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Mollygavehimacuriousglance."Icouldbesorryforahomicidallunatic,"shesaid.
"CallinghimChristopher,too.SincewhenhaveyoubeenonChristian-nameterms?"
"OhGiles,don'tberidiculous.EveryonealwaysusesChristiannamesnowadays.Youknowtheydo."
"Evenafteracoupleofdays?Butperhapsit'smorethanthat.PerhapsyouknewMrChristopherWren,thephonyarchitect,beforehecamehere?Perhapsyousuggestedtohimthatheshouldcomehere?Perhapsyoucookeditallupbetweenyou?"
Mollystaredathim."Giles,haveyougoneoutofyourmind?Whatonearthareyousuggesting?"
"I'msuggestingthatChristopherWrenisanoldfriend,thatyou'reonratherclosertermswithhimthanyou'dlikemetoknow."
"Giles,youmustbecrazy!"
"Isupposeyou'llsticktoitthatyouneversawhimuntilhewalkedinhere.Ratheroddthatheshouldcomeandstayinanout-of-the-wayplacelikethis,isn't.i.t?"
"IsitanyodderthanthatMajorMetcalfand-andMrsBoyleshould?"
"Yes-Ithinkitis.I'vealwaysreadthatthesemurderingloonieshadapeculiarfascinationforwomen.Looksasthoughitweretrue.Howdidyougettoknowhim?Howlonghasthisbeengoingon?"
"You'rebeingabsolutelyabsurd,Giles.IneversawChristopherWrenuntilhearrivedhere."
"Youdidn'tgouptoLondontomeethimtwodaysagoandfixuptomeetherea.s.strangers?"
"Youknowperfectlywell,Giles,Ihaven'tbeenuptoLondonforweeks."
"Haven'tyou?That'sinteresting."Hefishedafur-linedgloveoutofhispocketandhelditout.
"That'soneoftheglovesyouwerewearingdaybeforeyesterday,isn't.i.t?ThedayIwasoveratSailhamgettingthenetting."
"ThedayyouwereoveratSailhamgettingthenetting,"saidMolly,eyinghimsteadily."Yes,IworethosegloveswhenIwentout."
"Youwenttothevillage,yousaid.Ifyouonlywenttothevillage,whatisthisdoinginsidethatglove?"
Accusingly,heheldoutapinkbusticket.
Therewasamoment'ssilence.
"YouwenttoLondon,"saidGiles.
"Allright,"saidMolly.Herchinshotup."IwenttoLondon."
"TomeetthischapChristopherWren."
"No,nottomeetChristopher."
"Thenwhydidyougo?"
"Justatthemoment,Giles,"saidMolly,"I'mnotgoingtotellyou."
"Meaningyou'llgiveyourselftimetothinkupagoodstory!"
"Ithink,"saidMolly,"thatIhateyou!"
"Idon'thateyou,"saidGilesslowly."ButIalmostwis.h.i.+did.Isimplyfeelthat-Idon'tknowyouanymore-Idon'tknowanythingaboutyou."
"Ifeelthesame,"saidMolly."You-you'rejustastranger.Amanwholiestome-"
"WhenhaveIeverliedtoyou?"
Mollylaughed."DoyouthinkIbelievedthatstoryofyoursaboutthewirenetting?YouwereinLondon,too,thatday."
"Isupposeyousawmethere,"saidGiles."Andyoudidn'ttrustmeenough-"
"Trustyou?I'llnevertrustanyone-ever-again."
Neitherofthemhadnoticedthesoftopeningofthekitchendoor.MrParavicinigavealittlecough.
"Soembarra.s.sing,"hemurmured."Idohopeyouyoungpeoplearenotbothsayingjustalittlemorethanyoumean.Oneissoapttointheselovers'quarrels."
"Lovers'quarrels,"saidGilesderisively."That'sgood."
"Quiteso,quiteso,"saidMrParavicini."Iknowjusthowyoufeel.IhavebeenthroughallthismyselfwhenIwasayoungerman.ButwhatIcametosaywasthattheinspectorpersonissimplyinsistingthatweshouldallcomeintothedrawing-room.Itappearsthathehasanidea."MrParavicinisn.i.g.g.e.redgently."Thepolicehaveaclue-yes,onehearsthatfrequently.Butanidea?Iverymuchdoubt.i.t.Azealousandpainstakingofficer,nodoubt,ourSergeantTrotter,butnot,Ithink,over-endowedwithbrains."
