Agatha Christie

4:50 from Paddington

A Miss Marple Mystery

One

Mrs. McGillicuddy panted along the platform in the wake of the porter carrying her suitcase. Mrs. McGillicuddy was short and stout, the porter was tall and free-striding. In addition, Mrs. McGillicuddy was burdened with a large quantity of parcels; the result of a dayâs Christmas shopping. The race was, therefore, an uneven one, and the porter turned the corner at the end of the platform whilst Mrs. McGillicuddy was still coming up the straight.

No. 1 Platform was not at the moment unduly crowded, since a train had just gone out, but in the no-manâs-land beyond, a milling crowd was rushing in several directions at once, to and from undergrounds, left-luggage offices, tea rooms, inquiry offices, indicator boards, and the two outlets, Arrival and Departure, to the outside world.

Mrs. McGillicuddy and her parcels were buffeted to and fro, but she arrived eventually at the entrance to No. 3 Platform, and deposited one parcel at her feet whilst she searched her bag for the ticket that would enable her to pass the stern uniformed guardian at the gate.

At that moment, a Voice, raucous yet refined, burst into speech over her head.

âThe train standing at Platform 3,â the Voice told her, âis the 4:50 for Brackhampton, Milchester, Waverton, Carvil Junction, Roxeter and stations to Chadmouth. Passengers for Brackhampton and Milchester travel at the rear of the train. Passengers for Vanequay change at Roxeter.â The Voice shut itself off with a click, and then reopened conversation by announcing the arrival at Platform 9 of the 4:35 from Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Mrs. McGillicuddy found her ticket and presented it. The man clipped it, murmured: âOn the rightârear portion.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy padded up the platform and found her porter, looking bored and staring into space, outside the door of a third-class carriage.

âHere you are, lady.â

âIâm travelling first-class,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âYou didnât say so,â grumbled the porter. His eye swept her masculine-looking pepper-and-salt tweed coat disparagingly.

Mrs. McGillicuddy, who had said so, did not argue the point. She was sadly out of breath.

The porter retrieved the suitcase and marched with it to the adjoining coach where Mrs. McGillicuddy was installed in solitary splendour. The 4:50 was not much patronized, the first-class clientele preferring either the faster morning express, or the 6:40 with dining car. Mrs. McGillicuddy handed the porter his tip which he received with disappointment, clearly considering it more applicable to third-class than to first-class travel. Mrs. McGillicuddy, though prepared to spend money on comfortable travel after a night journey from the North and a dayâs feverish shopping, was at no time an extravagant tipper.

She settled herself back on the plush cushions with a sigh and opened her magazine. Five minutes later, whistles blew, and the train started. The magazine slipped from Mrs. McGillicuddyâs hand, her head dropped sideways, three minutes later she was asleep. She slept for thirty-five minutes and awoke refreshed. Resettling her hat which had slipped askew she sat up and looked out of the window at what she could see of the flying countryside. It was quite dark now, a dreary misty December dayâChristmas was only five days ahead. London had been dark and dreary; the country was no less so, though occasionally rendered cheerful with its constant clusters of lights as the train flashed through towns and stations.

âServing last tea now,â said an attendant, whisking open the corridor door like a jinn. Mrs. McGillicuddy had already partaken of tea at a large department store. She was for the moment amply nourished. The attendant went on down the corridor uttering his monotonous cry. Mrs. McGillicuddy looked up at the rack where her various parcels reposed, with a pleased expression. The face towels had been excellent value and just what Margaret wanted, the space gun for Robby and the rabbit for Jean were highly satisfactory, and that evening coatee was just the thing she herself needed, warm but dressy. The pullover for Hector, tooâ¦her mind dwelt with approval on the soundness of her purchases.

Her satisfied gaze returned to the window, a train travelling in the opposite direction rushed by with a screech, making the windows rattle and causing her to start. The train clattered over points and passed through a station.

Then it began suddenly to slow down, presumably in obedience to a signal. For some minutes it crawled along, then stopped, presently it began to move forward again. Another up-train passed them, though with less vehemence than the first one. The train gathered speed again. At that moment another train, also on a down-line, swerved inwards towards them, for a moment with almost alarming effect. For a time the two trains ran parallel, now one gaining a little, now the other. Mrs. McGillicuddy looked from her window through the windows of the parallel carriages. Most of the blinds were down, but occasionally the occupants of the carriages were visible. The other train was not very full and there were many empty carriages.

At the moment when the two trains gave the illusion of being stationary, a blind in one of the carriages flew up with a snap. Mrs. McGillicuddy looked into the lighted first-class carriage that was only a few feet away.

Then she drew her breath in with a gasp and half-rose to her feet.

Standing with his back to the window and to her was a man. His hands were round the throat of a woman who faced him, and he was slowly, remorselessly, strangling her. Her eyes were starting from their sockets, her face was purple and congested. As Mrs. McGillicuddy watched fascinated, the end came; the body went limp and crumpled in the manâs hands.

At the same moment, Mrs. McGillicuddyâs train slowed down again and the other began to gain speed. It passed forward and a moment or two later it had vanished from sight.

Almost automatically Mrs. McGillicuddyâs hand went up to the communication cord, then paused, irresolute. After all, what use would it be ringing the cord of the train in which she was travelling? The horror of what she had seen at such close quarters, and the unusual circumstances, made her feel paralysed. Some immediate action was necessaryâbut what?

The door of her compartment was drawn back and a ticket collector said, âTicket, please.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy turned to him with vehemence.

âA woman has been strangled,â she said. âIn a train that has just passed. I saw it.â

The ticket collector looked at her doubtfully.

âI beg your pardon, madam?â

âA man strangled a woman! In a train. I saw itâthrough there.â She pointed to the window.

The ticket collector looked extremely doubtful.

âStrangled?â he said disbelievingly.

âYes, strangled! I saw it, I tell you. You must do something at once!â

The ticket collector coughed apologetically.

âYou donât think, madam, that you may have had a little nap andâerââ he broke off tactfully.

âI have had a nap, but if you think this was a dream, youâre quite wrong. I saw it, I tell you.â

The ticket collectorâs eyes dropped to the open magazine lying on the seat. On the exposed page was a girl being strangled whilst a man with a revolver threatened the pair from an open doorway.

He said persuasively: âNow donât you think, madam, that youâd been reading an exciting story, and that you just dropped off, and awaking a little confusedââ

Mrs. McGillicuddy interrupted him.

âI saw it,â she said. âI was as wide awake as you are. And I looked out of the window into the window of the train alongside, and a man was strangling a woman. And what I want to know is, what are you going to do about it?â

âWellâmadamââ

âYouâre going to do something, I suppose?â

The ticket collector sighed reluctantly and glanced at his watch.

âWe shall be in Brackhampton in exactly seven minutes. Iâll report what youâve told me. In what direction was the train you mention going?â

âThis direction, of course. You donât suppose Iâd have been able to see this if a train had flashed past going in the other direction?â

The ticket collector looked as though he thought Mrs. McGillicuddy was quite capable of seeing anything anywhere as the fancy took her. But he remained polite.

âYou can rely on me, madam,â he said. âI will report your statement. Perhaps I might have your name and addressâjust in caseâ¦.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy gave him the address where she would be staying for the next few days and her permanent address in Scotland, and he wrote them down. Then he withdrew with the air of a man who has done his duty and dealt successfully with a tiresome member of the travelling public.

Mrs. McGillicuddy remained frowning and vaguely unsatisfied. Would the ticket collector report her statement? Or had he just been soothing her down? There were, she supposed vaguely, a lot of elderly women travelling around, fully convinced that they had unmasked communist plots, were in danger of being murdered, saw flying saucers and secret space ships, and reported murders that had never taken place. If the man dismissed her as one of thoseâ¦.

The train was slowing down now, passing over points and running through the bright lights of a large town.

Mrs. McGillicuddy opened her handbag, pulled out a receipted bill which was all she could find, wrote a rapid note on the back of it with her ball-pen, put it into a spare envelope that she fortunately happened to have, stuck the envelope down and wrote on it.

The train drew slowly into a crowded platform. The usual ubiquitous Voice was intoning:

âThe train now arriving at Platform 1 is the 5:38 for Milchester, Waverton, Roxeter, and stations to Chadmouth. Passengers for Market Basing take the train now waiting at No. 3 platform. No. 1 bay for stopping train to Carbury.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy looked anxiously along the platform. So many passengers and so few porters. Ah, there was one! She hailed him authoritatively.

âPorter! Please take this at once to the Stationmasterâs office.â

She handed him the envelope, and with it a shilling.

Then, with a sigh, she leaned back. Well, she had done what she could. Her mind lingered with an instantâs regret on the shillingâ¦ Sixpence would really have been enoughâ¦.

Her mind went back to the scene she had witnessed. Horrible, quite horribleâ¦ She was a strong-nerved woman, but she shivered. What a strangeâwhat a fantastic thing to happen to her, Elspeth McGillicuddy! If the blind of the carriage had not happened to fly upâ¦ But that, of course, was Providence.

Providence had willed that she, Elspeth McGillicuddy, should be a witness of the crime. Her lips set grimly.

Voices shouted, whistles blew, doors were banged shut. The 5:38 drew slowly out of Brackhampton station. An hour and five minutes later it stopped at Milchester.

Mrs. McGillicuddy collected her parcels and her suitcase and got out. She peered up and down the platform. Her mind reiterated its former judgment: Not enough porters. Such porters as there were seemed to be engaged with mail bags and luggage vans. Passengers nowadays seemed always expected to carry their own cases. Well, she couldnât carry her suitcase and her umbrella and all her parcels. She would have to wait. In due course she secured a porter.

âTaxi?â

âThere will be something to meet me, I expect.â

Outside Milchester station, a taxi-driver who had been watching the exit came forward. He spoke in a soft local voice.

âIs it Mrs. McGillicuddy? For St. Mary Mead?â

Mrs. McGillicuddy acknowledged her identity. The porter was recompensed, adequately if not handsomely. The car, with Mrs. McGillicuddy, her suitcase, and her parcels drove off into the night. It was a nine-mile drive. Sitting bolt upright in the car, Mrs. McGillicuddy was unable to relax. Her feelings yearned for expression. At last the taxi drove along the familiar village street and finally drew up at its destination; Mrs. McGillicuddy got out and walked up the brick path to the door. The driver deposited the cases inside as the door was opened by an elderly maid. Mrs. McGillicuddy passed straight through the hall to where, at the open sitting room door, her hostess awaited her; an elderly frail old lady.

âElspeth!â

âJane!â

They kissed and, without preamble or circumlocution, Mrs. McGillicuddy burst into speech.

âOh, Jane!â she wailed. âIâve just seen a murder!â

Two

True to the precepts handed down to her by her mother and grandmotherâto wit: that a true lady can neither be shocked nor surprisedâMiss Marple merely raised her eyebrows and shook her head, as she said:

âMost distressing for you, Elspeth, and surely most unusual. I think you had better tell me about it at once.â

That was exactly what Mrs. McGillicuddy wanted to do. Allowing her hostess to draw her nearer to the fire, she sat down, pulled off her gloves and plunged into a vivid narrative.

Miss Marple listened with close attention. When Mrs. McGillicuddy at last paused for breath, Miss Marple spoke with decision.

âThe best thing, I think, my dear, is for you to go upstairs and take off your hat and have a wash. Then we will have supperâduring which we will not discuss this at all. After supper we can go into the matter thoroughly and discuss it from every aspect.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy concurred with this suggestion. The two ladies had supper, discussing, as they ate, various aspects of life as lived in the village of St. Mary Mead. Miss Marple commented on the general distrust of the new organist, related the recent scandal about the chemistâs wife, and touched on the hostility between the schoolmistress and the village institute. They then discussed Miss Marpleâs and Mrs. McGillicuddyâs gardens.

âPaeonies,â said Miss Marple as she rose from table, âare most unaccountable. Either they doâor they donât do. But if they do establish themselves, they are with you for life, so to speak, and really most beautiful varieties nowadays.â

They settled themselves by the fire again, and Miss Marple brought out two old Waterford glasses from a corner cupboard, and from another cupboard produced a bottle.

âNo coffee tonight for you, Elspeth,â she said. âYou are already overexcited (and no wonder!) and probably would not sleep. I prescribe a glass of my cowslip wine, and later, perhaps, a cup of camo-mile tea.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy acquiescing in these arrangements, Miss Marple poured out the wine.

âJane,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, as she took an appreciative sip, âyou donât think, do you, that I dreamt it, or imagined it?â

âCertainly not,â said Miss Marple with warmth.

Mrs. McGillicuddy heaved a sigh of relief.

âThat ticket collector,â she said, âhe thought so. Quite polite, but all the sameââ

âI think, Elspeth, that that was quite natural under the circumstances. It soundedâand indeed wasâa most unlikely story. And you were a complete stranger to him. No, I have no doubt at all that you saw what youâve told me you saw. Itâs very extraordinaryâbut not at all impossible. I recollect myself being interested when a train ran parallel to one on which I was travelling, to notice what a vivid and intimate picture one got of what was going on in one or two of the carriages. A little girl, I remember once, playing with a teddy bear, and suddenly she threw it deliberately at a fat man who was asleep in the corner and he bounced up and looked most indignant, and the other passengers looked so amused. I saw them all quite vividly. I could have described afterwards exactly what they looked like and what they had on.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy nodded gratefully.

âThatâs just how it was.â

âThe man had his back to you, you say. So you didnât see his face?â

âNo.â

âAnd the woman, you can describe her? Young, old?â

âYoungish. Between thirty and thirty-five, I should think. I couldnât say closer than that.â

âGood-looking?â

âThat again, I couldnât say. Her face, you see, was all contorted andââ

Miss Marple said quickly:

âYes, yes, I quite understand. How was she dressed?â

âShe had on a fur coat of some kind, a palish fur. No hat. Her hair was blonde.â

âAnd there was nothing distinctive that you can remember about the man?â

Mrs. McGillicuddy took a little time to think carefully before she replied.

âHe was tallishâand dark, I think. He had a heavy coat on so that I couldnât judge his build very well.â She added despondently, âItâs not really very much to go on.â

âItâs something,â said Miss Marple. She paused before saying: âYou feel quite sure, in your own mind, that the girl wasâdead?â

âShe was dead, Iâm sure of it. Her tongue came out andâIâd rather not talk about itâ¦.â

âOf course not. Of course not,â said Miss Marple quickly. âWe shall know more, I expect, in the morning.â

âIn the morning?â

âI should imagine it will be in the morning papers. After this man had attacked and killed her, he would have a body on his hands. What would he do? Presumably he would leave the train quickly at the first stationâby the way, can you remember if it was a corridor carriage?â

âNo, it was not.â

âThat seems to point to a train that was not going far afield. It would almost certainly stop at Brackhampton. Let us say he leaves the train at Brackhampton, perhaps arranging the body in a corner seat, with her face hidden by the fur collar to delay discovery. YesâI think that that is what he would do. But of course it will be discovered before very longâand I should imagine that the news of a murdered woman discovered on a train would be almost certain to be in the morning papersâwe shall see.â

II

But it was not in the morning papers.

Miss Marple and Mrs. McGillicuddy, after making sure of this, finished their breakfast in silence. Both were reflecting.

After breakfast, they took a turn round the garden. But this, usually an absorbing pastime, was today somewhat halfhearted. Miss Marple did indeed call attention to some new and rare species she had acquired for her rock-garden but did so in an almost absentminded manner. And Mrs. McGillicuddy did not, as was customary, counter-attack with a list of her own recent acquisitions.

âThe garden is not looking at all as it should,â said Miss Marple, but still speaking absentmindedly. âDoctor Haydock has absolutely forbidden me to do any stooping or kneelingâand really, what can you do if you donât stoop or kneel? Thereâs old Edwards, of courseâbut so opinionated. And all this jobbing gets them into bad habits, lots of cups of tea and so much potteringânot any real work.â

âOh, I know,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âOf course, thereâs no question of my being forbidden to stoop, but really, especially after mealsâand having put on weightââshe looked down at her ample proportionsââit does bring on heartburn.â

There was a silence and then Mrs. McGillicuddy planted her feet sturdily, stood still, and turned on her friend.

âWell?â she said.

It was a small insignificant word, but it acquired full significance from Mrs. McGillicuddyâs tone, and Miss Marple understood its meaning perfectly.

âI know,â she said.

The two ladies looked at each other.

âI think,â said Miss Marple, âwe might walk down to the police station and talk to Sergeant Cornish. Heâs intelligent and patient, and I know him very well, and he knows me. I think heâll listenâand pass the information on to the proper quarter.â

Accordingly, some three-quarters of an hour later, Miss Marple and Mrs. McGillicuddy were talking to a fresh-faced grave man between thirty and forty who listened attentively to what they had to say.

Frank Cornish received Miss Marple with cordiality and even deference. He set chairs for the two ladies, and said: âNow what can we do for you, Miss Marple?â

Miss Marple said: âI would like you, please, to listen to my friend Mrs. McGillicuddyâs story.â

And Sergeant Cornish had listened. At the close of the recital he remained silent for a moment or two.

Then he said:

âThatâs a very extraordinary story.â His eyes, without seeming to do so, had sized Mrs. McGillicuddy up whilst she was telling it.

On the whole, he was favourably impressed. A sensible woman, able to tell a story clearly; not, so far as he could judge, an over-imaginative or a hysterical woman. Moreover, Miss Marple, so it seemed, believed in the accuracy of her friendâs story and he knew all about Miss Marple. Everybody in St. Mary Mead knew Miss Marple; fluffy and dithery in appearance, but inwardly as sharp and as shrewd as they make them.

He cleared his throat and spoke.

âOf course,â he said, âyou may have been mistakenâIâm not saying you were, mindâbut you may have been. Thereâs a lot of horse-play goes onâit maynât have been serious or fatal.â

âI know what I saw,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy grimly.

âAnd you wonât budge from it,â thought Frank Cornish, âand Iâd say that, likely or unlikely, you may be right.â

Aloud he said: âYou reported it to the railway officials, and youâve come and reported it to me. Thatâs the proper procedure and you may rely on me to have inquiries instituted.â

He stopped. Miss Marple nodded her head gently, satisfied. Mrs. McGillicuddy was not quite so satisfied, but she did not say anything. Sergeant Cornish addressed Miss Marple, not so much because he wanted her ideas, as because he wanted to hear what she would say.

âGranted the facts are as reported,â he said, âwhat do you think has happened to the body?â

âThere seems to be only two possibilities,â said Miss Marple without hesitation. âThe most likely one, of course, is that the body was left in the train, but that seems improbable now, for it would have been found some time last night, by another traveller, or by the railway staff at the trainâs ultimate destination.â

Frank Cornish nodded.

âThe only other course open to the murderer would be to push the body out of the train on to the line. It must, I suppose, be still on the track somewhere as yet undiscoveredâthough that does seem a little unlikely. But there would be, as far as I can see, no other way of dealing with it.â

âYou read about bodies being put in trunks,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, âbut no-one travels with trunks nowadays, only suitcases, and you couldnât get a body into a suitcase.â

âYes,â said Cornish. âI agree with you both. The body, if there is a body, ought to have been discovered by now, or will be very soon. Iâll let you know any developments there areâthough I dare say youâll read about them in the papers. Thereâs the possibility, of course, that the woman, though savagely attacked, was not actually dead. She may have been able to leave the train on her own feet.â

âHardly without assistance,â said Miss Marple. âAnd if so, it will have been noticed. A man, supporting a woman whom he says is ill.â

âYes, it will have been noticed,â said Cornish. âOr if a woman was found unconscious or ill in a carriage and was removed to hospital, that, too, will be on record. I think you may rest assured that youâll hear about it all in a very short time.â

But that day passed and the next day. On that evening Miss Marple received a note from Sergeant Cornish.

In regard to the matter on which you consulted me, full inquiries have been made, with no result. No womanâs body has been found. No hospital has administered treatment to a woman such as you describe, and no case of a woman suffering from shock or taken ill, or leaving a station supported by a man has been observed. You may take it that the fullest inquiries have been made. I suggest that your friend may have witnessed a scene such as she described but that it was much less serious than she supposed.

Three

âLess serious? Fiddlesticks!â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âIt was murder!â

She looked defiantly at Miss Marple and Miss Marple looked back at her.

âGo on, Jane,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âSay it was all a mistake! Say I imagined the whole thing! Thatâs what you think now, isnât it?â

âAnyone can be mistaken,â Miss Marple pointed out gently. âAnybody, Elspethâeven you. I think we must bear that in mind. But I still think, you know, that you were most probably not mistakenâ¦ You use glasses for reading, but youâve got very good far sightâand what you saw impressed you very powerfully. You were definitely suffering from shock when you arrived here.â

âItâs a thing I shall never forget,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy with a shudder. âThe trouble is, I donât see what I can do about it!â

âI donât think,â said Miss Marple thoughtfully, âthat thereâs anything more you can do about it.â (If Mrs. McGillicuddy had been alert to the tones of her friendâs voice, she might have noticed a very faint stress laid on the you.) âYouâve reported what you sawâto the railway people and to the police. No, thereâs nothing more you can do.â

âThatâs a relief, in a way,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, âbecause as you know, Iâm going out to Ceylon immediately after Christmasâto stay with Roderick, and I certainly do not want to put that visit offâ Iâve been looking forward to it so much. Though of course I would put it off if I thought it was my duty,â she added conscientiously.

âIâm sure you would, Elspeth, but as I say, I consider youâve done everything you possibly could do.â

âItâs up to the police,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âAnd if the police choose to be stupidââ

Miss Marple shook her head decisively.

âOh, no,â she said, âthe police arenât stupid. And that makes it interesting, doesnât it?â

Mrs. McGillicuddy looked at her without comprehension and Miss Marple reaffirmed her judgment of her friend as a woman of excellent principles and no imagination.

âOne wants to know,â said Miss Marple, âwhat really happened.â

âShe was killed.â

âYes, but who killed her, and why, and what happened to her body? Where is it now?â

âThatâs the business of the police to find out.â

âExactlyâand they havenât found out. That means, doesnât it, that the man was cleverâvery clever. I canât imagine, you know,â said Miss Marple, knitting her brows, âhow he disposed of itâ¦ You kill a woman in a fit of passionâit must have been unpremeditated, youâd never choose to kill a woman in such circumstances just a few minutes before running into a big station. No, it must have been a quarrelâjealousyâsomething of that kind. You strangle herâand there you are, as I say, with a dead body on your hands and on the point of running into a station. What could you do except as I said at first, prop the body up in a corner as though asleep, hiding the face, and then yourself leave the train as quickly as possible. I donât see any other possibilityâand yet there must have been oneâ¦.â

Miss Marple lost herself in thought.

Mrs. McGillicuddy spoke to her twice before Miss Marple answered.

âYouâre getting deaf, Jane.â

âJust a little, perhaps. People do not seem to me to enunciate their words as clearly as they used to do. But it wasnât that I did not hear you. Iâm afraid I wasnât paying attention.â

âI just asked about the trains to London tomorrow. Would the afternoon be all right? Iâm going to Margaretâs and she isnât expecting me before teatime.â

âI wonder, Elspeth, if you would mind going up by the 12:15? We could have an early lunch.â

âOf course andââ Miss Marple went on, drowning her friendâs words:

âAnd I wonder, too, if Margaret would mind if you didnât arrive for teaâif you arrived about seven, perhaps?â

Mrs. McGillicuddy looked at her friend curiously.

âWhatâs on your mind, Jane?â

âI suggest, Elspeth, that I should travel up to London with you, and that we should travel down again as far as Brackhampton in the train you travelled by the other day. You would then return to London from Brackhampton and I would come on here as you did. I, of course, would pay the fares,â Miss Marple stressed this point firmly.

Mrs. McGillicuddy ignored the financial aspect.

âWhat on earth do you expect, Jane?â she asked. âAnother murder?â

âCertainly not,â said Miss Marple shocked. âBut I confess I should like to see for myself, under your guidance, theâtheâreally it is most difficult to find the correct termâthe terrain of the crime.â

So accordingly on the following day Miss Marple and Mrs. McGillicuddy found themselves in two opposite corners of a first-class carriage speeding out of London by the 4:50 from Paddington. Paddington had been even more crowded than on the preceding Fridayâas there were now only two days to go before Christmas, but the 4:50 was comparatively peacefulâat any rate, in the rear portion.

On this occasion no train drew level with them, or they with another train. At intervals trains flashed past them towards London. On two occasions trains flashed past them the other way going at high speed. At intervals Mrs. McGillicuddy consulted her watch doubtfully.

âItâs hard to tell just whenâweâd passed through a station I knowâ¦â But they were continually passing through stations.

âWeâre due in Brackhampton in five minutes,â said Miss Marple.

A ticket collector appeared in the doorway. Miss Marple raised her eyes interrogatively. Mrs. McGillicuddy shook her head. It was not the same ticket collector. He clipped their tickets, and passed on staggering just a little as the train swung round a long curve. It slackened speed as it did so.

âI expect weâre coming into Brackhampton,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âWeâre getting into the outskirts, I think,â said Miss Marple.

There were lights flashing past outside, buildings, an occasional glimpse of streets and trams. Their speed slackened further. They began crossing points.

âWeâll be there in a minute,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, âand I canât really see this journey has been any good at all. Has it suggested anything to you, Jane?â

âIâm afraid not,â said Miss Marple in a rather doubtful voice.

âA sad waste of good money,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, but with less disapproval than she would have used had she been paying for herself. Miss Marple had been quite adamant on that point.

âAll the same,â said Miss Marple, âone likes to see with oneâs own eyes where a thing happened. This trainâs just a few minutes late. Was yours on time on Friday?â

âI think so. I didnât really notice.â

The train drew slowly into the busy length of Brackhampton station. The loudspeaker announced hoarsely, doors opened and shut, people got in and out, milled up and down the platform. It was a busy crowded scene.

Easy, thought Miss Marple, for a murderer to merge into that crowd, to leave the station in the midst of that pressing mass of people, or even to select another carriage and go on in the train wherever its ultimate destination might be. Easy to be one male passenger amongst many. But not so easy to make a body vanish into thin air. That body must be somewhere.

Mrs. McGillicuddy had descended. She spoke now from the platform, through the open window.

âNow take care of yourself, Jane,â she said. âDonât catch a chill. Itâs a nasty treacherous time of year, and youâre not so young as you were.â

âI know,â said Miss Marple.

âAnd donât letâs worry ourselves anymore over all this. Weâve done what we could.â

Miss Marple nodded, and said:

âDonât stand about in the cold, Elspeth. Or youâll be the one to catch a chill. Go and get yourself a good hot cup of tea in the Restaurant Room. Youâve got time, twelve minutes before your train back to town.â

âI think perhaps I will. Good-bye, Jane.â

âGood-bye, Elspeth. A happy Christmas to you. I hope you find Margaret well. Enjoy yourself in Ceylon, and give my love to dear Roderickâif he remembers me at all, which I doubt.â

âOf course he remembers youâvery well. You helped him in some way when he was at schoolâsomething to do with money that was disappearing from a lockerâheâs never forgotten it.â

âOh, that!â said Miss Marple.

Mrs. McGillicuddy turned away, a whistle blew, the train began to move. Miss Marple watched the sturdy thickset body of her friend recede. Elspeth could go to Ceylon with a clear conscienceâshe had done her duty and was freed from further obligation.

Miss Marple did not lean back as the train gathered speed. Instead she sat upright and devoted herself seriously to thought. Though in speech Miss Marple was woolly and diffuse, in mind she was clear and sharp. She had a problem to solve, the problem of her own future conduct; and, perhaps strangely, it presented itself to her as it had to Mrs. McGillicuddy, as a question of duty.

Mrs. McGillicuddy had said that they had both done all that they could do. It was true of Mrs. McGillicuddy but about herself Miss Marple did not feel so sure.

It was a question, sometimes, of using oneâs special giftsâ¦ But perhaps that was conceitedâ¦ After all, what could she do? Her friendâs words came back to her, âYouâre not so young as you wereâ¦.â

Dispassionately, like a general planning a campaign, or an accountant assessing a business, Miss Marple weighed up and set down in her mind the facts of and against further enterprise. On the credit side were the following:

1. My long experience of life and human nature.

2. Sir Henry Clithering and his godson (now at Scotland Yard, I believe), who was so very nice in the Little Paddocks case.

3. My nephew Raymondâs second boy, David, who is, I am almost sure, in British Railways.

4. Griseldaâs boy Leonard who is so very knowledgeable about maps.

Miss Marple reviewed these assets and approved them. They were all very necessary, to reinforce the weaknesses on the debit sideâin particular her own bodily weakness.

âIt is not,â thought Miss Marple, âas though I could go here, there and everywhere, making inquiries and finding out things.â

Yes, that was the chief objection, her own age and weakness. Although, for her age, her health was good, yet she was old. And if Dr. Haydock had strictly forbidden her to do practical gardening he would hardly approve of her starting out to track down a murderer. For that, in effect, was what she was planning to doâand it was there that her loophole lay. For if heretofore murder had, so to speak, been forced upon her, in this case it would be that she herself set out deliberately to seek it. And she was not sure that she wanted to do soâ¦ She was oldâold and tired. She felt at this moment, at the end of a tiring day, a great reluctance to enter upon any project at all. She wanted nothing at all but to march home and sit by the fire with a nice tray of supper, and go to bed, and potter about the next day just snipping off a few things in the garden, tidying up in a very mild way, without stooping, without exerting herselfâ¦.

âIâm too old for anymore adventures,â said Miss Marple to herself, watching absently out of the window the curving line of an embankmentâ¦.

A curveâ¦.

Very faintly something stirred in her mindâ¦ Just after the ticket collector had clipped their ticketsâ¦.

It suggested an idea. Only an idea. An entirely different ideaâ¦.

A little pink flush came into Miss Marpleâs face. Suddenly she did not feel tired at all!

âIâll write to David tomorrow morning,â she said to herself.

And at the same time another valuable asset flashed through her mind.

âOf course. My faithful Florence!â

II

Miss Marple set about her plan of campaign methodically and making due allowance for the Christmas season which was a definitely retarding factor.

She wrote to her great-nephew, David West, combining Christmas wishes with an urgent request for information.

Fortunately she was invited, as on previous years, to the vicarage for Christmas dinner, and here she was able to tackle young Leonard, home for the Christmas season, about maps.

Maps of all kinds were Leonardâs passion. The reason for the old ladyâs inquiry about a large-scale map of a particular area did not rouse his curiosity. He discoursed on maps generally with fluency, and wrote down for her exactly what would suit her purpose best. In fact, he did better. He actually found that he had such a map amongst his collection and he lent it to her, Miss Marple promising to take great care of it and return it in due course.

III

âMaps,â said his mother, Griselda, who still, although she had a grown-up son, looked strangely young and blooming to be inhabiting the shabby old vicarage. âWhat does she want with maps? I mean, what does she want them for?â

âI donât know,â said young Leonard, âI donât think she said exactly.â

âI wonder nowâ¦â said Griselda. âIt seems very fishy to meâ¦ At her age the old pet ought to give up that sort of thing.â

Leonard asked what sort of thing, and Griselda said elusively:

âOh, poking her nose into things. Why maps, I wonder?â

In due course Miss Marple received a letter from her great-nephew David West. It ran affectionately:

Dear Aunt Jane,â Now what are you up to? Iâve got the information you wanted. There are only two trains that can possibly applyâthe 4:33 and the 5 oâclock. The former is a slow train and stops at Haling Broadway, Barwell Heath, Brackhampton and then stations to Market Basing. The 5 oâclock is the Welsh express for Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. The former might be overtaken somewhere by the 4:50, although it is due in Brackhampton five minutes earlier and the latter passes the 4:50 just before Brackhampton.

In all this do I smell some village scandal of a fruity character? Did you, returning from a shopping spree in town by the 4:50, observe in a passing train the mayorâs wife being embraced by the Sanitary Inspector? But why does it matter which train it was? A weekend at Porthcawl perhaps? Thank you for the pullover. Just what I wanted. Howâs the garden? Not very active this time of year, I should imagine.

Yours ever,

David

Miss Marple smiled a little, then considered the information thus presented to her. Mrs. McGillicuddy had said definitely that the carriage had not been a corridor one. Thereforeânot the Swansea express. The 4:33 was indicated.

Also some more travelling seemed unavoidable. Miss Marple sighed, but made her plans.

She went up to London as before on the 12:15, but this time returned not by the 4:50, but by the 4:33 as far as Brackhampton. The journey was uneventful, but she registered certain details. The train was not crowdedâ4:33 was before the evening rush hour. Of the first-class carriages only one had an occupantâa very old gentleman reading the New Statesman. Miss Marple travelled in an empty compartment and at the two stops, Haling Broadway and Barwell Heath, leaned out of the window to observe passengers entering and leaving the train. A small number of third-class passengers got in at Haling Broadway. At Barwell Heath several third-class passengers got out. Nobody entered or left a first-class carriage except the old gentleman carrying his New Statesman.

As the train neared Brackhampton, sweeping around a curve of line, Miss Marple rose to her feet and stood experimentally with her back to the window over which she had drawn down the blind.

Yes, she decided, the impetus of the sudden curving of the line and the slackening of speed did throw one off oneâs balance back against the window and the blind might, in consequence, very easily fly up. She peered out into the night. It was lighter than it had been when Mrs. McGillicuddy had made the same journeyâonly just dark, but there was little to see. For observation she must make a daylight journey.

On the next day she went up by the early morning train, purchased four linen pillow-cases (tut-tutting at the price!) so as to combine investigation with the provision of household necessities, and returned by a train leaving Paddington at twelve fifteen. Again she was alone in a first-class carriage. âThis taxation,â thought Miss Marple, âthatâs what it is. No one can afford to travel first class except business men in the rush hours. I suppose because they can charge it to expenses.â

About a quarter of an hour before the train was due at Brackhampton, Miss Marple got out the map with which Leonard had supplied her and began to observe the country-side. She had studied the map very carefully beforehand, and after noting the name of a station they passed through, she was soon able to identify where she was just as the train began to slacken for a curve. It was a very considerable curve indeed. Miss Marple, her nose glued to the window, studied the ground beneath her (the train was running on a fairly high embankment) with close attention. She divided her attention between the country outside and the map until the train finally ran into Brackhampton.

That night she wrote and posted a letter addressed to Miss Florence Hill, 4 Madison Road, Brackhamptonâ¦ On the following morning, going to the County library, she studied a Brackhampton directory and gazetteer, and a County history.

Nothing so far had contradicted the very faint and sketchy idea that had come to her. What she had imagined was possible. She would go no further than that.

But the next step involved actionâa good deal of actionâthe kind of action for which she, herself, was physically unfit. If her theory were to be definitely proved or disproved, she must at this point have help from some other source. The question wasâwho? Miss Marple reviewed various names and possibilities rejecting them all with a vexed shake of the head. The intelligent people on whose intelligence she could rely were all far too busy. Not only had they all got jobs of varying importance, their leisure hours were usually apportioned long beforehand. The unintelligent who had time on their hands were simply, Miss Marple decided, no good.

She pondered in growing vexation and perplexity.

Then suddenly her forehead cleared. She ejaculated aloud a name.

âOf course!â said Miss Marple. âLucy Eyelesbarrow!â

Four

The name of Lucy Eyelesbarrow had already made itself felt in certain circles.

Lucy Eyelesbarrow was thirty-two. She had taken a First in Mathematics at Oxford, was acknowledged to have a brilliant mind and was confidently expected to take up a distinguished academic career.

But Lucy Eyelesbarrow, in addition to scholarly brilliance, had a core of good sound common sense. She could not fail to observe that a life of academic distinction was singularly ill rewarded. She had no desire whatever to teach and she took pleasure in contacts with minds much less brilliant than her own. In short, she had a taste for people, all sorts of peopleâand not the same people the whole time. She also, quite frankly, liked money. To gain money one must exploit shortage.

Lucy Eyelesbarrow hit at once upon a very serious shortageâthe shortage of any kind of skilled domestic labour. To the amazement of her friends and fellow-scholars, Lucy Eyelesbarrow entered the field of domestic labour.

Her success was immediate and assured. By now, after a lapse of some years, she was known all over the British Isles. It was quite customary for wives to say joyfully to husbands, âIt will be all right. I can go with you to the States. Iâve got Lucy Eyelesbarrow!â The point of Lucy Eyelesbarrow was that once she came into a house, all worry, anxiety and hard work went out of it. Lucy Eyelesbarrow did everything, saw to everything, arranged everything. She was unbelievably competent in every conceivable sphere. She looked after elderly parents, accepted the care of young children, nursed the sickly, cooked divinely, got on well with any old crusted servants there might happen to be (there usually werenât), was tactful with impossible people, soothed habitual drunkards, was wonderful with dogs. Best of all she never minded what she did. She scrubbed the kitchen floor, dug in the garden, cleaned up dog messes, and carried coals!

One of her rules was never to accept an engagement for any long length of time. A fortnight was her usual periodâa month at most under exceptional circumstances. For that fortnight you had to pay the earth! But, during that fortnight, your life was heaven. You could relax completely, go abroad, stay at home, do as you pleased, secure that all was going well on the home front in Lucy Eyelesbarrowâs capable hands.

Naturally the demand for her services was enormous. She could have booked herself up if she chose for about three years ahead. She had been offered enormous sums to go as a permanency. But Lucy had no intention of being a permanency, nor would she book herself for more than six months ahead. And within that period, unknown to her clamouring clients, she always kept certain free periods which enabled her either to take a short luxurious holiday (since she spent nothing otherwise and was handsomely paid and kept) or to accept any position at short notice that happened to take her fancy, either by reason of its character, or because she âliked the people.â Since she was now at liberty to pick and choose amongst the vociferous claimants for her services, she went very largely by personal liking. Mere riches would not buy you the services of Lucy Eyelesbarrow. She could pick and choose and she did pick and choose. She enjoyed her life very much and found in it a continual source of entertainment.

Lucy Eyelesbarrow read and reread the letter from Miss Marple. She had made Miss Marpleâs acquaintance two years ago when her services had been retained by Raymond West, the novelist, to go and look after his old aunt who was recovering from pneumonia. Lucy had accepted the job and had gone down to St. Mary Mead. She had liked Miss Marple very much. As for Miss Marple, once she had caught a glimpse out of her bedroom window of Lucy Eyelesbarrow really trenching for sweet peas in the proper way, she had leaned back on her pillows with a sigh of relief, eaten the tempting little meals that Lucy Eyelesbarrow brought to her, and listened, agreeably surprised, to the tales told by her elderly irascible maidservant of how âI taught that Miss Eyelesbarrow a crochet pattern what sheâd never heard of! Proper grateful, she was.â And had surprised her doctor by the rapidity of her convalescence.

Miss Marple wrote asking if Miss Eyelesbarrow could undertake a certain task for herârather an unusual one. Perhaps Miss Eyelesbarrow could arrange a meeting at which they could discuss the matter.

Lucy Eyelesbarrow frowned for a moment or two as she considered. She was in reality fully booked up. But the word unusual, and her recollection of Miss Marpleâs personality, carried the day and she rang up Miss Marple straight away explaining that she could not come down to St. Mary Mead as she was at the moment working, but that she was free from 2 to 4 on the following afternoon and could meet Miss Marple anywhere in London. She suggested her own club, a rather nondescript establishment which had the advantage of having several small dark writing rooms which were usually empty.

Miss Marple accepted the suggestion and on the following day the meeting took place.

Greetings were exchanged; Lucy Eyelesbarrow led her guest to the gloomiest of the writing rooms, and said: âIâm afraid Iâm rather booked up just at present, but perhaps youâll tell me what it is you want me to undertake?â

âItâs very simple, really,â said Miss Marple. âUnusual, but simple. I want you to find a body.â

For a moment the suspicion crossed Lucyâs mind that Miss Marple was mentally unhinged, but she rejected the idea. Miss Marple was eminently sane. She meant exactly what she had said.

âWhat kind of a body?â asked Lucy Eyelesbarrow with admirable composure.

âA womanâs body,â said Miss Marple. âThe body of a woman who was murderedâstrangled actuallyâin a train.â

Lucyâs eyebrows rose slightly.

âWell, thatâs certainly unusual. Tell me about it.â

Miss Marple told her. Lucy Eyelesbarrow listened attentively, without interrupting. At the end she said:

âIt all depends on what your friend sawâor thought she sawâ?â

She left the sentence unfinished with a question in it.

âElspeth McGillicuddy doesnât imagine things,â said Miss Marple. âThatâs why Iâm relying on what she said. If it had been Dorothy Cartwright, nowâit would have been quite a different matter. Dorothy always has a good story, and quite often believes it herself, and there is usually a kind of basis of truth but certainly no more. But Elspeth is the kind of woman who finds it very hard to make herself believe that anything at all extraordinary or out of the way could happen. Sheâs almost unsuggestible, rather like granite.â

âI see,â said Lucy thoughtfully. âWell, letâs accept it all. Where do I come in?â

âI was very much impressed by you,â said Miss Marple, âand you see, I havenât got the physical strength nowadays to get about and do things.â

âYou want me to make inquiries? That sort of thing? But wonât the police have done all that? Or do you think they have been just slack?â

âOh, no,â said Miss Marple. âThey havenât been slack. Itâs just that Iâve got a theory about the womanâs body. Itâs got to be somewhere. If it wasnât found in the train, then it must have been pushed or thrown out of the trainâbut it hasnât been discovered anywhere on the line. So I travelled down the same way to see if there was anywhere where the body could have been thrown off the train and yet wouldnât have been found on the lineâand there was. The railway line makes a big curve before getting into Brackhampton, on the edge of a high embankment. If a body were thrown out there, when the train was leaning at an angle, I think it would pitch right down the embankment.â

âBut surely it would still be foundâeven there?â

âOh, yes. It would have to be taken awayâ¦ But weâll come to that presently. Hereâs the placeâon this map?â

Lucy bent to study where Miss Marpleâs finger pointed.

