Curtain - Agatha Christie [31]
The rifle fell from the Colonel’s hand, his body sagged – he caught his lip.
‘My God – it’s Daisy.’
I was already running across the lawn. Norton came behind me. I reached the spot and knelt down. It was Mrs Luttrell. She had been kneeling, tying a stake against one of the small fruit trees. The grass was long there so that I realized how it was that the Colonel had not seen her clearly and had only distinguished movements in the grass. The light too was confusing. She had been shot through the shoulder and the blood was gushing out.
I bent to examine the wound and looked up at Norton. He was leaning against a tree and was looking green and as though he were going to be sick. He said apologetically: ‘I can’t stand blood.’
I said sharply: ‘Get hold of Franklin at once. Or the nurse.’
He nodded and ran off.
It was Nurse Craven who appeared first upon the scene. She was there in an incredibly short time and at once set about in a business-like way to stop the bleeding. Franklin arrived at a run soon afterwards. Between them they got her into the house and to bed: Franklin dressed and bandaged the wound and sent for her own doctor and Nurse Craven stayed with her.
I ran across Franklin just as he left the telephone.
‘How is she?’
‘Oh, she’ll pull through all right. It missed any vital spot, luckily. How did it happen?’
I told him. He said: ‘I see. Where’s the old boy? He’ll be feeling knocked out, I shouldn’t wonder. Probably needs attention more than she does. I shouldn’t say his heart is any too good.’
We found Colonel Luttrell in the smoking-room. He was a blue colour round the mouth and looked completely dazed. He said brokenly: ‘Daisy? Is she – how is she?’
Franklin said quickly: ‘She’ll be all right, sir. You needn’t worry.’
‘I – thought – rabbit – nibbling the bark – don’t know how I came to make such a mistake. Light in my eyes.’
‘These things happen,’ said Franklin drily. ‘I’ve seen one or two of them in my time. Look here, sir, you’d better let me give you a pick-me-up. You’re not feeling too good.’
‘I’m all right. Can I – can I go to her?’
‘Not just now. Nurse Craven is with her. But you don’t need to worry. She’s all right. Dr Oliver will be here presently and he’ll tell you the same.’
I left the two of them together and went out into the evening sunshine. Judith and Allerton were coming along the path towards me. His head was bent to hers and they were both laughing.
Coming on top of the tragedy that had just happened, it made me feel very angry. I called sharply to Judith and she looked up, surprised. In a few words I told them what had occurred.
‘What an extraordinary thing to happen,’ was my daughter’s comment.
She did not seem nearly as perturbed as she should have been, I thought.
Allerton’s manner was outrageous. He seemed to take the whole thing as a good joke.
‘Serve the old harridan damn well right,’ he observed. ‘Think the old boy did it on purpose?’
‘Certainly not,’ I said sharply. ‘It was an accident.’
‘Yes, but I know these accidents. Damned convenient sometimes. My word, if the old boy shot her deliberately I take off my hat to him.’
‘It was nothing of the kind,’ I said angrily. ‘Don’t be too sure. I’ve known two men who shot their wives. Cleaning his revolver one was. The other fired point-blank at her as a joke, he said. Didn’t know the thing was loaded. Got away with it, both of them. Damned good release, I should say myself.’
‘Colonel Luttrell,’ I said coldly, ‘isn’t that type of man.’
‘Well you couldn’t say it wouldn’t be a blessed release, could you?’ demanded Allerton pertinently. ‘They hadn’t just had a row or anything, had they?’
I turned away angrily, at the same time trying to hide a certain perturbation. Allerton had come a little too near the mark. For the first time a doubt crept into my mind.
It was not bettered by meeting Boyd Carrington. He had been for a stroll down towards the lake, he explained. When I told him the news he said at once: ‘You don’t think he meant to shoot her, do you, Hastings?’
‘My dear man.’