Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

Sergeant Grange sat again in Sir Henry's study, watching the expressionless face of the man before him. So far, Gjeon has maintained his dignity. "I'm very sorry, sir," he repeated, "I thought I should have mentioned that, but I forgot." He looked apologetically from the Sheriff to Sir Henry. "It was about half-past five, if I recall correctly, sir. I noticed a revolver on a table in the hall. I was walking across the hall to see if there was any mail. I presume it was The owner's collection, so I picked it up and brought it here. There was a gap on the mantel shelf where it should be, so I put it back where it should be."

"Point out the gun for me," said Grange. Gjeon stood up and walked towards the shelf with doubts.The sheriff followed closely behind him. "This is it, sir." Gazeon pointed to the last one. It was a caliber of 0.25 inches—a fairly small weapon, certainly not the gun that killed John Crystal. Grange's gaze rested on Gazeon's face, and he said: "It's an automatic pistol, not a revolver." Gazeon coughed. "Really, sir? I'm afraid I'm not at all good with small arms. I may be using the term revolver quite loosely, sir." "But are you quite sure this is the gun you found in the hall and brought here?"

"Oh, yes, sir, I have no doubts about that." When he was about to reach out, Grange stopped him. "Please don't touch it. I have to check for fingerprints and see if it's loaded." "I don't think it was loaded, sir. None of Sir Henry's collections have been kept loaded. And, as for fingerprints, I had carefully wiped it with my handkerchief before putting it in, sir, so There will only be my fingerprints on it." "Why did you do that?" asked Grange sharply. But Gjeon's apologetic smile still hung calmly on his face. "I thought it might be dirty, sir."

The door opened and Mrs. Angkatell came in.She smiled at the sheriff. "Good to see you, Sergeant Grange! What's up with all this about the revolver and Gjen? The kid in the kitchen was crying, and Mrs. Medway scolded her - but of course, that It's perfectly right for a girl to say what she sees if she thinks she should. I've always found right and wrong to be so confusing to me, you know, if the right thing is unpleasant Yes, and the wrong thing is a pleasant time, because then one knows where one stands--but is bewildered when it's the other way--and I think, don't you Think so, Mr. Sheriff? Every man must do what he thinks is right. What did you tell them about the pistol, Gagen?"

Gjeon said with respectful emphasis: "The pistol is in the hall, ma'am, on the table in the middle of the hall. I don't know where it came from. I just brought it here and put it in place. That's what I just told the police Long, and he was very understanding." Mrs Angkatell shook her head.She said gently: "You really shouldn't have said that, Gjen. I'll tell the sheriff myself." Gjeon moved slightly, and Mrs. Angkatell said very charmingly: "I do appreciate your motives, Gjen. I understand how you always go out of your way to save us trouble and distress." She added in a soft dismissive tone, "That's it for now."

Gjeon hesitated for a moment, cast a quick glance at Sir Henry and the sheriff, then bowed, and walked towards the door. Grange made a movement, as if to stop him, but for some reason he couldn't explain himself, his arm dropped again.Gazeon went out and closed the door. Mrs Angkatell sank into a chair and smiled at the two men.She said in a conversational tone: "You know, I do think Gjeyn is charming, quite feudal. If you know what I mean. Yeah, feudal is the most appropriate word." Grange said bluntly: "May I understand, Mrs. Angkatell, your own further information on the matter?"

"Of course. Gjeon didn't find it in the hall at all, he found it when he was taking eggs outside." "Eggs?" Sheriff Grange looked at her. "Out of the basket," said Mrs. Angkatell. "She seemed to think that everything was perfectly clear now," said Sir Henry gently: "You must tell us more, my dear. Inspector Grange and I still don't understand." "Oh," said Mrs Angkatell, trying to make her statement clear and precise. "The pistol, you see, is in the basket, under the eggs." "What basket, and what eggs, Mrs. Angkatell?"

"The basket I took to the farm. The pistol was in it, and I put the eggs on it and forgot about it. And when we found poor John Crystal dead by the pool , it was such a great shock that I let go of the basket and Gjeon caught it just in time (because of the eggs, I mean the eggs would break if I dropped the basket Then he took it back to the house. Then I asked him about writing the date on the eggs—a thing I always do—so that people sometimes eat fresh eggs before they eat them. some eggs—he said everything was taken care of—now that I think about it, he was pretty emphatic about it. And that's what I mean by feudal. He found the pistol and put it back in the Here—I think it is because of the police in the house. I find the servants are always disturbed by the police. Very good and loyal—but also very stupid, because of course, Mr. Sheriff, what you want to hear is the truth, no ?"

Mrs. Angkater ended the conversation by throwing a broad smile at the Sheriff. "The truth is what I want," said Grange, grinning. Mrs Angkatell sighed. "All of this seems like a big deal, doesn't it?" she said. "I mean, all this hunting of people. I don't think whoever shot John Crystal was real. Wanted to kill him - I mean, not seriously. If it was Gerda, I'm sure she didn't mean to. I'm actually really surprised she hit it - something people don't expect her to do And she was a very kind person indeed. If you put her in jail and hang her, what would happen to the children? If she did kill John, she would probably be very upset about it now ...it sucks for kids to have their father murdered - but it's undoubtedly worse for them to have their mother hanged for it. Sometimes I don't think you cops think about these things .”

