Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

1 Miss Marple got off the train at Paddington Station and saw the burly figure of Chief Inspector Davy waiting for her on the platform. "It's very kind of you, Miss Marple," he said, putting his hand on her arm and leading her over a barrier to a waiting car.The driver opened the door and Miss Marple got into the car, followed by Chief Inspector Davy.The car drove away. "Where are you taking me, Chief Inspector Davy?" "To Bertram's Hotel." "My God, it's Bertram's Hotel again. Why?" "The official answer is: because the police think you can assist them in their investigation."

"That sounds familiar, but it must be very ominous? It's often the prelude to an arrest, isn't it?" "We won't arrest you, Miss Marple," "Father" said with a smile, "you have an alibi." Miss Marple comprehended this sentence quietly.Then she said, "I see." Without a word they drove to Bertram's Hotel.Miss Gorringe looked up from the counter as they entered the door, but Chief Inspector Davy led Miss Marple straight to the elevator. "The third floor." The elevator went up, stopped, and Papa led the way down the aisle.

When he opened the door of No. 18, Miss Marple said: "It was this room where I used to live here." "Yes." "Father" said. Miss Marple sat down in the armchair. "Very comfortable room," she commented.She looked around and sighed softly. "People here must have a deep understanding of comfort," agreed "Pop." "You look tired, Mr. Chief Inspector," said Miss Marple unexpectedly. "I have to travel around. I just got back from Ireland, as a matter of fact." "Really? To Ballygoland?" "How the hell did you know about Ballygolan? I'm sorry—I beg your forgiveness."

Miss Marple smiled and forgave him. "I think Michael Gorman happened to tell you where he was from—is that so?" "No, not exactly," said Miss Marple. "Well, if you don't mind me asking, how did you know?" "Well," said Miss Marple, "that was really embarrassing. I just--just overheard it by chance." "Oh I see." "I wasn't eavesdropping. It was in a public room—at least technically a public room. Seriously, I loved hearing people talking. People do, especially when they're old and don't move around much. I mean, if someone is talking near you, you listen."

"Well, that seems to me quite natural," said Father. "In a way," said Miss Marple, "if people don't want to keep their voices down, you'd think they don't care about being heard. But of course, things happen. Sometimes it happens. situation, you find that although it is in a public room, the person talking does not realize that there are other people in it. That's when you have to decide what to do, stand up and cough, or stay still and hope They won't realize you're there. It's embarrassing either way." Chief Inspector Davy looked at his watch.

"Look," he said, "I'd like to hear more from you on this, but Canon Pennyfather is coming any minute and I've got to get him. You don't mind?" Miss Marple said she didn't mind.Chief Inspector Davy left the room. 2 Canon Pennyfather walked through the hotel door into the lobby of Bertram's Hotel.He frowned slightly, feeling strange: Bertram Hotel seemed a little different today.Maybe some paint or trim?He shook his head.It's not like that, but there's definitely something there.What he didn't expect was the difference between a six-foot-tall doorman with blue eyes and dark hair and a five-foot-seven doorman with sloping shoulders, acne, and a tuft of yellow-brown matted hair protruding from under his hat.He just knew something was different.As usual, he walked towards the counter in a daze.Miss Gorringe was there, and greeted him.

"Father Canon Penny, it's a pleasure to see you. Are you here for your luggage? It's ready for you. If you'll let us know, we'll have it for you, wherever it is." "Thank you," said Canon Pennyfather, "thank you very much. You are always so kind, Miss Gorringe. But, as I have to be in London today anyway, I thought it would be just as well to pick it up myself." .” "We're very worried about you," said Miss Gorringe. "You know where you've been, and no one can find you. I hear you've been hit by a car?" "Yes," said Canon Penney Father, "yes. People drive too fast these days, and it's dangerous, but I can't even remember that. My head was affected, and the doctor said it was a concussion. Ugh Well, as one grows older one's memory also—" He shook his head sadly, "how are you, Miss Gorringe?"

