Страница 37 из 55
“Why did you come?”
“Miss A
“Thank you, I would rather stand. Why did you come here?”
“I wished to see you.”
“Well, I’m here. What do you want?”
There was no pretence that this was an ordinary conversation. Look and voice were keyed to some desperate strain. Miss Silver said gently,
“I have felt obliged to come. I had no wish to do so, but I believe the police to be on the verge of arresting Mrs. Maybury. If it is possible to prevent this, it is my duty to do so.”
Darsie A
“Why should they arrest her?”
“I ca
“Then why should she not be arrested? If she did it-”
“I do not believe that she did it. I believe that you may have evidence which could help to clear the matter up.”
“I have no evidence.”
“Miss A
“I have no evidence, I tell you.”
There was a pause. Miss Silver looked at her compassionately. At last she said,
“It is no use, Miss A
“You?”
Miss Silver made a slight inclination of the head.
‘The night, as you will remember, was extremely warm. I found myself unable to sleep. I got up and sat by the open window. There was a breeze from the sea which I found refreshing, and the view over the dark bay with the star-lit sky above it most uplifting. I was enjoying the prospect, when I heard footsteps coming up the garden. There was first the sound of a gate being closed or latched, and I was then aware that two persons had entered the garden by way of the gate from the cliff, and that they were now approaching the house. A moment later I heard your mother speak, and I heard you answer her. You were then immediately below my window, and I heard every word distinctly. Your mother said, ‘People who do wrong should be punished. I always said he would be punished some day.’ And you said, ‘Mother, for God’s sake, hush!’ ”
There was a pause. At the end of it Darsie A
“Well?”
“You passed on and came in by the glass door to the drawing-room. I heard you both come upstairs. I could not fail to be aware that Mrs. A
“I suppose you listened!”
Miss Silver looked extremely shocked.
“I hope you do not suppose anything of the kind, Miss A
“My mother was restless-you have said so. She wandered out into the garden, and she did not wish to come in. When she is in one of these moods she talks-at random. Her mind goes back into the past. What she says often has no co
“But that is not always the case. What I heard Mrs. A
Darsie A
“What rubbish!”
“I think not. It was in just such terms that Mrs. A
“And what business was it of yours to question her?”
“I had none then. And I can assure you that I did not do so. She spoke of his being wicked and deserving of punishment, and I endeavoured to turn her thoughts into pleasanter cha
Darsie A
“What do you mean by then-you had no business then? What business have you now-or what business do you think you have?”
When Miss A
“Pray, will you not sit down? It will be best if we can talk this over quietly.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“But you asked me a question, did you not?”
With an impatient movement Darsie A
“What do you want to say?”
Miss Silver had seated herself also. She spoke in a grave, steady voice.
“Just this, Miss A
Through the rushing sound that was in her ears Darsie said,
“Then I have nothing to say to you.”
Miss Silver coughed.
“You will, I think, be well advised if you will listen to me. I have spoken to no one of what I heard from my window on Wednesday night, but I do not think that I can preserve this silence to the point of allowing Mrs. Maybury to be arrested.”
Darsie A
“Pippa Maybury?”
“There is a case against her. She had an appointment with Alan Field in the beach hut at a little after midnight. He was blackmailing her, and she was to bring him her pearls. She states that she kept the appointment, but found him lying there dead. You must see that any evidence-any evidence at all-which corroborates her statement, or which serves to narrow down the time at which the murder must have taken place, is of such grave importance that it is not possible to neglect it.”
“Blackmail-” The word was barely audible. And then, with the extreme of bitterness, “Why not?”
Miss Silver said,
“You will see that I can no longer undertake to be silent. I must tell you that the police already know from Marie Bo
“Marie!”
“It was on the Tuesday. She was passing through the hall when my niece opened the door. They both heard what you said, and if called upon to do so, Ethel will be obliged to corroborate Marie Bo
Darsie A
“There is no question of either of us being out on the cliff. It was a hot night, and my mother went into the garden for a breath of air. She often sits up late in her room, and when she found she could not sleep she went into the garden. I heard her, and I went after her to persuade her to come back. You are making a mountain out of a molehill. Now will you please go.”
Miss Silver’s small neat features were composed and stern.
“In a moment, Miss A