Chapter 16 Chapter 16 German Measles

At this time, the old servant came upstairs. "Sir, the Inspector is calling," he said. "Ask him to come up," Jason Luther said. The servant disappeared, and after a while the inspector came upstairs. "You!" he said to Miss Marple, "how did you get here?" "I came by Inge," said Miss Marple with her usual coolness. Jason Luther patted his forehead in confusion from behind her.Dermot shook his head. "I just told Mr. Luther," said Miss Marple, "—has the servant gone?—" Dermot glanced at the landing. "Oh, yes," he said, "he's not there. Sergeant Tedder will find out what happened."

"That's better," said Miss Marple. "We could have talked in the room, but I like it. Where we're standing now is where it happened, and it helps us get to the bottom of it." "You mean the banquet that was held here that day. Hit Baker was poisoned that day." "Yes," said Miss Marple, "and I think it would be very easy if somebody got it right. You know, it started with Hit Baker's personality, and things like that one day It must have happened to Hitter." "I don't understand what you mean," said Jason Luther, "not at all."

"Of course not, it needs some explaining. You know my friend Buntry was here and she quoted a poem to describe the scene, which was my favorite poem of Tennyson's Shire when I was young. Lady of the Chartres'." Raising her voice, she read, "'The Edge of the Broken Mirror: The Curse Has Been upon Me,' cried the Lady of Chartres." "That's what Mrs. Buntry saw, or thought she saw, when she saw your wife address Hitter Bakerk, and she heard Hitter Bakerk answer your wife, and she still See that look of death on your wife's face." "Haven't we talked about this many times?" Jason Luther said.

"Yes, but we'll talk about it again," said Miss Poppy, "about that look on your wife's face. And she's not looking at Hitt Bakerk at all, but at the picture, all the time." A portrait of a happy, smiling mother with a baby. The problem is that while Marina Gray has that death-advent look on her face, death doesn't come to her, it's to Hitt. When she starts talking and bragging about She was doomed to die in the past." "Could you be clearer?" Dermot asked. Miss Marple turned to him. "Of course. There are some things you don't know at all, and you don't know because no one told you what Hit Bakerk actually said."

"But I've been told," retorted Dermot. "They've told me several times, and quite a few." "Yes," said Miss Marple, "but you don't know because Hit Bakerk didn't tell you herself." "She was dead when I arrived, and it was impossible to tell me," Dermot said. "Of course," said Miss Marple, "all you know is that she was sick and up to the party, to see Marina Gray, and to ask her for a picture." "I know, I've heard all of this." "But you haven't heard of a surgical term because no one thinks it's important," said Miss Marple. "Hit Becker is bedridden with German measles."

"German measles? What does that have to do with this murder?" "It's not really a serious illness," said Miss Marple, "it's seldom a bad thing. There are some rashes, which are covered with powder, and you can still go out and look for people, so you can say German measles is not particularly terrible to the human body. For example, Mrs. Buntry only said that Hitt was sick in bed with chickenpox and hives. Mr. Luther said it was a cold, of course he was deliberately covering it up. But I think Hitt Becker Ke told Marina Gray that she had German measles and got up to see her. That's the whole answer to the question, because German measles is very easy to catch. And you have to remember one thing, if a woman is in the..."Ma Miss Bo said the next word with Victorian primness, "If you get German measles in the first four months of pregnancy, it is very serious, and it may cause mental retardation or blindness in the fetus."

