Nineteen

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CRIME

I
“I’ll put a lamp by you before I go,” said Bunch. “It’s so dark in here.

There’s going to be a storm, I think.”

She lifted the small reading lamp to the other side of the table where itwould throw light on Miss Marple’s knitting as she sat in a wide high-backed chair.

As the flex pulled across the table, Tiglath Pileser the cat leapt upon itand bit and clawed it violently.

“No, Tiglath Pileser, you mustn’t … He really is awful. Look, he’s nearlybitten it through—it’s all frayed. Don’t you understand, you idiotic puss,that you may get a nasty electric shock if you do that?”

“Thank you, dear,” said Miss Marple, and put out a hand to turn on thelamp.

“It doesn’t turn on there. You have to press that silly little switchhalfway along the flex. Wait a minute. I’ll take these flowers out of theway.”

She lifted a bowl of Christmas roses across the table. Tiglath Pileser, histail switching, put out a mischievous paw and clawed Bunch’s arm. Shespilled some of the water out of the vase. It fell on the frayed area of flexand on Tiglath Pileser himself, who leapt to the floor with an indignanthiss.

Miss Marple pressed the small pear- shaped switch. Where the waterhad soaked the frayed flex there was a flash and a crackle.

“Oh, dear,” said Bunch. “It’s fused. Now I suppose all the lights in hereare off.” She tried them. “Yes, they are. So stupid being all on the samethingummibob. And it’s made a burn on the table, too. Naughty TiglathPileser—it’s all his fault. Aunt Jane—what’s the matter? Did it startle you?”

“It’s nothing, dear. Just something I saw quite suddenly which I ought tohave seen before….”

“I’ll go and fix the fuse and get the lamp from Julian’s study.”

“No, dear, don’t bother. You’ll miss your bus. I don’t want any morelight. I just want to sit quietly and—think about something. Hurry dear, oryou won’t catch your bus.”

When Bunch had gone, Miss Marple sat quite still for about twominutes. The air of the room was heavy and menacing with the gatheringstorm outside.

Miss Marple drew a sheet of paper towards her.

She wrote first: Lamp? and underlined it heavily.

After a moment or two, she wrote another word.

Her pencil travelled down the paper, making brief cryptic notes….