Chapter 6 Chapter 6 The Testimony of the Three

1 Julia entered the room and took the chair that Letitia Blacklock had been sitting in.Throughout the whole process, her demeanor was calm, which gave Craddock reason to feel annoyed.She watched him with calm eyes, waiting for his question. Miss Blacklock left the drawing room with tact. "Please tell me about last night, Miss Simmons." "Last night?" Julia murmured, startled visibly. "Oh, we were all fast asleep. I suppose it was a reaction." "I mean from six o'clock last night." "Ah, I see. Yes, there's a lot of dull people coming—"

"they are--" She cast him a peaceful glance. "You know all this?" "I'm asking a question, Miss Simmons," Craddock said pleasantly. "I'm mistaken. I've always found people boring. Evidently you don't... yes, there's Colonel and Mrs. Easterbrook, Miss Hinchcliffe and Miss Murgartroyd, Mrs. Swettenham." and Edmund Swettenham, and Mrs. Harmon, the vicar's wife. They came in order. If you want to know what they said--they all took turns saying: 'I see you start central heating' and 'what a lovely chrysanthemum!"

Craddock bit his lip.It's pretty similar to learn. "With the exception of Mrs. Harmon, who was a sweet little pet. She came in with her hat on one side, her shoelaces untied, and straight to the point where the murders would begin. It was embarrassing for the others, because they all pretended to be Dropped in by chance. Aunt Letty said in a lukewarm tone that it was supposed to start soon. Then the clock struck, and just as it was finishing, the lights went out, the door was flung open, and a Masked shadow saying 'hands up,' or something. It's exactly like a badass movie. It's pretty ridiculous. And then he shoots Aunt Letty twice, and suddenly it's not funny anymore."

"Where was everyone when all this happened?" "When the lights go out? What, just standing or sitting around, you know. Mrs. Harmon was sitting on the sofa--Hinch, it was Miss Hinchcliff standing manly before the fire. " "Are you all in this room, or the one farther away?" "Mostly, I think, in this one. Patrick went to get the sherry in the other': I think Colonel Easterbrook went with him, but I don't quite know. All of us" er—like me Said, just standing around. " "Where are you yourself?" "I think I'll stand by the window. Aunt Letty's going to get her cigarettes."

"From that table by the arcade?" "One-on-one and then the lights go out and the badass movie starts." "That man was holding a strong flashlight. What did he do with the flashlight?" "Yeah, he's shining on us. It's so dizzy, it makes your eyes blink." "I want you to answer this question very carefully, Miss Simmons, is the flashlight in his hand stationary or flickering?" Zhu Liji thought about it, and her behavior was obviously not as annoying as before. "He flicked the flashlight," she said slowly, "like a spotlight in a dance hall. It shone right into my eyes, then it moved around the room, and then the gun went off. Two shots."

"and after?" "He turned around" and somewhere Micky started screaming like an alarm, and his flashlight went off, and a third shot rang out. And then the door closed, slowly, you know, and Make a plaintive sound"" It's terrible.We were all in the dark and didn't know what to do, poor Bonnie was yowling like a hare, and Mickey was yelling like hell at the other end of the hall. " "Do you think the man shot himself on purpose, or do you think he tripped and the revolver accidentally went off?" "I had no idea. It was all so acting. I actually thought it was a joke at the time""

Until (I see the blood on Litty's ear. But even if you're shooting for realism, you have to be careful not to hit the head, do you? " "Exactly. Do you think he could see who he was shooting at, I mean, was Miss Blacklock highlighted by the flashlight?" "I don't know. I wasn't looking at her. I was looking at the man." "I meant to say" "You think the man shot her on purpose" "I mean specifically in her direction?" Hearing this thought, Julia seemed a little surprised, "You mean to pick Aunt Litty on purpose, oh, I don't think so... In short, if he wants to stab Aunt Litty in the back, there are plenty of suitable opportunities. There is no reason to put all his friends And the neighbours! Come together to make it harder! He can get behind a fence any day of the week in the old, effective Irish way, shoot her in the back, and get away."

Dora Bonner had suggested that the murderer had deliberately attacked Letitia.Black Locke.And Julia's words, Craddock thought, were a tit for tat answer. He sighed and said, "Thank you, Miss Simmons. I'd better see Midge now." "Watch her nails," warned Julia, "she's a Tartar." 2 Accompanied by Fletcher, Craddock finds Mickey in the kitchen.She was rolling dough, and when she saw him walk into the room, she raised her head and looked at him suspiciously. Her jet-black hair hung over her eyes, and she looked sullen, and her purple jumper and brightly colored skirt seemed at odds with her pale complexion.

"What are you doing in my kitchen, Mr. Police? You're the police, aren't you? Always, always persecution" Ah! I should be used to that by now. They say it's different here in England, but it's wrong, it's all the same.You came to torture me, yes, to force me to speak, but I won't say anything.You'll pull out my nails and burn my skin with a match -- oh yes, it's worse than that.But I won't say, do you hear me?I won't say--nothing.You'll send me to a labor camp, and I won't give a damn. " Craddock watched her, wondering which attack would be best.

At last he sighed: "Well, then, take your hat and coat." "What did you say?" Mickey's face showed horror. "Take my hat and coat and come with me. I've got no nail-pulling tools and a bag of other bastards. It's all in the bureau. Handcuffs on, Fletcher?" "Yes!" Sergeant Fletcher said admiringly. "I'm not going!" Mickey howled shrilly, dodging back as she screamed. "Then you'll have to answer kindly questions. You can have a lawyer present if you like." "Lawyers? I don't like lawyers. I don't want lawyers."

