25. Miss Marple Uses Her Imagination

Twenty-five
M ISS M ARPLE U SES H ER I MAGINATION
“S o that’s what had been going on?” said Mr. Rafiel.
He and Miss Marple were sitting together in a confidential¹ manner.
“She’d been having an affair with Tim Kendal, had she?”
“Hardly an affair, I imagine,” said Miss Marple, primly². “It was, I think, a romantic attachment³ with the prospect⁴ ofmarriage in the future.”
“What—after his wife was dead?”
“I don’t think poor Esther Walters knew that Molly was going to die,” said Miss Marple. “I just think she believedthe story Tim Kendal told her about Molly having been in love with another man, and the man having followed herhere, and I think she counted on Tim’s getting a divorce. I think it was all quite proper and respectable. But she wasvery much in love with him.”
“Well, that’s easily understood. He was an attractive chap. But what made him go for her—d’you know that too?”
“You know, don’t you?” said Miss Marple.
“I dare say I’ve got a pretty fair idea, but I don’t know how you should know about it. As far as that goes, I don’tsee how Tim Kendal could know about it.”
“Well, I really think I could explain all that with a little imagination, though it would be simpler if you told me.”
“I’m not going to tell you,” said Mr. Rafiel. “You tell me, since you’re being so clever.”
“Well, it seems to me possible,” said Miss Marple, “that as I have already hinted to you, your man Jackson was inthe habit of taking a good snoop through your various papers from time to time.”
“Perfectly⁵ possible,” said Mr. Rafiel, “but I shouldn’t have said there was anything there that could do him muchgood. I took care of that.”
“I imagine,” said Miss Marple, “he read your will.”
“Oh I see. Yes, yes, I did have a copy of my will along.”
“You told me,” said Miss Marple, “you told me—(as Humpty Dumpty said—very loud and clear) that you had notleft anything to Esther Walters in your will. You had impressed that fact upon her, and also upon Jackson. It was truein Jackson’s case, I should imagine. You have not left him anything, but you had left Esther Walters money, thoughyou weren’t going to let her have any inkling of the fact. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, it’s quite right, but I don’t know how you knew.”
“Well, it’s the way you insisted on the point,” said Miss Marple. “I have a certain experience of the way people telllies.”
“I give in,” said Mr. Rafiel. “All right. I left Esther ?50,000. It would come as a nice surprise to her when I died. Isuppose that, knowing this, Tim Kendal decided⁶ to exterminate⁷ his present wife with a nice dose of something or otherand marry ?50,000 and Esther Walters. Possibly to dispose of her also in good time. But how did he know she wasgoing to have ?50,000?”
“Jackson told him, of course,” said Miss Marple. “They were very friendly, those two. Tim Kendal was nice toJackson and, quite, I should imagine, without ulterior motive⁸. But amongst the bits of gossip that Jackson let slip Ithink Jackson told him that unbeknownst to herself, Esther Walters was going to inherit a fat lot of money, and he mayhave said that he himself hoped to induce Esther Walters to marry him though he hadn’t had much success so far intaking her fancy. Yes, I think that’s how it happened.”
“The things you imagine always seem perfectly plausible,” said Mr. Rafiel.
“But I was stupid,” said Miss Marple, “very stupid. Everything fitted in really, you see. Tim Kendal was a veryclever man as well as being a very wicked one. He was particularly good at putting about rumours⁹. Half the things I’vebeen told here came from him originally, I imagine. There were stories going around about Molly wanting to marry anundesirable young man, but I rather fancy that the undesirable¹⁰ young man was actually Tim Kendal himself, thoughthat wasn’t the name he was using then. Her people had heard something, perhaps that his background was fishy¹¹. Sohe put on a high indignation act, refused to be taken by Molly to be ‘shown off’ to her people and then he brewed¹² up alittle scheme with her which they both thought great fun. She pretended to sulk and pine for him. Then a Mr. TimKendal turned up, primed with the names of various old friends of Molly’s people, and they welcomed him with openarms as being the sort of young man who would put the former delinquent¹³ one out of Molly’s head. I am afraid Mollyand he must have laughed over it a good deal. Anyway, he married her, and with her money he bought out the peoplewho ran this place and they came out here. I should imagine that he ran through her money at a pretty fair rate. Thenhe came across Esther Walters and he saw a nice prospect of more money.”
“Why didn’t he bump me off?” said Mr. Rafiel.
Miss Marple coughed.
“I expect he wanted to be fairly sure of Mrs. Walters first. Besides—I mean …” She stopped, a little confused.
“Besides, he realized he wouldn’t have to wait long,” said Mr. Rafiel, “and it would clearly be better for me to die anatural death. Being so rich. Deaths of millionaires are scrutinized¹⁴ rather carefully, aren’t they, unlike mere¹⁵ wives?”