âIt is right in the outskirts of Brackhampton now,â said Miss Marple, âbut originally it was a country house with extensive park and grounds and itâs still there, untouchedâringed round with building estates and small suburban houses. Itâs called Rutherford Hall. It was built by a man called Crackenthorpe, a very rich manufacturer, in 1884. The original Crackenthorpeâs son, an elderly man, is living there still with, I understand, a daughter. The railway encircles quite half of the property.â

âAnd you want me to doâwhat?â

Miss Marple replied promptly.

âI want you to get a post there. Everyone is crying out for efficient domestic helpâ I should not imagine it would be difficult.â

âNo, I donât suppose it would be difficult.â

âI understand that Mr. Crackenthorpe is said locally to be somewhat of a miser. If you accept a low salary, I will make it up to the proper figure which should, I think, be rather more than the current rate.â

âBecause of the difficulty?â

âNot the difficulty so much as the danger. It might, you know, be dangerous. Itâs only right to warn you of that.â

âI donât know,â said Lucy pensively, âthat the idea of danger would deter me.â

âI didnât think it would,â said Miss Marple. âYouâre not that kind of person.â

âI dare say you thought it might even attract me? Iâve encountered very little danger in my life. But do you really believe it might be dangerous?â

âSomebody,â Miss Marple pointed out, âhas committed a very successful crime. There has been no hue-and-cry, no real suspicion. Two elderly ladies have told a rather improbable story, the police have investigated it and found nothing in it. So everything is nice and quiet. I donât think that this somebody, whoever he may be, will care about the matter being raked upâespecially if you are successful.â

âWhat do I look for exactly?â

âAny signs along the embankment, a scrap of clothing, broken bushesâthat kind of thing.â

Lucy nodded.

âAnd then?â

âI shall be quite close at hand,â said Miss Marple. âAn old maidservant of mine, my faithful Florence, lives in Brackhampton. She has looked after her old parents for years. They are now both dead, and she takes in lodgersâall most respectable people. She has arranged for me to have rooms with her. She will look after me most devotedly, and I feel I should like to be close at hand. I would suggest that you mention you have an elderly aunt living in the neighbourhood, and that you want a post within easy distance of her, and also that you stipulate for a reasonable amount of spare time so that you can go and see her often.â

Again Lucy nodded.

âI was going to Taormina the day after tomorrow,â she said. âThe holiday can wait. But I can only promise three weeks. After that, I am booked up.â

âThree weeks should be ample,â said Miss Marple. âIf we canât find out anything in three weeks, we might as well give up the whole thing as a mareâs nest.â

Miss Marple departed, and Lucy, after a momentâs reflection, rang up a Registry Office in Brackhampton, the manageress of which she knew very well. She explained her desire for a post in the neighbourhood so as to be near her âaunt.â After turning down, with a little difficulty and a good deal of ingenuity, several more desirable places, Rutherford Hall was mentioned.

âThat sounds exactly what I want,â said Lucy firmly.

The Registry Office rang up Miss Crackenthorpe, Miss Crackenthorpe rang up Lucy.

Two days later Lucy left London en route for Rutherford Hall.

II

Driving her own small car, Lucy Eyelesbarrow drove through an imposing pair of vast iron gates. Just inside them was what had originally been a small lodge which now seemed completely derelict, whether through war damage, or merely through neglect, it was difficult to be sure. A long winding drive led through large gloomy clumps of rhododendrons up to the house. Lucy caught her breath in a slight gasp when she saw the house which was a kind of miniature Windsor Castle. The stone steps in front of the door could have done with attention and the gravel sweep was green with neglected weeds.

She pulled an old-fashioned wrought-iron bell, and its clamour sounded echoing away inside. A slatternly woman, wiping her hands on her apron, opened the door and looked at her suspiciously.

âExpected, arenât you?â she said. âMiss Somethingbarrow, she told me.â

âQuite right,â said Lucy.

The house was desperately cold inside. Her guide led her along a dark hall and opened a door on the right. Rather to Lucyâs surprise, it was quite a pleasant sitting room, with books and chintz-covered chairs.

âIâll tell her,â said the woman, and went away shutting the door after having given Lucy a look of profound disfavour.

After a few minutes the door opened again. From the first moment Lucy decided that she liked Emma Crackenthorpe.

She was a middle-aged woman with no very outstanding characteristics, neither good-looking nor plain, sensibly dressed in tweeds and pullover, with dark hair swept back from her forehead, steady hazel eyes and a very pleasant voice.

She said: âMiss Eyelesbarrow?â and held out her hand.

Then she looked doubtful.

âI wonder,â she said, âif this post is really what youâre looking for? I donât want a housekeeper, you know, to supervise things. I want someone to do the work.â

Lucy said that that was what most people needed.

Emma Crackenthorpe said apologetically:

âSo many people, you know, seem to think that just a little light dusting will answer the caseâbut I can do all the light dusting myself.â

âI quite understand,â said Lucy. âYou want cooking and washing-up, and housework and stoking the boiler. Thatâs all right. Thatâs what I do. Iâm not at all afraid of work.â

âItâs a big house, Iâm afraid, and inconvenient. Of course we only live in a portion of itâmy father and myself, that is. He is rather an invalid. We live quite quietly, and there is an Aga stove. I have several brothers, but they are not here very often. Two women come in, a Mrs. Kidder in the morning, and Mrs. Hart three days a week to do brasses and things like that. You have your own car?â

âYes. It can stand out in the open if thereâs nowhere to put it. Itâs used to it.â

âOh, there are any amount of old stables. Thereâs no trouble about that.â She frowned a moment, then said, âEyelesbarrowârather an unusual name. Some friends of mine were telling me about a Lucy Eyelesbarrowâthe Kennedys?â

âYes. I was with them in North Devon when Mrs. Kennedy was having a baby.â

Emma Crackenthorpe smiled.

âI know they said theyâd never had such a wonderful time as when you were there seeing to everything. But I had the idea that you were terribly expensive. The sum I mentionedââ

âThatâs quite all right,â said Lucy. âI want particularly, you see, to be near Brackhampton. I have an elderly aunt in a critical state of health and I want to be within easy distance of her. Thatâs why the salary is a secondary consideration. I canât afford to do nothing. If I could be sure of having some time off most days?â

âOh, of course. Every afternoon, till six, if you like?â

âThat seems perfect.â

Miss Crackenthorpe hesitated a moment before saying: âMy father is elderly and a littleâdifficult sometimes. He is very keen on economy, and he says things sometimes that upset people. I wouldnât likeââ

Lucy broke in quickly:

âIâm quite used to elderly people, of all kinds,â she said. âI always manage to get on well with them.â Emma Crackenthorpe looked relieved.

âTrouble with father!â diagnosed Lucy. âI bet heâs an old tartar.â

She was apportioned a large gloomy bedroom which a small electric heater did its inadequate best to warm, and was shown round the house, a vast uncomfortable mansion. As they passed a door in the hall a voice roared out:

âThat you, Emma? Got the new girl there? Bring her in. I want to look at her.â

Emma flushed, glanced at Lucy apologetically.

The two women entered the room. It was richly upholstered in dark velvet, the narrow windows let in very little light, and it was full of heavy mahogany Victorian furniture.

Old Mr. Crackenthorpe was stretched out in an invalid chair, a silver-headed stick by his side.

He was a big gaunt man, his flesh hanging in loose folds. He had a face rather like a bulldog, with a pugnacious chin. He had thick dark hair flecked with grey, and small suspicious eyes.

âLetâs have a look at you, young lady.â

Lucy advanced, composed and smiling.

âThereâs just one thing youâd better understand straight away. Just because we live in a big house doesnât mean weâre rich. Weâre not rich. We live simplyâdo you hear?âsimply! No good coming here with a lot of high-falutin ideas. Codâs as good a fish as turbot any day, and donât you forget it. I donât stand for waste. I live here because my father built the house and I like it. After Iâm dead they can sell it up if they want toâand I expect they will want to. No sense of family. This house is well builtâitâs solid, and weâve got our own land around us. Keeps us private. It would bring in a lot if sold for building land but not while Iâm alive. You wonât get me out of here until you take me out feet first.â

He glared at Lucy.

âYour home is your castle,â said Lucy.

âLaughing at me?â

âOf course not. I think itâs very exciting to have a real country place all surrounded by town.â

âQuite so. Canât see another house from here, can you? Fields with cows in themâright in the middle of Brackhampton. You hear the traffic a bit when the windâs that wayâbut otherwise itâs still country.â

He added, without pause or change of tone, to his daughter:

âRing up that damnâ fool of a doctor. Tell him that last medicineâs no good at all.â

Lucy and Emma retired. He shouted after them:

âAnd donât let that damned woman who sniffs dust in here. Sheâs disarranged all my books.â

Lucy asked:

âHas Mr. Crackenthorpe been an invalid long?â

Emma said, rather evasively:

âOh, for years nowâ¦ This is the kitchen.â

The kitchen was enormous. A vast kitchen range stood cold and neglected. An Aga stood demurely beside it.

Lucy asked times of meals and inspected the larder. Then she said cheerfully to Emma Crackenthorpe:

âI know everything now. Donât bother. Leave it all to me.â

Emma Crackenthorpe heaved a sigh of relief as she went up to bed that night.

âThe Kennedys were quite right,â she said. âSheâs wonderful.â

Lucy rose at six the next morning. She did the house, prepared vegetables, assembled, cooked and served breakfast. With Mrs. Kidder she made the beds and at eleven oâclock they sat down to strong tea and biscuits in the kitchen. Mollified by the fact that Lucy âhad no airs about her,â and also by the strength and sweetness of the tea, Mrs. Kidder relaxed into gossip. She was a small spare woman with a sharp eye and tight lips.

âRegular old skinflint he is. What she has to put up with! All the same, sheâs not what I call down-trodden. Can hold her own all right when she has to. When the gentlemen come down she sees to it thereâs something decent to eat.â

âThe gentlemen?â

âYes. Big family it was. The eldest, Mr. Edmund, he was killed in the war. Then thereâs Mr. Cedric, he lives abroad somewhere. Heâs not married. Paints pictures in foreign parts. Mr. Haroldâs in the City, lives in Londonâmarried an earlâs daughter. Then thereâs Mr. Alfred, heâs got a nice way with him, but heâs a bit of a black-sheep, been in trouble once or twiceâand thereâs Miss Edithâs husband, Mr. Bryan, ever so nice, he isâshe died some years ago, but heâs always stayed one of the family, and thereâs Master Alexander, Miss Edithâs little boy. Heâs at school, comes here for part of the holidays always; Miss Emmaâs terribly set on him.â

Lucy digested all this information, continuing to press tea on her informant. Finally, reluctantly, Mrs. Kidder rose to her feet.

âSeem to have got along a treat, we do, this morning,â she said wonderingly. âWant me to give you a hand with the potatoes, dear?â

âTheyâre all done ready.â

âWell, you are a one for getting on with things! I might as well be getting along myself as there doesnât seem anything else to do.â

Mrs. Kidder departed and Lucy, with time on her hands, scrubbed the kitchen table which she had been longing to do, but which she had put off so as not to offend Mrs. Kidder whose job it properly was. Then she cleaned the silver till it shone radiantly. She cooked lunch, cleared it away, washed it up, and at two-thirty was ready to start exploration. She had set out the tea things ready on a tray, with sandwiches and bread and butter covered with a damp napkin to keep them moist.

She strolled round the gardens which would be the normal thing to do. The kitchen garden was sketchily cultivated with a few vegetables. The hot-houses were in ruins. The paths everywhere were overgrown with weeds. A herbaceous border near the house was the only thing that showed free of weeds and in good condition and Lucy suspected that that had been Emmaâs hand. The gardener was a very old man, somewhat deaf, who was only making a show of working. Lucy spoke to him pleasantly. He lived in a cottage adjacent to the big stableyard.

Leading out of the stableyard a back drive led through the park which was fenced off on either side of it, and under a railway arch into a small back lane.

Every few minutes a train thundered along the main line over the railway arch. Lucy watched the trains as they slackened speed going round the sharp curve that encircled the Crackenthorpe property. She passed under the railway arch and out into the lane. It seemed a little-used track. On the one side was the railway embankment, on the other was a high wall which enclosed some tall factory buildings. Lucy followed the lane until it came out into a street of small houses. She could hear a short distance away the busy hum of main road traffic. She glanced at her watch. A woman came out of a house nearby and Lucy stopped her.

âExcuse me, can you tell me if there is a public telephone near here?â

âPost office just at the corner of the road.â

Lucy thanked her and walked along until she came to the Post Office which was a combination shop and post office. There was a telephone box at one side. Lucy went into it and made a call. She asked to speak to Miss Marple. A womanâs voice spoke in a sharp bark.

âSheâs resting. And Iâm not going to disturb her!! She needs her restâsheâs an old lady. Who shall I say called?â

âMiss Eyelesbarrow. Thereâs no need to disturb her. Just tell her that Iâve arrived and everything is going on well and that Iâll let her know when Iâve any news.â

She replaced the receiver and made her way back to Rutherford Hall.

Five

âI suppose it will be all right if I just practise a few iron shots in the park?â asked Lucy.

âOh, yes, certainly. Are you fond of golf?â

âIâm not much good, but I like to keep in practice. Itâs a more agreeable form of exercise than just going for a walk.â

âNowhere to walk outside this place,â growled Mr. Crackenthorpe. âNothing but pavements and miserable little band boxes of houses. Like to get hold of my land and build more of them. But they wonât until Iâm dead. And Iâm not going to die to oblige anybody. I can tell you that! Not to oblige anybody!â

Emma Crackenthorpe said mildly:

âNow, Father.â

âI know what they thinkâand what theyâre waiting for. All of âem. Cedric, and that sly fox Harold with his smug face. As for Alfred, I wonder he hasnât had a shot at bumping me off himself. Not sure he didnât, at Christmas-time. That was a very odd turn I had. Puzzled old Quimper. He asked me a lot of discreet questions.â

âEveryone gets these digestive upsets now and again, Father.â

âAll right, all right, say straight out that I ate too much! Thatâs what you mean. And why did I eat too much? Because there was too much food on the table, far too much. Wasteful and extravagant. And that reminds meâyou, young woman. Five potatoes you sent in for lunchâgood-sized ones too. Two potatoes are enough for anybody. So donât send in more than four in future. The extra one was wasted today.â

âIt wasnât wasted, Mr. Crackenthorpe. Iâve planned to use it in a Spanish omelette tonight.â

âUrgh!â As Lucy went out of the room carrying the coffee tray she heard him say, âSlick young woman, that, always got all the answers. Cooks well, thoughâand sheâs a handsome kind of girl.â

Lucy Eyelesbarrow took a light iron out of the set of golf clubs she had had the forethought to bring with her, and strolled out into the park, climbing over the fence.

She began playing a series of shots. After five minutes or so, a ball, apparently sliced, pitched on the side of the railway embankment. Lucy went up and began to hunt about for it. She looked back towards the house. It was a long way away and nobody was in the least interested in what she was doing. She continued to hunt for the ball. Now and then she played shots from the embankment down into the grass. During the afternoon she searched about a third of the embankment. Nothing. She played her ball back towards the house.

Then, on the next day, she came upon something. A thorn bush growing about halfway up the bank had been snapped off. Bits of it lay scattered about. Lucy examined the tree itself. Impaled on one of the thorns was a torn scrap of fur. It was almost the same colour as the wood, a pale brownish colour. Lucy looked at it for a moment, then she took a pair of scissors out of her pocket and snipped it carefully in half. The half she had snipped off she put in an envelope which she had in her pocket. She came down the steep slope searching about for anything else. She looked carefully at the rough grass of the field. She thought she could distinguish a kind of track which someone had made walking through the long grass. But it was very faintânot nearly so clear as her own tracks were. It must have been made some time ago and it was too sketchy for her to be sure that it was not merely imagination on her part.

She began to hunt carefully down in the grass at the foot of the embankment just below the broken thorn bush. Presently her search was rewarded. She found a powder compact, a small cheap enamelled affair. She wrapped it in her handkerchief and put it in her pocket. She searched on but did not find anything more.

On the following afternoon, she got into her car and went to see her invalid aunt. Emma Crackenthorpe said kindly, âDonât hurry back. We shanât want you until dinner-time.â

âThank you, but I shall be back by six at the latest.â

No. 4 Madison Road was a small drab house in a small drab street. It had very clean Nottingham lace curtains, a shining white doorstep and a well-polished brass door handle. The door was opened by a tall, grim-looking woman, dressed in black with a large knob of iron-grey hair.

She eyed Lucy in suspicious appraisal as she showed her in to Miss Marple.

Miss Marple was occupying the back sitting room which looked out on to a small tidy square of garden. It was aggressively clean with a lot of mats and doilies, a great many china ornaments, a rather big Jacobean suite and two ferns in pots. Miss Marple was sitting in a big chair by the fire busily engaged in crocheting.

Lucy came in and shut the door. She sat down in the chair facing Miss Marple.

âWell!â she said. âIt looks as though you were right.â

She produced her finds and gave details of their finding.

A faint flush of achievement came into Miss Marpleâs cheeks.

âPerhaps one ought not to feel so,â she said, âbut it is rather gratifying to form a theory and get proof that it is correct!â

She fingered the small tuft of fur. âElspeth said the woman was wearing a light-coloured fur coat. I suppose the compact was in the pocket of the coat and fell out as the body rolled down the slope. It doesnât seem distinctive in any way, but it may help. You didnât take all the fur?â

âNo, I left half of it on the thorn bush.â

Miss Marple nodded approval.

âQuite right. You are very intelligent, my dear. The police will want to check exactly.â

âYou are going to the policeâwith these things?â

âWellânot quite yetâ¦â Miss Marple considered: âIt would be better, I think, to find the body first. Donât you?â

âYes, but isnât that rather a tall order? I mean, granting that your estimate is correct. The murderer pushed the body out of the train, then presumably got out himself at Brackhampton and at some timeâprobably that same nightâcame along and removed the body. But what happened after that? He may have taken it anywhere.â

âNot anywhere,â said Miss Marple. âI donât think youâve followed the thing to its logical conclusion, my dear Miss Eyelesbarrow.â

âDo call me Lucy. Why not anywhere?â

âBecause, if so, he might much more easily have killed the girl in some lonely spot and driven the body away from there. You havenât appreciatedââ

Lucy interrupted.

âAre you sayingâdo you meanâthat this was a premeditated crime?â

âI didnât think so at first,â said Miss Marple. âOne wouldnâtânaturally. It seemed like a quarrel and a man losing control and strangling the girl and then being faced with the problem which he had to solve within a few minutes. But it really is too much of a coincidence that he should kill the girl in a fit of passion, and then look out of the window and find the train was going round a curve exactly at a spot where he could tip the body out, and where he could be sure of finding his way later and removing it! If heâd just thrown her out there by chance, heâd have done no more about it, and the body would, long before now, have been found.â

She paused. Lucy stared at her.

âYou know,â said Miss Marple thoughtfully, âitâs really quite a clever way to have planned a crimeâand I think it was very carefully planned. Thereâs something so anonymous about a train. If heâd killed her in the place where she lived, or was staying, somebody might have noticed him come or go. Or if heâd driven her out in the country somewhere, someone might have noticed the car and its number and make. But a train is full of strangers coming and going. In a non-corridor carriage, alone with her, it was quite easyâespecially if you realize that he knew exactly what he was going to do next. He knewâhe must have knownâall about Rutherford Hallâits geographical position, I mean, its queer isolationâan island bounded by railway lines.â

âIt is exactly like that,â said Lucy. âItâs an anachronism out of the past. Bustling urban life goes on all around it, but doesnât touch it. The tradespeople deliver in the mornings and thatâs all.â

âSo we assume, as you said, that the murderer comes to Rutherford Hall that night. It is already dark when the body falls and no one is likely to discover it before the next day.â

âNo, indeed.â

âThe murderer would comeâhow? In a car? Which way?â

Lucy considered.

âThereâs a rough lane, alongside a factory wall. Heâd probably come that way, turn in under the railway arch and along the back drive. Then he could climb the fence, go along at the foot of the embankment, find the body, and carry it back to the car.â

âAnd then,â continued Miss Marple, âhe took it to some place he had already chosen beforehand. This was all thought out, you know. And I donât think, as I say, that he would take it away from Rutherford Hall, or if so, not very far. The obvious thing, I suppose, would be to bury it somewhere?â She looked inquiringly at Lucy.

âI suppose so,â said Lucy considering. âBut it wouldnât be quite as easy as it sounds.â

Miss Marple agreed.

âHe couldnât bury it in the park. Too hard work and very noticeable. Somewhere where the earth was turned already?â

âThe kitchen garden, perhaps, but thatâs very close to the gardenerâs cottage. Heâs old and deafâbut still it might be risky.â

âIs there a dog?â

âNo.â

âThen in a shed, perhaps, or an outhouse?â

âThat would be simpler and quickerâ¦ There are a lot of unused old buildings; broken down pigsties, harness rooms, workshops that nobody ever goes near. Or he might perhaps thrust it into a clump of rhododendrons or shrubs somewhere.â

Miss Marple nodded.

âYes, I think thatâs much more probable.â

There was a knock on the door and the grim Florence came in with a tray.

âNice for you to have a visitor,â she said to Miss Marple, âIâve made you my special scones you used to like.â

âFlorence always made the most delicious tea cakes,â said Miss Marple.

Florence, gratified, creased her features into a totally unexpected smile and left the room.

âI think, my dear,â said Miss Marple, âwe wonât talk anymore about murder during tea. Such an unpleasant subject!â

II

After tea, Lucy rose.

âIâll be getting back,â she said. âAs Iâve already told you, thereâs no one actually living at Rutherford Hall who could be the man weâre looking for. Thereâs only an old man and a middle-aged woman, and an old deaf gardener.â

âI didnât say he was actually living there,â said Miss Marple. âAll I mean is, that heâs someone who knows Rutherford Hall very well. But we can go into that after youâve found the body.â

âYou seem to assume quite confidently that I shall find it,â said Lucy. âI donât feel nearly so optimistic.â

âIâm sure you will succeed, my dear Lucy. You are such an efficient person.â

âIn some ways, but I havenât had any experience in looking for bodies.â

âIâm sure all it needs is a little common sense,â said Miss Marple encouragingly.

Lucy looked at her, then laughed. Miss Marple smiled back at her.

Lucy set to work systematically the next afternoon.

She poked round outhouses, prodded the briars which wreathed the old pigsties, and was peering into the boiler room under the greenhouse when she heard a dry cough and turned to find old Hillman, the gardener, looking at her disapprovingly.

âYou be careful you donât get a nasty fall, miss,â he warned her. âThem steps isnât safe, and you was up in the loft just now and the floor there ainât safe neither.â

Lucy was careful to display no embarrassment.

âI expect you think Iâm very nosy,â she said cheerfully. âI was just wondering if something couldnât be made out of this placeâgrowing mushrooms for the market, that sort of thing. Everything seems to have been let go terribly.â

âThatâs the master, that is. Wonât spend a penny. Ought to have two men and a boy here, I ought, to keep the place proper, but wonât hear of it, he wonât. Had all I could do to make him get a motor mower. Wanted me to mow all that front grass by hand, he did.â

âBut if the place could be made to payâwith some repairs?â

âWonât get a place like this to payâtoo far gone. And he wouldnât care about that, anyway. Only cares about saving. Knows well enough whatâll happen after heâs goneâthe young gentlemenâll sell up as fast as they can. Only waiting for him to pop off, they are. Going to come into a tidy lot of money when he dies, so Iâve heard.â

âI suppose heâs a very rich man?â said Lucy.

âCrackenthorpeâs Fancies, thatâs what they are. The old gentleman started it, Mr. Crackenthorpeâs father. A sharp one he was, by all accounts. Made his fortune, and built this place. Hard as nails, they say, and never forgot an injury. But with all that, he was open-handed. Nothing of the miser about him. Disappointed in both his sons, so the story goes. Give âem an education and brought âem up to be gentlemenâOxford and all. But they were too much of gentlemen to want to go into the business. The younger one married an actress and then smashed himself up in a car accident when heâd been drinking. The elder one, our one here, his father never fancied so much. Abroad a lot, he was, bought a lot of heathen statues and had them sent home. Wasnât so close with his money when he was youngâcome on him more in middle age, it did. No, they never did hit it off, him and his father, so Iâve heard.â

Lucy digested this information with an air of polite interest. The old man leant against the wall and prepared to go on with his saga. He much preferred talking to doing any work.

âDied before the war, the old gentleman did. Terrible temper he had. Didnât do to give him any cause, he wouldnât stand for it.â

âAnd after he died, this Mr. Crackenthorpe came and lived here?â

âHim and his family, yes. Nigh grown up they was by then.â

âBut surelyâ¦ Oh, I see, you mean the 1914 war.â

âNo, I donât. Died in 1928, thatâs what I mean.â

Lucy supposed that 1928 qualified as âbefore the warâ though it was not the way she would have described it herself.

She said: âWell, I expect youâll be wanting to go on with your work. You mustnât let me keep you.â

âAr,â said old Hillman without enthusiasm, ânot much you can do this time of day. Lightâs too bad.â

Lucy went back to the house, pausing to investigate a likely-looking copse of birch and azalea on her way.

She found Emma Crackenthorpe standing in the hall reading a letter. The afternoon post had just been delivered.

âMy nephew will be here tomorrowâwith a school-friend. Alexanderâs room is the one over the porch. The one next to it will do for James Stoddart-West. Theyâll use the bathroom just opposite.â

âYes, Miss Crackenthorpe. Iâll see the rooms are prepared.â

âTheyâll arrive in the morning before lunch.â She hesitated. âI expect theyâll be hungry.â

âI bet they will,â said Lucy. âRoast beef, do you think? And perhaps treacle tart?â

âAlexanderâs very fond of treacle tart.â

The two boys arrived on the following morning. They both had well-brushed hair, suspiciously angelic faces, and perfect manners. Alexander Eastley had fair hair and blue eyes, Stoddart-West was dark and spectacled.

They discoursed gravely during lunch on events in the sporting world, with occasional references to the latest space fiction. Their manner was that of elderly professors discussing palaeolithic implements. In comparison with them, Lucy felt quite young.

The sirloin of beef vanished in no time and every crumb of treacle tart was consumed.

Mr. Crackenthorpe grumbled: âYou two will eat me out of house and home.â

Alexander gave him a blue-eyed reproving glance.

âWeâll have bread and cheese if you canât afford meat, Grandfather.â

âAfford it? I can afford it. I donât like waste.â

âWe havenât wasted any, sir,â said Stoddart-West, looking down at his place which bore clear testimony of that fact.

âYou boys both eat twice as much as I do.â

âWeâre at the body-building stage,â Alexander explained. âWe need a big intake of proteins.â

The old man grunted.

As the two boys left the table, Lucy heard Alexander say apologetically to his friend:

âYou mustnât pay any attention to my grandfather. Heâs on a diet or something and that makes him rather peculiar. Heâs terribly mean, too. I think it must be a complex of some kind.â

Stoddart-West said comprehendingly:

âI had an aunt who kept thinking she was going bankrupt. Really, she had oodles of money. Pathological, the doctor said. Have you got that football, Alex?â

After she had cleared away and washed up lunch, Lucy went out. She could hear the boys calling out in the distance on the lawn. She herself went in the opposite direction, down the front drive and from there she struck across to some clumped masses of rhododendron bushes. She began to hunt carefully, holding back the leaves and peering inside. She moved from clump to clump systematically, and was raking inside with a golf club when the polite voice of Alexander Eastley made her start.

âAre you looking for something, Miss Eyelesbarrow?â

âA golf ball,â said Lucy promptly. âSeveral golf balls in fact. Iâve been practising golf shots most afternoons and Iâve lost quite a lot of balls. I thought that today I really must find some of them.â

âWeâll help you,â said Alexander obligingly.

âThatâs very kind of you. I thought you were playing football.â

âOne canât go on playing footer,â explained Stoddart-West. âOne gets too hot. Do you play a lot of golf?â

âIâm quite fond of it. I donât get much opportunity.â

âI suppose you donât. You do the cooking here, donât you?â

âYes.â

âDid you cook the lunch today?â

âYes. Was it all right?â

âSimply wizard,â said Alexander. âWe get awful meat at school, all dried up. I love beef thatâs pink and juicy inside. That treacle tart was pretty smashing, too.â

âYou must tell me what things you like best.â

âCould we have apple meringue one day? Itâs my favourite thing.â

âOf course.â

Alexander sighed happily.

âThereâs a clock golf set under the stairs,â he said. âWe could fix it up on the lawn and do some putting. What about it, Stodders?â

âGood-oh!â said Stoddart-West.

âHe isnât really Australian,â explained Alexander courteously. âBut heâs practising talking that way in case his people take him out to see the Test Match next year.â

Encouraged by Lucy, they went off to get the clock golf set. Later, as she returned to the house, she found them setting it out on the lawn and arguing about the position of the numbers.

âWe donât want it like a clock,â said Stoddart-West. âThatâs kidâs stuff. We want to make a course of it. Long holes and short ones. Itâs a pity the numbers are so rusty. You can hardly see them.â

âThey need a lick of white paint,â said Lucy. âYou might get some tomorrow and paint them.â

âGood idea.â Alexanderâs face lit up. âI say, I believe there are some old pots of paint in the Long Barnâleft there by the painters last hols. Shall we see?â

âWhatâs the Long Barn?â asked Lucy.

Alexander pointed to a long stone building a little way from the house near the back drive.

âItâs quite old,â he said. âGrandfather calls it a Leak Barn and says its Elizabethan, but thatâs just swank. It belonged to the farm that was here originally. My great-grandfather pulled it down and built this awful house instead.â

He added: âA lot of grandfatherâs collection is in the barn. Things he had sent home from abroad when he was a young man. Most of them are pretty awful, too. The Long Barn is used sometimes for whist drives and things like that. Womenâs Institute stuff. And Conservative Sales of Work. Come and see it.â

Lucy accompanied them willingly.

There was a big nail-studded oak door to the barn. Alexander raised his hand and detached a key on a nail just under some ivy to the right hand of the top of the door. He turned it in the lock, pushed the door open and they went in.

At a first glance Lucy felt that she was in a singularly bad museum. The heads of two Roman emperors in marble glared at her out of bulging eyeballs, there was a huge sarcophagus of a decadent Greco-Roman period, a simpering Venus stood on a pedestal clutching her falling draperies. Besides these works of art, there were a couple of trestle tables, some stacked-up chairs, and sundry oddments such as a rusted hand mower, two buckets, a couple of motheaten car seats, and a green painted iron garden seat that had lost a leg.

âI think I saw the paint over here,â said Alexander vaguely. He went to a corner and pulled aside a tattered curtain that shut it off.

They found a couple of paint pots and brushes, the latter dry and stiff.

âYou really need some turps,â said Lucy.

They could not, however, find any turpentine. The boys suggested bicycling off to get some, and Lucy urged them to do so. Painting the clock golf numbers would keep them amused for some time, she thought.

The boys went off, leaving her in the barn.

âThis really could do with a clear up,â she had murmured.

âI shouldnât bother,â Alexander advised her. âIt gets cleaned up if itâs going to be used for anything, but itâs practically never used this time of year.â

âDo I hang the key up outside the door again? Is that where itâs kept?â

âYes. Thereâs nothing to pinch here, you see. Nobody would want those awful marble things and, anyway, they weigh a ton.â

Lucy agreed with him. She could hardly admire old Mr. Crackenthorpeâs taste in art. He seemed to have an unerring instinct for selecting the worst specimen of any period.

She stood looking round her after the boys had gone. Her eyes came to rest on the sarcophagus and stayed there.

That sarcophagusâ¦.

The air in the barn was faintly musty as though unaired for a long time. She went over to the sarcophagus. It had a heavy close-fitting lid. Lucy looked at it speculatively.

Then she left the barn, went to the kitchen, found a heavy crowbar, and returned.

It was not an easy task, but Lucy toiled doggedly.

Slowly the lid began to rise, prised up by the crowbar.

It rose sufficiently for Lucy to see what was insideâ¦.

Six

I

A few minutes later Lucy, rather pale, left the barn, locked the door and put the key back on the nail.

She went rapidly to the stables, got out her car and drove down the back drive. She stopped at the post office at the end of the road. She went into the telephone box, put in the money and dialled.

âI want to speak to Miss Marple.â

âSheâs resting, miss. Itâs Miss Eyelesbarrow, isnât it?â

âYes.â

âIâm not going to disturb her and thatâs that, miss. Sheâs an old lady and she needs her rest.â

âYou must disturb her. Itâs urgent.â

âIâm notââ

âPlease do what I say at once.â

When she chose, Lucyâs voice could be as incisive as steel. Florence knew authority when she heard it.

Presently Miss Marpleâs voice spoke.

âYes, Lucy?â

Lucy drew a deep breath.

âYou were quite right,â she said. âIâve found it.â

âA womanâs body?â

âYes. A woman in a fur coat. Itâs a stone sarcophagus in a kind of barn-cum-museum near the house. What do you want me to do? I ought to inform the police, I think.â

âYes. You must inform the police. At once.â

âBut what about the rest of it? About you? The first thing theyâll want to know is why I was prying up a lid that weighs tons for apparently no reason. Do you want me to invent a reason? I can.â

âNo. I think, you know,â said Miss Marple in her gentle serious voice, âthat the only thing to do is to tell the exact truth.â

âAbout you?â

âAbout everything.â

A sudden grin split the whiteness of Lucyâs face.

âThat will be quite simple for me,â she said. âBut I imagine theyâll find it quite hard to believe!â

She rang off, waited a moment, and then rang and got the police station.

âI have just discovered a dead body in a sarcophagus in the Long Barn at Rutherford Hall.â

âWhatâs that?â

Lucy repeated her statement and anticipating the next question gave her name.

She drove back, put the car away and entered the house.

She paused in the hall for a moment, thinking.

Then she gave a brief sharp nod of the head and went to the library where Miss Crackenthorpe was sitting helping her father to do The Times crossword.

âCan I speak to you a moment Miss Crackenthorpe?â

Emma looked up, a shade of apprehension on her face. The apprehension was, Lucy thought, purely domestic. In such words do useful household staff announce their imminent departure.

âWell, speak up, girl, speak up,â said old Mr. Crackenthorpe irritably.

Lucy said to Emma:

âIâd like to speak to you alone, please.â

âNonsense,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âYou say straight out here what youâve got to say.â

âJust a moment, Father.â Emma rose and went towards the door.

âAll nonsense. It can wait,â said the old man angrily.

âIâm afraid it canât wait,â said Lucy.

Mr. Crackenthorpe said, âWhat impertinence!â

Emma came out into the hall. Lucy followed her and shut the door behind them.

âYes?â said Emma. âWhat is it? If you think thereâs too much to do with the boys here, I can help you andââ

âItâs not that at all,â said Lucy. âI didnât want to speak before your father because I understand he is an invalid and it might give him a shock. You see, Iâve just discovered the body of a murdered woman in that big sarcophagus in the Long Barn.â

Emma Crackenthorpe stared at her.

âIn the sarcophagus? A murdered woman? Itâs impossible!â

âIâm afraid itâs quite true. Iâve rung up the police. They will be here at any minute.â

A slight flush came into Emmaâs cheeks.

âYou should have told me firstâbefore notifying the police.â

âIâm sorry,â said Lucy.

âI didnât hear you ring upââ Emmaâs glance went to the telephone on the hall table.

âI rang up from the post office just down the road.â

âBut how extraordinary. Why not from here?â

Lucy thought quickly.

âI was afraid the boys might be aboutâmight hearâif I rang up from the hall here.â

âI seeâ¦ Yesâ¦ I seeâ¦ They are comingâthe police, I mean?â

âTheyâre here now,â said Lucy, as with a squeal of brakes a car drew up at the front door and the front doorbell pealed through the house.

II

âIâm sorry, very sorryâto have asked this of you,â said Inspector Bacon.

His hand under her arm, he led Emma Crackenthorpe out of the barn. Emmaâs face was very pale, she looked sick, but she walked firmly erect.

âIâm quite sure that Iâve never seen the woman before in my life.â

âWeâre very grateful to you, Miss Crackenthorpe. Thatâs all I wanted to know. Perhaps youâd like to lie down?â

âI must go to my father. I telephoned Dr. Quimper as soon as I heard about this and the doctor is with him now.â

Dr. Quimper came out of the library as they crossed the hall. He was a tall genial man, with a casual offhand cynical manner that his patients found very stimulating.

He and the inspector nodded to each other.

âMiss Crackenthorpe has performed an unpleasant task very bravely,â said Bacon.

âWell done, Emma,â said the doctor, patting her on the shoulder. âYou can take things. Iâve always known that. Your fatherâs all right. Just go in and have a word with him, and then go into the dining room and get yourself a glass of brandy. Thatâs a prescription.â

Emma smiled at him gratefully and went into the library.

âThat womanâs the salt of the earth,â said the doctor, looking after her. âA thousand pities sheâs never married. The penalty of being the only female in a family of men. The other sister got clear, married at seventeen, I believe. This oneâs quite a handsome woman really. Sheâd have been a success as a wife and mother.â

âToo devoted to her father, I suppose,â said Inspector Bacon.

âSheâs not really as devoted as all thatâbut sheâs got the instinct some women have to make their menfolk happy. She sees that her father likes being an invalid, so she lets him be an invalid. Sheâs the same with her brothers. Cedric feels heâs a good painter, whatâs his nameâHaroldâknows how much she relies on his sound judgmentâshe lets Alfred shock her with his stories of his clever deals. Oh, yes, sheâs a clever womanâno fool. Well, do you want me for anything? Want me to have a look at your corpse now Johnstone has done with itâ (Johnstone was the police surgeon) âand see if it happens to be one of my medical mistakes?â

âIâd like you to have a look, yes, Doctor. We want to get her identified. I suppose itâs impossible for old Mr. Crackenthorpe? Too much of a strain?â

âStrain? Fiddlesticks. Heâd never forgive you or me if you didnât let him have a peep. Heâs all agog. Most exciting thing thatâs happened to him for fifteen years or soâand it wonât cost him anything!â

âThereâs nothing really much wrong with him then?â

âHeâs seventy-two,â said the doctor. âThatâs all, really, thatâs the matter with him. He has odd rheumatic twingesâwho doesnât? So he calls it arthritis. He has palpitations after mealsâas well he mayâhe puts them down to âheart.â But he can always do anything he wants to do! Iâve plenty of patients like that. The ones who are really ill usually insist desperately that theyâre perfectly well. Come on, letâs go and see this body of yours. Unpleasant, I suppose?â

âJohnstone estimates sheâs been dead between a fortnight and three weeks.â

âQuite unpleasant, then.â

The doctor stood by the sarcophagus and looked down with frank curiosity, professionally unmoved by what he had named the âunpleasantness.â

âNever seen her before. No patient of mine. I donât remember ever seeing her about in Brackhampton. She must have been quite good-looking onceâhmâsomebody had it in for her all right.â

They went out again into the air. Doctor Quimper glanced up at the building.

âFound in the whatâwhat do they call it?âthe Long Barnâin a sarcophagus! Fantastic! Who found her?â

âMiss Lucy Eyelesbarrow.â

âOh, the latest lady help? What was she doing, poking about in sarcophagi?â

âThat,â said Inspector Bacon grimly, âis just what I am going to ask her. Now, about Mr. Crackenthorpe. Will youâ?â

âIâll bring him along.â

Mr. Crackenthorpe, muffled in scarves, came walking at a brisk pace, the doctor beside him.

âDisgraceful,â he said. âAbsolutely disgraceful! I brought back that sarcophagus from Florence inâlet me seeâit must have been in 1908âor was it 1909?â

âSteady now,â the doctor warned him. âThis isnât going to be nice, you know.â

âNo matter how ill I am, Iâve got to do my duty, havenât I?â

A very brief visit inside the Long Barn was, however, quite long enough. Mr. Crackenthorpe shuffled out into the air again with remarkable speed.

âNever saw her before in my life!â he said. âWhatâs it mean? Absolutely disgraceful. It wasnât FlorenceâI remember nowâit was Naples. A very fine specimen. And some fool of a woman has to come and get herself killed in it!â

He clutched at the folds of his overcoat on the left side.

âToo much for meâ¦ My heartâ¦ Whereâs Emma? Doctorâ¦.â

Doctor Quimper took his arm.

âYouâll be all right,â he said. âI prescribe a little stimulant. Brandy.â

They went back together towards the house.

âSir. Please, sir.â

Inspector Bacon turned. Two boys had arrived, breathless, on bicycles. Their faces were full of eager pleading.

âPlease, sir, can we see the body?â

âNo, you canât,â said Inspector Bacon.

âOh, sir, please, sir. You never know. We might know who she was. Oh, please, sir, do be a sport. Itâs not fair. Hereâs a murder, right in our own barn. Itâs the sort of chance that might never happen again. Do be a sport, sir.â

âWho are you two?â

âIâm Alexander Eastley, and this is my friend James Stoddart-West.â

âHave you ever seen a blonde woman wearing a light-coloured dyed squirrel coat anywhere about the place?â

âWell, I canât remember exactly,â said Alexander astutely. âIf I were to have a lookââ

âTake âem in, Sanders,â said Inspector Bacon to the constable who was standing by the barn door. âOneâs only young once!â

âOh, sir, thank you, sir.â Both boys were vociferous. âItâs very kind of you, sir.â

Bacon turned away towards the house.

âAnd now,â he said to himself grimly, âfor Miss Lucy Eyelesbarrow!â

III

After leading the police to the Long Barn, and giving a brief account of her actions, Lucy had retired into the background, but she was under no illusion that the police had finished with her.

She had just finished preparing potatoes for chips that evening when word was brought to her that Inspector Bacon required her presence. Putting aside the large bowl of cold water and salt in which the chips were reposing, Lucy followed the policeman to where the inspector awaited her. She sat down and awaited his questions composedly.

She gave her nameâand her address in London, and added of her own accord:

âI will give you some names and addresses of references if you want to know all about me.â

The names were very good ones. An Admiral of the Fleet, the Provost of an Oxford College, and a Dame of the British Empire. In spite of himself Inspector Bacon was impressed.

