"Dear, dear Lucy, I'm so sorry about all this."
"And then Bryan," went on Lucy. "It's extraordinary, but Bryan really seems to want to live there. He thinks he and Alexander would find it awfully jolly and he's full of schemes."
"He's always full of schemes of one kind or another, isn't he?"
"Yes, I think he is. They all sound rather wonderful - but I've got an uneasy feeling that they'd never really work. I mean, they're not practical. The idea sounds all right - but I don't think he ever considers the actual working difficulties."
"They are up in the air, so to speak?"
"Yes, in more ways than one. I mean they are usually literally up in the air. They are all air schemes. Perhaps a really good fighter pilot never does quite come down to earth again..."
She added: "And he likes Rutherford Hall so much because it reminds him of the big rambling Victorian house he lived in when he was a child."
"I see," said Miss Marple thoughtfully. "Yes, I see..."
Then, with a quick sideways glance at Lucy, she said with a kind of verbal pounce, "But that isn't all of it, is it, dear? There's something else."
"Oh, yes, there's something else. Just something that I didn't realise until just a couple of days ago. Bryan could actually have been on that train."
"On the 4:33 from Paddington?"
"Yes. You see Emma thought she was required to account for her movements on 20th December and she went over it all very carefully - a committee meeting in the morning, and then shopping in the afternoon and tea at the Green Shamrock, and then, she said, she went to meet Bryan at the station. The train she met was the 4:50 from Paddington, but he could have been on the earlier train and pretended to come by the later one. He told me quite casually that his car had had a biff and was being repaired and so had to come down by train - an awful bore, he said, he hates trains. He seemed quite natural about it all... It may be quite all right - but I wish, somehow, he hadn't came down by train."
"Actually on the train," said Miss Marple thoughtfully.
"It doesn't really prove anything. The awful thing is all this suspicion. Not to know. And perhaps we never shall know!"
"Of course we shall know, dear," said Miss Marple briskly. "I mean - all this isn't going to stop just at this point. The one thing I do know about murderers is that they can never let well alone. Or perhaps one should say - ill alone. At any rate," said Miss Marple with finality, "they can't once they've done a second murder. Now don't get too upset, Lucy. The police are doing all they can, and looking after everybody - and the great thing is that Elspeth McGillicuddy will be here very soon now!"
Chapter 26
"Now, Elspeth, you're quite clear as to what I want you to do?"
"I'm clear enough," said Mrs. McGillicuddy, "but what I say to you is, Jane, that it seems very odd."
"It's not odd at all," said Miss Marple. "Well, I think so. To arrive at the house and to ask almost immediately whether I can - er - go upstairs."
"It's very cold weather," Miss Marple pointed out, "and after all, you might have eaten something that disagreed with you and - er - have to ask to go upstairs. I mean, these things happen. I remember poor Louisa Felby came to see me once and she had to ask to go upstairs five times during one little half-hour. That," added Miss Marple parenthetically, "was a bad Cornish pasty."
"If you'd just tell me what you're driving at, Jane," said Mrs. McGillicuddy.
"That's just what I don't want to do," said Miss Marple.
"How irritating you are, Jane. First you make me come all the way back to England before I need -"
"I'm sorry about that," said Miss Marple; "but I couldn't do anything else. Someone, you see, may be killed at any moment. Oh, I know they're all on their guard and the police are taking all the precautions they can, but there's always the outside chance that the murderer might be too clever for them. So you see, Elspeth, it was your duty to come back. After all, you and I were brought up to do our duty, weren't we?"
"We certainly were," said Mrs. McGillicuddy, "no laxness in our young days."
"So that's quite all right," said Miss Marple, "and that's the taxi now," she added, as a faint hoot was heard outside the house.
Mrs. McGillicuddy donned her heavy pepper-and-salt coat and Miss Marple wrapped herself up with a good many shawls and scarves. Then the two ladies got into the taxi and were driven to Rutherford Hall.
II
"Who can this be driving up?" Emma asked, looking out of the window, as the taxi swept past it. "I do believe it's Lucy's old aunt."
