repaired socks. W alter sat and stared at nothing. C arrie Louise and Miss M arple talked about the old days. E dgar Lawson seem ed unable to stay still. H e sat dow n and then got up. ‘I w onder i f I ought to go to M r Serrocold,’ he said rather loudly. ‘H e m ay need m e.’ C arrie Louise said gently, ‘I don’t th in k so. H e was going to talk over some cases w ith D r M averick.’ ‘T h en I certainly w on’t interrupt! I w o n ’t go w here I’m not w anted. I’ve already wasted tim e today going d ow n to the station w hen M rs H udd m eant to go there herself.’
T hey D o It W ith M irrors
‘G ina should have told you,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘B ut I th in k she ju st decided at the last m om ent.’ ‘You do understand, M rs Serrocold, that she m ade m e look a com plete fool!’ ‘N o, n o,’ said C arrie Louise, sm iling. ‘You m ustn’t have these ideas.’ ‘I k n o w I’m n o t needed or w anted. I’m perfectly aware o f that. If I had m y proper place in life, things w ould be very different indeed. It’s no fault o f m ine that I haven’t got m y proper place in life.’ ‘N ow , Edgar,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘D o n ’t get excited about n othing. Jane thinks it was very kin d o f you to m eet her. Gina has these sudden ideas - she didn’t m ean to upset you.’ ‘O h yes, she did. It was done on purpose - to m ake a fool o f m e.’ ‘O h , Edgar.’ ‘You don’t k n o w h a lf o f w h at’s going on, M rs Serrocold. W ell, I w o n ’t say any m ore now except goodnight.’ E dgar w ent out, shutting the door loudly. Miss Believer sniffed. ‘Terrible m anners.’ ‘H e ’s so sensitive,’ said C arrie Louise. M ildred Strete said sharply, ‘H e is a horrible young m an, M other.’ ‘Lewis says he can’t help it.’ W alter H u d d spoke for the first tim e that evening. ‘T h at guy’s crazy. T h a t’s all there is to it! C razy!’
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Chapter 5 T h e next m o rning, Miss M arple w ent out into the gardens. T hey w ere in a very bad way, the grass was long, the flower borders w ere full o f w eeds and the paths w ere overgrow n. T he kitchen gardens, on the o th er hand, w ere full o f vegetables. A nd a large part o f w hat had once been law n and flower garden, was now tennis courts and a bow ling green. As Miss M arple pulled up a weed, E dgar Lawson appeared in a neat dark suit. She called him , asking i f he knew w here any gardening tools w ere kept. ‘It’s such a pity to see this,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I do like gardens. N o w I don’t suppose you ever th in k about gardens, M r Lawson. You have so m uch im p o rtan t w ork to do for M r Serrocold. You m ust find it all m ost interesting.’ H e answ ered quickly, ‘Yes —yes —it is interesting.’ ‘A nd you m ust be o f the greatest help to M r Serrocold.’ H is face becam e troubled. ‘I don’t know . I can’t be sure . . .’ H e broke off. T here was a garden seat nearby and Miss M arple sat dow n. ‘I am sure,’ she said brightly, ‘that M r Serrocold relies on you.’ ‘I don’t know ,’ said Edgar. ‘I really don’t.’ H e sat dow n beside her. ‘I’m in a very difficult position.’ ‘O f course,’ said Miss M arple. ‘T his is all highly confidential.’ he said. ‘O f course,’ said Miss M arple. A ctually, m y father is a very im portant m an. N o b o d y knows except M r Serrocold. You see, it m ight do m y father’s position h arm i f the story got out.’ H e smiled. A sad, dignified smile. ‘You see, I’m W in sto n C h u rch ill’s son.’ ‘O h ,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I see.’ A nd she did see. She rem em bered a rather sad story in St M ary M ead —and w hat had happened afterwards. 22
T hey D o It W ith M irrors
E dgar Law son continued and w hat he said seemed m ore like a young m an acting on a stage than talking about his life. ‘T here w ere reasons. M y m other wasn’t free. H e r ow n husband was in a m ental hospital - there could be no divorce - so there was no question o f m arriage. I don’t really blam e them . M y father has always done everything he could —privately, o f course. B ut the trouble is, h e’s got enemies —and they’re against m e, too. T hey keep us apart. T h ey w atch me. W herever I go, they spy on me. A nd they m ake things go w rong for m e.’ Miss M arple shook her head. ‘Dear, dear,’ she said. ‘In L ondon I was studying to be a doctor. T h ey changed m y exam answers. T h ey w anted m e to fail. T hey follow ed m e, told things about m e to m y landlady. T hey follow m e w herever I go. M r Serrocold b ro u g h t m e dow n here. H e was very kind. B ut even here, you know , I’m no t safe. T h ey ’re here, too —w o rk in g against m e - m aking the others dislike me. M r Serrocold says th at isn’t true —bu t M r Serrocold doesn’t know. O r else — I w o n d er — som etim es I’ve th o u g h t . . .’ H e got up. ‘T his is all confidential. You do understand that, don’t you? B ut i f you notice anyone follow ing m e — spying, I m ean — let m e k n o w w ho it is!’ H e w ent away, and Miss M arple w atched him and w ondered. T here was som ething a little w ro n g about Edgar Lawson perhaps m ore th an a little. A nd E dgar Lawson rem inded her o f som eone. A voice spoke. ‘Crazy. Just crazy.’ W alter H u d d was standing beside her. H e was frow ning as he stared after Edgar. ‘W h a t k ind o f a place is this, anyw ay?’ he said. ‘T h ey ’re all crazy. T h at Edgar guy —w hat do you th in k about him ? H e says his father’s really G eneral M ontgom ery. H e told G ina he was the heir to the R ussian throne. Hell, doesn’t the guy k now w h o his father really was?’
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Agatha C hristie
‘I should im agine not,’ said Miss M arple. ‘T h at is probably the trouble.’ W alter sat d ow n beside her. ‘T h ey ’re all crazy here.’ ‘You don’t like Stonygates?’ T h e young m an frow ned. ‘I simply don’t understand! T hey’re rich, these people. A nd look at the way they live. O ld broken cups and plates and cheap stuff all m ixed up. N o proper servants. C urtains and chair covers falling to pieces! M rs Serrocold just doesn’t care. L ook at that dress she was w earing last night. N early w o rn out - and yet she can buy w hat she likes. M oney? T h ey ’re so rich.’ H e paused, th in k in g . ‘T h ere’s n o th in g w ro n g w ith being poor, if you’re y oung and strong and ready to w ork. I had some m oney saved. G ina com es from a better fam ily than me. B ut it d idn’t m atter. W e fell in love —we are m ad about each other. W e got m arried. W e w ere going to open a garage back hom e - Gina was w illing. T h en that arrogant A unt R u th o f G ina’s started m aking trouble and Gina w anted to com e here to England to see her grandm other. W ell, that seemed fair enough. It was her hom e, and I w anted to see E ngland anyway. So w e came. Just a visit —th at’s w hat I th ought.’ H e becam e m ore angry, ‘B ut we got caught up in this crazy business. W h y do n ’t w e stay here - th at’s w hat they say? Plenty o f jobs for me. Jobs? I don’t w ant a jo b feeding sweets to baby crim inals! D o n ’t people w ho’ve got m oney understand their luck? D o n ’t they understand that m ost o f the w orld can’t have a great place like this? Isn’t it crazy to tu rn your back on your luck w hen you’ve got it? I’ll w ork the way I like and at w hat I like. T his place m akes m e feel I’m trapped. A nd G ina —I don’t understand her anym ore. I can’t even talk to her now. O h hell!’ Miss M arple said gently, ‘I quite see your p o in t o f view.’
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W alter gave her a look. ‘You’re the only one I’ve talked to so far. I do n ’t k n o w w hat it is about you —I kn o w you’re English — but you do rem in d m e o f m y A unt Betsy back hom e.’ ‘N o w th at’s very nice.’ ‘She had a lot o f sense,’ W alter continued thoughtfully. ‘She looked w eak, b u t she was tough —yes, m a’am , I’ll say she was tough.’ H e got up. ‘S orry about talking to you in this way.’ For the first tim e, Miss M arple saw h im smile. It was a very attractive smile, and W alter H u d d was suddenly changed from an aw kw ard bad-tem pered boy into a handsom e and charm ing young m an. ‘I had to say it, I suppose. B ut I w asn’t right to w orry you.’ ‘N o t at all, m y dear boy,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I have a nephew o f m y o w n.’ ‘You’ve got o ther com pany com ing,’ said W alter H udd. ‘T h at w om an doesn’t like me. G oodbye, m a’am. Thanks for the talk.’ H e w alked away and Miss M arple w atched M ildred Strete com ing across the law n to jo in her. ★★★ ‘I see you’ve been bothered by that terrible young m an,’ said M rs Strete, as she sat dow n. ‘W h a t a tragedy that is.’ ‘A tragedy?’ ‘G ina’s m arriage. I told M other it was unw ise to send her o ff to A m erica.’ ‘It m ust have been difficult to decide w hat was right,’ said Miss M arple. ‘W h ere children w ere concerned, I m ean. W ith the possibility o f a G erm an invasion.’ ‘N onsense,’ said M rs Strete. ‘I k new w e w ould w in the war. B ut M o ther has always been unreasonable w here G ina is concerned. T h e child was always spoilt. O h you’ve no idea, A unt Jane,’ she
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Agatha C hristie
cried suddenly, ‘A nd then there’s M o th er’s idealistic projects. T his w hole place is impossible. Lewis thinks o f n o th in g bu t these horrible y oung crim inals. A nd M o th er thinks o f noth in g but him . E verything Lewis does is right. Look at the garden and the house —n o th in g is done properly. T h ere’s m ore than enough money. It’s ju st th at nobody cares. M o th er w o n ’t even buy herself p roper clothes. I f it w ere m y house . . .’ She stopped and then said in surprise, ‘H ere is Lewis. H o w strange. H e rarely comes into the garden.’ M r Serrocold cam e towards them in the same single-m inded way that he did everything. H e appeared no t to notice M ildred because it was only Miss M arple w ho was in his m ind. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said. ‘I w anted to take you ro und and show you everything. B ut I m ust go to Liverpool to help Jackie Flint. I f only w e can get the police no t to prosecute.’ M ildred Strete got up and w alked away. Lewis Serrocold did not notice. His earnest eyes looked at Miss M arple through thick glasses. ‘You see,’ he said, ‘the police nearly always take the w ro n g view. Prison is no good at all. C orrective train in g like w e have here . . .’ Miss M arple in terrupted him . ‘M r Serrocold,’ she said. ‘Are you satisfied that y oung M r Lawson is —is quite n orm al?’ A w orried expression appeared on Lewis Serrocold’s face. ‘I do hope h e ’s not getting w orse again. W h a t has he been saying?’ ‘H e told m e th at he was W inston C h u rch ill’s son.’ ‘O f course —o f course. T he usual statem ents. H e ’s illegitim ate, as you’ve probably guessed, poor boy, and from a very poor family. H e h it a m an in the street w ho he said was spying on him . It was all very typical. His father was a sailor —the m other d idn’t even k now his nam e. T he child started im agining things about his father and about himself. H e w ore un ifo rm and medals
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that he had no right to w ear — all very typical. B ut D o cto r M averick believes w e can help give h im self-confidence, m ake h im understand that it’s no t a m an’s fam ily background that is im portant, b u t w hat he is. T here has been a great im provem ent. A nd now you say . . .’ H e shook his head. ‘C o u ld he be dangerous, M r Serrocold? H e talked to m e o f enem ies - o f persecution. Isn’t that a dangerous sign?’ ‘I do n ’t th in k so. B ut I’ll speak to M averick. So far, he has been very hopeful.’ H e looked at his watch. ‘I m ust go. A h, here is our dear Jolly. She w ill look after you.’ Miss Believer arrived in a hurry. ‘T he car is at the door, M r Serrocold. I w ill take Miss M arple over to D r M averick at the Institute.’ ‘T h a n k you. I m ust go.’ Lewis Serrocold hurried away. L ooking after him , Miss Believer said, ‘Some day that m an w ill simply fall dow n dead. H e never rests.’ ‘H e is passionate about this cause,’ said Miss M arple. ‘H e never thinks o f anything else,’ said Miss Believer grimly. ‘H is w ife is a sweet w om an, as you know , Miss M arple, and she should have love and attention. B ut the only thing people here th in k about is a lot o f dishonest boys w ho don’t w ant to do any hard w ork. W h a t about the good boys from good homes? W h y isn’t som ething done for them ? H onesty ju st isn’t interesting to cranks like M r Serrocold and D r M averick.’ T h ey crossed the garden and cam e to the grand gate, w hich E ric G ulbrandsen had built as an entrance to his ugly, red brick college building. D r M averick, looking, Miss M arple decided, no t norm al him self, cam e o u t to m eet them . ‘T h an k you, Miss Believer,’ he said. ‘N ow , Miss M arple, in o u r view, psychiatry is the answer.
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It’s a m edical problem — th at’s w hat w e’ve got to get the police and the law courts to understand. D o look up, you’ll see how w e begin.’ Miss M arple looked up over the doorw ay and read: R E C O V E R H O PE A L L YO U W H O E N T E R H E R E
‘Isn’t that ju st right! W e don’t w ant to punish these boys. W e w ant to m ake them feel w hat fine young m en they are.’ ‘Like E dgar Law son?’ said Miss M arple. ‘Interesting case, that. Have you been talking to h im ?’ ‘H e has been talk ing to m e,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I w ondered if, perhaps, he isn’t a little m ad?’ D r M averick laughed cheerfully. ‘W e’re all m ad, dear lady,’ he hurried her in th ro u g h the door. ‘T h a t’s the secret. W e’re all a little m ad.’
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Chapter 6 O n the w hole it was rather an exhausting day. Enthusiasm can be extrem ely tiring, Miss M arple thought. She felt dissatisfied w ith herself. T here was a pattern here — perhaps several patterns —and yet she could no t get a clear view o f them . A ny w o rry she felt was centred ro u n d E dgar Lawson. S om ething was w ro n g about Edgar Lawson —som ething that w ent beyond the adm itted facts. B ut Miss M arple could no t see how that w rongness, w hatever it was, affected her friend C arrie Louise. W h en , on the follow ing m o rn in g C arrie Louise came and sat dow n on the garden seat beside her and asked her w hat she was th in k in g about, Miss M arple replied, ‘You, C arrie Louise.’ ‘W h a t about m e?’ ‘Tell m e honestly —is there anything here that w orries yo u ?’ ‘W orries m e?’ T he w om an raised clear blue eyes. ‘B ut Jane, w hat should w o rry m e?’ ‘W ell, m ost o f us have w orries.’ Miss M arple’s eyes w ere bright. ‘I w o rry about things eating the vegetables I grow in m y garden —g ettin g sheets properly repaired. O h , lots o f little things —it seems u n n atu ral that you shouldn’t have any w orries at all.’ ‘I suppose I m ust have,’ said M rs Serrocold. ‘Lewis works too hard, and Stephen forgets his meals, w orking so hard at the theatre, and G ina is very nervous —bu t I’ve never been able to change people —I don’t see how you can. So it w ouldn’t be any good w orry in g , w ould it?’ ‘M ild red ’s n o t very happy, either, is she?’ ‘O h no,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘M ildred is never happy. She w asn’t as a child. Q u ite unlike Pippa.’
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‘Perhaps,’ suggested Miss M arple, ‘there was a reason for M ildred not to be happy?’ C arrie Louise said quietly, ‘Because o f being jealous? Yes, I suppose that could be true. B ut people don’t really need a cause for feeling w hat they feel. T h ey ’re just m ade that way. D o n ’t you th in k so, Jan e?’ Miss M arple said, ‘I expect you’re right, C arrie Louise.’ ‘O f course, n o t having any w orries is partly because o f Jolly. D ear Jolly. She takes care o f m e as though I w ere a baby. She w ould do anything for me. I really believe Jolly w ould m urder som eone for m e, Jane. Isn’t that a terrible th in g to say?’ ‘She’s certainly devoted,’ agreed Miss M arple. ‘She w ould like m e to buy w onderful clothes and every luxury, and she thinks everybody ought to take care o f m e,’ M rs Serrocold’s musical laugh rang out. ‘All our poor boys are, in her view, spoilt young criminals and not w orth the trouble. She thinks this place is bad for m y arthritis, and I ought to go somewhere w arm and dry.’ ‘D o you suffer m uch from arthritis?’ ‘It’s got m uch worse lately. I find it difficult to w alk — I get awful pains in m y legs. O h well —’ again there came that lovely smile, ‘these things com e w ith age.’ Miss Believer came out o f the French w indow s and hurried across to them . ‘A telegram has ju st come. Arriving this afternoon, Christian Gulbrandsen.’
