Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Banger House Incident

"One thing came to mind," said Jenny Hellier. Her pretty face was radiant with that smile that a child gives when he wants a grown-up affirmation.It's the kind of laugh that moves audiences in London every night and brings money to the photographers. "It happened to..." she went on cautiously, "to a friend of mine." Everyone shouted to encourage her to continue, with hypocrisy in their tone.Colonel Bantry, Mrs. Bantry, Sir Henry Crenthering, Dr. Lloyd, and Miss Marple all believe that her so-called "friend" is really herself.Her little head never remembers or pays attention to other people's things.

"My friend," continued Jenny, "I don't want to mention her name, is an actress, a well-known actor." Nobody was surprised, Sir Henry thought to himself: I'll see how long she lasts before switching from the imaginary third person to the first. "My friend was on tour in the provinces. It was a year or two ago. I thought I'd better not name the place. It's a little riverside town not far from London. I call it do……" She paused, thinking, frowning, as if it were too much trouble for her to give this place a name. "What about Riverberry?" whispered Sir Henry.

"Oh, yes, that's great, Riverberry, I'll have to remember the name. As I said, my friend was on tour with her troupe in Riverberry, and the unthinkable happened. " She frowned again, and said in a tone of pain: "It's really too difficult to meet your requirements. Various events are mixed together, and I may talk about what shouldn't be said first." "You've done a good job," encouraged Dr. Lloyd. "Go on." "It happened like this. My friend was called to the police station. When she got there, she knew that it seemed that a house by the river had been burglarized. The police arrested a young man. He told the police about his adventure. That's it. , the police called my friend.”

"She had never been in a police station before. But they were friendly to her, very nice actually." "They will, I believe," said Sir Henry. "The sergeant, I think he was a sergeant, or maybe an inspector, pulled up a chair, asked her to sit down, and explained the situation to her. I saw at once that it was a misunderstanding." "Aha," thought Sir Henry, "use 'I', and she can only go so far." "That's what my friend said," Jenny went on, completely unaware that she had unknowingly sold herself. "She explained to them that she was rehearsing in a hotel with her understudy, and that Faulkner was a name she hadn't even heard of."

The sergeant said: "Hai..." She stopped, her face burning. "Miss Hyman," suggested Sir Henry, winking at her. "Yes, yes, that's the name, thank you. The sergeant said: 'Well, Miss Hyman. Since you have been staying at the Bridge Hotel, I think it must be a misunderstanding, and he asked me if I objected to this Young people confronted, or have confronted, I don't remember." "It doesn't matter," said Sir Henry, to reassure her. "Confronted the young man and I said: 'Of course not'. So they brought the young man in and introduced him and said, 'This is Miss Helier.' Oh!"

Jenny opened her mouth and didn't close it for a long time. "It's all right, my dear," said Miss Marple reassuringly. "It's our duty to guess. You didn't tell us the real place names etc." Jenny said: "I was going to tell it as someone else. It's so hard, isn't it? I mean a person always talks and forgets." Everyone affirmed what she said, it was really difficult, cheered her up, and reassured her.In this way, she continued her somewhat complicated story. "He was a good-looking young man, handsome, young, with reddish hair, and when he saw me, he opened his mouth. The sergeant said, 'Is that the lady?' He said, 'No, it wasn't. I'm such an ass.' I smiled and told him, 'It's okay.'"

"I can imagine the scene," said Sir Henry.Jenny Helier frowned. "Let me think about where to start next." "Bring it all out, my dear," said Miss Marple, in a tone so mild that no one suspected she was mocking her. "What did the young man misunderstand? And about the theft?" "By the way," said Jenny, "this young man's name is Leslie Faulkner, and he's written a play. He's written several plays, though none have been accepted. He's given me a few to read. Well, I haven't even read it. Because hundreds of scripts have been sent to me, and only a few of them have been read, and they are all books that I know something about. However, the problem is that Faulkner Mr. said that he received a letter from me, and it was finally found out that it was not written by me, you all know..."

