L ewis Serrocold came into the office and immediately the whole focus of the room shifted. He turned to close thedoor behind him, and in doing so he created an atmosphere of privacy. He walked over and sat down, not in the chairMiss Marple had just vacated but in his own chair behind the desk. Miss Bellever had settled Inspector1 Curry2 in achair drawn3 up to one side of the desk, as though unconsciously she had reserved Lewis Serrocold’s chair against hiscoming.
When he had sat down, Lewis Serrocold looked at the two police officers thoughtfully. His face looked drawn andtired. It was the face of a man who was passing through a severe ordeal5, and it surprised Inspector Curry a littlebecause, though Christian6 Gulbrandsen’s death must undeniably have been a shock to Lewis Serrocold, yetGulbrandsen had not been a close friend or relation, only a rather remote connection by marriage.
In an odd way, the tables seemed to have been turned. It did not seem as though Lewis Serrocold had come into theroom to answer police questioning. It seemed rather that Lewis Serrocold had arrived to preside over a court ofinquiry. It irritated Inspector Curry a little.
He said briskly: “Now, Mr. Serrocold—”
Lewis Serrocold still seemed lost in thought. He said with a sigh, “How difficult it is to know the right thing to do.”
Inspector Curry said:
“I think we will be the judges as to that, Mr. Serrocold. Now about Mr. Gulbrandsen, he arrived unexpectedly, Iunderstand?”
“Quite unexpectedly.”
“You did not know he was coming?”
“I had not the least idea of it.”
“And you have no idea of why he came?”
Lewis Serrocold said quietly,
“Oh yes, I know why he came. He told me.”
“When?”
“I walked up from the station. He was watching from the house and came out to meet me. It was then that heexplained what had brought him here.”
“Business connected with the Gulbrandsen Institute, I suppose?”
“Oh no, it was nothing to do with the Gulbrandsen Institute.”
“Miss Bellever seemed to think it was.”
“Naturally. That would be the assumption. Gulbrandsen did nothing to correct that impression. Neither did I.”
“Why, Mr. Serrocold?”
Lewis Serrocold said slowly:
“Because it seemed to both of us important that no hint should arise as to the real purpose of his visit.”
“What was the real purpose?”
Lewis Serrocold was silent for a minute or two. He sighed.
“Gulbrandsen came over here regularly twice a year for meetings of the trustees. The last meeting was only amonth ago. Consequently he was not due to come over again for another five months. I think, therefore, that anyonemight realise that the business that brought him must definitely be urgent business, but I still think that the normalassumption would be that it was a business visit, and that the matter—however urgent—would be a Trust matter. Asfar as I know, Gulbrandsen did nothing to contradict that impression—or thought he didn’t. Yes, perhaps that is nearerthe truth—he thought he didn’t.”
“I’m afraid, Mr. Serrocold, that I don’t quite follow you.”
Lewis Serrocold did not answer at once. Then he said gravely:
“I fully4 realise that with Gulbrandsen’s death—which was murder, undeniably murder, I have got to put all thefacts before you. But, frankly7, I am concerned for my wife’s happiness and peace of mind. It is not for me to dictate8 toyou, Inspector, but if you can see your way to keeping certain things from her as far as possible, I shall be grateful.
You see, Inspector Curry, Christian Gulbrandsen came here expressly to tell me that he believed my wife was beingslowly and cold-bloodedly poisoned.”
“What?”
Curry leaned forward incredulously.
Serrocold nodded.
“Yes, it was, as you can imagine, a tremendous shock to me. I had had no suspicion of such a thing myself, but assoon as Christian told me, I realised that certain symptoms my wife had complained of lately, were quite compatiblewith that belief. What she took to be rheumatism9, leg cramps10, pain, and occasional sickness. All that fits in very wellwith the symptoms of arsenic11 poisoning.”
“Miss Marple told us that Christian Gulbrandsen asked her about the condition of Mrs. Serrocold’s heart?”
“Did he now? That is interesting. I suppose he thought that a heart poison would be used since it paved the way toa sudden death without undue12 suspicion. But I think myself that arsenic is more likely.”
“You definitely think, then, that Christian Gulbrandsen’s suspicions were well founded?”
“Oh yes, I think so. For one thing, Gulbrandsen would hardly come to me with such a suggestion unless he wasfairly sure of his facts. He was a cautious and hardheaded man, difficult to convince, but very shrewd.”
“What was his evidence?”
“We had no time to go into that. Our interview was a hurried one. It served only the purpose of explaining his visit,and a mutual13 agreement that nothing whatever should be said to my wife about the matter until we were sure of ourfacts.”
“And whom did he suspect of administering poison?”
