Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen The Second Visitor

Major Despar seemed taken aback at the sight of Mrs. Oliver.His tanned face turned a dark red brick color, and he was slightly convulsed with embarrassment.He went up to Anne and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Meredith. I've been ringing your bell. It's nothing. I was passing this way and thought I might as well come and see you." Annie said, "I'm so sorry you rang the bell. We don't have a maid—just a woman who comes in the morning." She introduced the guest to Luda."Let's have some tea," said Rhodes brightly. "It's getting colder. Let's go in."

Everyone stepped into the house.Rhoda walked into the kitchen.Mrs. Oliver said, "What a coincidence—we all meet here." Desper said slowly, "Yes." He stared at her thoughtfully -- with appraising eyes. Mrs. Oliver enjoyed herself: "I was telling Miss Meredith we ought to have a battle plan. I mean murder. The doctor must have done it. Don't you agree with me?" "Can't be sure. Few things can go forward." Mrs. Oliver put on a "That's the way men are" look. The atmosphere between the three is very rigid.Mrs. Oliver felt it at once.When Luda brought the tea, she got up and said she was going back to the city.No, they are very kind, but she doesn't want tea.

She said, "I'll leave you a business card. Here, it has my address on it. If you come to town, please come and see me. We'll discuss it carefully and see if we can come up with some clever way to find out." "I'll see you to the gate," said Rhoda. They walked along the front path, and Anne Meredith ran out of the house and caught up with them."I've thought about it," she said, her pale little face resolute. "Oh, kid?" "Mrs. Oliver, it's very kind of you to go to all that trouble. But I'd rather not do anything about it. I mean—it's all horrible. I just want to forget about it."

"Son, the question is, will circumstances allow you to forget?" "Oh, I know the police aren't going to give up. They might come here. Ask me a lot more questions—I'm prepared. But, privately, I don't want to think about that—or bring up memories in any way. I I know I'm cowardly, but that's how I feel." Rhoda Davis yelled, "Oh! Annie." Mrs. Oliver said: "I can understand your feelings, but I don't think you are wise enough. Let the police investigate by themselves, maybe they will never find out the truth." Anne Meredith shrugged.

"So what does it matter?" Rhoda cried, "It matters? Of course it does. It matters, Mrs. Oliver, doesn't it?" "I certainly think so," said Mrs. Oliver flatly. Anne insisted, "I don't think so. No one who knows me would think I did it. I don't see a reason for meddling. The truth is for the police to find out." "Oh, Anne, you are so cold." "That's how I feel anyway," said Anne, holding out her hand. "Thank you, Mrs. Oliver. It's kind of you to take the trouble." Mrs. Oliver said pleasantly: "Of course, if that's how you feel, there's nothing to say. I won't be lazy. Good-bye, boy. If you change your mind, come and see me in London."

She climbed into the car, started the engine, and waved cheerfully to the two girls. Luda suddenly rushed to chase the slowly starting car. She said, breathlessly: "Do you mean--to see you in London--do you mean Anne, or include me?" Mrs. Oliver hit the brakes. "Of course I mean you two." "Oh, thank you. Don't stop. I—maybe one day. One thing—no, don't stop. I can jump out of the way." She did what she said, and ran back to the gate waving, Annie stand there. "What the hell—?" said Anne. Ruda said earnestly, "Isn't she lovely? I like her. She wears the wrong socks, don't you notice? I'm sure she's terribly clever. Having written so many books, she must be very clever. In case the police and others How funny it would be for her to find out the truth when everyone else was frustrated."

"Why is she here?" Anne asked. Ruda's eyes widened. "Honey, she told you—" Anne gestured impatiently. "We've got to go in. I forgot and left him in the house." "Major Desper? Annie, he's handsome, isn't he?" "I guess so." They walked up the path together. Major Despar was standing by the mantelpiece, cup in hand.Anne apologized for leaving him, and he interrupted, "Miss Meredith, I want to explain my indiscretion for coming here." "Oh—but—" "I said I just passed by. It's not quite right. I came here on purpose."

Annie asked slowly, "How do you know my address?" "I saw it from Inspector Bart." He found that the other party flinched when he heard the name.He went on quickly, "Bart's coming here now. I just saw him in Paddington. I drove out and headed here. I know I can get there before the train." "Why bother?" Desper hesitated for a minute. "Maybe I'm too presumptuous, I think you may be alone." "She has me," said Rhoda. Despar quickly glanced at her, quite fond of this chivalrous girl leaning on the mantelpiece and listening attentively to his speech.The two girls are a charming couple.

He said politely: "Miss Dawes, I believe you are the most loyal friend, but it suddenly occurred to me that it would be nice to have the advice of a well-informed person in a special case. Frankly speaking, the situation is like this My son. Miss Meredith is suspected of murder, as were I and two other people who were in the room at the time. It is not a pleasant situation--and there are no difficulties and dangers, Miss Meredith, young and inexperienced like you You might not be able to see it. In my opinion, you ought to get a good lawyer to help you. Maybe you already have?" Anne Meredith shook her head.

"I never thought of that." "As I expected. Do you have any good lawyer--Londoners at your disposal?" Annie shook her head again. "I've never needed a lawyer before." Rhoda said, "There's a Mr. Bray. But he's about a hundred and two years old, and pretty dazed." "Miss Meredith, if you will allow me to advise you, I recommend you to my lawyer, Mr. Milny. The firm is called Jacobs, Peel and Jacobs. They are first class. characters, familiar with various secrets." Anne turned even paler.she sits down. She asked in a low voice, "Is it really necessary?"