âNow, Miss Eyelesbarrow, you went into the Long Barn to find some paint. Is that right? And after having found the paint you got a crowbar, forced up the lid of this sarcophagus and found the body. What were you looking for in the sarcophagus?â

âI was looking for a body,â said Lucy.

âYou were looking for a bodyâand you found one! Doesnât that seem to you a very extraordinary story?â

âOh, yes, it is an extraordinary story. Perhaps you will let me explain it to you.â

âI certainly think you had better do so.â

Lucy gave him a precise recital of the events which had led up to her sensational discovery.

The inspector summed it up in an outraged voice.

âYou were engaged by an elderly lady to obtain a post here and to search the house and grounds for a dead body? Is that right?â

âYes.â

âWho is this elderly lady?â

âMiss Jane Marple. She is at present living at 4 Madison Road.â

The inspector wrote it down.

âYou expect me to believe this story?â

Lucy said gently:

âNot, perhaps, until after you have interviewed Miss Marple and got her confirmation of it.â

âI shall interview her all right. She must be cracked.â

Lucy forbore to point out that to be proved right is not really a proof of mental incapacity. Instead she said:

âWhat are you proposing to tell Miss Crackenthorpe? About me, I mean?â

âWhy do you ask?â

âWell, as far as Miss Marple is concerned Iâve done my job, Iâve found the body she wanted found. But Iâm still engaged by Miss Crackenthorpe, and there are two hungry boys in the house and probably some more of the family will soon be coming down after all this upset. She needs domestic help. If you go and tell her that I only took this post in order to hunt for dead bodies sheâll probably throw me out. Otherwise I can get on with my job and be useful.â

The inspector looked hard at her.

âIâm not saying anything to anyone at present,â he said. âI havenât verified your statement yet. For all I know you may be making the whole thing up.â

Lucy rose.

âThank you. Then Iâll go back to the kitchen and get on with things.â

Seven

I

âWeâd better have the Yard in on it, is that what you think, Bacon?â

The Chief Constable looked inquiringly at Inspector Bacon. The inspector was a big stolid manâhis expression was that of one utterly disgusted with humanity.

âThe woman wasnât a local, sir,â he said. âThereâs some reason to believeâfrom her underclothingâthat she might have been a foreigner. Of course,â added Inspector Bacon hastily, âIâm not letting on about that yet awhile. Weâre keeping it up our sleeves until after the inquest.â

The Chief Constable nodded.

âThe inquest will be purely formal, I suppose?â

âYes, sir. Iâve seen the Coroner.â

âAnd itâs fixed forâwhen?â

âTomorrow. I understand the other members of the Crackenthorpe family will be here for it. Thereâs just a chance one of them might be able to identify her. Theyâll all be here.â

He consulted a list he held in his hand.

âHarold Crackenthorpe, heâs something in the Cityâquite an important figure, I understand. Alfredâdonât quite know what he does. Cedricâthatâs the one who lives abroad. Paints!â The inspector invested the word with its full quota of sinister significance. The Chief Constable smiled into his moustache.

âNo reason, is there, to believe the Crackenthorpe family are connected with the crime in any way?â he asked.

âNot apart from the fact that the body was found on the premises,â said Inspector Bacon. âAnd of course itâs just possible that this artist member of the family might be able to identify her. What beats me is this extraordinary rigmarole about the train.â

âAh, yes. Youâve been to see this old lady, thisâerââ (he glanced at the memorandum lying on his desk) âMiss Marple?â

âYes, sir. And sheâs quite set and definite about the whole thing. Whether sheâs barmy or not, I donât know, but she sticks to her storyâabout what her friend saw and all the rest of it. As far as all that goes, I dare say itâs just make-believeâsort of thing old ladies do make up, like seeing flying saucers at the bottom of the garden, and Russian agents in the lending library. But it seems quite clear that she did engage this young woman, the lady help, and told her to look for a bodyâwhich the girl did.â

âAnd found one,â observed the Chief Constable. âWell, itâs all a very remarkable story. Marple, Miss Jane Marpleâthe name seems familiar somehowâ¦ Anyway, Iâll get on to the Yard. I think youâre right about its not being a local caseâthough we wonât advertise the fact just yet. For the moment weâll tell the Press as little as possible.â

II

The inquest was a purely formal affair. No one came forward to identify the dead woman. Lucy was called to give evidence of finding the body and medical evidence was given as to the cause of deathâstrangulation. The proceedings were then adjourned.

It was a cold blustery day when the Crackenthorpe family came out of the hall where the inquest had been held. There were five of them all told, Emma, Cedric, Harold, Alfred, and Bryan Eastley, the husband of the dead daughter Edith. There was also Mr. Wimborne, the senior partner of the firm of solicitors who dealt with the Crackenthorpesâ legal affairs. He had come down specially from London at great inconvenience to attend the inquest. They all stood for a moment on the pavement, shivering. Quite a crowd had assembled; the piquant details of the âBody in the Sarcophagusâ had been fully reported in both the London and the local Press.

A murmur went round: âThatâs themâ¦.â

Emma said sharply: âLetâs get away.â

The big hired Daimler drew up to the kerb. Emma got in and motioned to Lucy. Mr. Wimborne, Cedric and Harold followed. Bryan Eastley said: âIâll take Alfred with me in my little bus.â The chauffeur shut the door and the Daimler prepared to roll away.

âOh, stop!â cried Emma. âThere are the boys!â

The boys, in spite of aggrieved protests, had been left behind at Rutherford Hall, but they now appeared grinning from ear to ear.

âWe came on our bicycles,â said Stoddart-West. âThe policeman was very kind and let us in at the back of the hall. I hope you donât mind, Miss Crackenthorpe,â he added politely.

âShe doesnât mind,â said Cedric, answering for his sister. âYouâre only young once. Your first inquest, I expect?â

âIt was rather disappointing,â said Alexander. âAll over so soon.â

âWe canât stay here talking,â said Harold irritably. âThereâs quite a crowd. And all those men with cameras.â

At a sign from him, the chauffeur pulled away from the kerb. The boys waved cheerfully.

âAll over so soon!â said Cedric. âThatâs what they think, the young innocents! Itâs just beginning.â

âItâs all very unfortunate. Most unfortunate,â said Harold. âI supposeââ

He looked at Mr. Wimborne who compressed his thin lips and shook his head with distaste.

âI hope,â he said sententiously, âthat the whole matter will soon be cleared up satisfactorily. The police were very efficient. However, the whole thing, as Harold says, has been most unfortunate.â

He looked, as he spoke, at Lucy, and there was distinct disapproval in his glance. âIf it had not been for this young woman,â his eyes seemed to say, âpoking about where she had no business to beânone of this would have happened.â

This statement, or one closely resembling it, was voiced by Harold Crackenthorpe.

âBy the wayâerâMissâerâer Eyelesbarrow, just what made you go looking in that sarcophagus?â

Lucy had already wondered just when this thought would occur to one of the family. She had known that the police would ask it first thing; what surprised her was that it seemed to have occurred to no one else until this moment.

Cedric, Emma, Harold and Mr. Wimborne all looked at her.

Her reply, for what it was worth, had naturally been prepared for some time.

âReally,â she said in a hesitating voice. âI hardly knowâ¦ I did feel that the whole place needed a thorough clearing out and cleaning. And there wasââshe hesitatedââa very peculiar and disagreeable smellâ¦.â

She had counted accurately on the immediate shrinking of everyone from the unpleasantness of this ideaâ¦.

Mr. Wimborne murmured: âYes, yes, of courseâ¦about three weeks the police surgeon saidâ¦ I think, you know, we must all try and not let our minds dwell on this thing.â He smiled encouragingly at Emma who had turned very pale. âRemember,â he said, âthis wretched young woman was nothing to do with any of us.â

âAh, but you canât be so sure of that, can you?â said Cedric.

Lucy Eyelesbarrow looked at him with some interest. She had already been intrigued by the rather startling differences between the three brothers. Cedric was a big man with a weather-beaten rugged face, unkempt dark hair and a jocund manner. He had arrived from the airport unshaven, and though he had shaved in preparation for the inquest, he was still wearing the clothes in which he had arrived and which seemed to be the only ones he had; old grey flannel trousers, and a patched and rather threadbare baggy jacket. He looked the stage Bohemian to the life and proud of it.

His brother Harold, on the contrary, was the perfect picture of a City gentleman and a director of important companies. He was tall with a neat erect carriage, had dark hair going slightly bald on the temples, a small black moustache, and was impeccably dressed in a dark well-cut suit and a pearl-grey tie. He looked what he was, a shrewd and successful business man.

He now said stiffly:

âReally, Cedric, that seems a most uncalled-for remark.â

âDonât see why? She was in our barn after all. What did she come there for?â

Mr. Wimborne coughed, and said:

âPossibly someâerâassignation. I understand that it was a matter of local knowledge that the key was kept outside on a nail.â

His tone indicated outrage at the carelessness of such procedure. So clearly marked was this that Emma spoke apologetically.

âIt started during the war. For the A.R.P. wardens. There was a little spirit stove and they made themselves hot cocoa. And afterwards, since there was really nothing there anybody could have wanted to take, we went on leaving the key hanging up. It was convenient for the Womenâs Institute people. If weâd kept it in the house it might have been awkwardâwhen there was no one at home to give it them when they wanted it to get the place ready. With only daily women and no resident servantsâ¦.â

Her voice trailed away. She had spoken mechanically, giving a wordy explanation without interest, as though her mind was elsewhere.

Cedric gave her a quick puzzled glance.

âYouâre worried, sis. Whatâs up?â

Harold spoke with exasperation:

âReally, Cedric, can you ask?â

âYes, I do ask. Granted a strange young woman has got herself killed in the barn at Rutherford Hall (sounds like a Victorian melodrama) and granted it gave Emma a shock at the timeâbut Emmaâs always been a sensible girlâI donât see why she goes on being worried now. Dash it, one gets used to everything.â

âMurder takes a little more getting used to by some people than it may in your case,â said Harold acidly. âI dare say murders are two a penny in Majorca andââ

âIbiza, not Majorca.â

âItâs the same thing.â

âNot at allâitâs quite a different island.â

Harold went on talking:

âMy point is that though murder may be an everyday commonplace to you, living amongst hot-blooded Latin people, nevertheless in England we take such things seriously.â He added with increasing irritation, âAnd really, Cedric, to appear at a public inquest in those clothesââ

âWhatâs wrong with my clothes? Theyâre comfortable.â

âTheyâre unsuitable.â

âWell, anyway, theyâre the only clothes Iâve got with me. I didnât pack my wardrobe trunk when I came rushing home to stand in with the family over this business. Iâm a painter and painters like to be comfortable in their clothes.â

âSo youâre still trying to paint?â

âLook here, Harold, when you say trying to paintââ

Mr. Wimborne cleared his throat in an authoritative manner.

âThis discussion is unprofitable,â he said reprovingly. âI hope, my dear Emma, that you will tell me if there is any further way in which I can be of service to you before I return to town?â

The reproof had its effect. Emma Crackenthorpe said quickly:

âIt was most kind of you to come down.â

âNot at all. It was advisable that someone should be at the inquest to watch the proceedings on behalf of the family. I have arranged for an interview with the inspector at the house. I have no doubt that, distressing as all this has been, the situation will soon be clarified. In my own mind, there seems little doubt as to what occurred. As Emma has told us, the key to the Long Barn was known locally to hang outside the door. It seems highly probable that the place was used in the winter months as a place of assignation by local couples. No doubt there was a quarrel and some young man lost control of himself. Horrified at what he had done, his eye lit on the sarcophagus and he realized that it would make an excellent place of concealment.â

Lucy thought to herself, âYes, it sounds most plausible. Thatâs just what one might think.â

Cedric said, âYou say a local coupleâbut nobodyâs been able to identify the girl locally.â

âItâs early days yet. No doubt we shall get an identification before long. And it is possible, of course, that the man in question was a local resident, but that the girl came from elsewhere, perhaps from some other part of Brackhampton. Brackhamptonâs a big placeâitâs grown enormously in the last twenty years.â

âIf I were a girl coming to meet my young man, Iâd not stand for being taken to a freezing cold barn miles from anywhere,â Cedric objected. âIâd stand out for a nice bit of cuddle in the cinema, wouldnât you, Miss Eyelesbarrow?â

âDo we need to go into all this?â Harold demanded plaintively.

And with the voicing of the question the car drew up before the front door of Rutherford Hall and they all got out.

Eight

I

On entering the library Mr. Wimborne blinked a little as his shrewd old eyes went past Inspector Bacon whom he had already met, to the fair-haired, good-looking man beyond him.

Inspector Bacon performed introductions.

âThis is Detective-Inspector Craddock of New Scotland Yard,â he said.

âNew Scotland Yardâhm.â Mr. Wimborneâs eyebrows rose.

Dermot Craddock, who had a pleasant manner, went easily into speech.

âWe have been called in on the case, Mr. Wimborne,â he said. âAs you are representing the Crackenthorpe family, I feel it is only fair that we should give you a little confidential information.â

Nobody could make a better show of presenting a very small portion of the truth and implying that it was the whole truth than Inspector Craddock.

âInspector Bacon will agree, I am sure,â he added, glancing at his colleague.

Inspector Bacon agreed with all due solemnity and not at all as though the whole matter were prearranged.

âItâs like this,â said Craddock. âWe have reason to believe, from information that has come into our possession, that the dead woman is not a native of these parts, that she travelled down here from London and that she had recently come from abroad. Probably (though we are not sure of that) from France.â

Mr. Wimborne again raised his eyebrows.

âIndeed,â he said. âIndeed?â

âThat being the case,â explained Inspector Bacon, âthe Chief Constable felt that the Yard was better fitted to investigate the matter.â

âI can only hope,â said Mr. Wimborne, âthat the case will be solved quickly. As you can no doubt appreciate, the whole business has been a source of much distress to the family. Although not personally concerned in any way, they areââ

He paused for a bare second, but Inspector Craddock filled the gap quickly.

âItâs not a pleasant thing to find a murdered woman on your property? I couldnât agree with you more. Now I should like to have a brief interview with the various members of the familyââ

âI really cannot seeââ

âWhat they can tell me? Probably nothing of interestâbut one never knows. I dare say I can get most of the information I want from you, sir. Information about this house and the family.â

âAnd what can that possibly have to do with an unknown young woman coming from abroad and getting herself killed here?â

âWell, thatâs rather the point,â said Craddock. âWhy did she come here? Had she once had some connection with this house? >Had she been, for instance, a servant here at one time? A ladyâs maid, perhaps. Or did she come here to meet a former occupant of Rutherford Hall?â

Mr. Wimborne said coldly that Rutherford Hall had been occupied by the Crackenthorpes ever since Josiah Crackenthorpe built it in 1884.

âThatâs interesting in itself,â said Craddock. âIf youâd just give me a brief outline of the family historyââ

Mr. Wimborne shrugged his shoulders.

âThere is very little to tell. Josiah Crackenthorpe was a manufacturer of sweet and savoury biscuits, relishes, pickles, etc. He accumulated a vast fortune. He built this house. Luther Crackenthorpe, his eldest son, lives here now.â

âAny other sons?â

âOne other son, Henry, who was killed in a motor accident in 1911.â

âAnd the present Mr. Crackenthorpe has never thought of selling the house?â

âHe is unable to do so,â said the lawyer dryly. âBy the terms of his fatherâs will.â

âPerhaps youâll tell me about the will?â

âWhy should I?â

Inspector Craddock smiled.

âBecause I can look it up myself if I want to, at Somerset House.â

Against his will, Mr. Wimborne gave a crabbed little smile.

âQuite right, Inspector. I was merely protesting that the information you ask for is quite irrelevant. As to Josiah Crackenthorpeâs will, there is no mystery about it. He left his very considerable fortune in trust, the income from it to be paid to his son Luther for life, and after Lutherâs death the capital to be divided equally between Lutherâs children, Edmund, Cedric, Harold, Alfred, Emma and Edith. Edmund was killed in the war, and Edith died four years ago, so that on Luther Crackenthorpeâs decease the money will be divided between Cedric, Harold, Alfred, Emma and Edithâs son Alexander Eastley.â

âAnd the house?â

âThat will go to Luther Crackenthorpeâs eldest surviving son or his issue.â

âWas Edmund Crackenthorpe married?â

âNo.â

âSo the property will actually goâ?â

âTo the next sonâ Cedric.â

âMr. Luther Crackenthorpe himself cannot dispose of it?â

âNo.â

âAnd he has no control of the capital.â

âNo.â

âIsnât that rather unusual? I suppose,â said Inspector Craddock shrewdly, âthat his father didnât like him.â

âYou suppose correctly,â said Mr. Wimborne. âOld Josiah was disappointed that his eldest son showed no interest in the family businessâor indeed in business of any kind. Luther spent his time travelling abroad and collecting objets dâart. Old Josiah was very unsympathetic to that kind of thing. So he left his money in trust for the next generation.â

âBut in the meantime the next generation have no income except what they make or what their father allows them, and their father has a considerable income but no power of disposal of the capital.â

âExactly. And what all this has to do with the murder of an unknown young woman of foreign origin I cannot imagine!â

âIt doesnât seem to have anything to do with it,â Inspector Craddock agreed promptly, âI just wanted to ascertain all the facts.â

Mr. Wimborne looked at him sharply, then, seemingly satisfied with the result of his scrutiny, rose to his feet.

âI am proposing now to return to London,â he said. âUnless there is anything further you wish to know?â

He looked from one man to the other.

âNo, thank you, sir.â

The sound of the gong rose fortissimo from the hall outside.

âDear me,â said Mr. Wimborne. âOne of the boys, I think, must have been performing.â

Inspector Craddock raised his voice, to be heard above the clamour, as he said:

âWeâll leave the family to have lunch in peace, but Inspector Bacon and I would like to return after itâsay at two fifteenâand have a short interview with every member of the family.â

âYou think that is necessary?â

âWellâ¦â Craddock shrugged his shoulders. âItâs just an off chance. Somebody might remember something that would give us a clue to the womanâs identity.â

âI doubt it, Inspector. I doubt it very much. But I wish you good luck. As I said just now, the sooner this distasteful business is cleared up, the better for everybody.â

Shaking his head, he went slowly out of the room.

II

Lucy had gone straight to the kitchen on getting back from the inquest, and was busy with preparations for lunch when Bryan Eastley put his head in.

âCan I give you a hand in any way?â he asked. âIâm handy about the house.â

Lucy gave him a quick, slightly preoccupied glance. Bryan had arrived at the inquest direct in his small M.G. car, and she had not as yet had much time to size him up.

What she saw was likeable enough. Eastley was an amiable-looking young man of thirty-odd with brown hair, rather plaintive blue eyes and an enormous fair moustache.

âThe boys arenât back yet,â he said, coming in and sitting on the end of the kitchen table. âIt will take âem another twenty minutes on their bikes.â

Lucy smiled.

âThey were certainly determined not to miss anything.â

âCanât blame them. I mean to sayâfirst inquest in their young lives and right in the family so to speak.â

âDo you mind getting off the table, Mr. Eastley? I want to put the baking dish down there.â

Bryan obeyed.

âI say, that fatâs corking hot. What are you going to put in it?â

âYorkshire pudding.â

âGood old Yorkshire. Roast beef of old England, is that the menu for today?â

âYes.â

âThe funeral baked meats, in fact. Smells good.â He sniffed appreciatively. âDo you mind my gassing away?â

âIf you came in to help Iâd rather you helped.â She drew another pan from the oven. âHereâturn all these potatoes over so that they brown on the other sideâ¦.â

Bryan obeyed with alacrity.

âHave all these things been fizzling away in here while weâve been at the inquest? Supposing theyâd been all burnt up.â

âMost improbable. Thereâs a regulating number on the oven.â

âKind of electric brain, eh, what? Is that right?â

Lucy threw a swift look in his direction.

âQuite right. Now put the pan in the oven. Here, take the cloth. On the second shelfâ I want the top for the Yorkshire pudding.â

Bryan obeyed, but not without uttering a shrill yelp.

âBurnt yourself?â

âJust a bit. It doesnât matter. What a dangerous game cooking is!â

âI suppose you never do your own cooking?â

âAs a matter of fact I doâquite often. But not this sort of thing. I can boil an eggâif I donât forget to look at the clock. And I can do eggs and bacon. And I can put a steak under the grill or open a tin of soup. Iâve got one of those little electric whatnots in my flat.â

âYou live in London?â

âIf you call it livingâyes.â

His tone was despondent. He watched Lucy shoot in the dish with the Yorkshire pudding mixture.

âThis is awfully jolly,â he said and sighed.

Her immediate preoccupations over, Lucy looked at him with more attention.

âWhat isâthis kitchen?â

âYes. Reminds me of our kitchen at homeâwhen I was a boy.â

It struck Lucy that there was something strangely forlorn about Bryan Eastley. Looking closely at him, she realized that he was older than she had at first thought. He must be close on forty. It seemed difficult to think of him as Alexanderâs father. He reminded her of innumerable young pilots she had known during the war when she had been at the impressionable age of fourteen. She had gone on and grown up into a post-war worldâbut she felt as though Bryan had not gone on, but had been passed by in the passage of years. His next words confirmed this. He had subsided on to the kitchen table again.

âItâs a difficult sort of world,â he said, âisnât it? To get your bearings in, I mean. You see, one hasnât been trained for it.â

Lucy recalled what she had heard from Emma.

âYou were a fighter pilot, werenât you?â she said. âYouâve got a D.F.C.â

âThatâs the sort of thing that puts you wrong. Youâve got a gong and so people try to make it easy for you. Give you a job and all that. Very decent of them. But theyâre all admin. jobs, and one simply isnât any good at that sort of thing. Sitting at a desk getting tangled up in figures. Iâve had ideas of my own, you know, tried out a wheeze or two. But you canât get the backing. Canât get the chaps to come in and put down the money. If I had a bit of capitalââ

He brooded.

âYou didnât know Edie, did you? My wife. No, of course you didnât. She was quite different from all this lot. Younger, for one thing. She was in the W.A.A.F. She always said her old man was crackers. He is, you know. Mean as hell over money. And itâs not as though he could take it with him. Itâs got to be divided up when he dies. Edieâs share will go to Alexander, of course. He wonât be able to touch the capital until heâs twenty-one, though.â

âIâm sorry, but will you get off the table again? I want to dish up and make gravy.â

At that moment Alexander and Stoddart-West arrived with rosy faces and very much out of breath.

âHallo, Bryan,â said Alexander kindly to his father. âSo this is where youâve got to. I say, what a smashing piece of beef. Is there Yorkshire pudding?â

âYes, there is.â

âWe have awful Yorkshire pudding at schoolâall damp and limp.â

âGet out of my way,â said Lucy. âI want to make the gravy.â

âMake lots of gravy. Can we have two sauce-boats full?â

âYes.â

âGood-oh!â said Stoddart-West, pronouncing the word carefully.

âI donât like it pale,â said Alexander anxiously.

âIt wonât be pale.â

âSheâs a smashing cook,â said Alexander to his father.

Lucy had a momentary impression that their roles were reversed. Alexander spoke like a kindly father to his son.

âCan we help you, Miss Eyelesbarrow?â asked Stoddart-West politely.

âYes, you can. Alexander, go and sound the gong. James, will you carry this tray into the dining room? And will you take the joint in, Mr. Eastley? Iâll bring the potatoes and the Yorkshire pudding.â

âThereâs a Scotland Yard man here,â said Alexander. âDo you think he will have lunch with us?â

âThat depends on what your aunt arranged.â

âI donât suppose Aunt Emma would mindâ¦ Sheâs very hospitable. But I suppose Uncle Harold wouldnât like it. Heâs being very sticky over this murder.â Alexander went out through the door with the tray, adding a little additional information over his shoulder. âMr. Wimborneâs in the library with the Scotland Yard man now. But he isnât staying to lunch. He said he had to get back to London. Come on, Stodders. Oh, heâs gone to do the gong.â

At that moment the gong took charge. Stoddart-West was an artist. He gave it everything he had, and all further conversation was inhibited.

Bryan carried in the joint, Lucy followed with vegetablesâreturning to the kitchen to get the two brimming sauce-boats of gravy.

Mr. Wimborne was standing in the hall putting on his gloves as Emma came quickly down the stairs.

âAre you really sure you wonât stop for lunch, Mr. Wimborne? Itâs all ready.â

âNo, Iâve an important appointment in London. There is a restaurant car on the train.â

âIt was very good of you to come down,â said Emma gratefully.

The two police officers emerged from the library.

Mr. Wimborne took Emmaâs hand in his.

âThereâs nothing to worry about, my dear,â he said. âThis is Detective-Inspector Craddock from New Scotland Yard who has come to take charge of the case. He is coming back at two-fifteen to ask you for any facts that may assist him in his inquiry. But, as I say, you have nothing to worry about.â He looked towards Craddock. âI may repeat to Miss Crackenthorpe what you have told me?â

âCertainly, sir.â

âInspector Craddock has just told me that this almost certainly was not a local crime. The murdered woman is thought to have come from London and was probably a foreigner.â

Emma Crackenthorpe said sharply:

âA foreigner. Was she French?â

Mr. Wimborne had clearly meant his statement to be consoling. He looked slightly taken aback. Dermot Craddockâs glance went quickly from him to Emmaâs face.

He wondered why she had leaped to the conclusion that the murdered woman was French, and why that thought disturbed her so much?

Nine

I

The only people who really did justice to Lucyâs excellent lunch were the two boys and Cedric Crackenthorpe who appeared completely unaffected by the circumstances which had caused him to return to England. He seemed, indeed, to regard the whole thing as a rather good joke of a macabre nature.

This attitude, Lucy noted, was most unpalatable to his brother Harold. Harold seemed to take the murder as a kind of personal insult to the Crackenthorpe family and so great was his sense of outrage that he ate hardly any lunch. Emma looked worried and unhappy and also ate very little. Alfred seemed lost in a train of thought of his own and spoke very little. He was quite a good-looking man with a thin dark face and eyes set rather too close together.

After lunch the police officers returned and politely asked if they could have a few words with Mr. Cedric Crackenthorpe.

Inspector Craddock was very pleasant and friendly.

âSit down, Mr. Crackenthorpe. I understand you have just come back from the Balearics? You live out there?â

âHave done for the past six years. In Ibiza. Suits me better than this dreary country.â

âYou get a good deal more sunshine than we do, I expect,â said Inspector Craddock agreeably. âYou were home not so very long ago, I understandâfor Christmas, to be exact. What made it necessary for you to come back again so soon?â

Cedric grinned.

âGot a wire from Emmaâmy sister. Weâve never had a murder on the premises before. Didnât want to miss anythingâso along I came.â

âYou are interested in criminology?â

âOh, we neednât put it in such highbrow terms! I just like murdersâWhodunnits and all that! With a Whodunnit parked right on the family doorstep, it seemed the chance of a lifetime. Besides, I thought poor Em might need a spot of helpâmanaging the old man and the police and all the rest of it.â

âI see. It appealed to your sporting instincts and also to your family feelings. Iâve no doubt your sister will be very grateful to youâalthough her two other brothers have also come to be with her.â

âBut not to cheer and comfort,â Cedric told him. âHarold is terrifically put out. Itâs not at all the thing for a City magnate to be mixed up with the murder of a questionable female.â

Craddockâs eyebrows rose gently.

âWas sheâa questionable female?â

âWell, youâre the authority on that point. Going by the facts, it seemed to me likely.â

âI thought perhaps you might have been able to make a guess at who she was?â

âCome now, Inspector, you already knowâor your colleagues will tell you, that I havenât been able to identify her.â

âI said a guess, Mr. Crackenthorpe. You might never have seen the woman beforeâbut you might have been able to make a guess at who she wasâor who she might have been?â

Cedric shook his head.

âYouâre barking up the wrong tree. Iâve absolutely no idea. Youâre suggesting, I suppose, that she may have come to the Long Barn to keep an assignation with one of us? But we none of us live here. The only people in the house were a woman and an old man. You donât seriously believe that she came here to keep a date with my revered Pop?â

âOur point isâInspector Bacon agrees with meâthat the woman may once have had some association with this house. It may have been a considerable number of years ago. Cast your mind back, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

Cedric thought a moment or two, then shook his head.

âWeâve had foreign help from time to time, like most people, but I canât think of any likely possibility. Better ask the othersâtheyâd know more than I would.â

âWe shall do that, of course.â

Craddock leaned back in his chair and went on:

âAs you have heard at the inquest, the medical evidence cannot fix the time of death very accurately. Longer than two weeks, less than fourâwhich brings it somewhere around Christmas-time. You have told me you came home for Christmas. When did you arrive in England and when did you leave?â

Cedric reflected.

âLet me seeâ¦ I flew. Got here on the Saturday before Christmasâthat would be the 21st.â

âYou flew straight from Majorca?â

âYes. Left at five in the morning and got here midday.â

âAnd you left?â

âI flew back on the following Friday, the 27th.â

âThank you.â

Cedric grinned.

âLeaves me well within the limit, unfortunately. But really, Inspector, strangling young women is not my favourite form of Christmas fun.â

âI hope not, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

Inspector Bacon merely looked disapproving.

âThere would be a remarkable absence of peace and good will about such an action, donât you agree?â

Cedric addressed this question to Inspector Bacon who merely grunted. Inspector Craddock said politely:

âWell, thank you, Mr. Crackenthorpe. That will be all.â

âAnd what do you think of him?â Craddock asked as Cedric shut the door behind him.

Bacon grunted again.

âCocky enough for anything,â he said. âI donât care for the type myself. A loose-living lot, these artists, and very likely to be mixed up with a disreputable class of woman.â

Craddock smiled.

âI donât like the way he dresses, either,â went on Bacon. âNo respectâgoing to an inquest like that. Dirtiest pair of trousers Iâve seen in a long while. And did you see his tie? Looked as though it was made of coloured string. If you ask me, heâs the kind that would easily strangle a woman and make no bones about it.â

âWell, he didnât strangle this oneâif he didnât leave Majorca until the 21st. And thatâs a thing we can verify easily enough.â

Bacon threw him a sharp glance.

âI notice that youâre not tipping your hand yet about the actual date of the crime.â

âNo, weâll keep that dark for the present. I always like to have something up my sleeve in the early stages.â

Bacon nodded in full agreement.

âSpring it on âem when the time comes,â he said. âThatâs the best plan.â

âAnd now,â said Craddock, âweâll see what our correct City gentleman has to say about it all.â

Harold Crackenthorpe, thin-lipped, had very little to say about it. It was most distastefulâa very unfortunate incident. The newspapers, he was afraidâ¦ Reporters, he understood, had already been asking for interviewsâ¦ All that sort of thingâ¦ Most regrettableâ¦.

Haroldâs staccato unfinished sentences ended. He leaned back in his chair with the expression of a man confronted with a very bad smell.

The inspectorâs probing produced no result. No, he had no idea who the woman was or could be. Yes, he had been at Rutherford Hall for Christmas. He had been unable to come down until Christmas Eveâbut had stayed on over the following weekend.

âThatâs that, then,â said Inspector Craddock, without pressing his questions further. He had already made up his mind that Harold Crackenthorpe was not going to be helpful.

He passed on to Alfred, who came into the room with a nonchalance that seemed just a trifle overdone.

Craddock looked at Alfred Crackenthorpe with a faint feeling of recognition. Surely he had seen this particular member of the family somewhere before? Or had it been his picture in the paper? There was something discreditable attached to the memory. He asked Alfred his occupation and Alfredâs answer was vague.

âIâm in insurance at the moment. Until recently Iâve been interested in putting a new type of talking machine on the market. Quite revolutionary. I did very well out of that as a matter of fact.â

Inspector Craddock looked appreciativeâand no one could have had the least idea that he was noticing the superficially smart appearance of Alfredâs suit and gauging correctly the low price it had cost. Cedricâs clothes had been disreputable, almost threadbare, but they had been originally of good cut and excellent material. Here there was a cheap smartness that told its own tale. Craddock passed pleasantly on to his routine questions. Alfred seemed interestedâeven slightly amused.

âItâs quite an idea, that the woman might once have had a job here. Not as a ladyâs maid; I doubt if my sister has ever had such a thing. I donât think anyone has nowadays. But, of course, there is a good deal of foreign domestic labour floating about. Weâve had Polesâand a temperamental German or two. As Emma definitely didnât recognize the woman, I think that washes your idea out, Inspector, Emmaâs got a very good memory for a face. No, if the woman came from Londonâ¦ What gives you the idea she came from London, by the way?â

He slipped the question in quite casually, but his eyes were sharp and interested.

Inspector Craddock smiled and shook his head.

Alfred looked at him keenly.

âNot telling, eh? Return ticket in her coat pocket, perhaps, is that it?â

âIt could be, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

âWell, granting she came from London, perhaps the chap she came to meet had the idea that the Long Barn would be a nice place to do a quiet murder. He knows the setup here, evidently. I should go looking for him if I were you, Inspector.â

âWe are,â said Inspector Craddock, and made the two little words sound quiet and confident.

He thanked Alfred and dismissed him.

âYou know,â he said to Bacon, âIâve seen that chap somewhere beforeâ¦.â

Inspector Bacon gave his verdict.

âSharp customer,â he said. âSo sharp that he cuts himself sometimes.â

II

âI donât suppose you want to see me,â said Bryan Eastley apologetically, coming into the room and hesitating by the door. âI donât exactly belong to the familyââ

âLet me see, you are Mr. Bryan Eastley, the husband of Miss Edith Crackenthorpe, who died five years ago?â

âThatâs right.â

âWell, itâs very kind of you, Mr. Eastley, especially if you know something that you think could assist us in some way?â

âBut I donât. Wish I did. Whole thing seems so ruddy peculiar, doesnât it? Coming along and meeting some fellow in that draughty old barn, in the middle of winter. Wouldnât be my cup of tea!â

âIt is certainly very perplexing,â Inspector Craddock agreed.

âIs it true that she was a foreigner? Word seems to have got round to that effect.â

âDoes that fact suggest anything to you?â The inspector looked at him sharply, but Bryan seemed amiably vacuous.

âNo, it doesnât, as a matter of fact.â

âMaybe she was French,â said Inspector Bacon, with dark suspicion.

Bryan was roused to slight animation. A look of interest came into his blue eyes, and he tugged at his big fair moustache.

âReally? Gay Paree?â He shook his head. âOn the whole it seems to make it even more unlikely, doesnât it? Messing about in the barn, I mean. You havenât had any other sarcophagus murders, have you? One of these fellows with an urgeâor a complex? Thinks heâs Caligula or someone like that?â

Inspector Craddock did not even trouble to reject this speculation. Instead he asked in a casual manner:

âNobody in the family got any French connections, orâorârelationships that you know of?â

Bryan said that the Crackenthorpes werenât a very gay lot.

âHaroldâs respectably married,â he said. âFish-faced woman, some impoverished peerâs daughter. Donât think Alfred cares about women muchâspends his life going in for shady deals which usually go wrong in the end. I dare say Cedricâs got a few Spanish seÃ±oritas jumping through hoops for him in Ibiza. Women rather fall for Cedric. Doesnât always shave and looks as though he never washes. Donât see why that should be attractive to women, but apparently it isâI say, Iâm not being very helpful, am I?â

He grinned at them.

âBetter get young Alexander on the job. He and James Stoddart- West are out hunting for clues in a big way. Bet you they turn up something.â

Inspector Craddock said he hoped they would. Then he thanked Bryan Eastley and said he would like to speak to Miss Emma Crackenthorpe.

III

Inspector Craddock looked with more attention at Emma Crackenthorpe than he had done previously. He was still wondering about the expression that he had surprised on her face before lunch.

A quiet woman. Not stupid. Not brilliant either. One of those comfortable pleasant women whom men were inclined to take for granted, and who had the art of making a house into a home, giving it an atmosphere of restfulness and quiet harmony. Such, he thought, was Emma Crackenthorpe.

Women such as this were often underrated. Behind their quiet exterior they had force of character, they were to be reckoned with. Perhaps, Craddock thought, the clue to the mystery of the dead woman in the sarcophagus was hidden away in the recesses of Emmaâs mind.

Whilst these thoughts were passing through his head, Craddock was asking various unimportant questions.

âI donât suppose there is much that you havenât already told Inspector Bacon,â he said. âSo I neednât worry you with many questions.â

âPlease ask me anything you like.â

âAs Mr. Wimborne told you, we have reached the conclusion that the dead woman was not a native of these parts. That may be a relief to youâMr. Wimborne seemed to think it would beâbut it makes it really more difficult for us. Sheâs less easily identified.â

âBut didnât she have anythingâa handbag? Papers?â

Craddock shook his head.

âNo handbag, nothing in her pockets.â

âYouâve no idea of her nameâof where she came fromâanything at all?â

Craddock thought to himself: She wants to knowâsheâs very anxious to knowâwho the woman is. Has she felt like that all along, I wonder? Bacon didnât give me that impressionâand heâs a shrewd manâ¦.

âWe know nothing about her,â he said. âThatâs why we hoped one of you could help us. Are you sure you canât? Even if you didnât recognize herâcan you think of anyone she might be?â

He thought, but perhaps he imagined it, that there was a very slight pause before she answered.

âIâve absolutely no idea,â she said.

Imperceptibly, Inspector Craddockâs manner changed. It was hardly noticeable except as a slight hardness in his voice.

âWhen Mr. Wimborne told you that the woman was a foreigner, why did you assume that she was French?â

Emma was not disconcerted. Her eyebrows rose slightly.

âDid I? Yes, I believe I did. I donât really know whyâexcept that one always tends to think foreigners are French until one finds out what nationality they really are. Most foreigners in this country are French, arenât they?â

âOh, I really wouldnât say that was so, Miss Crackenthorpe. Not nowadays. We have so many nationalities over here, Italians, Germans, Austrians, all the Scandinavian countriesââ

âYes, I suppose youâre right.â

âYou donât have some special reason for thinking that this woman was likely to be French?â

She didnât hurry to deny it. She just thought a moment and then shook her head almost regretfully.

âNo,â she said. âI really donât think so.â

Her glance met his placidly, without flinching. Craddock looked towards Inspector Bacon. The latter leaned forward and presented a small enamel powder compact.

âDo you recognize this, Miss Crackenthorpe?â

She took it and examined it.

âNo. Itâs certainly not mine.â

âYouâve no idea to whom it belonged?â

âNo.â

âThen I donât think we need worry you anymoreâfor the present.â

âThank you.â

She smiled briefly at them, got up, and left the room. Again he may have imagined it, but Craddock thought she moved rather quickly, as though a certain relief hurried her.

âThink she knows anything?â asked Bacon.

Inspector Craddock said ruefully:

âAt a certain stage one is inclined to think everyone knows a little more than they are willing to tell you.â

âThey usually do, too,â said Bacon out of the depth of his experience. âOnly,â he added, âit quite often isnât anything to do with the business in hand. Itâs some family peccadillo or some silly scrape that people are afraid is going to be dragged into the open.â

âYes, I know. Well, at leastââ

But whatever Inspector Craddock had been about to say never got said, for the door was flung open and old Mr. Crackenthorpe shuffled in in a high state of indignation.

âA pretty pass, when Scotland Yard comes down and doesnât have the courtesy to talk to the head of the family first! Whoâs the master of this house, Iâd like to know? Answer me that? Whoâs the master here?â

âYou are, of course, Mr. Crackenthorpe,â said Craddock soothingly and rising as he spoke. âBut we understood that you had already told Inspector Bacon all you know, and that, your health not being good, we must not make too many demands upon it. Dr. Quimper saidââ

âI dare sayâI dare say. Iâm not a strong manâ¦ As for Dr. Quimper, heâs a regular old womanâperfectly good doctor, understands my caseâbut inclined to wrap me up in cotton-wool. Got a bee in his bonnet about food. Went on at me Christmas-time when I had a bit of a turnâwhat did I eat? When? Who cooked it? Who served it? Fuss, fuss, fuss! But though I may have indifferent health, Iâm well enough to give you all the help thatâs in my power. Murder in my own houseâor at any rate in my own barn! Interesting building, that. Elizabethan. Local architect says notâbut fellow doesnât know what heâs talking about. Not a day later than 1580âbut thatâs not what weâre talking about. What do you want to know? Whatâs your present theory?â

âItâs a little too early for theories, Mr. Crackenthorpe. We are still trying to find out who the woman was.â

âForeigner, you say?â

âWe think so.â

âEnemy agent?â

âUnlikely, I should say.â

âYouâd sayâyouâd say! Theyâre everywhere, these people. Infiltrating! Why the Home Office lets them in beats me. Spying on industrial secrets, Iâd bet. Thatâs what she was doing.â

âIn Brackhampton?â

âFactories everywhere. One outside my own back gate.â

Craddock shot an inquiring glance at Bacon who responded.

âMetal Boxes.â

âHow do you know thatâs what theyâre really making? Canât swallow all these fellows tell you. All right, if she wasnât a spy, who do you think she was? Think she was mixed up with one of my precious sons? It would be Alfred, if so. Not Harold, heâs too careful. And Cedric doesnât condescend to live in this country. All right, then, she was Alfredâs bit of skirt. And some violent fellow followed her down here, thinking she was coming to meet him and did her in. Howâs that?â

Inspector Craddock said diplomatically that it was certainly a theory. But Mr. Alfred Crackenthorpe, he said, had not reccognized her.

âPah! Afraid, thatâs all! Alfred always was a coward. But heâs a liar, remember, always was! Lie himself black in the face. None of my sons are any good. Crowd of vultures, waiting for me to die, thatâs their real occupation in life,â he chuckled. âAnd they can wait. I wonât die to oblige them! Well, if thatâs all I can do for youâ¦ Iâm tired. Got to rest.â

He shuffled out again.