She stopped anxiously, and they reassured her that they understood what was going on. "The letter said I had read the play and liked it, so I asked him to come and talk to me, and gave me the address for the meeting: Bungle House, Riverbury. A maid opened the door, and he said he was looking for Miss Helier. The maid said that Miss Helier was waiting for him and led him into the living room. A woman received him in the living room, and he naturally regarded her as me. This seemed a little unreasonable, after all, he had seen my performance Yeah, plus my pictures are all over the place, right?"

"Yes, you are known all over England, Miss Hellier," said Mrs. Bantry bluntly, "but there is a difference between the picture and the person, dear Jenny, remember that the actors under the stage lights are the same as those under the stage." People are very different, not every actress can stand the test like you." "Yes." Miss Jenny's tone became calmer, "maybe! He said that this woman was tall, with big blue eyes, and beautiful, and I think that was all: of course he had no doubts at all. She sat down, talked about his script, and said she wanted to start working on the character as soon as possible. During the conversation, the cocktail was served, Faulkner had a drink, and all he remembered was drinking a cocktail. When he woke up, or After regaining consciousness, you can call it whatever you want, he was lying on the side of the road by a hedge so he wouldn't be in danger of being run over by a car. He felt dizzy and staggered to his feet, staggering Walking on the road, he didn't know which direction he was going. He said that if his mind was clear at that time, he would go back to Bangerlou to see what was going on. He only knew how to move forward and didn't know what he was doing. When the police caught him, he somewhat came to his senses."

"Why did the police arrest him?" asked Dr. Lloyd. "Didn't I tell you?" her eyes widened as she said this. "I'm stupid for a burglary." "You mentioned the theft, but you didn't say where or what," said Mrs. Bantry. "The house he went to wasn't mine, of course. It belonged to a man named Her." "Would you like me to be godfather again?" asked Sir Henry. "It's free to take a false name. Describe the owner of the house, and I'll give him a name." "A rich townsman bought the house. He's a lord."