"I emphasize that there are. There are too many legal pitfalls." "These people—are they charging a lot?" Rhoda said, "That's all right. Mr. Despar, it's all right. I think you're right. Anne should be protected." "I think they charge a fair amount," said Desper, and then said, "Miss Meredith, I really think it's a sensible move." Annie said slowly, "Okay, if you think so, I'll do it." "it is good." Ruda said warmly, "Major Desper, I think you are very kind. Very kind." Annie said, "Thank you." She hesitated a moment before saying, "You said Inspector Bart was coming here?" "Yes, you must not panic. It is inevitable." "Oh, I know. I've been waiting for him to come, actually." Rhoda said impulsively, "Poor baby—this almost killed her. It's shameful, it's not fair." "I feel the same way -- it's cruel to have a teenage girl involved in something like this. If anyone wants to stab Shaitana, they should find another place and time," Desper said. Rhoda asked bluntly, "Who do you think did it—Dr. Roberts or Mrs. Lorrimer?" Despar smiled, and his whiskers quivered. "Perhaps I did it myself." Rhoda exclaimed, "Oh no, Anne and I know it wasn't you." He looked at them both with kind eyes. A pair of well-behaved children, full of enthusiasm and trust, is touching.The Meredith girl was a timid little thing.Don't worry, Attorney Milny will take care of her.The other is a fighter type. I don't know if she will completely collapse if she is in a different place with her friends.Charming girls—he wanted to get to know them better. Thoughts raced through his mind one by one.He said: "Miss Dawes, you can't be suspicious of anything. I don't value human life as much as most people. For example, people make a fuss about people who fell down on the road... and so on. People are in danger at any time— -Dangers from traffic, germs, and everything else. It doesn't matter which way you die. In my opinion, when a person starts to take care of himself and adopts the motto of safety first, it's not much different from dying." Rhoda exclaimed, "Oh, I feel with you. I think one should live a dangerous life—I mean if there's a chance. But on the whole, life is terribly flat." "There were great moments, too." "Yes, for you. You go to remote places, you get scratched by tigers, you shoot wild animals, sand fleas get into your toes, insects bite you, everything is uncomfortable, but it is extremely exciting. " "Well, Miss Meredith had a thrilling experience, too. I don't think there's much chance of being in the same room when the murder happened—" "Oh, stop it," cried Anne. He immediately said, "I'm sorry." But Rhoda sighed: "Of course it's terrible, but it's exciting too! I don't think Anne got that side of things. Mrs. Oliver was there that night, and she must have been very excited." "What's the lady—oh, that fat friend who wrote about the weird Finnish detective. Does she want to try detective work in real life?" "She wants to do that." "Oh, let's wish her the best of luck. It'll be interesting for her to get people to accept Bart & Co. as an organization." Luda asked curiously, "What does Inspector Bart look like?" Major Despard said solemnly: "He's a very clever man, very capable." Rhoda said, "Oh! Anne says he looks rather stupid." "I think that's one of Bart's traits. But let's not get us wrong, Bart's no fool." He stood up. "Okay, I have to go. I have one more word to say." Annie stood up too. She stretched out her hand and asked, "Oh?" Desper hesitated for a minute, choosing his words carefully.He took her hand and kept it in it; his eyes were fixed on those large, beautiful gray eyes. He said, "Don't be mad at me, I just want to say one thing. You and Shaitana may have some kind of relationship and don't want to say it. If so-please don't be angry"-he thinks she unconsciously thinks Pulling back—"You have the right to refuse to answer any questions. Unless a lawyer is present, Bart may ask." Annie withdrew her slender hand.Her almond-eyed eyes were wide, gray pupils black with anger. "Nothing—nothing—I don't know that savage at all." Major Despard said, "Sorry, I thought I should mention it." Rhoda said, "You're right, Annie doesn't know him well. She doesn't like him, but he's a great entertainer." Major Despard said with a cracked smile, "That seems to be the only reason for the late Mr. Shaitana's existence." Anne said calmly, "Inspector Bart can ask all he likes. I have nothing to hide—nothing." Despar said softly, "Forgive me." She looked at him, her anger subsided; she smiled very sweetly and said, "It's okay, I know your intentions are good." She held out her hand again.He held up his slender hand and said, "You know, we are in the same boat, we should be friends." Anne walks him to the gate.When she came back, Rhoda was staring out the window and whistling.When her friend entered the room, she looked back. "Annie, he's so charming." "He's very sweet, isn't he?" "Not just affectionate, I'm obsessed with him. Why were you at that stinky dinner party and not me? I'd love the excitement—the netting around me—the shadow of the scaffold—" "No, it won't. Rhoda, you're just bullshitting." Anne's voice was high-pitched, then softened: "It's kind of him to come all the way—for a stranger—a girl I've only seen once." "Oh, he's in love with you, you can tell. Men don't do purely good things. If you've got squinting eyes and pimples all over your face, he's never going to travel long distances." "You don't think so?" "I don't think so, little fool. Mrs. Oliver is more unselfish than he is." Anne said abruptly, "I don't like her. I have a feeling for her. I don't know what she's here for?" "Same sex tends to be suspicious of each other. I daresay Major Despar has his own agenda." "I don't believe he has," argued Anne violently. Rhoda Davis laughed, and she couldn't help blushing.