âAlfredâs bit of skirt?â said Bacon questioningly. âIn my opinion the old man just made that up,â he paused, hesitated. âI think, personally, Alfredâs quite all rightâperhaps a shifty customer in some waysâbut not our present cup of tea. Mind youâI did just wonder about that Air Force chap.â

âBryan Eastley?â

âYes. Iâve run into one or two of his type. Theyâre what you might call adrift in the worldâhad danger and death and excitement too early in life. Now they find life tame. Tame and unsatisfactory. In a way, weâve given them a raw deal. Though I donât really know what we could do about it. But there they are, all past and no future, so to speak. And theyâre the kind that donât mind taking chancesâthe ordinary fellow plays safe by instinct, itâs not so much morality as prudence. But these fellows arenât afraidâplaying safe isnât really in their vocabulary. If Eastley were mixed up with a woman and wanted to kill herâ¦â He stopped, threw out a hand hopelessly. âBut why should he want to kill her? And if you do kill a woman, why plant her in your father-in-lawâs sarcophagus? No, if you ask me, none of this lot had anything to do with the murder. If they had, they wouldnât have gone to all the trouble of planting the body on their own back door step, so to speak.â

Craddock agreed that that hardly made sense.

âAnything more you want to do here?â

Craddock said there wasnât.

Bacon suggested coming back to Brackhampton and having a cup of teaâbut Inspector Craddock said that he was going to call on an old acquaintance.

Ten

I

Miss Marple, sitting erect against a background of china dogs and presents from Margate, smiled approvingly at Inspector Dermot Craddock.

âIâm so glad,â she said, âthat you have been assigned to the case. I hoped you would be.â

âWhen I got your letter,â said Craddock, âI took it straight to the A.C. As it happened he had just heard from the Brackhampton people calling us in. They seemed to think it wasnât a local crime. The A.C. was very interested in what I had to tell him about you. Heâd heard about you, I gather, from my godfather.â

âDear Sir Henry,â murmured Miss Marple affectionately.

âHe got me to tell him all about the Little Paddocks business. Do you want to hear what he said next?â

âPlease tell me if it is not a breach of confidence.â

âHe said, âWell, as this seems a completely cockeyed business, all thought up by a couple of old ladies whoâve turned out, against all probability, to be right, and since you already know one of these old ladies, Iâm sending you down on the case.â So here I am! And now, my dear Miss Marple, where do we go from here? This is not, as you probably appreciate, an official visit. I havenât got my henchmen with me. I thought you and I might take down our back hair together first.â

Miss Marple smiled at him.

âIâm sure,â she said, âthat no one who only knows you officially would ever guess that you could be so human, and better-looking than everâdonât blushâ¦ Now, what, exactly, have you been told so far?â

âIâve got everything, I think. Your friend, Mrs. McGillicuddyâs original statement to the police at St. Mary Mead, confirmation of her statement by the ticket collector, and also the note to the stationmaster at Brackhampton. I may say that all the proper inquiries were made by the people concernedâthe railway people and the police. But thereâs no doubt that you outsmarted them all by a most fantastic process of guesswork.â

âNot guesswork,â said Miss Marple. âAnd I had a great advantage. I knew Elspeth McGillicuddy. Nobody else did. There was no obvious confirmation of her story, and if there was no question of any woman being reported missing, then quite naturally they would think it was just an elderly lady imagining thingsâas elderly ladies often doâbut not Elspeth McGillicuddy.â

âNot Elspeth McGillicuddy,â agreed the inspector. âIâm looking forward to meeting her, you know. I wish she hadnât gone to Ceylon. Weâre arranging for her to be interviewed there, by the way.â

âMy own process of reasoning was not really original,â said Miss Marple. âItâs all in Mark Twain. The boy who found the horse. He just imagined where he would go if he were a horse and he went there and there was the horse.â

âYou imagined what youâd do if you were a cruel and cold-blooded murderer?â said Craddock looking thoughtfully at Miss Marpleâs pink and white elderly fragility. âReally, your mindââ

âLike a sink, my nephew Raymond used to say,â Miss Marple agreed, nodding her head briskly. âBut as I always told him, sinks are necessary domestic equipment and actually very hygienic.â

âCan you go a little further still, put yourself in the murdererâs place, and tell me just where he is now?â

Miss Marple sighed.

âI wish I could. Iâve no ideaâno idea at all. But he must be someone who has lived in, or knows all about, Rutherford Hall.â

âI agree. But that opens up a very wide field. Quite a succession of daily women have worked there. Thereâs the Womenâs Instituteâand the A.R.P. Wardens before them. They all know the Long Barn and the sarcophagus and where the key was kept. The whole setup there is widely known locally. Anybody living round about might hit on it as a good spot for his purpose.â

âYes, indeed. I quite understand your difficulties.â

Craddock said: âWeâll never get anywhere until we identify the body.â

âAnd that, too, may be difficult?â

âOh, weâll get thereâin the end. Weâre checking up on all the reported disappearances of a woman of that age and appearance. Thereâs no one outstanding who fits the bill. The M.O. puts her down as about thirty-five, healthy, probably a married woman, has had at least one child. Her fur coat is a cheap one purchased at a London store. Hundreds of such coats were sold in the last three months, about sixty per cent of them to blonde women. No sales girl can recognize the photograph of the dead woman, or is likely to if the purchase were made just before Christmas. Her other clothes seem mainly of foreign manufacture mostly purchased in Paris. There are no English laundry marks. Weâve communicated with Paris and they are checking up there for us. Sooner or later, of course, someone will come forward with a missing relative or lodger. Itâs just a matter of time.â

âThe compact wasnât any help?â

âUnfortunately, no. Itâs a type sold by the hundred in the Rue de Rivoli, quite cheap. By the way, you ought to have turned that over to the police at once, you knowâor rather Miss Eyelesbarrow should have done so.â

Miss Marple shook her head.

âBut at that moment there wasnât any question of a crime having been committed,â she pointed out. âIf a young lady, practising golf shots, picks up an old compact of no particular value in the long grass, surely she doesnât rush straight off to the police with it?â Miss Marple paused, and then added firmly: âI thought it much wiser to find the body first.â

Inspector Craddock was tickled.

âYou donât seem ever to have had any doubts but that it would be found?â

âI was sure it would. Lucy Eyelesbarrow is a most efficient and intelligent person.â

âIâll say she is! She scares the life out of me, sheâs so devastatingly efficient! No man will ever dare marry that girl.â

âNow you know, I wouldnât say thatâ¦ It would have to be a special type of man, of course.â Miss Marple brooded on this thought a moment. âHow is she getting on at Rutherford Hall?â

âTheyâre completely dependent on her as far as I can see. Eating out of her handâliterally as you might say. By the way, they know nothing about her connection with you. Weâve kept that dark.â

âShe has no connection now with me. She has done what I asked her to do.â

âSo she could hand in her notice and go if she wanted to?â

âYes.â

âBut she stops on. Why?â

âShe has not mentioned her reasons to me. She is a very intelligent girl. I suspect that she has become interested.â

âIn the problem? Or in the family?â

âIt may be,â said Miss Marple, âthat it is rather difficult to separate the two.â

Craddock looked hard at her.

âOh, noâoh, dear me, no.â

âHave you got anything particular in mind?â

âI think you have.â

Miss Marple shook her head.

Dermot Craddock sighed. âSo all I can do is to âprosecute my inquiriesââto put it in jargon. A policemanâs life is a dull one!â

âYouâll get results, Iâm sure.â

âAny ideas for me? More inspired guesswork?â

âI was thinking of things like theatrical companies,â said Miss Marple rather vaguely. âTouring from place to place and perhaps not many home ties. One of those young women would be much less likely to be missed.â

âYes. Perhaps youâve got something there. Weâll pay special attention to that angle.â He added, âWhat are you smiling about?â

âI was just thinking,â said Miss Marple, âof Elspeth McGillicuddyâs face when she hears weâve found the body!â

II

âWell!â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âWell!â

Words failed her. She looked across at the nicely spoken pleasant young man who had called upon her with official credentials and then down at the photograph that he handed her.

âThatâs her all right,â she said. âYes, thatâs her. Poor soul. Well, I must say Iâm glad youâve found her body. Nobody believed a word I said! The police, or the railway people or anyone else. Itâs very galling not to be believed. At any rate, nobody could say I didnât do all I possibly could.â

The nice young man made sympathetic and appreciative noises.

âWhere did you say the body was found?â

âIn a barn at a house called Rutherford Hall, just outside Brackhampton.â

âNever heard of it. How did it get there, I wonder?â

The young man didnât reply.

âJane Marple found it, I suppose. Trust Jane.â

âThe body,â said the young man, referring to some notes, âwas found by a Miss Lucy Eyelesbarrow.â

âNever heard of her either,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âI still think Jane Marple had something to do with it.â

âAnyway, Mrs. McGillicuddy, you definitely identify this picture as that of the woman whom you saw in a train?â

âBeing strangled by a man. Yes, I do.â

âNow, can you describe this man?â

âHe was a tall man,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âYes?â

âAnd dark.â

âYes?â

âThatâs all I can tell you,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âHe had his back to me. I didnât see his face.â

âWould you be able to recognize him if you saw him?â

âOf course I shouldnât! He had his back to me. I never saw his face.â

âYouâve no idea at all as to his age?â

Mrs. McGillicuddy considered.

âNoânot really. I mean, I donât knowâ¦ He wasnât, Iâm almost sureâvery young. His shoulders lookedâwell, set, if you know what I mean.â The young man nodded. âThirty and upward, I canât get closer than that. I wasnât really looking at him, you see. It was herâwith those hands round her throat and her faceâall blueâ¦ You know, sometimes I dream of it even nowâ¦.â

âIt must have been a distressing experience,â said the young man sympathetically.

He closed his notebook and said:

âWhen are you returning to England?â

âNot for another three weeks. It isnât necessary, is it, for me?â

He quickly reassured her.

âOh, no. Thereâs nothing you could do at present. Of course, if we make an arrestââ

It was left like that.

The mail brought a letter from Miss Marple to her friend. The writing was spiky and spidery and heavily underlined. Long practice made it easy for Mrs. McGillicuddy to decipher. Miss Marple wrote a very full account to her friend who devoured every word with great satisfaction.

She and Jane had shown them all right!

Eleven

I

âI simply canât make you out,â said Cedric Crackenthorpe.

He eased himself down on the decaying wall of a long derelict pigsty and stared at Lucy Eyelesbarrow.

âWhat canât you make out?â

âWhat youâre doing here?â

âIâm earning my living.â

âAs a skivvy?â he spoke disparagingly.

âYouâre out of date,â said Lucy. âSkivvy, indeed! Iâm a Household Help, a Professional Domestician, or an Answer to Prayer, mainly the latter.â

âYou canât like all the things you have to doâcooking and making beds and whirring about with a hoopla or whatever you call it, and sinking your arms up to the elbows in greasy water.â

Lucy laughed.

âNot the details, perhaps, but cooking satisfies my creative instincts, and thereâs something in me that really revels in clearing up mess.â

âI live in a permanent mess,â said Cedric. âI like it,â he added defiantly.

âYou look as though you did.â

âMy cottage in Ibiza is run on simple straightforward lines. Three plates, two cups and saucers, a bed, a table and a couple of chairs. Thereâs dust everywhere and smears of paint and chips of stoneâI sculpt as well as paintâand nobodyâs allowed to touch a thing. I wonât have a woman near the place.â

âNot in any capacity?â

âWhat do you mean by that?â

âI was assuming that a man of such artistic tastes presumably had some kind of love life.â

âMy love life, as you call it, is my own business,â said Cedric with dignity. âWhat I wonât have is woman in her tidying-up interfering bossing capacity.â

âHow Iâd love to have a go at your cottage,â said Lucy. âIt would be a challenge!â

âYou wonât get the opportunity.â

âI suppose not.â

Some bricks fell out of the pigsty. Cedric turned his head and looked into its nettle-ridden depths.

âDear old Madge,â he said. âI remember her well. A sow of most endearing disposition and prolific mother. Seventeen in the last litter, I remember. We used to come here on fine afternoons and scratch Madgeâs back with a stick. She loved it.â

âWhy has this whole place been allowed to get into the state itâs in? It canât only be the war?â

âYouâd like to tidy this up, too, I suppose? What an interfering female you are. I quite see now why you would be the person to discover a body! You couldnât even leave a Greco-Roman sarcophagus alone.â He paused and then went on. âNo, itâs not only the war. Itâs my father. What do you think of him, by the way?â

âI havenât had much time for thinking.â

âDonât evade the issue. Heâs as mean as hell, and in my opinion a bit crazy as well. Of course he hates all of usâexcept perhaps Emma. Thatâs because of my grandfatherâs will.â

Lucy looked inquiring.

âMy grandfather was the man who madea-da-monitch. With the Crunchies and the Cracker Jacks and the Cosy Crisps. All the afternoon tea delicacies and then, being far-sighted, he switched on very early to Cheesies and CanapÃ©s so that now we cash in on cocktail parties in a big way. Well, the time came when father intimated that he had a soul above Crunchies. He travelled in Italy and the Balkans and Greece and dabbled in art. My grandfather was peeved. He decided my father was no man of business and a rather poor judge of art (quite right in both cases), so left all his money in trust for his grandchildren. Father had the income for life, but he couldnât touch the capital. Do you know what he did? He stopped spending money. He came here and began to save. Iâd say that by now heâs accumulated nearly as big a fortune as my grandfather left. And in the meantime all of us, Harold, myself, Alfred and Emma havenât got a penny of grandfatherâs money. Iâm a stony-broke painter. Harold went into business and is now a prominent man in the Cityâheâs the one with the money-making touch, though Iâve heard rumours that heâs in Queer Street lately. Alfredâwell, Alfred is usually known in the privacy of the family as Flash Alfââ

âWhy?â

âWhat a lot of things you want to know! The answer is that Alf is the black sheep of the family. Heâs not actually been to prison yet, but heâs been very near it. He was in the Ministry of Supply during the war, but left it rather abruptly under questionable circumstances. And after that there were some dubious deals in tinned fruitsâand trouble over eggs. Nothing in a big wayâjust a few doubtful deals on the side.â

âIsnât it rather unwise to tell strangers all these things?â

âWhy? Are you a police spy?â

âI might be.â

âI donât think so. You were here slaving away before the police began to take an interest in us. I should sayââ

He broke off as his sister Emma came through the door of the kitchen garden.

âHallo, Em? Youâre looking very perturbed about something?â

âI am. I want to talk to you, Cedric.â

âI must get back to the house,â said Lucy, tactfully.

âDonât go,â said Cedric. âMurder has made you practically one of the family.â

âIâve got a lot to do,â said Lucy. âI only came out to get some parsley.â

She beat a rapid retreat to the kitchen garden. Cedricâs eyes followed her.

âGood-looking girl,â he said. âWho is she really?â

âOh, sheâs quite well known,â said Emma. âSheâs made a speciality of this kind of thing. But never mind Lucy Eyelesbarrow, Cedric, Iâm terribly worried. Apparently the police think that the dead woman was a foreigner, perhaps French. Cedric, you donât think that she could possibly beâ Martine?â

II

For a moment or two Cedric stared at her as though uncomprehending.

âMartine? But who on earthâoh, you mean Martine?â

âYes. Do you thinkââ

âWhy on earth should it be Martine?â

âWell, her sending that telegram was odd when you come to think of it. It must have been roughly about the same timeâ¦ Do you think that she may, after all, have come down here andââ

âNonsense. Why should Martine come down here and find her way into the Long Barn? What for? It seems wildly unlikely to me.â

âYou donât think, perhaps, that I ought to tell Inspector Baconâor the other one?â

âTell him what?â

âWellâabout Martine. About her letter.â

âNow donât you go complicating things, sis, by bringing up a lot of irrelevant stuff that has nothing to do with all this. I was never very convinced about that letter from Martine, anyway.â

âI was.â

âYouâve always been good at believing impossible things before breakfast, old girl. My advice to you is, sit tight, and keep your mouth shut. Itâs up to the police to identify their precious corpse. And I bet Harold would say the same.â

âOh, I know Harold would. And Alfred, also. But Iâm worried, Cedric, I really am worried. I donât know what I ought to do.â

âNothing,â said Cedric promptly. âYou keep your mouth shut, Emma. Never go halfway to meet trouble, thatâs my motto.â

Emma Crackenthorpe sighed. She went slowly back to the house uneasy in her mind.

As she came into the drive, Doctor Quimper emerged from the house and opened the door of his battered Austin car. He paused when he saw her, then leaving the car he came towards her.

âWell, Emma,â he said. âYour fatherâs in splendid shape. Murder suits him. Itâs given him an interest in life. I must recommend it for more of my patients.â

Emma smiled mechanically. Dr. Quimper was always quick to notice reactions.

âAnything particular the matter?â he asked.

Emma looked up at him. She had come to rely a lot on the kindness and sympathy of the doctor. He had become a friend on whom to lean, not only a medical attendant. His calculated brusqueness did not deceive herâshe knew the kindness that lay behind it.

âI am worried, yes,â she admitted.

âCare to tell me? Donât if you donât want to.â

âIâd like to tell you. Some of it you know already. The point is I donât know what to do.â

âI should say your judgment was usually most reliable. Whatâs the trouble?â

âYou rememberâor perhaps you donâtâwhat I once told you about my brotherâthe one who was killed in the war?â

âYou mean about his having marriedâor wanting to marryâa French girl? Something of that kind?â

âYes. Almost immediately after I got that letter, he was killed. We never heard anything of or about the girl. All we knew, actually, was her christian name. We always expected her to write or to turn up, but she didnât. We never heard anythingâuntil about a month ago, just before Christmas.â

âI remember. You got a letter, didnât you?â

âYes. Saying she was in England and would like to come and see us. It was all arranged and then, at the last minute, she sent a wire that she had to return unexpectedly to France.â

âWell?â

âThe police think that this woman who was killedâwas French.â

âThey do, do they? She looked more of an English type to me, but one canât really judge. Whatâs worrying you then, is that just possibly the dead woman might be your brotherâs girl?â

âYes.â

âI think itâs most unlikely,â said Dr. Quimper, adding: âBut all the same, I understand what you feel.â

âIâm wondering if I ought not to tell the police aboutâabout it all. Cedric and the others say itâs quite unnecessary. What do you think?â

âHm.â Dr. Quimper pursed his lips. He was silent for a moment or two, deep in thought. Then he said, almost unwillingly, âItâs much simpler, of course, if you say nothing. I can understand what your brothers feel about it. All the sameââ

âYes?â

Quimper looked at her. His eyes had an affectionate twinkle in them.

âIâd go ahead and tell âem,â he said. âYouâll go on worrying if you donât. I know you.â

Emma flushed a little.

âPerhaps Iâm foolish.â

âYou do what you want to do, my dearâand let the rest of the family go hang! Iâd back your judgment against the lot of them any day.â

Twelve

I

âGirl! You, girl! Come in here.â

Lucy turned her head, surprised. Old Mr. Crackenthorpe was beckoning to her fiercely from just inside a door.

âYou want me, Mr. Crackenthorpe?â

âDonât talk so much. Come in here.â

Lucy obeyed the imperative finger. Old Mr. Crackenthorpe took hold of her arm and pulled her inside the door and shut it.

âWant to show you something,â he said.

Lucy looked round her. They were in a small room evidently designed to be used as a study, but equally evidently not used as such for a very long time. There were piles of dusty papers on the desk and cobwebs festooned from the corners of the ceiling. The air smelt damp and musty.

âDo you want me to clean this room?â she asked.

Old Mr. Crackenthorpe shook his head fiercely.

âNo, you donât! I keep this room locked up. Emma would like to fiddle about in here, but I donât let her. Itâs my room. See these stones? Theyâre geological specimens.â

Lucy looked at a collection of twelve or fourteen lumps of rock, some polished and some rough.

âLovely,â she said kindly. âMost interesting.â

âYouâre quite right. They are interesting. Youâre an intelligent girl. I donât show them to everybody. Iâll show you some more things.â

âItâs very kind of you, but I ought really to get on with what I was doing. With six people in the houseââ

âEating me out of house and homeâ¦ Thatâs all they do when they come down here! Eat. They donât offer to pay for what they eat, either. Leeches! All waiting for me to die. Well, Iâm not going to die just yetâIâm not going to die to please them. Iâm a lot stronger than even Emma knows.â

âIâm sure you are.â

âIâm not so old, either. She makes out Iâm an old man, treats me as an old man. You donât think Iâm old, do you?â

âOf course not,â said Lucy.

âSensible girl. Take a look at this.â

He indicated a large faded chart which hung on the wall. It was, Lucy saw, a genealogical tree; some of it done so finely that one would have to have a magnifying glass to read the names. The remote forebears, however, were written in large proud capitals with crowns over the names.

âDescended from Kings,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âMy motherâs family tree, that isânot my fatherâs. He was a vulgarian! Common old man! Didnât like me. I was a cut above him always. Took after my motherâs side. Had a natural feeling for art and classical sculptureâhe couldnât see anything in itâsilly old fool. Donât remember my motherâdied when I was two. Last of her family. They were sold up and she married my father. But you look thereâEdward the ConfessorâEthelred the Unreadyâwhole lot of them. And that was before the Normans came. Before the Normansâthatâs something isnât it?â

âIt is indeed.â

âNow Iâll show you something else.â He guided her across the room to an enormous piece of dark oak furniture. Lucy was rather uneasily conscious of the strength of the fingers clutching her arm. There certainly seemed nothing feeble about old Mr. Crackenthorpe today. âSee this? Came out of Lushingtonâthat was my motherâs peopleâs place. Elizabethan, this is. Takes four men to move it. You donât know what I keep inside it, do you? Like me to show you?â

âDo show me,â said Lucy politely.

âCurious, arenât you? All women are curious.â He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door of the lower cupboard. From this he took out a surprisingly new-looking cash box. This, again, he unlocked.

âTake a look here, my dear. Know what these are?â

He lifted out a small paper-wrapped cylinder and pulled away the paper from one end. Gold coins trickled out into his palm.

âLook at these, young lady. Look at âem, hold âem, touch âem. Know what they are? Bet you donât! Youâre too young. Sovereignsâthatâs what they are. Good golden sovereigns. What we used before all these dirty bits of paper came into fashion. Worth a lot more than silly pieces of paper. Collected them a long time back. Iâve got other things in this box, too. Lots of things put away in here. All ready for the future. Emma doesnât knowânobody knows. Itâs our secret, see, girl? Dâyou know why Iâm telling you and showing you?â

âWhy?â

âBecause I donât want you to think Iâm a played-out sick old man. Lots of life in the old dog yet. My wifeâs been dead a long time. Always objecting to everything, she was. Didnât like the names I gave the childrenâgood Saxon namesâno interest in that family tree. I never paid any attention to what she said, thoughâand she was a poor-spirited creatureâalways gave in. Now youâre a spirited fillyâa very nice filly indeed. Iâll give you some advice. Donât throw yourself away on a young man. Young men are fools! You want to take care of your future. You waitâ¦â His fingers pressed into Lucyâs arm. He leaned to her ear. âI donât say more than that. Wait. Those silly fools think Iâm going to die soon. Iâm not. Shouldnât be surprised if I outlived the lot of them. And then weâll see! Oh, yes, then weâll see. Haroldâs got no children. Cedric and Alfred arenât married. EmmaâEmma will never marry now. Sheâs a bit sweet on Quimperâbut Quimper will never think of marrying Emma. Thereâs Alexander, of course. Yes, thereâs Alexanderâ¦ But, you know, Iâm fond of Alexanderâ¦ Yes, thatâs awkward. Iâm fond of Alexander.â

He paused for a moment, frowning, then said:

âWell, girl, what about it? What about it, eh?â

âMiss Eyelesbarrowâ¦.â

Emmaâs voice came faintly through the closed study door. Lucy seized gratefully at the opportunity.

âMiss Crackenthorpeâs calling me. I must go. Thank you so much for all you have shown meâ¦.â

âDonât forgetâ¦our secretâ¦.â

âI wonât forget,â said Lucy, and hurried out into the hall not quite certain as to whether she had or had not just received a conditional proposal of marriage.

II

Dermot Craddock sat at his desk in his room at New Scotland Yard. He was slumped sideways in an easy attitude, and was talking into the telephone receiver which he held with one elbow propped up on the table. He was speaking in French, a language in which he was tolerably proficient.

âIt was only an idea, you understand,â he said.

âBut decidedly it is an idea,â said the voice at the other end, from the Prefecture in Paris. âAlready I have set inquiries in motion in those circles. My agent reports that he has two or three promising lines of inquiry. Unless there is some family lifeâor a lover, these women drop out of circulation very easily and no one troubles about them. They have gone on tour, or there is some new manâit is no oneâs business to ask. It is a pity that the photograph you sent me is so difficult for anyone to recognize. Strangulation it does not improve the appearance. Still, that cannot be helped. I go now to study the latest reports of my agents on this matter. There will be, perhaps, something. Au revoir, mon cher.â

As Craddock reiterated the farewell politely, a slip of paper was placed before him on the desk. It read:

Miss Emma Crackenthorpe.

To see Detective-Inspector Craddock.

Rutherford Hall case.

He replaced the receiver and said to the police constable:

âBring Miss Crackenthorpe up.â

As he waited, he leaned back in his chair, thinking.

So he had not been mistakenâthere was something that Emma Crackenthorpe knewânot much, perhaps, but something. And she had decided to tell him.

He rose to his feet as she was shown in, shook hands, settled her in a chair and offered her a cigarette which she refused. Then there was a momentary pause. She was trying, he decided, to find just the words she wanted. He leaned forward.

âYou have come to tell me something, Miss Crackenthorpe? Can I help you? Youâve been worried about something, havenât you? Some little thing, perhaps, that you feel probably has nothing to do with the case, but on the other hand, just might be related to it. Youâve come here to tell me about it, havenât you? Itâs to do, perhaps, with the identity of the dead woman. You think you know who she was?â

âNo, no, not quite that. I think really itâs most unlikely. Butââ

âBut there is some possibility that worries you. Youâd better tell me about itâbecause we may be able to set your mind at rest.â

Emma took a moment or two before speaking. Then she said:

âYou have seen three of my brothers. I had another brother, Edmund, who was killed in the war. Shortly before he was killed, he wrote to me from France.â

She opened her handbag and took out a worn and faded letter. She read from it:

âI hope this wonât be a shock to you, Emmie, but Iâm getting marriedâto a French girl. Itâs all been very suddenâbut I know youâll be fond of Martineâand look after her if anything happens to me. Will write you all the details in my nextâby which time I shall be a married man. Break it gently to the old man, wonât you? Heâll probably go up in smoke.â

Inspector Craddock held out a hand. Emma hesitated, then put the letter into it. She went on, speaking rapidly.

âTwo days after receiving this letter, we had a telegram saying Edmund was Missing, believed killed. Later he was definitely reported killed. It was just before Dunkirkâand a time of great confusion. There was no Army record, as far as I could find out, of his having been marriedâbut as I say, it was a confused time. I never heard anything from the girl. I tried, after the war, to make some inquiries, but I only knew her Christian name and that part of France had been occupied by the Germans and it was difficult to find out anything, without knowing the girlâs surname and more about her. In the end I assumed that the marriage had never taken place and that the girl had probably married someone else before the end of the war, or might possibly herself have been killed.â

Inspector Craddock nodded. Emma went on.

âImagine my surprise to receive a letter just about a month ago, signed Martine Crackenthorpe.â

âYou have it?â

Emma took it from her bag and handed it to him. Craddock read it with interest. It was written in a slanting French handâan educated hand.

Dear Mademoiselle,

I hope it will not be a shock to you to get this letter. I do not even know if your brother Edmund told you that we were married.

He said he was going to do so. He was killed only a few days after

our marriage and at the same time the Germans occupied our village. After the war ended, I decided that I would not write to you or approach you, though Edmund had told me to do so. But by then I had made a new life for myself, and it was not necessary.

But now things have changed. For my sonâs sake I write this letter.

He is your brotherâs son, you see, and Iâ I can no longer give him the advantages he ought to have. I am coming to England early next week. Will you let me know if I can come and see you? My address for letters is 126 Elvers Crescent, N.10. I hope again this will not be the great shock to you.

I remain with assurance of my excellent sentiments,

Martine Crackenthorpe

Craddock was silent for a moment or two. He reread the letter carefully before handing it back.

âWhat did you do on receipt of this letter, Miss Crackenthorpe?â

âMy brother-in-law, Bryan Eastley, happened to be staying with me at the time and I talked to him about it. Then I rang up my brother Harold in London and consulted him about it. Harold was rather sceptical about the whole thing and advised extreme caution. We must, he said, go carefully into this womanâs credentials.â

Emma paused and then went on:

âThat, of course, was only common sense and I quite agreed. But if this girlâwomanâwas really the Martine about whom Edmund had written to me, I felt that we must make her welcome. I wrote to the address she gave in her letters, inviting her to come down to Rutherford Hall and meet us. A few days later I received a telegram from London: Very sorry forced to return to France unexpectedly. Martine. There was no further letter or news of any kind.â

âAll this took placeâwhen?â

Emma frowned.

âIt was shortly before Christmas. I know, because I wanted to suggest her spending Christmas with usâbut my father would not hear of itâso I suggested she could come down the weekend after Christmas while the family would still be there. I think the wire saying she was returning to France came actually a few days before Christmas.â

âAnd you believe that this woman whose body was found in the sarcophagus might be this Martine?â

âNo, of course I donât. But when you said she was probably a foreignerâwell, I couldnât help wonderingâ¦if perhapsâ¦.â

Her voice died away.

Craddock spoke quickly and reassuringly.

âYou did quite right to tell me about this. Weâll look into it. I should say there is probably little doubt that the woman who wrote to you actually did go back to France and is there now alive and well. On the other hand, there is a certain coincidence of dates, as you yourself have been clever enough to realize. As you heard at the inquest, the womanâs death according to the police surgeonâs evidence must have occurred about three to four weeks ago. Now donât worry, Miss Crackenthorpe, just leave it to us.â He added casually, âYou consulted Mr. Harold Crackenthorpe. What about your father and your other brothers?â

âI had to tell my father, of course. He got very worked up,â she smiled faintly. âHe was convinced it was a put up thing to get money out of us. My father gets very excited about money. He believes, or pretends to believe, that he is a very poor man, and that he must save every penny he can. I believe elderly people do get obsessions of that kind sometimes. Itâs not true, of course, he has a very large income and doesnât actually spend a quarter of itâor used not to until these days of high income tax. Certainly he has a large amount of savings put by.â She paused and then went on. âI told my other two brothers also. Alfred seemed to consider it rather a joke, though he, too, thought it was almost certainly an imposture. Cedric just wasnât interestedâheâs inclined to be self-centred. Our idea was that the family would receive Martine, and that our lawyer, Mr. Wimborne, should also be asked to be present.â

âWhat did Mr. Wimborne think about the letter?â

âWe hadnât got as far as discussing the matter with him. We were on the point of doing so when Martineâs telegram arrived.â

âYou have taken no further steps?â

âYes. I wrote to the address in London with Please forward on the envelope, but I have had no reply of any kind.â

âRather a curious businessâ¦ Hmâ¦.â

He looked at her sharply.

âWhat do you yourself think about it?â

âI donât know what to think.â

âWhat were your reactions at the time? Did you think the letter was genuineâor did you agree with your father and brothers? What about your brother-in-law, by the way, what did he think?â

âOh, Bryan thought that the letter was genuine.â

âAnd you?â

âIâwasnât sure.â

âAnd what were your feelings about itâsupposing that this girl really was your brother Edmundâs widow?â

Emmaâs face softened.

âI was very fond of Edmund. He was my favourite brother. The letter seemed to me exactly the sort of letter that a girl like Martine would write under the circumstances. The course of events she described was entirely natural. I assumed that by the time the war ended she had either married again or was with some man who was protecting her and the child. Then perhaps, this man had died, or left her, and it then seemed right to her to apply to Edmundâs familyâas he himself had wanted her to do. The letter seemed genuine and natural to meâbut, of course, Harold pointed out that if it was written by an imposter, it would be written by some woman who had known Martine and who was in possession of all the facts, and so would write a thoroughly plausible letter. I had to admit the justice of thatâbut all the sameâ¦.â

She stopped.

âYou wanted it to be true?â said Craddock gently.

She looked at him gratefully.

âYes, I wanted it to be true. I would be so glad if Edmund had left a son.â

Craddock nodded.

âAs you say, the letter, on the face of it, sounds genuine enough. What is surprising is the sequel; Martine Crackenthorpeâs abrupt departure for Paris and the fact that you have never heard from her since. You had replied kindly to her, were prepared to welcome her. Why, even if she had to return to France, did she not write again? That is, presuming her to be the genuine article. If she were an imposter, of course, itâs easier to explain. I thought perhaps that you might have consulted Mr. Wimborne, and that he might have instituted inquiries which alarmed the woman. That, you tell me, is not so. But itâs still possible that one or other of your brothers may have done something of the kind. Itâs possible that this Martine may have had a background that would not stand investigation. She may have assumed that she would be dealing only with Edmundâs affectionate sister, not with hard-headed suspicious business men. She may have hoped to get sums of money out of you for the child (hardly a child nowâa boy presumably of fifteen or sixteen) without many questions being asked. But instead she found she was going to run up against something quite different. After all, I should imagine that serious legal aspects would arise. If Edmund Crackenthorpe left a son, born in wedlock, he would be one of the heirs to your grandfatherâs estate?â

Emma nodded.

âMoreover, from what I have been told, he would in due course inherit Rutherford Hall and the land round itâvery valuable building land, probably, by now.â

Emma looked slightly startled.

âYes, I hadnât thought of that.â

âWell, I shouldnât worry,â said Inspector Craddock. âYou did quite right to come and tell me. I shall make enquiries, but it seems to me highly probably that there is no connection between the woman who wrote the letter (and who was probably trying to cash in on a swindle) and the woman whose body was found in the sarcophagus.â

Emma rose with a sigh of relief.

âIâm so glad Iâve told you. Youâve been very kind.â

Craddock accompanied her to the door.

Then he rang for Detective-Sergeant Wetherall.

âBob, Iâve got a job for you. Go to 126 Elvers Crescent, N.10. Take photographs of the Rutherford Hall woman with you. See what you can find out about a woman calling herself Mrs. Crackenthorpeâ Mrs. Martine Crackenthorpe, who was either living there, or calling for letters there, between the dates of, say, 15th to the end of December.â

âRight, sir.â

Craddock busied himself with various other matters that were waiting attention on his desk. In the afternoon he went to see a theatrical agent who was a friend of his. His inquiries were not fruitful.

Later in the day when he returned to his office he found a wire from Paris on his desk.

Particulars given by you might apply to Anna Stravinska of Ballet

Maritski. Suggest you come over. Dessin, Prefecture.

Craddock heaved a big sigh of relief, and his brow cleared.

At last! So much, he thought, for the Martine Crackenthorpe hareâ¦ He decided to take the night ferry to Paris.

Thirteen

I

âItâs so very kind of you to have asked me to take tea with you,â said Miss Marple to Emma Crackenthorpe.

Miss Marple was looking particularly woolly and fluffyâa picture of a sweet old lady. She beamed as she looked round herâat Harold Crackenthorpe in his well-cut dark suit, at Alfred handing her sandwiches with a charming smile, at Cedric standing by the mantelpiece in a ragged tweed jacket scowling at the rest of his family.

âWe are very pleased that you could come,â said Emma politely.

There was no hint of the scene which had taken place after lunch that day when Emma had exclaimed: âDear me, I quite forgot. I told Miss Eyelesbarrow that she could bring her old aunt to tea today.â

âPut her off,â said Harold brusquely. âWeâve still got a lot to talk about. We donât want strangers here.â

âLet her have tea in the kitchen or somewhere with the girl,â said Alfred.

âOh, no, I couldnât do that,â said Emma firmly. âThat would be very rude.â

âOh, let her come,â said Cedric. âWe can draw her out a little about the wonderful Lucy. I should like to know more about that girl, I must say. Iâm not sure that I trust her. Too smart by half.â

âSheâs very well connected and quite genuine,â said Harold. âIâve made it my business to find out. One wanted to be sure. Poking about and finding the body the way she did.â

âIf we only knew who this damned woman was,â said Alfred.

Harold added angrily:

âI must say, Emma, that I think you were out of your senses, going and suggesting to the police that the dead woman might be Edmundâs French girl friend. It will make them convinced that she came here, and that probably one or other of us killed her.â

âOh, no, Harold. Donât exaggerate.â

âHaroldâs quite right,â said Alfred. âWhatever possessed you, I donât know. Iâve a feeling Iâm being followed everywhere I go by plainclothesmen.â

âI told her not to do it,â said Cedric. âThen Quimper backed her up.â

âItâs no business of his,â said Harold angrily. âLet him stick to pills and powders and National Health.â

âOh, do stop quarrelling,â said Emma wearily. âIâm really glad this old Miss Whatshername is coming to tea. It will do us all good to have a stranger here and be prevented from going over and over the same things again and again. I must go and tidy myself up a little.â

She left the room.

âThis Lucy Eyelesbarrow,â said Harold, and stopped. âAs Cedric says, it is odd that she should nose about in the barn and go opening up a sarcophagusâreally a Herculean task. Perhaps we ought to take steps. Her attitude, I thought, was rather antagonistic at lunchââ

âLeave her to me,â said Alfred. âIâll soon find out if sheâs up to anything.â

âI mean, why open up that sarcophagus?â

âPerhaps she isnât really Lucy Eyelesbarrow at all,â suggested Cedric.

âBut what would be the pointâ?â Harold looked thoroughly upset. âOh, damn!â

They looked at each other with worried faces.

âAnd hereâs this pestilential old woman coming to tea. Just when we want to think.â

âWeâll talk things over this evening,â said Alfred. âIn the meantime, weâll pump the old aunt about Lucy.â

So Miss Marple had duly been fetched by Lucy and installed by the fire and she was now smiling up at Alfred as he handed her sandwiches with the approval she always showed towards a good-looking man.

âThank you so muchâ¦may I askâ¦? Oh, egg and sardine, yes, that will be very nice. Iâm afraid Iâm always rather greedy over my tea. As one gets on, you knowâ¦ And, of course, at night only a very light mealâ¦ I have to be careful.â She turned to her hostess once more. âWhat a beautiful house you have. And so many beautiful things in it. Those bronzes, now, they remind me of some my father boughtâat the Paris Exhibition. Really, your grandfather did? In the classical style, arenât they? Very handsome. How delightful for you having your brothers with you? So often families are scatteredâIndia, though I suppose that is all done with nowâand Africaâthe west coast, such a bad climate.â

âTwo of my brothers live in London.â

âThat is very nice for you.â

âBut my brother Cedric is a painter and lives in Ibiza, one of the Balearic Islands.â

âPainters are so fond of islands, are they not?â said Miss Marple. âChopinâthat was Majorca, was it not? But he was a musician. It is Gauguin I am thinking of. A sad lifeâmisspent, one feels. I myself never really care for paintings of native womenâand although I know he is very much admiredâI have never cared for that lurid mustard colour. One really feels quite bilious looking at his pictures.â

She eyed Cedric with a slightly disapproving air.

âTell us about Lucy as a child, Miss Marple,â said Cedric.

She smiled up at him delightedly.

âLucy was always so clever,â she said. âYes, you were, dearânow donât interrupt. Quite remarkable at arithmetic. Why, I remember when the butcher overcharged me for top side of beefâ¦.â

Miss Marple launched full steam ahead into reminiscences of Lucyâs childhood and from there to experiences of her own in village life.

The stream of reminiscence was interrupted by the entry of Bryan and the boys rather wet and dirty as a result of an enthusiastic search for clues. Tea was brought in and with it came Dr. Quimper who raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked round after acknowledging his introduction to the old lady.

âHope your fatherâs not under the weather, Emma?â

âOh, noâthat is, he was just a little tired this afternoonââ

âAvoiding visitors, I expect,â said Miss Marple with a roguish smile. âHow well I remember my own dear father. âGot a lot of old pussies coming?â he would say to my mother. âSend my tea into the study.â Very naughty about it, he was.â

âPlease donât thinkââ began Emma, but Cedric cut in.

âItâs always tea in the study when his dear sons come down. Psychologically to be expected, eh, Doctor?â

Dr. Quimper, who was devouring sandwiches and coffee cake with the frank appreciation of a man who has usually too little time to spend on his meals, said:

âPsychologyâs all right if itâs left to the psychologists. Trouble is, everyone is an amateur psychologist nowadays. My patients tell me exactly what complexes and neuroses theyâre suffering from, without giving me a chance to tell them. Thanks, Emma, I will have another cup. No time for lunch today.â

âA doctorâs life, I always think, is so noble and self-sacrificing,â said Miss Marple.

âYou canât know many doctors,â said Dr. Quimper. âLeeches they used to be called, and leeches they often are! At any rate, we do get paid nowadays, the State sees to that. No sending in of bills that you know wonât ever be met. Trouble is that all oneâs patients are determined to get everything they can âout of the Government,â and as a result, if little Jenny coughs twice in the night, or little Tommy eats a couple of green apples, out the poor doctor has to come in the middle of the night. Oh, well! Glorious cake, Emma. What a cook you are!â

âNot mine. Miss Eyelesbarrowâs.â

âYou make âem just as good,â said Quimper loyally.

âWill you come and see Father?â

She rose and the doctor followed her. Miss Marple watched them leave the room.

âMiss Crackenthorpe is a very devoted daughter, I see,â she said.

âCanât imagine how she sticks the old man myself,â said the outspoken Cedric.

âShe has a very comfortable home here, and father is very much attached to her,â said Harold quickly.

âEmâs all right,â said Cedric. âBorn to be an old maid.â

There was a faint twinkle in Miss Marpleâs eye as she said:

âOh, do you think so?â

Harold said quickly:

âMy brother didnât use the term old maid in any derogatory sense, Miss Marple.â

âOh, I wasnât offended,â said Miss Marple. âI just wondered if he was right. I shouldnât say myself that Miss Crackenthorpe would be an old maid. Sheâs the type, I think, thatâs quite likely to marry late in lifeâand make a success of it.â

âNot very likely living here,â said Cedric. âNever sees anybody she could marry.â

Miss Marpleâs twinkle became more pronounced than ever.

âThere are always clergymenâand doctors.â

Her eyes, gentle and mischievous, went from one to another.

It was clear that she had suggested to them something that they had never thought of and which they did not find overpleasing.