"How about Herman Cohn?" said Sir Henry. "It's a beautiful name. He bought the house for a lady whose husband was an actor and who was an actor herself." "We call the actor's husband Claude Leeson," said Sir Henry. "I guess the actress has a stage name, but let's call her Mary Kerr." "You're so smart, Jane," said Jenny. "I don't know how you manage to get this all sorted out so easily. This is Herman's weekend house. You call him Herman, don't you?" He and the lady are here on weekends. Of course, his wife doesn't know about it." "It happens quite often," said Sir Henry. "He gave the actress a lot of jewelry, including some fine emeralds." "Oh," said Dr. Lloyd, "we're getting to the point." "The jewels are in this house, locked in a jewelry box, and the police said it was too easy for anyone to take it away." "Look, Dolly," said Colonel Bantry, "what did I tell you?" "As far as I'm concerned," said Mrs. Bantry, "the more careful you are, the more likely you are to lose things. My jewelry is not locked in a casket, I keep it in a drawer under a sock, Dare I say, if this, what's her name? Ah: Mary Kerr is like me, and those jewels can't be stolen." "That's not necessarily the case," Jenny said. "All the drawers can be smashed open, and the contents will be scattered all over the floor." "Perhaps they're not looking for jewels," said Mrs. Bantry. "They're looking for secret papers, that's what it says in the books." "I don't know of any secret documents." Helier was full of doubts. "Never heard of it." "Don't listen to her nonsense, Miss Hullier," said Colonel Bantry. "Don't take her fantasies seriously." "Let us return to the theft," said Sir Henry. "By the way, the police got a call. The caller claimed to be Mary Kerr. She said her house had been burglarized and described the young man. Said the young man had red hair and had been to Her home. The housemaid thought he was weird and didn't let him in, but then they saw him climb in through the window. She gave the police a detailed description of the young man's appearance. So the police only took an hour After I caught him, he told the police what happened to him, and showed them the reply letter I gave him. I have already told you what happened afterwards. When the police found me, I also felt the expression on that young man’s face when he saw me. I have told you." "It's a bit unusual," said Dr. Lloyd. "Does Mr. Faulkner know Miss Kerr?" "No, that's what he said. I haven't told you the most bizarre thing about this incident. The police are going to the house to investigate the scene. They found everything that the reporter said, and the drawers were pulled. came out, and the jewelry was gone. There was no one in the house." "Mary Kerr didn't come back until a few hours later. She said she never called the police at all, she just heard about it. It seems like she got a telegram that morning that there was a producer Someone offered her an important role and asked her to meet. Naturally, she rushed to the city to meet the appointment, but when she arrived in the city, she found out that it was a scam, and there was no such thing at all." "It's the usual trick to turn a tiger away from the mountain," remarked Sir Henry. "And what about the servants?" "Fell the same trick. There was only one maid in the room, and she also got a call from Mary Kerr, who said she had forgotten an important thing and asked the maid to go to a drawer in the bedroom." When she found a certain handbag, she was busy catching the first bus. The maid did as she asked, and of course locked the door before leaving. She arrived at the club in time according to the location the hostess told her, but when she arrived, she found that the hostess was not at all. Not there, she waited in vain." "Well..." Mr. Henry said, "I began to understand a little bit. All the people in the house were taken away, leaving an empty house. It would not be difficult to turn in from a certain window room. I can understand this. I can imagine it. But I can't figure out where Faulkner got in. If it wasn't Mary Kerr calling the police, then who was it?" "No one knows, and no one ever will." "A curious thing," said Sir Henry. "Has the young man been identified at last?" "Yes, he's telling the truth. He did receive a letter in reply which he claimed was from me, but which was not in my handwriting at all. But how did he know it wasn't from me?" "Now we will put the threads in order," said Sir Henry. "Correct me if I am wrong. The lady and the servant were deceived into leaving the house. The young man was also Lured there by a forged letter. The forged letter was used as a cover based on the fact that you were actually performing in Riverberg that week. The young man was paralyzed. The police got the call and made him a suspect because it was true There was a theft. I believe the jewels were stolen, right?" "Oh yes." "Did you find it later?" "No, it was never found. In fact, Herman tried to keep it as quiet as possible, but he couldn't. I guess the result is that his wife is going to divorce him. Guess, I