The Mirror Crack'd - Agatha Christie [26]
‘By Miss Marina Gregg herself. Her husband was with her. I’ve forgotten his name now.’
‘Jason Rudd,’ said Inspector Cornish.
‘Oh, yes, not that I noticed him at first. Well, anyway, Miss Gregg greeted Heather very nicely and seemed very pleased to see her, and Heather was talking and telling a story of how she’d once met Miss Gregg years ago in the West Indies and everything seemed as right as rain.’
‘Everything seemed as right as rain,’ echoed the inspector. ‘And then?’
‘And then Miss Gregg said what would we have? And Miss Gregg’s husband, Mr Rudd, got Heather a kind of cocktail, a dickery or something like that.’
‘A daiquiri.’
‘That’s right, sir. He brought two. One for her and one for Miss Gregg.’
‘And you, what did you have?’
‘I had a sherry.’
‘I see. And you three stood there drinking together?’
‘Well, not quite like that. You see there were more people coming up the stairs. There was the mayor, for one, and some other people — an American gentleman and lady, I think — so we moved off a bit.’
‘And your wife drank her daiquiri then?’
‘Well, no, not then, she didn’t.’
‘Well, if she didn’t drink it then, when did she drink it?’
Arthur Badcock stood frowning in remembrance. ‘I think — she set it down on one of the tables. She saw some friends there. I think it was someone to do with the St John Ambulance who’d driven over there from Much Benham or somewhere like that. Anyway they got to talking together.’
‘And when did she drink her drink?’
Arthur Badcock again frowned. ‘It was a little after that,’ he said. ‘It was getting rather more crowded by then. Somebody jogged Heather’s elbow and her glass got spilt.’
‘What’s that?’ Inspector Cornish looked up sharply. ‘Her glass was spilt?’
‘Yes, that’s how I remember it…She’d picked it up and I think she took a little sip and made rather a face. She didn’t really like cocktails, you know, but all the same she wasn’t going to be downed by that. Anyway, as she stood there, somebody jogged her elbow and the glass spilled over. It went down her dress and I think it went on Miss Gregg’s dress too. Miss Gregg couldn’t have been nicer. She said it didn’t matter at all and it would make no stain and she gave Heather her handkerchief to wipe up Heather’s dress, and then she passed over the drink she was holding and said, “Have this, I haven’t touched it yet.” ’
‘She handed over her own drink, did she?’ said the inspector. ‘You’re quite sure of that?’
Arthur Badcock paused a moment while he thought. ‘Yes, I’m quite sure of that,’ he said.
‘And your wife took the drink?’
‘Well, she didn’t want to at first, sir. She said “Oh no, I couldn’t do that” and Miss Gregg laughed and said, “I’ve had far too much to drink already.” ’
‘And so your wife took that glass and did what with it?’
‘She turned away a little and drank it, rather quickly, I think. And then we walked a little way along the corridor looking at some of the pictures and the curtains. Lovely curtain stuff it was, like nothing we’d seen before. Then I met a pal of mine, Councillor Allcock, and I was just passing the time of day with him when I looked round and saw Heather was sitting on a chair looking rather odd, so I came to her and said, “What’s the matter?” She said she felt a little queer.’
‘What kind of queerness?’
‘I don’t know, sir. I didn’t have time. Her voice sounded very queer and thick and her head was rolling a little. All of a sudden she made a great half gasp and her head fell forward. She was dead, sir, dead.’
Chapter 8
I
‘St Mary Mead, you say?’ Chief-Inspector Craddock looked up sharply.
The assistant commissioner was a little surprised.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘St Mary Mead. Why? Does it —’
‘Nothing really,’ said Dermot Craddock.
‘It’s quite a small place, I understand,’ went on the other. ‘Though of course there’s a great deal of building development going on there now. Practically all the way from St Mary Mead to Much Benham, I understand. Hellingforth Studios,’ he added, ‘are on the other side of St Mary Mead, towards Market Basing.’ He was