I was summoned to the study when Lawrence Redding arrived. He looked haggard, and, I thought, suspicious.
Colonel Melchett greeted him with something approaching cordiality.
“We want to ask you a few questions—here, on the spot,” he said.
Lawrence sneered1 slightly.
“Isn’t that a French idea? Reconstruction2 of the crime?”
“My dear boy,” said Colonel Melchett, “don’t take that tone with us. Are you aware that someone else has alsoconfessed to committing the crime which you pretend to have committed?”
The effect of these words on Lawrence was painful and immediate3.
“S-s-omeone else?” he stammered4. “Who—who?”
“Mrs. Protheroe,” said Colonel Melchett, watching him.
“Absurd. She never did it. She couldn’t have. It’s impossible.”
Melchett interrupted him.
“Strangely enough, we did not believe her story. Neither, I may say, do we believe yours. Dr. Haydock sayspositively that the murder could not have been committed at the time you say it was.”
“Dr. Haydock says that?”
“Yes, so, you see, you are cleared whether you like it or not. And now we want you to help us, to tell us exactlywhat occurred.”
Lawrence still hesitated.
“You’re not deceiving me about—about Mrs. Protheroe? You really don’t suspect her?”
“On my word of honour,” said Colonel Melchett.
Lawrence drew a deep breath.
“I’ve been a fool,” he said. “An absolute fool. How could I have thought for one minute that she did it—”
“Suppose you tell us all about it?” suggested the Chief Constable5.
“There’s not much to tell. I—I met Mrs. Protheroe that afternoon—” He paused.
“We know all about that,” said Melchett. “You may think that your feeling for Mrs. Protheroe and hers for you wasa dead secret, but in reality it was known and commented upon. In any case, everything is bound to come out now.”
“Very well, then. I expect you are right. I had promised the Vicar here (he glanced at me) to—to go right away. Imet Mrs. Protheroe that evening in the studio at a quarter past six. I told her of what I had decided6. She, too, agreedthat it was the only thing to do. We—we said good-bye to each other.
“We left the studio, and almost at once Dr. Stone joined us. Anne managed to seem marvellously natural. I couldn’tdo it. I went off with Stone to the Blue Boar and had a drink. Then I thought I’d go home, but when I got to the cornerof this road, I changed my mind and decided to come along and see the Vicar. I felt I wanted someone to talk to aboutthe matter.
“At the door, the maid told me the Vicar was out, but would be in shortly, but that Colonel Protheroe was in thestudy waiting for him. Well, I didn’t like to go away again—looked as though I were shirking meeting him. So I saidI’d wait too, and I went into the study.”
He stopped.
“Well?” said Colonel Melchett.
“Protheroe was sitting at the writing table—just as you found him. I went up to him—touched him. He was dead.
Then I looked down and saw the pistol lying on the floor beside him. I picked it up—and at once saw that it was mypistol.
“That gave me a turn. My pistol! And then, straightaway I leaped to one conclusion. Anne must have bagged mypistol some time or other—meaning it for herself if she couldn’t bear things any longer. Perhaps she had had it withher today. After we parted in the village she must have come back here and—and—oh! I suppose I was mad to thinkof it. But that’s what I thought. I slipped the pistol in my pocket and came away. Just outside the Vicarage gate, I metthe Vicar. He said something nice and normal about seeing Protheroe—suddenly I had a wild desire to laugh. Hismanner was so ordinary and everyday and there was I all strung up. I remember shouting out something absurd andseeing his face change. I was nearly off my head, I believe. I went walking—walking—at last I couldn’t bear it anylonger. If Anne had done this ghastly thing, I was, at least, morally responsible. I went and gave myself up.”
There was a silence when he had finished. Then the Colonel said in a businesslike voice:
“I would like to ask just one or two questions. First, did you touch or move the body in any way?”
“No, I didn’t touch it at all. One could see he was dead without touching7 him.”
“Did you notice a note lying on the blotter half concealed8 by his body?”
“No.”
“Did you interfere9 in any way with the clock?”
“I never touched the clock. I seem to remember a clock lying overturned on the table, but I never touched it.”
“Now as to this pistol of yours, when did you last see it?”
Lawrence Redding reflected. “It’s hard to say exactly.”
“Where do you keep it?”
“Oh, in a litter of odds10 and ends in the sitting room in my cottage. On one of the shelves of the bookcase.”
“You left it lying about carelessly?”
“Yes. I really didn’t think about it. It was just there.”