Miss Marple rose to her feet, dropping as she did so, several little woolly scarves and her bag.

The three brothers were most attentive picking things up.

âSo kind of you,â fluted Miss Marple. âOh, yes, and my little blue muffler. Yesâas I sayâso kind to ask me here. Iâve been picturing, you know, just what your home was likeâso that I can visualize dear Lucy working here.â

âPerfect home conditionsâwith murder thrown in,â said Cedric.

âCedric!â Haroldâs voice was angry.

Miss Marple smiled up at Cedric.

âDo you know who you remind me of? Young Thomas Eade, our bank managerâs son. Always out to shock people. It didnât do in banking circles, of course, so he went to the West Indiesâ¦ He came home when his father died and inherited quite a lot of money. So nice for him. He was always better at spending money than making it.â

II

Lucy took Miss Marple home. On her way back a figure stepped out of the darkness and stood in the glare of the headlights just as she was about to turn into the back lane. He held up his hand and Lucy recognized Alfred Crackenthorpe.

âThatâs better,â he observed, as he got in. âBrr, itâs cold! I fancied Iâd like a nice bracing walk. I didnât. Taken the old lady home all right?â

âYes. She enjoyed herself very much.â

âOne could see that. Funny what a taste old ladies have for any kind of society, however dull. And, really, nothing could be duller than Rutherford Hall. Two days here is about as much as I can stand. How do you manage to stick it out, Lucy? Donât mind if I call you Lucy, do you?â

âNot at all. I donât find it dull. Of course with me itâs not a permanency.â

âIâve been watching youâyouâre a smart girl, Lucy. Too smart to waste yourself cooking and cleaning.â

âThank you, but I prefer cooking and cleaning to the office desk.â

âSo would I. But there are other ways of living. You could be a freelance.â

âI am.â

âNot this way. I mean, working for yourself, pitting your wits againstââ

âAgainst what?â

âThe powers that be! All the silly pettifogging rules and regulations that hamper us all nowadays. The interesting thing is thereâs always a way round them if youâre smart enough to find it. And youâre smart. Come now, does the idea appeal to you?â

âPossibly.â

Lucy manoeuvred the car into the stableyard.

âNot going to commit yourself?â

âIâd have to hear more.â

âFrankly, my dear girl, I could use you. Youâve got the sort of manner thatâs invaluableâcreates confidence.â

âDo you want me to help you sell gold bricks?â

âNothing so risky. Just a little by-passing of the lawâno more.â His hand slipped up her arm. âYouâre a damned attractive girl, Lucy. Iâd like you as a partner.â

âIâm flattered.â

âMeaning nothing doing? Think about it. Think of the fun. The pleasure youâd get out of outwitting all the sober-sides. The trouble is, one needs capital.â

âIâm afraid I havenât got any.â

âOh, it wasnât a touch! Iâll be laying my hands on some before long. My revered Papa canât live forever, mean old brute. When he pops off, I lay my hands on some real money. What about it, Lucy?â

âWhat are the terms?â

âMarriage if you fancy it. Women seem to, no matter how advanced and self-supporting they are. Besides, married women canât be made to give evidence against their husbands.â

âNot so flattering!â

âCome off it, Lucy. Donât you realize Iâve fallen for you?â

Rather to her surprise Lucy was aware of a queer fascination. There was a quality of charm about Alfred, perhaps due to sheer animal magnetism. She laughed and slipped from his encircling arm.

âThis is no time for dalliance. Thereâs dinner to think about.â

âSo there is, Lucy, and youâre a lovely cook. Whatâs for dinner?â

âWait and see! Youâre as bad as the boys!â

They entered the house and Lucy hurried to the kitchen. She was rather surprised to be interrupted in her preparations by Harold Crackenthorpe.

âMiss Eyelesbarrow, can I speak to you about something?â

âWould later do, Mr. Crackenthorpe? Iâm rather behind hand.â

âCertainly. Certainly. After dinner?â

âYes, that will do.â

Dinner was duly served and appreciated. Lucy finished washing up and came out into the hall to find Harold Crackenthorpe waiting for her.

âYes, Mr. Crackenthorpe?â

âShall we come in here?â He opened the door of the drawing room and led the way. He shut the door behind her.

âI shall be leaving early in the morning,â he explained, âbut I want to tell you how struck I have been by your ability.â

âThank you,â said Lucy, feeling a little surprised.

âI feel that your talents are wasted hereâdefinitely wasted.â

âDo you? I donât.â

At any rate, he canât ask me to marry him, thought Lucy. Heâs got a wife already.

âI suggest that having very kindly seen us through this lamentable crisis, you call upon me in London. If you will ring up and make an appointment, I will leave instructions with my secretary. The truth is that we could use someone of your outstanding ability in the firm. We could discuss fully in what field your talents would be most ably employed. I can offer you, Miss Eyelesbarrow, a very good salary indeed with brilliant prospects. I think you will be agreeably surprised.â

His smile was magnanimous.

Lucy said demurely:

âThank you, Mr. Crackenthorpe, Iâll think about it.â

âDonât wait too long. These opportunities should not be missed by a young woman anxious to make her way in the world.â

Again his teeth flashed.

âGood night, Miss Eyelesbarrow, sleep well.â

âWell,â said Lucy to herself, âwellâ¦this is all very interestingâ¦.â

On her way up to bed, Lucy encountered Cedric on the stairs.

âLook here, Lucy, thereâs something I want to say to you.â

âDo you want me to marry you and come to Ibiza and look after you?â

Cedric looked very much taken aback, and slightly alarmed.

âI never thought of such a thing.â

âSorry. My mistake.â

âI just wanted to know if youâve a timetable in the house?â

âIs that all? Thereâs one on the hall table.â

âYou know,â said Cedric, reprovingly, âyou shouldnât go about thinking everyone wants to marry you. Youâre quite a good-looking girl but not as good-looking as all that. Thereâs a name for that sort of thingâit grows on you and you get worse. Actually, youâre the last girl in the world I should care to marry. The last girl.â

âIndeed?â said Lucy. âYou neednât rub it in. Perhaps youâd prefer me as a stepmother?â

âWhatâs that?â Cedric stared at her stupefied.

âYou heard me,â said Lucy, and went into her room and shut the door.

Fourteen

I

Dermot Craddock was fraternizing with Armand Dessin of the Paris Prefecture. The two men had met on one or two occasions and got on well together. Since Craddock spoke French fluently, most of their conversation was conducted in that language.

âIt is an idea only,â Dessin warned him, âI have a picture here of the corps de balletâthat is she, the fourth from the leftâit says anything to you, yes?â

Inspector Craddock said that actually it didnât. A strangled young woman is not easy to recognize, and in this picture all the young women concerned were heavily made up and were wearing extravagant bird headdresses.

âIt could be,â he said. âI canât go further than that. Who was she? What do you know about her?â

âAlmost less than nothing,â said the other cheerfully. âShe was not important, you see. And the Ballet Maritskiâit is not important, either. It plays in suburban theatres and goes on tourâit has no real names, no stars, no famous ballerinas. But I will take you to see Madame Joilet who runs it.â

Madame Joilet was a brisk business-like Frenchwoman with a shrewd eye, a small moustache, and a good deal of adipose tissue.

âMe, I do not like the police!â She scowled at them, without camouflaging her dislike of the visit. âAlways, if they can, they make me embarrassments.â

âNo, no, Madame, you must not say that,â said Dessin, who was a tall thin melancholy-looking man. âWhen have I ever caused you embarrassments?â

âOver that little fool who drank the carbolic acid,â said Madame Joilet promptly. âAnd all because she has fallen in love with the chef dâorchestreâwho does not care for women and has other tastes. Over that you made the big brouhaha! Which is not good for my beautiful ballet.â

âOn the contrary, big box office business,â said Dessin. âAnd that was three years ago. You should not bear malice. Now about this girl, Anna Stravinska.â

âWell, what about her?â said Madame cautiously.

âIs she Russian?â asked Inspector Craddock.

âNo, indeed. You mean, because of her name? But they all call themselves names like that, these girls. She was not important, she did not dance well, she was not particularly good-looking. Elle Ã©tait assez bien, câest tout. She danced well enough for the corps de balletâbut no solos.â

âWas she French?â

âPerhaps. She had a French passport. But she told me once that she had an English husband.â

âShe told you that she had an English husband? Aliveâor dead?â

Madame Joilet shrugged her shoulders.

âDead, or he had left her. How should I know which? These girlsâthere is always some trouble with menââ

âWhen did you last see her?â

âI take my company to London for six weeks. We play at Tor-quay, at Bournemouth, at Eastbourne, at somewhere else I forget and at Hammersmith. Then we come back to France, but Annaâshe does not come. She sends a message only that she leaves the company, that she goes to live with her husbandâs familyâsome nonsense of that kind. I did not think it is true, myself. I think it more likely that she has met a man, you understand.â

Inspector Craddock nodded. He perceived that that was what Madame Joilet would invariably think.

âAnd it is no loss to me. I do not care. I can get girls just as good and better to come and dance, so I shrug the shoulders and do not think of it anymore. Why should I? They are all the same, these girls, mad about men.â

âWhat date was this?â

âWhen we return to France? It wasâyesâthe Sunday before Christmas. And Anna she leaves twoâor is it threeâdays before that? I cannot remember exactlyâ¦ But the end of the week at Hammersmith we have to dance without herâand it means rearranging thingsâ¦ It was very naughty of herâbut these girlsâthe moment they meet a man they are all the same. Only I say to everybody. âZut, I do not take her back, that one!ââ

âVery annoying for you.â

âAh! MeâI do not care. No doubt she passes the Christmas holiday with some man she has picked up. It is not my affair. I can find other girlsâgirls who will leap at the chance of dancing in the Ballet Maritski and who can dance as wellâor better than Anna.â

Madame Joilet paused and then asked with a sudden gleam of interest:

âWhy do you want to find her? Has she come into money?â

âOn the contrary,â said Inspector Craddock politely. âWe think she may have been murdered.â

Madame Joilet relapsed into indifference.

âCa se peut! It happens. Ah, well! She was a good Catholic. She went to Mass on Sundays, and no doubt to confession.â

âDid she ever speak to you, Madame, of a son?â

âA son? Do you mean she had a child? That, now, I should consider most unlikely. These girls, allâall of them know a useful address to which to go. M. Dessin knows that as well as I do.â

âShe may have had a child before she adopted a stage life,â said Craddock. âDuring the war, for instance.â

âAh! dans la guerre. That is always possible. But if so, I know nothing about it.â

âWho amongst the other girls were her closest friends?â

âI can give you two or three namesâbut she was not very intimate with anyone.â

They could get nothing else useful from Madame Joilet.

Shown the compact, she said Anna had one of that kind, but so had most of the other girls. Anna had perhaps bought a fur coat in Londonâshe did not know. âMe, I occupy myself with the rehearsals, with the stage lighting, with all the difficulties of my business. I have not time to notice what my artists wear.â

After Madame Joilet, they interviewed the girls whose names she had given them. One or two of them had known Anna fairly well, but they all said that she had not been one to talk much about herself, and that when she did, it was, so one girl said, mostly lies.

âShe liked to pretend thingsâstories about having been the mistress of a Grand Dukeâor of a great English financierâor how she worked for the Resistance in the war. Even a story about being a film star in Hollywood.â

Another girl said:

âI think that really she had had a very tame bourgeois existence. She liked to be in ballet because she thought it was romantic, but she was not a good dancer. You understand that if she were to say, âMy father was a draper in Amiens,â that would not be romantic! So instead she made up things.â

âEven in London,â said the first girl, âshe threw out hints about a very rich man who was going to take her on a cruise round the world, because she reminded him of his dead daughter who had died in a car accident. Quelle blague!â

âShe told me she was going to stay with a rich lord in Scotland,â said the second girl. âShe said she would shoot the deer there.â

None of this was helpful. All that seemed to emerge from it was that Anna Stravinska was a proficient liar. She was certainly not shooting deer with a a peer in Scotland, and it seemed equally unlikely that she was on the sun deck of a liner cruising round the world. But neither was there any real reason to believe that her body had been found in a sarcophagus at Rutherford Hall. The identification by the girls and Madame Joilet was very uncertain and hesitating. It looked something like Anna, they all agreed. But really! All swollen upâit might be anybody!

The only fact that was established was that on the 19th of December Anna Stravinska had decided not to return to France, and that on the 20th December a woman resembling her in appearance had travelled to Brackhampton by the 4:33 train and had been strangled.

If the woman in the sarcophagus was not Anna Stravinska, where was Anna now?

To that, Madame Joiletâs answer was simple and inevitable.

âWith a man!â

And it was probably the correct answer, Craddock reflected ruefully.

One other possibility had to be consideredâraised by the casual remark that Anna had once referred to having an English husband.

Had that husband been Edmund Crackenthorpe?

It seemed unlikely, considering the word picture of Anna that had been given him by those who knew her. What was much more probable was that Anna had at one time known the girl Martine sufficiently intimately to be acquainted with the necessary details. It might have been Anna who wrote that letter to Emma Crackenthorpe and, if so, Anna would have been quite likely to have taken fright at any question of an investigation. Perhaps she had even thought it prudent to sever her connection with the Ballet Maritski. Again, where was she now?

And again, inevitably, Madame Joiletâs answer seemed the most likely.

With a manâ¦.

II

Before leaving Paris, Craddock discussed with Dessin the question of the woman named Martine. Dessin was inclined to agree with his English colleague that the matter had probably no connection with the woman found in the sarcophagus. All the same, he agreed, the matter ought to be investigated.

He assured Craddock that the SÃ»retÃ© would do their best to discover if there actually was any record of a marriage between Lieutenant Edmund Crackenthorpe of the 4th Southshire Regiment and a French girl whose Christian name was Martine. Timeâjust prior to the fall of Dunkirk.

He warned Craddock, however, that a definite answer was doubtful. The area in question had not only been occupied by the Germans at almost exactly that time, but subsequently that part of France had suffered severe war damage at the time of the invasion. Many buildings and records had been destroyed.

âBut rest assured, my dear colleague, we shall do our best.â

With this, he and Craddock took leave of each other.

III

On Craddockâs return Sergeant Wetherall was waiting to report with gloomy relish:

âAccommodation address, sirâthatâs what 126 Elvers Crescent is. Quite respectable and all that.â

âAny identifications?â

âNo, nobody could recognize the photograph as that of a woman who had called for letters, but I donât think they would anywayâitâs a month ago, very near, and a good many people use the place. Itâs actually a boarding-house for students.â

âShe might have stayed there under another name.â

âIf so, they didnât recognize her as the original of the photograph.â

He added:

âWe circularized the hotelsânobody registering as Martine Crackenthorpe anywhere. On receipt of your call from Paris, we checked up on Anna Stravinska. She was registered with other members of the company in a cheap hotel off Brook Green. Mostly theatricals there. She cleared out on the night of Thursday 19th after the show. No further record.â

Craddock nodded. He suggested a line of further inquiriesâthough he had little hope of success from them.

After some thought, he rang up Wimborne, Henderson and Carstairs and asked for an appointment with Mr. Wimborne.

In due course, he was ushered into a particularly airless room where Mr. Wimborne was sitting behind a large old-fashioned desk covered with bundles of dusty-looking papers. Various deed boxes labelled Sir John ffouldes, dec., Lady Derrin, George Rowbottom, Esq., ornamented the walls; whether as relics of a bygone era or as part of present-day legal affairs, the inspector did not know.

Mr. Wimborne eyed his visitor with the polite wariness characteristic of a family lawyer towards the police.

âWhat can I do for you, Inspector?â

âThis letterâ¦â Craddock pushed Martineâs letter across the table. Mr. Wimborne touched it with a distasteful finger but did not pick it up. His colour rose very slightly and his lips tightened.

âQuite so,â he said; âquite so! I received a letter from Miss Emma Crackenthorpe yesterday morning, informing me of her visit to Scotland Yard and ofâahâall the circumstances. I may say that I am at a loss to understandâquite at a lossâwhy I was not consulted about this letter at the time of its arrival! Most extraordinary! I should have been informed immediatelyâ¦.â

Inspector Craddock repeated soothingly such platitudes as seemed best calculated to reduce Mr. Wimborne to an amenable frame of mind.

âIâd no idea that there was ever any question of Edmundâs having married,â said Mr. Wimborne in an injured voice.

Inspector Craddock said that he supposedâin war timeâand left it to trail away vaguely.

âWar time!â snapped Mr. Wimborne with waspish acerbity. âYes, indeed, we were in Lincolnâs Inn Fields at the outbreak of war and there was a direct hit on the house next door, and a great number of our records were destroyed. Not the really important documents, of course; they had been removed to the country for safety. But it caused a great deal of confusion. Of course, the Crackenthorpe business was in my fatherâs hands at that time. He died six years ago. I dare say he may have been told about this so-called marriage of Edmundâsâbut on the face of it, it looks as though that marriage, even if contemplated, never took place, and so, no doubt, my father did not consider the story of any importance. I must say, all this sounds very fishy to me. This coming forward, after all these years, and claiming a marriage and a legitimate son. Very fishy indeed. What proofs had she got, Iâd like to know?â

âJust so,â said Craddock. âWhat would her position, or her sonâs position be?â

âThe idea was, I suppose, that she would get the Crackenthorpes to provide for her and for the boy.â

âYes, but I meant, what would she and the son be entitled to, legally speakingâif she could prove her claim?â

âOh, I see.â Mr. Wimborne picked up his spectacles which he had laid aside in his irritation, and put them on, staring through them at Inspector Craddock with shrewd attention. âWell, at the moment, nothing. But if she could prove that the boy was the son of Edmund Crackenthorpe, born in lawful wedlock, then the boy would be entitled to his share of Josiah Crackenthorpeâs trust on the death of Luther Crackenthorpe. More than that, heâd inherit Rutherford Hall, since heâs the son of the eldest son.â

âWould anyone want to inherit the house?â

âTo live in? I should say, certainly not. But that estate, my dear Inspector, is worth a considerable amount of money. Very considerable. Land for industrial and building purposes. Land which is now in the heart of Brackhampton. Oh, yes, a very considerable inheritance.â

âIf Luther Crackenthorpe dies, I believe you told me that Cedric gets it?â

âHe inherits the real estateâyes, as the eldest living son.â

âCedric Crackenthorpe, I have been given to understand, is not interested in money?â

Mr. Wimborne gave Craddock a cold stare.

âIndeed? I am inclined, myself, to take statements of such a nature with what I might term a grain of salt. There are doubtless certain unworldly people who are indifferent to money. I myself have never met one.â

Mr. Wimborne obviously derived a certain satisfaction from this remark.

Inspector Craddock hastened to take advantage of this ray of sunshine.

âHarold and Alfred Crackenthorpe,â he ventured, âseem to have been a good deal upset by the arrival of this letter?â

âWell they might be,â said Mr. Wimborne. âWell they might be.â

âIt would reduce their eventual inheritance?â

âCertainly. Edmund Crackenthorpeâs sonâalways presuming there is a sonâwould be entitled to a fifth share of the trust money.â

âThat doesnât really seem a very serious loss?â

Mr. Wimborne gave him a shrewd glance.

âIt is a totally inadequate motive for murder, if that is what you mean.â

âBut I suppose theyâre both pretty hard up,â Craddock murmured.

He sustained Mr. Wimborneâs sharp glance with perfect impassivity.

âOh! So the police have been making inquiries? Yes, Alfred is almost incessantly in low water. Occasionally he is very flush of money for a short timeâbut it soon goes. Harold, as you seem to have discovered, is at present somewhat precariously situated.â

âIn spite of his appearance of financial prosperity?â

âFaÃ§ade. All faÃ§ade! Half these city concerns donât even know if theyâre solvent or not. Balance sheets can be made to look all right to the inexpert eye. But when the assets that are listed arenât really assetsâwhen those assets are trembling on the brink of a crashâwhere are you?â

âWhere, presumably, Harold Crackenthorpe is, in bad need of money.â

âWell, he wouldnât have got it by strangling his late brotherâs widow,â said Mr. Wimborne. âAnd nobodyâs murdered Luther Crackenthorpe which is the only murder that would do the family any good. So, really, Inspector, I donât quite see where your ideas are leading you?â

The worst of it was, Inspector Craddock thought, that he wasnât very sure himself.

Fifteen

I

Inspector Craddock had made an appointment with Harold Crackenthorpe at his office, and he and Sergeant Wetherall arrived there punctually. The office was on the fourth floor of a big block of City offices. Inside everything showed prosperity and the acme of modern business taste.

A neat young woman took his name, spoke in a discreet murmur through a telephone, and then, rising, showed them into Harold Crackenthorpeâs own private office.

Harold was sitting behind a large leather-topped desk and was looking as impeccable and self-confident as ever. If, as the inspectorâs private knowledge led him to surmise, he was close upon Queer Street, no trace of it showed.

He looked up with a frank welcoming interest.

âGood morning, Inspector Craddock. I hope this means that you have some definite news for us at last?â

âHardly that, I am afraid, Mr. Crackenthorpe. Itâs just a few more questions Iâd like to ask.â

âMore questions? Surely by now we have answered everything imaginable.â

âI dare say it feels like that to you, Mr. Crackenthorpe, but itâs just a question of our regular routine.â

âWell, what is it this time?â He spoke impatiently.

âI should be glad if you could tell me exactly what you were doing on the afternoon and evening of 20th December lastâsay between the hours of 3 p.m. and midnight.â

Harold Crackenthorpe went an angry shade of plum red.

âThat seems to be a most extraordinary question to ask me. What does it mean, I should like to know?â

Craddock smiled gently.

âIt just means that I should like to know where you were between the hours of 3 p.m. and midnight on Friday, 20th December.â

âWhy?â

âIt would help to narrow things down.â

âNarrow them down? You have extra information, then?â

âWe hope that weâre getting a little closer, sir.â

âIâm not at all sure that I ought to answer your question. Not, that is, without having my solicitor present.â

âThat, of course, is entirely up to you,â said Craddock. âYou are not bound to answer any questions, and you have a perfect right to have a solicitor present before you do so.â

âYou are notâlet me be quite clearâerâwarning me in any way?â

âOh, no, sir.â Inspector Craddock looked properly shocked. âNothing of that kind. The questions I am asking you, I am asking several other people as well. Thereâs nothing directly personal about this. Itâs just a matter of necessary eliminations.â

âWell, of courseâ Iâm anxious to assist in any way I can. Let me see now. Such a thing isnât easy to answer off hand, but weâre very systematic here. Miss Ellis, I expect, can help.â

He spoke briefly into one of the telephones on his desk and almost immediately a streamlined young woman in a well-cut black suit entered with a notebook.

âMy secretary, Miss Ellis, Inspector Craddock. Now, Miss Ellis, the inspector would like to know what I was doing on the afternoon and evening ofâwhat was the date?â

âFriday, 20th December.â

âFriday, 20th December. I expect you will have some record.â

âOh, yes.â Miss Ellis left the room, returned with an office memorandum calendar and turned the pages.

âYou were in the office on the morning of 20th December. You had a conference with Mr. Goldie about the Cromartie merger, you lunched with Lord Forthville at the Berkeleyââ

âAh, it was that day, yes.â

âYou returned to the office about 3 oâclock and dictated half a dozen letters. You then left to attend Sothebyâs sale rooms where you were interested in some rare manuscripts which were coming up for sale that day. You did not return to the office again, but I have a note to remind you that you were attending the Catering Club dinner that evening.â She looked up interrogatively.

âThank you, Miss Ellis.â

Miss Ellis glided from the room.

âThat is all quite clear in my mind,â said Harold. âI went to Sothebyâs that afternoon but the items I wanted there went for too high a price. I had tea in a small place in Jermyn StreetâRussellâs, I think, it was called. I dropped into a News Theatre for about half an hour or so, then went homeâI live at 43 Cardigan Gardens. The Catering Club dinner took place at seven-thirty at Catererâs Hall, and after it I returned home to bed. I think that should answer your questions.â

âThatâs all very clear, Mr. Crackenthorpe. What time was it when you returned home to dress?â

âI donât think I can remember exactly. Soon after six, I should think.â

âAnd after your dinner?â

âIt was, I think, half past eleven when I got home.â

âDid your manservant let you in? Or perhaps Lady Alice Crackenthorpeââ

âMy wife, Lady Alice, is abroad in the South of France and has been since early December. I let myself in with my latch key.â

âSo there is no one who can vouch for your returning home when you say you did?â

Harold gave him a cold stare.

âI dare say the servants heard me come in. I have a man and wife. But, really, Inspectorââ

âPlease, Mr. Crackenthorpe, I know these kind of questions are annoying, but I have nearly finished. Do you own a car?â

âYes, a Humber Hawk.â

âYou drive it yourself?â

âYes. I donât use it much except at weekends. Driving in London is quite impossible nowadays.â

âI presume you use it when you go down to see your father and sister in Brackhampton?â

âNot unless I am going to stay there for some length of time. If I just go down for the nightâas, for instance, to the inquest the other dayâI always go by train. There is an excellent train service and it is far quicker than going by car. The car my sister hires meets me at the station.â

âWhere do you keep your car?â

âI rent a garage in the mews behind Cardigan Gardens. Any more questions?â

âI think thatâs all for now,â said Inspector Craddock, smiling and rising. âIâm very sorry for having to bother you.â

When they were outside, Sergeant Wetherall, a man who lived in a state of dark suspicions of all and sundry, remarked meaningly:

âHe didnât like those questionsâdidnât like them at all. Put out, he was.â

âIf you have not committed a murder, it naturally annoys you if it seems someone thinks that you have,â said Inspector Craddock mildly. âIt would particularly annoy an ultra respectable man like Harold Crackenthorpe. Thereâs nothing in that. What weâve got to find out now is if anyone actually saw Harold Crackenthorpe at the sale that afternoon, and the same applies to the tea shop place. He could easily have travelled by the 4:33, pushed the woman out of the train and caught a train back to London in time to appear at the dinner. In the same way he could have driven his car down that night, moved the body to the sarcophagus and driven back again. Make inquiries in the mews.â

âYes, sir. Do you think thatâs what he did do?â

âHow do I know?â asked Inspector Craddock. âHeâs a tall dark man. He could have been on that train and heâs got a connection with Rutherford Hall. Heâs a possible suspect in this case. Now for Brother Alfred.â

II

Alfred Crackenthorpe had a flat in West Hampstead, in a big modern building of slightly jerry-built type with a large courtyard in which the owners of flats parked their cars with a certain lack of consideration for others.

The flat was the modern built-in type, evidently rented furnished. It had a long plywood table that led down from the wall, a divan bed, and various chairs of improbable proportions.

Alfred Crackenthorpe met them with engaging friendliness but was, the inspector thought, nervous.

âIâm intrigued,â he said. âCan I offer you a drink, Inspector Craddock?â He held up various bottles invitingly.

âNo, thank you, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

âAs bad as that?â He laughed at his own little joke, then asked what it was all about.

Inspector Craddock said his little piece.

âWhat was I doing on the afternoon and evening of 20th December. How should I know? Why, thatâsâwhatâover three weeks ago.â

âYour brother Harold has been able to tell us very exactly.â

âBrother Harold, perhaps. Not Brother Alfred.â He added with a touch of somethingâenvious malice possibly: âHarold is the successful member of the familyâbusy, useful, fully employedâa time for everything, and everything at that time. Even if he were to commit aâmurder, shall we say?âit would be carefully timed and exact.â

âAny particular reason for using that example?â

âOh, no. It just came into my mindâas a supreme absurdity.â

âNow about yourself.â

Alfred spread out his hands.

âItâs as I tell youâIâve no memory for times or places. If you were to say Christmas Day nowâthen I should be able to answer youâthereâs a peg to hang it on. I know where I was Christmas Day. We spend that with my father at Brackhampton. I really donât know why. He grumbles at the expense of having usâand would grumble that we never came near him if we didnât come. We really do it to please my sister.â

âAnd you did it this year?â

âYes.â

âBut unfortunately your father was taken ill, was he not?â

Craddock was pursuing a sideline deliberately, led by the kind of instinct that often came to him in his profession.

âHe was taken ill. Living like a sparrow in that glorious cause of economy, sudden full eating and drinking had its effect.â

âThat was all it was, was it?â

âOf course. What else?â

âI gathered that his doctor wasâworried.â

âAh, that old fool Quimper,â Alfred spoke quickly and scornfully. âItâs no use listening to him, Inspector. Heâs an alarmist of the worst kind.â

âIndeed? He seemed a rather sensible kind of man to me.â

âHeâs a complete fool. Fatherâs not really an invalid, thereâs nothing wrong with his heart, but he takes in Quimper completely. Naturally, when father really felt ill, he made a terrific fuss, and had Quimper going and coming, asking questions, going into everything heâd eaten and drunk. The whole thing was ridiculous!â Alfred spoke with unusual heat.

Craddock was silent for a moment or two, rather effectively. Alfred fidgeted, shot him a quick glance, and then said petulantly:

âWell, what is all this? Why do you want to know where I was on a particular Friday, three or four weeks ago?â

âSo you do remember that it was a Friday?â

âI thought you said so.â

âPerhaps I did,â said Inspector Craddock. âAt any rate, Friday 20th is the day I am asking about.â

âWhy?â

âA routine inquiry.â

âThatâs nonsense. Have you found out something more about this woman? About where she came from?â

âOur information is not yet complete.â

Alfred gave him a sharp glance.

âI hope youâre not being led aside by this wild theory of Emmaâs that she might have been my brother Edmundâs widow. Thatâs complete nonsense.â

âThisâ Martine, did not at any rate apply to you?â

âTo me? Good lord, no! That would have been a laugh.â

âShe would be more likely, you think, to go to your brother Harold?â

âMuch more likely. His nameâs frequently in the papers. Heâs well off. Trying a touch there wouldnât surprise me. Not that sheâd have got anything. Haroldâs as tight-fisted as the old man himself. Emma, of course, is the soft-hearted one of the family, and she was Edmundâs favourite sister. All the same, Emma isnât credulous. She was quite alive to the possibility of this woman being phoney. She had it all laid on for the entire family to be thereâand a hard-headed solicitor as well.â

âVery wise,â said Craddock. âWas there a definite date fixed for this meeting?â

âIt was to be soon after Christmasâthe weekend of the 27thâ¦â he stopped.

âAh,â said Craddock pleasantly. âSo I see some dates have a meaning to you.â

âIâve told youâno definite date was fixed.â

âBut you talked about itâwhen?â

âI really canât remember.â

âAnd you canât tell me what you yourself were doing on Friday, 20th December?â

âSorryâmy mindâs an absolute blank.â

âYou donât keep an engagement book?â

âCanât stand the things.â

âThe Friday before Christmasâit shouldnât be too difficult.â

âI played golf one day with a likely prospect.â Alfred shook his head. âNo, that was the week before. I probably just mooched around. I spend a lot of my time doing that. I find oneâs business gets done in bars more than anywhere else.â

âPerhaps the people here, or some of your friends, may be able to help?â

âMaybe. Iâll ask them. Do what I can.â

Alfred seemed more sure of himself now.

âI canât tell you what I was doing that day,â he said; âbut I can tell you what I wasnât doing. I wasnât murdering anyone in the Long Barn.â

âWhy should you say that, Mr. Crackenthorpe?â

âCome now, my dear Inspector. Youâre investigating this murder, arenât you? And when you begin to ask âWhere were you on such and such a day at such and such a time?â youâre narrowing down things. Iâd very much like to know why youâve hit on Friday the 20th betweenâwhat? Lunchtime and midnight? It couldnât be medical evidence, not after all this time. Did somebody see the deceased sneaking into the barn that afternoon? She went in and she never came out, etc.? Is that it?â

The sharp black eyes were watching him narrowly, but Inspector Craddock was far too old a hand to react to that sort of thing.

âIâm afraid weâll have to let you guess about that,â he said pleasantly.

âThe police are so secretive.â

âNot only the police. I think, Mr. Crackenthorpe, you could remember what you were doing on that Friday if you tried. Of course you may have reasons for not wishing to rememberââ

âYou wonât catch me that way, Inspector. Itâs very suspicious, of course, very suspicious, indeed, that I canât rememberâbut there it is! Wait a minute nowâI went to Leeds that weekâstayed at a hotel close to the Town Hallâcanât remember its nameâbut youâd find it easy enough. That might have been on the Friday.â

âWeâll check up,â said the inspector unemotionally.

He rose. âIâm sorry you couldnât have been more cooperative, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

âMost unfortunate for me! Thereâs Cedric with a safe alibi in Ibiza, and Harold, no doubt, checked with business appointments and public dinners every hourâand here am I with no alibi at all. Very sad. And all so silly. Iâve already told you I donât murder people. And why should I murder an unknown woman, anyway? What for? Even if the corpse is the corpse of Edmundâs widow, why should any of us wish to do away with her? Now if sheâd been married to Harold in the war, and had suddenly reappearedâthen it might have been awkward for the respectable Haroldâbigamy and all that. But Edmund! Why weâd all have enjoyed making Father stump up a bit to give her an allowance and send the boy to a decent school. Father would have been wild, but he couldnât in decency refuse to do something. Wonât you have a drink before you go, Inspector? Sure? Too bad I havenât been able to help you.â

III

âSir, listen, do you know what?â

Inspector Craddock looked at his excited sergeant.

âYes, Wetherall, what is it?â

âIâve placed him, sir. That chap. All the time I was trying to fix it and suddenly it came. He was mixed up in that tinned food business with Dicky Rogers. Never got anything on himâtoo cagey for that. And heâs been in with one or more of the Soho lot. Watches and that Italian sovereign business.â

Of course! Craddock realized now why Alfredâs face had seemed vaguely familiar from the first. It had all been small-time stuffânever anything that could be proved. Alfred had always been on the outskirts of the racket with a plausible innocent reason for having been mixed up in it at all. But the police had been quite sure that a small steady profit came his way.

âThat throws rather a light on things,â Craddock said.

âThink he did it?â

âI shouldnât have said he was the type to do murder. But it explains other thingsâthe reason why he couldnât come up with an alibi.â

âYes, that looked bad for him.â

âNot really,â said Craddock. âItâs quite a clever lineâjust to say firmly you canât remember. Lots of people canât remember what they did and where they were even a week ago. Itâs especially useful if you donât particularly want to call attention to the way you spend your timeâinteresting rendezvous at lorry pull-ups with the Dicky Rogers crowd, for instance.â

âSo you think heâs all right?â

âIâm not prepared to think anyoneâs all right just yet,â said Inspector Craddock. âYouâve got to work on it, Wetherall.â

Back at his desk, Craddock sat frowning, and making little notes on the pad in front of him.

Murderer (he wrote)â¦ A tall dark man!!!

Victim?â¦ Could have been Martine, Edmund

Crackenthorpeâs girlfriend or widow.

Or

Could have been Anna Stravinska. Went out of circulation at appropriate time, right age and appearance, clothing, etc. No connections with Rutherford Hall as far as is known. Could be Haroldâs first wife! Bigamy!

" " first mistress. Blackmail!

If connection with Alfred, might be blackmail. Had knowledge that could have sent him to gaol? If Cedricâmight have had connections with him abroadâ Paris? Balearics?

Or

Victim could be Anna S. posing as Martine

or

Victim is unknown woman killed by unknown murderer!

âAnd most probably the latter,â said Craddock aloud.

He reflected gloomily on the situation. You couldnât get far with a case until you had the motive. All the motives suggested so far seemed either inadequate or far fetched.

Now if only it had been the murder of old Mr. Crackenthorpeâ¦ Plenty of motive thereâ¦.

Something stirred in his memoryâ¦.

He made further notes on his pad.

Ask Dr. Q. about Christmas illness.

Cedricâalibi.

Consult Miss M. for the latest gossip.

Sixteen

When Craddock got to 4 Madison Road he found Lucy Eyelesbarrow with Miss Marple.

He hesitated for a moment in his plan of campaign and then decided that Lucy Eyelesbarrow might prove a valuable ally.

After greetings, he solemnly drew out his notecase, extracting three pound notes, added three shillings and pushed them across the table to Miss Marple.

âWhatâs this, Inspector?â

âConsultation fee. Youâre a consultantâon murder! Pulse, temperature, local reactions, possible deepseated cause of said murder. Iâm just the poor harassed local G.P.â

Miss Marple looked at him and twinkled. He grinned at her. Lucy Eyelesbarrow gave a faint gasp and then laughed.

âWhy, Inspector Craddockâyouâre human after all.â

âOh, well, Iâm not strictly on duty this afternoon.â

âI told you we had met before,â said Miss Marple to Lucy. âSir Henry Clithering is his godfatherâa very old friend of mine.â

âWould you like to hear, Miss Eyelesbarrow, what my godfather said about herâthe first time we met? He described her as just the finest detective God ever madeânatural genius cultivated in a suitable soil. He told me never to despise theââDermot Craddock paused for a moment to seek for a synonym for âold pussiesââââer elderly ladies. He said they could usually tell you what might have happened, what ought to have happened, and even what actually did happen! And,â he said, âthey can tell you why it happened. He added that this particularâerâelderly ladyâwas at the top of the class.â

âWell!â said Lucy. âThat seems to be a testimonial all right.â

Miss Marple was pink and confused and looked unusually dithery.

âDear Sir Henry,â she murmured. âAlways so kind. Really Iâm not at all cleverâjust perhaps, a slight knowledge of human natureâliving, you know, in a villageââ

She added, with more composure:

âOf course, I am somewhat handicapped, by not actually being on the spot. It is so helpful, I always feel, when people remind you of other peopleâbecause types are alike everywhere and that is such a valuable guide.â

Lucy looked a little puzzled, but Craddock nodded comprehendingly.

âBut youâve been to tea there, havenât you?â he said.

âYes, indeed. Most pleasant. I was a little disappointed that I didnât see old Mr. Crackenthorpeâbut one canât have everything.â

âDo you feel that if you saw the person who had done the murder, youâd know?â asked Lucy.

âOh, I wouldnât say that, dear. One is always inclined to guessâand guessing would be very wrong when it is a question of anything as serious as murder. All one can do is to observe the people concernedâor who might have been concernedâand see of whom they remind you.â

âLike Cedric and the bank manager?â

Miss Marple corrected her.

âThe bank managerâs son, dear. Mr. Eade himself was far more like Mr. Haroldâa very conservative manâbut perhaps a little too fond of moneyâthe sort of man, too, who could go a long way to avoid scandal.â

Craddock smiled, and said:

âAnd Alfred?â

âJenkins at the garage,â Miss Marple replied promptly. âHe didnât exactly appropriate tools?âbut he used to exchange a broken or inferior jack for a good one. And I believe he wasnât very honest over batteriesâthough I donât understand these things very well. I know Raymond left off dealing with him and went to the garage on the Milchester road. As for Emma,â continued Miss Marple thoughtfully, âshe reminds me very much of Geraldine Webbâalways very quiet, almost dowdyâand bullied a good deal by her elderly mother. Quite a surprise to everybody when the mother died unexpectedly and Geraldine came into a nice sum of money and went and had her hair cut and permed, and went off on a cruise, and came back married to a very nice barrister. They had two children.â

The parallel was clear enough. Lucy said, rather uneasily: âDo you think you ought to have said what you did about Emma marrying? It seemed to upset the brothers.â

Miss Marple nodded.

âYes,â she said. âSo like menâquite unable to see whatâs going on under their eyes. I donât believe you noticed yourself.â

âNo,â admitted Lucy. âI never thought of anything of that kind. They both seemed to meââ

âSo old?â said Miss Marple smiling a little. âBut Dr. Quimper isnât much over forty, I should say, though heâs going grey on the temples, and itâs obvious that heâs longing for some kind of home life; and Emma Crackenthorpe is under fortyânot too old to marry and have a family. The doctorâs wife died quite young having a baby, so I have heard.â

âI believe she did. Emma said something about it one day.â

âHe must be lonely,â said Miss Marple. âA busy hard-working doctor needs a wifeâsomeone sympatheticânot too young.â

âListen, darling,â said Lucy. âAre we investigating crime, or are we match-making?â

Miss Marple twinkled.

âIâm afraid I am rather romantic. Because I am an old maid, perhaps. You know, dear Lucy, that, as far as I am concerned, you have fulfilled your contract. If you really want a holiday abroad before taking up your next engagement, you would have time still for a short trip.â

âAnd leave Rutherford Hall? Never! Iâm the complete sleuth by now. Almost as bad as the boys. They spend their entire time looking for clues. They looked all through the dustbins yesterday. Most unsavouryâand they havenât really the faintest idea what they were looking for. If they come to you in triumph, Inspector Craddock, bearing a torn scrap of paper with Martineâif you value your life keep away from the Long Barn! on it, youâll know that Iâve taken pity on them and concealed it in the pigsty!â

âWhy the pigsty, dear?â asked Miss Marple with interest. âDo they keep pigs?â

âOh, no, not nowadays. Itâs justâ I go there sometimes.â

For some reason Lucy blushed. Miss Marple looked at her with increased interest.

âWhoâs at the house now?â asked Craddock.

âCedricâs there, and Bryanâs down for the weekend. Harold and Alfred are coming down tomorrow. They rang up this morning. I somehow got the impression that you had been putting the cat among the pigeons, Inspector Craddock.â

Craddock smiled.

âI shook them up a little. Asked them to account for their movements on Friday, 20th December.â

âAnd could they?â

âHarold could. Alfred couldnâtâor wouldnât.â

âI think alibis must be terribly difficult,â said Lucy. âTimes and places and dates. They must be hard to check up on, too.â

âIt takes time and patienceâbut we manage.â He glanced at his watch. âIâll be coming to Rutherford Hall presently to have a word with Cedric, but I want to get hold of Dr. Quimper first.â

âYouâll be just about right. He has his surgery at six and heâs usually finished about half past. I must get back and deal with dinner.â

âIâd like your opinion on one thing, Miss Eyelesbarrow. Whatâs the family view about this Martine businessâamongst themselves?â

Lucy replied promptly.

