Chapter 10 Chapter nine

With Mrs. Bantry was Adelaide Jefferson.Mrs Bantry approached Sir Henry, and she called, "Is that you?" "Yes, it's me." He held her hands kindly. "Mrs. B, I can't tell you how sorry I am for what happened." Mrs. Bantry said mechanically: "Don't call me Mrs. B!" and went on: "Arthur didn't come. He took the whole thing too seriously. Miss Marple and I came here to do some research. You Do you know Mrs. Jefferson?" "Of course I do." After they shook hands, Adelaide Jefferson said, "Have you visited my father-in-law?"

"Yes, I have been." "Great. We're all worried about him. It's such a shock to him." Mrs Bantry said: "We'll go out on the veranda and drink and talk." The four of them walked to the end of the balcony, where Mark Gaskell was sitting alone. They exchanged a few casual words, and as soon as the sprinkler came, Mrs Bantry cut to the chase with all her old enthusiasm for direct action. "Can we start talking?" she said. "I mean, we're all old friends—except Miss Marple, and she knows all about crime. And she's willing to help."

Mark Gaskell looked at Miss Marple in some confusion.He hesitated: "Do you—er—write detective stories?" He knew that the people who wrote detective novels were the most unbelievable.Miss Marple, in her old-fashioned spinster attire, looked especially one of this kind. "Oh no, I don't have that ability yet." "She was very great," said Mrs. Bantry eagerly, "I cannot explain it now, but she is. Well, Eddie, I want to know everything.What's up with this girl? " "Well—" Adelaide Jefferson paused, looked at Mark, and then said with a slight smile, "You are so straightforward."

"do you like her?" "No, of course not." "What's the matter with her?" Mrs. Bantry turned to Mark Gaskell.Mark said cautiously: "An ordinary gold digger. She's good at what she does, and she's got Jeff on the ropes." They both called Jefferson Jeff. Sir Henry looked at Mark with dissatisfaction, and he thought: "Irreverent fellow. You shouldn't speak so openly." He had always had a slight dissatisfaction with Mark Gaskell.The man was charming, but unreliable--talked too much, sometimes boastful--and Sir Henry thought he could not be trusted too much.He sometimes wondered if Conway Jefferson would feel the same way.

"Can't you do something?" demanded Mrs. Bantry. Mark said dryly, "If we can see it in time." He glanced at Adelaide, who blushed slightly.His glance was reproachful. "Mark thinks I should have seen what was going to happen," she said. "Eddie, you spend too much time alone with the old kids. Tennis lessons and all." "Well, I've got to do some exercise," she said apologetically. "Anyway, I never dreamed—" "No," Mark said. "Neither of us would have thought of that. Jeff's always been a level-headed, sensible guy."

Miss Marple spoke. "Men," she said of men in that spinster tone, as if they were wild animals, "are often not as cool as they seem." "You're right," said Mark. "Unfortunately, Miss Marple, we don't realize that. We don't know what the old chap thinks about those dry, tacky little tricks. But someone pleases him, interests him, We're happy too. We don't think she'll get in anyone's way. Don't get in anyone's way! If only I'd wrung her neck!" "Mark," Eddie said, "watch your mouth." He grinned charmingly at her.

"I figured I'd have to watch. Otherwise people would think I really wrung her neck. Well, I guess I've been under suspicion anyway. If anyone's happy about the girl's death it's Eddie and me. " "Mark," cried Mrs. Jefferson with a half-smile, "you really can't do that!" "Well, well," said Mark conciliatoryly, "but I really want to speak my mind. We Dear old father-in-law decided to throw fifty thousand pounds on this shallow, stupid, cunning kitten." "Mark, you can't do this—she's dead." "Yes, she's dead, poor little thing. Then again, why can't she use the weapon God gave her? What right do I have to judge people? I've done quite a few nasty things in my own life." .Let’s put it this way, Ruby has every right to plot, and we were too foolish to see through her game sooner.”

Sir Henry said: "What did you say when Conway told you he was going to adopt the girl?" Mark held out his hands. "What can we say? Eddie was always like a little lady; she had a lot of self-control and was brave in this one. I am determined to follow her example. " "I'd make a scene!" said Mrs. Bantry. "Well, to tell you the truth, we have no right to make a fuss. The money belongs to Jeff. We are not his flesh and blood.He has always been very nice to us.So we have no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit. " Then he added cautiously: "But we don't like little Ruby."