‘C hristian?’ C arrie Louise looked surprised. ‘I had no idea he was in E ngland.’ ‘Shall I put h im in the guest ro o m ?’ ‘Yes, please, Jolly. T h en there w ill be no stairs.’ Miss Believer retu rn ed to the house. ‘C hristian G ulbrandsen is m y stepson,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘M y first husband’s eldest son. A ctually h e’s tw o years older than
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I am. H e ’s the m ain trustee o f the Institute. H o w very annoying that Lewis is away.’ C hristian G ulbrandsen arrived that afternoon in tim e for tea. H e was a big heavy-featured m an, w ith a slow way o f talking. H e greeted C arrie Louise w ith every sign o f affection. ‘A nd how is o ur little C arrie Louise? You don’t look a day older.’ H is hands on her shoulders, he stood sm iling dow n at her. A hand pulled his sleeve. ‘C hristian!’ ‘A h,’ he tu rn ed —‘it is M ildred? H o w are you, M ildred? ’ C hristian G ulbrandsen and his half-sister looked very m uch alike —th o u g h there was nearly th irty years’ difference in age. M ildred seemed particularly pleased by his arrival. ‘A nd h o w is little G ina?’ said G ulbrandsen, tu rn in g to her. ‘You and y o u r husband are still here, th en ?’ ‘Yes. W e’ve quite settled dow n, haven’t we, W alter?’ ‘It looks like it,’ said W alter, unfriendly as usual. ‘So here I am w ith all the fam ily again,’ said G ulbrandsen. H e spoke w ith a d eterm in ed happiness - b u t in fact, Miss M arple th o u g h t, he was n o t happy. T h ere was a grim look about him . Introduced to Miss M arple, he looked at her w ith careful attention. ‘W e had no idea you w ere in E ngland, C hristian,’ said M rs Serrocold. ‘It is too bad that Lewis is away.’ ‘It is necessary th at I see Lewis. W h e n w ill he be back?’ ‘T om orrow afternoon. If only you had let us know .’ ‘M y dear C arrie Louise, m y arrangem ents w ere m ade very suddenly.’ Miss Believer said to Miss M arple, ‘M r G ulbrandsen and M r Serrocold are trustees o f the G ulbrandsen Institute. T he others are the Bishop o f C rom er and M r Gilfoy.’
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It appeared, then, that it was business that brought C hristian Gulbrandsen to Stonygates. It seemed to be w hat everyone else thought. A nd yet Miss M arple w ondered. O nce or tw ice the old m an looked at C arrie Louise in a way that puzzled Miss M arple. T hen he m oved his eyes to the others, m aking a sort o f hidden judgem ent. A fter tea, Miss M arple tactfully left the fam ily and w ent into the library. R a th e r to her surprise, w hen she had settled herself w ith her k n ittin g , C hristian G ulbrandsen cam e in and sat dow n beside her. ‘You are a very old friend, I think, o f our dear C arrie Louise?’ he said. ‘W e were at school together in Italy, M r G ulbrandsen. M any years ago.’ ‘A h yes. A nd you are fond o f her?’ ‘Yes, indeed,’ said Miss M arple warmly. ‘So, I think, is everyone. A nd it should be so, for she is a very dear and lovely person. I and m y brothers have always loved her. She has been like a very dear sister. She was loyal to m y father and to all his ideas. She has never thought o f herself, bu t pu t the needs o f others first.’ ‘She has always been an idealist,’ said Miss M arple. ‘A n idealist? Yes. Yes, that is so. A nd therefore it m ay be that she does not truly understand the evil that there is in the w orld.’ Miss M arple looked at him , surprised. ‘Tell m e,’ he said. ‘H o w is her health?’ A gain Miss M arple felt surprised. ‘She seems to m e very w ell —apart from arthritis.’ A rthritis? Yes. A nd her heart? H er heart is g o o d ?’ ‘As far as I know. B ut u ntil yesterday I had no t seen her for m any years. If you w ant to know the state o f her health,
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you should ask som ebody in the house here. Miss Believer, for instance.’ C hristian G ulbrandsen was staring at her very hard. ‘Som etim es,’ he said simply, ‘it is hard to k n o w w hat is the best th in g to do. I w ish to act for the best. I am particularly anxious that no harm and no unhappiness should com e to that dear lady. B ut it is n o t easy —n o t easy at all.’ M rs Strete cam e into the room at that m om ent. ‘C hristian, D r M averick w ants to kn o w i f you w ould like to discuss anything w ith him .’ ‘N o, I w ill w ait u n til Lewis returns. B ut I w ill have a w ord w ith him .’ G ulbrandsen h u rried out. M ildred Strete stared after him and then stared at Miss M arple. ‘I w onder i f anything is w rong. C hristian is very u nlike him self. D id he say anything?’ ‘H e only asked m e about your m other’s health.’ ‘H er health? W h y w ould he ask you about th at?’ M ildred spoke sharply, her large square face w ent red. ‘I really do n ’t know .’ ‘M o th er’s health is perfectly good. Surprising for a w om an o f h er age. I hope you told h im so?’ ‘I don’t really k n o w anything about it,’ said Miss M arple. ‘H e asked m e about h er heart.’ ‘T h ere’s n o th in g w ro n g w ith M o th er’s h ea rt!’ ‘I’m delighted to hear you say so, m y dear.’ ‘W h at on earth pu t all these strange ideas into C hristian’s head?’ ‘I’ve no idea,’ said Miss M arple.
Chapter 7 T h e next day seem ed uneventful. C hristian G ulbrandsen spent the m o rn in g w ith D r M averick in the Institute. In the early afternoon Gina to o k h im for a drive, and after that he asked Miss Believer to show h im the gardens. It seemed to Miss M arple that he w anted a private talk w ith her. T h e only disturbing th in g happened about four o ’clock. Miss M arple had gone out in the garden to take a w alk before tea. C o m in g ro u n d some overgrow n bushes she m et Edgar Lawson, w ho was rushing along, talking to h im self and w ho nearly ran into her. H e said, ‘I beg y our pardon,’ but Miss M arple was startled by the strange staring expression o f his eyes. ‘A ren’t you feeling well, M r Law son?’ ‘Well? I’ve had a shock - a terrible shock.’ T he young m an gave a quick look past her, and then an uneasy look to either side. ‘Shall I tell y o u ?’ H e looked at her doubtfully. ‘I don’t know. I don’t really know . I’ve been spied on so m uch.’ Miss M arple took h im firm ly by the arm . ‘I f w e w alk dow n this path —there, now, there are no trees or bushes near. N obody can overhear.’ ‘N o — no, you’re right.’ H e took a deep breath, bent his head and alm ost w hispered, ‘I’ve m ade a terrible discovery.’ E dgar Lawson began to shake. H e was alm ost crying. ‘I trusted someone! I believed them , bu t it was lies —all lies. Lies to keep m e from finding out the truth. It’s so cruel. You see, he was the one person I trusted, and now to find out that all the tim e h e’s been m y enemy! It’s he w ho put spies to w atch me. B ut he can’t get away w ith it any m ore. I shall speak out. I shall tell h im I k now w hat he has been doing.’
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‘W h o is “ h e” ?’ dem anded Miss M arple. E dgar Lawson stood up straight. ‘M y father.’ ‘M ontgom ery —or do you m ean W in sto n C hurchill?’ E dgar gave her a disapproving look. ‘T hey let m e th in k that — just to keep m e from learning the tru th . B ut I know now. I’ve got a friend — a real friend w ho tells m e the truth. W ell, m y father w ill have to face me. I’ll th ro w his lies in his face! W e’ll see w hat h e’s got to say to that.’ A nd suddenly Edgar ran off. H er face serious, Miss M arple w ent back to the house. ‘W e’re all a little m ad,’ D r M averick had said. B ut it seem ed to her that in E dgar’s case it w ent fu rth er than that. ★★★ Lewis Serrocold arrived back at six-thirty. H e stopped the car at the gates and w alked to the house th ro u g h the gardens. From her w indow , Miss M arple saw C hristian G ulbrandsen go out to m eet h im and the tw o m en tu rn ed to w alk along the terrace and back. Miss M arple had been careful to bring her bird-w atching binoculars w ith her. She noticed, before lifting the binoculars to her eyes, that b oth m en w ere looking very w orried. Miss M arple leant out a little farther. Bits o f conversation reached her now and then. If the m en looked up, it w ould be obvious that an enthusiastic bird w atcher had her attention fixed far away from their conversation. ‘. .. h o w to save C arrie Louise from k n o w in g . . . ’ G ulbrandsen was saying. T h e next tim e they passed below, Lewis Serrocold was speaking, ‘. . . if it can be kept from her. I agree that we m ust consider her . . .’
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O th er faint words cam e to the listener. \ . . really serious . . .’ \ . . too big a responsibility to take . . \ . . we should take outside advice . . .’ Finally Miss M arple heard C hristian G ulbrandsen say, ‘It is getting cold. W e m ust go inside.’ Miss M arple drew her head in th ro u g h the w indow . W hatever was w ro n g at Stonygates, it definitely affected C arrie Louise. ★★★ D in n er that evening was very quiet. B oth G ulbrandsen and Lewis w ere deep in their ow n thoughts. W h e n they m oved into the H all afterwards, C hristian said he had an im portant letter to w rite. ‘So if you w ill forgive m e, dear C arrie Louise, I w ill go to m y room .’ H e left the G reat H all by the door w hich led past the m ain staircase and along a corridor, at the end o f w hich was the guest room and bathroom . W h en he had gone C arrie Louise said, ‘A ren’t you going d ow n to the theatre tonight, G ina?’ T he girl shook her head. She w ent over and sat by the w indow overlooking the front drive. Stephen sat dow n at the grand piano and started playing very quietly — a sad little tune. T he teachers and D r M averick said goodnight and left. As W alter tu rn ed on a reading lam p, there was a loud bang and h a lf the lights w ent out. H e growled. ‘T h at dam n sw itch is faulty. I’ll go and put a new fuse in.’ H e left the H all and C arrie Louise said quietly, ‘W alter’s so clever w ith electrical things. You rem em ber how he fixed that toaster?’
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‘Has mother taken her medicine?’ Mildred asked. Miss Believer looked annoyed. ‘I completely forgot.’ She jumped up and went into the dining room, returning with a glass of rose-coloured medicine. Carrie Louise held out her hand. ‘It’s such horrible stuff and nobody lets me forget it,’ she said, making a face. And then, unexpectedly, Lewis Serrocold said, ‘I don’t think you should take it tonight, my dear. I’m not sure it’s really good for you.’ Quietly, but with that controlled energy always so obvious in him, he took the glass from Miss Believer and put it down on the table. ‘Really, M r Serrocold,’ Miss Believer said, ‘I can’t agree with you. Mrs Serrocold has been very much better since . . .’ She broke off as the front door was pushed violently open with a bang. Edgar Lawson came into the big hall as if he were a star performer making a grand entry. He stood in the middle of the floor and said dramatically, ‘So I have found you, my enemy! ’ He said it to Lewis Serrocold. M r Serrocold looked amazed. ‘Why, Edgar, what is the matter? ’ ‘You can say that to me —you! You who know! You’ve been lying to me, spying on me, working with my enemies against me.’ Lewis took him by the arm. ‘Now, now, my dear boy, don’t excite yourself. Tell me all about it quietly. Come into my study.’ He led him across the Hall and through a door on the right, closing it behind him. Then there was the sound of a key being turned in the lock. Miss Believer looked at Miss Marple, the same idea in both their minds. It was not Lewis Serrocold who had turned the key. 37
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Miss Believer said quickly, ‘T h at young m an is about to lose control o f him self. It isn’t safe.’ M ildred said, ‘H e ’s unbalanced —and ungrateful. You ought to have h im locked up, M other.’ W ith a sigh C arrie Louise said, ‘T h ere’s no harm in him really. H e ’s very fond o f Lew is.’ Miss M arple looked at her curiously. T here had been no fondness in E dgar’s expression, very far from it. Gina said sharply, ‘Edgar was holding som ething in his pocket.’ Stephen stopped playing. ‘I th in k you know ,’ Miss M arple said, ‘it was a g u n .’ From beh in d the d oor o f Lewis’s office the sound o f voices was clear and loud. E dgar Lawson shouted w hile Lewis Serrocold’s voice stayed calm. ‘Lies, lies, all lies. You’re m y father. I’m your son. You’ve deprived m e o f m y rights. I should ow n this place. You hate m e — you w ant to get rid o f m e!’ T here was a calm ing sound from Lewis and then the hysterical voice scream ed o u t horrible swear words. E dgar seemed to be losing control o f him self. Occasional w ords cam e from Lewis, ‘C alm —just be calm —you kn o w none o f this is tru e.’ B ut they seemed to anger the y oung m an further. Everyone in the H all was silent, listening to w hat was happening beh in d the locked door o f Lew is’s study. ‘I’ll m ake you listen to m e,’ yelled Edgar. ‘I’ll take that superior expression o ff your face. I’ll have revenge for all you’ve m ade m e suffer.’ T h e other voice said sharply, ‘P ut that g u n d o w n !’ G ina cried, ‘E dgar w ill kill him . H e ’s m ad. C an ’t w e get the police?’
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Carrie Louise, still unmoved, said softly, ‘There’s no need to worry, Gina. Edgar loves Lewis. He’s just being dramatic, that’s all.’ Edgar laughed then, in a way that sounded mad to Miss Marple. ‘Yes, I’ve got a gun. You started this conspiracy against me and now you’re going to pay for it.’ W hat sounded like a gun firing made them all jump, but Carrie Louise said, ‘It’s all right, it’s outside — in the park somewhere.’ Edgar was screaming. ‘Why don’t you get down on your knees and beg for your life? I’m going to shoot, I tell you. I’m going to shoot you dead! I’m your son —your unacknowledged hated son —you wanted me hidden away, out of the world altogether, perhaps. You set your spies to follow me —you conspired against me. You, my father! My father. You went on telling me lies. Pretending to be kind to me, and all the time —all the time — You’re not fit to live. I won’t let you live.’ Again Edgar began screaming horrible swear words. At some point during the scene Miss Marple was conscious of Miss Believer saying, ‘We must do something,’ and leaving the Hall. Edgar seemed to pause for breath and then he shouted out, ‘You’re going to die - to die. You’re going to die now. Take that, you devil, and that!’ Two shots rang out - not in the park this time, but definitely behind the locked door. Mildred, cried out, ‘Oh no, what shall we do?’ There was a loud noise from inside the room and then the sound of slow, heavy sobbing. Stephen Restarick marched past Miss Marple and started knocking loudly on the door. ‘Open the door. Open the door,’ he shouted. 39
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Miss Believer cam e back into the H all, holding several keys. ‘T ry these,’ she said breathlessly. At that m om ent the lights cam e on again. Stephen R estarick began try in g the keys. T hey heard the inside key fall out as he did so. A nd that w ild, desperate sobbing w ent on. W alter H udd, co m ing lazily back into the H all, stopped and dem anded, ‘W h a t’s going o n ?’ M ildred said tearfully, ‘T h at awful m ad young m an has shot M r Serrocold.’ ‘Please.’ It was C arrie Louise w ho spoke. She got up and came across to the study door. G ently she pushed Stephen R estarick aside. ‘Let m e speak to him .’ She called —very softly —‘Edgar, Edgar, let m e in, w ill you? Please, Edgar.’ T hey heard the key pu t into the lock. It tu rn e d and the door was opened. B ut it was n o t E dgar w ho opened it. It was Lewis Serrocold. H e was breathing hard as though he had been ru n n in g — otherw ise he was n o t affected. ‘It’s all right, dearest,’ he said. ‘It’s all right.’ ‘W e thought you had been shot,’ said Miss Believer, her relief obvious. Lewis Serrocold frow ned. H e said w ith a little show o f anger, ‘O f course I haven’t been shot.’ T hey could see into the study by now. E dgar Lawson had fallen by the desk. H e was sobbing and breathing heavily. T he g un lay on the floor. ‘B ut we heard the shots,’ said M ildred. ‘O h yes, he fired tw ice.’ ‘A nd he missed you?’
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‘O f course he missed me,’ snapped Lewis. No, no, Miss Marple did not consider those were the right words at all. The shots must have been fired at close range. Lewis Serrocold said irritably. ‘W here’s Maverick? It’s Maverick we need.’ Miss Believer said, ‘I’ll get him. Shall I call the police as well?’ ‘Police? Certainly not.’ ‘O f course we must call the police,’ said Mildred. ‘He’s dangerous.’ ‘Nonsense,’ said Lewis Serrocold. ‘Poor boy. Does he look dangerous?’ At that moment he looked young and helpless. His voice had lost its careful accent. ‘I didn’t mean to do it,’ he groaned. ‘I don’t know what happened to me - saying all that stu ff- I must have been mad. I didn’t mean to. Please, M r Serrocold, I really didn’t mean to.’ Lewis Serrocold patted him on the shoulder. ‘That’s all right, my boy. No damage done.’ ‘I might have killed you, M r Serrocold.’ Walter Hudd walked across the room and looked at the wall behind the desk. ‘The bullets went in here. It must have been a near miss,’ he said grimly. ‘I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought he’d taken away my rights. I thought . . .’ Miss Marple asked the question she had been wanting to ask for some time. ‘W ho told you that M r Serrocold was your father?’ Just for a second a sly expression showed on Edgar’s painfilled face. It was there and gone in a second. ‘Nobody,’ he said. ‘I just - I just thought it.’