After speaking, she turned to Jason Luther. "I think I'm right, Mr. Luther. Your wife had a mentally handicapped child. It came as a shock to her. She'd been looking forward to having a child, but at last the child was born, and the tragedy happened, which shocked her. She never forgot, the tragedy stung her every moment, until one afternoon a strange woman came up upstairs and told her it cheerfully. Getting up to meet the star that everyone sees, she only thinks about the meaning of a certain action to herself, and never considers the impact on others. Therefore, her death is her own fault. You can imagine what that moment meant to Marina Gray I think Mr. Luther knows it very well. She must have held a grudge against the woman who caused this tragedy all these years, and suddenly asked her to face her, and she wished to punish her immediately and kill her. Unfortunately, this despicable behavior Really put it into practice, she uses a special sedative, puts it in her cup, and if someone finds out, they may think she is drinking refreshing or calming oral liquid. Maybe someone actually saw it, I am in Miss Zielinski was probably just guessing who it was. Marina Gray put her cup on the table and tried to bump into Hitt Baecock's hand, and the The drink spilled all over her new clothes."

"It reminds me of that waitress I told people about," she went on to Dermot, "that all I said was that Grey Dixon told Julie that she was worried that Hitt Baker would be fooled." Dirty clothes. She said it was funny that she did it on purpose. But the 'she' Grey said was not Hitt Baecock, but Marina Gray, who according to Grey bumped Hitt on purpose hand. We know she must have been standing very close to Hiter, because we heard that she helped him and herself wipe the soiled clothes before handing him the wine." Miss Marple said thoughtfully, "this It was a brilliant murder, done on the spot without even thinking about it. She wanted Hitt Bakerk dead, and dead within minutes. She didn't know at the time how terrible it would be, and it wasn't until later I just found out, and I got scared, worried that someone would see her put the medicine in her cup, worried that someone would see her bumping Hit's hand on purpose, and worried that she would be accused of trying to poison Hit, so the only way to do it was to claim that the motive for the murder was Against her, the victim was herself. She was the first to tell the doctor about this opinion, and asked the doctor not to tell her husband. Even better, she wrote a note to herself and put it in a special place. One day in the studio She puts narcotics in her coffee. It's easy to spot her doing this kind of thing, if she thinks in this direction. There is actually one person who sees it clearly."

She looked at Jason Luther. "That's just your personal theory." Jason Luther said. "You can say it all you like," replied Miss Marple, "but Mr. Luther, you know very well that I'm telling the truth. You knew it from the beginning, because you heard Heater mention German measles." ...but you still pamper and protect her, without knowing to what extent. You don't know that it's not just a matter of hiding one's death, but of causing misfortune for others—like Gisper's death, he A blackmailer. And that Ira Jelinski you love, you protect Marina like crazy and stop her from doing it. All you think about is getting her away safely to another place, guarded all day She doesn't want anything to happen again."

"I'm sorry for you," she said, "very sorry. I know what you're going through, and you took good care of her, didn't you?" Jason Luther walked away slightly. "She is so beautiful," said Miss Marple gently. "What she has is really enviable. She loves and hates very strongly, but her emotions are unstable. She can't forget the past, and she can't look objectively at the future." Tedel suddenly appeared at the stairs, "Sir, can I have a word with you?" Demerke turned and left, "I'll be back." He said to Jason Luther, and then walked towards the stairs.

"Remember," cried Miss Marple behind him, "poor Arthur Bakerk is innocent. He came to the party only to see the girl he married. I dare say she didn't even know him." , don't you?" she asked Jason.Luther. Jason Luther shook his head. "Probably not," said Miss Marple. "Anyway," she added, "he hadn't even tried to kill her. He was innocent. Remember!" When Dermot Creeder came downstairs she shouted again. At this moment, Miss Marple turned to Jason Luther, who stood there in a daze. "Will you let me see her?" asked Miss Marple. He thought for a moment and then nodded. He turned, and Miss Marple followed, and he led her into a large bedroom, drawing the curtains aside. Marina Gray was lying on a white sheet with her eyes closed and her hands clasped. Miss Marple said softly, "It's all right for her that she's overdosed, and death is her only relief. Yes—fortunately she's overdosed herself—or—someone For her?" Their eyes met, but he said nothing. At last he said eagerly, "She—she is so worthy of love—she has suffered enough." Miss Marple looked back at the motionless man. She read softly the last lines of Tennyson's poem: "He said, 'She has a lovely face. God loves her, Miss Chartres.'"