Dead Man's Folly - Agatha Christie [29]
‘Is there any reason why this particular girl should have been chosen?’
‘N-no, I don’t think so. Her people are tenants on the estate, and her mother, Mrs Tucker, sometimes comes to help in the kitchen. I don’t know quite why we settled on her. Probably her name came to mind first. We asked her and she seemed quite pleased to do it.’
‘She definitely wanted to do it?’
‘Oh, yes, I think she was flattered. She was a very moronic kind of girl,’ continued Miss Brewis, ‘she couldn’t have acted a part or anything like that. But this was all very simple, and she felt she’d been singled out from the others and was pleased about it.’
‘What exactly was it that she had to do?’
‘She had to stay in the boathouse. When she heard anyone coming to the door she was to lie down on the floor, put the cord round her neck and sham dead.’ Miss Brewis’ tones were calm and businesslike. The fact that the girl who was to sham dead had actually been found dead did not at the moment appear to affect her emotionally.
‘Rather a boring way for the girl to spend the afternoon when she might have been at the fête,’ suggested Inspector Bland.
‘I suppose it was in a way,’ said Miss Brewis, ‘but one can’t have everything, can one? And Marlene did enjoy the idea of being the body. It made her feel important. She had a pile of papers and things to read to keep her amused.’
‘And something to eat as well?’ said the inspector. ‘I noticed there was a tray down there with a plate and glass.’
‘Oh, yes, she had a big plate of sweet cakes, and a raspberry fruit drink. I took them down to her myself.’
Bland looked up sharply.
‘You took them down to her? When?’
‘About the middle of the afternoon.’
‘What time exactly? Can you remember?’
Miss Brewis considered a moment.
‘Let me see. Children’s Fancy Dress was judged, there was a little delay – Lady Stubbs couldn’t be found, but Mrs Folliat took her place, so that was all right…Yes, it must have been – I’m almost sure – about five minutes past four that I collected the cakes and the fruit drink.’
‘And you took them down to her at the boathouse yourself. What time did you reach there?’
‘Oh, it takes about five minutes to go down to the boathouse – about quarter past four, I should think.’
‘And at quarter past four Marlene Tucker was alive and well?’
‘Yes, of course,’ said Miss Brewis, ‘and very eager to know how people were getting on with the murder hunt, too. I’m afraid I couldn’t tell her. I’d been too busy with the side show on the lawn, but I did know that a lot of people had entered for it. Twenty or thirty to my knowledge. Probably a good many more.’
‘How did you find Marlene when you arrived at the boathouse?’
‘I’ve just told you.’
‘No, no, I don’t mean that. I mean, was she lying on the floor shamming dead when you opened the door?’
‘Oh, no,’ said Miss Brewis, ‘because I called out just before I got there. So she opened the door and I took the tray in and put it on the table.’
‘At a quarter past four,’ said Bland, writing it down, ‘Marlene Tucker was alive and well. You will understand, I’m sure, Miss Brewis, that that is a very important point. You are quite sure of your times?’
‘I can’t be exactly sure because I didn’t look at my watch, but I had looked at it a short time previously and that’s as near as I can get.’ She added, with a sudden dawning realization of the inspector’s point, ‘Do you mean that it was soon after –?’
‘It can’t have been very long after, Miss Brewis.’
‘Oh, dear,’ said Miss Brewis.
It was a rather inadequate expression, but nevertheless it conveyed well enough Miss Brewis’ dismay and concern.
‘Now, Miss Brewis, on your way down to the boathouse and on your way back again to the house, did you meet anybody or see anyone near the boathouse?’
Miss Brewis considered.
‘No,’ she said, ‘I didn’t meet anyone. I might have, of course, because the grounds are open to everyone this afternoon. But on the whole, people tend to stay round the lawn and the side shows and all that. They like to go round the kitchen gardens and the greenhouses, but they don’t walk through the