Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty Six

The Chief Inspector put Canon Pennyfather in a taxi and told him to continue on his way to the British Museum, while Marple sat down in the hall.Would she mind if she had to wait there for ten minutes or so?Miss Marple didn't mind.She appreciates the opportunity to sit there, look around, and think. Bertram Hotel.So many memories...past and present intertwined.She remembered a French phrase: Plus ca change, plus cest lameme chose (French. Meaning: The more that changes, the more that stays the same.—Annotation.) She reversed the word order. Plus cest la memechose, plus ca change.Either way is true, she thought.

She felt sad--for Bertram's Hotel, and for herself.She wondered what Chief Inspector Davy wanted her to do next.She sensed in him a rush of excitement about something to come.His plan was finally coming to fruition.It was D-Day for Chief Inspector Davy. Bertram's life went on as usual.No, Miss Marple noticed, not as usual.There was a difference, but she wasn't sure what the difference was, perhaps because of anxiety? "Ready?" he asked kindly. "Where are you taking me now?" "We're going to visit Mrs. Sedgwick." "She lives here?"

"Yes. With her daughter." Miss Marple stood up.She glanced round, and murmured, "Poor Bertram." "What do you mean—poor Bertram?" "I think you know exactly what I mean." "Well, from your point of view, maybe I know." "It's always sad to have to destroy a work of art." "You call this place a work of art?" "Of course. You think so too." "I see what you mean," admitted "Father." "It's like, if the ground elders in the fringe grow too crazy, there's nothing you can do about it—except uproot them all."

"I don't know much about gardens. But if you change the analogy to dry rot, then I agree." They took the elevator upstairs, passed a passage, and came to a flat in the corner where Mrs Sedgwick and her daughter lived. Chief Inspector Davy knocked at the door, and someone said "Come in," so he went in, followed by Miss Marple. Bess, Sedgwick was sitting in a high-backed chair by the window, with a book on her lap, but she wasn't reading it. "It's you again, Chief Inspector Davy." She glanced past him to Miss Marple, looking a little startled. "This is Miss Marple," said Chief Inspector Davy. "Miss Marple—Mrs. Sedgwick."

"I've seen you before," said Bess Sedgwick, "you were with Selina Hartz the other day, weren't you? Please sit down," she went on, and then she turned to Chief Inspector David , "Do you have any information on the man who shot Elvira?" "There is no 'message' as you would call it." "I don't think you could have any. In such a fog, beasts of prey come out and prowl about, looking for women walking alone." "There's something to it," said "Father." "How's your daughter?" "Oh, Everla is back to normal."

"Is she here with you?" "Yes. I called Colonel Luscombe - her guardian. He was glad I was willing to take charge." She laughed suddenly. "Dear old chap. He's been trying to get a mother-daughter reunion going. .” "He may have achieved his purpose," said Father. "Oh, no, he didn't. Just for now, yes, I think it's the best way." She turned her head and looked out of the window, and said, "I heard you arrested a friend of mine-Ladis Lars Malinowski. On what charge?" "It's not an arrest," Chief Inspector Davy corrected her. "He's just assisting us in our investigation."

"I've sent my lawyer to look after him." "Very sensible," said Father approvingly. "Anyone who has a little trouble with the police would be wise to get a lawyer. Otherwise they might easily say inappropriate things." "Even completely innocent?" "Perhaps even more necessary in this case," said Father. "You're so cynical, aren't you? What questions did you ask him? May I ask? Or not?" "On the one hand we want to know exactly what he was doing the night Michael Gorman died." Bess Sedgwick straightened up suddenly in her chair.

"Are you absurd to think that it was Ladislas who fired at Elvir? They didn't even know each other." "He might have done it. His car is around the corner." "Nonsense," said Mrs. Sedgwick roughly. "How disturbed were you by the shooting that night, Mrs. Sedgwick?" She looked slightly surprised. "Of course I'm upset that my daughter escaped death. What do you think?" "I don't mean that. I mean, how disturbed are you by Michael Gorman's death?" "I'm very saddened by that. He's a warrior."

"You know him, don't you?" "Of course. He works here." "But that's not all you know about him, do you?" "What do you mean?" "Come, Mrs. Sedgwick, he's your husband, isn't he?" She didn't answer for a while, but she didn't show any signs of upset or surprise. "You know a lot, don't you, Mr. Chief Inspector?" She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I haven't seen him in—let me see—many, many years. Twenty years— Not just twenty years. But one day I looked out the window and suddenly I recognized Mickey."

"Did he recognize you?" "It was weird that we all recognized each other," Bess Sedgwick said. "We were only together for a week or so before my family found me and offered Mickey a lot of money. He walked away and took me home in disgrace." she sighed. "I was very young when I eloped with him. I knew very little, just a silly girl full of romantic ideas. He was a hero to me because of the way he rode. He didn't know what Afraid, he's handsome, cheerful, and Irish-talkative! I really think I eloped with him! I doubt he thought so himself! But I'm rebellious, headstrong, and Crazy infatuation!" She shook her head. "It didn't last long...the first twenty-four hours were enough to disillusion us. He was drunk, rude and cruel. I was so grateful when my family showed up to take me back. I never want to see him again Or hear from him."