“So that anyone who came to your cottage could have seen it?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t remember when you last saw it?”
Lawrence drew his brows together in a frown of recollection.
“I’m almost sure it was there the day before yesterday. I remember pushing it aside to get an old pipe. I think it wasthe day before yesterday—but it may have been the day before that.”
“Who has been to your cottage lately?”
“Oh! Crowds of people. Someone is always drifting in and out. I had a sort of tea party the day before yesterday.
Lettice Protheroe, Dennis, and all their crowd. And then one or other of the old Pussies11 comes in now and again.”
“Do you lock the cottage up when you go out?”
“No; why on earth should I? I’ve nothing to steal. And no one does lock their house up round here.”
“Who looks after your wants there?”
“An old Mrs. Archer12 comes in every morning to ‘do for me’ as it’s called.”
“Do you think she would remember when the pistol was there last?”
“I don’t know. She might. But I don’t fancy conscientious13 dusting is her strong point.”
“It comes to this—that almost anyone might have taken that pistol?”
“It seems so—yes.”
The door opened and Dr. Haydock came in with Anne Protheroe.
She started at seeing Lawrence. He, on his part, made a tentative step towards her.
“Forgive me, Anne,” he said. “It was abominable14 of me to think what I did.”
“I—” She faltered15, then looked appealingly at Colonel Melchett. “Is it true, what Dr. Haydock told me?”
“That Mr. Redding is cleared of suspicion? Yes. And now what about this story of yours, Mrs. Protheroe? Eh, whatabout it?”
She smiled rather shamefacedly.
“I suppose you think it dreadful of me?”
“Well, shall we say—very foolish? But that’s all over. What I want now, Mrs. Protheroe, is the truth—the absolutetruth.”
She nodded gravely.
“I will tell you. I suppose you know about—about everything.”
“Yes.”
“I was to meet Lawrence—Mr. Redding—that evening at the studio. At a quarter past six. My husband and I droveinto the village together. I had some shopping to do. As we parted he mentioned casually16 that he was going to see theVicar. I couldn’t get word to Lawrence, and I was rather uneasy. I—well, it was awkward meeting him in the Vicaragegarden whilst my husband was at the Vicarage.”
Her cheeks burned as she said this. It was not a pleasant moment for her.
“I reflected that perhaps my husband would not stay very long. To find this out, I came along the back lane and intothe garden. I hoped no one would see me, but of course old Miss Marple had to be in her garden! She stopped me andwe said a few words, and I explained I was going to call for my husband. I felt I had to say something. I don’t knowwhether she believed me or not. She looked rather—funny.
“When I left her, I went straight across to the Vicarage and round the corner of the house to the study window. Icrept up to it very softly, expecting to hear the sound of voices. But to my surprise there were none. I just glanced in,saw the room was empty, and hurried across the lawn and down to the studio where Lawrence joined me almost atonce.”
“You say the room was empty, Mrs. Protheroe?”
“Yes, my husband was not there.”
“Extraordinary.”
“You mean, ma’am, that you didn’t see him?” said the Inspector17.
“No, I didn’t see him.”
Inspector Slack whispered to the Chief Constable, who nodded.
“Do you mind, Mrs. Protheroe, just showing us exactly what you did?”
“Not at all.”
She rose, Inspector Slack pushed open the window for her, and she stepped out on the terrace and round the houseto the left.
Inspector Slack beckoned18 me imperiously to go and sit at the writing table.
Somehow I didn’t much like doing it. It gave me an uncomfortable feeling. But, of course, I complied.
Presently I heard footsteps outside, they paused for a minute, then retreated. Inspector Slack indicated to me that Icould return to the other side of the room. Mrs. Protheroe reentered through the window.
“Is that exactly how it was?” asked Colonel Melchett.
“I think exactly.”
“Then can you tell us, Mrs. Protheroe, just exactly where the Vicar was in the room when you looked in?” askedInspector Slack.
“The Vicar? I—no, I’m afraid I can’t. I didn’t see him.”
Inspector Slack nodded.
“That’s how you didn’t see your husband. He was round the corner at the writing desk.”
“Oh!” she paused. Suddenly her eyes grew round with horror. “It wasn’t there that—that—”
“Yes, Mrs. Protheroe. It was while he was sitting there.”
“Oh!” She quivered.
He went on with his questions.
“Did you know, Mrs. Protheroe, that Mr. Redding had a pistol?”
“Yes. He told me so once.”
“Did you ever have that pistol in your possession?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Did you know where he kept it?”
