Chapter 2 Chapter Two Fundraising Meeting

Mrs. Buntry took a step or two back, and looked at herself in the mirror.She had a pleasant presentiment that, about three weeks after her conversation with Miss Marple, Marina Gray and her husband were at Goldstein, more or less settled.Some big names are meeting there this afternoon for a banquet to raise money for John Ambulance.Mrs. Buntry was not one of them, but she had received a note from Marina Gray inviting her to tea. Mrs. Buntry's keen eyes flicked to and fro as she walked the sidewalk, and the place had been tidied up since the change of hands.Mrs. Buntry was also pleased that there was no view of the garden from the office sidewalk.When she lived in Goldstein, she was particularly sentimental about the garden and its surrounding greenery.

She stood in front of a repainted door and rang the bell.The door opened at once, and was evidently opened by an Italian servant.She was taken into Colonel Buntree's library, which was combined with the study, with paneled walls and a parquet floor.There was a grand piano in the corner, and a high-end turntable by the wall.Marina Gray was sitting at the table, leaning against the mantelpiece a man whom Mrs Buntry thought was the ugliest man she had ever seen. Just a quarter of an hour before Mrs. Buntry rang the bell, Marina Gray said to her husband: "This place is very suitable for me, quiet, quiet like the English countryside, we can enjoy the lawn and the English garden outside the window , I feel like I can settle down."

Jason Luther (his wife called him Jake) smiled at her, a submissive, indulgent smile, and said in a low voice, "Sweetheart, that's great, that's great, I'm so happy You'll like it." That's not bad, he thought.Well, solidly built, but the ugliest Victorian house ever.He admitted in his heart that the house gave people a sense of solidity and security.Now that all the inconvenient parts of the house have been removed, he thinks that Marina won't hate it for maybe two to two and a half years. Just then the door opened, and the Italian servant led Mrs. Buntry in.

Marina Gray greeted charmingly. "You don't know my husband, do you? Jason, this is Mrs. Buntry." Mrs. Buntry looked at Jason Luther curiously.At first she thought he was the ugliest man she had ever seen, but now she thought he was a perfect match for Marina Gray.He has a pair of interesting eyes, which are almost sunken than ordinary people, like a deep pool of water.The rest of the face was ridiculously wrinkled out of proportion, with a high nose that would have been that of a clown if it had been redder.He also has a big, sad mouth like a clown.She didn't know if he was just being bad-tempered at the moment, or if he just seemed to be that way.Yet he spoke with unexpected joy, in a low and gentle voice.

He said. "I want to say that my wife and I welcome you here." said Mrs. Buntry. "After I moved out of my old home, it wasn't my home anymore, I'm glad I sold it, I'm living comfortably, I've traveled all over the world to visit my daughters and grandchildren .” Jason Luther interrupted her: "Tell me something about this pleasant village." He handed her a cup of tea. "Good tea." Mrs. Buntry drank the delicious drink. Marina Gray smiled and looked pleased.Jason Luther had already noticed that her fingers were shaking suddenly for a minute or two, and now she calmed down.Mrs. Buntry looked at her enviously.On an impulse she said, "I really hope you'll like this place, do you want to have this place forever?"

Marina turned and stared in surprise. "I hope to live here forever, maybe next year I'll be doing a film in North Africa, but it's going to be my home and it's fantastic, fantastic, to finally have a home." "I see," said Mrs. Buntry, while she was thinking to herself, "I don't believe you're the sort to settle down." She took another quick sneaky look at Jason Luther when the door opened and a woman entered. "Jason, Bartley, please listen to the phone," she said. He sighed and stood up. "Let me introduce you to Mrs. Buntry," he said. "This is Ira Zielinski, my secretary."

Ira Zielinski was about thirty-five years old.She looked confident in a fitted suit and a lace blouse.She had short hair and a broad forehead. "They say you used to go here," she said to Mrs. Buntry. "That was years ago," said Mrs. Buntry. "I sold it after my husband passed away and it's been in several hands." Ira cast a quick glance at Mrs. Buntry. "Oh, I heard when there was a murder here?" "There's never been a murder here," said Mrs. Buntry. "Oh, come on. I've heard the story. There's always a story to be told here, Mrs. Buntry, isn't it on the hearth rug? Right here?" Miss Zielinski nodded toward the fireplace.

"That's right," said Mrs. Buntry. "This is the place." "So there was a murder?" Mrs. Buntry shook her head. "The murder didn't happen here. The girl who was killed was moved here, and there was a lot of suspicion. She has nothing to do with us." "Perhaps you have a hard time convincing this?" she remarked. "When did you find the body?" "When the butler is in the morning," said Mrs. Buntree, "he comes in with morning tea. We have a butler then, you know." "I know," said Miss Zielinski, "in rustling cotton."

"I don't remember if it was cotton," said Mrs. Buntree. "Maybe she was in work clothes. She rushed in and told me there was a body in the library. I woke my husband and we went down to look." "It turned out right," said Miss Zielinski. "My God, there is such a thing." She suddenly turned her head to look at the door, and then turned back. "Don't tell Miss Gray, if you don't mind." "Of course, I didn't say a word about it," said Mrs. Buntry. "In fact, I seemed to like the house." "I hope this will last a year or two," Ira Jelinski said.