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W alter H u d d picked up the gun. ‘W h ere the hell did you get m y g u n ?’ he dem anded. ‘You little thief, you took it out o f my ro o m !’ Lewis Serrocold stepped betw een the frightened E dgar and the angry A m erican. ‘A h, here’s M averick. Take a look at him , w ill you?’ D r M averick cam e tow ards E dgar enthusiastically. ‘This is n o t acceptable, Edgar. You can’t do this sort o f thing, you know .’ ‘H e ’s m ad and dangerous,’ said M ildred. ‘H e ’s been shooting a gu n at m y stepfather.’ E dgar cried out in fear. ‘Careful, please, M rs Strete,’ D r M averick w arned. ‘I’m sick o f you all! I tell you this m an’s m ad,’ M ildred insisted. E dgar pulled away from D r M averick and fell to the floor at Serrocold’s feet. ‘H elp me. Help me. D o n ’t let them take me away and lock m e up. D o n ’t let th em !’ ‘You com e w ith me, Edgar,’ said D r M averick. ‘You go to bed now — and w e’ll talk in the m orning. N o w you trust me, do n ’t you? ’ R isin g to his feet and shaking, Edgar looked doubtfully at the y oung doctor and then at M ildred Strete. ‘She said —I was m ad.’ ‘N o, no, you’re not.’ Miss Believer came in, red faced. ‘I’ve telephoned the police,’ she said grimly. ‘J olly!’ C arrie Louise cried in dismay. E dgar began crying again. ‘I told you, Jolly, I did not w ant the police,’ Lewis Serrocold said angrily. ‘T his is a m edical m atter.’ ‘T h at m ay be so,’ said Miss Believer. ‘B ut I had to call the police. M r G ulbrandsen’s been shot dead.’
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Chapter 8 ‘C hristian shot? D ead?’ C arrie Louise said. ‘T h a t’s impossible.’ ‘G o and look for yourselves,’ said Miss Believer angrily. Lewis Serrocold put a hand on C arrie Louise’s shoulder. ‘N o, dearest, let m e go.’ H e w en t out. D r M averick and Miss Believer follow ed him . Miss M arple gently led C arrie Louise to a chair. She sat dow n, her eyes looking h u rt and shocked. ‘C hristian — shot?’ she said again. She sounded like a hurt, confused child. ‘B ut w ho could possibly w ant to shoot C hristian?’ ‘Crazy! ’ W alter said quietly. ‘T h e w hole lot o f them .’ G ina’s young, startled face was the m ost vivid thing in the room . Suddenly the front door opened and together w ith a rush o f cold air a m an in a big overcoat came in. H is cheerful greeting seemed shocking. ‘Hello, everybody. A lot o f fog on the road, I had to drive very slowly.’ Miss M arple saw that this m ust be the other R estarick brother, Alex, but w here Stephen was thin, the new com er was a m uch bigger y o ung m an, handsom e and w ith the all the authority and good h u m o u r that success brings to some men. H e said, doubtfully, ‘You w ere expecting me, w eren’t you? You got my telegram ?’ H e was speaking now to C arrie Louise. She put her hand out to him . H e took it and kissed it gently w ith real affection. A lex dear —things have been happening.’ ‘M y brother, C hristian,’ M ildred said w ith a grim relish that Miss M arple disliked, ‘has been shot dead.’ ‘G o o d grief.’ A lex said, clearly upset. ‘Suicide, do you m ean?’
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‘O h no,’ C arrie Louise said. ‘It couldn’t be suicide. N o t C h ristian !’ ‘U ncle C hristian w ould never shoot him self,’ said Gina. ‘W h en did this happen?’ asked Alex. A b o u t - oh th ree or four m inutes ago, I suppose,’ said Gina. ‘W hy, o f course, w e heard the shot. O n ly w e didn’t notice it. You see, there w ere o ther things going on.’ Ju lie t B eliever cam e in to the H all. ‘M r S errocold suggests th at w e all w ait in th e lib rary for th e police. E x cep t for M rs S errocold. Y ou’ve had a shock, C arrie. I’ll take you up to b e d .’ R ising, C arrie Louise shook her head. ‘I m ust see C hristian first.’ She looked round. ‘C om e w ith m e, w ill you, Jan e ?’ T h e tw o w om en m oved out th ro u g h the door, past the m ain staircase and the d in in g room , past the side door to the terrace and on to the guest room that had been given to C hristian G ulbrandsen. It was furnished as a sitting room m ore than a bedroom , w ith a bed on one side and a door leading into a dressing ro o m and bathroom . C hristian had been sitting at the desk w ith a typew riter in front o f him . H e sat there now, fallen sideways in the chair. Lewis Serrocold was standing by the w in d o w looking out into the night. H e turned. ‘M y dearest, you shouldn’t have com e.’ ‘O h yes, Lewis. I had to see him . O n e has to kn o w how things are.’ She w alked slowly towards the desk. ‘H e was shot deliberately by someone? M u rd ered?’ ‘O h yes.’ She stood looking dow n at the dead m an. T here was sadness and affection in her face. ‘D ear C hristian,’ she said. ‘H e was
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always good to me.’ Softly, she touched the top of his head with her fingers. ‘Bless you and thank you, dear Christian.’ Lewis Serrocold said with more emotion than Miss Marple had seen in him before, ‘I wish I could have saved you from this.’ His wife shook her head gently. ‘You can’t really save anyone from anything,’ she said. ‘Things always have to be faced sooner or later. And therefore it had better be sooner.’
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Chapter 9 Inspector C u rry and his Sergeant found Miss Believer alone in the G reat H all w h en they arrived. She came forw ard. ‘I am Juliet Believer, com panion and secretary to M rs Serrocold. M ost o f the household are in the library. M r Serrocold rem ained in M r G ulbrandsen’s room to see that n o th in g was touched. D r M averick, w ho first exam ined the body, w ill be here soon. H e had to take a —case over to the Institute. Shall I lead the way? ’ ‘Please.’ For the next tw en ty m inutes it was the routine o f police procedure that was m ost im portant. T h e photographer took pictures. T h e police surgeon arrived and was jo in ed by D r M averick. H a lf an h o u r later, the am bulance took away C hristian Gulbrandsen, and Inspector C u rry started his official inquiry. H e looked carefully round the people gathered there, m aking notes in his m ind. A n old lady w ith w hite hair, a m iddle-aged lady, the good -lo o k ing girl he had seen driving her car ro u n d the countryside, that A m erican husband o f hers. A couple o f young m en, the capable Miss Believer, and Lewis Serrocold. ‘I’m afraid this is all very upsetting to you,’ he said, ‘and I hope I w ill not keep you too long this evening. W e can look at everything m ore thoroughly tom orrow . It was Miss Believer w ho found M r G ulbrandsen dead, so I’ll ask her to give me a description o f the general situation. M r Serrocold, i f you w ant to go up to your wife, please do.’ ★★★ Miss Believer arranged Inspector C urry, his Sergeant and herself in Lewis Serrocold’s study. Inspector C u rry had a pleasant
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voice and m anner. H e looked quiet and serious. ‘I’ve had the m ain facts from M r Serrocold. M r C hristian G ulbrandsen was one o f the trustees here and he arrived unexpectedly yesterday. T h at is co rrect?’ ‘Yes.’ Inspector C u rry was pleased by her short answer. H e continued, ‘M r Serrocold was away in Liverpool. H e returned this evening by the 6.30 train.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘A fter dinner, M r G ulbrandsen w ent to w ork in his ow n room , leaving the rest o f the group here. C orrect? ’ ‘Yes.’ ‘N ow , Miss Believer, please explain how you found him dead.’ ‘S om ething unpleasant happened this evening. A young m an becam e very unbalanced and threatened M r Serrocold w ith a gun. T h ey w ere locked in this ro o m and you can see the bullet holes in the w all there. F ortunately M r Serrocold was u n h u rt. A fter firing the shots, this young m an was in such a bad condition that M r Serrocold sent m e to find D r M averick. As I was com ing back, I w ent to M r G ulbrandsen’s room to ask if there was any th in g he w ould like before he w ent to bed. W hen I saw that M r G ulbrandsen was dead, I rang you.’ ‘C o u ld anyone have com e into the house from outside w ith o u t b eing heard o r seen?’ ‘C ertain ly —by the side door to the terrace. People com e in and out th at w ay to go to the C ollege buildings.’ A n d you have, I believe, tw o h undred and fifty juvenile delinquents in the C ollege?’ ‘Yes. B ut the C ollege buildings are locked and guarded. It is m ost unlikely that anyone could leave the College w ithout perm ission.’
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‘W e shall check that, o f course. W h at was the purpose o f M r G ulbrandsen’s visit? ’ ‘I have no idea. H is business here was w ith M r Serrocold.’ ‘D id he have a m eeting w ith M r Serrocold?’ ‘N o, there was no tim e. M r Serrocold arrived ju st before dinner. A nd after dinner, M r G ulbrandsen said he had an im p o rtan t letter to w rite and w ent away to do so.’ ‘H e didn’t suggest a m eeting w ith M r Serrocold?’ ‘N o .’ ‘M r Serrocold did n o t go w ith him to his room ? ’ ‘N o. M r Serrocold stayed in the H all.’ ‘A nd you have no idea at w hat tim e M r G ulbrandsen was killed?’ ‘I th in k it is possible that w e heard the shot. I f so, it was at tw en ty -th ree m inutes past nine. N aturally I looked at the clock.’ ‘You heard a shot? A nd it did not frighten yo u ?’ ‘T h e circum stances w ere already very frightening.’ Miss Believer explained in m ore detail the scene betw een Lewis Serrocold and E dgar Lawson. T hen added grim ly, ‘You don’t expect m urder and attem pted m urder in the same house on the same n ight.’ Inspector C u rry agreed to the tru th o f that. ‘All the same,’ said Miss Believer, suddenly, ‘You know , I believe th at’s w hat m ade m e go along to M r G ulbrandsen’s room later. To reassure m yself that everything was all right.’ Inspector C u rry stared at her for a m om ent. ‘W h a t m ade you th in k it m ight not be all right?’ ‘T h e shot outside. It didn’t m ean anything at the tim e. A nd afterwards I told m yself that it was only a backfire from M r R estarick ’s car. B ut . . .’ ‘M r R estarick ’s car?’
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‘Yes. Alex R estarick arrived this evening —ju st after all this happened.’ ‘I see. W h e n you discovered M r G ulbrandsen’s body, did you touch an y th in g ?’ ‘O f course not. M r G ulbrandsen had been shot through the head b u t there was no gun to be seen, so I knew it was m urder and n o t suicide.’ A n d ju st now, w hen you took us into the room , everything was the same as w hen you found the body? ’ Miss Believer th o u g h t about it. ‘O n e th in g was different,’ she said. ‘T here was n o th in g in the typew riter. M r G ulbrandsen had been w ritin g a letter, it m ust have been rem oved.’ ‘T h an k you, Miss Believer. W h o else w ent into that room before w e arrived? ’ ‘M r Serrocold, o f course. A nd M rs Serrocold and Miss M arple.’ ‘W h ich is Miss M arple?’ Inspector C u rry asked. ‘T h e old lady w ith w hite hair. She was a school friend o f M rs Serrocold’s. She arrived about four days ago.’ ‘W ell, th an k you, Miss Believer. I’ll have a w ord w ith Miss M arple n ext, th en she can go o ff to bed. It’s no t kind to keep an old lady like th at from her rest,’ said Inspector C urry. ‘This m ust have been a shock to her.’ ‘I’ll tell her, shall I?’ ‘Yes, please do.’ Miss Believer w ent out. Inspector C u rry looked at the ceiling. ‘W h y G ulbrandsen?’ he said. ‘Two hundred and fifty young delinquents here. Probably one o f them did it. B ut w hy G ulbrandsen? T h e stranger.’ Sergeant Lake said, ‘O f course w e don’t know everything yet.’
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Inspector C u rry said, ‘So far, w e don’t kn o w anything at all.’ H e ju m p ed up w hen Miss M arple cam e in and hurried to m ake her feel com fortable. ‘N o w don’t upset yourself, m a’am. T his is all very w o rrying, I know. B ut w e’ve ju st got to get the facts clear.’ ‘O h yes, I know ,’ said Miss M arple. ‘So difficult, isn’t it? To be clear about anything, I m ean. Because i f you’re looking at one thing, you can’t be looking at another. A nd one so often looks at the w ro n g thing, though w hether because one happens to do so o r because you’re m eant to, it’s very hard to say. M isdirection, the magicians call it. So clever, aren’t they? ’ Inspector C u rry blinked a little. ‘Q u ite so. N ow , m a’am, Miss Believer has told m e w hat happened this evening. A m ost anxious tim e for all o f you, I’m sure.’ ‘Yes, indeed. It was all so dram atic, you know .’ ‘First, this argum ent betw een M r Serrocold and Edgar Lawson.’ ‘A very strange y oung m an,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I have felt all along that there was som ething w ro n g about h im .’ ‘I’m sure you have,’ said Inspector C urry. A n d then, after that excitem ent was over, there came M r G ulbrandsen’s death. I understand th at you w ent w ith M rs Serrocold to see the —er — the body.’ ‘Yes, I did. W e are very old friends.’ ‘Q u ite so. A nd did you touch anything w hile you w ere in the room , either o f you?’ ‘O h no.’ ‘D id you happen to notice, m a’am, w hether there was paper in the typ ew riter?’ ‘T here wasn’t,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I noticed that at once because it seemed strange. M r G ulbrandsen was sitting at the
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ty p ew riter so he m ust have been typing som ething. Yes, I th o u g h t it very strange.’ Inspector C u rry looked at her sharply. H e said, ‘D id you talk w ith M r G ulbrandsen w hile he was h ere?’ ‘Very little.’ Miss M arple thought. ‘H e asked m e about M rs Serrocold’s health. In particular, about her heart.’ ‘H er heart? Is there som ething w ro n g w ith her heart? ’ ‘N o th in g w hatsoever, I understand.’ Inspector C u rry was silent for a m om ent or tw o, then he said, ‘M r G ulbrandsen left the group im m ediately after dinner, I understand?’ ‘Yes, he said he had a letter to w rite.’ ‘H e d id n ’t ask for a business m eeting w ith M r Serrocold? ’ ‘N o .’ Miss M arple added, ‘You see, they had already had one.’ ‘T h ey had? W hen? I understood that M r Serrocold only retu rn ed hom e ju st before dinner.’ ‘T h a t’s quite true, but he w alked th ro u g h the gardens, and M r G ulbrandsen w ent out to m eet h im and they w alked up and dow n the terrace together.’ ‘W h o else know s this?’ ‘I do n ’t th in k anybody else,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I just happened to be lo o k in g out o f my w indow .’ ‘You d id n ’t,’ Inspector C u rry said delicately, ‘happen to overhear an y th in g o f w hat they said?’ Inn o cen t blue eyes m et his. ‘O n ly bits, I’m afraid,’ said Miss M arple gently. ‘I do not kn o w the actual subject o f their conversation, b u t they w anted to save C arrie Louise from k n o w in g som ething. To save her —that was how M r G ulbrandsen put it, and M r Serrocold said, “I agree that w e m ust consider her.” T h ey also m entioned a “big responsibility” and that they should, perhaps, “take outside advice”. ’
Agatha Christie
She paused. ‘I think you should ask M r Serrocold himself about all this.’ ‘We will do so, ma’am. Now is there anything else that you thought unusual this evening? ’ Miss Marple thought for a moment. ‘It was all so unusual, if you know what I mean. But there was one thing. M r Serrocold stopped Mrs Serrocold from taking her medicine. Miss Believer was quite annoyed about it.’ She smiled modestly. ‘But that, of course, is such a little thing.’ ‘Yes. Well, thank you, Miss Marple.’ As Miss Marple went out of the room, Sergeant Lake said, ‘She’s old, but she’s very observant.’
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Chapter 10 Lewis Serrocold came into the study and sat dow n, no t in the chair Miss M arple had ju st left, bu t in his ow n chair beh in d the desk. H e looked at the tw o police officers thoughtfully. H e had the face o f a m an w ho was suffering badly in very difficult conditions, and it surprised Inspector C u rry because, though C hristian G ulbrandsen’s death m ust have been a shock, G ulbrandsen had n o t been a close friend or relation. H e was only a rather distant connection by m arriage. Lewis Serrocold said w ith a sigh, ‘H o w difficult it is to know the rig h t th in g to do.’ ‘I th in k w e w ill be the judges o f that, M r Serrocold,’ said Inspector C urry. ‘N ow , M r G ulbrandsen arrived unexpectedly, I u n d erstand?’ ‘H e did.’ ‘A nd you have no idea o f w hy he cam e?’ Lewis Serrocold said quietly, ‘O h yes, I know w hy he came. H e told m e.’ ‘Business connected w ith the G ulbrandsen Institute, I suppose?’ ‘O h no, it was n o th in g to do w ith the G ulbrandsen Institute.’ Lewis Serrocold continued seriously. ‘I fully realize that w ith G ulbrandsen’s m urder, I have got to pu t all the facts before you. B ut I am w o rried about m y w ife’s happiness and peace o f m ind. It is n o t for m e to direct you, Inspector, bu t i f you can find a way to keep certain things from her I w ould be grateful. You see, Inspector C urry, C hristian G ulbrandsen came here to tell me that he believed m y w ife was being slowly and cold-bloodedly poisoned.’