“I’m not sure. I think—yes, I think I’ve seen it on a shelf in his cottage. Didn’t you keep it there, Lawrence?”
“When was the last time you were at the cottage, Mrs. Protheroe?”
“Oh! About three weeks ago. My husband and I had tea there with him.”
“And you have not been there since?”
“No. I never went there. You see, it would probably cause a lot of talk in the village.”
“Doubtless,” said Colonel Melchett dryly. “Where were you in the habit of seeing Mr. Redding, if I may ask?”
“He used to come up to the Hall. He was painting Lettice. We—we often met in the woods afterwards.”
Colonel Melchett nodded.
“Isn’t that enough?” Her voice was suddenly broken. “It’s so awful—having to tell you all these things. And—andthere wasn’t anything wrong about it. There wasn’t—indeed, there wasn’t. We were just friends. We—we couldn’thelp caring for each other.”
She looked pleadingly at Dr. Haydock, and that softhearted man stepped forward.
“I really think, Melchett,” he said, “that Mrs. Protheroe has had enough. She’s had a great shock—in more waysthan one.”
The Chief Constable nodded.
“There is really nothing more I want to ask you, Mrs. Protheroe,” he said. “Thank you for answering my questionsso frankly19.”
“Then—then I may go?”
“Is your wife in?” asked Haydock. “I think Mrs. Protheroe would like to see her.”
“Yes,” I said, “Griselda is in. You’ll find her in the drawing room.”
She and Haydock left the room together and Lawrence Redding with them.
Colonel Melchett had pursed up his lips and was playing with a paper knife. Slack was looking at the note. It wasthen that I mentioned Miss Marple’s theory. Slack looked closely at it.
“My word,” he said, “I believe the old lady’s right. Look here, sir, don’t you see?—these figures are written indifferent ink. That date was written with a fountain pen or I’ll eat my boots!”
We were all rather excited.
“You’ve examined the note for fingerprints20, of course,” said the Chief Constable.
“What do you think, Colonel? No fingerprints on the note at all. Fingerprints on the pistol those of Mr. LawrenceRedding. May have been some others once, before he went fooling round with it and carrying it around in his pocket,but there’s nothing clear enough to get hold of now.”
“At first the case looked very black against Mrs. Protheroe,” said the Colonel thoughtfully. “Much blacker thanagainst young Redding. There was that old woman Marple’s evidence that she didn’t have the pistol with her, butthese elderly ladies are often mistaken.”
I was silent, but I did not agree with him. I was quite sure that Anne Protheroe had had no pistol with her sinceMiss Marple had said so. Miss Marple is not the type of elderly lady who makes mistakes. She has got an uncannyknack of being always right.
“What did get me was that nobody heard the shot. If it was fired then—somebody must have heard it—whereverthey thought it came from. Slack, you’d better have a word with the maid.”
Inspector Slack moved with alacrity21 towards the door.
“I shouldn’t ask her if she heard a shot in the house,” I said. “Because if you do, she’ll deny it. Call it a shot in thewood. That’s the only kind of shot she’ll admit to hearing.”
“I know how to manage them,” said Inspector Slack, and disappeared.
“Miss Marple says she heard a shot later,” said Colonel Melchett thoughtfully. “We must see if she can fix the timeat all precisely22. Of course it may be a stray shot that had nothing to do with the case.”
“It may be, of course,” I agreed.
The Colonel took a turn or two up and down the room.
“Do you know, Clement23,” he said suddenly, “I’ve a feeling that this is going to turn out a much more intricate anddifficult business than any of us think. Dash it all, there’s something behind it.” He snorted. “Something we don’tknow about. We’re only beginning, Clement. Mark my words, we’re only beginning. All these things, the clock, thenote, the pistol—they don’t make sense as they stand.”
I shook my head. They certainly didn’t.
“But I’m going to get to the bottom of it. No calling in of Scotland Yard. Slack’s a smart man. He’s a very smartman. He’s a kind of ferret. He’ll nose his way through to the truth. He’s done several very good things already, andthis case will be his chef d’oeuvre. Some men would call in Scotland Yard. I shan’t. We’ll get to the bottom of thishere in Downshire.”
“I hope so, I’m sure,” I said.
I tried to make my voice enthusiastic, but I had already taken such a dislike to Inspector Slack that the prospect24 ofhis success failed to appeal to me. A successful Slack would, I thought, be even more odious25 than a baffled one.
“Who has the house next door?” asked the Colonel suddenly.
“You mean at the end of the road? Mrs. Price Ridley.”
