Twenty-five

Twenty-five
We stayed in the garden a long time. By a kind of tacit consent, we did notdiscuss the horror that was weighing upon us. Instead Sophia talked affec-tionately of the dead woman, of things they had done, and games they hadplayed as children with Nannie—and tales that the old woman used to tellthem about Roger and their father and the other brothers and sisters.
“They were her real children, you see. She only came back to us to helpduring the war when Josephine was a baby and Eustace was a funny littleboy.”
There was a certain balm for Sophia in these memories and I encour-aged her to talk.
I wondered what Taverner was doing. Questioning the household, I sup-posed. A car drove away with the police photographer and two other men,and presently an ambulance drove up.
Sophia shivered a little. Presently the ambulance left and we knew thatNannie’s body had been taken away in preparation for an autopsy¹.
And still we sat or walked in the garden and talked—our words becom-ing more and more of a cloak for our real thoughts.
Finally, with a shiver, Sophia said:
“It must be very late—it’s almost dark. We’ve got to go in. Aunt Edithand Josephine haven’t come back … Surely they ought to be back by now?”
A vague eneasiness woke in me. What had happened? Was Edith delib-erately keeping the child away from the Crooked² House?
We went in. Sophia drew all the curtains. The fire was lit and the bigdrawing room looked harmonious³ with an unreal air of bygone luxury.
Great bowls of bronze chrysanthemums⁴ stood on the tables.
Sophia rang and a maid whom I recognized as having been formerly⁵ up-stairs brought in tea. She had red eyes and sniffed⁶ continuously. Also I no-ticed that she had a frightened way of glancing quickly over her shoulder.
Magda joined us, but Philip’s tea was sent in to him in the library.
Magda’s role was a stiff frozen image of grief. She spoke⁷ little or not at all.
She said once:
“Where are Edith and Josephine? They’re out very late.”
But she said it in a preoccupied⁸ kind of way.
But I myself was becoming increasingly uneasy. I asked if Tavernerwere still in the house and Magda replied that she thought so. I went insearch of him. I told him that I was worried about Miss de Haviland andthe child.
He went immediately to the telephone and gave certain instructions.
“I’ll let you know when I have news,” he said.
I thanked him and went back to the drawing room. Sophia was therewith Eustace. Magda had gone.
“He’ll let us know if he hears anything,” I said to Sophia.
She said in a low voice:
“Something’s happened, Charles, something must have happened.”
“My dear Sophia, it’s not really late yet.”
“What are you bothering about?” said Eustace. “They’ve probably goneto the cinema.”
He lounged out of the room. I said to Sophia: “She may have takenJosephine to a hotel—or up to London. I think she really realized that thechild was in danger—perhaps she realized it better than we did.”
Sophia replied with a sombre look that I could not quite fathom⁹.
“She kissed me goodbye….”
I did not see quite what she meant by that disconnected remark, or whatit was supposed to show. I asked if Magda was worried.
“Mother? No, she’s all right. She’s no sense of time. She’s reading a newplay of Vavasour Jones called The Woman Disposes. It’s a funny play aboutmurder—a female Bluebeard—cribbed from Arsenic¹⁰ and Old Lace if youask me, but it’s got a good woman’s part, a woman who’s got a mania¹¹ forbeing a widow.”
I said no more. We sat, pretending to read.
It was half past six when Taverner opened the door and came in. Hisface prepared us for what he had to say.
Sophia got up.
“Yes?” she said.
“I’m sorry. I’ve got bad news for you. I sent out a general alarm for thecar. A motorist reported having seen a Ford¹² car with a number somethinglike that turning off the main road at Flackspur Heath — through thewoods.”
“Not—the track to the Flackspur Quarry¹⁴?”
“Yes, Miss Leonides.” He paused and went on. “The car’s been found inthe quarry. Both the occupants were dead. You’ll be glad to know theywere killed outright¹⁵.”
“Josephine!” It was Magda standing¹⁶ in the doorway¹⁷. Her voice rose in awail. “Josephine … My baby.”
Sophia went to her and put her arms round her. I said: “Wait a minute.”
I had remembered something! Edith de Haviland writing a couple of let-ters at the desk, going out into the hall with them in her hand.
But they had not been in her hand when she got into the car.
I dashed out into the hall and went to the long oak chest. I found the let-ters—pushed inconspicuously to the back behind a brass¹⁸ tea urn¹³.
The uppermost was addressed to Chief-Inspector Taverner.
Taverner had followed me. I handed the letter to him and he tore itopen. Standing beside him I read its brief contents.
My expectation is that this will be opened after my death. Iwish to enter into no details, but I accept full responsibilityfor the deaths of my brother-in-law, Aristide Leonides andJanet Rowe (Nannie). I hereby solemnly declare thatBrenda Leonides and Laurence Brown are innocent of themurder of Aristide Leonides. Inquiry¹⁹ of Dr. MichaelChavasse, 783 Harley Street, will confirm that my lifecould only have been prolonged for a few months. I preferto take this way out and to spare two innocent people theordeal of being charged with a murder they did not com-mit. I am of sound mind and fully²⁰ conscious of what Iwrite.
Edith Elfrida de Haviland.
As I finished the letter I was aware that Sophia, too, had read it —whether with Taverner’s concurrence²¹ or not, I don’t know.
“Aunt Edith …” murmured Sophia.
I remembered Edith de Haviland’s ruthless foot grinding bindweed intothe earth. I remembered my early, almost fanciful, suspicions of her. Butwhy—
Sophia spoke the thought in my mind before I came to it.
“But why Josephine? Why did she take Josephine with her?”
“Why did she do it at all?” I demanded. “What was her motive²²?”
But even as I said that, I knew the truth. I saw the whole thing clearly. Irealized that I was still holding her second letter in my hand. I lookeddown and saw my own name on it.
It was thicker and harder than the other one. I think I knew what was init before I opened it. I tore the envelope along and Josephine’s little blacknotebook fell out. I picked it up off the floor—it came open in my handand I saw the entry on the first page….
Sounding from a long way away, I heard Sophia’s voice, clear and self-controlled.
“We’ve got it all wrong,” she said. “Edith didn’t do it.”
“No,” I said.
Sophia came closer to me—she whispered:
“It was—Josephine—wasn’t it? That was it, Josephine.”
Together we looked down on the first entry in the little black book, writ-ten in an unformed childish hand:
“Today I killed grandfather.”

1 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

2 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

3 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

4 chrysanthemums   

n.菊花( chrysanthemum的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The cold weather had most deleterious consequences among the chrysanthemums. 寒冷的天气对菊花产生了极有害的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The chrysanthemums are in bloom; some are red and some yellow. 菊花开了， 有红的，有黄的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

6 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

10 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。

11 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。

12 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

13 urn   

n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮

参考例句：

• The urn was unearthed entire.这只瓮出土完整无缺。
• She put the big hot coffee urn on the table and plugged it in.她将大咖啡壶放在桌子上,接上电源。

14 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

15 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

16 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。

17 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

18 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

19 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

20 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

21 concurrence   

n.同意；并发

参考例句：

• There is a concurrence of opinion between them.他们的想法一致。
• The concurrence of their disappearances had to be more than coincidental.他们同时失踪肯定不仅仅是巧合。

22 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。