“He did not say, and actually I don’t think he knew. He may have suspected. I think now that he probably didsuspect—otherwise why should he be killed?”
“But he mentioned no name to you?”
“He mentioned no name. We agreed that we must investigate the matter thoroughly14, and he suggested inviting15 theadvice and cooperation of Dr. Galbraith, the Bishop16 of Cromer. Dr. Galbraith is a very old friend of the Gulbrandsensand is one of the trustees of the Institute. He is a man of great wisdom and experience and would be of great help andcomfort to my wife if—if it was necessary to tell her of our suspicions. We meant to rely on his advice as to whetheror not to consult the police.”
“Quite extraordinary,” said Curry.
“Gulbrandsen left us after dinner to write to Dr. Galbraith. He was actually in the act of typing a letter to him whenhe was shot.”
“How do you know?”
Lewis said calmly,
“Because I took the letter out of the typewriter. I have it here.”
From his breast pocket, he drew out a folded typewritten sheet of paper and handed it to Curry.
The latter said sharply.
“You shouldn’t have taken this, or touched anything in the room.”
“I touched nothing else. I know that I committed an unpardonable offence in your eyes in moving this, but I had avery strong reason. I felt certain that my wife would insist on coming into the room and I was afraid that she mightread something of what is written here. I admit myself in the wrong, but I am afraid I would do the same again. Iwould do anything—anything—to save my wife unhappiness.”
Inspector Curry said no more for the moment. He read the typewritten sheet.
Dear Dr. Galbraith. If it is at all possible, I beg that you will come to Stonygates as soon as you receive this.
A crisis of extraordinary gravity has arisen and I am at a loss how to deal with it. I know how deep youraffection is for our dear Carrie Louise, and how grave your concern will be for anything that affects her.
How much has she got to know? How much can we keep from her? Those are the questions that I find sodifficult to answer.
Not to beat about the bush, I have reason to believe that that sweet and innocent lady is being slowlypoisoned. I first suspected this when—
Here the letter broke off abruptly17.
Curry said:
“And when he had reached this point, Christian Gulbrandsen was shot?”
“Yes.”
“But why on earth was this letter left in the typewriter?”
“I can only conceive of two reasons—one that the murderer had no idea to whom Gulbrandsen was writing andwhat was the subject of the letter. Secondly—he may not have had time. He may have heard someone coming andonly had just time to escape unobserved.”
“And Gulbrandsen gave you no hint as to who he suspected—if he did suspect anyone?”
There was, perhaps, a very slight pause before Lewis answered. “None whatever.”
He added, rather obscurely:
“Christian was a very fair man.”
“How do you think this poison, arsenic or whatever it may be—was or is being administered?”
“I thought over that whilst I was changing for dinner, and it seemed to me that the most likely vehicle was somemedicine, a tonic18, that my wife was taking. As regards food we all partook of the same dishes and my wife has nothingspecially prepared for her. But anyone could add arsenic to the medicine bottle.”
“We must take the medicine and have it analysed.”
Lewis said quietly:
“I already have a sample of it. I took it this evening before dinner.”
From a drawer in the desk, he took out a small, corked19 bottle with a red fluid in it.
Inspector Curry said with a curious glance:
“You think of everything, Mr. Serrocold.”
“I believe in acting20 promptly21. Tonight, I stopped my wife from taking her usual dose. It is still in a glass on the oakdresser in the Hall—the bottle of tonic itself is in the drawing room.”
Curry leaned forward across the desk. He lowered his voice and spoke22 confidentially23 and without officialdom.
“You’ll excuse me, Mr. Serrocold, but just why are you so anxious to keep this from your wife? Are you afraidshe’d panic? Surely, for her own sake, it would be as well if she were warned.”
“Yes—yes, that may well be so. But I don’t think you quite understand. Without knowing my wife, Caroline, itwould be difficult. My wife, Inspector Curry, is an idealist, a completely trustful person. Of her it may truly be saidthat she sees no evil, hears no evil, and speaks no evil. It would be inconceivable to her that anyone could wish to killher. But we have to go farther than that. It is not just ‘anyone.’ It is a case—surely you see that—of somebodypossibly very near and dear to her….”
“So that’s what you think?”
“We have got to face facts. Close at hand we have a couple of hundred warped24 and stunted25 personalities26 who haveexpressed themselves often enough by crude and senseless violence. But by the very nature of things, none of themcan be suspect in this case. A slow poisoner is someone living in the intimacy27 of family life. Think of the people whoare here in this house; her husband, her daughter, her granddaughter, her granddaughter’s husband, her stepson whomshe regards as her own son, Miss Bellever, her devoted28 companion and friend of many years. All very near and dear toher—and yet the suspicion must arise—is it one of them?”