Adelaide Jefferson said: "If only it were a different kind of girl. You see, Jeff has two godsons. If it's any of those - well, we can understand that too. ’ She added, somewhat resentfully, ‘Jeff seems to have always been very fond of Peter. " "Of course," said Mrs. Bantry, "I've known Peter was your first husband's child—but I've always forgotten, and always thought of him as Mr. Jefferson's grandson." "Me too," Adelaide said.Miss Marple turned around in her chair when something in Adelaide's voice caught her attention. "It's all Josie's fault," Mark said, "Josie got her here."

Adelaide said: "Oh, but you sure don't think it was intentional, do you? Well, you've always liked Josie." "Yes, I do like her. I find her lovely." "She got the girl here by accident." "You know, Josie's a very smart guy." "True, but she couldn't predict—" Mark said: "Yeah, she couldn't have predicted it. I admit it. I'm not accusing her of orchestrating this. But I'm sure she saw it before us and she kept quiet about it. .” Adelaide said with a sigh: "I don't think anyone can blame her for this."

Mark said, "Oh, we can't blame anyone for anything!" Mrs. Bantry asked, "Is Ruby Keene beautiful?" Mark stared at her. "I thought you'd seen—" "Oh yes, I've seen her—her body. But you know, she was strangled and couldn't see—" She shuddered. Mark thought and said: "I don't think she's beautiful at all. Not without makeup. A thin face, no jaw, teeth that are bumpy, and a nose that can't be classified" sounds disgusting. said Mrs Bantry. "Oh no, it's not. Like I said, she looks pretty good with makeup on. What do you say, Eddie?" "Yes, quite nice, pink pink, and she has beautiful blue eyes." "That's right, the innocent eyes of a child, her blue eyes accentuated by thickly painted lashes. Of course, her hair was dyed. Really, when I thought of color—anyway, in artificial Color-wise—she's a little Rosamund in disguise—she's my wife, you know. I daresay that's what attracts the old chap." He sighed. "Well, it's an unpleasant thing to do. The bad thing is that Eddie and I are really glad she died—" He suppressed protests from Adelaide. We are not his flesh and blood.He has always been very nice to us.So we have no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit. " Then he added cautiously: "But we don't like little Ruby." Adelaide Jefferson said: "If only it were a different kind of girl. You see, Jeff has two godsons. If it's any of those - well, we can understand that too. ’ She added, somewhat resentfully, ‘Jeff seems to have always been very fond of Peter. " "Of course," said Mrs. Bantry, "I've known Peter was your first husband's child—but I've always forgotten, and always thought of him as Mr. Jefferson's grandson." "Me too," Adelaide said.Miss Marple turned around in her chair when something in Adelaide's voice caught her attention. "It's all Josie's fault," Mark said, "Josie got her here." Adelaide said: "Oh, but you sure don't think it was intentional, do you? Well, you've always liked Josie." "Yes, I do like her. I find her lovely." "She got the girl here by accident." "You know, Josie's a very smart guy." "True, but she couldn't predict—" Mark said: "Yeah, she couldn't have predicted it. I admit it. I'm not accusing her of orchestrating this. But I'm sure she saw it before us and she kept quiet about it. .” Adelaide said with a sigh: "I don't think anyone can blame her for this." Mark said, "Oh, we can't blame anyone for anything!" Mrs. Bantry asked, "Is Ruby Keene beautiful?" Mark stared at her. "I thought you'd seen—" "Oh yes, I've seen her—her body. But you know, she was strangled and couldn't see—" She shuddered. Mark thought and said: "I don't think she's beautiful at all. Not without makeup. A thin face, no jaw, teeth that are bumpy, and a nose that can't be classified" sounds disgusting. said Mrs Bantry. "Oh no, it's not. Like I said, she looks pretty good with makeup on. What do you say, Eddie?" "Yes, quite nice, pink pink, and she has beautiful blue eyes." "That's right, the innocent eyes of a child, her blue eyes accentuated by thickly painted lashes. Of course, her hair was dyed. Really, when I thought of color—anyway, in artificial Color-wise—she's a little Rosamund in disguise—she's my wife, you know. I daresay that's what attracts the old chap." He sighed. "Well, it's an unpleasant thing to do. The bad thing is that Eddie and I are really glad she died—" He suppressed protests from Adelaide. "It's no use, Eddie; I know how you feel. I feel the same way you do. And I don't want to pretend: but at the same time, I'm really, really worried about Jeff, if you know what I mean. This thing Hit him hard. I—" He stopped and stared at the door