The Sittaford Mystery - Agatha Christie [56]
Charles departed immediately.
‘It’s a great surprise meeting you here, Miss Trefusis,’ said Inspector Narracott.
‘I said au revoir,’ Emily reminded him.
‘I didn’t notice it at the time.’
‘You’ve not seen the last of me by a long way,’ said Emily candidly. ‘You know, Inspector Narracott, you’ve made a mistake. Jim’s not the man you’re after.’
‘Indeed!’
‘And what’s more,’ said Emily, ‘I believe in your heart that you agree with me.’
‘What makes you think that, Miss Trefusis?’
‘What were you doing in Mr Duke’s cottage?’ retaliated Emily.
Narracott looked embarrassed, and she was quick to follow it up.
‘You’re doubtful, Inspector—that’s what you are— doubtful. You thought you had got the right man and now you are not so sure, and so you are making a few investigations. Well, I have got something to tell you that may help. I’ll tell it to you on the way to Exhampton.’
Footsteps sounded down the road, and Ronnie Garfield appeared. He had the air of a truant, breathless and guilty.
‘I say, Miss Trefusis,’ he began. ‘What about a walk this afternoon? While my aunt has a nap, you know.’
‘Impossible,’ said Emily. ‘I’m going away. To Exeter.’
‘What, not really! For good you mean?’
‘Oh, no,’ said Emily. ‘I shall be back again tomorrow.’
‘Oh, that’s splendid.’
Emily took something from the pocket of her sweater and handed it to him. ‘Give that to your aunt, will you? It’s a recipe for coffee cake, and tell her that she was just in time, the cook is leaving today and so are the other servants. Be sure to tell her, she will be interested.’
A far-off scream was borne on the breeze. ‘Ronnie,’ it said, ‘Ronnie, Ronnie.’
‘There’s my aunt,’ said Ronnie starting nervously. ‘I had better go.’
‘I think you had,’ said Emily. ‘You’ve got green paint on your left cheek,’ she called after him. Ronnie Garfield disappeared through his aunt’s gate.
‘Here’s my boy friend with my suitcase,’ said Emily. ‘Come on, Inspector. I’ll tell you everything in the car.’
Chapter 20
Visit to Aunt Jennifer
At half past two Dr Warren received a call from Emily. He took an immediate fancy to this business-like and attractive girl. Her questions were blunt and to the point.
‘Yes, Miss Trefusis, I see exactly what you mean. You’ll understand that contrary to the popular belief in novels it is extremely difficult to fix the time of death accurately. I saw the body at eight o’clock. I can say decidedly that Captain Trevelyan had been dead at least two hours. How much longer than that would be difficult to say. If you were to tell me that he was killed at four o’clock, I should say that it was possible, though my own opinion inclines to a later time. On the other hand he could certainly not have been dead for much longer than that. Four and a half hours would be the outside limit.’
‘Thank you,’ said Emily, ‘that’s all I wanted to know.’
She caught the three ten train at the station and drove straight to the hotel where Mr Dacres was staying.
Their interview was business-like and unemotional. Mr Dacres had known Emily since she was a small child and had managed her affairs for her since she came of age.
‘You must prepare yourself for a shock, Emily,’ he said. ‘Things are much worse for Jim Pearson than we imagined.’
‘Worse?’
‘Yes. It’s no good beating about the bush. Certain facts have come to light which are bound to show him up in a most unfavourable light. It is those facts which led the police actually to charge him with the crime. I should not be acting in your interests if I withheld these facts from you.’
‘Please tell me,’ said Emily.
Her voice was perfectly calm and composed. Whatever the inward shock she might have felt, she had no intention of making an outward display of her feelings. It was not feelings that were going to help Jim Pearson, it was brains. She must keep all her wits about her.
‘There is no doubt that he was in urgent and immediate need of money. I am not going to enter into the ethics of the situation at the moment. Pearson had apparently before now occasionally borrowed