"What a bore," said Cedric.
He was lying back in a long chair looking at Country Life with his feet reposing on the side of the mantelpiece.
"Tell her you're not at home."
"When you say tell her I'm not at home, do you mean that I should go out and say so? Or that I should tell Lucy to tell her aunt so?"
"Hadn't thought of that," said Cedric.
"I suppose I was thinking of our butler and footman days, if we ever had them. I seem to remember a footman before the war. He had an affair with the kitchen maid and there was a terrific rumpus about it. Isn't there one of those old hags about the place cleaning?"
But at that moment the door was opened by Mrs. Hart, whose afternoon it was for cleaning the brasses, and Miss Marple came in, very fluttery, in a whirl of shawls and scarves, with a tall uncompromising figure behind her.
"I do hope," said Miss Marple, taking Emma's hand, "that we are not intruding. But you see, I'm going home the day after tomorrow, and I couldn't bear not to come over and see you and say good-bye, and thank you again for your goodness to Lucy. Oh, I forgot. May I introduce my friend, Mrs. McGillicuddy, who is staying with me?"
"How d'you do," said Mrs. McGillicuddy, looking at Emma with complete attention and then shifting her gaze to Cedric, who had now risen to his feet. Lucy entered the room at this moment.
"Aunt Jane, I had no idea..."
"I had to come and say good-bye to Miss Crackenthorpe," said Miss Marple, turning to her, "who has been so very, very kind to you, Lucy."
"It's Lucy who's been very kind to us," said Emma.
"Yes, indeed," said Cedric. "We've worked her like a galley slave. Waiting on the sick room, running up and down the stairs, cooking little invalid messes..."
Miss Marple broke in. "I was so very, very sorry to hear of your illness. I do hope you're quite recovered now, Miss Crackenthorpe?"
"Oh, we're quite well again now," said Emma.
"Lucy told me you were all very ill. So dangerous, isn't it, food poisoning? Mushrooms, I understand."
"The cause remains rather mysterious," said Emma.
"Don't you believe it," said Cedric. "I bet you've heard the rumours that are flying round, Miss - er -"
"Marple," said Miss Marple.
"Well, as I say, I bet you've heard the rumours that are flying round. Nothing like arsenic for raising a little flutter in the neighbourhood."
"Cedric," said Emma, "I wish you wouldn't. You know Inspector Craddock said..."
"Bah," said Cedric, "everybody knows. Even you've heard something, haven't you?" He turned to Miss Marple and Mrs. McGillicuddy.
"I myself," said Mrs. McGillicuddy, "have only just returned from abroad, the day before yesterday," she added.
"Ah, well, you're not up in our local scandal then," said Cedric. "Arsenic in the curry, that's what it was. Lucy's aunt knows all about it, I bet."
"Well," said Miss Marple, "I did just hear - I mean, it was just a hint, but of course I didn't want to embarrass you in any way, Miss Crackenthorpe."
"You must pay no attention to my brother," said Emma. "He just likes making people uncomfortable." She gave him an affectionate smile as she spoke.
The door opened and Mr. Crackenthorpe came in, tapping angrily with his stick.
"Where's tea?" he said, "why isn't tea ready? You! Girl!" he addressed Lucy, "why haven't you brought tea in?"
"It's just ready, Mr. Crackenthorpe. I'm bringing it in now. I was just setting the table ready."
Lucy went out of the room again and Mr. Crackenthorpe was introduced to Miss Marple and Mrs. McGillicuddy.
"Like my meals on time," said Mr. Crackenthorpe. "Punctuality and economy. Those are my watchwords."
"Very necessary, I'm sure," said Miss Marple, "especially in these times with taxation and everything."
Mr. Crackenthorpe snorted. "Taxation! Don't talk to me of those robbers. A miserable pauper - that's what I am. And it's going to get worse, not better. You wait, my boy," he addressed Cedric, "when you get this place ten to one the Socialists will have it off you and turn it into a Welfare Centre or something. And take all your income to keep it up with!"
