Chapter Fifteen
I“I ’m sorry, Miss Fortescue, to bother you again, but I want to be quite, quite clear about this. As far as we know youwere the last person—or rather the last person but one—to see Mrs. Fortescue alive. It was about twenty past fivewhen you left the drawing room?”
“About then,” said Elaine, “I can’t say exactly.” She added defensively: “One doesn’t look at clocks the wholetime.”
“No, of course not. During the time that you were alone with Mrs. Fortescue after the others had left, what did youtalk about?”
“Does it matter what we talked about?”
“Probably not,” said Inspector¹ Neele, “but it might give me some clue as to what was in Mrs. Fortescue’s mind.”
“You mean—you think she might have done it herself?”
Inspector Neele noticed the brightening on her face. It would certainly be a very convenient solution as far as thefamily was concerned. Inspector Neele did not think it was true for a moment. Adele Fortescue was not to his mind asuicidal type. Even if she had poisoned her husband and was convinced the crime was about to be brought home toher, she would not, he thought, have ever thought of killing² herself. She would have been sure optimistically that evenif she were tried for murder she would be sure to be acquitted³. He was not, however, averse⁴ to Elaine Fortescue’sentertaining the hypothesis. He said, therefore, quite truthfully:
“There’s a possibility of it at least, Miss Fortescue. Now perhaps you’ll tell me just what your conversation wasabout?”
“Well, it was really about my affairs.” Elaine hesitated.
“Your affairs being . . . ? ” he paused questioningly with a genial⁵ expression.
“I—a friend of mine had just arrived in the neighbourhood, and I was asking Adele if she would have any objectionto—to my asking him to stay here at the house.”
“Ah. And who is this friend?”
“It’s a Mr. Gerald Wright. He’s a schoolmaster. He—he’s staying at the Golf Hotel.”
“A very close friend, perhaps?”

分享到：