Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie [25]
‘They were smiling and talking,’ said Miss Marple. ‘They seemed very happy to be together, if you know what I mean.’
‘They didn’t seem upset or disturbed in any way?’
‘Oh, no! Just the opposite.’
‘Deuced odd,’ said the Colonel. ‘There’s something deuced odd about the whole thing.’
Miss Marple suddenly took our breath away by remarking in a placid voice:
‘Has Mrs Protheroe been saying that she committed the crime now?’
‘Upon my soul,’ said the Colonel, ‘how did you come to guess that, Miss Marple?’
‘Well, I rather thought it might happen,’ said Miss Marple. ‘I think dear Lettice thought so, too. She’s really a very sharp girl. Not always very scrupulous, I’m afraid. So Anne Protheroe says she killed her husband. Well, well. I don’t think it’s true. No, I’m almost sure it isn’t true. Not with a woman like Anne Protheroe. Although one never can be quite sure about anyone, can one? At least that’s what I’ve found. When does she say she shot him?’
‘At twenty minutes past six. Just after speaking to you.’
Miss Marple shook her head slowly and pityingly. The pity was, I think, for two full-grown men being so foolish as to believe such a story. At least that is what we felt like.
‘What did she shoot him with?’
‘A pistol.’
‘Where did she find it?’
‘She brought it with her.’
‘Well, that she didn’t do,’ said Miss Marple, with unexpected decision. ‘I can swear to that. She’d no such thing with her.’
‘You mightn’t have seen it.’
‘Of course I should have seen it.’
‘If it had been in her handbag.’
‘She wasn’t carrying a handbag.’
‘Well, it might have been concealed – er – upon her person.’
Miss Marple directed a glance of sorrow and scorn upon him.
‘My dear Colonel Melchett, you know what young women are nowadays. Not ashamed to show exactly how the creator made them. She hadn’t so much as a handkerchief in the top of her stocking.’
Melchett was obstinate.
‘You must admit that it all fits in,’ he said. ‘The time, the overturned clock pointing to 6.22 –’
Miss Marple turned on me.
‘Do you mean you haven’t told him about that clock yet?’
‘What about the clock, Clement?’
I told him. He showed a good deal of annoyance.
‘Why on earth didn’t you tell Slack this last night?’
‘Because,’ I said, ‘he wouldn’t let me.’
‘Nonsense, you ought to have insisted.’
‘Probably,’ I said, ‘Inspector Slack behaves quite differently to you than he does to me. I had no earthly chance of insisting.’
‘It’s an extraordinary business altogether,’ said Melchett. ‘If a third person comes along and claims to have done this murder, I shall go into a lunatic asylum.’
‘If I might be allowed to suggest –’ murmured Miss Marple.
‘Well?’
‘If you were to tell Mr Redding what Mrs Protheroe has done and then explain that you don’t really believe it is her. And then if you were to go to Mrs Protheroe and tell her that Mr Redding is all right – why then, they might each of them tell you the truth. And the truth is helpful, though I dare say they don’t know very much themselves, poor things.’
‘It’s all very well, but they are the only two people who had a motive for making away with Protheroe.’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Colonel Melchett,’ said Miss Marple.
‘Why, can you think of anyone else?’
‘Oh! yes, indeed. Why,’ she counted on her fingers, ‘one, two, three, four, five, six – yes, and a possible seven. I can think of at least seven people who might be very glad to have Colonel Protheroe out of the way.’
The Colonel looked at her feebly.
‘Seven people? In St Mary Mead?’
Miss Marple nodded brightly.
‘Mind you I name no names,’ she said. ‘That wouldn’t be right. But I’m afraid there’s a lot of wickedness in the world. A nice honourable upright soldier like you doesn’t know about these things, Colonel Melchett.’
I thought the Chief Constable was going to have apoplexy.
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