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‘W h a t? ’ C u rry leaned forw ard, astonished. Serrocold nodded. ‘Yes, it was, as you can im agine, a huge shock to me. I had no suspicion o f such a th in g myself, but as soon as C h ristian told m e, I realized that the sym ptom s o f arthritis that m y w ife had com plained o f lately —pain in the legs and sickness —w ere also the sym ptom s o f arsenic poisoning.’ ‘You definitely th in k , then, that G ulbrandsen’s suspicions w ere correct?’ ‘O h yes. H e w ould no t have com e to m e w ith such a suggestion unless he was sure o f his facts. H e was a careful m an, and very th o ro u g h .’ ‘W h at was his evidence?’ ‘W e had no tim e to discuss it. O u r interview was hurried. It was only long enough to explain his visit, and to com e to an agreem ent that n o th in g should be said to m y w ife.’ ‘A nd w ho did he suspect?’ ‘H e did not say, and I don’t th in k he knew . B ut he m ust have suspected —otherw ise w hy w ould he be killed?’ ‘H e m entioned no nam e to you?’ ‘N o. H e suggested that we ask for the advice o f D r G albraith, the Bishop o f C rom er. D r Galbraith is one o f the trustees, a m an o f great w isdom and experience w ho w ould support m y w ife i f if it was necessary to tell her o f our suspicions.’ ‘H o w extraordinary,’ said Curry. ‘G ulbrandsen left us after dinner to w rite to D r G albraith. H e was actually ty p in g the letter w hen he was shot.’ ‘H o w do you k n o w ?’ Lewis said calmly, ‘Because I have the letter here.’ H e took out a folded ty p ew ritten sheet o f paper and handed it to Curry. T h e Inspector said sharply, ‘You shouldn’t have touched anything.’
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‘I k n o w I was w ro n g to m ove this, b u t I had a very strong reason. I felt certain that m y w ife w ould insist on com ing into the ro o m and I was afraid that she m ig h t read w hat is w ritten here. A nd I w ould do anything - anything - to avoid m y wife being unhappy.’ Inspector C u rry said no m ore for the m om ent. H e read the ty p ew ritten sheet. Dear D r Galbraith, Please come to Stonygates as soon as you receive this. I am in the middle o f an extraordinary crisis and I do not know how to deal with, it. I know how strong your affection is fo r our dear Carrie Louise, and how serious your concern will be fo r anything that affects her. H ow much does she have to know? H ow much can we keep from her? Those are the questions that I fin d difficult to answer. I have reason to believe that this sweet and innocent lady is being poisoned. I first suspected this when
H ere the letter stopped. C u rry said, ‘B ut w hy on earth was this letter in the typew riter and n o t taken by the m urderer?’ ‘I can only guess that the m urderer m ay have heard som eone com ing and only had tim e to escape.’ ‘H o w do you th in k this poison is being given? ’ ‘It seems to m e that the m ost likely answer is the m edicine that m y w ife is taking. W e all share the same food, but anyone could add arsenic to the m edicine bottle.’ ‘W e m ust have the m edicine tested.’ Lewis said quietly, ‘I already have a sample. I took it this evening before dinner.’
Agatha C hristie
From a draw er in the desk he to o k out a small bottle w ith a p in k liquid in it. Inspector C u rry said w ith a curious look, ‘You th in k o f everything, M r Serrocold.’ ‘I acted im m ediately. Tonight, I stopped m y w ife from taking her usual dose. It is still in a glass in the H all — the bottle o f m edicine itself is in the din in g room .’ C u rry low ered his voice. ‘You’ll excuse m e, M r Serrocold, b u t just w hy are you so anxious to keep this from your wife? Surely, for her o w n sake, it w ould be best i f she w ere w arned.’ ‘Yes — yes, th at m ay well be so. B ut I don’t th in k you understand. M y w ife, Inspector C urry, is an idealist, a com pletely trustful person. She has no idea o f evil. She simply could not believe that som eone w ould w ant to kill her. B ut it is not just “som eone”. It is a case —surely you see that — o f som eone very near and dear to her.’ ‘So th at’s w hat you th in k ?’ ‘W e have got to face facts. Close by w e have a couple o f hu ndred young delinquents w ho have been violent. B ut none o f them can be a suspect in this case. By the very nature o f things, a slow poisoner is som eone living in the family. T h in k o f the people w ho are here in this house; her husband, her daughter, her granddaughter and her husband, her stepson w hom she regards as her ow n son, Miss Believer her devoted friend. All very near and dear to her —and yet w e m ust be suspicious that it is one o f them .’ C u rry said slowly, ‘T here are outsiders.’ ‘Yes, D r M averick and one or tw o o f the staff are often w ith us, and the servants —bu t w hat possible m otive could they have?’
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Inspector C u rry said, ‘A nd there’s y oung E dgar Lawson? ’ ‘Yes. B ut he has only been here a short tim e.’ ‘B ut h e’s unbalanced. W h at about this attack on you tonight? ’ Serrocold w aved it aside im patiently. ‘H e had no intention o f h arm in g me. It was play-acting, no m ore.’ ‘R a th e r dangerous play-acting, M r Serrocold.’ ‘You really m ust talk to o u r psychiatrist, D r M averick. H e ’ll give you the professional view. E dgar w ill probably be quite norm al to m o rro w m orning.’ ‘You don’t w ish to bring a charge against h im ? ’ ‘T h at w ould be the w orst th in g possible. In any case, poor E dgar certainly did no t shoot G ulbrandsen. H e was in here th reaten in g to shoot m e.’ ‘T h a t’s the point I was com ing to, M r Serrocold. Anyone, it seems, could have com e in from outside and shot M r Gulbrandsen, as the terrace door was unlocked. B ut w ith w hat you have been telling me, the question is: w ho inside the house could have killed M r Gulbrandsen? ’ Lewis Serrocold said slowly, ‘I can only tell you that everyone except the servants was in the G reat H all w hen C hristian left it, and w hilst I was there, nobody left it.’ ‘N o b o d y at all?’ ‘I th in k ,’ Lewis frow ned, ‘oh yes. Some o f the lights w ent out - M r W alter H u d d w ent to see to it.’ ‘T h a t’s the y o ung A m erican gentlem an?’ ‘Yes —o f course I don’t know w hat took place after E dgar and I came in here.’ ‘A nd you can’t be clearer than that, M r Serrocold? ’ Lewis Serrocold shook his head. ‘N o, I’m afraid I can’t help you. It’s - it’s ju st n o t believable.’
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Inspector C u rry sighed. ‘You can tell everyone that they can all go to bed. I’ll talk to them tom orrow .’ W h en Serrocold had left the room , Inspector C u rry said to Lake, ‘W ell —w hat do you th in k ?’ ‘H e know s —or th inks he know s, w ho did it,’ said Lake. ‘Yes. I agree w ith you. A nd he doesn’t like it at all.’
Chapter 11 G ina greeted Miss M arple w ith a rush o f w ords as she came dow n to breakfast the next m orning. ‘T h e police are here again. T h ey ’re in the library this tim e, they’re going to speak to everybody. I th in k the w hole th in g ’s horrible. I hate it. A nd Jo lly ’s very bad tem pered,’ H olding on to her arm , Gina took Miss M arple into the d in in g room . ‘I th in k it’s because the police are in charge and Jolly can’t “m anage” them like she m anages everybody else. ‘Alex and Stephen,’ continued G ina severely, as she saw the, tw o brothers finishing their breakfast, ‘just don’t care.’ ‘G ina dearest,’ said Alex, ‘you are m ost unkind. G ood m orning, Miss M arple. I care very m uch. Except for the fact that I hardly knew y o u r U ncle C hristian, I’m obviously the best suspect.’ ‘W h y ?’ ‘W ell, I was driving up to the house at the right tim e. A nd they’ve been checking on things —it seems that I took too m uch tim e betw een the gate and the house - tim e enough, apparently, to leave the car, ru n round the house, go in through the side door, shoot C h ristian and rush back to the car again.’ ‘A nd w hat w ere you really doing? ’ ‘I stood for several m inutes looking at the fog in the car’s headlights and th in k in g w hat I w ould use to get that effect on a stage. For m y n ew “Lim ehouse” ballet.’ ‘B ut you can tell them th at!’ ‘O h , you k n o w w hat policem en are like. T hey have doubting m inds.’ ‘It w ould am use m e to see you in trouble, Alex,’ said Stephen w ith his rather cruel smile. ‘N ow , I’m all right! I never left the H all last n ig h t.’
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Gina cried, ‘B ut they couldn’t possibly th in k it was one o f us!’ H er dark eyes w ere upset. Miss Believer looked in at the door and said, ‘Miss M arple, w hen you have finished your breakfast, w ill you go to the library?’ ‘Hey, w hat was that? ’ asked Alex. ‘I d idn’t hear an ything,’ said Stephen. ‘It was a g u n shot.’ ‘T h ey ’ve been firing shots in the room w here U ncle C hristian was killed,’ said Gina. ‘I don’t know why. A nd outside, too.’ ★★★ Lewis Serrocold was standing by the w in d o w in the library. H e tu rn ed and cam e forw ard to m eet Miss M arple. ‘I hope,’ he said, ‘that the shock has not m ade you ill. To be close to m urder m ust be terrible for anyone w ho has no t com e in contact w ith such a th in g before.’ M odesty stopped Miss M arple from replying that she was, by now, used to m urder. She said that life in St M ary M ead was not so quiet as outside people believed. Lewis Serrocold was not really listening. H e said, ‘I w ant y o u r help.’ ‘B ut o f course, M r Serrocold.’ ‘I th in k th at you have a real affection for m y w ife?’ ‘Yes, indeed. Everyone has.’ ‘T h at is w hat I believed. It seems that I am w rong. W ith the perm ission o f Inspector C urry, I am going to tell you som ething that no one else knows. O r perhaps I should say w hat only one person know s.’ H e told her w hat he had told Inspector C u rry the n ig h t before about C arrie being poisoned.
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Miss Marple looked horrified. ‘I can’t believe it, M r Serrocold. I really can’t.’ ‘That is what I felt when Christian Gulbrandsen told me.’ ‘Surely, dear Carrie Louise does not have an enemy in the world.’ ‘It seems impossible to believe that she does. But you understand, poisoning —slow poisoning —it must be one of our family.’ ‘If it is true.’ ‘The police tested Carrie Louise’s medicine bottle and a separate sample of its contents. There was arsenic in both of them.’ Miss Marple said softly, ‘So R uth was right!’ ‘R uth?’ Lewis Serrocold sounded surprised. Miss Marple’s face turned pink. ‘I did not come here by chance.’ Lewis Serrocold listened whilst Miss Marple told him of R uth’s concern. Then he said grimly, ‘Well, it seems she was right. Now, Miss Marple, you see my problem. Should I tell Carrie Louise?’ Miss Marple said quickly, ‘Oh no,’ in an unhappy voice. Lewis nodded. ‘So you feel as I do? As Christian Gulbrandsen did. Would we feel like that with an ordinary woman?’ ‘Carrie Louise is not an ordinary woman. Her trust in people controls her whole life. I do feel that until we know who . . .’ ‘Yes, but you do see, Miss Marple, that there is a risk in saying nothing.’ ‘A nd so you want me to —to watch over her?’ ‘You are the only person I can trust,’ said Lewis Serrocold simply. ‘Because I only arrived a few days ago?’ said Miss Marple. 61
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Lewis Serrocold smiled. ‘Exactly.’ ‘It is an unpleasant question,’ said Miss M arple apologetically. ‘B ut w ho exactly w ould benefit if dear C arrie Louise w ere to die?’ ‘M oney!’ said Lewis bitterly. ‘It always comes back to money, doesn’t it? ’ ‘Well, I th in k it m ust be in this case. Because C arrie Louise is a lovely person, and one cannot im agine her having an enemy. B ut as you know , M r Serrocold, people w ill often do anything for m oney.’ ‘I suppose so, yes.’ H e continued, ‘N aturally Inspector C u rry has already taken up that point. M r Gilfoy is com ing dow n from L ondon today. His com pany w rote bo th C arrie Louise’s w ill and the original w ill o f Eric G ulbrandsen. M y understanding is that Eric G ulbrandsen, after financing the C ollege and his other charitable works, left equal am ounts to M ildred and Pippa. H e left the rem ainder o f his fortune in a trust fu n d , the incom e to be paid to C arrie Louise for her lifetim e.’ ‘A nd after her d eath?’ ‘It was to be divided equally betw een M ildred and Pippa —or their children if they had died before C arrie Louise.’ ‘So it goes to M rs Strete and to G ina.’ ‘Yes. C arrie Louise has also a large fortune o f her ow n. H a lf o f this she gave to m e four years ago. O f the rem aining am ount, she left ten thousand pounds to Juliet Believer, and the rest equally divided betw een Alex and Stephen R estarick, her tw o stepsons.’ ‘O h dear,’ said Miss M arple. ‘T h at m eans everyone in this house had a financial m otive.’ ‘Yes. A nd yet, you know, I can’t believe that any o f these people w ould com m it m urder. I simply can’t. M ildred is her daughter — and already well provided for. G ina is devoted to
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her grandm other. Jolly Believer is totally devoted to C arrie. T he tw o R estaricks care for C arrie Louise as though she w ere really their m other. A nd a lot o f C arrie’s incom e has been used to finance their theatrical w ork - especially so w ith Alex. I simply can’t believe either o f them w ould poison her. I just can’t believe any o f it, Miss M arple.’ ‘N o t that it helps,’ said Miss M arple. ‘B ut actually to com m it a m urder, I th in k you need courage as w ell — or perhaps, m ore often, ju st conceit. Yes, conceit. I w ondered . She broke o ff as Inspector C u rry came into the room .
Chapter 12 Lewis Serrocold w ent away, and Inspector C u rry sat dow n and gave Miss M arple a rather know ing smile. ‘So M r Serrocold has been asking you to keep a close eye on his w ife,’ he said. ‘W ell, yes. I hope you don’t m ind.’ ‘I th in k it’s a very good idea. Does M r Serrocold know just how well qualified you are for the jo b ? ’ ‘I do n ’t quite understand, Inspector.’ ‘H e thinks yo u ’re just a very nice elderly lady w ho was at school w ith his w ife.’ H e shook his head. ‘W e k now you’re m ore than that, Miss M arple, aren’t you? Y ou’re very fam iliar w ith crim e. M r Serrocold only knows one part o f it —the beginners, these juvenile delinquents. It makes m e sick. T here are plenty o f good young m en about, boys w ho are w orking hard. A good start in life w ould m ake a lot o f difference to them . B ut there it is, honesty has to be its o w n rew ard —m illionaires don’t leave trust funds to help the good young people. W ell, I’ve seen boys - and girls —w ith everything against them , bad hom es, bad luck, every disadvantage, and th ey’ve had the determ ination to succeed, despite all th eir problem s. T h a t’s the kind o f person I w ill leave m y fortune to, i f I ever have one. B ut then, o f course, I never w ill have a fortune. Just my pension and a nice bit o f garden.’ H e nodded at Miss M arple. ‘Superintendent Blacker told m e about you last night. H e said you’ve had a lot o f experience o f the bad side o f hu m an nature. Well now, let’s have your view. W h o killed Gulbrandsen? T he A m erican husband?’ ‘T h at,’ said Miss M arple, ‘w ould be very convenient for everybody.’ Inspector C u rry smiled to himself. ‘A nd his m anner doesn’t help. So, w h o ’s been poisoning M rs S errocold?’
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‘W ell,’ said Miss M arple, ‘my first idea, hum an nature being w hat it is, is to th in k o f the husband. O r, if it’s the husband being poisoned, then the wife. T hat is always the first thought, don’t you th in k , in a poisoning case?’ ‘I agree w ith you every tim e,’ said Inspector C urry. ‘B ut really — in this case —’ Miss M arple shook her head. ‘N o, I cannot seriously consider M r Serrocold. Because you see, Inspector, he really is devoted to his wife. It’s very quiet, but it’s genuine. H e loves his wife, and I’m certain that he w o u ld n ’t poison her.’ ‘A nd he has no m otive. She’s given her m oney to h im already.’ 9 ‘I’m really afraid,’ Miss M arple sounded rather sorry about it, ‘we shall have to exclude him as a suspect.’ ‘N o easy answer for us,’ said the Inspector, smiling. ‘And anyway, he couldn’t have killed Gulbrandsen. It seems certain to me that w hoever is poisoning M rs Serrocold killed Gulbrandsen to prevent him talking. W hat w e’ve got to decide now is w ho had an opportunity to kill Gulbrandsen. A nd our first suspect —there’s no doubt about it —is young W alter H udd. It was he w ho switched on a reading lamp w hich resulted in a fuse breaking, giving him the opportunity to leave the hall. It was w hile he was away from the Great H all that the shot was heard. So that’s suspect num ber one.’ A n d suspect nu m ber tw o ?’ asked Miss M arple. ‘A lex R estarick, w ho was alone in his car betw een the gate and the house and took too long getting there.’ ‘A nybody else?’ Miss M arple leaned forw ard eagerly. ‘N o w th a t’s w here,’ said Inspector C urry, ‘I’ve got to ask you. You w ere there, in the H all last night, and you can tell m e w ho left it.’ ‘Yes —yes, I ought to be able to tell you —but can I? You see — the circum stances . . .’
