I NQUIRY
IM olly lay on her bed. Dr. Graham and Dr. Robertson, the West Indian police doctor, stood on one side—Tim on theother. Robertson had his hand on Molly’s pulse—He nodded to the man at the foot of the bed, a slender dark man inpolice uniform, Inspector1 Weston of the St. Honoré Police Force.
“A bare statement—no more,” the doctor said.
The other nodded.
“Now, Mrs. Kendal—just tell us how you came to find this girl.”
For a moment or two it was as though the figure on the bed had not heard. Then she spoke2 in a faint, faraway voice.
“In the bushes—white….”
“You saw something white—and you looked to see what it was? Is that it?”
“Yes—white—lying there—I tried—tried to lift—she it—blood—blood all over my hands.”
She began to tremble.
Dr. Graham shook his head at them. Robertson whispered—“She can’t stand much more.”
“What were you doing on the beach path, Mrs. Kendal?”
“Warm—nice—by the sea—”
“You knew who the girl was?”
“Victoria—nice—nice girl—laughs—she used to laugh—oh! and now she won’t—She won’t ever laugh again. I’llnever forget it—I’ll never forget it—” Her voice rose hysterically3.
“Molly—don’t.” It was Tim.
“Quiet—Quiet—” Dr. Robertson spoke with a soothing4 authority—“Just relax—relax—Now just a small prick—”
He withdrew the hypodermic.
“She’ll be in no fit condition to be questioned for at least twenty-four hours,” he said—“I’ll let you know when.”
II
The big handsome negro looked from one to the other of the men sitting at the table.
“Ah declare to God,” he said. “That’s all Ah know. Ah don’t know nothing but what Ah’ve told you.”
The perspiration5 stood out on his forehead. Daventry sighed. The man presiding at the table, Inspector Weston ofthe St. Honoré CID, made a gesture of dismissal. Big Jim Ellis shuffled6 out of the room.
“It’s not all he knows, of course,” Weston said. He had the soft Island voice. “But it’s all we shall learn from him.”
“You think he’s in the clear himself?” asked Daventry.
“Yes. They seem to have been on good terms together.”
“They weren’t married?”
A faint smile appeared on Lieutenant7 Weston’s lips. “No,” he said, “they weren’t married. We don’t have so manymarriages on the Island. They christen the children, though. He’s had two children by Victoria.”
“Do you think he was in it, whatever it was, with her?”
“Probably not. I think he’d have been nervous of anything of that kind. And I’d say, too, that what she did knowwasn’t very much.”
“But enough for blackmail8?”
“I don’t know that I’d even call it that. I doubt if the girl would even understand that word. Payment for beingdiscreet isn’t thought of as blackmail. You see, some of the people who stay here are the rich playboy lot and theirmorals won’t bear much investigation9.” His voice was slightly scathing10.
“We get all kinds, I agree,” said Daventry. “A woman, maybe, doesn’t want it known that she’s sleeping around, soshe gives a present to the girl who waits on her. It’s tacitly understood that the payment’s for discretion11.”
“Exactly.”
“But this,” objected Daventry, “wasn’t anything of that kind. It was murder.”
“I should doubt, though, if the girl knew it was serious. She saw something, some puzzling incident, something todo presumably with this bottle of pills. It belonged to Mr. Dyson, I understand. We’d better see him next.”
Gregory came in with his usual hearty12 air.
“Here I am,” he said, “what can I do to help? Too bad about this girl. She was a nice girl. We both liked her. Isuppose it was some sort of quarrel or other with a man, but she seemed quite happy and no signs of being in troubleabout anything. I was kidding her only last night.”
“I believe you take a preparation, Mr. Dyson, called Serenite?”
“Quite right. Little pink tablets.”
“You have them on prescription13 from a physician?”
“Yes. I can show it to you if you like. Suffer a bit from high blood pressure, like so many people do nowadays.”
“Very few people seem to be aware of that fact.”
“Well, I don’t go talking about it. I—well, I’ve always been well and hearty and I never like people who talk abouttheir ailments14 all the time.”
“How many of the pills do you take?”
“Two, three times a day.”
“Do you have a fairly large stock with you?”
“Yes. I’ve got about half a dozen bottles. But they’re locked up, you know, in a suitcase. I only keep out one, theone that’s in current use.”
“And you missed this bottle a short time ago, so I hear?”
“Quite right.”
“And you asked this girl, Victoria Johnson, whether she’d seen it?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And what did she say?”
“She said the last time she’d seen it was on the shelf in our bathroom. She said she’d looked around.”
“And after that?”
“She came and returned the bottle to me some time later. She said was this the bottle that was missing?”
“And you said?”
“I said ‘That’s it, all right, where did you find it?’ and she said it was in old Major Palgrave’s room. I said ‘How onearth did it get there?’”
“And what did she answer to that?”
“She said she didn’t know, but—” he hesitated.
“Yes, Mr. Dyson?”
