Ordeal by Innocence - Agatha Christie [18]
Calgary leant forward in astonishment.
“His widow? Nobody has ever told me that he was married.”
“Dear, dear.” The lawyer clicked his thumb irritably. “I have been remiss. I had forgotten, of course, that you had not read the newspaper reports. I may say that none of the Argyle family had any idea that he was married. Immediately after his arrest his wife appeared at Sunny Point in great distress. Mr. Argyle was very good to her. She was a young woman who had worked as a dance hostess in the Drymouth Palais de Danse. I probably forgot to tell you about her because she remarried a few weeks after Jack’s death. Her present husband is an electrician, I believe, in Drymouth.”
“I must go and see her,” said Calgary. He added, reproachfully, “She is the first person I should have gone to see.”
“Certainly, certainly. I will give you the address. I really cannot think why I did not mention it to you when you first came to me.”
Calgary was silent.
“She was such a—well—negligible factor,” said the lawyer apologetically. “Even the newspapers did not play her up much—she never visited her husband in prison—or took any further interest in him—”
Calgary had been deep in thought. He said now:
“Can you tell me exactly who was in that house on the night Mrs. Argyle was killed?”
Marshall gave him a sharp glance.
“Leo Argyle, of course, and the youngest daughter, Hester. Mary Durrant and her invalid husband were there on a visit. He had just come out of hospital. Then there was Kirsten Lindstrom—whom you probably met—she is a Swedish trained nurse and masseuse who originally came to help Mrs. Argyle with her war nursery and has remained on ever since. Michael and Tina were not there—Michael works as a car salesman in Drymouth and Tina has a job in the County Library at Redmyn and lives in a flat there.”
Marshall paused before going on.
“There was also Miss Vaughan, Mr. Argyle’s secretary. She had left the house before the body was discovered.”
“I met her also,” said Calgary. “She seems very—attached to Mr. Argyle.”
“Yes—yes. I believe there may shortly be an engagement announced.”
“Ah!”
“He has been very lonely since his wife died,” said the lawyer, with a faint note of reproof in his voice.
“Quite so,” said Calgary.
Then he said:
“What about motive, Mr. Marshall?”
“My dear Dr. Calgary, I really cannot speculate as to that!”
“I think you can. As you have said yourself the facts are ascertainable.”
“There was no direct monetary benefit to anyone. Mrs. Argyle had entered into a series of discretionary Trusts, a formula which as you know is much adopted nowadays. These Trusts were in favour of all the children. They are administered by three Trustees, of whom I am one, Leo Argyle is one and the third is an American lawyer, a distant cousin of Mrs. Argyle’s. The very large sum of money involved is administered by these three Trustees and can be adjusted so as to benefit those beneficiaries of the Trust who need it most.”
“What about Mr. Argyle? Did he profit in a monetary sense by his wife’s death?”
“Not to any great extent. Most of her fortune, as I have told you, had gone into Trusts. She left him the residue of her estate, but that did not amount to a large sum.”
“And Miss Lindstrom?”
“Mrs. Argyle had bought a very handsome annuity for Miss Lindstrom some years previously.” Marshall added irritably, “Motive? There doesn’t seem to me a ha’porth of motive about. Certainly no financial motive.”
“And in the emotional field? Was there any special—friction?”
“There, I’m afraid, I can’t help you.” Marshall spoke