Eleven

MISS MARPLE COMES TO TEA

I
If Letitia Blacklock seemed slightly absentminded when Mrs. Harmoncame to tea and brought a guest who was staying with her, Miss Marple,the guest in question, was hardly likely to notice the fact since it was thefirst time she had met her.

The old lady was very charming in her gentle gossipy fashion. She re-vealed herself almost at once to be one of those old ladies who have a con-stant preoccupation with burglars.

“They can get in anywhere, my dear,” she assured her hostess, “abso-lutely anywhere nowadays. So many new American methods. I myself pinmy faith to a very old-fashioned device. A cabin hook and eye. They canpick locks and draw back bolts but a brass hook and eye defeats them.

Have you ever tried that?”

“I’m afraid we’re not very good at bolts and bars,” said Miss Blacklockcheerfully. “There’s really nothing much to burgle.”

“A chain on the front door,” Miss Marple advised. “Then the maid needonly open it a crack and see who is there and they can’t force their wayin.”

“I expect Mitzi, our Mittel European, would love that.”

“The hold-up you had must have been very, very frightening,” said MissMarple. “Bunch has been telling me all about it.”

“I was scared stiff,” said Bunch.

“It was an alarming experience,” admitted Miss Blacklock.

“It really seems like Providence that the man tripped himself up andshot himself. These burglars are so violent nowadays. How did he get in?”

“Well, I’m afraid we don’t lock our doors much.”

“Oh, Letty,” exclaimed Miss Bunner. “I forgot to tell you the Inspectorwas most peculiar this morning. He insisted on opening the second door—you know—the one that’s never been opened—the one over there. Hehunted for the key and everything and said the door had been oiled. But Ican’t see why because—”

Too late she got Miss Blacklock’s signal to be quiet, and paused open-mouthed.

“Oh, Lotty, I’m so—sorry—I mean, oh, I do beg your pardon, Letty—oh,dear, how stupid I am.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Miss Blacklock, but she was annoyed. “Only Idon’t think Inspector Craddock wants that talked about. I didn’t know youhad been there when he was experimenting, Dora. You do understand,don’t you, Mrs. Harmon?”

“Oh, yes,” said Bunch. “We won’t breathe a word, will we, Aunt Jane. ButI wonder why he—”

She relapsed into thought. Miss Bunner fidgeted and looked miserable,bursting out at last: “I always say the wrong thing—Oh, dear, I’m nothingbut a trial to you, Letty.”

Miss Blacklock said quickly, “You’re my great comfort, Dora. And any-way in a small place like Chipping Cleghorn there aren’t really anysecrets.”

“Now that is very true,” said Miss Marple. “I’m afraid, you know, thatthings do get round in the most extraordinary way. Servants, of course,and yet it can’t only be that, because one has so few servants nowadays.

Still, there are the daily women and perhaps they are worse, because theygo to everybody in turn and pass the news round.”

“Oh!” said Bunch Harmon suddenly. “I’ve got it! Of course, if that doorcould open too, someone might have gone out of here in the dark anddone the hold-up—only of course they didn’t—because it was the manfrom the Royal Spa Hotel. Or wasn’t it?… No, I don’t see after all …” Shefrowned.

“Did it all happen in this room then?” asked Miss Marple, adding apolo-getically: “I’m afraid you must think me sadly curious, Miss Blacklock—butit really is so very exciting—just like something one reads about in the pa-per—I’m just longing to hear all about it and to picture it all, if you knowwhat I mean—”

Immediately Miss Marple received a confused and voluble account fromBunch and Miss Bunner—with occasional emendations and correctionsfrom Miss Blacklock.

In the middle of it Patrick came in and good-naturedly entered into thespirit of the recital — going so far as to enact himself the part of RudiScherz.

“And Aunt Letty was there—in the corner by the archway … Go andstand there, Aunt Letty.”

Miss Blacklock obeyed, and then Miss Marple was shown the actual bul-let holes.

“What a marvellous—what a providential escape,” she gasped.

“I was just going to offer my guests cigarettes—” Miss Blacklock indic-ated the big silver box on the table.

“People are so careless when they smoke,” said Miss Bunner disapprov-ingly. “Nobody really respects good furniture as they used to do. Look atthe horrid burn somebody made on this beautiful table by putting a cigar-ette down on it. Disgraceful.”

Miss Blacklock sighed.

“Sometimes, I’m afraid, one thinks too much of one’s possessions.”

“But it’s such a lovely table, Letty.”

Miss Bunner loved her friend’s possessions with as much fervour asthough they had been her own. Bunch Harmon had always thought it wasa very endearing trait in her. She showed no sign of envy.

“It is a lovely table,” said Miss Marple politely. “And what a very prettychina lamp on it.”

Again it was Miss Bunner who accepted the compliment as though sheand not Miss Blacklock was the owner of the lamp.

“Isn’t it delightful? Dresden. There is a pair of them. The other’s in thespare room, I think.”

“You know where everything in this house is, Dora—or you think youdo,” said Miss Blacklock, good-humouredly. “You care far more about mythings than I do.”

Miss Bunner flushed.

“I do like nice things,” she said. Her voice was half defiant—half wistful.

“I must confess,” said Miss Marple, “that my own few possessions arevery dear to me, too—so many memories, you know. It’s the same withphotographs. People nowadays have so few photographs about. Now I liketo keep all the pictures of my nephews and nieces as babies—and then aschildren—and so on.”

“You’ve got a horrible one of me, aged three,” said Bunch. “Holding a foxterrier and squinting.”

“I expect your aunt has many photographs of you,” said Miss Marple,turning to Patrick.

“Oh, we’re only distant cousins,” said Patrick.

“I believe Elinor did send me one of you as a baby, Pat,” said Miss Black-lock. “But I’m afraid I didn’t keep it. I’d really forgotten how many chil-dren she’d had or what their names were until she wrote me about youtwo being over here.”

“Another sign of the times,” said Miss Marple. “Nowadays one so oftendoesn’t know one’s younger relations at all. In the old days, with all thebig family reunions, that would have been impossible.”

“I last saw Pat and Julia’s mother at a wedding thirty years ago,” saidMiss Blacklock. “She was a very pretty girl.”

“That’s why she has such handsome children,” said Patrick with a grin.

“You’ve got a marvellous old album,” said Julia. “Do you remember,Aunt Letty, we looked through it the other day. The hats!”

“And how smart we thought ourselves,” said Miss Blacklock with a sigh.

“Never mind, Aunt Letty,” said Patrick, “Julia will come across a snap-shot of herself in about thirty years’ time—and won’t she think she looks aguy!”

II

“Did you do that on purpose?” said Bunch, as she and Miss Marple werewalking home. “Talk about photographs, I mean?”

“Well, my dear, it is interesting to know that Miss Blacklock didn’t knoweither of her two young relatives by sight … Yes—I think Inspector Crad-dock will be interested to hear that.”