She put down her rolling pin, wiped her hands with a cloth, and sat down. "What do you want to know?" she asked sullenly. "I want you to describe what happened here last night." "You know exactly what happened." "I want to hear what you have to say." "I tried to leave. Did she tell you? When I saw that ad about the murder in the paper, I wanted to leave. She won't let me go.She was so cruel--no sympathy at all.She asked me to stay.But I knew—I knew something was going to happen.I knew I was going to be killed for sure. " "Come on, you weren't murdered, were you?" "No." Mickey reluctantly admitted. "Go ahead and tell me what happened." "I'm nervous. Oh, I'm nervous, I've been nervous all night. I heard a noise, a movement. For a moment I thought someone was moving quietly in the hall—but it was Mrs. Haymes coming through the side door." Hall. That way you don't mess up the front steps, she said. She's careful! She's a Nazi herself, that blond guy, so big, the way she looks at me, Guess I'm—I'm just rubbish—" "Don't worry too much about Hymes." "Who does she think she is? Did she have an expensive college education like mine? Does she have a degree in economics?No, she is just a paid labor.She digs the soil and cuts the grass, and she still gets paid so much every Saturday.Who does she think she is calling herself a lady? " "As I said, leave Mrs. Haymes alone. Go on." "I sent sherry and wine glasses into the parlour, with the pastries that were beautifully baked. Then the doorbell rang and I answered. I answered again and again. It was a disrespectful thing to do, but I did. Then I went to the pantry to polish the silver, which I thought was convenient, because if someone came to kill me, I'd have a machete handy, sharp." "You have vision." "Then, suddenly - I heard gunshots. I thought: 'It's finally here - it's starting.' I ran across the restaurant. The other door wouldn't open. I stopped and listened for a while, and another shot fired , There was a heavy slam on the ground, just over the hall. I turned the handle, but the door was locked from the outside.I was locked in like a mouse in a trap.I was mad with fear, I was yelling, I was banging on the door. Finally—finally—they turned the key and let me out.Then I went to get candles - lots of candles - and then the lights came on and I saw blood - blood!Ah, God, into the blood!This is not the first time I have seen blood.I've seen blood before.My little brother—I saw him killed right in front of my eyes—I saw the blood in the streets—people were shot—I—" "Yes," said Inspector Craddock, "thank you very much." "Now," said Midge suddenly, "you can take me and send me to a cell." "Not busy today," said Inspector Craddock. 3 Craddock and Fletcher walk across the hall to the front door.At that moment the front door was pushed open, and a handsome young man almost bumped into them. "Come and scout while I'm alive," cried the young man. "Mr. Patrick Simmons?" "Exactly, Inspector. You're an Inspector, aren't you, and the other is a Sergeant?" "Exactly, Mr. Simmons. May I speak to you?" "I'm innocent, Inspector. I swear I'm innocent." "Not yet, Mr. Simmons, don't be stupid. I have a lot of people to see, and I don't want to waste time. What's this room for? Can we go in?" "It's what's called a study—and no one reads." "Someone told me you went to school?" Craddock said. "I found I couldn't concentrate on maths, so I went home." Craddock asked for his full name, age, and details of his wartime service in a businesslike manner. "Now, Mr Simmons, can you describe what happened last night?" "We slaughtered a fat calf. That is, Mickey made a nice pastry and Aunt Letty opened a new bottle of sherry—" Craddock interrupted him: "A fresh bottle? Another one?" "Yes. Half a bottle. Aunt Curly doesn't seem to like it." "Was she nervous at the time?" "Oh, not really nervous, she's got a lot of brains. I think it's old Bonnie who's got her nervous--predicting disaster all the time." "So Miss Bonner is worried?" "Oh, yes, she did it on her own." "Did she take the notice seriously?" "It just scared her out of her wits." "Miss Blacklock seemed to think it was about you when she first saw the notice. What's the matter?" "Of course, she blames me for everything here!" "You really have nothing to do with it, Mr. Simmons?" "Me? Nothing." "Have you met or spoken to Rudy Shields?" "I've never seen him in my life." "But it's your kind of joke?" "Who told you that? Just because I put apple pie on Bonnie's bed once and sent Midge a postcard saying the Gestapo were on their way to get her—" "Tell me what happened." "I went to get drinks in the little living room, and suddenly, all of a sudden, the lights went out. I turned around, and there was a guy standing in the doorway, saying: 'Hands up', and then everyone gasped and panicked. Yelling. I was thinking - can I surprise him? He shoots, then he falls to the ground, his flashlight goes out, and we're in the dark again. Then Colonel Easterbrook uses his talk at the barracks He ordered in a loud voice. 'Turn on the lights,' he said. Will my lighter work? No, no, that's what all those damn new inventions do. " "You think the intruder must have aimed at Miss Blacklock?" "Well, how do I know? I should say he took out the revolver for fun--and then maybe overplayed it." "So you shoot yourself?" "Possibly. When I saw his face, he looked pale, like a thief who is prone to panic." "Are you sure you've never seen him before?" "Never seen." "Thank you, Mr. Simmons. I'm going to interview everyone else who was here last night. Who's the best place to start?" "Well, our Philippa—Mrs. Haymes—works at Dayas House. The gate of the mansion is almost opposite this gate. Then, the Swettenhams are nearest. Anyone will tell Where is your home?"