Nine
IThe only people who really did justice to Lucy’s excellent lunch were the two boys and Cedric Crackenthorpe whoappeared completely unaffected by the circumstances which had caused him to return to England. He seemed, indeed,to regard the whole thing as a rather good joke of a macabre¹ nature.
This attitude, Lucy noted², was most unpalatable to his brother Harold. Harold seemed to take the murder as a kindof personal insult to the Crackenthorpe family and so great was his sense of outrage³ that he ate hardly any lunch.
Emma looked worried and unhappy and also ate very little. Alfred seemed lost in a train of thought of his own andspoke very little. He was quite a good-looking man with a thin dark face and eyes set rather too close together.
After lunch the police officers returned and politely asked if they could have a few words with Mr. CedricCrackenthorpe.
Inspector⁵ Craddock was very pleasant and friendly.
“Sit down, Mr. Crackenthorpe. I understand you have just come back from the Balearics? You live out there?”
“Have done for the past six years. In Ibiza. Suits me better than this dreary⁶ country.”
“You get a good deal more sunshine than we do, I expect,” said Inspector Craddock agreeably. “You were homenot so very long ago, I understand—for Christmas, to be exact. What made it necessary for you to come back again sosoon?”
Cedric grinned.
“Got a wire from Emma—my sister. We’ve never had a murder on the premises⁷ before. Didn’t want to missanything—so along I came.”
“You are interested in criminology?”
“Oh, we needn’t put it in such highbrow terms! I just like murders—Whodunnits and all that! With a Whodunnitparked right on the family doorstep, it seemed the chance of a lifetime. Besides, I thought poor Em might need a spotof help—managing the old man and the police and all the rest of it.”
“I see. It appealed to your sporting instincts and also to your family feelings. I’ve no doubt your sister will be verygrateful to you—although her two other brothers have also come to be with her.”

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