don't know at first. What's the situation." "What happened to Leslie Faulkner?" "He was released and the police said there wasn't enough evidence to charge him. Don't you think there's something odd about the whole thing?" "It's so strange. The first question is whose word to believe. Miss Hellier, in your narrative, I find that you tend to believe Leslie, Faulkner. Is there any reason to believe it other than your intuition him?" "No reason," Jenny said reluctantly, "I don't think I have any reason to believe him, it's just that he looks nice. Mistaking someone for me. Sorry for that, so I think he's telling the truth .” "Understood," said Sir Henry, laughing, "but you must admit that he could have easily made up the story by writing himself a letter claiming that you had written it, and he could have just as well excused himself if he had stolen it. But On the other hand, he doesn't have to be so troublesome. He walks in, takes things away, and disappears quietly. Unless he himself suspects that his neighbors may find out, or be seen by others. Then he will change in a hurry plan to direct the disaster to others. If the neighbor exposes him, he has found a reason to justify it." "Is he rich?" asked Miss Marple. "No," said Jenny, "I believe he had a hard time." "The whole thing was incredible," Lloyd said. "I think if we think that the young man's words are true, the case becomes complicated. Why would the person who claimed to be Miss Hellier drag this unknown young man into it? Why did she direct such a scene?" How about a well-planned comedy?" "Tell me, Jane," said Mrs. Bantry, "has that young man ever confronted Mary Kerr in this comedy?" "I don't know," Jenny said slowly, frowning, digging into memory. "If he doesn't confront her, that's the end of the matter," said Mrs. Bantry. "I'm sure I'm right. What could be easier than pretending to be called into town? Your servant called, and while she was in town, you came back, and the young man was invited, and he was tricked, and then he directed the theft, as far as possible; then called the police, and described your story in detail. Scapegoat; finally left the place again for the city, and came back on the late train, pretending not to know anything." "But why would she steal her jewels, Dolly!" "That's what they all do," said Mrs. Bantry. "I could give a hundred reasons. Maybe she was in a hurry for the money, and old Herman wouldn't give her the cash, and she said the jewels were stolen, And then quietly sold it. Perhaps someone blackmailed her to tell her husband or his wife about her relationship with Hermann; She can do something to cover it up. There are plenty of descriptions of this in the book; maybe she wants to re-set the gems, find some artificial gems to replace them, or a good idea, which is not described in the book, when these jewels are stolen, If she pretends that Lu Ran is sad, he will buy her another set, so that she has two sets. This kind of woman is terrible. " "You're so clever, Dolly," said Jenny, enviously. "I never thought of that." "She just said you were clever, not that you were right," said Colonel Bantry. "I'm inclined to suspect that gentleman from town who could have telegraphed that actress away, and in a With the help of his new girlfriend, he can easily arrange the rest. No one would think to ask him if he has any alibi." "What do you think, Miss Marple?" Jenny asked, turning to the old lady who had been sitting there with her brows furrowed, puzzled, and silent. "My dear, I don't know what to say, Sir Henry will laugh at me. I can't recall a single incident like this that happened in the village this time. Of course, the incident There are several problems in itself: for example, the servant problem. Ahem!" She cleared her throat. "In a family hill of the kind you describe, there can be no doubt that the hired servant knows all about the family. Besides, a really good girl would not be hired in such a family. Because she The mother will not rest assured for a moment to put her daughter in such a family. Therefore, we can speculate that the maid's statement is purely fictional, she may be with the thief, she may hold the door open for the thief, really go London, as if to fulfill the order of the fake call to divert others' suspicion of her. I have to admit, this is the most reasonable conclusion. Unless it is done by habitual thieves, it is too strange, and a maid can't do that insider." Miss Marple paused for a moment, then read in a fugue: "I've always felt something, I'd call it a personal feeling about the whole thing. Let's say someone was out of spite, how about for example? Well, a young actress he didn't treat kindly, you think I'm okay with that Was it a deliberate attempt to create trouble for him, and that is what it appears to be. Still, it's not entirely convincing." "What's the matter with you, doctor? You haven't said anything yet?" Jenny said, "I forgot about you." "I'm always forgotten," said the gray-haired doctor sadly. "I'm just so inconspicuous." "Oh! No," said Jenny. "Tell us what you