"Goon,Giles,"saidMolly."I'vegotthecookingtoseeto.SergeantTrottercandowithoutme."
"Talkingofcooking,"saidMrParavicini,skippingnimblyacrossthekitchentoMolly'sside,"haveyouevertriedchickenliversservedontoastthathasbeenthicklyspreadwithfoiegrasandaverythinrasherofbaconsmearedwithFrenchmustard?"
"Onedoesn'tseemuchfoiegrasnowadays,"saidGiles,"Comeon,Paravicini."
"ShallIstayanda.s.sistyou,dearlady?"
"Youcomealongtothedrawing-room,Paravicini,"saidGiles.
MrParavicinilaughedsoftly.
"Yourhusbandisafraidforyou.Quitenatural.Hedoesn'tfancytheideaofleavingyoualonewithme.Itismys.a.d.i.s.tictendencieshefears-notmydishonorableones.Iyieldtoforce."Hebowedgracefullyandkissedthetipsofhisfingers.
Mollysaiduncomfortably,"Oh,MrParavicini,I'msure-"
MrParavicinishookhishead.HesaidtoGiles,"You'reverywise,youngman.Takenochances.CanIprovetoyou-ortotheinspectorforthatmatter-thatIamnotahomicidalmaniac?No,Icannot.Negativesaresuchdifficultthingstoprove."
Hehummedcheerfully.
Mollyflinched."PleaseMrParavicini-notthathorribletune."
"'ThreeBlindMice'-soitwas!Thetunehasgotintomyhead.NowIcometothinkofit,itisagruesomelittlerhyme.Notanicelittlerhymeatall.Butchildrenlikegruesomethings.Youmayhavenoticedthat?ThatrhymeisveryEnglish-thebucolic,cruelEnglishcountryside.'Shecutofftheirtailswithacarving-knife.'Ofcourseachildwouldlovethat-Icouldtellyouthingsaboutchildren-"
"Pleasedon't,"saidMollyfaintly,"Ithinkyou'recruel,too."Hervoicerosehysterically."Youlaughandsmile-you'relikeacatplayingwithamouse-playing-"
Shebegantolaugh.
"Steady,Molly,"saidGiles."Comealong,we'llallgointothedrawing-roomtogether.Trotterwillbegettingimpatient.Nevermindthecooking.Murderismoreimportantthanfood."
"I'mnotsurethatIagreewithyou,"saidMrParaviciniashefollowedthemwithlittleskippingsteps."Thecondemnedmanateaheartybreakfast-that'swhattheyalwayssay."
ChristopherWrenjoinedtheminthehallandreceivedascowlfromGiles.HelookedatMollywithaquick,anxiousglance,butMolly,herheadheldhigh,walkedlookingstraightaheadofher.Theymarchedalmostlikeaprocessiontothedrawing-roomdoor.MrParavicinibroughtuptherearwithhislittleskippingsteps.
SergeantTrotterandMajorMetcalfwerestandingwaitinginthedrawing-room.Themajorwaslookingsulky.SergeantTrotterwaslookingflushedandenergetic.
"That'sright,"hesaid,astheyentered."Iwantedyoualltogether.Iwanttomakeacertainexperiment-andforthatIshallrequireyourco-operation."
"Willittakelong?"Mollyasked."I'mratherbusyinthekitchen.Afterall,we'vegottohaveamealsometime."
"Yes,"saidTrotter."Iappreciatethat,MrsDavis.But,ifyou'llexcuseme,therearemoreimportantthingsthanmeals!MrsBoyle,forinstance,won'tneedanothermeal."
"Really,Sergeant,"saidMajorMetcalf,"that'sanextraordinarilytactlesswayofputtingthings."
"I'msorry,MajorMetcalf,butIwanteveryonetocooperateinthis."
"Haveyoufoundyourskis,SergeantTrotter?"askedMolly.
Theyoungmanreddened."No,Ihavenot,MrsDavis.ButImaysayIhaveaveryshrewdsuspicionwhotookthem.Andofwhytheyweretaken.Iwon'tsayanymoreatpresent."
