Ordeal by Innocence - Agatha Christie [49]
It was like that—opportunity for either of them.
And motive, because already by then he loved Gwenda and she loved him.
And there was nobody, ever, who could prove the guilt or innocence of either of them.
IV
A quarter of a mile away, Gwenda lay dry-eyed and sleepless.
Her hands clenched, she was thinking how much she had hated Rachel Argyle.
And now in the darkness, Rachel Argyle was saying: “You thought you could have my husband once I was dead. But you can’t—you can’t. You will never have my husband.”
V
Hester was dreaming. She dreamt that she was with Donald Craig and that he had left her suddenly at the edge of an abyss. She had cried out in fear and then, on the other side of it, she saw that Arthur Calgary was standing holding out his hands to her.
She cried out to him reproachfully.
“Why have you done this to me?” and he answered:
“But I’ve come to help you….”
She woke up.
VI
Lying quietly in the small spare-room bed, Tina breathed gently and regularly, but sleep did not come.
She thought of Mrs. Argyle, without gratitude and without resentment—simply with love. Because of Mrs. Argyle she had had food and drink and warmth and toys and comfort. She had loved Mrs. Argyle. She was sorry she was dead….
But it wasn’t quite as simple as that.
It hadn’t mattered when it was Jacko….
But now?
Thirteen
Superintendent Huish looked round on them all, gently and politely. His tone when he spoke was persuasive and apologetic.
“I know it must be very painful to you all,” he said, “to have to go over the whole thing again. But really, we’ve no choice in the matter. You saw the notice, I expect? It was in all the morning papers.”
“A free pardon,” said Leo.
“The phraseology always grates on people,” said Huish. “An anachronism, like so much of legal terminology. But its meaning is quite clear.”
“It means that you made a mistake,” said Leo.
“Yes.” Huish acknowledged it simply. “We made a mistake.” He added, after a minute, “Of course, without Dr. Calgary’s evidence it was really inevitable.”
Leo said coldly:
“My son told you, when you arrested him, that he had been given a lift that night.”
“Oh, yes. He told us. And we did our best to check—but we couldn’t find any confirmation of the story. I quite realize, Mr. Argyle, that you must feel exceedingly bitter about the whole business. I’m not making excuses and apologies. All we police officers have to do is to collect the evidence. The evidence goes to the Public Prosecutor and he decides if there is a case. In this case he decided there was. If it’s possible, I’d ask you to put as much bitterness as you can out of your mind and just run over the facts and times again.”
“What’s the use now?” Hester spoke up sharply. “Whoever did it is miles away and you’ll never find him.”
Superintendent Huish turned to look at her.
“That may be—and it may not,” he said mildly. “You’d be surprised at the times we do get our man—sometimes after several years. It’s patience does it—patience and never letting up.”
Hester turned her head away, and Gwenda gave a quick shiver as though a cold wind had passed over her. Her lively imagination felt the menace behind the quiet words.
“Now if you please,” said Huish. He looked expectantly at Leo. “We’ll start with you, Mr. Argyle.”
“What do you want to know exactly? You must have my original statement? I shall probably be less accurate now. Exact times are apt to slip one’s memory.”
“Oh, we realize that. But there’s always the chance that some little fact may come to light, something overlooked at the time.”
“Isn’t it even possible,” asked Philip, “that one might see things in better proportion looking back after the lapse of years?”
“It’s a possibility, yes,” said Huish, turning his head to look at Philip with some interest.
“Intelligent chap,” he thought. “I wonder if he’s got any ideas of his own about this….”
“Now, Mr. Argyle, if you’ll just run through the sequence of events. You’d had tea?”
“Yes. Tea had been in the dining room at five o