think." "I basically agree with everyone, or I can say I disagree with everyone. I have an idea that is far from everyone's and may be completely wrong. I think his wife has an affair with this, I mean Hey Mrs. Herman. I can't prove it, but only a wronged wife would do such a jaw-dropping thing." "Ah: Doctor Lloyd," cried Miss Marple excitedly, "you are so clever, how could I have forgotten about poor Mrs. Pebmarsh." Jenny stared at her. "Mrs Peb Marsh? Who's Mrs Peb Marsh?" "Well..." Miss Marple hesitated, "I didn't know she would really work, she was a washerwoman who stole an opal brooch on one coat and put it in another woman's In the house." Jenny looked at her, even more confused. "It makes you figure everything out! Miss Marple," said Sir Henry, blinking his eyes.To his surprise, however, Miss Marple shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not, and I admit that I can't do anything about it. My knowledge is that women always help women, and especially in times of emergency, women are always on the side of their fellow men. I think Miss Jenny will give us That’s the moral of telling the story.” "I didn't expect this case to have such a deep meaning." Sir Henry said calmly, "Perhaps only after Miss Hellier tells the answer to the riddle, I can really understand what you said." "Huh?" Jenny was a little puzzled. "I noticed that in the words of the children, we have surrendered. You, Miss Helier, you are fortunate to have given us a difficult problem, and even made Miss Marple admit defeat." "You all gave up?" Jenny said.Sir Henry waited for the others to speak, and a minute later, seeing that the others were silent, he put himself in the position of spokesperson again. "That means we have to stop at the tentative conclusions we've drawn before? The gentlemen have each drawn one, Miss Marple has two, and Mrs. Bun about a dozen." "Not a dozen," said Mrs. Bantry. "They're several instances of the same subject. I've told you so many times not to call me Mrs. Bantry." "In other words, you all gave up?" Jenny said after thinking about it, "This is very interesting." She fell back on the chair and began to polish her nails absent-mindedly. "Now," said Mrs. Bantry, "tell us, Jenny, how did it end?" "ending?" "Yes, what happened next." Jenny stared at her. "what?" "I never knew what the outcome would be, I thought you were all so smart, someone would tell me the outcome!" Everyone gets annoyed, it's nice to be pretty, but at this point she's acting so stupid that even being super cute isn't an excuse. "You mean the truth has never been found?" said Sir Henry. "No, I said that, and that's why I told you the problem, and I thought you'd tell me." From Jenny's voice she could tell she was hurt, she could tell she was upset. "Well, I am... I am..." Colonel Bantry was too excited to speak. "Jenny, you're an annoyance, girl," said Mrs. Bantry. "At any rate, I am sure, and I will be, that I am right, and I will be more able if you can tell the real names of these people." Prove me right." "I don't think I should," Jenny said slowly. "Don't tell me, dear," said Miss Marple, "Miss Hellier shouldn't have done that." "Of course she should," said Mrs. Bantry. "Jenny, don't be so virtuous, we old fellows just need to know a little scandal, and at least you can tell us who the rich man in town is." Jenny was still shaking her head, and Miss Marple continued to support her with her outdated mind. "That must be a very distressing thing," she said. "No," said Jenny sincerely, "I think . . . I think it's fun." "Yes, maybe you feel that way. I guess it's a little sideshow to pass the monotony of the day. What kind of play are you in?" ""Mr Smith"." "Oh, that's one of Maugham's books, isn't it? All of his books are full of wit. I've read almost all of his books." "You're going to continue your tour next fall, right?" Jenny nodded. "Okay," said Miss Marple, standing up, "I have to go back, it's already so late, I had a great time tonight, this kind of party is not common, I think the winner tonight should be Hercules Miss Lear, do you agree?" "I'm sorry to spoil your fun," said Jenny, "I mean I don't know how the story ends, I should have said so." There was gloom in her tone, and Dr. Lloyd rose graciously and just in time. "My dear lady, how can you say that? You have asked a question to test our wits, and I am only sorry that none of us have been able to find the answer." "That speaks for you only," said Mrs. Bantry. "I have an answer, and I believe I have the right answer." "You know what? I really believe your speculation." Jenny said, "What you said is the most likely." "Which of her seven conjectures do you mean?" Sir Henry joked.Dr. Lloyd offered to help Miss Marple into her galoshes. "Just in case." The old lady explained.The doctor wants to send her back to her old house.After wrapping up the scarf, Miss Marple said good night to everyone again, and finally came to Jenny Hellier, leaned down, and whispered something into the actress' ear, "Ah!" Jenny couldn't help but There was an exclamation, Mrs. Voice, and