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‘You m ean th at you w ere all listening to the argum ent going on in M r S errocold’s study.’ Miss M arple n o dded in com plete agreem ent. ‘Yes, w e were all very frightened. E dgar Lawson really looked m ad. A part from M rs Serrocold, w ho was calm , we all feared that he w ould h u rt M r Serrocold. H e was shouting, you know , and saying the m ost terrible things —and w hat w ith that and w ith m ost o f the lights being out —I d idn’t really notice anything else.’ ‘You m ean th at w hilst that scene was going on, anybody could have left the H all, shot M r G ulbrandsen and com e back again?’ ‘I th in k it w ould have been possible.’ Miss M arple considered. ‘B ut I can say that M rs Serrocold did no t leave —because I was w atching her. It surprised m e, you know , that she was able to rem ain so calm .’ A n d the others?’ ‘Miss Believer w ent out —but I am alm ost sure that was after the shot. M rs Strete? I really don’t know. She was sitting behind me. G ina was over by the far w indow . I th in k she stayed there the w hole tim e, b u t I cannot be sure. Stephen was at the piano, but he stopped playing w hen the argum ent began.’ ‘So w e can only exclude those people w ho did not have the opportunity. T h a t’s Lewis Serrocold and y oung E dgar Lawson in the study, and M rs Serrocold in the Hall. It’s very unfortunate, o f course, that G ulbrandsen should be shot on the same evening that this trouble happened betw een Serrocold and young Lawson.’ ‘Just unfortunate, you th in k ? ’ said Miss M arple. ‘O h? W h at do you th in k ?’ ‘I did w onder,’ said Miss M arple, ‘if it had been planned.’ ‘So th at’s y o u r idea?’ ‘Well, everybody seems to think it very strange that Edgar Lawson’s condition should suddenly get worse. H e says that
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C hurchill, M ontgom ery, or any famous m an he happens to th in k o f is his u n k n o w n father. B ut suppose som ebody suggested that it is Lewis Serrocold w ho is really his father; Lewis Serrocold w ho has been w orking against h im —that he is really the heir to Stonygates. In his w eak m ental state he w ould accept the idea — becom e m ore and m ore angry and then m ake the kind o f scene he did. A nd w hat a w onderful cover that w ould be! Everybody w ould have their attention fixed on the dangerous situation — especially if som ebody had thoughtfully supplied him w ith a gun.’ ‘H m m , yes. W alter H u d d ’s gun.’ ‘O h yes,’ said Miss M arple, ‘I had th ought o f that. B ut you know , W alter does not say m uch and h e’s certainly bad-tem pered, but I don’t th in k h e’s stupid.’ ★★★ Two hours later Inspector C u rry pushed back his chair, stretched h im self and sighed. ‘W ell,’ he said, ‘w e’ve cleared a lot o f people.’ Sergeant Lake agreed. ‘T h e servants are no t suspects. T hey w ere together at the tim e.’ C u rry nodded. H e was tired. H e had interview ed the therapists, the teachers, and the ‘young delinquents’ w ho w ere eating w ith the fam ily that night. All their stories m atched. T hey had all given each o ther alibis. D r M averick had agreed w ith his staff, there had been no breaks in the C ollege security. C hristian G ulbrandsen could not have been killed by any o f the ‘young patients,’ as C urry alm ost called th em —it really was hard w ork holding on to good sense against the com plete certainty o f all these m edical people. A nd it was n o t a lot easier dealing w ith the family.
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Chapter 13 Alex R estarick talked a lot. H e also w aved his hands about. ‘I know , I know ! I’m the best suspect. I drove here alone and on the way I had a creative thought. I do not expect you to understand. H o w could you? ’ ‘I m ight,’ C u rry said, bu t Alex R estarick rushed on. ‘It’s just one o f those things! T hey com e to you — there’s no kn o w in g w h en or how. A n idea — and everything else goes out o f your m ind! I’m producing Limehouse Nights next m onth. Suddenly —last n ig h t —it was w onderful. T h e perfect lighting. Fog —the way the car headlights lit the fog so brightly and yet there was n o th in g to be seen, the buildings just disappeared. E verything helped to create the right atm osphere! T he shots — the ru n n in g footsteps. A nd I thought —th at’s it - bu t how am I going to get these effects . . .’ Inspector C u rry interrupted. ‘You heard shots? W h e re?’ ‘O u t o f the fog, Inspector.’ Alex w aved his hands. ‘O u t o f the fog. T h at was the w onderful part about it.’ ‘You d id n ’t th in k that anything was w ro n g ?’ W ro n g ? W h y should I?’ ‘A re shots so usual?’ ‘Ah, I k n ew you w ou ld n ’t understand! T h e shots fitted into the scene I was creating. I w anted shots, danger. W h a t did I care w hat they w ere really? Som eone shooting rabbits? I was im agining m yself in Lim ehouse — or rather in the theatre — looking at Lim ehouse.’ ‘H o w m any shots?’ ‘I don’t know ,’ said Alex carelessly. ‘Two or three. Two close together, I do rem em ber that.’
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Inspector C u rry nodded. ‘A nd the sound o f ru n n in g footsteps? W h ere w ere they?’ ‘T h ey cam e to m e out o f the fog. Som ew here near the house.’ Inspector C u rry said gently, ‘T h at w ould suggest that the m urderer o f C hristian G ulbrandsen came from outside.’ ‘O f course. W h y not? You don’t really suggest, do you, that he cam e from inside the house?’ Still very gently Inspector C u rry said, ‘W e have to th in k o f everything.’
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Chapter 14 It was very difficult, Inspector C u rry thought, to get a true understanding o f som eone from w hat other people said. Several people had described E dgar Lawson that m orning, but looking at him now, C u rry ’s o w n view was very different. E dgar did n o t seem ‘strange’ to h im or ‘dangerous,’ or ‘selfim p o rtan t’ or ‘n o t n o rm al’. H e seemed a very ordinary and rather sad young m an, sorry for him self and sorry for w hat he had done. H e was only too anxious to apologize. ‘I’ve done w rong. I d o n ’t know w hat happened to me — really I don’t. M aking all that trouble — shooting o ff a gun. At M r Serrocold too, w h o ’s been so good to m e and so patient, too.’ H e tw isted his hands nervously — th in hands, w ith bony wrists. ‘If I’ve got to go to prison, I deserve it. I’m guilty.’ ‘N o charge has been m ade against you,’ said Inspector C urry. ‘A ccording to M r Serrocold, shooting the g u n was an accident.’ ‘T h at’s because h e ’s so good. T here never was a m an as good as M r Serrocold! H e ’s done everything for me. A nd I repay him by acting like this.’ ‘W h at m ade you act as you did?’ E dgar looked embarrassed. ‘I m ade a fool o f myself.’ Inspector C u rry said, ‘So it seems. You told M r Serrocold that he was y o u r father. Was that tru e ? ’ ‘N o, it w asn’t.’ ‘W h at put th at idea into your head? D id som eone suggest it to yo u ?’ ‘W ell, it’s hard to explain.’ Inspector C u rry said in a kindly voice, ‘Suppose you try.’ ‘W ell, you see, I had a rather hard tim e as a kid. T he other boys were bad to m e —because I don’t have a father. M um was
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usually d ru n k and the house was always dirty, it was horrible. A nd then I started thinking, supposing m y D ad was no t just some sailor, but som eone im portant —and I started to m ake up things. T h en I w ent to a new school and I tried it once or tw ice, saying things. I said m y father was really an officer in the Navy. I started believing it myself. I didn’t feel so bad then. I thought up some o th er ideas. I got all m ixed up. I couldn’t stop telling lies.’ Inspector C u rry nodded. H e had already seen E dgar’s police record. ‘M r Serrocold took m e away from all that and brought me dow n here. H e said he needed a secretary to help him — and I did help him ! I really did. O nly the others laughed at me. T hey w ere always laughing at m e.’ ‘W h a t others? M rs Serrocold?’ ‘N o, she’s lovely —she’s always gentle and kind. N o, but Gina treated m e like dirt. A nd Stephen R estarick. A nd M rs Strete th o u g h t I was ju st a lying little thief! So did Miss Believer!’ C u rry n o ted that he was becom ing m ore excited. ‘So you d idn’t find th em very k in d ?’ E dgar said passionately, ‘If I had a proper father they w ou ld n ’t have behaved like that.’ ‘So you took a couple o f famous fathers?’ E dgar blushed red. ‘I always seem to end up telling lies.’ ‘A nd finally you said M r Serrocold was your father. W h y ?’ ‘Because th at w ould stop them , w ouldn’t it? If he was m y father, they co u ld n ’t do anything to m e.’ ‘Yes. B ut you told him he was your enemy.’ ‘I k n o w —’ T h e boy rubbed his head. ‘I got things all w rong. T here are tim es w hen I don’t —w hen I don’t get things right. I get m ixed up.’ ‘A nd you to o k the g u n from M r H u d d ’s ro o m ?’
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E dgar looked confused. ‘D id I?’ ‘D o n ’t you rem em ber w here you got it? ’ E dgar said, ‘It was just childish stuff.’ Inspector C u rry said patiently, ‘H o w did you get the g u n ?’ ‘You ju st said —out o f W alter’s room .’ ‘You rem em ber doing that now? ’ ‘I m ust have got it from his room . I couldn’t have got it any other way, could I?’ ‘I don’t know ,’ said Inspector C urry. ‘Som ebody m ight have given it to y o u ?’ Edgar was silent —his face blank. ‘Is that how it happened?’ E dgar said passionately, ‘I don’t rem em ber. I was so angry. I w alked around the garden in a terrible state. I thought people w ere w atching m e, try in g to h u rt me. I can’t understand it all now. I feel I m ust have been mad. I don’t rem em ber w here I was and w hat I was doing h a lf the tim e !’ ‘Surely you rem em ber w ho told you M r Serrocold was your father?’ E dgar gave the same blank stare. ‘N o b o d y told me. It just came to m e.’ Inspector C u rry sighed. H e was no t satisfied. B ut he ju d g ed he w ould get no m ore at the m om ent. As Edgar w ent, Inspector C u rry shook his head. ‘D o you th in k h e’s m ad, sir?’ Sergeant Lake asked. ‘M uch less m ad than I had im agined. C om e on, Lake, I w ant to do a tho ro u g h reconstruction o f the scene in the H all.’ ★★★ ‘T h at’s a fact then.’ Inspector C u rry was sitting at the piano. Sergeant Lake was in a chair by the w indow overlooking the lake.
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C u rry w ent on, ‘If I’m w atching the study door, I can’t see you.’ Sergeant Lake rose and w ent quietly th ro u g h the door to the library. ‘All this side o f the room was dark. T h e only lights w ere the ones beside the study door. N o, Lake, I did n ’t see you go. O nce in the library, you could go out th ro u g h the o th er door to the corridor — tw o m inutes to ru n along, shoot G ulbrandsen and com e back to your chair by the w indow . A nd M rs Strete, she was close to the door to the hall that leads to all the other room s, and it’s a very dark corner. She could have gone and com e back. Yes, it’s possible.’ C u rry g rin n ed suddenly. ‘A nd I could go.’ H e got o ff the music stool and w ent along the w all and out through the door. C o m in g back, he said, ‘T h e only person w ho m ight notice I wasn’t still at the piano w ould be Gina H udd. A nd you rem em ber w hat G ina told us: “ Stephen was at the piano to begin w ith. I don’t k n o w w here he was later”.’ ‘So you th in k it was Stephen?’ ‘I d o n ’t k n o w w ho it was,’ said C urry. ‘It w asn’t Edgar Lawson or Lewis Serrocold or M rs Serrocold or Miss Jane M arple. B ut for th e rest,’ he sighed, ‘it’s probably the A m erican. T hose fused lights w ere a b it too convenient. A nd yet, you know , I like h im .’ T h e Inspector was looking dow n at the old-fashioned m usic stool. H e lifted the top. ‘Still, that isn’t evidence . . .’ H e stopped — lying on the pages o f sheet m usic, was a small autom atic gun. ‘Stephen R estarick,’ said Sergeant Lake joyfully. ‘N o t so fast,’ Inspector C u rry w arned him . ‘I believe th at’s just w hat w e’re m eant to th in k .’
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Chapter 15 As C arrie Louise came dow n the m ain staircase, three people m et her: Gina, Miss M arple, and Juliet Believer. Gina spoke first. ‘D arling!’ she exclaim ed passionately. ‘Are you all right? T h e police haven’t threatened you, have they?’ ‘O f course not, Gina. W h a t a strange idea! Inspector C u rry was m ost k in d .’ ‘So he should be,’ said Miss Believer. ‘N ow , C arrie, I’ve got all your letters here and a parcel.’ ‘B ring them into the library,’ said C arrie Louise. All four o f th em w ent into the library. C arrie Louise sat dow n and began opening her letters. T here w ere about tw enty or th irty o f them . As she opened them , she handed them to Miss Believer, w ho sorted them into piles, explaining to Miss M arple, ‘T here are three m ain types. O n e —from relations o f the boys. Those I give to D r M averick. Letters asking for m oney I reply to myself. A nd the rest are personal —and C arrie gives m e notes on how to deal w ith them .’ T he letters finished, M rs Serrocold tu rn ed to the parcel. Inside was an attractive box o f chocolates. ‘Som eone m ust th in k it’s m y birthday,’ said M rs Serrocold w ith a smile. She opened the box. Inside was a visiting card. C arrie Louise looked at it in surprise. ‘“W ith love from A lex”,’ she read. ‘H o w strange for him to post m e a box o f chocolates on the day he was com ing here.’ Miss M arple felt a sudden uneasiness. She said quickly, ‘W ait, C arrie Louise. D o n ’t eat one yet.’ M rs Serrocold looked even m ore surprised. ‘W ait w hile I ask —Is Alex here, G ina?’
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‘H e was in the H all just now, I th in k .’ She w ent across, opened the door, and called him . Alex R estarick appeared in the doorway. ‘M y darling! It is so good to see you looking as w ell as this.’ H e came across to M rs Serrocold and kissed her gently on bo th cheeks. Miss M arple said, ‘C arrie Louise w ants to th an k you for these chocolates.’ Alex looked surprised. ‘B ut I never sent you any chocolates, darling.’ ‘T h e box has got your card in,’ said Miss Believer. A lex looked dow n. ‘So it has. H o w very strange. I certainly didn’t send them .’ ‘T h ey look very g o o d ’ said Gina. ‘Look, G randm a, there are your favourite cherry liqueur ones.’ Miss M arple gently took the box away from her. W ith o u t a w ord she left the ro om and w ent to find Lewis Serrocold. She found h im in D r M averick’s room in the College. She pu t the box on the table in front o f him . As he listened to her, his face grew hard. ‘W e m ust get them tested for poison im m ediately,’ said D r M averick. ‘It seems incredible,’ said Miss M arple. ‘Everyone in the house m ight have been poisoned!’ Lewis nodded. H is face was still w hite and hard. ‘Yes. This is —it is n o t hu m an —’ Miss M arple said quietly, ‘If there is poison in these chocolates, then I’m afraid C arrie Louise w ill have to know w hat is going on. She m ust be w arned.’ Lewis Serrocold said heavily, ‘Yes. She w ill have to know that som eone w ants to kill her. I th in k that she w ill find it alm ost im possible to believe.’
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Chapter 16 ‘Miss, is it true, Miss, there’s a poisoner at work? ’ Gina pushed the hair back from her face. T here was paint on her cheek and on her trousers. She and her helpers had been busy on or their next theatrical production. It was one o f these helpers w ho was n ow asking the question. E rnie, the boy w ho had given her such valuable lessons in opening locks, was also a very good w o o d worker. His eyes n o w w ere bright w ith pleasure. ‘Everyone’s talking about it,’ he said. ‘B ut it w asn’t one o f us, Miss. N o t a thing like that. N o b o d y w ould h u rt M rs Serrocold. W h a t poison was it, M iss?’ ‘I don’t k now w hat you’re talking about, E rnie.’ E rnie shut one eye in a w ink. ‘O h yes, Miss! M r Alex it was w ho did it, so they say. H e brought those chocolates dow n from L ondon. B ut th at’s a lie. M r Alex w ouldn’t do a th in g like that, w ould he, M iss?’ ‘O f course he w o u ld n ’t,’ said Gina. ‘You really see life here!’ E rnie said. ‘O ld G ulbrandsen m urdered yesterday and now a secret poisoner. D o you th in k it’s the same person doing both? W h at w ould you say, Miss, if I told you I k now w ho it was w ho killed h im ? ’ ‘You can’t possibly know .’ ‘O h, can’t I? Supposing I was outside last n ight and saw som ething.’ ‘H ow could you have been out? T h e C ollege is locked up at seven, after everybody has been checked in.’ ‘I can get out w henever I like, Miss. Locks don’t m ean anything to me. I can get out and w alk around the grounds just for the fu n o f it, I can.’
