The Mystery of Sinister Scarecrow - M. V. Carey [13]
“It fell on you?” prompted Jupe.
She nodded. “It was terrible. He was so dirty. He must have been sitting on that fence for a million years. He broke apart when he fell, and there were spiders in him—
nests of spiders. They ran across my face and got in my hair. Ugh! I hate to think of it, even today.”
“Hramm,” said Jupiter. “So you are extraordinarily afraid of scarecrows — and spiders!”
“I don’t like any kind of bugs,” said Letitia. She looked around with distaste, suddenly aware she was in Woolley’s lab.
“I can see why you aren’t happy to have me around,” said Woolley. “But believe me, I wouldn’t do anything to upset you. Why should I, for heaven’s sake? What would I have to gain?”
“What would anyone have to gain?” asked Letitia. “I’m not in anyone’s way. I don’t hurt anyone. I’m just trying to live quietly here in the house that’s really my home — and I can’t! I’m being driven mad by a scarecrow!”
She appeared to be on the point of tears again. Jupiter spoke up quickly. “Miss Radford, let’s be logical. Whoever is plaguing you must know that you have a particular aversion to scarecrows. How many people know this?”
Letitia fingered one of her gold earrings and thought a moment. “It isn’t a great secret,” she said. “Any number of people could know. Mrs. Chumley knows, of course. She was with us the day that . . . that thing fell on me. She saw the spiders.
But thinking Mrs. Chumley is the scarecrow is silly! She’s always been kind to me.
And even if she wanted to scare me, she couldn’t. She hasn’t left that wheelchair for five years except to go to bed. And then she has to be helped.”
“How about Burroughs and his wife?” asked Jupiter. “Did they know before the harassment began?”
“I … I guess they could have. Right after I arrived home, I was watching TV in the living room with Mrs. Chumley, and The Wizard of Oz came on. I had to switch channels. I can’t bear to watch that movie even though the scarecrow is Ray Bolger. I remember Burroughs was there when the picture came on. I said something to Mrs.
Chumley about how I still didn’t like scarecrows. She may have said something to Burroughs later about what had happened when I was a child.”
“She told me,” said Woolley. “She said she thought it was a shame that you were still upset by The Wizard of Oz.”
“Gerhart Malz was there that day, too,” added Letitia. “I remember now. He comes to visit Mrs. Chumley pretty often, so he could know about my fear, too.”
“And all of this took place before you saw the scarecrow for the first time?” asked Jupe.
“Yes. It was the first week I was home. I was just trying to relax and not worry about too many things. I’d had some trouble in Europe.”
She stopped, and Jupe thought of the broken engagement. He wondered how old Letitia Radford was. There were lines around her mouth, and a weariness in her eyes.
She was no longer young, and she seemed chronically unhappy.
“It was a few days after the TV show that I got into the car one evening to go for a drive down along the coast,” she went on. “He … it … was in the back seat. It gave a horrid sort of gurgling laugh and stood up. I’ve got a convertible, so it could move without any trouble. It flung out its arms and … and all of a sudden there were bugs in my hair and on my lap. Not ants. You know those nasty bugs that you find when you turn over rocks? They’re black and they’re about an inch long and they’re like little armored tanks.
“I screamed, and the scarecrow jumped out of the car. And by the time Burroughs and his wife ran out onto the porch, it was gone!’’
“Gee, that’s an awful thing to
happen!” exclaimed Pete.
“Yes, it was.”
“So the scarecrow obviously knew
about your twin fears,” said Jupe.
“He could have learned about it from
anyone in your household or perhaps
from Gerhard Malz. Tell me about