Curry answered slowly,
“There are outsiders—”
“Yes, in a sense. There is Dr. Maverick29, one or two of the staff are often with us, there are the servants—but,frankly, what possible motive30 could they have?”
Inspector Curry said,
“And there’s young—what is his name again—Edgar Lawson?”
“Yes. But he has only been down here as a casual visitor just lately. He has no possible motive. Besides, he isdeeply attached to Caroline—just as everyone is.”
“But he’s unbalanced. What about this attack on you tonight?”
Serrocold waved it aside impatiently.
“Sheer childishness. He had no intention of harming me.”
“Not with these two bullet holes in the wall? He shot at you, didn’t he?”
“He didn’t mean to hit me. It was playacting, no more.”
“Rather a dangerous form of playacting, Mr. Serrocold.”
“You don’t understand. You must talk to our psychiatrist31, Dr. Maverick. Edgar is an illegitimate child. He hasconsoled himself for his lack of a father and a humble32 origin by pretending to himself that he is the son of a celebratedman. It’s a well-known phenomenon, I assure you. He was improving, improving very much. Then, for some reason,he had a setback33. He identified me as his ‘father’ and made a melodramatic attack, waving a revolver and utteringthreats. I was not in the least alarmed. When he had actually fired the revolver, he broke down and sobbed34, and Dr.
Maverick took him away and gave him a sedative35. He’ll probably be quite normal tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t wish to bring a charge against him?”
“That would be the worst thing possible—for him, I mean.”
“Frankly, Mr. Serrocold, it seems to me he ought to be under restraint. People who go about firing off revolvers tobolster up their egos—! One has to think of the community, you know.”
“Talk to Dr. Maverick on the subject,” urged Lewis. “He’ll give you the professional point of view. In any case,”
he added, “poor Edgar certainly did not shoot Gulbrandsen. He was in here threatening to shoot me.”
“That’s the point I was coming to, Mr. Serrocold. We’ve covered the outside. Anyone, it seems, could have comein from outside, and shot Mr. Gulbrandsen, since the terrace door was unlocked. But there is a narrower field insidethe house, and in view of what you have been telling me, it seems to me that very close attention must be paid to that.
It seems possible that, with the exception of old Miss—er—yes, Marple who happened to be looking out of herbedroom window, no one was aware that you and Christian Gulbrandsen had already had a private interview. If so,Gulbrandsen may have been shot to prevent him communicating his suspicions to you. Of course, it is too early to sayas yet what other motives36 may exist. Mr. Gulbrandsen was a wealthy man, I presume?”
“Yes, he was a very wealthy man. He has sons and daughters and grandchildren—all of whom will probablybenefit by his death. But I do not think that any of his family are in this country, and they are all solid and highlyrespectable people. As far as I know, there are no black sheep amongst them.”
“Had he any enemies?”
“I should think it most unlikely. He was—really, he was not that type of man.”
“So it boils down, doesn’t it, to this house and the people in it? Who from inside the house could have killed him?”
Lewis Serrocold said slowly,
“That is difficult for me to say. There are the servants and the members of my household and our guests. They are,from your point of view, all possibilities, I suppose. I can only tell you that, as far as I know, everyone except theservants was in the Great Hall when Christian left it and whilst I was there, nobody left it.”
“Nobody at all?”
“I think”—Lewis frowned in an effort of remembrance—“oh yes. Some of the lights fused—Mr. Walter Huddwent to see to it.”
“That’s the young American gentleman?”
“Yes—of course, I don’t know what took place after Edgar and I came in here.”
“And you can’t give me anything nearer than that, Mr. Serrocold?”
Lewis Serrocold shook his head.
“No, I’m afraid I can’t help you. It’s—it’s all quite inconceivable.”
Inspector Curry sighed. He said:
“You can tell the party that they can all go to bed. I’ll talk to them tomorrow.”
When Serrocold had left the room, Inspector Curry said to Lake:
“Well—what do you think?”
“Knows—or thinks he knows, who did it,” said Lake.
“Yes. I agree with you. And he doesn’t like it a bit….”
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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curry
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| n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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cramps
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| n. 抽筋, 腹部绞痛, 铁箍 adj. 狭窄的, 难解的 v. 使...抽筋, 以铁箍扣紧, 束缚 | |
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arsenic
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| n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的 | |
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undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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tonic
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| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
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corked
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| adj.带木塞气味的，塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 ) | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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warped
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| adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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maverick
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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psychiatrist
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| n.精神病专家；精神病医师 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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setback
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| n.退步，挫折，挫败 | |
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sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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sedative
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| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
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motives
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