They Do It With Mirrors - Christie Agatha - Страница 21

'There is something I have not told you. My coming here was not entirely fortuitous. If you will let me explain - I'm afraid I tell things so badly. Please have patience.' Lewis Serrocold listened whilst Miss Marple told him of Ruth's unease and urgency.

'Extraordinary,' he commented. 'I had no idea of this.' 'It was all so vague,' said Miss Marple. 'Ruth herself didn't know why she had this feeling. There must be a reason - in my experience there always is - but "something wrong" was as near as she could get.'

Lewis Serrocold said grimly: 'Well, it seems that she was right. Now, Miss Marple, you see how I am placed. Am I to tell Carrie Louise of this?' Miss Marple said quickly: 'Oh no,' in a distressed voice, and then flushed and stared doubtfully at Lewis.

He nodded.

'So you feel as I do? As Christian Gulbrandsen did.

Should we feel like that with an ordinary woman?' 'Carrie Louise is not an ordinary woman. She lives by her trust, by her belief in human nature - oh dear, I am expressing myself very badly. But I do feel that until we know who ' 'Yes, that is the crux. But you do see, Miss Marple, that there is a risk in saying nothing ' 'And so you want me to - how shall I put it? - watch over her?' 'You see, you are the only person whom I can trust,' said Lewis Serrocold simply. 'Everyone here seems devoted. But are they? Now your attachment goes back many years.' 'And also I only arrived a few days ago,' said Miss Marple pertinently.

Lewis Serrocold smiled.

'Exactly.' 'It is a very mercenary question,' said Miss Marple apologetically. 'But who exactly would benefit if dear Carrie Louise were to die?' 'Money!' said Lewis bitterly. 'It always boils down to money, doesn't it?' 'Well, I really think it must be in this case. Because Carrie Louise is a very sweet person with a great deal of charm, and one cannot really imagine anyone disliking her. She couldn't, I mean, have an enemy. So then it does boil down, as you put it, to a question of money, because as you don't need me to tell you, Mr Serrocold, people will quite often do anything for money.' 'I suppose so, yes.' He went on: 'Naturally Inspector Curry has already taken up that point. Mr Gilfoy is coming down from London today and can give detailed information. Gilfoy, Gilfoy, Jaimes and Gilfoy are a very eminent firm of lawyers. This Gilfoy's father was one of the original trustees, and they drew up both Caroline's will and the original will of Eric Gulbrandsen. I will put it in simple terms for you ' 'Thank you,' said Miss Marple gratefully. 'So mystifying the law, I always think.' 'Eric Gulbrandsen, after endowment of the College and various fellowships and trusts and other charitable bequests, and having settled an equal sum on his daughter Mildred and on his adopted daughter Pippa (Gina's mother), left the remainder of his vast fortune in trust, the income from it to be paid to Caroline for her lifetime.' 'And after her death?' 'After her death it was to be divided equally between Mildred and Pippa - or their children if they themselves had predeceased Caroline.' 'So that in fact it goes to Mrs Strete and to Gina.' 'Yes. Caroline has also quite a considerable fortune of her own - though not in the Gulbrandsen class. Half of this she made over to me four years ago. Of the remaining amount, she left ten thousand pounds to Juliet Believer, and the rest equally divided between Alex and Stephen Restarick, her two stepsons.'

'Oh dear,' said Miss Marple. 'That's bad. That's very bad.'

'You mean?'

'It means everyone in the house had a financial motive.'

'Yes. And yet, you know, I can't believe that any of these people would do murder. I simply can't… Mildred is her daughter - and already quite well provided for.

Gina is devoted to her grandmother. She is generous and extravagant, but has no acquisitive feelings. Jolly Bellever is fanatically devoted to Caroline. The two Restaricks care for Caroline as though she were really their mother.

They have no money of their own to speak of, but quite a lot of Caroline's income has gone towards financing their enterprises - especially so with Alex. I simply can't believe either of those two would deliberately poison her for the sake of inheriting money at her death. I just can't · believe any of it, Miss Marple.'

'There's Gina's husband, isn't there?'

'Yes,' said Lewis gravely. 'There is Gina's husband.'

'You don't really know much about him. And one can't help seeing that he's a very unhappy young man.' Lewis sighed.

'He hasn't fitted in here - no. He's no interest in or sympathy for what we're trying to do. But after all, why should he? He's young, crude, and he comes from a country where a man is esteemed by the success he makes of life.'

'Whilst here we are so very fond of failures,' said Miss Marpl'e.'

Lewis Serrocold looked at her sharply and suspiciously.

She flushed a little and murmured rather incoherently: 'I think sometimes, you know, one can overdo things the other way… I mean the young people with a good heredity, and brought up wisely in a good home - and with grit and pluck and the ability to get on in life - well, they are really, when one comes down to it - the sort of people a country needs.' Lewis frowned and Miss Marple hurried on, getting pinker and pinker and more and more incoherent.

'Not that I don't appreciate - I do indeed - you and Carrie Louise - a really noble work - real compassion and one should have compassion - because after all it's what people are that counts - good and bad luck - and much more expected (and rightly) of the lucky ones. But I do think sometimes one's sense of proportion - oh, I don't meanyou, Mr Serrocold. Really I don't know what I mean - but the English are rather odd that way. Even in war, so much prouder of their defeats and their retreats than of their victories. Foreigners never can understand why we're so proud of Dunkirk. It's the sort of thing they'd prefer not to mention themselves. But we always seem to be almost embarrassed by a victory - and treat it as though it weren't quite nice to boast about it. And look at all our poets! The Charge of the Light Brigade, and the little Revenge went down in the Spanish Main. It's really a very odd characteristic when you come to think of it!' Miss Marple drew a fresh breath.

'What I really mean is that everything here must seem rather peculiar to young Walter Hudd.' 'Yes,' Lewis allowed. 'I see your point. And Walter has certainly a fine war record. There's no doubt about his bravery.' 'Not that that helps,' said Miss Marple candidly.

'Because war is one thing, and everyday life is quite another. And actually to commit a murder, I think you do need bravery - or perhaps, more often, just conceit. Yes, conceit.' 'But I would hardly say that Walter Hudd had a sufficient motive.' 'Wouldn't you?' said Miss Marple. 'He hates it here.

He wants to get away. He wants to get Gina away. And if it's really money he wants, it would be important for Gina to get all the money before she - er - definitely forms an attachment to someone else.' 'An attachment to someone else,' said Lewis, in an astonished voice.

Miss Marple wondered at the blindness of enthusiastic social reformers.

'That's what I said. BOth the Restaricks are in love with her, you know.' 'Oh, I don't think so,' said Lewis absently.

He went on: 'Stephen's invaluable to us - quite invaluable. The way he's got those lads coming along - keen - interested. They gave a splendid show last month. Scenery, costumes, everything. It just shows, as I've always said to Maverick, that it's lack of drama in their lives that leads these boys to crime. To dramatize yourself is a child's natural instinct. Ma.erick says - ah yes, Maverick -' Lewis broke off.

'I want Maverick to see Inspector Curry about Edgar.

The whole thing is so ridiculous really.' 'What do you really know about Edgar Lawson, Mr Serrocold?' 'Everything,' said Lewis positively. 'Everything, that is, that one needs to know. His background, upbringing - his deep-seated lack of confidence in himself '