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Gina said, ‘I w ish you w ould stop telling lies, E rnie.’ ‘W h o ’s telling lies?’ ‘You are. Telling stories about things you’ve never done at all.’ ‘T h a t’s w hat you say, Miss. You w ait till the police come round and ask m e all about w hat I saw last night.’ ‘W ell, w hat did you see?’ ‘A h ,’ said E rnie, ‘w ouldn’t you like to know ? ’ Gina m oved quickly to catch Ernie. Sensibly, E rnie ran off. ‘T h e boys all seem to k now about G randm a and the chocolates,’ G ina told Stephen, as they w alked back to the house that evening. ‘A nd they knew about A lex’s card. Surely it was * stupid to p u t A lex’s card in the box w hen he was actually com ing h ere?’ ‘Yes, b u t w ho knew he was com ing? It was a last m inute decision. Probably, by the tim e his telegram arrived, the box was posted. A nd it w ould have been a good idea. Because he does send C arrie Louise chocolates.’ H e w ent on slowly, ‘W h a t I simply can’t understand is . . .’ ‘Is w hy anyone w ould w ant to poison G randm a,’ Gina in terrupted. ‘I know. I just can’t believe it! Absolutely everyone loves her.’ Stephen did n o t answer. G ina looked at h im sharply. ‘I k now w hat you’re thinking, Steve!’ ‘I w onder.’ ‘You’re th in k in g that W alter - isn’t very happy w ith her. But W alter w ould never poison anyone. T he idea’s laughable.’ Gina went on hurriedly, ‘D o you think Ernie was lying? H e was pretending he was w alking about in the fog last night, saying he could tell things about the murder. D o you th in k that m ight be true?’
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‘True? O f course not. You know h e’ll say anything to m ake him self im p o rtan t.’ ★★★ T he setting sun lit the west side o f the house, w ith its terrace and steps leading d ow n to the lawns. ‘Is this w here you stopped your car last n ig h t?’ Inspector C u rry asked, looking towards the house. ‘N ear enough,’ Alex R estarick agreed. ‘It’s difficult to tell exactly because o f the fog. Yes, I w ould say this was the place.’ C o m in g o u t from a covering o f thick bushes, the drive tu rn ed here in a slow curve through a line o f trees and then w ent on betw een the lake and the house. ‘D o dgett,’ said Inspector Curry. Police C onstable D o d g ett started o ff im m ediately and ran as fast as he could across the law n towards the house. R eaching the terrace, he w ent in by the side door. A few m om ents later the curtains o f one o f the w indow s w ere violently shaken. T hen Constable D o d g ett reappeared out o f the garden door, and ran back to them , breathing very hard. ‘Two m inutes and forty-tw o seconds,’ said Inspector C urry, holding up his stop-w atch. ‘T hey don’t take long, these things, do they?’ H is tone was pleasantly conversational. ‘I don’t ru n as fast as your C onstable,’ said Alex. ‘A re you tim in g m y supposed m ovem ents?’ ‘I’m ju st p o in tin g out that you could have done the m urder. T h a t’s all, M r R estarick.’ Alex R estarick said kindly to C onstable D odgett, w ho was still not breathing norm ally, ‘I can’t ru n as fast as you, but I believe I’m fitter.’ ‘I had bronchitis last w inter,’ said D odgett.
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Alex tu rn ed back to the Inspector. ‘Seriously, in spite o f try in g to frighten m e and w atch m y reactions, you can’t believe I had anything to do w ith this?’ Alex R estarick obviously found the idea very funny. ‘I w ould not send a box o f poisoned chocolates to M rs Serrocold and put my card inside, w ould I?’ ‘T h at m ig h t be w hat w e are m eant to th in k , M r R estarick.’ ‘O h, I see. H o w clever. By the way, w ere those chocolates poisoned?’ ‘Yes. T h ey contained aconitine.’ ‘N o t one o f m y favourite poisons, Inspector. Personally, I prefer cu rare.’ ‘C urare has to be p u t into the bloodstream , M r R estarick, no t ' into the stom ach.’ ‘H o w w ell in form ed the police are,’ said Alex. Inspector C u rry looked sideways at the young man, seeing eyes that were full o f laughter. A trickster w ith brains —that’s how he w ould sum up Alex Restarick. In Inspector C urry’s opinion, if Alex Restarick had m urdered Gulbrandsen, he w ould be a very satisfactory crim inal. B ut unfortunately C urry did not think he had. ‘I m oved the curtains as you told m e, Sir,’ Constable D odgett said, having recovered his breath. ‘A nd counted thirty. I noticed a hole in the top o f the curtains. It m eans you w ould see the light in the ro o m from outside.’ Inspector C u rry said to Alex, ‘D id you notice light from that w indow last night? ’ ‘I couldn’t see the house because o f the fog. I told you. Well, the m ain part, th at is. T he gym nasium building, being closer, show ed in a m arvellous way. I could no t see it as a solid building because o f the fog, b u t I did see how I could use it to m ake a perfect illusion o f dock w arehouses. As I told you, I am p utting on a show set in the L ondon Docks: Ballet.’
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‘You told m e,’ agreed Inspector C urry. ‘You know , because o f my jo b I do look at things from the point o f view o f a theatre stage set, rather than from the point o f view o f reality.’ ‘I’m sure you do. A nd yet a stage set is real enough, isn’t it, M r R estarick?’ ‘I don’t see w hat you m ean, Inspector.’ ‘W ell, it’s m ade o f real materials —cloth and w ood and paint. T h e illusion is in the eye o f the audience, no t in the set itself. T h e set, as I say, is real enough, as real behind the scenes as it is in front.’ Alex stared at him . ‘N o w that, you know , is a very interesting com m ent, Inspector. It’s given me an idea.’ ‘For another ballet?’ ‘N o, n o t for another ballet. D ear m e, I w onder if w e’ve all been rather stupid?’
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Chapter 1 7 ‘You say som ebody has been try in g to poison m e?’ C arrie Louise was simply unable to accept the idea. ‘You know ,’ she said, ‘I really can’t believe it.’ Lewis said gently, ‘I wish I could have protected you from this, dearest.’ She stretched out a hand to h im and he took it. Miss M arple, sitting close by, shook her head sympathetically. ‘Is it really true, Jan e?’ C arrie Louise asked. ‘I’m afraid so, m y dear.’ ‘T h en ev erything . . .’ C arrie Louise stopped. She continued, ‘I’ve always th o u g h t I knew w hat was real and w hat was not. This doesn’t seem real —but it is. So I m ay be w ro n g everywhere. B ut w ho could w ant to do such a th in g to me? N obody in this house could w ant to —kill m e.’ ‘T h a t’s w hat I w ould have th ought,’ said Lewis. ‘I was w rong.’ ‘A nd C h ristian k new about it? T h at explains it.’ ‘Explains w h at?’ asked Lewis. ‘H is behaviour,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘It was very strange, you know. N o t like him . H e seemed —upset about me. A nd he asked m e i f m y heart was strong, and i f I’d been well lately. B ut w hy n o t say som ething straight out? It’s so m uch simpler.’ ‘H e d id n ’t w ant to cause you pain, C arrie.’ ‘Pain? B ut w hy —O h, I see.’ H er eyes w idened. ‘So that’s w hat you believe. B ut you’re w rong, Lewis, quite w rong. I am sure o f that.’ H er husband avoided her eyes. ‘I’m sorry,’ said M rs Serrocold after a m om ent or two. ‘B ut I can’t believe any th ing that has happened lately is true. Edgar shooting at you. T h at silly box o f chocolates. It just isn’t tru e.’ N o b o d y spoke. 81
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Caroline Louise Serrocold sighed. ‘I suppose,’ she said, ‘that I must have ignored everything but my own beliefs for a long time. Please, both of you, I think I would like to be alone. I’ve got to try to understand.’ ★★★ Miss Marple came down the stairs and into the Great Hall to find Alex Restarick standing near the large entrance door, with his hand held out in a theatrical way. ‘Come in, come in,’ said Alex happily. ‘I’m just thinking about last night.’ Lewis Serrocold, who had followed Miss Marple down from Carrie Louise’s sitting room, crossed the Great Hall to his study and shut the door. ‘A re you trying to reconstruct the crime?’ asked Miss Marple with pleasure. ‘No, not exactly,’ Alex said. ‘I was looking at the whole thing from an entirely different point of view. I was thinking of this place like it was a theatre. Just come over here. Think of it as a stage set with lights, actors entering and leaving, noises off stage. All very interesting. It wasn’t all my own idea. The Inspector gave it to me. I think he’s rather a cruel man. He did his best to frighten me this morning.’ ‘A nd did he frighten you?’ ‘I’m not sure.’ Alex described the Inspector’s experiment and the timing of the performance of the breathless Constable Dodgett. ‘Time,’ he said, ‘is so very misleading. You think things take such a long time, but really, of course, they don’t.’ ‘No,’ said Miss Marple. W hat had Carrie Louise meant, she wondered, when she had said to her husband, ‘So that’s what you believe —but you’re wrong, Lewis!’ 82
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‘I m ust say th at was a very clear-sighted rem ark o f the Inspector’s,’ A lex’s voice interrupted h er thoughts. A b o u t a stage set b eing real. M ade o f w ood and cloth and as real on the u npainted as on the painted side. “T h e illusion,” he pointed out, “is in the eyes o f the audience.” ’ ‘Like m agicians,’ Miss M arple said. ‘T hey do it w ith m irrors is, I believe, w hat people say.’ Stephen R estarick came in, slightly ou t o f breath. ‘H ello, Alex,’ he said. ‘T h at little rat, E rnie Gregg, rem em ber him ? H e ’s been telling G ina th at he gets out at n ight and w anders about the gardens. H e says he was w andering ro u n d last night and he saw som ething.’ Alex tu rn e d quickly. ‘Saw w hat?’ ‘H e says h e’s n o t going to tell. A ctually I’m sure h e’s only try in g to show o ff and get h im self noticed. H e does tell lies a lot, but I th o u g h t perhaps the police should question h im .’ Alex said sharply, ‘W h y don’t w e leave h im for a bit and no t let h im th in k w e’re too interested?’ ‘Perhaps —yes, I th in k you m ay be right there. This evening, perhaps.’ Stephen w en t on into the library. Miss M arple, w alking gently round the H all, th in k in g o f herself as an audience m oving around a stage set, w alked into Alex R estarick as he stepped back suddenly Miss M arple said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ Alex frow ned at her, said in an absent-m inded sort o f way, ‘I beg y o u r pardon,’ and then added in a surprised voice. ‘I was th in k in g o f som ething else —that boy E rnie.’ H e m ade strange m ovem ents w ith b o th hands. T h en , w ith a sudden change o f behaviour, he crossed the hall and w ent th ro u g h the library door, shutting it behind him .
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T h e sound o f voices came from beh in d the closed door, but Miss M arple hardly noticed them . She was no t interested in Ernie. She was sure that E rnie had seen n o th in g at all. She did no t believe for a m om ent that on a cold foggy night like last night, E rnie w ould have used his abilities to open a lock so he could w ander about in the gardens. It was m ost likely that he never got out at night. Show ing off, that was all it had been. ‘Like Jo h n n ie B ackhouse,’ thought Miss M arple, w ho always had a parallel experience o f life as an example, and all selected from the people o f St M ary M ead. “I saw you last n ig h t” had been Jo h n n ie B ackhouse’s unpleasant co m m en t to all he thought it m ight affect. It had been a surprisingly successful rem ark. So m any people, Miss M arple thought, have been in places w here they are anxious not to be seen! She stopped th in k in g about Jo h n n ie and concentrated on som ething w hich A lex had said, thoughts w hich had begun w ith some com m ents by Inspector C urry. T hose rem arks had given Alex an idea. H ad they given her an idea, too? T he same idea — or a different one? She stood w here Alex R estarick had stood. She thought to herself, ‘T his is n o t a real hall. This is only cloth and w ood. T his is a stage scene.’ Bits o f phrases flashed across her m ind: illusion . . . in the eyes o f the audience . . . they do it w ith m irrors . . . yards o f coloured ribbon . . . vanishing ladies . . . all the show and m isdirection . . . the m agician’s skill. Som ething came into her m ind - a picture - som ething that Alex had said, som ething that he had described to her; Constable D o dgett try in g to get his breath back. S om ething m oved in her m ind and came suddenly into focus. ‘W h y o f course!’ said Miss M arple. ‘T h at m ust be it.’
Chapter 18 Miss M arple was standing at the place w here Inspector C u rry had m ade his experim ent w ith C onstable D odgett. Miss Believer’s voice behind her startled her. ‘You’ll catch a cold, Miss M arple, standing about like that after the sun’s gone dow n.’ Miss M arple w alked obediently alongside her and they w ent quickly towards the house. ‘I was th in k in g about magic tricks,’ said Miss M arple. ‘So difficult w hen you’re w atching them to see how they’re done, and yet, once they are explained, so very simple. D id you ever' see the Lady W ho is C u t in H a lf — such an exciting trick? It fascinated m e w hen I was eleven years old, I rem em ber. A nd I never could th in k how it was done. B ut the other day there was an article in some paper explaining exactly how they do it. I don’t th in k a new spaper should do that, do you? It seems it’s not one girl —b u t tw o. T h e head o f one and the feet o f the other. You th in k it’s one girl and it’s really tw o — and the other way round w ould w ork equally well, w ou ld n ’t it?’ Miss Believer looked at her w ith surprise. Miss M arple was no t often so vague and unconnected as this. ‘It’s all been too m uch for the old lady,’ she thought. ‘W h e n you only look at one side o f a thing, you only see one side,’ con tin u ed Miss M arple. ‘B ut everything fits in perfectly w ell i f you decide w hat is reality and w hat is illusion.’ She added suddenly, ‘Is C arrie Louise all right?’ ‘Yes,’ said Miss Believer. ‘She’s all right, but it m ust have been a shock, you k n o w —discovering that som eone w anted to kill her. I m ean particularly a shock to her, because she doesn’t understand violence.’
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‘C arrie Louise understands some things that w e don’t,’ said Miss M arple thoughtfully. ‘She always has.’ ‘I k n o w w hat you m ean - but she doesn’t live in the real w orld.’ ‘D oesn’t she?’ Miss Believer looked at her in surprise. Just then E dgar Lawson passed them , w alking very fast. H e gave a k ind o f em barrassed greeting, then looked away. ‘I rem em ber n o w w ho he rem inds m e of,’ said Miss M arple. ‘A young m an called L eonard W ylie. H is father was a dentist, but he got old and b lind and his hand used to shake, and so people preferred to go to the son. B ut the old m an was very miserable about it, said he was no good for anything any m ore. Leonard, w ho was very soft-hearted and rather foolish, began to pretend he drank m ore th an he should. H e always smelt o f whisky. His idea was that his patients w ould go back to the father again.’ ‘A nd did they?’ ‘O f course n o t,’ said Miss M arple. ‘W h a t happened was w hat anybody w ith any sense could have told h im w ould happen! T he patients w ent to M r Reilly, the other dentist. So m any people w ith good hearts have no sense. Besides, Leonard W ylie was so unconvincing. H is idea o f drunkenness w asn’t in the least like real drunkenness, and he overdid the w hisky —spilling it on his clothes in an impossible way.’ T hey w ent into the house by the side door.
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Chapter 19 T hey found the fam ily in the library. Lewis was w alking up and dow n, and there was a sense o f tension. ‘Is any th in g w rong? ’ asked Miss Believer. Lewis said, ‘E rnie Gregg is missing. M averick and some o f the staff are searching the grounds. If w e cannot find him , w e m ust call the police.’ ‘G randm a!’ G ina ran over to C arrie Louise, w orried by the w hiteness o f her face. ‘You look ill.’ ‘I am so unhappy. T he poor boy.’ Lewis said, ‘I was going to question h im this evening to find out if he had actually seen anything last night. I have the offer o f a good jo b for h im and I thought that after discussing that, I w ould m ention the other m atter.’ Miss M arple said softly, ‘Foolish boy. P oor foolish boy.’ She shook her head, and M rs Serrocold said gently, ‘So you th in k so too, Jan e?’ Stephen R estarick came in. ‘Hello, w h at’s happening?’ Lew is repeated his in fo rm atio n , and as he finished speaking, D r M averick cam e in w ith a fair-haired boy w ith p in k cheeks and a suspiciously in n o c e n t expression. Miss M arple rem em b ered h im being at d in n e r on the n ig h t she had arriv ed at Stonygates. ‘I’ve b ro u g h t A rth u r Jenkins along,’ said D r M averick. ‘H e seems to have been the last person to talk to E rnie.’ ‘N ow , A rth u r,’ said Lewis Serrocold, ‘please help us if you can. W h ere has E rnie gone?’ ‘I do n ’t know , sir. Honestly, I don’t. H e didn’t say anything to m e, he d id n ’t. H e was all excited about the play at the theatre, th at’s all.’
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‘T h ere’s ano th er thing, A rthur. E rnie said he was w andering about the grounds after lock-up last night. Was that tru e ? ’ ‘Never! W h a t a liar! E rnie never goes ou t at night. H e used to say he could, b u t he w asn’t that good w ith locks! A nyw ay he was in last night, th at I do know .’ T h e door was th ro w n open and looking very pale and ill, M r B aum garten, the occupational therapist, came in. ‘W e’ve found h im —them . It’s horrible.’ H e sank dow n on a chair. M ildred Strete said sharply, ‘W h at do you m ean —found them ? ’ B aum garten was shaking. ‘D o w n at the theatre,’ he said. ‘T h eir heads crushed —the big counterw eight m ust have fallen on them . Alex R estarick and that boy E rnie Gregg. T h ey ’re both dead.’