leading from the lounge to the balcony. "All right, all right—look who's coming. Eddie, you're a wild woman." Mrs. Jefferson turned her head, gave a cry, and stood up, flushing.She walked quickly along the balcony toward a tall, middle-aged man with a thin, dark face who was looking around hesitantly. Mrs. Bantry said: "Isn't that Hugo McLeath?" Mark Gaskell said, "That's Hugo McLeath. Alias ​​William Dobbin." Mrs Bantry whispered: "He's faithful, isn't he?" "Faithful as a dog," Mark said, "Eddie just whistles and Hugo comes trotting from anywhere in the world, and he always hopes she'll marry him one day. I bet she will .” Miss Marple watched their backs with pleasure.She said, "Oh. Romance?" "In the good traditional category," Mark assured her, "it's been years since Eddie was that kind of woman." He thought and added, "I guess Eddie called him this morning. She didn't tell me. " Edwards walked along the balcony step by step, he stopped beside Mark. "Excuse me, sir. Mr. Jefferson wants to see you." "I'll be right there." Mark jumped up from his chair. He nodded to everyone, said "see you later" and left. Sir Henry leaned over to Miss Marple."Who do you see as the main beneficiary of this crime?" he said. Miss Marple looked thoughtfully at Adelaide Jefferson, who was standing aside talking to an old friend, and said, "You see, I think she's a very dedicated mother." "Oh, she is," said Mrs. Bantry. "She's all about Peter." "She's the kind of woman that everybody likes," said Miss Marple, "the kind of woman who can marry again and again. I don't mean the kind of woman who's just pleasing to men—that's quite different." "I see what you mean," said Sir Henry. "What you two mean," said Mrs. Bantry, "is that she is a good listener." Sir Henry laughed.He said, "And what about Mark Gaskell?" "Ah," said Miss Marple, "he's a cunning fellow." "May I ask if there are similar people in the countryside?" "Mr. Cargill, the builder. He tricked a lot of people into doing things for their houses that they never wanted to do. And he charged them exorbitant fees for it! But he always had a reason for his bills. A Sly fellow. He's married to money. So is Mr. Gaskell, I suppose." "You don't like him." "No, I like him. Most women would. He can't fool me, though. I think he's an attractive guy, but he talks too much, and maybe it's unwise." "Unwise is a good word," said Sir Henry. "Mark will be in trouble for himself if he is not careful." A tall dark young man in white flannel came out of the steps leading to the balcony. He stopped and looked at Adelaide Jefferson and Hugo McLeath. "And that one," said Sir Henry teaching cheerfully, "we may call him the person concerned. He is a professional tennis player and dancer—Raymond Starr, Ruby Keane's partner." .” Miss Marple looked at him with interest and said, "He's handsome, isn't he?" "Probably so." "Don't be so ridiculous, Sir Henry," said Mrs. Bantry. "He's just handsome, I suppose." Miss Marple whispered, "I think Mrs. Jefferson said she's been taking tennis lessons." "Jane, what do you mean by that?" Before Miss Marple could answer the blunt question, little Peter Carmody had come across from the balcony. He greeted Sir Henry: "I say, are you a detective too? I've seen you talk to the superintendent—the fat one is a superintendent, isn't he?" "Exactly, my boy." "I've been told you're a very good detective from London. Chief of Scotland Yard or something." "The chief of police in the book is usually a good-for-nothing idiot, isn't he?" "Oh no, it's different now. People don't make fun of the police anymore. Do you know who the killer is?" "I'm afraid I don't know yet." "Don't you think it's a very interesting thing to do?" asked Mrs. Bantry. "Oh, very interesting. A little change in life, isn't it? I've been poking around to see if I could find any clues, but I've had no luck. I have a souvenir, though. Would you like to see it? Strange, Mom made I throw it away. I do think being a parent can be too harsh sometimes. " He took a small matchbox out of his pocket.After pushing away, he showed everyone his treasure. "Look, a nail shell. Her nails: I'm going to call it 'Murdered Woman's Nails' and take it back to school. Don't you guys think it's a nice souvenir?" "Where did you get that?" asked Miss Marple. "Look, that's a bit of luck. Because I didn't know she was going to be murdered. It happened last night before dinner. Ruby's nails got caught in Josie's shawl and it tore. Mum did it for her." Cut the nails off and give it to me to throw it in the wastebasket, which I meant to do, but I put it in my pocket. I remembered it this morning, so I'll see if it's still there In the pocket, the result is still