Chapter 28 28

28. Miss Marple smoothed the top of the suitcase, slipped a length of woolen shawl into it, and closed the lid.She looked around the bedroom.No, she didn't forget anything.Crump came in to carry her luggage.Miss Marple went into the next room to say goodbye to Miss Lambsburton. Miss Marple said: "I'm afraid I've given you a very poor way to return your hospitality. I hope one day you can forgive me. " "Ha," said Miss Lambsburton. She played single bridge as usual. She said, "Black Jack, Red Q." Then she cast a shrewd sidelong glance at Miss Marple and said, "I guess you found what you were looking for."

"yes." "I suppose you told the police inspector all about it? Can he prove the case?" Miss Marple said, "I'm almost sure I can. It'll take a while." Miss Lambsburton said: "I don't ask. You're a shrewd woman, I knew it. I don't blame you. Bad things are bad things, and there must be punishment. There is a bad vein in this family.Thankfully, not from our side.My sister Elvira is a fool, that's all. " Miss Lambsburton said with her fingers: "Black Jack, good-looking, but dark-hearted. Yes, I'm worried about that. Oh, one can't help but like sinners. That boy always has a way. Even I lied to it all... He lied about the exact moment he left me that day. I didn't contradict him, but I thought it was weird... I've been skeptical since then. But he's Elvira's son - I can't bear it speak out.

Oh, never mind, Jane Marple, you are a righteous woman and justice must be done.But I feel sorry for his wife. " "Me too," said Miss Marple. Patty Fortescu was waiting in the hall to say good-bye. She said, "I really hope you don't go. I'm going to miss you." Miss Marple said, "I must be going. I've achieved what I came here for. It's not--how pleasant. But you know it's important that evil doesn't deserve to win." Patty looked puzzled. "I don't understand." "No, boy, but you may understand someday. Please allow me to advise you that if anything goes wrong in your life, I think you'll be happiest when you come back to your happy childhood. Go back to Ireland, boy. Go, with dogs and horses."

Patty nodded. "Sometimes I wish I'd done it after Freddie died. But if I did"—her voice softened—"I'd never know Lance." Miss Marple sighed. Patty said, "We're not staying here, you know. We're going back to East Africa when things work out. I'm so happy." Miss Marple said, "My dear boy, God bless you. It takes a lot of courage to get through life. I think you have that courage." She patted the girl's hand, then let go, and went out by the front door to take a taxi. Miss Marple arrived at the house that evening. Kitty, who just graduated from "Shengxin Nursery", opened the door for her and greeted her with a smile.

"Miss, I got you a herring for your supper. I'm glad to see you back—you'll find everything clean and comfortable in the house. I've done my spring cleaning." "Kitty, that's great—I'm glad to be home." Miss Marple found six cobwebs on the cornices.These girls never look up!But she is kind and can't bear to say it. "Miss, your letters are on the table in the hall. One of them was delivered to the dairy by mistake. They always do that, don't they? 'Danish' and 'dairy' look a bit alike in English, and this time the lettering is different." Poor, no wonder it was sent by mistake. The people over there are not there, the house is locked, and they only delivered the letter when they got home today, saying 'hope it's not an important letter'."

Miss Marple picked up the mail.The letter Kitty was talking about was on the top shelf.Miss Marple saw the smeared cursive, and a vague memory came to her mind.She opened the letter to read. dear lady: I hope you'll forgive me for writing this, but I really don't know what to do and I didn't mean to be harmful.Dear lady, you'll read in the papers, they say it was murder, but I didn't do it, because I wouldn't do that kind of bad thing and I know he wouldn't either.I mean Albert.I can't tell.But you know, we met in the summer and we are going to get married, but Albert has not yet sought justice, he was cheated by the deceased Mr. Fortescue.Mr. Fortescue denied everything, and of course everyone believed him and not Albert, because he had money and Albert had no money.But Albert has a friend who works in a certain place, and they made this new drug, the so-called truth-telling drug, you may have read in the newspaper that people who take this drug will tell the truth whether they want to tell the truth or not .On November 5th Albert was going to see Mr. Fortescue in his office and he was going to take the lawyer. Will admit that what Albert said is true.

Oh ma'am I put it in marmalade and now he's dead I think maybe it's too strong and I can't blame Albert because Albert would never do something like that but I can't Tell the police they might think Albert did it on purpose, I know he wasn't.Oh ma'am, I don't know what to do, what to say, the police are in the house, it's scary, they ask questions, they look at people hard, I don't know what to do, and I haven't heard from Albert.Oh ma'am, I don't want to beg you, but if you can help me, they will listen to you, you have always been good to me, I have no malice, and neither does Albert, if you can help me How busy you are.

PS - I am enclosing a snapshot of Albert and myself inside the envelope.A boy at the summer camp took a photo and gave it to me.Albert didn't know I had this picture - he hated it when people took his picture.But ma'am, you can see what a handsome boy he is. Miss Marple looked down at the photograph with pursed lips.In the photo, the eyes of men and women exchanged. Miss Marple first looked at Gretty's affectionate face with her mouth slightly open, and then at another face—it was Lance Fortescue's handsome and smiling face. . The last words of the letter echoed in her mind!

"You can see what a handsome boy he is." Tears welled up in Miss Marple's eyes, first pity, then anger—hate the murderer for being too cruel. The last two emotions were gone, replaced by waves of triumph—as triumphant as an expert recreating an extinct taxidermy from the remains of mandibles and teeth. .The End.