Chapter Twenty-Seven
I“I t’s impossible,” said Inspector¹ Neele.
He leaned back in his chair and watched Miss Marple with fascinated eyes. As Miss Marple had said, he was notsurprised. His words were a denial, not of probability, but of possibility. Lance Fortescue fitted the description: MissMarple had outlined it well enough. But Inspector Neele simply could not see how Lance could be the answer.
Miss Marple leaned forward in her chair and gently, persuasively², and rather in the manner of someone explainingthe simple facts of arithmetic to a small child, outlined her theory.
“He’s always been like that, you see. I mean, he’s always been bad. Bad all through, although with it he’s alwaysbeen attractive. Especially attractive to women. He’s got a brilliant mind and he’ll take risks. He’s always taken risksand because of his charm people have always believed the best and not the worst about him. He came home in thesummer to see his father. I don’t believe for a moment that his father wrote to him or sent for him—unless, of course,you’ve got actual evidence to that effect.” She paused inquiringly.
Neele shook his head. “No,” he said, “I’ve no evidence of his father sending for him. I’ve got a letter that Lance issupposed to have written to him after being here. But Lance could quite easily have slipped that among his father’spapers in the study here the day he arrived.”
“Sharp of him,” said Miss Marple, nodding her head. “Well, as I say, he probably flew over here and attempted areconciliation with his father, but Mr. Fortescue wouldn’t have it. You see, Lance had recently got married and thesmall pittance³ he was living on, and which he had doubtless been supplementing in various dishonest ways, was notenough for him anymore. He was very much in love with Pat (who is a dear, sweet girl) and he wanted a respectable,settled life with her—nothing shifty. And that, from his point of view, meant having a lot of money. When he was atYewtree Lodge⁴ he must have heard about these blackbirds. Perhaps his father mentioned them. Perhaps Adele did. Hejumped to the conclusion that MacKenzie’s daughter was established in the house and it occurred to him that shewould make a very good

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