The Mirror Crack'd - Agatha Christie [75]
‘Somebody else has been killed,’ said Miss Marple, ‘is that it?’
‘Oh, that’s very sharp of you, dear. I don’t know what should put such a thing into your head.’
‘As a matter of fact,’ said Miss Marple thoughtfully, ‘I’ve been expecting it.’
‘Oh, really!’ exclaimed Miss Knight.
‘Somebody always sees something,’ said Miss Marple, ‘only sometimes it takes a little while for them to realize what it is they have seen. Who is it who’s dead?’
‘The Italian butler. He was shot last night.’
‘I see,’ said Miss Marple thoughtfully. ‘Yes, very likely, of course, but I should have thought that he’d have realized before now the importance of what he saw —’
‘Really!’ exclaimed Miss Knight. ‘You talk as though you knew all about it. Why should he have been killed?’
‘I expect,’ said Miss Marple, thoughtfully, ‘that he tried to blackmail somebody.’
‘He went to London yesterday, they say.’
‘Did he now,’ said Miss Marple, ‘that’s very interesting, and suggestive too, I think.’
Miss Knight departed to the kitchen intent on the concoction of nourishing beverages. Miss Marple remained sitting thoughtfully till disturbed by the loud aggressive humming of the vacuum cleaner, assisted by Cherry’s voice singing the latest favourite ditty of the moment, ‘I Said to You and You Said to Me’.
Miss Knight popped her head round the kitchen door.
‘Not quite so much noise, please, Cherry,’ she said. ‘You don’t want to disturb Miss Marple, do you? You mustn’t be thoughtless, you know.’
She shut the kitchen door again as Cherry remarked, either to herself or the world at large, ‘And who said you could call me Cherry, you old jelly-bag?’ The vacuum continued to whine while Cherry sang in a more subdued voice. Miss Marple called in a high clear voice:
‘Cherry, come here a minute.’
Cherry switched off the vacuum and opened the drawing-room door.
‘I didn’t mean to disturb you by singing, Miss Marple.’
‘Your singing is much pleasanter than the horrid noise that vacuum makes,’ said Miss Marple, ‘but I know one has to go with the times. It would be no use on earth asking any of you young people to use the dustpan and brush in the old-fashioned way.’
‘What, get down on my knees with a dustpan and brush?’ Cherry registered alarm and surprise.
‘Quite unheard of, I know,’ said Miss Marple. ‘Come in and shut the door. I called you because I wanted to talk to you.’
Cherry obeyed and came towards Miss Marple looking inquiringly at her.
‘We’ve not much time,’ said Miss Marple. ‘That old — Miss Knight I mean — will come in any moment with an egg drink of some kind.’
‘Good for you, I expect. It’ll pep you up,’ said Cherry encouragingly.
‘Had you heard,’ asked Miss Marple, ‘that the butler at Gossington Hall was shot last night?’
‘What, the wop?’ demanded Cherry.
‘Yes. His name is Giuseppe, I understand.’
‘No,’ said Cherry, ‘I hadn’t heard that. I heard that Mr Rudd’s secretary had a heart attack yesterday, and somebody said she was actually dead — but I suspect that was just a rumour. Who told you about the butler?’
‘Miss Knight came back and told me.’
‘Of course I haven’t seen anyone to speak to this morning,’ said Cherry, ‘not before coming along here. I expect the news has only just got round. Was he bumped off?’ she demanded.
‘That seems to be assumed,’ said Miss Marple, ‘whether rightly or wrongly I don’t quite know.’
‘This is a wonderful place for talk,’ said Cherry. ‘I wonder if Gladys got to see him or not,’ she added thoughtfully.
‘Gladys?’
‘Oh, a sort of friend of mine. She lives a few doors away. Works in the canteen at the studios.’
‘And she talked to you about Giuseppe?’
‘Well, there was something that struck her as a bit funny and she was going to ask him what he thought about it. But if you ask me it was just an excuse — she’s a bit sweet on him. Of course he’s quite handsome and Italians do have a way with them — I told her to be careful about him, though. You know what Italians are.’
‘He