Chapter 20 ‘I’ve b ro ught you a cup o f soup, C arrie Louise,’ said Miss M arple. ‘N o w please d rin k it.’ M rs Serrocold sat up in the big bed. She looked very small and childlike. H er cheeks had lost their pin k flush, and her eyes seemed very far away. She to o k the soup obediently. ‘First, C hristian,’ said C arrie Louise, ‘and now Alex — and poor, silly little Ernie. D id he really kn o w an ything?’ ‘I th in k he was just telling lies,’ Miss M arple said as she sat dow n in a chair beside the bed. ‘M aking him self im portant by saying he had seen som ething. B ut som ebody believed his lies.’ C arrie Louise shivered. H er eyes w ent back to their far away look. ‘W e m eant to do so m uch for these boys. W e did do som ething. Some o f them have done w onderfully well. Several o f th em are in really responsible jobs. A few failed — that can’t be helped. M o d ern life is so com plicated —too com plicated for some simple and undeveloped characters. You know Lew is’s great scheme? H e always felt that transportation was a thing that had saved m any crim inals in the past. T hey w ere shipped overseas —and they m ade new lives in simpler surroundings. H e wants to start a m odern program m e like that. H e wants to buy a group o f islands, to finance it for som e years, then m ake it a selfsupporting co-operative - w ith everyone taking a share in it. B ut far away from the bad old ways o f the cities. It’s his dream . B ut it w ill take a lot o f m oney.’ Miss M arple picked up a little pair o f scissors and looked at them closely. ‘W h at a strange pair o f scissors,’ she said. ‘T h ey ’ve got tw o finger holes on one side and one on the other.’ C arrie L ouise’s eyes came back from that frightening far distance. ‘Alex gave them to m e this m orning,’ she said. ‘T h ey ’re
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supposed to m ake it easier to cut your right hand nails. D ear boy, he was so enthusiastic. H e m ade m e try them .’ ‘A nd I suppose he collected the nail clippings and took them away,’ said Miss M arple. ‘Yes,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘H e . . .’ She stopped. ‘W h y did you say th at?’ ‘I was th in k in g about Alex. H e had brains. Yes, he had brains.’ ‘You m ean —th at’s w hy he died?’ ‘I th in k so —yes.’ ‘H e and E rnie.’ A nd then C arrie Louise said quietly and unexpectedly, ‘H ow m uch do you know , Jan e?’ Miss M arple looked up quickly. T h e eyes o f the tw o w om en met. Miss M arple said slowly, ‘I f I was quite sure.’ ‘I th in k you are sure, Jane.’ ‘W h at do you w ant m e to do?’Jane M arple asked. C arrie leaned back against her pillows. ‘It is in your hands, Jane —You’ll do w hat you th in k right.’ She closed her eyes. ‘Tom orrow ,’ Miss M arple hesitated, ‘I shall have to try and talk to Inspector C u rry —if h e’ll listen.’
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Chapter 21 Miss M arple stood in the G reat H all and asked the Inspector to stand beside her. ‘It’s som ething I w ant to show you. S om ething Alex R estarick m ade m e see. It’s a question o f m agic tricks. T hey do it w ith m irrors, you kn o w —that sort o f thing —i f you understand m e.’ Inspector C u rry did no t understand. H e w ondered i f Miss M arple was quite right in the head. ‘I w ant you to th in k o f this place as a stage set, Inspector. As it was on the n ight C hristian G ulbrandsen was killed. You’re here in the audience, looking at the people on the stage. M rs Serrocold and m yself and M rs Strete, and Gina and Stephen — and ju st like on the stage there are entrances and exits and the characters go out to different places. Only, w hen you’re in the audience, you do n ’t th in k w here they are really going. T h ey go out “to the front d o o r” or “to the kitchen” and w hen the door opens you see a little bit o f painted scenery. B ut really o f course they go out to the sides o f the stage - or the back o f the stage w ith carpenters and electricians, and other characters w aiting to com e on. T h ey go out —to a different w orld.’ ‘I do n ’t quite see, Miss M arple.’ ‘O h , I k n o w —I suppose it sounds very silly —but if you th in k o f this as a play and the scene is “the G reat H all at Stonygates” — w hat exactly is behind the scene? I m ean —w hat is behind the stage? T h e terrace — isn’t it? T he terrace and a lot o f w indow s o pening on to it. ‘A n d that, you see, is how the m agic trick was done. It was the trick o f the Lady C ut in H a lf that m ade m e th in k o f it.’ ‘T h e Lady C u t in H alf?’ Inspector C u rry was now quite sure that Miss M arple was mad.
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‘A m ost exciting m agic trick. You m ust have seen it — only no t really one girl b u t tw o girls. T he head o f one and the feet o f the other. It looks like one person and is really tw o. A nd so I th o u g h t it could equally be the o ther way about. Two people could be really one person.’ ‘Two people really o n e?’ Inspector C u rry looked desperate. ‘Yes. N o t for long. H o w long did your C onstable take in the garden to ru n to this house and back? Two m inutes and fortyfive seconds, w asn’t it? T his w ould be less than that. W ell under tw o m inutes.’ ‘W h at was u n d er tw o m inutes?’ ‘T h e m agic trick. T he trick w hen it w asn’t tw o people but one person. In there - in the study. W e’re only looking at the visible part o f the stage. B ehind the scenes there is the terrace and a row o f w indow s. So easy w hen there are tw o people in the study to open the study w indow , get out, ru n along the terrace — those footsteps A lex heard —in at the side door, shoot C hristian G ulbrandsen and ru n back. D u rin g that tim e, the other person in the study does b o th voices so that w e’re all quite sure there are tw o people in there. A nd so there w ere m ost o f the tim e, but n o t for that little period o f under tw o m inutes.’ Inspector C u rry found his breath and his voice. ‘D o you m ean that it was E dgar Lawson w ho ran along the terrace and shot Gulbrandsen? E dgar Lawson w ho poisoned M rs Serrocold?’ ‘B ut you see, Inspector, no one has been poisoning M rs Serrocold at all. T h a t’s w here the m isdirection comes in. Som eone very cleverly used the fact that M rs Serrocold’s pains from arthritis w ere n o t unlike the sym ptom s o f arsenic poisoning. It’s the old m agician’s trick o f forcing a card on you. It is easy to add arsenic to a bottle o f m edicine — easy to add a few lines to a typ ew ritten letter. B ut the real reason for M r G ulbrandsen’s
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com ing here was the m ost likely reason —som ething to do w ith the G ulbrandsen Trust. M oney, in fact. Suppose that there had been em bezzlem ent — em bezzlem ent on a very big scale —you see w here th at points? To just one person.’ Inspector C u rry gasped, ‘Lewis Serrocold?’ he said in disbelief. ‘Lewis Serrocold.’ said Miss M arple.
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Chapter 22 Part o f a letter from G ina H u d d to h er aunt M rs Van Rydock: —and so you see, darling A u n t R u th , the whole thing has been ju st like a nightmare — especially the end o f it. I ’ve told you all about this fu n n y man Edgar Lawson. H e always behaved like a rabbit — and when the Inspector began questioning him and breaking him down, he lost his nerve completely and ran like a rabbit. H e jum ped out o f the window and ran round the house and down the drive and there was a policeman waiting, and Edgar ju s t turned to one side and ran fu ll speed fo r the lake. H e jum ped into an old boat that has been lying there falling apart fo r years —and he pushed off. Quite a mad, senseless thing to do, o f course, but as I say, he was ju st a rabbit in a panic. A n d then Lewis gave a great shout and said ‘That boat’s got a hole in it,’ and raced o ff to the lake, too. The boat went down and there was Edgar struggling in the water. H e couldn’t swim. Lewis jum ped in and swam out to him. H e got to him but they were both in difficulty because they’d become caught among the reeds. One o f the Inspector’s men went in with a rope round him, but he got trapped in the reeds, too and they had to pull him out. A u n t Mildred said ‘T h ey ’ll drown — they’ll drown — they’ll both drown’ in a silly sort o f way, and Grandma ju st said ‘Yes.’ I can’t describe to you ju st how she made that one word sound, fu s t ‘Y E S ’ and it went through you like — like a knife. A m I being silly and dramatic? I suppose I am. B u t it did sound like that. A n d then — when it was all over, and they got them out, the Inspector came to us and said to Grandma, ‘I ’m afraid, Mrs Serrocold, there’s no hope.’
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Grandma said very quietly, ‘T hank you, Inspector.’ Then she looked at us all. M e wanting to help, but not knowing how, and Jolly, looking grim and tender and ready to take care as usual, and Stephen reaching out his hands, and fu n n y old Miss Marple looking so sad, and tired, and even Walter looking upset. A ll so fo n d o f her and wanting to do S O M E T H I N G . B u t Grandma ju st said
‘Mildred.’ A n d A u n t Mildred said
‘Mother.’ A n d they went away together into the house, Grandma looking so small and frail and leaning on A u n t Mildred. I never realized, until then, how fo n d o f each other they were. It didn’t show much, you know, but it was there all the time.
Gina paused and sucked the end o f her pen. She started again: A bout me and Walter —we’re coming back to the States as soon as we can.
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Chapter 23 ‘W h at m ade you guess, Jan e?’ Miss M arple to o k her tim e before answering. She looked thoughtfully at th e o th er tw o - C arrie Louise, th in n er and frailer and yet strangely un to uched —and the old m an w ith the sweet smile and the thick w hite hair. D r G albraith, Bishop o f Crom er. T h e Bishop to o k C arrie Louise’s hand in his. ‘T his has been a great sadness for you, m y p o o r child, and a great shock.’ ‘Sadness, yes, b u t n o t really a shock.’ ‘N o ,’ said Miss M arple. ‘T h a t’s w hat I discovered, you know. Everyone kept saying how C arrie Louise lived in another w orld from this and was out o f touch w ith reality. B ut actually, C arrie Louise, it was reality you w ere in touch w ith, and not the illusion. You are never fooled by illusion like m ost o f us are. W h en I suddenly understood that, I saw that I m ust trust w hat you th o u g h t and felt. You w ere quite sure that no one w ould try to poison you, you couldn’t believe it - and you w ere quite right n o t to believe it, because it w asn’t so! You never believed that E dgar w ould harm Lewis - and again you were right. H e never w ould have harm ed Lewis. ‘So therefore, i f I was to go by you, all the things that seemed to be tru e w ere only illusions. Illusions created for a reason —in the same way th at m agicians create illusions, to trick an audience. We were the audience.
‘Alex R estarick got an idea o f the tru th first because he had the chance o f seeing things from a different angle —from the outside angle. H e was w ith the Inspector in the drive, and he looked at the house and realized the possibilities o f the w indow s - and he rem em bered the sound o f ru n n in g feet he had heard that night, and then the tim in g o f the Constable showed h im w hat a very
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short tim e things take. T he C onstable got very breathless, and later, th in k in g o f that, I rem em bered that Lewis Serrocold was out o f breath that night w hen he opened the study door. H e had just been ru n n in g hard, you see. ‘B ut it was E dgar Lawson that was the centre o f it all to me. T here was always som ething w ro n g to m e about Edgar Lawson. All the things he said and did w ere exactly right for w hat he was supposed to be, but he him self w asn’t right. Because he was actually a norm al young m an playing the part o f a schizophrenic — and he was always a little m ore theatrical than is true to life. ‘It m ust have all been very carefully planned. Lewis m ust have realized w hen C hristian last visited that som ething h'ad m ade h im suspicious. A nd he k new that i f C hristian suspected anything, then he w ould not stop u ntil he had discovered the w hole tru th .’ C arrie Louise said, ‘Yes, C hristian was like that. I don’t k now w hat it was that had m ade h im suspicious but he started investigating —and he found out the tru th .’ T h e Bishop said, ‘I blam e m yself for no t having been a better trustee.’ ‘N o b o d y expected you to understand finance,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘Lew is’s great financial experience gave h im com plete control. A nd it was a test o f honesty that he failed.’ T he pink colour cam e up in her cheeks. ‘Lewis was a great m an,’ she said. ‘A m an o f great vision, and a passionate believer in w hat could be done —w ith m oney. H e did n ’t w ant it for him self —or at least no t in the greedy sense —he did w ant the pow er o f it - he w anted the pow er to do great good w ith it.’ ‘A nd so he em bezzled the trust funds?’ said Miss M arple. D r G albraith hesitated. ‘It w asn’t only that.’ ‘Tell her,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘She is my oldest friend.’
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T h e Bishop said, ‘Lewis Serrocold was w hat one m ight call a financial expert. In his years o f highly technical accountancy, he had am used h im self by w orking out various m ethods o f em bezzlem ent w hich w ere alm ost impossible to detect. This had ju st been a gam e for his o w n entertainm ent, bu t then he saw w hat could be done w ith a huge sum o f m oney. A nd it stopped being a game. You see, he had some first-class m aterial to use. A m ongst the boys w ho passed through here, he chose a small select group. T h ey w ere boys w ho w ere naturally crim inal, w ho loved excitem ent and w ho w ere very intelligent. W e still don’t k n o w everything, b u t it seems clear that this group was specially trained and w ere placed in key positions. By carrying out Lew is’s directions, very large sums o f m oney w ere stolen w ithout anybody being suspicious. I understand that the operations are so com plicated th at it w ill be m onths before they can all be uncovered. B ut the result seems to be that, under various nam es and b anking accounts and com panies, Lewis Serrocold w ould have been able to control a huge sum o f m oney. H e was going to establish an overseas colony w here juvenile delinquents w ould eventually com e to ow n and rule the place as a co-operative. It m ay have been a w ild dream .’ ‘It was a dream th at m ight have com e tru e,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘Yes, it m ig h t have com e true. B ut the m eans Lewis Serrocold used w ere dishonest, and C hristian G ulbrandsen discovered that. H e was very upset, particularly by w hat the discovery and prosecution o f Lewis w ould m ean to you, C arrie Louise.’ ‘T h at’s w hy he asked m e i f m y heart was strong, and seemed so w orried about m y health,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘I couldn’t understand it.’ ‘T h en Lewis Serrocold returned,’ the Bishop continued, ‘and C hristian m et h im outside the house and told h im that he knew
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w hat was happening. Lewis took it calmly, I think. B oth m en agreed they must do all they could to save you from the pain this know ledge w ould bring you. C hristian said he w ould w rite to me and ask me to com e here, as a co-trustee, to discuss the position.’ ‘B ut o f course,’ said Miss M arple, ‘Lewis Serrocold had already prepared for this emergency. It was all planned. H e had brought the y oung m an w ho was to play the part o f Edgar Lawson to the house. T here was a real Edgar Lawson —o f course —in case the police looked up his record. T his false Edgar knew exactly w hat he had to do — act the part o f a schizophrenic victim o f persecution — and give Lewis Serrocold an alibi for a few vital m inutes. ‘T h e next step had been carefully planned too. Lew is’s story th at you, C arrie Louise, w ere being slowly poisoned, was very clever. T here was nobody bu t Lewis w ho could say w hat C hristian had told him —that, and a few lines he added on the typ ew riter w hile he was w aiting for the police. It was easy to add arsenic to the m edicine. N o danger for you there - since he was ready to stop you d rin k in g it. T h e chocolates w ere just an added touch —and o f course the original chocolates w eren’t poisoned — only those he poisoned before giving them to Inspector C urry.’ ‘A nd Alex guessed,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘Yes - th at’s w hy he collected your nail clippings. T hey w ould show i f arsenic actually had been given over a long period.’ ‘P oor A lex —p o o r E rnie.’ T here was a m om ent’s silence as the other tw o thought o f C hristian G ulbrandsen, o f A lex R estarick, and o f the boy E rnie — and the terrible act o f murder. ‘B ut surely,’ said the Bishop, ‘Lewis was taking a big risk in persuading E dgar to be his accom plice - even if he had some pow er over h im —’
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C arrie shook her head. ‘It wasn’t exactly a hold over him . E dgar was devoted to Lewis.’ ‘Yes,’ said Miss M arple. ‘I w onder perhaps i f . . .’ She paused delicately. ‘You saw the likeness, I suppose?’ said C arrie Louise. ‘So you k n ew th at all along?’ ‘I guessed. I k n ew Lewis had once had an affair w ith an actress, before he m et me. I’ve no doubt at all that Edgar was actually Lewis’s son.’ ‘Yes,’ said Miss M arple. ‘T h at explains everything.’ ‘A nd he gave his life for him in the end,’ said C arrie Louise. She looked at the Bishop. ‘H e did, you know .’ T here was a silence and then C arrie Louise said, ‘I’m glad it ended that way w ith his life given in the hope o f saving the boy from drow ning. People w ho can be very good can be very bad, too. I always knew that was true about Lewis. B ut —he loved me very m uch —and I loved him .’ ‘D id you —ever suspect h im ? ’ asked Miss M arple. ‘N o ,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘Because I was puzzled by the poisoning. I k new Lewis w ould never poison m e and yet that letter o f C h ristian’s said definitely that som eone was poisoning m e - so I th o u g h t th at everything I knew about people m ust be w rong.’ Miss M arple said, ‘B ut w hen Alex and E rnie w ere found killed. You suspected th en ?’ ‘Yes,’ said C arrie Louise. ‘Because I didn’t th in k anyone else but Lewis w ould have dared. A nd I began to be afraid o f w hat he m ight do next.’ She shivered. ‘I adm ired Lewis. I adm ired his —w hat shall I call it —his goodness? B ut I do see that if you’re good, you have to be hum ble as well.’