everyone turned their heads to her.Smiling and nodding to everyone, Miss Marple walked out, leaving Jenny stunned. "Are you ready for bed, Jenny?" asked Mrs. Bantry. "What's the matter with you? It looks like a ghost." After a long sigh, Jenny returned to normalcy, and after leaving the two gentlemen with a beautiful, puzzled smile, she followed the hostess upstairs, and Mrs. Bantry entered her room with her. "The fire is dying in the fireplace," said Mrs. Bantry, poking the fire vigorously, but without effect. "They always screw it up, stupid servants. I think we're late tonight, oh, it's past one in the morning." "Do you think there are many people like her?" Jenny Helier asked.She sat on the edge of the bed, still thinking. "Like the servants?" "No, like that funny old lady, what's her name? Marple?" "Oh, I don't know, I think she is a very ordinary member of that kind of small village." "Oh, dear," said Miss Janet, "I don't know what to do!" She heaved a long sigh. "What's up?" "I worry." "worry about what?" "Dolly," said Jenny Hellier, with particular seriousness, "do you know what that wonderful old lady said to me before she left?" "I don't know, what are you talking about?" "She said 'If I were you, honey, don't put yourself completely in the hands of another woman, even if you think she's your friend at the time.' You know, Dolly, she was so right. " "Is it an adage? Yes, maybe, but I don't see where it could be used." "You can't trust a woman completely, I suppose. I might be in her control, I never imagined that." "Which woman are you talking about?" "Neta Green, my understudy." "What on earth does Miss Marple know about your understudy?" "I think she guessed, but I don't know how she did it." "Jenny, please, tell me what medicine is in your gourd?" "The story, the story I told tonight. Dolly, the woman I told you about, the woman who took Claude from me, remember?" Mrs. Bantry nodded, quickly turning her memory back to her first unhappy marriage, to Jenny's first husband to Claude Avebury, an actor. "He married her and I reminded him what would happen. Claude was in the dark and she continued to spend weekends with Joseph Soleman at the house I told you about. I wanted to expose her for who she was, and I wanted Everybody knows what kind of woman she is. See, a robbery can bring it all out." "Jenny," said Mrs. Bantry angrily, "did you devise the story you just told us?" Jenny nodded. "That's why I say I'm in Mr. Smith, where I'm playing the maid. I'm handy. When they summon me to the police, say me and my understudy are in Hotel rehearsals are the easiest. And the fact that we're in the house and I answer the door and bring the cocktails and Neta is me, Mr. Faulkner will never see her again. So don't be afraid he will Recognize her. I can make myself look quite different in maid's clothes. Besides, no one pays attention to a maid, although they are human. Afterwards, we intend to drag him out of the road, Take the jewels, call the police, and go back to the hotel. I don't want to bring the poor lad into it, but Sir Henry thinks he's innocent, doesn't he? That woman's going to be on the front page, Everything will be in the newspapers, and Claude will know what kind of woman she is." Mrs. Bantry sat down and sighed continually. "Oh, my poor little Jenny Hellier, you've been a liar all along, and you've told us such a story by acting." "I'm a good actor," Jenny Hellier said smugly, "always a good actor, and no matter what people say, I've never had a bad one, have I?" "Miss Marple is right," said Mrs. Bantry in a low voice. "The human factor, ah, yes, the human factor. Jenny, my dear boy, you must realize that stealing is stealing, and you will be sent to Go to jail, you know?" "But none of you guessed it, except Miss Marple." The worried look returned to her face. "Dolly, do you really think there are many people like Miss Marple?" "Frankly, I don't think so," said Mrs. Bantry.Another sigh. "Nevertheless, it's best not to take the risk. Of course, I'm not at the mercy of Neta, no doubt about it. She might turn against me and turn to blackmail me or something. She's helping me plan , and willingly helped me. But who really knows a woman? No, I think Miss Marple is right, and I'd better not take the risk." "But, my dear, you have taken a risk." "Oh no," Jenny opened her blue eyes wide, "you understand? Nothing happened, I... I was just walking, that's all." "I don't understand your dramatic terms very well," said Mrs. Bantry gravely. "You mean it's a plan to be carried out, not a thing that happened, don't you?" "I was going to do it this fall. In September, now I don't know what to do." "Jane Marple guesses everything and won't tell us," said Mrs. Bantry angrily. "I think what she meant by saying that women always protect women is to imply to me that she will not betray me in front of men. She is very kind. I don't mind you knowing my plans, Dolly." "Don't think about it, Jenny, please." "I think so," said Miss Jenny in a low voice, "and there may be many other Miss Marples..."