The Floating Admiral - Agatha Christie [57]
“Oh, come now, no offence taken, I hope. And then there’s this second question, which sounds impolite, but I must ask it. Why were you in such a hurry to get married, Mr. Holland?”
Holland paused this time quite unmistakably; but his face did not suggest guilt or duplicity; he looked more like an honest man who knows more than he is at liberty to tell, and is not quite sure how much he can tell without a breach of trust. That, at least, is how Rudge read his expression for the moment or two while the embarrassment lasted. Then: “Inspector,” said Holland, with a more serious note in his voice, “you mustn’t ask me to be responsible for a woman’s fancies. I know you think it was very shocking to go and get married like that; very quietly owing to mourning in the bride’s family, funeral bake-meats scarcely cold, and so on. But, well, I think the truth is Elma is far more nervous than her self-command lets you see. I think she was altogether rattled by what happened here that night, and she felt she was in danger here; who could tell she would not be the next victim of this mysterious vendetta, or whatever it was? She wanted to get away from the place, and she wanted to have a man close to her, now that her uncle was gone, who would have a natural right to be her protector. There’s that about me, you see; I may not be worthy of Elma, but I’ve got the right format for a chucker-out. And I suppose that’s how she looked at it.”
“Yes, I see that. Now, may I ask you this?—did Admiral Penistone himself, when you last saw him, give you any idea of what had made him change his mind? Did he explain at all?”
“If you’d known him, you’d know that he wasn’t a man for explaining things. He was short and sharp in conversation—hated to waste a word. And that night, why, he hardly said more than ‘Good evening,’ and ‘Come this way, I’ve something to show you,’ and ‘There, will that make you any happier?’ Otherwise he just puffed at his pipe; that was his idea of conversation.”
“Ah, he was a great smoker, was he? Always the same pipe, I’ll be bound; your true smoker never uses more than one.”
“He wasn’t, then. Why, you can see for yourself how they’re scattered over the mantelpiece. If one wouldn’t draw, he’d take to another.”
“I wonder—do you think it possible that he had anything on his mind, and that was why he said so little? Of course, I’m anxious to find out whether the unfortunate gentleman knew at all what was coming to him. Did he look worried or tired, for example, when you saw him?”
“Not that I noticed. No, not that I noticed. Of course, when I saw him in the study the only lamp burning was that reading lamp just beside you, which has a thick, green shade over it, as you see; you don’t see much of a man’s face when he is standing up and the light is all being thrown on his desk. But if you ask me whether his tone of voice suggested excitement or worry, I’d say, No.”
“Well, Mr. Holland, I think I’ve asked you all that I wanted. Oh, except this—he wasn’t wearing an overcoat, was he, by any chance?”
“In his study? On a hot summer night? You might as well ask whether he was wearing chain armour.”
“I know it sounds unlikely, sir. But there it is—he was in a great-coat when he was found. And of course … by the way, Mr. Holland, when you thought you saw the Admiral outside your window, would he be wearing a great-coat then?”
“Now, what a fool one is about noticing things! I see him as in a great-coat now; but then, I know about the body … I feel as if he hadn’t had a great-coat on; but then, I may be arguing with myself; I may be saying to myself that I must have noticed it if it had been worn, on a hot night like that. If only my memory worked by eye! No, Inspector, you may put me in jug, but I should be misleading you if I tried to give you a plain answer to a plain question.”
“Well, thank you for what you have told me, sir. Now, about Mrs. Holland …”
“If you ask me, I expect Mrs. Holland will want her dinner. It