Lucy reappeared with a tea tray, Bryan Eastley followed her carrying a tray of sandwiches, bread and butter and cake.
"What's this? What's this?" Mr. Crackenthorpe inspected the tray. "Frosted cake? We having a party today? Nobody told me about it."
A faint flush came into Emma's face.
"Dr. Quimper's coming to tea. Father. It's his birthday today and -"
"Birthday?" snorted the old man, "what's he doing with a birthday? Birthdays are only for children. I never count my birthdays and I won't let anyone else celebrate them either."
"Much cheaper," agreed Cedric. "You save the price of candles on your cake."
"That's enough from you, boy," said Mr. Crackenthorpe.
Miss Marple was shaking hands with Bryan Eastley. "I've heard about you, of course," she said, "from Lucy. Dear me, you remind me so much of someone I used to know at St. Mary Mead. That's the village where I've lived for so many years, you know. Ronnie Wells, the solicitor's son. Couldn't seem to settle somehow when he went into his father's business. He went out to East Africa and started a series of cargo boats on the lakes out there. Victoria Nyanza, or is it Albert, I mean? Anyway, I'm sorry to say that it wasn't a success, and he lost all his capital. Most unfortunate! Not any relation of yours, I suppose? The likeness is so great."
"No," said Bryan, "I don't think I've any relations called Wells."
"He was engaged to a very nice girl," said Miss Marple. "Very sensible. She tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn't listen to her. He was wrong of course. Women have a lot of sense, you know, when it comes to money matters. Not high finance, of course. No woman can hope to understand that, my dear father said. But everyday L.s.d. - that sort of thing. What a delightful view you have from this window," she added, making her way across and looking out.
Emma joined her.
"Such an expanse of parkland! How picturesque the cattle look against the trees. One would never dream that one was in the middle of a town."
"We're rather an anachronism, I think," said Emma. "If the windows were open now you'd hear far off the noise of the traffic."
"Oh, of course," said Miss Marple, "there's noise everywhere, isn't there? Even in St. Mary Mead. We're now quite close to an airfield, you know, and really the way those jet planes fly over! Most frightening. Two panes in my little greenhouse broken the other day. Going through the sound barrier, or so I understand, though what it means I never have known."
"It's quite simple, really," said Bryan, approaching amiably. "You see, it's like this."
Miss Marple dropped her handbag and Bryan politely picked it up. At the same moment Mrs. McGillicuddy approached Emma and murmured, in an anguished voice - the anguish was quite genuine since Mrs. McGillicuddy deeply disliked the task which she was now performing:
"I wonder - could I go upstairs for a moment?"
"Of course," said Emma.
"I'll take you," said Lucy.
Lucy and Mrs. McGillicuddy left the room together.
"Very cold, driving today," said Miss Marple in a vaguely explanatory manner.
"About the sound barrier," said Bryan, "you see, it's like this... Oh, hallo, there's Quimper."
The doctor drove up in his car. He came in rubbing his hands and looking very cold. "Going to snow," he said, "that's my guess. Hallo, Emma, how are you? Good lord, what's all this?"
"We made you a birthday cake," said Emma. "D'you remember? You told me today was your birthday."
"I didn't expect all this," said Quimper.
"You know it's years - why, it must be - yes, sixteen years since anyone's remembered my birthday." He looked almost uncomfortably touched.
"Do you know Miss Marple?" Emma introduced him.
"Oh, yes," said Miss Marple, "I met Dr. Quimper here before and he came and saw me when I had a very nasty chill the other day and he was most kind."
"All right again now, I hope?" said the doctor.
Miss Marple assured him that she was quite all right now.
"You haven't been to see me lately, Quimper," said Mr. Crackenthorpe. "I might be dying for all the notice you take of me!"
"I don't see you dying yet awhile," said Dr. Quimper.
"I don't mean to," said Mr. Crackenthorpe.
"Come on, let's have tea. What're we waiting for?"
"Oh, please," said Miss Marple, "don't wait for my friend. She would be most upset if you did."