âTheyâre all furious with Emma for going to you about itâand with Dr. Quimper who, it seemed, encouraged her to do so. Harold and Alfred think it was a try on and not genuine. Emma isnât sure. Cedric thinks it was phoney, too, but he doesnât take it as seriously as the other two. Bryan, on the other hand, seems quite sure that itâs genuine.â

âWhy, I wonder?â

âWell, Bryanâs rather like that. Just accepts things at their face value. He thinks it was Edmundâs wifeâor rather widowâand that she had suddenly to go back to France, but that theyâll hear from her again sometime. The fact that she hasnât written, or anything, up to now, seems to him to be quite natural because he never writes letters himself. Bryanâs rather sweet. Just like a dog that wants to be taken for a walk.â

âAnd do you take him for a walk, dear?â asked Miss Marple. âTo the pigsties, perhaps?â

Lucy shot a keen glance at her.

âSo many gentlemen in the house, coming and going,â mused Miss Marple.

When Miss Marple uttered the word âgentlemenâ she always gave it its full Victorian flavourâan echo from an era actually before her own time. You were conscious at once of dashing full-blooded (and probably whiskered) males, sometimes wicked, but always gallant.

âYouâre such a handsome girl,â pursued Miss Marple, appraising Lucy. âI expect they pay you a good deal of attention, donât they?â

Lucy flushed slightly. Scrappy remembrances passed across her mind. Cedric, leaning against the pigsty wall. Bryan sitting disconsolately on the kitchen table. Alfredâs fingers touching hers as he helped her collect the coffee cups.

âGentlemen,â said Miss Marple, in the tone of one speaking of some alien and dangerous species, âare all very much alike in some waysâeven if they are quite old.â¦â

âDarling,â cried Lucy. âA hundred years ago you would certainly have been burned as a witch!â

And she told her story of old Mr. Crackenthorpeâs conditional proposal of marriage.

âIn fact,â said Lucy, âtheyâve all made what you might call advances to me in a way. Haroldâs was very correctâan advantageous financial position in the City. I donât think itâs my attractive appearanceâthey must think I know something.â

She laughed.

But Inspector Craddock did not laugh.

âBe careful,â he said. âThey might murder you instead of making advances to you.â

âI suppose it might be simpler,â Lucy agreed.

Then she gave a slight shiver.

âOne forgets,â she said. âThe boys have been having such fun that one almost thought of it all as a game. But itâs not a game.â

âNo,â said Miss Marple. âMurder isnât a game.â

She was silent for a moment or two before she said:

âDonât the boys go back to school soon?â

âYes, next week. They go tomorrow to James Stoddart-Westâs home for the last few days of the holidays.â

âIâm glad of that,â said Miss Marple gravely. âI shouldnât like anything to happen while theyâre there.â

âYou mean to old Mr. Crackenthorpe. Do you think heâs going to be murdered next?â

âOh, no,â said Miss Marple. âHeâll be all right. I meant to the boys.â

âWell, to Alexander.â

âBut surelyââ

âHunting about, you knowâlooking for clues. Boys love that sort of thingâbut it might be very dangerous.â

Craddock looked at her thoughtfully.

âYouâre not prepared to believe, are you, Miss Marple, that itâs a case of an unknown woman murdered by an unknown man? You tie it up definitely with Rutherford Hall?â

âI think thereâs a definite connection, yes.â

âAll we know about the murderer is that heâs a tall dark man. Thatâs what your friend says and all she can say. There are three tall dark men at Rutherford Hall. On the day of the inquest, you know, I came out to see the three brothers standing waiting on the pavement for the car to draw up. They had their backs to me and it was astonishing how, in their heavy overcoats, they looked all alike. Three tall dark men. And yet, actually, theyâre all three quite different types.â He sighed. âIt makes it very difficult.â

âI wonder,â murmured Miss Marple. âI have been wonderingâwhether it might perhaps be all much simpler than we suppose. Murders so often are quite simpleâwith an obvious rather sordid motiveâ¦.â

âDo you believe in the mysterious Martine, Miss Marple?â

âIâm quite ready to believe that Edmund Crackenthorpe either married, or meant to marry, a girl called Martine. Emma Crackenthorpe showed you his letter, I understand, and from what Iâve seen of her and from what Lucy tells me, I should say Emma Crackenthorpe is quite incapable of making up a thing of that kindâindeed, why should she?â

âSo granted Martine,â said Craddock thoughtfully, âthere is a motive of a kind. Martineâs reappearance with a son would diminish the Crackenthorpe inheritanceâthough hardly to a point, one would think, to activate murder. Theyâre all very hard upââ

âEven Harold?â Lucy demanded incredulously.

âEven the prosperous-looking Harold Crackenthorpe is not the sober and conservative financier he appears to be. Heâs been plunging heavily and mixing himself up in some rather undesirable ventures. A large sum of money, soon, might avoid a crash.â

âBut if soââ said Lucy, and stopped.

âYes, Miss Eyelesbarrowââ

âI know, dear,â said Miss Marple. âThe wrong murder, thatâs what you mean.â

âYes. Martineâs death wouldnât do Haroldâor any of the othersâany good. Not untilââ

âNot until Luther Crackenthorpe died. Exactly. That occurred to me. And Mr. Crackenthorpe, senior, I gather from his doctor, is a much better life than any outsider would imagine.â

âHeâll last for years,â said Lucy. Then she frowned.

âYes?â Craddock spoke encouragingly.

âHe was rather ill at Christmas-time,â said Lucy. âHe said the doctor made a lot of fuss about itââAnyone would have thought Iâd been poisoned by the fuss he made.â Thatâs what he said.â

She looked inquiringly at Craddock.

âYes,â said Craddock. âThatâs really what I want to ask Dr. Quimper about.â

âWell, I must go,â said Lucy. âHeavens, itâs late.â

Miss Marple put down her knitting and picked up The Times with a half-done crossword puzzle.

âI wish I had a dictionary here,â she murmured. âTontine and Tokayâ I always mix those two words up. One, I believe, is a Hungarian wine.â

âThatâs Tokay,â said Lucy, looking back from the door. âBut oneâs a five-letter word and oneâs a seven. Whatâs the clue?â

âOh, it wasnât in the crossword,â said Miss Marple vaguely. âIt was in my head.â

Inspector Craddock looked at her very hard. Then he said goodbye and went.

Seventeen

I

Craddock had to wait a few minutes whilst Quimper finished his evening surgery, and then the doctor came to him. He looked tired and depressed.

He offered Craddock a drink and when the latter accepted he mixed one for himself as well.

âPoor devils,â he said as he sank down in a worn easy-chair. âSo scared and so stupidâno sense. Had a painful case this evening. Woman who ought to have come to me a year ago. If sheâd come then, she might have been operated on successfully. Now itâs too late. Makes me mad. The truth is people are an extraordinary mixture of heroism and cowardice. Sheâs suffering agony, and borne it without a word, just because she was too scared to come and find out that what she feared might be true. At the other end of the scale are the people who come and waste my time because theyâve got a dangerous swelling causing them agony on their little finger which they think may be cancer and which turns out to be a common or garden chilblain! Well, donât mind me. Iâve blown off steam now. What did you want to see me about?â

âFirst, Iâve got you to thank, I believe, for advising Miss Crackenthorpe to come to me with the letter that purported to be from her brotherâs widow.â

âOh, that? Anything in it? I didnât exactly advise her to come. She wanted to. She was worried. All the dear little brothers were trying to hold her back, of course.â

âWhy should they?â

The doctor shrugged his shoulders.

âAfraid the lady might be proved genuine, I suppose.â

âDo you think the letter was genuine?â

âNo idea. Never actually saw it. I should say it was someone who knew the facts, just trying to make a touch. Hoping to work on Emmaâs feelings. They were dead wrong, there. Emmaâs no fool. She wouldnât take an unknown sister-in-law to her bosom without asking a few practical questions first.â

He added with some curiosity:

âBut why ask my views? Iâve got nothing to do with it?â

âI really came to ask you something quite differentâbut I donât quite know how to put it.â

Dr. Quimper looked interested.

âI understand that not long agoâat Christmas-time, I think it wasâMr. Crackenthorpe had rather a bad turn of illness.â

He saw a change at once in the doctorâs face. It hardened.

âYes.â

âI gather a gastric disturbance of some kind?â

âYes.â

âThis is difficultâ¦ Mr. Crackenthorpe was boasting of his health, saying he intended to outlive most of his family. He referred to youâyouâll excuse me, Doctorâ¦.â

âOh, donât mind me. Iâm not sensitive as to what my patients say about me!â

âHe spoke of you as an old fuss-pot.â Quimper smiled. âHe said you had asked him all sorts of questions, not only as to what he had eaten, but as to who prepared it and served it.â

The doctor was not smiling now. His face was hard again.

âGo on.â

âHe used some such phrase asââTalked as though he believed someone had poisoned me.ââ

There was a pause.

âHad youâany suspicion of that kind?â

Quimper did not answer at once. He got up and walked up and down. Finally, he wheeled round on Craddock.

âWhat the devil do you expect me to say? Do you think a doctor can go about flinging accusations of poisoning here and there without any real evidence?â

âIâd just like to know, off the record, ifâthat ideaâdid enter your head?â

Dr. Quimper said evasively:

âOld Crackenthorpe leads a fairly frugal life. When the family comes down, Emma steps up the food. Resultâa nasty attack of gastro-enteritis. The symptoms were consistent with that diagnosis.â

Craddock persisted.

âI see. You were quite satisfied? You were not at allâshall we sayâpuzzled?â

âAll right. All right. Yes, I was Yours Truly Puzzled! Does that please you?â

âIt interests me,â said Craddock. âWhat actually did you suspectâor fear?â

âGastric cases vary, of course, but there were certain indications that would have been, shall we say, more consistent with arsenic poisoning than with plain gastro-enteritis. Mind you, the two things are very much alike. Better men than myself have failed to recognize arsenic poisoningâand have given a certificate in all good faith.â

âAnd what was the result of your inquiries?â

âIt seemed that what I suspected could not possibly be true. Mr. Crackenthorpe assured me that he had similar attacks before I attended himâand from the same cause, he said. They had always taken place when there was too much rich food about.â

âWhich was when the house was full? With the family? Or guests?â

âYes. That seemed reasonable enough. But frankly, Craddock, I wasnât happy. I went so far as to write to old Dr. Morris. He was my senior partner and retired soon after I joined him. Crackenthorpe was his patient originally. I asked about these earlier attacks that the old man had had.â

âAnd what response did you get?â

Quimper grinned.

âI got a flea in the ear. I was more or less told not to be a damned fool. Wellââhe shrugged his shouldersââpresumably I was a damned fool.â

âI wonder,â Craddock was thoughtful.

Then he decided to speak frankly.

âThrowing discretion aside, Doctor, there are people who stand to benefit pretty considerably from Luther Crackenthorpeâs death.â The doctor nodded. âHeâs an old manâand a hale and hearty one. He may live to be ninety odd?â

âEasily. He spends his life taking care of himself, and his constitution is sound.â

âAnd his sonsâand daughterâare all getting on, and they are all feeling the pinch?â

âYou leave Emma out of it. Sheâs no poisoner. These attacks only happen when the others are thereânot when she and he are alone.â

âAn elementary precautionâif sheâs the one,â the inspector thought, but was careful not to say aloud.

He paused, choosing his words carefully.

âSurelyâIâm ignorant on these mattersâbut supposing just as a hypothesis that arsenic was administeredâhasnât Crackenthorpe been very lucky not to succumb?â

âNow there,â said the doctor, âyou have got something odd. It is exactly that fact that leads me to believe that I have been, as old Morris puts it, a damned fool. You see, itâs obviously not a case of small doses of arsenic administered regularlyâwhich is what you might call the classic method of arsenic poisoning. Crackenthorpe has never had any chronic gastric trouble. In a way, thatâs what makes these sudden violent attacks seem unlikely. So, assuming they are not due to natural causes, it looks as though the poisoner is muffing it every timeâwhich hardly makes sense.â

âGiving an inadequate dose, you mean?â

âYes. On the other hand, Crackenthorpeâs got a strong constitution and what might do in another man, doesnât do him in. Thereâs always personal idiosyncrasy to be reckoned with. But youâd think that by now the poisonerâunless heâs unusually timidâwould have stepped up the dose. Why hasnât he?

âThat is,â he added, âif there is a poisoner which there probably isnât! Probably all my ruddy imagination from start to finish.â

âItâs an odd problem,â the inspector agreed. âIt doesnât seem to make sense.â

II

âInspector Craddock!â

The eager whisper made the inspector jump.

He had been just on the point of ringing the front doorbell. Alexander and his friend Stoddart-West emerged cautiously from the shadows.

âWe heard your car, and we wanted to get hold of you.â

âWell, letâs come inside.â Craddockâs hand went out to the door bell again, but Alexander pulled at his coat with the eagerness of a pawing dog.

âWeâve found a clue,â he breathed.

âYes, weâve found a clue,â Stoddart-West echoed.

âDamn that girl,â thought Craddock unamiably.

âSplendid,â he said in a perfunctory manner. âLetâs go inside the house and look at it.â

âNo,â Alexander was insistent. âSomeoneâs sure to interrupt. Come to the harness room. Weâll guide you.â

Somewhat unwillingly, Craddock allowed himself to be guided round the corner of the house and along to the stableyard. Stoddart-West pushed open a heavy door, stretched up, and turned on a rather feeble electric light. The harness room, once the acme of Victorian spit and polish, was now the sad repository of everything that no one wanted. Broken garden chairs, rusted old garden implements, a vast decrepit mowing-machine, rusted spring mattresses, hammocks, and disintegrated tennis nets.

âWe come here a good deal,â said Alexander. âOne can really be private here.â

There were certain tokens of occupancy about. The decayed mattresses had been piled up to make a kind of divan, there was an old rusted table on which reposed a large tin of chocolate biscuits, there was a hoard of apples, a tin of toffees, and a jig-saw puzzle.

âIt really is a clue, sir,â said Stoddart-West eagerly, his eyes gleaming behind his spectacles. âWe found it this afternoon.â

âWeâve been hunting for days. In the bushesââ

âAnd inside hollow treesââ

âAnd we went through the ash binsââ

âThere were some jolly interesting things there, as a matter of factââ

âAnd then we went into the boiler houseââ

âOld Hillman keeps a great galvanized tub there full of waste paperââ

âFor when the boiler goes out and he wants to start it againââ

âAny odd paper thatâs blowing about. He picks it up and shoves it in thereââ

âAnd thatâs where we found itââ

âFound WHAT?â Craddock interrupted the duet.

âThe clue. Careful, Stodders, get your gloves on.â

Importantly, Stoddart-West, in the best detective story tradition, drew on a pair of rather dirty gloves and took from his pocket a Kodak photographic folder. From this he extracted in his gloved fingers with the utmost care a soiled and crumpled envelope which he handed importantly to the inspector.

Both boys held their breath in excitement.

Craddock took it with due solemnity. He liked the boys and he was ready to enter into the spirit of the thing.

The letter had been through the post, there was no enclosure inside, it was just a torn envelopeâaddressed to Mrs. Martine Crackenthorpe, 126 Elvers Crescent, N.10.

âYou see?â said Alexander breathlessly. âIt shows she was hereâ Uncle Edmundâs French wife, I meanâthe one thereâs all the fuss about. She must have actually been here and dropped out somewhere. So it looks, doesnât itââ

Stoddart-West broke in:

âIt looks as though she was the one who got murderedâ I mean, donât you think, sir, that it simply must have been her in the sarcophagus?â

They waited anxiously.

Craddock played up.

âPossible, very possible,â he said.

âThis is important, isnât it?â

âYouâll test it for fingerprints, wonât you, sir?â

âOf course,â said Craddock.

Stoddart-West gave a deep sigh.

âSmashing luck for us, wasnât it?â he said. âOn our last day, too.â

âLast day?â

âYes,â said Alexander. âIâm going to Stoddersâ place tomorrow for the last few days of the holidays. Stoddersâ people have got a smashing houseâ Queen Anne, isnât it?â

âWilliam and Mary,â said Stoddart-West.

âI thought your mother saidââ

âMumâs French. She doesnât really know about English architecture.â

âBut your father said it was builtââ

Craddock was examining the envelope.

Clever of Lucy Eyelesbarrow. How had she managed to fake the post mark? He peered closely, but the light was too feeble. Great fun for the boys, of course, but rather awkward for him. Lucy, drat her, hadnât considered that angle. If this were genuine, it would enforce a course of action. Thereâ¦.

Beside him a learned architectural argument was being hotly pursued. He was deaf to it.

âCome on, boys,â he said, âweâll go into the house. Youâve been very helpful.â

Eighteen

I

Craddock was escorted by the boys through the back door into the house. This was, it seemed, their common mode of entrance. The kitchen was bright and cheerful. Lucy, in a large white apron, was rolling out pastry. Leaning against the dresser, watching her with a kind of dog-like attention, was Bryan Eastley. With one hand he tugged at his large fair moustache.

âHallo, Dad,â said Alexander kindly. âYou out here again?â

âI like it out here,â said Bryan, and added: âMiss Eyelesbarrow doesnât mind.â

âOh, I donât mind,â said Lucy. âGood evening, Inspector Craddock.â

âComing to detect in the kitchen?â asked Bryan with interest.

âNot exactly. Mr. Cedric Crackenthorpe is still here, isnât he?â

âOh, yes, Cedricâs here. Do you want him?â

âIâd like a word with himâyes, please.â

âIâll go and see if heâs in,â said Bryan. âHe may have gone round to the local.â

He unpropped himself from the dresser.

âThank you so much,â said Lucy to him. âMy hands are all over flour or Iâd go.â

âWhat are you making?â asked Stoddart-West anxiously.

âPeach flan.â

âGood-oh,â said Stoddart-West.

âIs it nearly suppertime?â asked Alexander.

âNo.â

âGosh! Iâm terribly hungry.â

âThereâs the end of the ginger cake in the larder.â

The boys made a concerted rush and collided in the door.

âTheyâre just like locusts,â said Lucy.

âMy congratulations to you,â said Craddock.

âWhat onâexactly?â

âYour ingenuityâover this!â

âOver what!â

Craddock indicated the folder containing the letter.

âVery nicely done,â he said.

âWhat are you talking about?â

âThis, my dear girlâthis.â He half-drew it out.

She stared at him uncomprehendingly.

Craddock felt suddenly dizzy.

âDidnât you fake this clueâand put it in the boiler room, for the boys to find? Quickâtell me.â

âI havenât the faintest idea what youâre talking about,â said Lucy. âDo you mean thatâ?â

Craddock slipped the folder quickly back in his pocket as Bryan returned.

âCedricâs in the library,â he said. âGo on in.â

He resumed his place on the dresser. Inspector Craddock went to the library.

II

Cedric Crackenthorpe seemed delighted to see the inspector.

âDoing a spot more sleuthing down here?â he asked. âGot any further?â

âI think I can say we are a little further on, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

âFound out who the corpse was?â

âWeâve not got a definite identification, but we have a fairly shrewd idea.â

âGood for you.â

âArising out of our latest information, we want to get a few statements. Iâm starting with you, Mr. Crackenthorpe, as youâre on the spot.â

âI shanât be much longer. Iâm going back to Ibiza in a day or two.â

âThen I seem to be just in time.â

âGo ahead.â

âI should like a detailed account, please, of exactly where you were and what you were doing on Friday, 20th December.â

Cedric shot a quick glance at him. Then he leaned back, yawned, assumed an air of great nonchalance, and appeared to be lost in the effort of remembrance.

âWell, as Iâve already told you, I was in Ibiza. Trouble is, one day there is so like another. Painting in the morning, siesta from three p.m. to five. Perhaps a spot of sketching if the lightâs suitable. Then an apÃ©ritif, sometimes with the mayor, sometimes with the doctor, at the cafÃ© in the Piazza. After that some kind of a scratch meal. Most of the evening in Scottyâs Bar with some of my lower-class friends. Will that do you?â

âIâd rather have the truth, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

Cedric sat up.

âThatâs a most offensive remark, Inspector.â

âDo you think so? You told me, Mr. Crackenthorpe, that you left Ibiza on 21st December and arrived in England that same day?â

âSo I did. Em! Hi, Em?â

Emma Crackenthorpe came through the adjoining door from the small morning room. She looked inquiringly from Cedric to the inspector.

âLook here, Em. I arrived here for Christmas on the Saturday before, didnât I? Came straight from the airport?â

âYes,â said Emma wonderingly. âYou got here about lunchtime.â

âThere you are,â said Cedric to the inspector.

âYou must think us very foolish, Mr. Crackenthorpe,â said Craddock pleasantly. âWe can check on these things, you know. I think, if youâll show me your passportââ

He paused expectantly.

âCanât find the damned thing,â said Cedric. âWas looking for it this morning. Wanted to send it to Cookâs.â

âI think you could find it, Mr. Crackenthorpe. But itâs not really necessary. The records show that you actually entered this country on the evening of 19th December. Perhaps you will now account to me for your movements between that time until lunchtime on 21st December when you arrived here.â

Cedric looked very cross indeed.

âThatâs the hell of life nowadays,â he said angrily. âAll this red tape and form-filling. Thatâs what comes of a bureaucratic state. Canât go where you like and do as you please anymore! Somebodyâs always asking questions. Whatâs all this fuss about the 20th, anyway? Whatâs special about the 20th?â

âIt happens to be the day we believe the murder was committed. You can refuse to answer, of course, butââ

âWho says I refuse to answer? Give a chap time. And you were vague enough about the date of the murder at the inquest. Whatâs turned up new since then?â

Craddock did not reply.

Cedric said, with a sidelong glance at Emma:

âShall we go into the other room?â

Emma said quickly: âIâll leave you.â At the door, she paused and turned.

âThis is serious, you know, Cedric. If the 20th was the day of murder, then you must tell Inspector Craddock exactly what you were doing.â

She went through into the next room and closed the door behind her.

âGood old Em,â said Cedric. âWell, here goes. Yes, I left Ibiza on the 19th all right. Planned to break the journey in Paris, and spend a couple of days routing up some old friends on the Left Bank. But, as a matter of fact, there was a very attractive woman on the planeâ¦ Quite a dish. To put it plainly, she and I got off together. She was on her way to the States, had to spend a couple of nights in London to see about some business or other. We got to London on the 19th. We stayed at the Kingsway Palace in case your spies havenât found that out yet! Called myself John Brownânever does to use your own name on these occasions.â

âAnd on the 20th?â

Cedric made a grimace.

âMorning pretty well occupied by a terrific hangover.â

âAnd the afternoon. From three oâclock onwards?â

âLet me see. Well, I mooned about, as you might say. Went into the National Galleyâthatâs respectable enough. Saw a film. Rowenna of the Range. Iâve always had a passion for Westerns. This was a corkerâ¦ Then a drink or two in the bar and a bit of a sleep in my room, and out about ten oâclock with the girl-friend and a round of various hot spotsâcanât even remember most of their namesâ Jumping Frog was one, I think. She knew âem all. Got pretty well plastered and to tell the truth, donât remember much more till I woke up the next morningâwith an even worse hangover. Girlfriend hopped off to catch her plane and I poured cold water over my head, got a chemist to give me a devilsâ brew, and then started off for this place, pretending Iâd just arrived at Heathrow. No need to upset Emma, I thought. You know what women areâalways hurt if you donât come straight home. I had to borrow money from her to pay the taxi. I was completely cleaned out. No use asking the old man. Heâd never cough up. Mean old brute. Well, Inspector, satisfied?â

âCan any of this be substantiated, Mr. Crackenthorpe? Say between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.â

âMost unlikely, I should think,â said Cedric cheerfully. âNational Gallery where the attendants look at you with lack-lustre eyes and a crowded picture show. No, not likely.â

Emma reentered. She held a small engagement book in her hand.

âYou want to know what everyone was doing on 20th December, is that right, Inspector Craddock?â

âWellâerâyes, Miss Crackenthorpe.â

âI have just been looking in my engagement book. On the 20th I went into Brackhampton to attend a meeting of the Church Restoration Fund. That finished about a quarter to one and I lunched with Lady Adington and Miss Bartlett who were also on the committee, at the Cadena CafÃ©. After lunch I did some shopping, stores for Christmas, and also Christmas presents. I went to Greenfordâs and Lyall and Swiftâs, Bootsâ, and probably several other shops. I had tea about a quarter to five in the Shamrock Tea Rooms and then went to the station to meet Bryan who was coming by train. I got home about six oâclock and found my father in a very bad temper. I had left lunch ready for him, but Mrs. Hart who was to come in in the afternoon and give him his tea had not arrived. He was so angry that he had shut himself in his room and would not let me in or speak to me. He does not like my going out in the afternoon, but I make a point of doing so now and then.â

âYouâre probably wise. Thank you, Miss Crackenthorpe.â

He could hardly tell her that as she was a woman, height five foot seven, her movements that afternoon were of no great importance. Instead he said:

âYour other two brothers came down later, I understand?â

âAlfred came down late on Saturday evening. He tells me he tried to ring me on the telephone that afternoon I was outâbut my father, if he is upset, will never answer the telephone. My brother Harold did not come down until Christmas Eve.â

âThank you, Miss Crackenthorpe.â

âI suppose I mustnât askââshe hesitatedââwhat has come up new that prompts these inquiries?â

Craddock took the folder from his pocket. Using the tips of his fingers, he extracted the envelope.

âDonât touch it, please, but do you recognize this?â

âButâ¦â Emma stared at him, bewildered. âThatâs my handwriting. Thatâs the letter I wrote to Martine.â

âI thought it might be.â

âBut how did you get it? Did sheâ? Have you found her?â

âIt would seem possible that we haveâfound her. This empty envelope was found here.â

âIn the house?â

âIn the grounds.â

âThenâshe did come here! Sheâ¦ You meanâit was Martine thereâin the sarcophagus?â

âIt would seem very likely, Miss Crackenthorpe,â said Craddock gently.

Â 

It seemed even more likely when he got back to town. A message was awaiting him from Armand Dessin.

âOne of the girl-friends has had a postcard from Anna Stravinska.

Apparently the cruise story was true! She has reached Jamaica and is having, in your phrase, a wonderful time!â

Craddock crumpled up the message and threw it into the wastepaper basket.

III

âI must say,â said Alexander, sitting up in bed, thoughtfully consuming a chocolate bar, âthat this has been the most smashing day ever. Actually finding a real clue!â

His voice was awed.

âIn fact the whole holidays have been smashing,â he added happily. âI donât suppose such a thing will ever happen again.â

âI hope it wonât happen again to me,â said Lucy who was on her knees packing Alexanderâs clothes into a suitcase. âDo you want all this space fiction with you?â

âNot those two top ones. Iâve read them. The football and my football boots, and the gum-boots can go separately.â

âWhat difficult things you boys do travel with.â

âIt wonât matter. Theyâre sending the Rolls for us. Theyâve got a smashing Rolls. Theyâve got one of the new Mercedes- Benzes too.â

âThey must be rich.â

âRolling! Jolly nice, too. All the same, I rather wish we werenât leaving here. Another body might turn up.â

âI sincerely hope not.â

âWell, it often does in books. I mean somebody whoâs seen something or heard something gets done in, too. It might be you,â he added, unrolling a second chocolate bar.

âThank you!â

âI donât want it to be you,â Alexander assured her. âI like you very much and so does Stodders. We think youâre out of this world as a cook. Absolutely lovely grub. Youâre very sensible, too.â

This last was clearly an expression of high approval. Lucy took it as such, and said: âThank you. But I donât intend to get killed just to please you.â

âWell, youâd better be careful, then,â Alexander told her.

He paused to consume more nourishment and then said in a slightly offhand voice:

âIf Dad turns up from time to time, youâll look after him, wonât you?â

âYes, of course,â said Lucy, a little surprised.

âThe trouble with Dad is,â Alexander informed her, âthat London life doesnât suit him. He gets in, you know, with quite the wrong type of women.â He shook his head in a worried manner.

âIâm very fond of him,â he added; âbut he needs someone to look after him. He drifts about and gets in with the wrong people. Itâs a great pity Mum died when she did. Bryan needs a proper home life.â

He looked solemnly at Lucy and reached out for another chocolate bar.

âNot a fourth one, Alexander,â Lucy pleaded. âYouâll be sick.â

âOh, I donât think so. I ate six running once and I wasnât. Iâm not the bilious type.â He paused and then said:

âBryan likes you, you know.â

âThatâs very nice of him.â

âHeâs a bit of an ass in some ways,â said Bryanâs son; âbut he was a jolly good fighter pilot. Heâs awfully brave. And heâs awfully good-natured.â

He paused. Then, averting his eyes to the ceiling, he said rather self-consciously:

âI think, really, you know, it would be a good thing if he married againâ¦ Somebody decentâ¦ I shouldnât, myself, mind at all having a stepmotherâ¦not, I mean, if she was a decent sortâ¦.â

With a sense of shock Lucy realized that there was a definite point in Alexanderâs conversation.

âAll this stepmother bosh,â went on Alexander, still addressing the ceiling, âis really quite out of date. Lots of chaps Stodders and I know have stepmothersâdivorce and all thatâand they get on quite well together. Depends on the stepmother, of course. And of course, it does make a bit of confusion taking you out and on Sports Day, and all that. I mean if there are two sets of parents. Though again it helps if you want to cash in!â He paused, confronted with the problems of modern life. âItâs nicest to have your own home and your own parentsâbut if your motherâs deadâwell, you see what I mean? If sheâs a decent sort,â said Alexander for the third time.

Lucy felt touched.

âI think youâre very sensible, Alexander,â she said. âWe must try and find a nice wife for your father.â

âYes,â said Alexander noncommittally.

He added in an offhand manner:

âI thought Iâd just mention it. Bryan likes you very much. He told me soâ¦.â

âReally,â thought Lucy to herself. âThereâs too much match-making round here. First Miss Marple and now Alexander!â

For some reason or other, pigsties came into her mind.

She stood up.

âGood night, Alexander. There will be only your washing things and pyjamas to put in in the morning. Good night.â

âGood night,â said Alexander. He slid down in bed, laid his head on the pillow, closed his eyes, giving a perfect picture of a sleeping angel; and was immediately asleep.

Nineteen

I

âNot what youâd call conclusive,â said Sergeant Wetherall with his usual gloom.

Craddock was reading through the report on Harold Crackenthorpeâs alibi for 20th December.

He had been noticed at Sothebyâs about three-thirty, but was thought to have left shortly after that. His photograph had not been recognized at Russellâs tea shop, but as they did a busy trade there at teatime, and he was not an habituÃ©, that was hardly surprising. His manservant confirmed that he had returned to Cardigan Gardens to dress for his dinner-party at a quarter to sevenârather late, since the dinner was at seven-thirty, and Mr. Crackenthorpe had been somewhat irritable in consequence. Did not remember hearing him come in that evening, but, as it was some time ago, could not remember accurately and, in any case, he frequently did not hear Mr. Crackenthorpe come in. He and his wife liked to retire early whenever they could. The garage in the mews where Harold kept his car was a private lockup that he rented and there was no one to notice who came and went or any reason to remember one evening in particular.

âAll negative,â said Craddock, with a sigh.

âHe was at the Caterersâ Dinner all right, but left rather early before the end of the speeches.â

âWhat about the railway stations?â

But there was nothing there, either at Brackhampton or at Paddington. It was nearly four weeks ago, and it was highly unlikely that anything would have been remembered.

Craddock sighed, and stretched out his hand for the data on Cedric. That again was negative, though a taxi-driver had made a doubtful recognition of having taken a fare to Paddington that day some time in the afternoon âwhat looked something like that bloke. Dirty trousers and a shock of hair. Cussed and swore a bit because fares had gone up since he was last in England.â He identified the day because a horse called Crawler had won the two-thirty and heâd had a tidy bit on. Just after dropping the gent, heâd heard it on the radio in his cab and had gone home forthwith to celebrate.

âThank God for racing!â said Craddock, and put the report aside.

âAnd hereâs Alfred,â said Sergeant Wetherall.

Some nuance in his voice made Craddock look up sharply. Wetherall had the pleased appearance of a man who has kept a titbit until the end.

In the main the check was unsatisfactory. Alfred lived alone in his flat and came and went at unspecified times. His neighbours were not the inquisitive kind and were in any case office workers who were out all day. But towards the end of the report, Wetherallâs large finger indicated the final paragraph.

Sergeant Leakie, assigned to a case of thefts from lorries, had been at the Load of Bricks, a lorry pull-up on the Waddington- Brackhampton Road, keeping certain lorry drivers under observation. He had noticed at an adjoining table, Chick Evans, one of the Dicky Rogers mob. With him had been Alfred Crackenthorpe whom he knew by sight, having seen him give evidence in the Dicky Rogers case. Heâd wondered what they were cooking up together. Time, 9:30 p.m., Friday, 20th December. Alfred Crackenthorpe had boarded a bus a few minutes later, going in the direction of Brackhampton. William Baker, ticket collector at Brackhampton station, had clipped ticket of gentleman whom he recognized by sight as one of Miss Crackenthorpeâs brothers, just before departure of eleven-fifty-five train for Paddington. Remembers day as there had been story of some batty old lady who swore she had seen somebody murdered in a train that afternoon.

âAlfred?â said Craddock as he laid the report down. âAlfred? I wonder.â

âPuts him right on the spot, there,â Wetherall pointed out.

Craddock nodded. Yes, Alfred could have travelled down by the 4:33 to Brackhampton committing murder on the way. Then he could have gone out by bus to the Load of Bricks. He could have left there at nine-thirty and would have had plenty of time to go to Rutherford Hall, move the body from the embankment to the sarcophagus, and get into Brackhampton in time to catch the 11:55 back to London. One of the Dicky Rogers gang might even have helped move the body, though Craddock doubted this. An unpleasant lot, but not killers.

âAlfred?â he repeated speculatively.

II

At Rutherford Hall there had been a gathering of the Crackenthorpe family. Harold and Alfred had come down from London and very soon voices were raised and tempers were running high.

On her own initiative, Lucy mixed cocktails in a jug with ice and then took them towards the library. The voices sounded clearly in the hall, and indicated that a good deal of acrimony was being directed towards Emma.

âEntirely your fault, Emma,â Haroldâs bass voice rang out angrily. âHow you could be so shortsighted and foolish beats me. If you hadnât taken that letter to Scotland Yardâand started all thisââ

Alfredâs high-pitched voice said: âYou must have been out of your senses!â

âNow donât bully her,â said Cedric. âWhatâs done is done. Much more fishy if theyâd identified the woman as the missing Martine and weâd all kept mum about having heard from her.â

âItâs all very well for you, Cedric,â said Harold angrily. âYou were out of the country on the 20th which seems to be the day they are inquiring about. But itâs very embarrassing for Alfred and myself. Fortunately, I can remember where I was that afternoon and what I was doing.â

âI bet you can,â said Alfred. âIf youâd arranged a murder, Harold, youâd arrange your alibi very carefully, Iâm sure.â

âI gather you are not so fortunate,â said Harold coldly.

âThat depends,â said Alfred. âAnythingâs better than presenting a cast-iron alibi to the police if it isnât really cast-iron. Theyâre so clever at breaking these things down.â

âIf you are insinuating that I killed the womanââ

âOh, do stop, all of you,â cried Emma. âOf course none of you killed the woman.â

âAnd just for your information, I wasnât out of England on the 20th,â said Cedric. âAnd the police are wise to it! So weâre all under suspicion.â

âIf it hadnât been for Emmaââ

âOh, donât begin again, Harold,â cried Emma.

Dr. Quimper came out of the study where he had been closeted with old Mr. Crackenthorpe. His eye fell on the jug in Lucyâs hand.

âWhatâs this? A celebration?â

âMore in the nature of oil on troubled waters. Theyâre at it hammer and tongs in there.â

âRecriminations?â

âMostly abusing Emma.â

Dr. Quimperâs eyebrows rose.

âIndeed?â He took the jug from Lucyâs hand, opened the library door and went in.

âGood evening.â

âAh, Dr. Quimper, I should like a word with you.â It was Haroldâs voice, raised and irritable. âI should like to know what you meant by interfering in a private and family matter, and telling my sister to go to Scotland Yard about it.â

Dr. Quimper said calmly:

âMiss Crackenthorpe asked my advice. I gave it to her. In my opinion she did perfectly right.â

âYou dare to sayââ

âGirl!â

It was old Mr. Crackenthorpeâs familiar salutation. He was peering out of the study door just behind Lucy.

Lucy turned rather reluctantly.

âYes, Mr. Crackenthorpe?â

âWhat are you giving us for dinner tonight? I want curry. You make a very good curry. Itâs ages since weâve had curry.â

âThe boys donât care much for curry, you see.â

âThe boysâthe boys. What do the boys matter? Iâm the one who matters. And, anyway, the boys have goneâgood riddance. I want a nice hot curry, do you hear?â

âAll right, Mr. Crackenthorpe, you shall have it.â

âThatâs right. Youâre a good girl, Lucy. You look after me and Iâll look after you.â

Lucy went back to the kitchen. Abandoning the fricassÃ©e of chicken which she had planned, she began to assemble the preparations for curry. The front door banged and from the window she saw Dr. Quimper stride angrily from the house to his car and drive away.

Lucy sighed. She missed the boys. And in a way she missed Bryan, too.

Oh, well. She sat down and began to peel mushrooms.

At any rate sheâd give the family a rattling good dinner.

Feed the brutes!

III

It was 3 a.m. when Dr. Quimper drove his car into the garage, closed the doors and came in pulling the front door behind him rather wearily. Well, Mrs. Josh Simpkins had a fine healthy pair of twins to add to her present family of eight. Mr. Simpkins had expressed no elation over the arrival. âTwins,â he had said gloomily. âWhatâs the good of they? Quads now, theyâre good for something. All sorts of things you get sent, and the Press comes round and thereâs pictures in the paper, and they do say as Her Majesty sends you a telegram. But whatâs twins except two mouths to feed instead of one? Never been twins in our family, nor in the missusâs either. Donât seem fair, somehow.â

Dr. Quimper walked upstairs to his bedroom and started throwing off his clothes. He glanced at his watch. Five minutes past three. It had proved an unexpectedly tricky business bringing those twins into the world, but all had gone well. He yawned. He was tiredâvery tired. He looked appreciatively at his bed.

Then the telephone rang.

Dr. Quimper swore, and picked up the receiver.

âDr. Quimper?â

âSpeaking.â

âThis is Lucy Eyelesbarrow from Rutherford Hall. I think youâd better come over. Everybody seems to have taken ill.â

âTaken ill? How? What symptoms?â

Lucy detailed them.

âIâll be over straight away. In the meantimeâ¦â He gave her short sharp instructions.

Then he quickly resumed his clothes, flung a few extra things into his emergency bag, and hurried down to his car.

IV

It was some three hours later when the doctor and Lucy, both of them somewhat exhausted, sat down by the kitchen table to drink large cups of black coffee.

âHa,â Dr. Quimper drained his cup, set it down with a clatter on the saucer. âI needed that. Now, Miss Eyelesbarrow, letâs get down to brass tacks.â

Lucy looked at him. The lines of fatigue showed clearly on his face making him look older than his forty-four years, the dark hair on his temples was flecked with grey, and there were lines under his eyes.

âAs far as I can judge,â said the doctor, âtheyâll be all right now. But how come? Thatâs what I want to know. Who cooked the dinner?â

âI did,â said Lucy.

âAnd what was it? In detail.â

âMushroom soup. Curried chicken and rice. Syllabubs. A savoury of chicken livers and bacon.â

âCanapÃ©s Diane,â said Dr. Quimper unexpectedly.

Lucy smiled faintly.

âYes, CanapÃ©s Diane.â

âAll rightâletâs go through it. Mushroom soupâout of a tin, I suppose?â

âCertainly not. I made it.â

âYou made it. Out of what?â

âHalf a pound of mushrooms, chicken stock, milk, a roux of butter and flour, and lemon juice.â

âAh. And oneâs supposed to say âIt must have been the mushrooms.ââ

âIt wasnât the mushrooms. I had some of the soup myself and Iâm quite all right.â

âYes, youâre quite all right. I hadnât forgotten that.â

Lucy flushed.

âIf you meanââ

âI donât mean. Youâre a highly intelligent girl. Youâd be groaning upstairs, too, if Iâd meant what you thought I meant. Anyway, I know all about you. Iâve taken the trouble to find out.â

âWhy on earth did you do that?â

Dr. Quimperâs lips were set in a grim line.

âBecause Iâm making it my business to find out about the people who come here and settle themselves in. Youâre a bona fide young woman who does this particular job for a livelihood and you seem never to have had any contact with the Crackenthorpe family previous to coming here. So youâre not a girl-friend of either Cedric, Harold or Alfredâhelping them to do a bit of dirty work.â

âDo you really thinkâ?â

âI think quite a lot of things,â said Quimper. âBut I have to be careful. Thatâs the worst of being a doctor. Now letâs get on. Curried chicken. Did you have some of that?â

âNo. When youâve cooked a curry, youâve dined off the smell, I find. I tasted it, of course. I had soup and some syllabub.â

âHow did you serve the syllabub?â

âIn individual glasses.â

âNow, then, how much of all this is cleared up?â

âIf you mean washing up, everything was washed up and put away.â

Dr. Quimper groaned.

âThereâs such a thing as being overzealous,â he said.

âYes, I can see that, as things have turned out, but there it is, Iâm afraid.â

âWhat do you have still?â

âThereâs some of the curry leftâin a bowl in the larder. I was planning to use it as a basis for mulligatawny soup this evening. Thereâs some mushroom soup left, too. No syllabub and none of the savoury.â

âIâll take the curry and the soup. What about chutney? Did they have chutney with it?â

âYes. In one of those stone jars.â

âIâll have some of that, too.â

He rose. âIâll go up and have a look at them again. After that, can you hold the fort until morning? Keep an eye on them all? I can have a nurse round, with full instructions, by eight oâclock.â

âI wish youâd tell me straight out. Do you think itâs food poisoningâorâorâwell, poisoning.â

âIâve told you already. Doctors canât thinkâthey have to be sure. If thereâs a positive result from these food specimens I can go ahead. Otherwiseââ

âOtherwise?â Lucy repeated.

Dr. Quimper laid a hand on her shoulder.

