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.Things seem to go on much as usual, and you talk and eat and get on with your everyday life, because there’s nothing else to be done about it; but it’s all in your mind, and it’s rather a strain.I think that’s why they were playing Vingt-et-un.”“You ought to be a sob-sister on the Daily Whatsaname, darling, said Fran, but she smiled at her lovingly.“What time is it?” said Henry suddenly.“It’s well after midnight,” said Cockrill.“I got over as quickly as I could, but Torrington’s fifteen miles, and it’s the devil driving through these country lanes with the blackout lighting, not to mention the snow.Anyway, we were in good time,” he smiled at Fran, “and don’t worry, my dear, you’ll be safe enough now we’re here.” Out came the tobacco tin again.“But as for that phone call—that’s a puzzle, that is.” He swung round suddenly upon Pendock.“I want you to say something to me in a woman’s voice.Say: ‘I’m speaking from Pigeonsford House.’”Pendock opened his mouth and shut it again, looking foolish.“Good heavens, I can’t, Inspector.” He opened his mouth again and had another try, but no sound came.“It won’t work,” he said, laughing.“Come on, come on,” said Cockie irritably, lighting the new cigarette from the old one.“This is a murder case; we haven’t got time for silly self-consciousness.Say something in as feminine a voice as you can manage.”It was a long time since Pendock had been spoken to in this tone, and for a moment indignation smouldered in the blue-green eyes; but he saw what the little man was driving at, and opening his mouth once more he said, in a ludicrous squeak: “I’m speaking from Pidg…” and broke down, laughing apologetically.“I’m awfully sorry, Inspector.”“Don’t do it so loud,” said Cockrill, maintaining an irritated gravity.“Try and imitate a woman, speaking very low; come on, now—‘I’m speaking from Pigeonsford…’”Pendock tried again.“Mr.Gold, you have a shot,” said Cockie, paying no further attention to him.Henry gave his whole mind to it, as he gave it to everything he did.There was a twinkle in his eye, but he said, perfectly seriously, in a low, soft voice: “I’m speaking from Pigeonsford House.”“Nicholl.”“Who—me?” said James, waking up.“Try it, please.”“I’m speaking from Pigeonsford House,” squeaked James without a smile.Inspector Cockrill went over to the dressing-table and flicked his ash into the lid of Fran’s powder-bowl.“Mr.Gold—what time did you leave the drawing-room?”“I left with the others, whatever time that was.If you mean did I go to the telephone some time just after eleven and imitate a woman’s voice, that won’t wash; between half-past ten and half-past eleven, I was with at least four other people.”“And all the other people were with him, if you see what I mean,” said Fran eagerly, sitting curled up in the middle of the bed, wrapped in the eiderdown.“So if you think it was any of us, well, it obviously wasn’t.”“Can anybody swear to the exact time that Mr.Pendock left the drawing-room?” asked Cockie, ignoring her and steadily pursuing his own line of argument; and as nobody answered: “Was it ten past?”“Just about,” said Pendock.“Just about—just about! I’m not interested in just-abouts.Was it five past?”“No,” said everybody at once.“It was after five past?”“Yes, definitely,” they said.“Definitely.”But at five past eleven the unknown caller had been already on the telephone; he, or she, had insisted upon speaking to no one but himself, and it had taken a little time to locate him.The conversation had ended at eight minutes past eleven… the call must have been put through at eleven or almost immediately after.Besides, Cockrill thought he would have known if Pendock had not honestly been trying to imitate a woman’s voice just now: you couldn’t count too much on your instinct on these occasions, but it did mean a lot.He looked at them all quite fiercely.“Is everyone here present ready to swear,” he said, “ready to swear, I say, in a court of law, as you well may have to do, that the five of you—Lady Hart and the two girls and James Nicholl and Mr.Gold—were together in the drawing-room downstairs from before eleven o’clock till at least half-past?”Everybody nodded assent.“And that Mr.Pendock was with you till at least some minutes after five past eleven, even possibly till ten past?”They might have been Chinese mandarins.“And there is nobody in this house except the servants and yourselves?”“Nobody,” said Pendock positively.“Then I must be out of my mind,” said Cockie, and crushed out his second cigarette and sent it into the waste-paper basket, after the first.He stumped across the room towards the door, pushing-to the door of the wall-cupboard as he went.“You’d better all go to bed and get some sleep.Sorry, Fran, I seem to have made rather a mess round your fireplace.”“It’s all right, Cockie, pet,” said Fran, craning over the end of the bed to look at the scattered ash.“Better than in my powder-box, anyway.”“Well, come along then.Everybody to your rooms, please.”“I’ll stay with Fran,” said Lady Hart, not moving from her chair.“Fran’s perfectly safe, Lady Hart.I’d rather you went back to your room.”Fran was about to protest, but could not bear to seem lily-livered.“Good heavens, I’ll be all right.I mean, a man outside the window and another one outside the door, what more could a girl want—except perhaps one of them inside the room instead of out…?”“Let me stay with her, Cockie,” pleaded Venetia.Cockrill was worried, and when he was worried he was irritable.“Go back to your rooms,” he said impatiently, “and do as I tell you.Francesca will be all right.Mr.Pendock, I’m afraid I’ll have to keep you up a bit longer, and then we’d both better try and get some sleep.”“There’s a sofa in the library,” said Pendock, as they followed the rest of the party out on to the landing.“I’ll bring down some rugs and things and you’ll be quite comfortable there; sorry there isn’t a spare bed to offer you.If you go down, I’ll catch you up in a minute.”“I’ll wait for you here,” said Cockrill firmly, standing at the head of the stairs.Pendock looked a little silly.“All right.But—do you mind if I say good-night to Fran? I won’t be a minute.”The Inspector glanced at him sharply.He walked between the closed doors of the other bedrooms and knocked at Fran’s.“Francesca—if you’re not in bed, would you come to the door for a minute? Mr.Pendock would like to speak to you.” As Fran appeared at the door he moved back two or three paces and said briefly: “There you are—go ahead.”Pendock eyed him, startled.“Good God, Cockie—surely you don’t think—I’m sorry,” he said to Fran;“I just wanted to say good-night and ask you if there was anything you’d like me to do about—all this.I’ll sit outside your door, if you like.”“Good lord, no, Pen darling.There’s a man on the landing and I’ll be as safe as houses now that the police are here.I’m not a bit frightened, honestly I’m not,” said Fran in a quavering voice.“I’ll stay awake all night, darling, and keep my door open, just across the way.If there’s the least thing you want…”“No, truly, Pen, I’m fine.I’m quite all right.Don’t stay awake—but thank you very much, darling, all the same.”He caught her hand.The Inspector moved a step nearer, but Pendock ignored him.His voice was shaking as much as Francesca’s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]