"We have no intention of arresting anyone at this time, Mrs Angkatell." "Oh, that's sensible anyway. I've always thought, Inspector Grange, that you were a very sensible sort of man." Another charming, almost dizzying smile. Sheriff Grange blinked.He couldn't help it, but he returned firmly to the subject under discussion. "As you said, Mrs. Anglecartel, I want the truth. You took a pistol from here—which one, by the way?" Mrs Angkatell nodded towards the mantelpiece. "The penultimate one. A 0.25-caliber Mauser." There was something about the crisp, professional way she spoke that gave Grange an unpleasant feeling.For whatever reason, he hadn't expected Mrs. Angkatell, the woman whom he had labeled "fuzzy" and "a little crazy" in his head until now, to describe a situation with such professional precision. small arms.

"You took the pistol from here and put it in your basket. Why?" "I knew you were going to ask me that," said Mrs Angkatell.Her tone was surprisingly almost smug. "Of course there is a reason. Don't you think so, Henry?" She turned to her husband. "Don't you think there must be a reason why I took the pistol that morning?" "Of course I would, my dear," said Sir Henry awkwardly. "A man doing things," said Mrs. Angkatell, looking thoughtfully ahead of her, "and then he couldn't remember why he did them. But I think, you know, Mr. Sheriff, if a man could do There must be a reason for something. There must be something in my head when I put that musket in my egg-basket." She asked his opinion: "What do you think it would be? ?” Grange watched her.She didn't show any unease - just childlike enthusiasm.This made him feel awkward.He had never met anyone like Mrs Angkatell, and at that moment he didn't know what to do. "My wife," said Sir Henry, "is in a very dazed state, Mr. Sheriff." "It seems so, sir," said Grange.He said it a little casually. "Why do you think I have a pistol?" asked Mrs. Angkatell confidently. "I don't know, Mrs Angkatell." "I went in here," mused Mrs Angkatell, "and I told Simmons about the pillowcase—I vaguely remembered, I went to the fireplace—and thought we'd have to get a new poker— The curate, not the pastor—" Inspector Grange watched her, feeling dizzy in his head. "I remember picking up the Mauser - it was a nice little handy pistol I've always loved - and putting it in the basket - the basket I just got from the greenhouse. But I There's so much going on in my head—Simmons, you know, and bindweed growing in asters—and hoping Mrs. Medway's going to be a real greasy nigger in a shirt—" "A nigger in a shirt?" Inspector Grange had to interject. "Chocolate, you know, and eggs—and then topped with cream. Just the kind of dessert foreigners like to have for lunch." Inspector Grange asked roughly and abruptly, like a man sweeping away a cobweb that blocked his view. "Have you loaded the pistol?" He hoped to frighten her--maybe even frighten her a little.But Mrs Angkatell considered the question only in a deeply brooding manner. "Did I load it? How stupid, I can't remember. But I should think I must have loaded it, shouldn't I, Mr. Sheriff? I mean what's the use of a pistol without a load? I hope I To be able to recall exactly what was going through my head at that time." "My dear Lucy," said Sir Henry, "what you think, or do not think, is of no hope to anyone who has known you for many years." She flashed a sweet smile at him. "I'm trying to remember, Henry, my dear. Such a queer thing for a man to do. I picked up the receiver the other morning and found myself looking at it in great bewilderment." "Maybe you're about to make a phone call to someone," the sheriff said dryly. "No, it's funny, I'm not. I think about it later - I've been wondering why Mrs. Miles, the gardener's wife, was holding her baby in such a queer way while I picked up the receiver In trying, you know, how one would hold a baby, and I realized that the reason it looked weird was because Mrs Myers was left-handed, and she was holding the baby's head the other way around." She looked proudly at one of the two men from the other. "Well," thought the Inspector, "I suppose it's possible that such a person exists." But he wasn't so sure. The whole thing, he realized, might be a string of lies.The cook, for example, specifically mentions that Gjen is holding a revolver.However, you cannot take this too seriously.The girl knew nothing about small arms.She had heard that a revolver had been connected with the case, and a revolver and a pistol meant the same thing to her. Both Gjen and Mrs Angkatell gave details of the Mauser - but there was nothing to prove their statements to be true.It was possible that Gjenn had just happened to be holding the lost revolver, and he might have returned it, not to the study, but to Mrs. Angkatell herself.All the servants seem to be obsessed with that damned woman. Suppose she happened to shoot John Crystal? (But why should it be her? He can't figure out why.) Are they still rooting for her and lying for her?He had an uncomfortable feeling that this was exactly what they were going to do. And now it was about the strange story she couldn't recall - of course she could think of a better reason than that.And it seemed so natural about it—not at all awkward or uncomfortable.Damn it, she gives you the impression she's telling the complete truth. He stood up. "When you think of anything else, maybe you can tell me, Mrs. Angkatell," he said dryly. She replied, "Of course I would, Mr. Sheriff. Sometimes things pop out of the blue." Grange came out of the study.In the hall, he twirled a finger in his collar and took a deep breath. He feels that everything is entangled in a dilemma.All he needed was his old ugly pipe, a pint of ale, a good steak and chips, something common and real.