“Well, she gave me the feeling that she did know a little more than she was saying, but I didn’t pay much attention.
After all, it wasn’t very important. As I say, I’ve got other bottles of the pills with me. I thought perhaps I’d left itaround in the restaurant or somewhere and old Palgrave picked it up for some reason. Perhaps he put it in his pocketmeaning to return it to me, then forgot.”
“And that’s all you know about it, Mr. Dyson?”
“That’s all I know. Sorry to be so unhelpful. Is it important? Why?”
Weston shrugged15 his shoulders. “As things are, anything may be important.”
“I don’t see where pills come in. I thought you’d want to know about what my movements were when thiswretched girl was stabbed. I’ve written them all down as carefully as I can.”
Weston looked at him thoughtfully.
“Indeed? That was very helpful of you, Mr. Dyson.”
“Save everybody trouble, I thought,” said Greg. He shoved a piece of paper across the table.
Weston studied it and Daventry drew his chair a little closer and looked over his shoulder.
“That seems very clear,” said Weston, after a moment or two. “You and your wife were together changing fordinner in your bungalow16 until ten minutes to nine. You then went along to the terrace where you had drinks withSe?ora de Caspearo. At quarter past nine Colonel and Mrs. Hillingdon joined you and you went in to dine. As far asyou can remember, you went off to bed at about half past eleven.”
“Of course,” said Greg, “I don’t know what time the girl was actually killed—?”
There was a faint semblance17 of a question in the words. Lieutenant Weston, however, did not appear to notice it.
“Mrs. Kendal found her, I understand? Must have been a very nasty shock for her.”
“Yes. Dr. Robertson had to give her a sedative18.”
“This was quite late, wasn’t it, when most people had trundled off to bed?”
“Yes.”
“Had she been dead long? When Mrs. Kendal found her, I mean?”
“We’re not quite certain of the exact time yet,” said Weston smoothly19.
“Poor little Molly. It must have been a nasty shock for her. Matter of fact, I didn’t notice her about last night.
Thought she might have had a headache or something and was lying down.”
“When was the last time you did see Mrs. Kendal?”
“Oh, quite early, before I went to change. She was playing about with some of the table decorations and things.
Rearranging the knives.”
“I see.”
“She was quite cheerful then,” said Greg. “Kidding and all that. She’s a great girl. We’re all very fond of her.
Tim’s a lucky fellow.”
“Well, thank you, Mr. Dyson. You can’t remember anything more than you’ve told us about what the girl Victoriasaid when she returned the tablets?”
“No … It was just as I say. Asked me were these the tablets I’d been asking for. Said she’d found them in oldPalgrave’s room.”
“She’d no idea who put them there?”
“Don’t think so—can’t remember, really.”
“Thank you, Mr. Dyson.”
Gregory went out.
“Very thoughtful of him,” said Weston, gently tapping the paper with his fingernail, “to be so anxious to want us toknow for sure exactly where he was last night.”
“A little over-anxious do you think?” asked Daventry.
“That’s very difficult to tell. There are people, you know, who are naturally nervous about their own safety, aboutbeing mixed up with anything. It isn’t necessarily because they have any guilty knowledge. On the other hand it mightbe just that.”
“What about opportunity? Nobody’s really got much of an alibi20, what with the band and the dancing and thecoming and going. People are getting up, leaving their tables, coming back. Women go to powder their noses. Mentake a stroll. Dyson could have slipped away. Anybody could have slipped away. But he does seem rather anxious toprove that he didn’t.” He looked thoughtfully down at the paper. “So Mrs. Kendal was rearranging knives on thetable,” he said. “I rather wonder if he dragged that in on purpose.”
“Did it sound like it to you?”
The other considered. “I think it’s possible.”
Outside the room where the two men were sitting, a noise had arisen. A high voice was demanding admittanceshrilly.
“I’ve got something to tell. I’ve got something to tell. You take me in to where the gentlemen are. You take me into where the policeman is.”
A uniformed policeman pushed open the door.
“It’s one of the cooks here,” he said, “very anxious to see you. Says he’s got something you ought to know.”
A frightened dark man in a cook’s cap pushed past him and came into the room. It was one of the minor21 cooks. ACuban, not a native of St. Honoré.
“I tell you something. I tell you,” he said. “She come through my kitchen, she did, and she had a knife with her. Aknife, I tell you. She had a knife in her hand. She come through my kitchen and out the door. Out into the garden. Isaw her.”
“Now calm down,” said Daventry, “calm down. Who are you talking about?”
“I tell you who I’m talking about. I’m talking about the boss’s wife. Mrs. Kendal. I’m talking about her. She have aknife in her hand and she go out into the dark. Before dinner that was—and she didn’t come back.”
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1
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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2
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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3
hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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4
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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5
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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6
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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8
blackmail
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| n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓 | |
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9
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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10
scathing
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| adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词) | |
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11
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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12
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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13
prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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ailments
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| 疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
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15
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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16
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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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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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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alibi
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| n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口 | |
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21
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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