"Does your family know that you are married to him?" "have no idea." "Didn't you tell them?" "I don't think I'm married." "why?" "We got married in Ballygolan, but when my family went, Mickey approached me and told me the wedding was fake. He said he and his friends made it up. By that time , I think it is natural for him to do something like that. Whether he wants to get the money that was given to him, or is afraid of breaking the law by marrying me when I am under the legal age, I don't know. Either way, I momentarily Didn't doubt the truth of what he said - there wasn't one back then." "and after?" She seemed lost in thought. "Until—oh, many years later, when I knew a little more about life, about legal matters, it occurred to me that I might very well be married to Mickey Gorman!" "Then you actually committed bigamy when you married Lord Coniston." "Also, when I married Johnny Sedgwick, and then my American husband, Ridgway Baker." She looked at Chief Inspector David, as if really amused. laugh it out. "So much bigamy," she said, "seems ridiculous." "Have you ever thought of getting a divorce?" She shrugged. "Looks like a stupid dream. Why bother with old scores? Of course, I talked to Johnny." Her voice softened at the mention of his name. "What did he say?" "He doesn't care. Neither Johnny nor I are very law-abiding." "Bigamy is punishable, Mrs. Sedgwick." She looked at him and smiled. "Who's going to worry about what happened in Ireland years ago? It's over, it's settled. Mickey's got his money and gone. Oh, don't you see? It was just a little thing, a thing I Things I wanted to forget. I put those things, the many, many things in life that didn't matter at all." "And then," said "Pop," in a calm voice, "one day in November, Michael Gorman showed up again and blackmailed you?" "Nonsense! Who said he blackmailed me?" Slowly, "Father"'s eyes moved to the old lady who was sitting quietly and straight on the chair. "It's you." Bess Sedgwick stared at Miss Marple, "How could you know?" Her voice sounded more curious than reproachful. "The chairs in this hotel are all high-backed," said Miss Marple. "They're very comfortable, and I'm sitting in front of the fire in the study, trying to rest before I go out in the morning. You come in to write, and I don't think you realize it." There were others in the house. So—I overheard the conversation between you and this man named Gorman." "Did you hear that?" "That's natural," said Miss Marple. "Why not? It's a communal room. I didn't know it was going to be a private conversation when you opened the window to call the man outside." Bess stared at her for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Very likely," she said, "yes, I see. But even so, you misunderstood what you heard. Mickey wasn't blackmailing me. He might have thought of it—but before he could try I Just scare him away!" Her lips curled up again in a comforting smile that made her face look so charming. "I scared him away." "Yes," agreed Miss Marple, "I think you probably did. You threatened to shoot him, and you handled it—if you don't feel rude to me by saying so—very well indeed. .” Bess Sedgwick raised her eyebrows, a little amused. "But I'm not the only one listening to you," went on Miss Marple. "My God! Is the whole hotel listening?" "There is someone in the other chair." "Who?" Miss Marple pursed her lips.She looked at Chief Inspector Davy almost beseechingly. "If it has to be done, do it," said the look, "I can't do it..." "Your daughter is sitting in another chair," said Chief Inspector Davy. "Oh no!" cried Bess Sedgwick suddenly. "Oh no, not Elvira. I see—yes, I see. She must think—" "She thought so hard about what she overheard that she went to Ireland to find out the truth of the matter. It wasn't hard to find out." Bess Sedgwick said softly again, "Oh no..." and then said, "Poor child... She never asks me a thing even now. She keeps everything to herself, It's pretty well hidden inside. If she just tells me, I'll explain everything to her—to let her know it doesn't matter." "She's probably not what you think in that respect," said Chief Inspector Davy, "and it's interesting, you know," he said in a sort of reminiscing rambling—like an old farmer talking about his Livestock and Land - continued, "After years of trial and error, I've learned not to trust simple patterns. Simple patterns are often too good to be true. The murder pattern that night was like that. The girl said someone told her The shot missed and the doorman ran to save her and was hit by a second bullet. That might be real enough, that might be what the girl saw. But actually behind the surface, things might be very different Same." "You said very emphatically just now, Mrs. Sedgwick, Ladislas. Malinowski had no reason to try to take your daughter's life. Well, I agree with you. I don't think so. He was the A young man who might get into a fight with a woman and stab her with a knife. But I don't think he's going to hide in one place and wait ruthlessly for an opportunity to shoot her. But if what he wants to kill is someone else Screams and gunshots - what actually happened was that Michael Gorman died. If that's exactly what was meant to happen, Malinowski had it all planned out. He chose a foggy night , hid in that place, and waited till your daughter came down the street. He knew she would come, because he had managed to arrange it that way. He fired a shot. The shot wasn't aimed at the girl. He She was careful not to let the bullet get close to her, but she thought it must have been shot at her. She screamed. The doorman at the hotel heard the gunfire and the screaming and rushed to the street, and then Malinowski shot Killed the man he was going to kill - Michael Gorman." "I don't believe a word of it! Why on earth did Ladislas kill Mickey Gorman?" "Maybe it's a little racketeering thing," said Father. "You mean Mickey blackmailed Ladislas? Why?" "Perhaps," said Father, "has something to do with what happened at Bertram's Hotel. Michael Gorman probably knows a lot about it." "What happened to the Patron Hotel? What do you mean?" "That's a good deal," said "Father," "very well planned and beautifully executed. But the paper won't hold the fire. Miss Marple asked me when I was here before, what's wrong with the place. So, I will answer the question now. The Bertram Hotel is actually the headquarters of one of the best and largest criminal groups that has been known for years."