"Oh, I'm all right," said Miss Gorringe. At this moment, Canon Pennyfather suddenly found that Miss Gorringe was different.He looked at her carefully, trying to analyze the difference.hair?It's the same as usual.Maybe a little more volume.A black dress, a large metal case for a necklace, and a brooch engraved with cameo stones.It's all the same as usual, but something is definitely different.Maybe she lost a little weight?Either that—yeah, sure, she looked worried.Canon Pennyfather didn't pay much attention to whether people looked worried, he wasn't the type to notice the expressions on people's faces, but he noticed today.Perhaps it was because, over the years, Miss Gorringe had invariably presented the exact same expression to her guests.

"I don't think you're sick?" he asked with concern. "You look thinner." "Well, we have so many worries, Canon Pennyfather." "Indeed, indeed. I am sorry to hear that. I hope it was not my disappearance." "Oh, no," said Miss Gorringe, "of course we were worried about it, but as soon as we heard that nothing happened to you..." She broke off, and then said, "No, it's not... It's -- well, maybe you didn't read in the papers, Gorman, the guard outside our gate, got killed." "Oh, yes," said Canon Pennyfather, "now that I think of it, I did see it mentioned in the papers—you've had a murder here."

Miss Gorringe could not help shuddering at his frank reference to the word murder.The shudder went down to her black dress. "Horrible," she said. "Horrible. Nothing like it ever happened to Bertram. I mean, we're not the kind of hotel where murders happen." "No, of course not," Canon Pennyfather said hastily. "I'm sure you're not. I mean, I never thought that kind of thing would happen here..." "Not in the hotel, of course," said Miss Gorringe, her spirits rising a little at the thought of this aspect of the matter, "out there in the street."