"It won't be longer?" "Oh, I doubt it. Marina is like some people, always trying to find what they really want," said Miss Zielinski.She stuffed more than two or three sandwiches, gobbling it up like she was about to catch an important train. Mrs. Buntry felt a little embarrassed, but she didn't care much about the embarrassment. She ate the last sandwich and said suddenly, "Well, the fundraising is about to start." Mrs. Buntry looked out the window when she heard this, and there was indeed a lot of activity there.The square in front of Goldstein's House was crowded to raise funds for John Ambulance.The day was sunny, but the reason for such a sensation was that the local residents wanted to see how these "film crews" changed Gaotudingzhuang.Even Mr. Sompson, the oldest of Mary Mead's village, came hobbling on crutches to see the fun.

Everyone knows that the finale is the afternoon sideshow.For an extra shilling you can go inside and see the new concert hall, the living room, the completely unopened dining room, which is now upholstered in black oak and Spanish leather, as well as the interior have fun. Mrs. Buntry was pleased to see that the company was attended by people of high society. "Mrs. Buntry? I'm Hayley Preston. I work for Mr. Luther. Could you come up to the second floor? The Luthers invited some friends to sit there." Mrs. Buntry followed him flattered. Back, through what they called a garden door at the time, Mrs. Buntry saw Mrs. Oak and the MP. "Mrs. Buntry, they did a pretty good job, didn't they?" gasped Mrs. Oak. At the stairs, Marina Gray and Jason Luther were standing there to receive the distinguished guests. Marina Gray was very natural and charming, Mrs. Oak said, "even if she was famous, she didn't put on airs at all." It was great that Mrs. Oak and the MP were there, and she hoped they had a good afternoon. The MP and Mrs. Oak walked up to Jason and drank drinks. The man Hayley Earlston entertained them, and after a while he hurried away; and a clergyman came, tall and thin as a fakir.Miss Zielinski, who was there to help, brought him a glass of lemonade and smiled softly at him. "Mrs. Baecock," the pastor greeted Mrs. Baecock with a lemonade in his hand. "You don't remember me?" Hitt joked. "I was in the Ambulance Society when I was in Bermuda. Oh, that's been a long time." "I remember it very well," said Mrs. Backcock. "You know what? I couldn't be happier, I was the only girl in there, to think about the chance to see Marina Gray in person - oh, I've always been her biggest fan." "You're so kind," Marina said sweetly. Then Mrs. Oak picked up her glass. "I'm going to try this very Russian wine, I don't think I'll like it very much..." She turned to hear Hit Baker, beaming, "I can't forget how wonderful you were. It's indescribable." Marina's reaction was less natural this time, her eyes roving behind Hitt Bacock, and falling on the wall above the middle of the stairs, she watched with such terror that Mrs Buntry moved forward. After taking a step, is this woman about to faint?But before she reached Marina's side, Marina had already recovered, and her charming expression returned, although it still had a gloomy expression. Mrs. Buntry said to Mrs. Oak. "Let's go see the bathroom." "Oh, you think that's okay? Wouldn't that be rude?" Jason laughed. "Go ahead and take a shower if you like." Mrs. Oak followed Mrs. Buntry down the passage. They walked along the passage, opening the door every now and then.Mrs. Buntry took pleasure in playing the part of half master.When they got to the bedroom, it was locked and everyone was disappointed. "I suppose there must be some private secret in it," said Mrs. Buntry kindly. Walking back down the corridor, Mrs. Buntry suddenly felt that the house was old, rundown, and artificial.Although it is brightly painted and remodeled, it still has the decadence of an old Victorian house.Suddenly there was a slight humming sound.She and two other women started walking forward. "What the hell happened?" one of them said. "Sounds like something happened." They walked back down the corridor, and Ira Zielinski hurried past them.She tried to open one of the bedroom doors and said hurriedly, "Oh, my God. They're all locked." "What's the matter?" asked Mrs. Buntry. "Someone's sick," Jelinski replied curtly. "Jason is on the phone. She seems very ill." "Who?" asked Mrs. Buntry. "A Mrs. Becker, I think." "Hit Baker? But wasn't she all right?" Ira Zielinski said impatiently, "She had a seizure or something. You know she has a heart problem or anything like that?" "I don't know anything about her," said Mrs. Buntry. "She's new here, from uptown." "The uptown? Oh, you mean the house. I don't know where her husband is or what he looks like." "Middle-aged, fair-haired, modest," said Mrs. Buntry. "I came with him, so it must be around here." Ira Zielinski went into the bathroom. "I'll see what I can do," said Mrs. Buntry.She walked away and hurried towards the landing.While turning, she and Jason Luther bumped into each other. "Did you see Ira?" he said. "Ira Zielinski?" "She just walked into a bathroom from here, looking for something, ammonium carbonate—or something like that." "Don't bother," said Jason Dede. "The poor woman is dead." "Dead!" Mrs. Buntry was really startled, "but she was fine just now."