“Yes, you’re quite right. Such a lot of lies as he told,” said Miss Marple. “Look at the lies he got Molly herself tobelieve—putting that book on mental disorders¹⁶ in her way. Giving her drugs which would give her dreams andhallucinations. You know, your Jackson was rather clever over that. I think he recognized certain of Molly’ssymptoms as being the result of drugs. And he came into the bungalow¹⁷ that day to potter about a bit in the bathroom.
That face cream he examined. He might have got some idea from the old tales of witches rubbing themselves withointments that had belladonna in them. Belladonna in face cream could have produced just that result. Molly wouldhave blackouts. Times she couldn’t account for, dreams of flying through the air. No wonder she got frightened aboutherself. She had all the signs of mental illness, Jackson was on the right track. Maybe he got the idea from MajorPalgrave’s stories about the use of datura by Indian women on their husbands.”
“Major Palgrave!” said Mr. Rafiel. “Really, that man!”
“He brought about his own murder,” said Miss Marple, “and that poor girl Victoria’s murder, and he nearlybrought about Molly’s murder. But he recognized a murderer all right.”
“What made you suddenly remember about his glass eye?” asked Mr. Rafiel curiously¹⁸.
“Something that Se?ora de Caspearo said. She talked some nonsense about his being ugly, and having the EvilEye; and I said it was only a glass eye, and he couldn’t help that, poor man, and she said his eyes looked differentways, they were cross-eyes—which, of course, they were. And she said it brought bad luck. I knew—I knew that I hadheard something that day that was important. Last night, just after Lucky’s death, it came to me what it was! And thenI realized there was no time to waste….”
“How did Tim Kendal come to kill the wrong woman?”
“Sheer chance. I think his plan was this: Having convinced everybody—and that included Molly herself—that shewas mentally unbalanced, and after giving her a sizeable dose of the drug he was using, he told her that between themthey were going to clear up all these murder puzzles. But she had got to help him. After everyone was asleep, theywould go separately and meet at an agreed spot by the creek¹⁹.
“He said he had a very good idea who the murderer was, and they would trap him. Molly went off obediently—butshe was confused and stupefied with the drug she had been given, and it slowed her up. Tim arrived there first and sawwhat he thought was Molly. Golden hair and pale green shawl. He came up behind her, put his hand over her mouth,and forced her down into the water and held her there.”
“Nice fellow! But wouldn’t it have been easier just to give her an overdose of narcotic²⁰?”
“Much easier, of course. But that might have given rise to suspicion. All narcotics²¹ and sedatives²² have been verycarefully removed from Molly’s reach, remember. And if she had got hold of a fresh supply, who more likely to havesupplied it than her husband? But if, in a fit of despair, she went out and drowned herself whilst her innocent husbandslept, the whole thing would be a romantic tragedy, and no one would be likely to suggest that she had been drowneddeliberately. Besides,” added Miss Marple, “murderers always find it difficult to keep things simple. They can’t keepthemselves from elaborating.”
“You seem convinced you know all there is to be known about murderers! So you believe Tim didn’t know he hadkilled the wrong woman?”
Miss Marple shook her head.
“He didn’t even look at her face, just hurried off as quickly as he could, let an hour elapse, then started to organizea search for her, playing the part of a distracted husband.”
“But what the devil was Lucky doing hanging about the creek in the middle of the night?”
Miss Marple gave an embarrassed little cough.
“It is possible, I think, that she was—er—waiting to meet someone.”
“Edward Hillingdon?”
“Oh no,” said Miss Marple. “That’s all over, I wondered whether—just possibly—she might have been waiting forJackson.”
“Waiting for Jackson?”
“I’ve noticed her—look at him once or twice,” murmured Miss Marple, averting²³ her eyes.
Mr. Rafiel whistled.
“My Tom Cat Jackson! I wouldn’t put it past him! Tim must have had a shock later when he found he’d killed thewrong woman.”
“Yes, indeed. He must have felt quite desperate. Here was Molly alive and wandering about. And the story he’dcirculated so carefully about her mental condition wouldn’t stand up for a moment once she got into the hands ofcompetent mental specialists. And once she told her damning story of his having asked her to meet him at the creek,where would Tim Kendal be? He’d only one hope—to finish off Molly as quickly as possible. Then there was a verygood chance that everyone would believe that Molly, in a fit of mania²⁴, had drowned Lucky, and had then, horrified²⁵ bywhat she had done, taken her own life.”
“And it was then,” said Mr. Rafiel, “that you decided to play Nemesis²⁶, eh?”
He leaned back suddenly and roared with laughter. “It’s a damned good joke,” he said. “If you knew what youlooked like that night with that fluffy²⁷ pink wool all round your head, standing²⁸ there and saying you were Nemesis! I’llnever forget it!”