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D r G albraith said gently, ‘T hat, C arrie Louise, is w hat I have always adm ired in you - your h u m ility ’ T h e lovely blue eyes opened w ide in surprise. ‘B ut I’m not particularly good. I can only adm ire goodness in other people.’ ‘D ear C arrie Louise,’ said Miss M arple.
10 1
C h a r a c t e r list
Ruth Van Rydock: a rich American, married and divorced three times;
Carrie’s sister Miss Jane Marple: an elderly lady and close friend of the two sisters
from their schooldays Carrie Louise Serrocold: Ruth’s sister, also wealthy, who lives at a house
called Stonygates Eric Gulbrandsen: Carrie Louise’s first husband who died when she was
thirty-two Johnnie (John) Restarick: Carrie Louise’s second husband who left her
for a woman from Yugoslavia Lewis Serrocold: Carrie Louise's third and present husband, an
accountant and philanthropist who runs the Gulbrandsen Institute for young criminals at Stonygates Pippa: the daughter Carrie Louise adopted with Eric Gulbrandson. She
died in childbirth. She was married to Guido, an Italian aristocrat. Mildred Strete: Carrie Louise and Eric Gulbrandson’s natural daughter.
A childless widow, who had married a senior priest (now dead) of the Church of England. Gina Hudd: Pippa and Guido’s daughter, brought up by her grandmother,
Carrie Louise - married to Walter Hudd Alex Restarick: elder son of Johnnie Restarick from his first marriage Stephen Restarick: younger son of Johnnie Restarick from his first
marriage
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C haracter list
Edgar Lawson: assistant to Lewis Serrocold Juliet (Jolly) Believer: companion and secretary to Carrie Louise Jackie Flint: one of the young criminals at the Institute Walter Hudd: Gina’s young American husband, an ex-Marine Dr Maverick: a young psychiatrist Mr Baumgarten: an occupational therapist Christian Gulbrandsen: Carrie Louise’s stepson and half-brother of
Mildred, the principal trustee of the Institute r
Inspector Curry: the police officer in charge of investigating the murder Dr Galbraith: Bishop of Cromer and trustee of the Institute Superintendent Blacker: Curry’s superior officer Sergeant Lake: a police officer assisting Curry Ernie Gregg: one of the boy criminals being educated at Stonygates Constable Dodgett: a police officer working with Curry and Lake Mr Gilfoy: a trustee of the Institute and Carrie Louise’s lawyer Arthur Jenkins: a boy criminal at the Institute
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C ultural n o te s
Philanthropic causes
People who were very rich and didn’t have to work for money often liked to spend their time helping people who were not as lucky as they were. They did this by working for different charities or by setting up different philanthropic organizations. In the story, Carrie’s first and last husbands were both interested in helping people in this way. Education for all
Carrie’s first husband, Mr Gulbrandsen, spent his time and his money trying to make important changes to the lives of people in Britain. One of these changes was the ‘education for all’ cause mentioned by Ruth at the beginning of the story. Gulbrandsen believed that everybody should be able to go to school, not just children younger than twelve, and the children of the rich, whose schooling was paid for by the parents. However, a series of laws were passed giving free education to every child. Before the war, free education was offered to children up until the age of twelve and, in 1944, until the age of fifteen, which meant that it was no longer necessary for people like Gulbrandsen to fight for this cause. Juvenile delinquents
Another cause, this time one that Carrie’s current husband, Lewis, was involved in at Stonygates was trying to help young people who had committed crimes. These people were officially called juvenile delinquents. Lewis believed that if you helped these young people, by teaching them how to do different jobs - and by giving them selfconfidence - they would stop being criminals and would be able to live normal lives.
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C ultural N otes
Children in the Second World War
At the beginning of the Second World War in Britain, everyone thought that the country was going to be invaded by the Germans and that all the major cities would be destroyed by bombs being dropped. People sent their children to the countryside where they would be safe. The children did not know where they were going to live or who their ‘new families’ would be. By the end of the war a total of 3.5 million people, most of them children, had been sent away from the towns and cities at some point during the war. Many rich people, with the same idea of keeping their children safe, sent them to relatives abroad, which is why Gina in the story went to live with her Aunt Ruth in America. Changes in the British class system
Up until the Second World War there was a strict and very clear class system in Britain. People got married to other people of the same social class; working class servants worked for the upper classes, the upper classes, especially women, didn’t usually work at all; and everyone knew how they should behave. Because of the war, this all started to change. All the classes fought and died together; women started doing all the jobs that men had done previously - the men were all fighting in the war and someone had to do the work. People fell in love and got married very quickly. They did not know if they were going to be killed fighting or have a bomb dropped on them at home and so the traditional class rules became less important. Before the war it was unusual for an upper-class girl like Gina to marry a man who had no money or profession, especially an American.
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C ultural N otes
Winston Churchill and General Montgomery
In 1952, when this story was published, Winston Churchill had just become Prime Minister of Britain for the second time. The first time, 1940-1945, was during the Second World War. Churchill was famous during this time for the way he spoke to the people of Britain, both live and on the radio, encouraging them to be brave and not to even think that they would not win the war. Many people admired Winston Churchill and thought he was a good prime minister. General Montgomery was an officer in the British army who became a
General during the Second World War. He is probably the most famous British General from that time because he had key roles in many of the battles throughout the war. Many people admired him. The trick of the Lady Cut in Half
The trick of the Lady Cut in Half is a popular magic trick where a woman or girl gets into a long rectangular box. The magician closes the box and at one end we can see the lady’s feet and at the other we can see her head. The magician talks to the lady and asks her to move her feet, which she does and we see her talking and laughing. The magician covers the box with a cloth and cuts the box into two pieces and takes away the cloth. The lady is alive - talking and laughing and she moves her feet again even though they are now in another box. The title of the story: They Do It With Mirrors is also connected to magicians and the tricks they do.
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G lo ssary Key
n = noun v = verb adj = adjective adv = adverb excl = exclamation exp = expression phr v = phrasal verb absent-minded (adj)
, someone who forgets things and doesn’t pay attention to what they are doing is said to be absent-minded
accomplice (n)
a person who helps to commit a crime accountancy (n) the work of keeping financial records accountant (n)
a person whose job is to keep financial records aconitine (n)
a powerful poison made from herbs affair (n)
a sexual relationship between two people who are married, but not to each other affection (n)
feelings of love or liking for someone alibi (n)
proof that you were somewhere else when a crime was committed, showing why you can’t be guilty of a crime
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Glossary
arsenic (n)
a very powerful poison arthritis (n)
condition in which the joints in someone’s body are swollen and painful at close range (exp)
being very close to something awkward (adj)
embarrassing and difficult to deal with - an awkward person feels uncomfortable or clumsy backfire (n) an explosion in the exhaust pipe of a car that makes a loud noise binoculars (n)
two small telescopes joined together side by side which you look through to see things that are far away Bishop (n)
a religious leader of high rank bitter (adj)
angry and resentful break off (phr v)
to stop talking before you have said everything you were going to say bring a charge (exp)
to accuse someone formally of having done something illegal bronchitis (n) an illness that makes you cough Canon (n)
one of the religious leaders on the staff of a cathedral
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Glossary
case (n)
a person that a professional such as a doctor is dealing with cashier (n)
the person in a bank that customers pay money to or get money from cathedral (n)
a large important church which has a Bishop in charge of it cause (n)
an aim which a group of people supports or is fighting for charitable (adj)
helping and supporting people who are ill, disabled, or poor cliff (n)
a high area of land with a very steep side, especially next to the sea cold-bloodedly (adv)
doing something without showing pity or emotion colony (n)
a group of people living together companion (n)
when Agatha Christie was writing, a companion was usually someone who was paid to spend time with someone, often an elderly person conceit (n) the high opinion you have of yourself confidential (adj)
spoken or written in secret and should stay secret conspiracy (n)
the secret planning by a group of people to do something wrong or illegal
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Glossary
Constable (n)
a police officer in Britain of the lowest rank co-operative (n)
a business or organization run by the people who work for it, who share its benefits and profits counterweight (n) a heavy object used in the theatre to balance scenery crank (n)
a person who has strange ideas or behaviour cruelty (n)
the act of deliberately causing pain or worry curare (n)
a poison from South America delicate (adj)
small and attractive delicately (adv)
in a way that is sensitive to people’s feelings deprive (v) to prevent someone from having something they want or need devoted (adj) caring for or loving something or someone very much dignified (adj) calm, impressive, and worthy of respect dock warehouse (n)
a large building used for storing things at the place where ships are loaded dose (n)
the amount of a medicine or a drug that should be taken at one time
IIO
Glossary
earnest (adj)
serious and sincere embezzlement (n)
stealing money from where you work, or from clients evidence (n)
information from documents, objects, or witnesses, which is used in a court of law to try to prove something fortune (n)
a very large amount of money frail (adj)
'
very weak, not strong or healthy fraud (n)
the crime of gaining money by a trick or lying frown (v) to move your eyebrows together because you are annoyed, worried, or thinking fuse (n)
a wire which melts and stops the electric current if there is a fault good grief (excl)
used to show great surprise grim (adj)
unpleasant or serious grin (v)
to smile widely groan (v)
to make a long, low sound of pain or unhappiness
III
Glossary
heir (n)
someone who has the right to receive a person’s money, property, or title when that person dies humble (adj)
not believing that you are better than other people humility (n) the quality of not believing that you are better than other people hysterical (adj) being in a state of uncontrolled excitement or panic ideals (n)
ideas that you believe are right and worth trying to achieve illegitimate (adj)
a person who is illegitimate was born of parents who were not legally married to each other illusion (n)
something that appears to exist, but in reality does not exist or is something else Inspector (n)
an middle ranking officer in the British police invasion (n)
when a foreign army enters a country by force irritably (adv) doing something in a way that shows you are annoyed juvenile delinquency (n)
when a young person behaves in a criminal way
Glossary
knit (v) to make something from wool using two knitting needles knock someone out (phr v)
to make someone unconscious by hitting them hard on the head landlady (n)
a woman who allows you to live or work in a building which she owns, in return for rent lawn (n)
an area of grass that is kept cut short and is usually part of a garden or park leper (n) a person who has the disease leprosy, often kept separate from other people live on (phr v)
to survive by eating only one type of food loyally (adv)
showing support for a friend mad about (adj) very interested in something Marine (n) a soldier who is trained for duties at sea and on land medal (n)
a small metal disc, given as an award for bravery misdirection (n)
directing someone’s attention away from what you are really doing modestly (adv)
not showing your abilities, achievements, or possessions
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Glossary
motive (n)
the reason for doing something nonsense (n) something that you think is untrue or silly nun (n) a female member of a religious community observant (adj)
when a person is good at watching other people and understanding them occupational therapist (n)
a person who helps people recover from an illness by giving them activities to do official inquiry (n)
a formal investigation by the police pension (n) money which a retired person regularly receives from a former
employer persecution (n) when people are deliberately targeted to be harmed philanthropic (adj) giving money to people who are ill, disabled, or poor plain (adj)
looking ordinary and not at all beautiful poison (v)
to give people or animals something that harms or kills them if they swallow it
114
Glossary
procedure (n)
the correct way of doing something prosecute (v) to charge someone with a crime and put them on trial psychiatrist (n)
a doctor who is trained in the treatment of mental illness psychologist (n)
a person who is trained in psychology, the study of how the mind works purr (v) to make the sound a cat makes in its throat when it is happy reconstruction (n)
a description of a crime, which you make by trying to repeat it reeds (n) tall plants that grow in water relish (n)
enjoyment revenge (n)
the act of hurting someone who has hurt you Riviera (n)
the French and Italian coast that was and is popular for tourism sample (n)
a small amount of something that is examined and analyzed scientifically schizophrenic (n)
someone who has the illness schizophrenia, a serious mental illness that prevents people from relating their thoughts and feelings to what is happening around them
115
Glossary
Sergeant (n) a police officer above the rank of Constable show off (phr v)
to try to impress people by showing in a very obvious way what they can do or what they own single-minded (adj)
not thinking about anything other than one thing sly (adj)
clever at cheating people or hiding things from people snap (v)
to speak in a sharp, unfriendly way sobbing (n)
crying in a noisy way spoilt (adj)
behaving badly because you have always had everything you want spy (v)
to watch someone secretly startle (v) when something sudden and unexpected surprises you statement (n)
something that you say or write which gives information in a formal or definite way struggle (v)
to try to do something that is very difficult suicide (n)
people who commit suicide deliberately kill themselves because they do not want to continue living
116
Glossary
surgeon (n)
a doctor who performs operations symptom (n)
a sign of an illness that shows you have that illness tendency (n)
a worrying or unpleasant habit or action that keeps occurring transportation (n)
the act of moving people from one place to another trustee (n)
someone with legal control of money or property that is kept or invested for another person trust fund (n)
money that is kept for someone and is used to make more money by investing it unacknowledged (adj)
not recognized unconvincing (adj)
if something is unconvincing, you do not believe it is true victim (n)
someone who has been hurt or killed vision (n)
strong ideas about how things might be different in the future vivid (adj)
very bright in colour wander (v) to walk around with no direction
117
Glossary
weed (n)
a wild plant growing where it is not wanted, for example in a garden widow (n)
a woman whose husband has died widower (n)
a man whose wife has died will (n)
a document where you say what you want to happen to your money and property when you die willpower (n)
a very strong determination to do something wire (n)
a long, thin piece of metal that is used to fasten things or to carry electric current wrinkled (adj)
having skin with a lot of lines on it yard (n)
a unit of length equal to 36 inches or approximately 91.4 centimetres
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ALSO IN THE AGATHA CHRISTIE SERIES
Sparkling Cyanide Six people sit down for dinner at a table laid for seven. No one can forget the night exactly a year ago that Rosemary Barton died at this same table surrounded by the same people, her beautiful face turned blue with cyanide poison. Rosemary had always been memorable - and people had strong reactions to her. Did one of the six people at dinner feel strongly enough about her to kill her?
Crooked House The Leonides family live together in a large and crooked house in a wealthy London suburb. When the elderly millionaire Aristide Leonides is murdered with a fatal injection, the family reluctantly suspect his glamorous, young second wife. Charles Hayward, who is engaged to the late millionaire’s granddaughter, observes the family closely and makes a terrible and shocking discovery . . .
They Came to Baghdad Victoria Jones is a young English woman who is looking for love. She follows her new love interest to Baghdad, but she has no idea what adventure is waiting for her there. A very important international meeting is planned in Baghdad, but a secret organization wants to sabotage it. Meanwhile, when a man dies in 119
COLLINS ENGLISH READERS
Victoria’s hotel room, he whispers three words to her: . . Lucifer . . . Basrah . . . Lefarge . . .’ What do these words mean? And what does it have to do with the meeting?
A Pocket Full of Rye Rex Fortescue, the boss of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his office, when he suffered a painful and sudden death. When the police checked the victim’s pockets, they found grain. Miss Marple knows one of the servants in Rex Fortescue’s house and comes to help solve the mystery. She soon starts to suspect that she is dealing with a case of crime by rhyme . . .
After the Funeral After Richard Abernethie’s funeral, his will is read out to his family. His sister, Cora, shocks everyone by saying ‘He was murdered, wasn’t he?’ When Cora is murdered in her bed the very next day, her extraordinary remark suddenly seems very important. Every member of the Abernethie family has something to gain from both murders. Hercule Poirot arrives to solve the mystery.
Destination Unknown Famous scientists from around the world are disappearing and nobody knows why. The one woman who can help uncover the truth is dying after a plane crash. How can they discover where the scientists are without her? Meanwhile, in a hotel room in Casablanca, Hilary Craven decides to end her life. But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a man who offers her an exciting alternative . . . 120
COLLINS ENGLISH READERS
Hickory Dickory Dock Strange items have disappeared from the student hostel on Hickory Road and Mrs Hubbard, the warden, is becoming suspicious. Detective Hercule Poirot has been a little bored recently and decides to try to solve the mystery. But the investigation turns sinister when one of the students is found poisoned in her room.
4 .5 0 From Paddington A woman is murdered on a train. When Miss Marple telephones her friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow and asks her to go undercover to investigate, Lucy quickly accepts the challenge! Who is the dead woman? What was the motive for her murder? And why was the body thrown from the train and later hidden at Rutherford Hall? When a second murder takes place, everyone at Rutherford Hall seems in danger, so Miss Marple sets a trap to catch the murderer.
Cat Among the Pigeons Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious light in the school Sports Pavilion. Among the tennis racquets and lacrosse sticks, they find the body of the unpopular games mistress - shot through the heart. Schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much, and begins to worry that she might be the next victim. Can detective Hercule Poirot find the killer before the ‘cat’ strikes again?
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COLLINS ENGLISH READERS
T h e A g a t h a C h r is t ie S e r ie s The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Man in the Brown Suit The Murder of Roger Ackroyd The Murder at the Vicarage Peril at End House Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Death in the Clouds Appointment with Death N o rM? The Moving Finger Sparkling Cyanide Crooked House They Came to Baghdad They Do It With Mirrors A Pocket Full of Rye After the Funeral Destination Unknown Hickory Dickory Dock 4.50 From Paddington Cat Among the Pigeons
Visit www.collinselt.com/agathachristie for language activities and teacher’s notes based on this story.
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