They do it with mirrors - Agatha Christie [30]
‘No. No, he didn’t.’
‘Surely that was rather odd — if he had waited on at inconvenience to himself to see Mr Serrocold?’
‘Yes, it was odd.’
The oddness of it seemed to strike Miss Bellever for the first time.
‘Mr Serrocold did not accompany him to his room?’
‘No. Mr Serrocold remained in the Hall.’
‘And you have no idea at what time Mr Gulbrandsen was killed?’
‘I think it is possible that we heard the shot. If so, it was at twenty-three minutes past nine.’
‘You heard a shot? And it did not alarm you?’
‘The circumstances were peculiar.’
She explained in rather more detail the scene between Lewis Serrocold and Edgar Lawson which had been in progress.
‘So it occurred to no one that the shot might actually have come from within the house?’
‘No. No, I certainly don’t think so. We were all so relieved, you know, that the shot didn’t come from in here.’
Miss Bellever added rather grimly:
‘You don’t expect murder and attempted murder in the same house on the same night.’
Inspector Curry acknowledged the truth of that.
‘All the same,’ said Miss Bellever, suddenly, ‘you know, I believe that’s what made me go along to Mr Gulbrandsen’s room later. I did mean to ask him if he would like anything, but it was a kind of excuse to reassure myself that everything was all right.’
Inspector Curry stared at her for a moment.
‘What made you think it mightn’t be all right?’
‘I don’t know. I think it was the shot outside. It hadn’t meant anything at the time. But afterwards it came back into my mind. I told myself that it was only a backfire from Mr Restarick’s car — ’
‘Mr Restarick’s car?’
‘Yes. Alex Restarick. He arrived by car this evening — he arrived just after all this happened.’
‘I see. When you discovered Mr Gulbrandsen’s body, did you touch anything in the room?’
‘Of course not.’ Miss Bellever sounded reproachful. ‘Naturally I knew that nothing must be touched or moved. Mr Gulbrandsen had been shot through the head but there was no firearm to be seen, so I knew it was murder.’
‘And just now, when you took us into the room, everything was exactly as it had been when you found the body?’
Miss Bellever considered. She sat back screwing up her eyes. She had Inspector Curry thought, one of those photographic memories.
‘One thing was different,’ she said. ‘There was nothing in the typewriter.’
‘You mean,’ said Inspector Curry, ‘that when you first went in Mr Gulbrandsen had been writing a letter on the typewriter, and that that letter had since been removed?’
‘Yes, I’m almost sure that I saw the white edge of the paper sticking up.’
‘Thank you, Miss Bellever. Who else went into that room before we arrived?’
‘Mr Serrocold, of course. He remained there when I came to meet you. And Mrs Serrocold and Miss Marple went there. Mrs Serrocold insisted.’
‘Mrs Serrocold and Miss Marple,’ said Inspector Curry. ‘Which is Miss Marple?’
‘The old lady with white hair. She was a school friend of Mrs Serrocold’s. She came on a visit about four days ago.’
‘Well, thank you, Miss Bellever. All that you have told us is quite clear. I’ll go into things with Mr Serrocold now. Ah, but perhaps — Miss Marple’s an old lady, isn’t she? I’ll just have a word with her first and then she can go off to bed. Rather cruel to keep an old lady like that up,’ said Inspector Curry virtuously. ‘This must have been a shock to her.’
‘I’ll tell her, shall I?’
‘If you please.’
Miss Bellever went out. Inspector Curry looked at the ceiling.
‘Gulbrandsen?’ he said. ‘Why Gulbrandsen? Two hundred odd maladjusted youngsters on the premises. No reason any of them shouldn’t have done it. Probably one of them did. But why Gulbrandsen? The stranger within the gates.’
Sergeant Lake said: ‘Of course we don’t know everything yet.’
Inspector Curry said:
‘So far, we don’t know anything at all.’
He jumped up and was gallant when Miss Marple came in. She seemed a little flustered and he hurried to put her at her ease.
‘Now don’t upset yourself, m’am.’ The old ones like M’am, he thought. To them, police officers were definitely of the lower classes