“We’ll go along to her after Slack has finished with your maid. She might just possibly have heard something. Sheisn’t deaf or anything, is she?”
“I should say her hearing is remarkably26 keen. I’m going by the amount of scandal she has started by ‘justhappening to overhear accidentally.’”
“That’s the kind of woman we want. Oh! here’s Slack.”
The Inspector had the air of one emerging from a severe tussle27.
“Phew!” he said. “That’s a tartar you’ve got, sir.”
“Mary is essentially28 a girl of strong character,” I replied.
“Doesn’t like the police,” he said. “I cautioned her—did what I could to put the fear of the law into her, but nogood. She stood right up to me.”
“Spirited,” I said, feeling more kindly29 towards Mary.
“But I pinned her down all right. She heard one shot—and one shot only. And it was a good long time afterColonel Protheroe came. I couldn’t get her to name a time, but we fixed30 it at last by means of the fish. The fish waslate, and she blew the boy up when he came, and he said it was barely half past six anyway, and it was just after thatshe heard the shot. Of course, that’s not accurate, so to speak, but it gives us an idea.”
“H’m,” said Melchett.
“I don’t think Mrs. Protheroe’s in this after all,” said Slack, with a note of regret in his voice. “She wouldn’t havehad time, to begin with, and then women never like fiddling31 about with firearms. Arsenic’s more in their line. No, Idon’t think she did it. It’s a pity!” He sighed.
Melchett explained that he was going round to Mrs. Price Ridley’s, and Slack approved.
“May I come with you?” I asked. “I’m getting interested.”
I was given permission, and we set forth32. A loud “Hie” greeted us as we emerged from the Vicarage gate, and mynephew, Dennis, came running up the road from the village to join us.
“Look here,” he said to the Inspector, “what about that footprint I told you about?”
“Gardener’s,” said Inspector Slack laconically33.
“You don’t think it might be someone else wearing the gardener’s boots?”
“No, I don’t!” said Inspector Slack in a discouraging way.
It would take more than that to discourage Dennis, however.
He held out a couple of burnt matches.
“I found these by the Vicarage gate.”
“Thank you,” said Slack, and put them in his pocket.
Matters appeared now to have reached a deadlock34.
“You’re not arresting Uncle Len, are you?” inquired Dennis facetiously35.
“Why should I?” inquired Slack.
“There’s a lot of evidence against him,” declared Dennis. “You ask Mary. Only the day before the murder he waswishing Colonel Protheroe out of the world. Weren’t you, Uncle Len?”
“Er—” I began.
Inspector Slack turned a slow suspicious stare upon me, and I felt hot all over. Dennis is exceedingly tiresome36. Heought to realize that a policeman seldom has a sense of humour.
“Don’t be absurd, Dennis,” I said irritably37.
The innocent child opened his eyes in a stare of surprise.
“I say, it’s only a joke,” he said. “Uncle Len just said that any one who murdered Colonel Protheroe would bedoing the world a service.”
“Ah!” said Inspector Slack, “that explains something the maid said.”
Servants very seldom have any sense of humour either. I cursed Dennis heartily38 in my mind for bringing the matterup. That and the clock together will make the Inspector suspicious of me for life.
“Come on, Clement,” said Colonel Melchett.
“Where are you going? Can I come, too?” asked Dennis.
“No, you can’t,” I snapped.
We left him looking after us with a hurt expression. We went up to the neat front door of Mrs. Price Ridley’s houseand the Inspector knocked and rang in what I can only describe as an official manner. A pretty parlourmaid answeredthe bell.
“Mrs. Price Ridley in?” inquired Melchett.
“No, sir.” The maid paused and added: “She’s just gone down to the police station.”
This was a totally unexpected development. As we retraced39 our steps Melchett caught me by the arm andmurmured:
“If she’s gone to confess to the crime, too, I really shall go off my head.”
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sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reconstruction
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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stammered
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constable
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decided
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touching
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concealed
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interfere
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odds
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pussies
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| n.（粗俚） 女阴( pussy的名词复数 )；（总称）（作为性对象的）女人；（主要北美使用，非正式）软弱的；小猫咪 | |
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archer
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conscientious
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abominable
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faltered
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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beckoned
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frankly
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fingerprints
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alacrity
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precisely
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clement
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prospect
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odious
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remarkably
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tussle
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essentially
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kindly
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fixed
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fiddling
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forth
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laconically
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deadlock
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facetiously
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tiresome
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irritably
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heartily
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retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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