"Pleasedon't,"beggedMrParavicini."Ialwaysthinkexplanationsshouldbekepttotheveryend-thatexcitinglastchapter,youknow."
"Thisisn'tagame,sir."
"Isn't.i.t?NowthereIthinkyou'rewrong.Ithinkitisagame-tosomebody."
"Themurdererisenjoyinghimself,"murmuredMollysoftly.
Theotherslookedatherinastonishment.Sheflushed.
"I'monlyquotingwhatSergeantTrottersaidtome."
SergeantTrotterdidnotlooktoopleased."It'sallverywell,MrParavicini,mentioninglastchaptersandspeakingasthoughthiswasamysterythriller,"hesaid."Thisisreal.Thisishappening."
"Solong,"saidChristopherWren,fingeringhisneckgingerly,"asitdoesn'thappentome."
"Now,then,"saidMajorMetcalf."Noneofthat,youngfellow.Thesergeanthereisgoingtotellusjustwhathewantsustodo."
SergeantTrotterclearedhisthroat.Hisvoicebecameofficial.
"Itookcertainstatementsfromyouallashorttimeago,"hesaid."ThosestatementsrelatedtoyourpositionsatthetimewhenthemurderofMrsBoyleoccurred.MrWrenandMrDaviswereintheirseparatebedrooms.MrsDaviswasinthekitchen.MajorMetcalfwasinthecellar.MrParaviciniwashereinthisroom-"
Hepausedandthenwenton.
"Thosearethestatementsyoumade.Ihavenomeansofcheckingthosestatements.Theymaybetrue-theymaynot.Toput.i.tquiteclearly-fourofthosestatementsaretrue-butoneofthemisfalse.Whichone?"
Helookedfromfacetoface.n.o.bodyspoke.
"Fourofyouarespeakingthetruth-oneislying.Ihaveaplanthatmayhelpmetodiscovertheliar.AndifIdiscoverthatoneofyouliedtome-thenIknowwhothemurdereris."
Gilessaidsharply,"Notnecessarily.Someonemighthavelied-forsomeotherreason."
"Iratherdoubtthat,MrDavis."
"Butwhat'stheidea,man?You'vejustsaidyou'venomeansofcheckingthesestatements?"
"No,butsupposingeveryonewastogothroughthesemovementsasecondtime."
"Bah,"saidMajorMetcalfdisparagingly."Reconstructionofthecrime.Foreignidea."
"Notareconstructionofthecrime,MajorMetcalf.Areconstructionofthemovementsofapparentlyinnocentpersons."
"Andwhatdoyouexpecttolearnfromthat?"
"YouwillforgivemeifIdon'tmakethatclearjustatthemoment."
"Youwant,"askedMolly,"arepeatperformance?"
"Moreorless,MrsDavis."
Therewasasilence.Itwas,somehow,anuneasysilence.
It'satrap,thoughtMolly.It'satrap-butIdon'tseehow- Youmighthavethoughtthattherewerefiveguiltypeopleintheroom,insteadofoneguiltyandfourinnocentones.Oneandallcastdoubtfulsidewaysglancesatthea.s.sured,smilingyoungmanwhoproposedthisinnocent-soundingmaneuver.
Christopherburstoutshrilly,"ButIdon'tsee-Isimplycan'tsee-whatyoucanpossiblyhopetofindout-justbymakingpeopledothesamethingtheydidbefore.Itseemstomejustnonsense!"
"Doesit,MrWren?"
"Ofcourse,"saidGilesslowly,"whatyousaygoes,Sergeant.We'llco-operate.Arewealltodoexactlywhatwedidbefore?"
"Thesameactionswillbeperformed,yes."
AfaintambiguityinthephrasemadeMajorMetcalflookupsharply.
SergeantTrotterwenton.
"MrParavicinihastoldusthathesatatthepianoandplayedacertaintune.Perhaps,MrParavicini,youwouldkindlyshowus.e.xactlywhatyoudiddo?"
"Butcertainly,mydea.r.s.ergeant."
MrParaviciniskippednimblyacrosstheroomtothegrandpianoandsettledhimselfonthemusicstool.
"Themaestroatthepianowillplaythesignaturetunetoamurder,"hesaidwithaflourish.
Hegrinned,andwithelaboratemannerismshepickedoutwithonefingerthetuneof"ThreeBlindMice."