âLook after two people in particular,â he said. âLook after Emma. Iâm not going to have anything happen to Emmaâ¦.â

There was emotion in his voice that could not be disguised. âSheâs not even begun to live yet,â he said. âAnd you know, people like Emma Crackenthorpe are the salt of the earthâ¦ Emmaâwell, Emma means a lot to me. Iâve never told her so, but I shall. Look after Emma.â

âYou bet I will,â said Lucy.

âAnd look after the old man. I canât say that heâs ever been my favourite patient, but he is my patient, and Iâm damned if Iâm going to let him be hustled out of the world because one or other of his unpleasant sonsâor all three of them, maybeâwant him out of the way so that they can handle his money.â

He threw her a sudden quizzical glance.

âThere,â he said. âIâve opened my mouth too wide. But keep your eyes skinned, thereâs a good girl, and incidentally keep your mouth shut.â

V

Inspector Bacon was looking upset.

âArsenic?â he said. âArsenic?â

âYes. It was in the curry. Hereâs the rest of the curryâfor your fellow to have a go at. Iâve only done a very rough test on a little of it, but the result was quite definite.â

âSo thereâs a poisoner at work?â

âIt would seem so,â said Dr. Quimper dryly.

âAnd theyâre all affected, you sayâexcept that Miss Eyelesbarrow.â

âExcept Miss Eyelesbarrow.â

âLooks a bit fishy for herâ¦.â

âWhat motive could she possibly have?â

âMight be barmy,â suggested Bacon. âSeem all right, they do, sometimes, and yet all the time theyâre right off their rocker, so to speak.â

âMiss Eyelesbarrow isnât off her rocker. Speaking as a medical man, Miss Eyelesbarrow is as sane as you or I are. If Miss Eyelesbarrow is feeding the family arsenic in their curry, sheâs doing it for a reason. Moreover, being a highly intelligent young woman, sheâd be careful not to be the only one unaffected. What sheâd do, what any intelligent poisoner would do, would be to eat a very little of the poisoned curry, and then exaggerate the symptoms.â

âAnd then you wouldnât be able to tell?â

âThat sheâd had less than the others? Probably not. People donât all react alike to poisons anywayâthe same amount will upset some people more than others. Of course,â added Dr. Quimper cheerfully, âonce the patientâs dead, you can estimate fairly closely how much was taken.â

âThen it might beâ¦â Inspector Bacon paused to consolidate his idea. âIt might be that thereâs one of the family now whoâs making more fuss than he needâsomeone who you might say is mucking in with the rest so as to avoid causing suspicion? Howâs that?â

âThe idea has already occurred to me. Thatâs why Iâm reporting to you. Itâs in your hands now. Iâve got a nurse on the job that I can trust, but she canât be everywhere at once. In my opinion, nobodyâs had enough to cause death.â

âMade a mistake, the poisoner did?â

âNo. It seems to me more likely that the idea was to put enough in the curry to cause signs of food poisoningâfor which probably the mushrooms would be blamed. People are always obsessed with the idea of mushroom poisoning. Then one person would probably take a turn for the worse and die.â

âBecause heâd been given a second dose?â

The doctor nodded.

âThatâs why Iâm reporting to you at once, and why Iâve put a special nurse on the job.â

âShe knows about the arsenic?â

âOf course. She knows and so does Miss Eyelesbarrow. You know your own job best, of course, but if I were you, Iâd get out there and make it quite clear to them all that theyâre suffering from arsenic poisoning. That will probably put the fear of the Lord into our murderer and he wonât dare to carry out his plan. Heâs probably been banking on the food-poisoning theory.â

The telephone rang on the inspectorâs desk. He picked it up and said:

âOK. Put her through.â He said to Quimper, âItâs your nurse on the phone. Yes, halloâspeakingâ¦ Whatâs that? Serious relapseâ¦ Yesâ¦ Dr. Quimperâs with me nowâ¦ If youâd like a word with himâ¦.â

He handed the receiver to the doctor.

âQuimper speakingâ¦ I seeâ¦ Yesâ¦ Quite rightâ¦ Yes, carry on with that. Weâll be along.â

He put the receiver down and turned to Bacon.

âWho is it?â

âItâs Alfred,â said Dr. Quimper. âAnd heâs dead.â

Twenty

I

Over the telephone, Craddockâs voice came in sharp disbelief.

âAlfred?â he said. âAlfred?â

Inspector Bacon, shifting the telephone receiver a little, said: âYou didnât expect that?â

âNo, indeed. As a matter of fact, Iâd just got him taped for the murderer!â

âI heard about him being spotted by the ticket collector. Looked bad for him all right. Yes, looked as though weâd got our man.â

âWell,â said Craddock flatly, âwe were wrong.â

There was a momentâs silence. Then Craddock asked:

âThere was a nurse in charge. How did she come to slip up?â

âCanât blame her. Miss Eyelesbarrow was all in and went to get a bit of sleep. The nurse had five patients on her hands, the old man, Emma, Cedric, Harold and Alfred. She couldnât be everywhere at once. It seems old Mr. Crackenthorpe started creating in a big way. Said he was dying. She went in, got him soothed down, came back again and took Alfred in some tea with glucose. He drank it and that was that.â

âArsenic again?â

âSeems so. Of course it could have been a relapse, but Quimper doesnât think so and Johnstone agrees.â

âI suppose,â said Craddock, doubtfully, âthat Alfred was meant to be the victim?â

Bacon sounded interested. âYou mean that whereas Alfredâs death wouldnât do anyone a pennâorth of good, the old manâs death would benefit the lot of them? I suppose it might have been a mistakeâsomebody might have thought the tea was intended for the old man.â

âAre they sure that thatâs the way the stuff was administered?â

âNo, of course they arenât sure. The nurse, like a good nurse, washed up the whole contraption. Cups, spoons, teapotâeverything. But it seems the only feasible method.â

âMeaning,â said Craddock thoughtfully, âthat one of the patients wasnât as ill as the others? Saw his chance and doped the cup?â

âWell, there wonât be anymore funny business,â said Inspector Bacon grimly. âWeâve got two nurses on the job now, to say nothing of Miss Eyelesbarrow, and Iâve got a couple of men there too. You coming down?â

âAs fast as I can make it!â

II

Lucy Eyelesbarrow came across the hall to meet Inspector Craddock. She looked pale and drawn.

âYouâve been having a bad time of it,â said Craddock.

âItâs been like one long ghastly nightmare,â said Lucy. âI really thought last night that they were all dying.â

âAbout this curryââ

âIt was the curry?â

âYes, very nicely laced with arsenicâquite the Borgia touch.â

âIf thatâs true,â said Lucy. âIt mustâitâs got to beâone of the family.â

âNo other possibility?â

âNo, you see I only started making that damned curry quite lateâafter six oâclockâbecause Mr. Crackenthorpe specially asked for curry. And I had to open a new tin of curry powderâso that couldnât have been tampered with. I suppose curry would disguise the taste?â

âArsenic hasnât any taste,â said Craddock absently. âNow, opportunity. Which of them had the chance to tamper with the curry while it was cooking?â

Lucy considered.

âActually,â she said, âanyone could have sneaked into the kitchen whilst I was laying the table in the dining room.â

âI see. Now, who was here in the house? Old Mr. Crackenthorpe, Emma, Cedricââ

âHarold and Alfred. Theyâd come down from London in the afternoon. Oh, and BryanâBryan Eastley. But he left just before dinner. He had to meet a man in Brackhampton.â

Craddock said thoughtfully, âIt ties up with the old manâs illness at Christmas. Quimper suspected that that was arsenic. Did they all seem equally ill last night?â

Lucy considered. âI think old Mr. Crackenthorpe seemed the worst. Dr. Quimper had to work like a maniac on him. Heâs a jolly good doctor, I will say. Cedric made by far the most fuss. Of course, strong healthy people always do.â

âWhat about Emma?â

âShe has been pretty bad.â

âWhy Alfred, I wonder?â said Craddock.

âI know,â said Lucy. âI suppose it was meant to be Alfred?â

âFunnyâ I asked that too!â

âIt seems, somehow, so pointless.â

âIf I could only get at the motive for all this business,â said Craddock. âIt doesnât seem to tie up. The strangled woman in the sarcophagus was Edmund Crackenthorpeâs widow, Martine. Letâs assume that. Itâs pretty well proved by now. There must be a connection between that and the deliberate poisoning of Alfred. Itâs all here, in the family somewhere. Even saying one of themâs mad doesnât help.â

âNot really,â Lucy agreed.

âWell, look after yourself,â said Craddock warningly. âThereâs a poisoner in this house, remember, and one of your patients upstairs probably isnât as ill as he pretends to be.â

Lucy went upstairs again slowly after Craddockâs departure. An imperious voice, somewhat weakened by illness, called to her as she passed old Mr. Crackenthorpeâs room.

âGirlâgirlâis that you? Come here.â

Lucy entered the room. Mr. Crackenthorpe was lying in bed well propped up with pillows. For a sick man he was looking Lucy thought, remarkably cheerful.

âThe house is full of damned hospital nurses,â complained Mr. Crackenthorpe. âRustling about, making themselves important, taking my temperature, not giving me what I want to eatâa pretty penny all that must be costing. Tell Emma to send âem away. You could look after me quite well.â

âEverybodyâs been taken ill, Mr. Crackenthorpe,â said Lucy. âI canât look after everybody, you know.â

âMushrooms,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âDamned dangerous things, mushrooms. It was that soup we had last night. You made it,â he added accusingly.

âThe mushrooms were quite all right, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

âIâm not blaming you, girl, Iâm not blaming you. Itâs happened before. One blasted fungus slips in and does it. Nobody can tell. I know youâre a good girl. You wouldnât do it on purpose. Howâs Emma?â

âFeeling rather better this afternoon.â

âAh, and Harold?â

âHeâs better too.â

âWhatâs this about Alfred having kicked the bucket?â

âNobodyâs supposed to have told you that, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

Mr. Crackenthorpe laughed, a high, whinnying laugh of intense amusement. âI hear things,â he said. âCanât keep things from the old man. They try to. So Alfredâs dead, is he? He wonât sponge on me anymore, and he wonât get any of the money either. Theyâve all been waiting for me to die, you knowâAlfred in particular. Now heâs dead. I call that rather a good joke.â

âThatâs not very kind of you, Mr. Crackenthorpe,â said Lucy severely.

Mr. Crackenthorpe laughed again. âIâll outlive them all,â he crowed. âYou see if I donât, my girl. You see if I donât.â

Lucy went to her room, she took out her dictionary and looked up the word âtontine.â She closed the book thoughtfully and stared ahead of her.

III

âDonât see why you want to come to me,â said Dr. Morris, irritably.

âYouâve known the Crackenthorpe family a long time,â said Inspector Craddock.

âYes, yes, I knew all the Crackenthorpes. I remember old Josiah Crackenthorpe. He was a hard nutâshrewd man, though. Made a lot of money,â he shifted his aged form in his chair and peered under bushy eyebrows at Inspector Craddock. âSo youâve been listening to that young fool, Quimper,â he said. âThese zealous young doctors! Always getting ideas in their heads. Got it into his head that somebody was trying to poison Luther Crackenthorpe. Nonsense! Melodrama! Of course, he had gastric attacks. I treated him for them. Didnât happen very oftenânothing peculiar about them.â

âDr. Quimper,â said Craddock, âseemed to think there was.â

âDoesnât do for a doctor to go thinking. After all, I should hope I could recognize arsenical poisoning when I saw it.â

âQuite a lot of well-known doctors havenât noticed it,â Craddock pointed out. âThere wasââhe drew upon his memoryââthe Greenbarrow case, Mrs. Teney, Charles Leeds, three people in the Westbury family, all buried nicely and tidily without the doctors who attended them having the least suspicion. Those doctors were all good, reputable men.â

âAll right, all right,â said Doctor Morris, âyouâre saying that I could have made a mistake. Well, I donât think I did.â He paused a minute and then said, âWho did Quimper think was doing itâif it was being done?â

âHe didnât know,â said Craddock. âHe was worried. After all, you know,â he added, âthereâs a great deal of money there.â

âYes, yes, I know, which theyâll get when Luther Crackenthorpe dies. And they want it pretty badly. That is true enough, but it doesnât follow that theyâd kill the old man to get it.â

âNot necessarily,â agreed Inspector Craddock.

âAnyway,â said Dr. Morris, âmy principle is not to go about suspecting things without due cause. Due cause,â he repeated. âIâll admit that what youâve just told me has shaken me up a bit. Arsenic on a big scale, apparentlyâbut I still donât see why you come to me. All I can tell you is that I didnât suspect it. Maybe I should have. Maybe I should have taken those gastric attacks of Luther Crackenthorpeâs much more seriously. But youâve got a long way beyond that now.â

Craddock agreed. âWhat I really need,â he said, âis to know a little more about the Crackenthorpe family. Is there any queer mental strain in themâa kink of any kind?â

The eyes under the bushy eyebrows looked at him sharply. âYes, I can see your thoughts might run that way. Well, old Josiah was sane enough. Hard as nails, very much all there. His wife was neurotic, had a tendency to melancholia. Came of an inbred family. She died soon after her second son was born. Iâd say, you know, that Luther inherited a certainâwell, instability, from her. He was commonplace enough as a young man, but he was always at loggerheads with his father. His father was disappointed in him and I think he resented that and brooded on it, and in the end got a kind of obsession about it. He carried that on into his married life. Youâll notice, if you talk to him at all, that heâs got a hearty dislike for all his own sons. His daughters he was fond of. Both Emma and Edieâthe one who died.â

âWhy does he dislike the sons so much?â asked Craddock.

âYouâll have to go to one of these new-fashioned psychiatrists to find that out. Iâd just say that Luther has never felt very adequate as a man himself, and that he bitterly resents his financial position. He has possession of an income but no power of appointment of capital. If he had the power to disinherit his sons he probably wouldnât dislike them as much. Being powerless in that respect gives him a feeling of humiliation.â

âThatâs why heâs so pleased at the idea of outliving them all?â said Inspector Craddock.

âPossibly. It is the root, too, of his parsimony, I think. I should say that heâs managed to save a considerable sum out of his large incomeâmostly, of course, before taxation rose to its present giddy heights.â

A new idea struck Inspector Craddock. âI suppose heâs left his savings by will to someone? That he can do.â

âOh, yes, though God knows who he has left it to. Maybe to Emma, but I should rather doubt it. Sheâll get her share of the old manâs property. Maybe to Alexander, the grandson.â

âHeâs fond of him, is he?â said Craddock.

âUsed to be. Of course he was his daughterâs child, not a sonâs child. That may have made a difference. And he had quite an affection for Bryan Eastley, Edieâs husband. Of course I donât know Bryan well, itâs some years since Iâve seen any of the family. But it struck me that he was going to be very much at a loose end after the war. Heâs got those qualities that you need in wartime; courage, dash, and a tendency to let the future take care of itself. But I donât think heâs got any stability. Heâll probably turn into a drifter.â

âAs far as you know thereâs no peculiar kink in any of the younger generation?â

âCedricâs an eccentric type, one of those natural rebels. I wouldnât say he was perfectly normal, but you might say, who is? Haroldâs fairly orthodox, not what I call a very pleasant character, coldhearted, eye to the main chance. Alfredâs got a touch of the delinquent about him. Heâs a wrong âun, always was. Saw him taking money out of a missionary box once that they used to keep in the hall. That type of thing. Ah, well, the poor fellowâs dead, I suppose I shouldnât be talking against him.â

âWhat aboutâ¦â Craddock hesitated. âEmma Crackenthorpe?â

âNice girl, quiet, one doesnât always know what sheâs thinking. Has her own plans and her own ideas, but she keeps them to herself. Sheâs more character than you might think from her general appearance.â

âYou knew Edmund, I suppose, the son who was killed in France?â

âYes. He was the best of the bunch Iâd say. Goodhearted, gay, a nice boy.â

âDid you ever hear that he was going to marry, or had married, a French girl just before he was killed?â

Dr. Morris frowned. âIt seems as though I remember something about it,â he said, âbut itâs a long time ago.â

âQuite early on in the war, wasnât it?â

âYes. Ah, well, I dare say heâd have lived to regret it if he had married a foreign wife.â

âThereâs some reason to believe that he did do just that,â said Craddock.

In a few brief sentences he gave an account of recent happenings.

âI remember seeing something in the papers about a woman found in a sarcophagus. So it was at Rutherford Hall.â

âAnd thereâs reason to believe that the woman was Edmund Crackenthorpeâs widow.â

âWell, well, that seems extraordinary. More like a novel than real life. But whoâd want to kill the poor thingâI mean, how does it tie up with arsenical poisoning in the Crackenthorpe family?â

âIn one of two ways,â said Craddock; âbut they are both very farfetched. Somebody perhaps is greedy and wants the whole of Josiah Crackenthorpeâs fortune.â

âDamn fool if he does,â said Dr. Morris. âHeâll only have to pay the most stupendous taxes on the income from it.â

Twenty-one

âNasty things, mushrooms,â said Mrs. Kidder.

Mrs. Kidder had made the same remark about ten times in the last few days. Lucy did not reply.

âNever touch âem myself,â said Mrs. Kidder, âmuch too dangerous. Itâs a merciful Providence as thereâs only been one death. The whole lot might have gone, and you, too, miss. A wonderful escape, youâve had.â

âIt wasnât the mushrooms,â said Lucy. âThey were perfectly all right.â

âDonât you believe it,â said Mrs. Kidder. âDangerous they are, mushrooms. One toadstool in among the lot and youâve had it.â

âFunny,â went on Mrs. Kidder, among the rattle of plates and dishes in the sink, âhow things seem to come all together, as it were. My sisterâs eldest had measles and our Ernie fell down and broke âis arm, and my âusband came out all over with boils. All in the same week! Youâd hardly believe it, would you? Itâs been the same thing here,â went on Mrs. Kidder, âfirst that nasty murder and now Mr. Alfred dead with mushroom-poisoning. Whoâll be the next, Iâd like to know?â

Lucy felt rather uncomfortably that she would like to know too.

âMy husband, he doesnât like me coming here now,â said Mrs. Kidder, âthinks itâs unlucky, but what I say is Iâve known Miss Crackenthorpe a long time now and sheâs a nice lady and she depends on me. And I couldnât leave poor Miss Eyelesbarrow, I said, not to do everything herself in the house. Pretty hard it is on you, miss, all these trays.â

Lucy was forced to agree that life did seem to consist very largely of trays at the moment. She was at the moment arranging trays to take to the various invalids.

âAs for them nurses, they never do a handâs turn,â said Mrs. Kidder. âAll they want is pots and pots of tea made strong. And meals prepared. Wore out, thatâs what I am.â She spoke in a tone of great satisfaction, though actually she had done very little more than her normal morningâs work.

Lucy said solemnly, âYou never spare yourself, Mrs. Kidder.â

Mrs. Kidder looked pleased. Lucy picked up the first of the trays and started off up the stairs.

âWhatâs this?â said Mr. Crackenthorpe disapprovingly.

âBeef tea and baked custard,â said Lucy.

âTake it away,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âI wonât touch that stuff. I told that nurse I wanted a beef steak.â

âDr. Quimper thinks you ought not to have beef steak just yet,â said Lucy.

Mr. Crackenthorpe snorted. âIâm practically well again. Iâm getting up tomorrow. How are the others?â

âMr. Haroldâs much better,â said Lucy. âHeâs going back to London tomorrow.â

âGood riddance,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âWhat about Cedricâany hope that heâs going back to his island tomorrow?â

âHe wonât be going just yet.â

âPity. Whatâs Emma doing? Why doesnât she come and see me?â

âSheâs still in bed, Mr. Crackenthorpe.â

âWomen always coddle themselves,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âBut youâre a good strong girl,â he added approvingly. âRun about all day, donât you?â

âI get plenty of exercise,â said Lucy.

Old Mr. Crackenthorpe nodded his head approvingly. âYouâre a good strong girl,â he said, âand donât think Iâve forgotten what I talked to you about before. One of these days youâll see what youâll see. Emma isnât always going to have things her own way. And donât listen to the others when they tell you Iâm a mean old man. Iâm careful of my money. Iâve got a nice little packet put by and I know who Iâm going to spend it on when the time comes.â He leered at her affectionately.

Lucy went rather quickly out of the room, avoiding his clutching hand.

The next tray was taken in to Emma.

âOh, thank you, Lucy. Iâm really feeling quite myself again by now. Iâm hungry, and thatâs a good sign, isnât it? My dear,â went on Emma as Lucy settled the tray on her knees, âIâm really feeling very upset about your aunt. You havenât had any time to go and see her, I suppose?â

âNo, I havenât, as a matter of fact.â

âIâm afraid she must be missing you.â

âOh, donât worry, Miss Crackenthorpe. She understands what a terrible time weâve been through.â

âHave you rung her up?â

âNo, I havenât just lately.â

âWell, do. Ring her up every day. It makes such a difference to old people to get news.â

âYouâre very kind,â said Lucy. Her conscience smote her a little as she went down to fetch the next tray. The complications of illness in a house had kept her thoroughly absorbed and she had had no time to think of anything else. She decided that she would ring Miss Marple up as soon as she had taken Cedric his meal.

There was only one nurse in the house now and she passed Lucy on the landing, exchanging greetings.

Cedric, looking incredibly tidied up and neat, was sitting up in bed writing busily on sheets of paper.

âHallo, Lucy,â he said, âwhat hell brew have you got for me today? I wish youâd get rid of that god-awful nurse, sheâs simply too arch for words. Calls me âweâ for some reason. âAnd how are we this morning? Have we slept well? Oh, dear, weâre very naughty, throwing off the bedclothes like that.ââ He imitated the refined accents of the nurse in a high falsetto voice.

âYou seem very cheerful,â said Lucy. âWhat are you busy with?â

âPlans,â said Cedric. âPlans for what to do with this place when the old man pops off. Itâs a jolly good bit of land here, you know. I canât make up my mind whether Iâd like to develop some of it myself, or whether Iâll sell it in lots all in one go. Very valuable for industrial purposes. The house will do for a nursing home or a school. Iâm not sure I shanât sell half the land and use the money to do something rather outrageous with the other half. What do you think?â

âYou havenât got it yet,â said Lucy, dryly.

âI shall have it, though,â said Cedric. âItâs not divided up like the other stuff. I get it outright. And if I sell it for a good fat price the money will be capital, not income, so I shanât have to pay taxes on it. Money to burn. Think of it.â

âI always understood you rather despised money,â said Lucy.

âOf course I despise money when I havenât got any,â said Cedric. âItâs the only dignified thing to do. What a lovely girl you are, Lucy, or do I just think so because I havenât seen any good-looking women for such a long time?â

âI expect thatâs it,â said Lucy.

âStill busy tidying everyone and everything up?â

âSomebody seems to have been tidying you up,â said Lucy, looking at him.

âThatâs that damned nurse,â said Cedric with feeling. âHave you had the inquest on Alfred yet? What happened?â

âIt was adjourned,â said Lucy.

âPolice being cagey. This mass poisoning does give one a bit of a turn, doesnât it? Mentally, I mean. Iâm not referring to more obvious aspects.â He added: âBetter look after yourself, my girl.â

âI do,â said Lucy.

âHas young Alexander gone back to school yet?â

âI think heâs still with the Stoddart-Wests. I think itâs the day after tomorrow that school begins.â

Before getting her own lunch Lucy went to the telephone and rang up Miss Marple.

âIâm so terribly sorry I havenât been able to come over, but Iâve been really very busy.â

âOf course, my dear, of course. Besides, thereâs nothing that can be done just now. We just have to wait.â

âYes, but what are we waiting for?â

âElspeth McGillicuddy ought to be home very soon now,â said Miss Marple. âI wrote to her to fly home at once. I said it was her duty. So donât worry too much, my dear.â Her voice was kindly and reassuring.

âYou donât thinkâ¦â Lucy began, but stopped.

âThat there will be anymore deaths? Oh, I hope not, my dear. But one never knows, does one? When anyone is really wicked, I mean. And I think there is great wickedness here.â

âOr madness,â said Lucy.

âOf course I know that is the modern way of looking at things. I donât agree myself.â

Lucy rang off, went into the kitchen and picked up her tray of lunch. Mrs. Kidder had divested herself of her apron and was about to leave.

âYouâll be all right, miss, I hope?â she asked solicitously.

âOf course I shall be all right,â snapped Lucy.

She took her tray not into the big, gloomy dining room but into the small study. She was just finishing her meal when the door opened and Bryan Eastley came in.

âHallo,â said Lucy, âthis is very unexpected.â

âI suppose it is,â said Bryan. âHow is everybody?â

âOh, much better. Haroldâs going back to London tomorrow.â

âWhat do you think about it all? Was it really arsenic?â

âIt was arsenic all right,â said Lucy.

âIt hasnât been in the papers yet.â

âNo, I think the police are keeping it up their sleeves for the moment.â

âSomebody must have a pretty good down on the family,â said Bryan. âWhoâs likely to have sneaked in and tampered with the food?â

âI suppose Iâm the most likely person really,â said Lucy.

Bryan looked at her anxiously. âBut you didnât, did you?â he asked. He sounded slightly shocked.

âNo. I didnât,â said Lucy.

Nobody could have tampered with the curry. She had made itâalone in the kitchen, and brought it to table, and the only person who could have tampered with it was one of the five people who sat down to the meal.

âI meanâwhy should you?â said Bryan. âTheyâre nothing to you, are they? I say,â he added, âI hope you donât mind my coming back here like this?â

âNo, no, of course I donât. Have you come to stay?â

âWell, Iâd like to, if it wouldnât be an awful bore to you.â

âNo. No, we can manage.â

âYou see, Iâm out of a job at the moment and Iâwell, I get rather fed up. Are you really sure you donât mind?â

âOh, Iâm not the person to mind, anyway. Itâs Emma.â

âOh, Emmaâs all right,â said Bryan. âEmmaâs always been very nice to me. In her own way, you know. She keeps things to herself a lot, in fact, sheâs rather a dark horse, old Emma. This living here and looking after the old man would get most people down. Pity she never married. Too late now, I suppose.â

âI donât think itâs too late, at all,â said Lucy.

âWellâ¦â Bryan considered. âA clergyman perhaps,â he said hopefully. âSheâd be useful in the parish and tactful with the Mothersâ Union. I do mean the Mothersâ Union, donât I? Not that I know what it really is, but you come across it sometimes in books. And sheâd wear a hat in church on Sundays,â he added.

âDoesnât sound much of a prospect to me,â said Lucy, rising and picking up the tray.

âIâll do that,â said Bryan, taking the tray from her. They went into the kitchen together. âShall I help you wash up? I do like this kitchen,â he added. âIn fact, I know it isnât the sort of thing that people do like nowadays, but I like this whole house. Shocking taste, I suppose, but there it is. You could land a plane quite easily in the park,â he added with enthusiasm.

He picked up a glass-cloth and began to wipe the spoons and forks.

âSeems a waste, its coming to Cedric,â he remarked. âFirst thing heâll do is to sell the whole thing and go breaking off abroad again. Canât see, myself, why England isnât good enough for anybody. Harold wouldnât want this house either, and of course itâs much too big for Emma. Now, if only it came to Alexander, he and I would be as happy together here as a couple of sand boys. Of course it would be nice to have a woman about the house.â He looked thoughtfully at Lucy. âOh, well, whatâs the good of talking? If Alexander were to get this place it would mean the whole lot of them would have to die first, and thatâs not really likely, is it? Though from what Iâve seen of the old boy he might easily live to be a hundred, just to annoy them all. I donât suppose he was much cut up by Alfredâs death, was he?â

Lucy said shortly, âNo, he wasnât.â

âCantankerous old devil,â said Bryan Eastley cheerfully.

Twenty-two

âDreadful, the things people go about saying,â said Mrs. Kidder. âI donât listen, mind you, more than I can help. But youâd hardly believe it.â She waited hopefully.

âYes, I suppose so,â said Lucy.

âAbout that body that was found in the Long Barn,â went on Mrs. Kidder, moving crablike backwards on her hands and knees, as she scrubbed the kitchen floor, âsaying as how sheâd been Mr. Edmundâs fancy piece during the war, and how she come over here and a jealous husband followed her, and did her in. It is a likely thing as a foreigner would do, but it wouldnât be likely after all these years, would it?â

âIt sounds most unlikely to me.â

âBut thereâs worse things than that, they say,â said Mrs. Kidder. âSay anything, people will. Youâd be surprised. Thereâs those that say Mr. Harold married somewhere abroad and that she come over and found out that heâs committed bigamy with that lady Alice, and that she was going to bring âim to court and that he met her down here and did her in, and hid her body in the sarcoffus. Did you ever!â

âShocking,â said Lucy vaguely, her mind elsewhere.

âOf course I didnât listen,â said Mrs. Kidder virtuously, âI wouldnât put no stock in such tales myself. It beats me how people think up such things, let alone say them. All I hope is none of it gets to Miss Emmaâs ears. It might upset her and I wouldnât like that. Sheâs a very nice lady, Miss Emma is, and Iâve not heard a word against her, not a word. And of course Mr. Alfred being dead nobody says anything against him now. Not even that itâs a judgment, which they well might do. But itâs awful, miss, isnât it, the wicked talk there is.â

Mrs. Kidder spoke with immense enjoyment.

âIt must be quite painful for you to listen to it,â said Lucy.

âOh, it is,â said Mrs. Kidder. âIt is indeed. I says to my husband, I says, however can they?â

The bell rang.

âThereâs the doctor, miss. Will you let âim in, or shall I?â

âIâll go,â said Lucy.

But it was not the doctor. On the doorstep stood a tall, elegant woman in a mink coat. Drawn up to the gravel sweep was a purring Rolls with a chauffeur at the wheel.

âCan I see Miss Emma Crackenthorpe, please?â

It was an attractive voice, the Râs slightly blurred. The woman was attractive too. About thirty-five, with dark hair and expensively and beautifully made up.

âIâm sorry,â said Lucy, âMiss Crackenthorpe is ill in bed and canât see anyone.â

âI know she has been ill, yes; but it is very important that I should see her.â

âIâm afraid,â Lucy began.

The visitor interrupted her. âI think you are Miss Eyelesbarrow, are you not?â She smiled, an attractive smile. âMy son has spoken of you, so I know. I am Lady Stoddart-West and Alexander is staying with me now.â

âOh, I see,â said Lucy.

âAnd it is really important that I should see Miss Crackenthorpe,â continued the other. âI know all about her illness and I assure you this is not just a social call. It is because of something that the boys have said to meâthat my son has said to me. It is, I think, a matter of grave importance and I would like to speak to Miss Crackenthorpe about it. Please, will you ask her?â

âCome in.â Lucy ushered her visitor into the hall and into the drawing room. Then she said, âIâll go up and ask Miss Crackenthorpe.â

She went upstairs, knocked on Emmaâs door and entered.

âLady Stoddart-West is here,â she said. âShe wants to see you very particularly.â

âLady Stoddart-West?â Emma looked surprised. A look of alarm came into her face. âThereâs nothing wrong, is there, with the boysâwith Alexander?â

âNo, no,â Lucy reassured her. âIâm sure the boys are all right. It seemed to be something the boys have told her or said to her.â

âOh. Wellâ¦â Emma hesitated. âPerhaps I ought to see her. Do I look all right, Lucy?â

âYou look very nice,â said Lucy.

Emma was sitting up in bed, a soft pink shawl was round her shoulders and brought out the faint rose-pink of her cheeks. Her dark hair had been neatly brushed and combed by Nurse. Lucy had placed a bowl of autumn leaves on the dressing table the day before. Her room looked attractive and quite unlike a sick room.

âIâm really quite well enough to get up,â said Emma. âDr. Quimper said I could tomorrow.â

âYou look really quite like yourself again,â said Lucy. âShall I bring Lady Stoddart-West up?â

âYes, do.â

Lucy went downstairs again. âWill you come up to Miss Crackenthorpeâs room?â

She escorted the visitor upstairs, opened the door for her to pass in and then shut it. Lady Stoddart-West approached the bed with outstretched hand.

âMiss Crackenthorpe? I really do apologize for breaking in on you like this. I have seen you, I think, at the sports at the school.â

âYes,â said Emma, âI remember you quite well. Do sit down.â

In the chair conveniently placed by the bed Lady Stoddart-West sat down. She said in a quiet low voice:

âYou must think it very strange of me coming here like this, but I have reason. I think it is an important reason. You see, the boys have been telling me things. You can understand that they were very excited about the murder that happened here. I confess I did not like it at the time. I was nervous. I wanted to bring James home at once. But my husband laughed. He said that obviously it was a murder that had nothing to do with the house and the family, and he said that from what he remembered from his boyhood, and from Jamesâs letters, both he and Alexander were enjoying themselves so wildly that it would be sheer cruelty to bring them back. So I gave in and agreed that they should stay on until the time arranged for James to bring Alexander back with him.â

Emma said: âYou think we ought to have sent your son home earlier?â

âNo, no, that is not what I mean at all. Oh, it is difficult for me, this! But what I have to say must be said. You see, they have picked up a good deal, the boys. They told me that this womanâthe murdered womanâthat the police have an idea that she may be a French girl whom your eldest brotherâwho was killed in the warâknew in France. That is so?â

âIt is a possibility,â said Emma, her voice breaking slightly, âthat we are forced to consider. It may have been so.â

âThere is some reason for believing that the body is that of this girl, this Martine?â

âI have told you, it is a possibility.â

âBut whyâwhy should they think that she was Martine? Did she have letters on herâpapers?â

âNo. Nothing of that kind. But you see, I had had a letter, from this Martine.â

âYou had had a letterâfrom Martine?â

âYes. A letter telling me she was in England and would like to come and see me. I invited her down here, but got a telegram saying she was going back to France. Perhaps she did go back to France. We do not know. But since then an envelope was found here addressed to her. That seems to show that she had come down here. But I really donât seeâ¦â She broke off.

Lady Stoddart-West broke in quickly:

âYou really do not see what concern it is of mine? That is very true. I should not in your place. But when I heard thisâor rather, a garbled account of thisâI had to come to make sure it was really so because, if it isââ

âYes?â said Emma.

âThen I must tell you something that I had never intended to tell you. You see, I am Martine Dubois.â

Emma stared at her guest as though she could hardly take in the sense of her words.

âYou!â she said. âYou are Martine?â

The other nodded vigorously. âBut, yes. It surprises you, I am sure, but it is true. I met your brother Edmund in the first days of the war. He was indeed billeted at our house. Well, you know the rest. We fell in love. We intended to be married, and then there was the retreat to Dunkirk, Edmund was reported missing. Later he was reported killed. I will not speak to you of that time. It was long ago and it is over. But I will say to you that I loved your brother very muchâ¦.

âThen came the grim realities of war. The Germans occupied France. I became a worker for the Resistance. I was one of those who was assigned to pass Englishmen through France to England. It was in that way that I met my present husband. He was an Air Force officer, parachuted into France to do special work. When the war ended we were married. I considered once or twice whether I should write to you or come and see you, but I decided against it. It could do no good, I thought, to take up old memories. I had a new life and I had no wish to recall the old.â She paused and then said: âBut it gave me, I will tell you, a strange pleasure when I found that my son Jamesâs greatest friend at his school was a boy whom I found to be Edmundâs nephew. Alexander, I may say, is very like Edmund, as I dare say you yourself appreciate. It seemed to me a very happy state of affairs that James and Alexander should be such friends.â

She leaned forward and placed her hand on Emmaâs arm. âBut you see, dear Emma, do you not, that when I heard this story about the murder, about this dead woman being suspected to be the Martine that Edmund had known, that I had to come and tell you the truth. Either you or I must inform the police of the fact. Whoever the dead woman is, she is not Martine.â

âI can hardly take it in,â said Emma, âthat you, you should be the Martine that dear Edmund wrote to me about.â She sighed, shaking her head, then she frowned perplexedly. âBut I donât understand. Was it you, then, who wrote to me?â

Lady Stoddart-West shook a vigorous head. âNo, no, of course I did not write to you.â

âThenâ¦â Emma stopped.

âThen there was someone pretending to be Martine who wanted perhaps to get money out of you? That is what it must have been. But who can it be?â

Emma said slowly: âI suppose there were people at the time, who knew?â

The other shrugged her shoulders. âProbably, yes. But there was no one intimate with me, no one very close to me. I have never spoken of it since I came to England. And why wait all this time? It is curious, very curious.â

Emma said: âI donât understand it. We will have to see what Inspector Craddock has to say.â She looked with suddenly softened eyes at her visitor. âIâm so glad to know you at last, my dear.â

âAnd I youâ¦ Edmund spoke of you very often. He was very fond of you. I am happy in my new life, but all the same, I donât quite forget.â

Emma leaned back and heaved a sigh. âItâs a terrible relief,â she said. âAs long as we feared that the dead woman might be Martineâit seemed to be tied up with the family. But nowâoh, itâs an absolute load off my back. I donât know who the poor soul was but she canât have had anything to do with us!â

Twenty-three

The streamlined secretary brought Harold Crackenthorpe his usual afternoon cup of tea.

âThanks, Miss Ellis, I shall be going home early today.â

âIâm sure you ought really not to have come at all, Mr. Crackenthorpe,â said Miss Ellis. âYou look quite pulled down still.â

âIâm all right,â said Harold Crackenthorpe, but he did feel pulled down. No doubt about it, heâd had a very nasty turn. Ah, well, that was over.

Extraordinary, he thought broodingly, that Alfred should have succumbed and the old man should have come through. After all, what was heâseventy-threeâseventy-four? Been an invalid for years. If there was one person youâd have thought would have been taken off, it would have been the old man. But no. It had to be Alfred. Alfred who, as far as Harold knew, was a healthy wiry sort of chap. Nothing much the matter with him.

He leaned back in his chair sighing. That girl was right. He didnât feel up to things yet, but he had wanted to come down to the office. Wanted to get the hang of how affairs were going. Touch and go. All thisâhe looked round himâthe richly appointed office, the pale gleaming wood, the expensive modern chairs, it all looked prosperous enough, and a good thing too! Thatâs where Alfred had always gone wrong. If you looked prosperous, people thought you were prosperous. There were no rumours going around as yet about his financial stability. All the same, the crash couldnât be delayed very long. Now, if only his father had passed out instead of Alfred, as surely, surely he ought to have done. Practically seemed to thrive on arsenic! Yes, if his father had succumbedâwell, there wouldnât have been anything to worry about.

Still, the great thing was not to seem worried. A prosperous appearance. Not like poor old Alfred who always looked seedy and shiftless, who looked in fact exactly what he was. One of those small-time speculators, never going all out boldly for the big money. In with a shady crowd here, doing a doubtful deal there, never quite rendering himself liable to prosecution but going very near the edge. And where had it got him? Short periods of affluence and then back to seediness and shabbiness, once more. No broad outlook about Alfred. Taken all in all, you couldnât say Alfred was much loss. Heâd never been particularly fond of Alfred and with Alfred out of the way the money that was coming to him from that old curmudgeon, his grandfather, would be sensibly increased, divided not into five shares but into four shares. Very much better.

Haroldâs face brightened a little. He rose, took his hat and coat and left the office. Better take it easy for a day or two. He wasnât feeling too strong yet. His car was waiting below and very soon he was weaving through London traffic to his house.

Darwin, his manservant, opened the door.

âHer ladyship has just arrived, sir,â he said.

For a moment Harold stared at him. Alice! Good heavens, was it today that Alice was coming home? Heâd forgotten all about it. Good thing Darwin had warned him. It wouldnât have looked so good if heâd gone upstairs and looked too astonished at seeing her. Not that it really mattered, he supposed. Neither Alice nor he had any illusions about the feeling they had for each other. Perhaps Alice was fond of himâhe didnât know.

All in all, Alice was a great disappointment to him. He hadnât been in love with her, of course, but though a plain woman she was quite a pleasant one. And her family and connections had undoubtedly been useful. Not perhaps as useful as they might have been, because in marrying Alice he had been considering the position of hypothetical children. Nice relations for his boys to have. But there hadnât been any boys, or girls either, and all that had remained had been he and Alice growing older together without much to say to each other and with no particular pleasure in each otherâs company.

She stayed away a good deal with relations and usually went to the Riviera in the winter. It suited her and it didnât worry him.

He went upstairs now into the drawing room and greeted her punctiliously.

âSo youâre back, my dear. Sorry I couldnât meet you, but I was held up in the City. I got back as early as I could. How was San Raphael?â

Alice told him how San Raphael was. She was a thin woman with sandy-coloured hair, a well-arched nose and vague, hazel eyes. She talked in a well-bred, monotonous and rather depressing voice. It had been a good journey back, the Channel a little rough. The Customs, as usual, very trying at Dover.

âYou should come by air,â said Harold, as he always did. âSo much simpler.â

âI dare say, but I donât really like air travel. I never have. Makes me nervous.â

âSaves a lot of time,â said Harold.

Lady Alice Crackenthorpe did not answer. It was possible that her problem in life was not to save time but to occupy it. She inquired politely after her husbandâs health.

âEmmaâs telegram quite alarmed me,â she said. âYou were all taken ill, I understand.â

âYes, yes,â said Harold.

âI read in the paper the other day,â said Alice, âof forty people in a hotel going down with food poisoning at the same time. All this refrigeration is dangerous, I think. People keep things too long in them.â

âPossibly,â said Harold. Should he, or should he not mention arsenic? Somehow, looking at Alice, he felt himself quite unable to do so. In Aliceâs world, he felt, there was no place for poisoning by arsenic. It was a thing you read about in the papers. It didnât happen to you or your own family. But it had happened in the Crackenthorpe familyâ¦.

He went up to his room and lay down for an hour or two before dressing for dinner. At dinner, tÃªte-Ã -tÃªte with his wife, the conversation ran on much the same lines. Desultory, polite. The mention of acquaintances and friends at San Raphael.

âThereâs a parcel for you on the hall table, a small one,â Alice said.