1 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

2 primly   

adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• He didn't reply, but just smiled primly. 他没回答，只是拘谨地笑了笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore prim suits with neckties set primly against the collar buttons of his white shirts. 他穿着整洁的外套，领结紧贴着白色衬衫领口的钮扣。 来自互联网

3 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 exterminate   

v.扑灭，消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• Some people exterminate garden insects by spraying poison on the plants.有些人在植物上喷撒毒剂以杀死花园内的昆虫。
• Woodpeckers can exterminate insect pests hiding in trees.啄木鸟能消灭躲在树里的害虫。

8 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

9 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

10 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

11 fishy   

adj. 值得怀疑的

参考例句：

• It all sounds very fishy to me.所有这些在我听起来都很可疑。
• There was definitely something fishy going on.肯定当时有可疑的事情在进行中。

12 brewed   

调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡）

参考例句：

• The beer is brewed in the Czech Republic. 这种啤酒是在捷克共和国酿造的。
• The boy brewed a cup of coffee for his mother. 这男孩给他妈妈冲了一杯咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

14 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

15 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

16 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bungalow   

n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房

参考例句：

• A bungalow does not have an upstairs.平房没有上层。
• The old couple sold that large house and moved into a small bungalow.老两口卖掉了那幢大房子，搬进了小平房。

18 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

19 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

20 narcotic   

n.麻醉药，镇静剂；adj.麻醉的，催眠的

参考例句：

• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。
• No medical worker is allowed to prescribe any narcotic drug for herself.医务人员不得为自己开处方使用麻醉药品。

21 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 sedatives   

n.镇静药，镇静剂( sedative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A wide variety of mild sedatives and tranquilizers have become available. 现在有许多种镇静剂和安定剂。 来自辞典例句
• Since July 1967 there has been a restriction on the prescribing of sedatives in Australia. 自从1967年7月起，澳大利亚的镇静药处方受到限制。 来自辞典例句

23 averting   

防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• The margin of time for averting crisis was melting away. 可以用来消弥这一危机的些许时光正在逝去。
• These results underscore the value of rescue medications in averting psychotic relapse. 这些结果显示了救护性治疗对避免精神病复发的价值。

24 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

25 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

26 nemesis   

n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手

参考例句：

• Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
• Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。

27 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

28 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。