"That would have nothing to do with you," Canon Pennyfather reassured her. Obviously it's not appropriate to say such a thing. "But it's connected to the Bertram Hotel. We had to allow the police to question people here because it was our doorman who was shot." "So there's a new guy you hired outside. You know, I don't know why I just thought something looked a little weird." "Yes, I know he's not very desirable. I mean, not in the style we're used to. But of course, we'll have to hurry and find one." "I remember now," said Canon Pennyfather, piecing together some vague recollections of what he had read in the papers a week earlier. "I thought it was a girl who was shot." "You mean Lady Sedgwick's daughter? I think you remember seeing her here with her guardian, Colonel Luscombe. Apparently she was attacked in the fog. I think they were trying to rob Her bag. Anyway, they shot her once, and Gorman--he was a former soldier, so calm--he rushed over and stood in front of her, blocking the bullet with his own body, poor people." "Very sad, very," said Canon Pennyfather, shaking his head. "It makes everything very bad," complained Miss Gorringe. "I mean, the cops keep coming in and out. I suppose that's how it should be, but we don't like it here, though I have to admit there's always Both Inspector Davy and Sergeant Wardle looked very respectable. Common clothes and very well styled, not the kind of boots and raincoats that people see in movies. Almost like us one of them." "Er—yes," said Canon Pennyfather. "Have you ever been to a hospital?" asked Miss Gorringe. "No," said Mr. Canon, "a very kind man, a very kind Samaritan—a vegetable and fruit farmer, I think—rescued me, and his wife took care of me until I recovered. I So grateful, so grateful. It’s refreshing to find out that there’s still humanity in the world. Don’t you think so?” Miss Gorringe said she thought it was very exciting indeed. "But the crimes in the papers keep going up," she went on, "those horrible young boys and girls robbing banks, robbing trains, hitting people." She looked up and said, " Chief Inspector Davy is coming down the stairs. I think he wants to talk to you." "I don't know why he would want to talk to me," said Canon Pennyfather, perplexed. "He's already been to me, you know," he said, "in Chadminster. I think he's very Disappointed because I couldn't tell him anything useful." "Can't you?" Mr. Canon shook his head wistfully. "I don't remember. The accident happened near a place called Bedhampton, and I had no idea what I was doing there. The Chief Inspector kept asking me why I was there, but I couldn't answer him. Very strange, isn't it? He seemed to think I'd been driving from somewhere near a railway station to a vicarage." "That sounds very likely," said Miss Gorringe. "That's impossible," Canon Pennyfather said. "I mean, why would I drive around a place I don't know?" Chief Inspector Davy had stepped forward. "Here you go, Canon Pennyfather," he said, "do you feel normal again?" "Oh, I feel pretty good now," said Mr. Canon, "but I still have headaches. The doctor told me not to be too tired. But I still can't seem to remember things I should remember, and the doctor said that these memories may never come back. " "Well," said Chief Inspector Davy, "we can't give up as long as there's hope." He led Mr. Canon away from the counter. "I want you to try a little experiment," he said. "Would you mind doing me a favor?" 3 Miss Marple was still sitting in the armchair by the window when Chief Inspector Davy opened the door of No. 18. "There are so many people in the street today," she said, "more than usual." "Oh—the road leads to Berkeley Square and Shepard's Market." "I don't just mean the people passing by. The people who do the work - the road men, a phone repair van - the meat truck ... a few private cars "May I ask? What do you deduce from this?" "I didn't say I deduced anything." "Father" glanced at her.Then he said: "I want you to do me a favor." "Of course, that's why I'm here. What do you want me to do?" "I want you to do exactly what you did on the night of the nineteenth of November. You were fast asleep and woke up—probably by a strange noise. You turn on the light and check the time , get up from the bed, open the door and look outside. Can you repeat these actions?" "Of course," said Miss Marple, getting up and going to the bed. "Please wait a moment." Chief Inspector Davy went and tapped on the wall connecting the adjoining room. "You have to speak up," said Miss Marple, "this place is very well built." The Chief Inspector's knuckles doubled in strength. "I told Canon Father Penney to count to ten," he said, looking at his watch. "Now, let's go." Miss Marple touched the light, looked at the imaginary clock, got up, went to the door, opened it, and looked out.To her right, Canon Pennyfather was leaving his room and heading for the stairs.He reached the top of the stairs and began to walk down the stairs.Miss Marple gasped slightly, and turned around. "Well?" said Chief Inspector Davy. "It can't be Canon Pennyfather who I saw that night," said Miss Marple, "if this man is Canon Pennyfather." "I thought you said..." "I know, he looks like Canon Penney Father. His hair, his clothes and everything. But the way he walks is not the same. I think... I think he must be a younger guy. I'm very Sorry, very sorry to mislead you, but it wasn't Canon Pennyfather I saw that night. I'm pretty sure of that." "Are you really sure this time, Miss Marple?" "Yes," said Miss Marple, "I'm sorry," she added, "for misleading you." "You're almost right. Canon Pennyfather did go back to the hotel that night. Nobody saw him come in--but that's nothing surprising, because he didn't come in until after midnight. He went up the stairs, Opened the door to his room next door and went in. We don't know what he saw or what happened next because he couldn't or wouldn't tell us. If only we had some way of reminding him it is good……" "Of course, there's a German word," said Miss Marple, still seemingly lost in thought. "What kind of German word?" "Oh, I can't remember right now, but..." There was a knock on the door. "May I come in?" said Canon Pennyfather.He came in, "Are you satisfied?" "Very satisfied," said Father. "I was talking to Miss Marple just now—you know Miss Marple, don't you?" "Oh, yes," said Canon Pennyfather, still a little uncertain about knowing her. "I was just telling Miss Marple how we tracked your movements. You came back to the hotel after midnight that night. You went upstairs, opened the door to your room and went in—" He paused. Miss Marple let out a cry of surprise. "I remembered what the German word is," she said, "Doppelganger (German. Meaning: someone with a very similar face!—Annotation.)." Canon Pennyfather gave a cry too. "Of course," he said, "of course! How could I forget? You're right, you know. I came back here after the movie 'Walls in Jericho,' and I went upstairs and I opened the The door of my room, saw—very strangely, I distinctly saw myself sitting in a chair facing me. As you say, dear lady, Doppelganger. How strange! Then”— —Let me see—" He threw his head back, trying to think. "And then," said "Father," "they freaked out when they saw you—they thought you were safe and sound in Lucerne, so they hit you on the head."