âIs there? I didnât notice it.â

âItâs an extraordinary thing but somebody was telling me about a murdered woman having been found in a barn, or something like that. She said it was at Rutherford Hall. I suppose it must be some other Rutherford Hall.â

âNo,â said Harold, âno, it isnât. It was in our barn, as a matter of fact.â

âReally, Harold! A murdered woman in the barn at Rutherford Hallâand you never told me anything about it.â

âWell, there hasnât been much time, really,â said Harold, âand it was all rather unpleasant. Nothing to do with us, of course. The Press milled around a good deal. Of course we had to deal with the police and all that sort of thing.â

âVery unpleasant,â said Alice. âDid they find out who did it?â she added, with rather perfunctory interest.

âNot yet,â said Harold.

âWhat sort of woman was she?â

âNobody knows. French, apparently.â

âOh, French,â said Alice, and allowing for the difference in class, her tone was not unlike that of Inspector Bacon. âVery annoying for you all,â she agreed.

They went out from the dining room and crossed into the small study where they usually sat when they were alone. Harold was feeling quite exhausted by now. âIâll go up to bed early,â he thought.

He picked up the small parcel from the hall table, about which his wife had spoken to him. It was a small neatly waxed parcel, done up with meticulous exactness. Harold ripped it open as he came to sit down in his usual chair by the fire.

Inside was a small tablet box bearing the label, âTwo to be taken nightly.â With it was a small piece of paper with the chemistâs heading in Brackhampton. âSent by request of Doctor Quimperâ was written on it.

Harold Crackenthorpe frowned. He opened the box and looked at the tablets. Yes, they seemed to be the same tablets he had been having. But surely, surely Quimper had said that he neednât take anymore? âYou wonât want them, now.â Thatâs what Quimper had said.

âWhat is it, dear?â said Alice. âYou look worried.â

âOh, itâs justâsome tablets. Iâve been taking them at night. But I rather thought the doctor said donât take anymore.â

His wife said placidly: âHe probably said donât forget to take them.â

âHe may have done, I suppose,â said Harold doubtfully.

He looked across at her. She was watching him. Just for a moment or two he wonderedâhe didnât often wonder about Aliceâexactly what she was thinking. That mild gaze of hers told him nothing. Her eyes were like windows in an empty house. What did Alice think about him, feel about him? Had she been in love with him once? He supposed she had. Or did she marry him because she thought he was doing well in the City, and she was tired of her own impecunious existence? Well, on the whole, sheâd done quite well out of it. Sheâd got a car and a house in London, she could travel abroad when she felt like it and get herself expensive clothes, though goodness knows they never looked like anything on Alice. Yes, on the whole sheâd done pretty well. He wondered if she thought so. She wasnât really fond of him, of course, but then he wasnât really fond of her. They had nothing in common, nothing to talk about, no memories to share. If there had been childrenâbut there hadnât been any childrenâodd that there were no children in the family except young Edieâs boy. Young Edie. Sheâd been a silly girl, making that foolish, hasty war-time marriage. Well, heâd given her good advice.

Heâd said: âItâs all very well, these dashing young pilots, glamour, courage, all that, but heâll be no good in peace time, you know. Probably be barely able to support you.â

And Edie had said, what did it matter? She loved Bryan and Bryan loved her, and heâd probably be killed quite soon. Why shouldnât they have some happiness? What was the good of looking to the future when they might well be bombed any minute. And after all, Edie had said, the future doesnât really matter because some day thereâll be all grandfatherâs money.

Harold squirmed uneasily in his chair. Really, that will of his grandfatherâs had been iniquitous! Keeping them all dangling on a string. The will hadnât pleased anybody. It didnât please the grandchildren and it made their father quite livid. The old boy was absolutely determined not to die. Thatâs what made him take so much care of himself. But heâd have to die soon. Surely, surely heâd have to die soon. Otherwiseâall Haroldâs worries swept over him once more making him feel sick and tired and giddy.

Alice was still watching him, he noticed. Those pale, thoughtful eyes, they made him uneasy somehow.

âI think I shall go to bed,â he said. âItâs been my first day out in the City.â

âYes,â said Alice, âI think thatâs a good idea. Iâm sure the doctor told you to take things easily at first.â

âDoctors always tell you that,â said Harold.

âAnd donât forget to take your tablets, dear,â said Alice. She picked up the box and handed it to him.

He said good night and went upstairs. Yes, he needed the tablets. It would have been a mistake to leave them off too soon. He took two of them and swallowed them with a glass of water.

Twenty-four

âNobody could have made more of a muck of it than I seem to have done,â said Dermot Craddock gloomily.

He sat, his long legs stretched out, looking somehow incongruous in faithful Florenceâs somewhat overfurnished parlour. He was thoroughly tired, upset and dispirited.

Miss Marple made soft, soothing noises of dissent. âNo, no, youâve done very good work, my dear boy. Very good work indeed.â

âIâve done very good work, have I? Iâve let a whole family be poisoned. Alfred Crackenthorpeâs dead and now Haroldâs dead too. What the hellâs going on here. Thatâs what I should like to know.â

âPoisoned tablets,â said Miss Marple thoughtfully.

âYes. Devilishly cunning, really. They looked just like the tablets that heâd been having. There was a printed slip sent in with them âby Doctor Quimperâs instructions.â Well, Quimper never ordered them. There were chemistâs labels used. The chemist knew nothing about it, either. No. That box of tablets came from Rutherford Hall.â

âDo you actually know it came from Rutherford Hall?â

âYes. Weâve had a thorough check up. Actually, itâs the box that held the sedative tablets prescribed for Emma.â

âOh, I see. For Emmaâ¦.â

âYes. Itâs got her fingerprints on it and the fingerprints of both the nurses and the fingerprint of the chemist who made it up. Nobody elseâs, naturally. The person who sent them was careful.â

âAnd the sedative tablets were removed and something else substituted?â

âYes. That of course is the devil with tablets. One tablet looks exactly like another.â

âYou are so right,â agreed Miss Marple. âI remember so very well in my young days, the black mixture and the brown mixture (the cough mixture that was) and the white mixture, and Doctor So-and- Soâs pink mixture. People didnât mix those up nearly as much. In fact, you know, in my village of St. Mary Mead we still like that kind of medicine. Itâs a bottle they always want, not tablets. What were the tablets?â she asked.

âAconite. They were the kind of tablets that are usually kept in a poison bottle, diluted one in a hundred for outside application.â

âAnd so Harold took them, and died,â Miss Marple said thoughtfully. Dermot Craddock uttered something like a groan.

âYou mustnât mind my letting off steam to you,â he said. âTell it all to Aunt Jane; thatâs how I feel!â

âThatâs very, very nice of you,â said Miss Marple, âand I do appreciate it. I feel towards you, as Sir Henryâs godson, quite differently from the way I feel to any ordinary detective-inspector.â

Dermot Craddock gave her a fleeting grin. âBut the fact remains that Iâve made the most ghastly mess of things all along the line,â he said. âThe Chief Constable down here calls in Scotland Yard, and what do they get? They get me making a prize ass of myself!â

âNo, no,â said Miss Marple.

âYes, yes. I donât know who poisoned Alfred, I donât know who poisoned Harold, and, to cap it all, I havenât the least idea who the original murdered woman was! This Martine business seemed a perfectly safe bet. The whole thing seemed to tie up. And now what happens? The real Martine shows up and turns out, most improbably, to be the wife of Sir Robert Stoddart-West. So, whoâs the woman in the barn now? Goodness knows. First I go all out on the idea sheâs Anna Stravinska, and then sheâs out of itââ

He was arrested by Miss Marple giving one of her small peculiarly significant coughs.

âBut is she?â she murmured.

Craddock stared at her. âWell, that postcard from Jamaicaââ

âYes,â said Miss Marple; âbut that isnât really evidence, is it? I mean, anyone can get a postcard sent from almost anywhere, I suppose. I remember Mrs. Brierly, such a very bad nervous breakdown. Finally, they said she ought to go to the mental hospital for observation, and she was so worried about the children knowing about it and so she wrote fourteen postcards and arranged that they should be posted from different places abroad, and told them that Mummy was going abroad on a holiday.â She added, looking at Dermot Craddock, âYou see what I mean.â

âYes, of course,â said Craddock, staring at her. âNaturally weâd have checked that postcard if it hadnât been for the Martine business fitting the bill so well.â

âSo convenient,â murmured Miss Marple.

âIt tied up,â said Craddock. âAfter all, thereâs the letter Emma received signed Martine Crackenthorpe. Lady Stoddart-West didnât send that, but somebody did. Somebody who was going to pretend to be Martine, and who was going to cash in, if possible, on being Martine. You canât deny that.â

âNo, no.â

âAnd then, the envelope of the letter Emma wrote to her with the London address on it. Found at Rutherford Hall, showing sheâd actually been there.â

âBut the murdered woman hadnât been there!â Miss Marple pointed out. âNot in the sense you mean. She only came to Rutherford Hall after she was dead. Pushed out of a train on to the railway embankment.â

âOh, yes.â

âWhat the envelope really proves is that the murderer was there. Presumably he took that envelope off her with her other papers and things, and then dropped it by mistakeâorâI wonder now, was it a mistake? Surely Inspector Bacon, and your men too, made a thorough search of the place, didnât they, and didnât find it. It only turned up later in the boiler house.â

âThatâs understandable,â said Craddock. âThe old gardener chap used to spear up any odd stuff that was blowing about and shove it in there.â

âWhere it was very convenient for the boys to find,â said Miss Marple thoughtfully.

âYou think we were meant to find it?â

âWell, I just wonder. After all, it would be fairly easy to know where the boys were going to look next, or even to suggest to themâ¦ Yes, I do wonder. It stopped you thinking about Anna Stravinska anymore, didnât it?â

Craddock said: âAnd you think it really may be her all the time?â

âI think someone may have got alarmed when you started making inquiries about her, thatâs allâ¦ I think somebody didnât want those inquiries made.â

âLetâs hold on to the basic fact that someone was going to impersonate Martine,â said Craddock. âAnd then for some reasonâdidnât. Why?â

âThatâs a very interesting question,â said Miss Marple.

âSomebody sent a note saying Martine was going back to France, then arranged to travel down with the girl and kill her on the way. You agree so far?â

âNot exactly,â said Miss Marple. âI donât think, really, youâre making it simple enough.â

âSimple!â exclaimed Craddock. âYouâre mixing me up,â he complained.

Miss Marple said in a distressed voice that she wouldnât think of doing anything like that.

âCome, tell me,â said Craddock, âdo you or do you not think you know who the murdered woman was?â Miss Marple sighed. âItâs so difficult,â she said, âto put it the right way. I mean, I donât know who she was, but at the same time Iâm fairly sure who she was, if you know what I mean.â

Craddock threw up his head. âKnow what you mean? I havenât the faintest idea.â He looked out through the window. âThereâs your Lucy Eyelesbarrow coming to see you,â he said. âWell, Iâll be off. My amour propre is very low this afternoon and having a young woman coming in, radiant with efficiency and success, is more than I can bear.â

Twenty-five

âI looked up tontine in the dictionary,â said Lucy.

The first greetings were over and now Lucy was wandering rather aimlessly round the room, touching a china dog here, an antimacassar there, the plastic work-box in the window.

âI thought you probably would,â said Miss Marple equably.

Lucy spoke slowly, quoting the words. âLorenzo Tonti, Italian banker, originator, 1653, of a form of annuity in which the shares of subscribers who die are added to the profit shares of the survivors.â She paused. âThatâs it, isnât it? That fits well enough, and you were thinking of it even then before the last two deaths.â

She took up once more her restless, almost aimless prowl round the room. Miss Marple sat watching her. This was a very different Lucy Eyelesbarrow from the one she knew.

âI suppose it was asking for it really,â said Lucy. âA will of that kind, ending so that if there was only one survivor left heâd get the lot. And yetâthere was quite a lot of money, wasnât there? Youâd think it would be enough shared outâ¦â She paused, the words trailing off.

âThe trouble is,â said Miss Marple, âthat people are greedy. Some people. Thatâs so often, you know, how things start. You donât start with murder, with wanting to do murder, or even thinking of it. You just start by being greedy, by wanting more than youâre going to have.â She laid her knitting down on her knee and stared ahead of her into space. âThatâs how I came across Inspector Craddock first, you know. A case in the country. Near Medenham Spa. That began the same way, just a weak amiable character who wanted a great deal of money. Money that that person wasnât entitled to, but there seemed an easy way to get it. Not murder then. Just something so easy and simple that it hadnât seemed wrong. Thatâs how things beginâ¦ But it ended with three murders.â

âJust like this,â said Lucy. âWeâve had three murders now. The woman who impersonated Martine and who would have been able to claim a share for her son, and then Alfred, and then Harold. And now it only leaves two, doesnât it?â

âYou mean,â said Miss Marple, âthere are only Cedric and Emma left?â

âNot Emma. Emma isnât a tall dark man. No. I mean Cedric and Bryan Eastley. I never thought of Bryan because heâs fair. Heâs got a fair moustache and blue eyes, but you seeâthe other dayâ¦â She paused.

âYes, go on,â said Miss Marple. âTell me. Something has upset you very badly, hasnât it?â

âIt was when Lady Stoddart-West was going away. She had said good-bye and then suddenly turned to me just as she was getting into the car and asked: âWho was that tall dark man who was standing on the terrace as I came in?â

âI couldnât imagine who she meant at first, because Cedric was still laid up. So I said, rather puzzled, âYou donât mean Bryan Eastley?â and she said, âOf course, thatâs who it was, Squadron Leader Eastley. He was hidden in our loft once in France during the Resistance. I remembered the way he stood, and the set of his shoulders,â and she said, âI should like to meet him again,â but we couldnât find him.â

Miss Marple said nothing, just waited.

âAnd then,â said Lucy, âlater I looked at himâ¦ He was standing with his back to me and I saw what I ought to have seen before. That even when a manâs fair his hair looks dark because he plasters it down with stuff. Bryanâs hair is a sort of medium brown, I suppose, but it can look dark. So you see, it might have been Bryan that your friend saw in the train. It mightâ¦.â

âYes,â said Miss Marple. âI had thought of that.â

âI suppose you think of everything!â said Lucy bitterly.

âWell, dear, one has to really.â

âBut I canât see what Bryan would get out of it. I mean the money would come to Alexander, not to him. I suppose it would make an easier life, they could have a bit more luxury, but he wouldnât be able to tap the capital for his schemes, or anything like that.â

âBut if anything happened to Alexander before he was twenty-one, then Bryan would get the money as his father and next of kin,â Miss Marple pointed out.

Lucy cast a look of horror at her.

âHeâd never do that. No father would ever do that justâjust to get the money.â

Miss Marple sighed. âPeople do, my dear. Itâs very sad and very terrible, but they do.

âPeople do very terrible things,â went on Miss Marple. âI know a woman who poisoned three of her children just for a little bit of insurance money. And then there was an old woman, quite a nice old woman apparently, who poisoned her son when he came home on leave. Then there was that old Mrs. Stanwich. That case was in the papers. I dare say you read about it. Her daughter died and her son, and then she said she was poisoned herself. There was poison in the gruel, but it came out, you know, that sheâd put it there herself. She was just planning to poison the last daughter. That wasnât exactly for money. She was jealous of them for being younger than she was and alive, and she was afraidâitâs a terrible thing to say but itâs trueâthey would enjoy themselves after she was gone. Sheâd always kept a very tight hold on the purse strings. Yes, of course she was a little peculiar, as they say, but I never see myself that thatâs any real excuse. I mean you can be a little peculiar in so many different ways. Sometimes you just go about giving all your possessions away and writing cheques on bank accounts that donât exist, just so as to benefit people. It shows, you see, that behind being peculiar you have quite a nice disposition. But of course if youâre peculiar and behind it you have a bad dispositionâwell, there you are. Now, does that help you at all, my dear Lucy?â

âDoes what help me?â asked Lucy, bewildered.

âWhat Iâve been telling you,â said Miss Marple. She added gently, âYou mustnât worry, you know. You really mustnât worry. Elspeth McGillicuddy will be here any day now.â

âI donât see what that has to do with it.â

âNo, dear, perhaps not. But I think itâs important myself.â

âI canât help worrying,â said Lucy. âYou see, Iâve got interested in the family.â

âI know, dear, itâs very difficult for you because you are quite strongly attracted to both of them, arenât you, in very different ways.â

âWhat do you mean?â said Lucy. Her tone was sharp.

âI was talking about the two sons of the house,â said Miss Marple. âOr rather the son and the son-in-law. Itâs unfortunate that the two more unpleasant members of the family have died and the two more attractive ones are left. I can see that Cedric Crackenthorpe is very attractive. He is inclined to make himself out worse than he is and has a provocative way with him.â

âHe makes me fighting mad sometimes,â said Lucy.

âYes,â said Miss Marple, âand you enjoy that, donât you? Youâre a girl with a lot of spirit and you enjoy a battle. Yes, I can see where that attraction lies. And then Mr. Eastley is a rather plaintive type, rather like an unhappy little boy. That, of course, is attractive, too.â

âAnd one of themâs a murderer,â said Lucy bitterly, âand it may be either of them. Thereâs nothing to choose between them really. Thereâs Cedric, not caring a bit about his brother Alfredâs death or about Haroldâs. He just sits back looking thoroughly pleased making plans for what heâll do with Rutherford Hall, and he keeps saying that itâll need a lot of money to develop it in the way he wants to do. Of course I know heâs the sort of person who exaggerates his own callousness and all that. But that could be a cover, too. I mean everyone says that youâre more callous than you really are. But you mightnât be. You might be even more callous than you seem!â

âDear, dear Lucy, Iâm so sorry about all this.â

âAnd then Bryan,â went on Lucy. âItâs extraordinary, but Bryan really seems to want to live there. He thinks he and Alexander could find it awfully jolly and heâs full of schemes.â

âHeâs always full of schemes of one kind or another, isnât he?â

âYes, I think he is. They all sound rather wonderfulâbut Iâve got an uneasy feeling that theyâd never really work. I mean, theyâre not practical. The idea sounds all rightâbut I donât think he ever considers the actual working difficulties.â

âThey are up in the air, so to speak?â

âYes, 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 againâ¦.â

She added: âAnd he likes Rutherford Hall so much because it reminds him of the big rambling Victorian house he lived in when he was a child.â

âI see,â said Miss Marple thoughtfully. âYes, I seeâ¦.â

Then, with a quick sideways glance at Lucy, she said with a kind of verbal pounce, âBut that isnât all of it, is it, dear? Thereâs something else.â

âOh, yes, thereâs something else. Just something that I didnât realize until just a couple of days ago. Bryan could actually have been on that train.â

âOn the 4:33 from Paddington?â

âYes. You see Emma thought she was required to account for her movements on 20th December and she went over it all very carefullyâa 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 he had to come down by trainâan awful bore, he said, he hates trains. He seemed quite natural about it allâ¦ It may be quite all rightâbut I wish, somehow, he hadnât come down by train.â

âActually on the train,â said Miss Marple thoughtfully.

âIt doesnât really prove anything. The awful thing is all this suspicion. Not to know. And perhaps we never shall know!â

âOf course we shall know, dear,â said Miss Marple briskly. âI meanâall this isnât 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 sayâill alone. At any rate,â said Miss Marple with finality, âthey canât once theyâve done a second murder. Now donât get too upset, Lucy. The police are doing all they can, and looking after everybodyâand the great thing is that Elspeth McGillicuddy will be here very soon now!â

Twenty-six

I

âNow, Elspeth, youâre quite clear as to what I want you to do?â

âIâm clear enough,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, âbut what I say to you is, Jane, that it seems very odd.â

âItâs not odd at all,â said Miss Marple.

âWell, I think so. To arrive at the house and to ask almost immediately whether I canâerâgo upstairs.â

âItâs very cold weather,â Miss Marple pointed out, âand after all, you might have eaten something that disagreed with you andâerâhave 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,â added Miss Marple parenthetically, âwas a bad Cornish pasty.â

âIf youâd just tell me what youâre driving at, Jane,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âThatâs just what I donât want to do,â said Miss Marple.

âHow irritating you are, Jane. First you make me come all the way back to England before I needââ

âIâm sorry about that,â said Miss Marple; âbut I couldnât do anything else. Someone, you see, may be killed at any moment. Oh, I know theyâre all on their guard and the police are taking all the precautions they can, but thereâs 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, werenât we?â

âWe certainly were,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, âno laxness in our young days.â

âSo thatâs quite all right,â said Miss Marple, âand thatâs the taxi now,â 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

âWho can this be driving up?â Emma asked, looking out of the window, as the taxi swept past it. âI do believe itâs Lucyâs old aunt.â

âWhat a bore,â said Cedric.

He was lying back in a long chair looking at Country Life with his feet reposing on the side of the mantelpiece.

âTell her youâre not at home.â

âWhen you say tell her Iâm 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?â

âHadnât thought of that,â said Cedric. âI 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. Isnât there one of those old hags about the place cleaning?â

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 an uncompromising figure behind her.

âI do hope,â said Miss Marple, taking Emmaâs hand, âthat we are not intruding. But you see, Iâm going home the day after tomorrow, and I couldnât 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?â

âHow dâyou do,â 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.

âAunt Jane, I had no ideaâ¦.â

âI had to come and say good-bye to Miss Crackenthorpe,â said Miss Marple, turning to her, âwho has been so very, very kind to you, Lucy.â

âItâs Lucy whoâs been very kind to us,â said Emma.

âYes, indeed,â said Cedric. âWeâve worked her like a galley slave. Waiting on the sick room, running up and down the stairs, cooking little invalid messesâ¦.â

Miss Marple broke in. âI was so very, very sorry to hear of your illness. I do hope youâre quite recovered now, Miss Crackenthorpe?â

âOh, weâre quite well again now,â said Emma.

âLucy told me you were all very ill. So dangerous, isnât it, food poisoning? Mushrooms, I understand.â

âThe cause remains rather mysterious,â said Emma.

âDonât you believe it,â said Cedric. âI bet youâve heard the rumours that are flying round, Missâerââ

âMarple,â said Miss Marple.

âWell, as I say, I bet youâve heard the rumours that are flying round. Nothing like arsenic for raising a little flutter in the neighbourhood.â

âCedric,â said Emma, âI wish you wouldnât. You know Inspector Craddock saidâ¦.â

âBah,â said Cedric, âeverybody knows. Even youâve heard something, havenât you?â he turned to Miss Marple and Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âI myself,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, âhave only just returned from abroadâthe day before yesterday,â she added.

âAh, well, youâre not up on our local scandal then,â said Cedric. âArsenic in the curry, thatâs what it was. Lucyâs aunt knows all about it, I bet.â

âWell,â said Miss Marple, âI did just hearâI mean, it was just a hint, but of course I didnât want to embarrass you in any way, Miss Crackenthorpe.â

âYou must pay no attention to my brother,â said Emma. âHe just likes making people uncomfortable.â She gave him an affectionate smile as she spoke.

The door opened and Mr. Crackenthorpe came in, tapping angrily with his stick.

âWhereâs tea?â he said, âwhy isnât tea ready? You! Girl!â he addressed Lucy, âwhy havenât you brought tea in?â

âItâs just ready, Mr. Crackenthorpe. Iâm bringing it in now. I was just setting the table ready.â

Lucy went out of the room again and Mr. Crackenthorpe was introduced to Miss Marple and Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âLike my meals on time,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âPunctuality and economy. Those are my watchwords.â

âVery necessary, Iâm sure,â said Miss Marple, âespecially in these times with taxation and everything.â

Mr. Crackenthorpe snorted. âTaxation! Donât talk to me of those robbers. A miserable pauperâthatâs what I am. And itâs going to get worse, not better. You wait, my boy,â he addressed Cedric, âwhen 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!â

Lucy reappeared with a tea tray, Bryan Eastley followed her carrying a tray of sandwiches, bread and butter and cake.

âWhatâs this? Whatâs this?â Mr. Crackenthorpe inspected the tray. âFrosted cake? We having a party today? Nobody told me about it.â

A faint flush came into Emmaâs face.

âDr. Quimperâs coming to tea, Father. Itâs his birthday today andââ

âBirthday?â snorted the old man. âWhatâs he doing with a birthday? Birthdays are only for children. I never count my birthdays and I wonât let anyone else celebrate them either.â

âMuch cheaper,â agreed Cedric. âYou save the price of candles on your cake.â

âThatâs enough from you, boy,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe.

Miss Marple was shaking hands with Bryan Eastley. âIâve heard about you, of course,â she said, âfrom Lucy. Dear me, you remind me so of someone I used to know at St. Mary Mead. Thatâs the village where Iâve lived for so many years, you know. Ronnie Wells, the solicitorâs son. Couldnât seem to settle somehow when he went into his fatherâs business. He went out to East Africa and started a series of cargo boats on the lake out there. Victoria Nyanza, or is it Albert, I mean? Anyway, Iâm sorry to say that it wasnât a success, and he lost all his capital. Most unfortunate! Not any relation of yours, I suppose? The likeness is so great.â

âNo,â said Bryan, âI donât think Iâve any relations called Wells.â

âHe was engaged to a very nice girl,â said Miss Marple. âVery sensible. She tried to dissuade him, but he wouldnât 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.âthat sort of thing. What a delightful view you have from this window,â she added, making her way across and looking out.

Emma joined her.

âSuch 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.â

âWeâre rather an anachronism, I think,â said Emma. âIf the windows were open now youâd hear far off the noise of the traffic.â

âOh, of course,â said Miss Marple, âthereâs noise everywhere, isnât there? Even in St. Mary Mead. Weâre 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.â

âItâs quite simple, really,â said Bryan, approaching amiably. âYou see, itâs like this.â

Miss Marple dropped her handbag and Bryan politely picked it up. At the same moment Mrs. McGillicuddy approached Emma and murmured, in an anguished voiceâthe anguish was quite genuine since Mrs. McGillicuddy deeply disliked the task which she was now performing:

âI wonderâcould I go upstairs for a moment?â

âOf course,â said Emma.

âIâll take you,â said Lucy.

Lucy and Mrs. McGillicuddy left the room together.

âVery cold, driving today,â said Miss Marple in a vaguely explanatory manner.

âAbout the sound barrier,â said Bryan, âyou see itâs like thisâ¦ Oh, hallo, thereâs Quimper.â

The doctor drove up in his car. He came in rubbing his hands and looking very cold.

âGoing to snow,â he said, âthatâs my guess. Hallo, Emma, how are you? Good lord, whatâs all this?â

âWe made you a birthday cake,â said Emma. âDâyou remember? You told me today was your birthday.â

âI didnât expect all this,â said Quimper. âYou know itâs yearsâwhy, it must beâyes sixteen years since anyoneâs remembered my birthday.â He looked almost uncomfortably touched.

âDo you know Miss Marple?â Emma introduced him.

âOh, yes,â said Miss Marple, âI 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.â

âAll right again now, I hope?â said the doctor.

Miss Marple assured him that she was quite all right now.

âYou havenât been to see me lately, Quimper,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âI might be dying for all the notice you take of me!â

âI donât see you dying yet awhile,â said Dr. Quimper.

âI donât mean to,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe. âCome on, letâs have tea. Whatâre we waiting for?â

âOh, please,â said Miss Marple, âdonât wait for my friend. She would be most upset if you did.â

They sat down and started tea. Miss Marple accepted a piece of bread and butter first, and then went on to a sandwich.

âAre theyâ?â she hesitated.

âFish,â said Bryan. âI helped make âem.â

Mr. Crackenthorpe gave a cackle of laughter.

âPoisoned fishpaste,â he said. âThatâs what they are. Eat âem at your peril.â

âPlease, Father!â

âYouâve got to be careful what you eat in this house,â said Mr. Crackenthorpe to Miss Marple. âTwo of my sons have been murdered like flies. Whoâs doing itâthatâs what I want to know.â

âDonât let him put you off,â said Cedric, handing the plate once more to Miss Marple. âA touch of arsenic improves the complexion, they say, so long as you donât have too much.â

âEat one yourself, boy,â said old Mr. Crackenthorpe.

âWant me to be official taster?â said Cedric. âHere goes.â

He took a sandwich and put it whole into his mouth. Miss Marple gave a gentle, ladylike little laugh and took a sandwich. She took a bite, and said:

âI do think itâs so brave of you all to make these jokes. Yes, really, I think itâs very brave indeed. I do admire bravery so much.â

She gave a sudden gasp and began to choke. âA fish bone,â she gasped out, âin my throat.â

Quimper rose quickly. He went across to her, moved her backwards towards the window and told her to open her mouth. He pulled out a case from his pocket, selecting some forceps from it. With quick professional skill he peered down the old ladyâs throat. At that moment the door opened and Mrs. McGillicuddy, followed by Lucy, came in. Mrs. McGillicuddy gave a sudden gasp as her eyes fell on the tableau in front of her, Miss Marple leaning back and the doctor holding her throat and tilting up her head.

âBut thatâs him,â cried Mrs. McGillicuddy. âThatâs the man in the trainâ¦.â

With incredible swiftness Miss Marple slipped from the doctorâs grasp and came towards her friend.

âI thought youâd recognize him, Elspeth!â she said. âNo. Donât say another word.â She turned triumphantly round to Dr. Quimper. âYou didnât know, did you, Doctor, when you strangled that woman in the train, that somebody actually saw you do it? It was my friend here. Mrs. McGillicuddy. She saw you. Do you understand? Saw you with her own eyes. She was in another train that was running parallel with yours.â

âWhat the hell?â Dr. Quimper made a quick step towards Mrs. McGillicuddy but again, swiftly, Miss Marple was between him and her.

âYes,â said Miss Marple. âShe saw you, and she recognizes you, and sheâll swear to it in court. Itâs not often, I believe,â went on Miss Marple in her gentle plaintive voice, âthat anyone actually sees a murder committed. Itâs usually circumstantial evidence of course. But in this case the conditions were very unusual. There was actually an eyewitness to murder.â

âYou devilish old hag,â said Dr. Quimper. He lunged forward at Miss Marple but this time it was Cedric who caught him by the shoulder.

âSo youâre the murdering devil, are you?â said Cedric as he swung him round. âI never liked you and I always thought you were a wrong âun, but lord knows, I never suspected you.â

Bryan Eastley came quickly to Cedricâs assistance. Inspector Craddock and Inspector Bacon entered the room from the farther door.

âDr. Quimper,â said Bacon, âI must caution you thatâ¦.â

âYou can take your caution to hell,â said Dr. Quimper. âDo you think anyoneâs going to believe what a couple of old women say? Whoâs ever heard of all this rigmarole about a train!â

Miss Marple said: âElspeth McGillicuddy reported the murder to the police at once on the 20th December and gave a description of the man.â

Dr. Quimper gave a sudden heave of the shoulders. âIf ever a man had the devilâs own luck,â said Dr. Quimper.

âButââ said Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âBe quiet, Elspeth,â said Miss Marple.

âWhy should I want to murder a perfectly strange woman?â said Dr. Quimper.

âShe wasnât a strange woman,â said Inspector Craddock. âShe was your wife.â

Twenty-seven

âSo you see,â said Miss Marple, âit really turned out to be, as I began to suspect, very, very simple. The simplest kind of crime. So many men seem to murder their wives.â

Mrs. McGillicuddy looked at Miss Marple and Inspector Craddock. âIâd be obliged,â she said, âif youâd put me a little more up to date.â

âHe saw a chance, you see,â said Miss Marple, âof marrying a rich wife, Emma Crackenthorpe. Only he couldnât marry her because he had a wife already. Theyâd been separated for years but she wouldnât divorce him. That fitted in very well with what Inspector Craddock told me of this girl who called herself Anna Stravinska. She had an English husband, so she told one of her friends, and it was also said she was a very devout Catholic. Dr. Quimper couldnât risk marrying Emma bigamously, so he decided, being a very ruthless and cold-blooded man, that he would get rid of his wife. The idea of murdering her in the train and later putting her body in the sarcophagus in the barn was really rather a clever one. He meant it to tie up, you see, with the Crackenthorpe family. Before that heâd written a letter to Emma which purported to be from the girl Martine whom Edmund Crackenthorpe had talked of marrying. Emma had told Dr. Quimper all about her brother, you see. Then, when the moment arose he encouraged her to go to the police with her story. He wanted the dead woman identified as Martine. I think he may have heard that inquiries were being made by the Paris police about Anna Stravinska, and so he arranged to have a postcard come from her from Jamaica.

âIt was easy for him to arrange to meet his wife in London, to tell her that he hoped to be reconciled with her and that he would like her to come down and âmeet his family.â We wonât talk about the next part of it, which is very unpleasant to think about. Of course he was a greedy man. When he thought about taxation, and how much it cuts into income, he began thinking that it would be nice to have a good deal more capital. Perhaps heâd already thought of that before he decided to murder his wife. Anyway, he started spreading rumours that someone was trying to poison old Mr. Crackenthorpe so as to get the ground prepared, and then he ended by administering arsenic to the family. Not too much, of course, for he didnât want old Mr. Crackenthorpe to die.â

âBut I still donât see how he managed,â said Craddock. âHe wasnât in the house when the curry was being prepared.â

âOh, but there wasnât any arsenic in the curry then,â said Miss Marple. âHe added it to the curry afterwards when he took it away to be tested. He probably put the arsenic in the cocktail jug earlier. Then, of course, it was quite easy for him, in his role of medical attendant, to poison off Alfred Crackenthorpe and also to send the tablets to Harold in London, having safeguarded himself by telling Harold that he wouldnât need anymore tablets. Everything he did was bold and audacious and cruel and greedy, and I am really very, very sorry,â finished Miss Marple, looking as fierce as a fluffy old lady can look, âthat they have abolished capital punishment because I do feel that if there is anyone who ought to hang, itâs Dr. Quimper.â

âHear, hear,â said Inspector Craddock.

âIt occurred to me, you know,â continued Miss Marple, âthat even if you only see anybody from the back view, so to speak, nevertheless a back view is characteristic. I thought that if Elspeth were to see Dr. Quimper in exactly the same position as sheâd seen him in the train in, that is, with his back to her, bent over a woman whom he was holding by the throat, then I was almost sure she would recognize him, or would make some kind of startled exclamation. That is why I had to lay my little plan with Lucyâs kind assistance.â

âI must say,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy, âit gave me quite a turn. I said, âThatâs himâ before I could stop myself. And yet, you know, I hadnât actually seen the manâs face andââ

âI was terribly afraid that you were going to say so, Elspeth,â said Miss Marple.

âI was,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy. âI was going to say that of course I hadnât seen his face.â

âThat,â said Miss Marple, âwould have been quite fatal. You see, dear, he thought you really did recognize him. I mean, he couldnât know that you hadnât seen his face.â

âA good thing I held my tongue then,â said Mrs. McGillicuddy.

âI wasnât going to let you say another word,â said Miss Marple.

Craddock laughed suddenly. âYou two!â he said. âYouâre a marvellous pair. What next, Miss Marple? Whatâs the happy ending? What happens to poor Emma Crackenthorpe, for instance?â

âSheâll get over the doctor, of course,â said Miss Marple, âand I dare say if her father were to dieâand I donât think heâs quite so robust as he thinks he isâthat sheâd go on a cruise or perhaps to stay abroad like Geraldine Webb, and I dare say something might come of it. A nicer man than Dr. Quimper, I hope.â

âWhat about Lucy Eyelesbarrow? Wedding bells there too?â

âPerhaps,â said Miss Marple, âI shouldnât wonder.â

âWhich of âem is she going to choose?â said Dermot Craddock.

âDonât you know?â said Miss Marple.

âNo, I donât,â said Craddock. âDo you?â

âOh, yes, I think so,â said Miss Marple.

And she twinkled at him.

The Agatha Christie Collection

THE HERCULE POIROT MYSTERIES

Match your wits with the famous Belgian detective.

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The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Murder on the Links

Poirot Investigates

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The Big Four

The Mystery of the Blue Train

Peril at End House

Lord Edgware Dies

Murder on the Orient Express

Three Act Tragedy

Death in the Clouds

The A.B.C. Murders

Murder in Mesopotamia

Cards on the Table

Murder in the Mews and Other Stories

Dumb Witness

Death on the Nile

Appointment with Death

Hercule Poirotâ€™s Christmas

Sad Cypress

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Evil Under the Sun

Five Little Pigs

The Hollow

The Labors of Hercules

Taken at the Flood

The Underdog and Other Stories

Mrs. McGintyâ€™s Dead

After the Funeral

Hickory Dickory Dock

Dead Manâ€™s Folly

Cat Among the Pigeons

The Clocks

Third Girl

Halloweâ€™en Party

Elephants Can Remember

Curtain: Poirotâ€™s Last Case

Â 

Explore more at www.AgathaChristie.com

The Agatha Christie Collection

THE MISS MARPLE MYSTERIES

Join the legendary spinster sleuth from St. Mary Mead in solving murders far and wide.

Â 

The Murder at the Vicarage

The Body in the Library

The Moving Finger

A Murder Is Announced

They Do It with Mirrors

A Pocket Full of Rye

4:50 From Paddington

The Mirror Crackâ€™d

A Caribbean Mystery

At Bertramâ€™s Hotel

Nemesis

Sleeping Murder

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Story Collection

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THE TOMMY AND TUPPENCE MYSTERIES

Jump on board with the entertaining crime-solving couple from Young Adventurers Ltd.

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The Secret Adversary

Partners in Crime

N or M?

By the Pricking of My Thumbs

Postern of Fate

Â 

Explore more at www.AgathaChristie.com

The Agatha Christie Collection

Donâ€™t miss a single one of Agatha Christieâ€™s stand-alone novels and short-story collections.

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The Man in the Brown Suit

The Secret of Chimneys

The Seven Dials Mystery

The Mysterious Mr. Quin

The Sittaford Mystery

Parker Pyne Investigates

Why Didnâ€™t They Ask Evans?

Murder Is Easy

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories

And Then There Were None

Towards Zero

Death Comes as the End

Sparkling Cyanide

The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories

Crooked House

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories

They Came to Baghdad

Destination Unknown

Ordeal by Innocence

Double Sin and Other Stories

The Pale Horse

Star over Bethlehem: Poems and Holiday Stories

Endless Night

Passenger to Frankfurt

The Golden Ball and Other Stories

The Mousetrap and Other Plays

The Harlequin Tea Set

Â 

Explore more at www.AgathaChristie.com

About the Author

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She is the author of eighty crime novels and short-story collections, nineteen plays, two memoirs, and six novels written under the name Mary Westmacott.

She first tried her hand at detective fiction while working in a hospital dispensary during World War I, creating the now legendary Hercule Poirot with her debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. With The Murder in the Vicarage, published in 1930, she introduced another beloved sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. Additional series characters include the husband-and-wife crime-fighting team of Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, private investigator Parker Pyne, and Scotland Yard detectives Superintendent Battle and Inspector Japp.

Many of Christieâ€™s novels and short stories were adapted into plays, films, and television series. The Mousetrap, her most famous play of all, opened in 1952 and is the longest-running play in history. Among her best-known film adaptations are Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978), with Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov playing Hercule Poirot, respectively. On the small screen Poirot has been most memorably portrayed by David Suchet, and Miss Marple by Joan Hickson and subsequently Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie.

Christie was first married to Archibald Christie and then to archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, whom she accompanied on expeditions to countries that would also serve as the settings for many of her novels. In 1971 she achieved one of Britainâ€™s highest honors when she was made a Dame of the British Empire. She died in 1976 at the age of eighty-five. Her one hundred and twentieth anniversary was celebrated around the world in 2010.

www.AgathaChristie.com

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THE AGATHA CHRISTIE COLLECTION

The Man in the Brown Suit

The Secret of Chimneys

The Seven Dials Mystery

The Mysterious Mr. Quin

The Sittaford Mystery

Parker Pyne Investigates

Why Didnâ€™t They Ask Evans?

Murder Is Easy

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories

And Then There Were None

Towards Zero

Death Comes as the End

Sparkling Cyanide

The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories

Crooked House

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories

They Came to Baghdad

Destination Unknown

Ordeal by Innocence

Double Sin and Other Stories

The Pale Horse

Star over Bethlehem: Poems and Holiday Stories

Endless Night

Passenger to Frankfurt

The Golden Ball and Other Stories

The Mousetrap and Other Plays

The Harlequin Tea Set

The Hercule Poirot Mysteries

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Murder on the Links

Poirot Investigates

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The Big Four

The Mystery of the Blue Train

Peril at End House

Lord Edgware Dies

Murder on the Orient Express

Three Act Tragedy

Death in the Clouds

The A.B.C. Murders

Murder in Mesopotamia

Cards on the Table

Murder in the Mews and Other Stories

Dumb Witness

Death on the Nile

Appointment with Death

Hercule Poirotâ€™s Christmas

Sad Cypress

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Evil Under the Sun

Five Little Pigs

The Hollow

The Labors of Hercules

Taken at the Flood

The Underdog and Other Stories

Mrs. McGintyâ€™s Dead

After the Funeral

Hickory Dickory Dock

Dead Manâ€™s Folly

Cat Among the Pigeons

The Clocks

Third Girl

Halloweâ€™en Party

Elephants Can Remember

Curtain: Poirotâ€™s Last Case

The Miss Marple Mysteries

The Murder at the Vicarage

The Body in the Library

The Moving Finger

A Murder Is Announced

They Do It with Mirrors

A Pocket Full of Rye

4:50 from Paddington

The Mirror Crackâ€™d from Side to Side

A Caribbean Mystery

At Bertramâ€™s Hotel

Nemesis

Sleeping Murder

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories

The Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries

The Secret Adversary

Partners in Crime

N or M?

By the Pricking of My Thumbs Postern of Fate

Credits

Cover illustration and design by Sara Wood

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the authorâ€™s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This title was previously published as What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!.

AGATHA CHRISTIEÂ® MARPLEÂ® MISS MARPLEÂ® 4:50 FROM PADDINGTONâ„¢. Copyright Â© 2011 Agatha Christie Limited (a Chorion company). All rights reserved. 4:50 from Paddington was first published in 1957.

4:50 FROM PADDINGTON Â© 1957. Published by permission of G.P. Putnamâ€™s Sons, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-06-207366-2

EPub Edition Â© MAY 2011 ISBN: 978-0-06-173844-9

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