there. So now I keep it as a souvenir." "Disgusting," said Mrs. Bantry. Peter said politely, "Oh, you see it that way?" "Any other souvenirs?" asked Sir Henry. "Well, I don't know. Maybe there is." "Excuse me, young man." Peter looked at him thoughtfully, then produced an envelope, from which he drew another strip of brown stuff. "Here's a piece of shoelace from that boy named George Bartlett." he explained. "I saw his shoes outside the door this morning and got some just in case." "What if?" "In case he was the murderer. He was the last to see her, you know, which is always very suspicious. Is it time for supper? I'm famished. The time between tea and supper always seems to be So long. Hey, that's Uncle Hugo. I didn't know that mother had called him.I guess she called him.She was always like that when things got difficult.Here comes Josie. Hi Josie! " Josephine Turner came along the balcony and stopped, seeming very surprised to see Mrs Bantry and Miss Marple present. Mrs. Bantry said cheerfully: "How do you do, Miss Turner. We've come here for some news!" Josie looked around guiltily.She said in a low voice, "This sucks. No one knows yet. I mean, it hasn't been in the papers yet. I think everybody's going to ask me that. It's so weird. I don't know what I'm supposed to say." " She shot Miss Marple a begging look.Miss Marple said: "Yes, I'm afraid you will be in a difficult position." Josie appreciated her sympathy. "Look, Mr. Prescott said to me, 'Don't talk about it.' It's easy to say, but surely everyone will ask me, and you can't offend people, can you?" Mr. Prescott said He expects me to do things as usual - it doesn't make him happy and of course I want to do my best. And I really don't see why it should all be blamed on me." Sir Henry said: "Miss Turner, you don't mind if I ask you a straight question?" "Oh, please feel free to ask." Josie said this with a little insincere. "Is there any disagreement between you and Mrs. Jefferson and Mr. Gaskell about the whole matter?" "You mean about the murder?" "No, I don't mean murder." Josie stood there, fingers folded.She said sullenly: "Well, there's nothing. If you know what I mean. Neither of them said anything. But I think they blamed me—I mean, Mr. Jefferson liked Ruby very much. But this It's not my fault, is it? Things like this happen every now and then, I never dreamed that it was going to happen, not at all - I was very surprised." Her words seemed to be genuinely sincere. Sir Henry said kindly: "I am quite sure of it. But what if it happens?" Josie looked up. "Well, it's luck, isn't it? Everyone's entitled to a little luck sometimes." She looked at everyone questioningly, then walked across the balcony and back into the hotel. Peter said, "I don't think she did it." Miss Marple murmured: "That piece of nail shell is very interesting. You know, this has always troubled me-how to explain her nails." "Nails?" asked Sir Henry. Mrs. Bantry explained: "The girl who died had very short nails, which of course is a little wrong, as Jane said. Girls like her undoubtedly have long nails." Miss Marple said: "If she tore one, of course, she might have trimmed the rest. Did they find nail shells in her room?" Sir Henry looked at her curiously and said, "I'll ask Superintendent Harper when he comes back." "From where?" asked Mrs. Bantry. "Did he not go to Gossington?" Sir Henry said gravely: "No. Another tragedy. There's a burnt-out car in the quarry—" Miss Marple held her breath. "Is anyone in the car?" "I'm afraid there is." Miss Marple said, thinking: "I think it's the missing Girl Scout—Patience—no, Pamela Reeves." Sir Henry stared at her. "Miss Marple, why on earth do you think so?" Miss Marple blushed. "Well, the girl has been missing from her home on the radio - since last night. Her home is in Dainley Valley; not too far from here. She was last seen at a Girl Scout rally in the Dannbury Hills On. It's really close. In fact, she has to go through Danemouth on the way home. So, it all fits, doesn't it? I mean, maybe she saw—or heard—any No one is allowed to see or hear things. If so, of course she will be considered dangerous by the murderer and must be eliminated. There must be a connection between two things like this, don't you see it that way? " Sir Henry said in a low voice: "You think it was—a second murder?" "Why not?" She looked at him calmly. "When a man kills once, he'll do it again, won't he? Even a third time." "A third time? You don't think there will be a third murder, do you?" "I think it's very likely ... yes, I think it's very likely." "Miss Marple," said Sir Henry, "you frighten me. Do you know who could be murdered?" Miss Marple said: "I have a very good idea."