Till Death Do Us Part

things about me. But never in my wildest dreams did I think it could be anything like that! Especially as she went on to say Dick knew all about it, and the police were coming for me because I'd got poison or something locked up in that safe. I -I rather lost my head.'

'Just a minute. Did you hit her ?'

Lesley blinked.

'Hit her?'

' With a hand-mirror off the dressing-table.' 'Good gracious, no!' The brown eyes widened. 'Did she say I hit her?' 'What happened?'

'Cynthia ran at me, that's all. She's stronger than I am and I didn't know what to do. I dodged, and she tripped and went over like a sack of coals against the footboard of the bed.

'When I saw she was just knocked out, not badly hurt at all' - the full lips compressed, and Lesley looked elaborately out of the window - ' maybe it was callous of me, but I just let her stay there. Wouldn't you?'

'Go on!'

' I thought to myself, ' This is too much; I can't stand any more.' So I got those things out of the safe, and rushed over here to Lord Ashe, and told him the true story. While I was telling it, Dr - Dr Fell, isn't it? - and Superintendent Hadley got here. So I thought I might as well tell everybody.' Lesley moistened her lips. 'There's only one thing I'm curious about, Dick,' she added with great intensity. 'Did you tell Cynthia?'

'Tell her what?'

'This horrible story about the three husbands, and -and the rest of it.' Lesley coloured. 'She kept repeating, 'Till death do us part, till death do us part,' like a mad woman. That's all I care about, that's all I'm concerned about! Did you tell Cynthia, in confidence, something that you wouldn't tell me?' ‘No.'

'Do you swear that's true, Dick? You were messing about out there with her this morning. Major Price said you were.'

'On my word of honour, I never said one word to Cynthia'

Lesley drew the back of her hand across her forehead. ' Then where did Cynthia get the story ?' 'That,' observed Dr Fell, 'is something which interests all of us.'

Reaching into his hip pocket under the folds of the big cape, Dr Fell drew out a large red bandanna handkerchief. He mopped his forehead with such thoroughness that his big mop of grey-streaked hair tumbled over one eye. Then, assuming an argumentative pose which made Hadley instinctively bristle, he pointed to the chair on the other side of Lord Ashe's desk.

' Sit down, my dear,' he said to Lesley.

Lesley obeyed.

'If you're going to lecture - !' began a very suspicious Hadley.

' I am not,' said Dr Fell with dignity, ' going to lecture. I am going to ask Miss Grant whether she has, in this village, any very deadly enemy.'

'That's impossible!' cried Lesley.

There was a silence.

'Well,' said Dr Fell, returning the handkerchief to his pocket, Met us consider the evidence. Sam De Villa, may he rest in peace, came to Six Ashes as an outsider. He had, it would seem' - here Dr Fell hesitated slightly - 'no connexion with anybody in this village. Agreed, Hadley?'

' So far as we know at the moment, agreed.'

'Therefore Sam, qua Sam, ceased to become important in the scheme of murder.'

' If it was murder,' Hadley said quickly.

'If it was murder. Oh, ah. Very well. It is now inescapable, as we agreed this morning, that the whole reproduction of an imaginary crime - hypodermic syringe, prussic acid, locked entrances - was a deliberate attempt to throw the blame on Lesley Grant, whom somebody believed to be a murderess. Otherwise there is no point to it'

' Now look here!' Hadley began.

'Otherwise,' inquired Dr Fell politely but firmly, 'do you see any point to it?'

Hadley jingled coins in his pocket. He did not reply.

' Consequently,' pursued Dr Fell, blinking across at Lesley, 'we must face the question. Is there anyone who hates you enough to want to see you charged with murder? Or, putting the matter more broadly, is there anyone who would profit by it if you were put in an extremely sticky position?'

Lesley regarded him helplessly.

'There isn't anybody,' she replied. 'Except - but that's utterly impossible!' Dr Fell remained imperturbable.

'This,' he continued, 'is the conclusion to be drawn from our facts. The corollary to that conclusion...'

' Is there a corollary ?' demanded Hadley.

'Oh, yes. It shines with great light' Dr Fell peered at Dick. 'By the way, my boy. In the excitement of the moment, while we were at that cottage, I forgot to warn you about being very, very discreet. When you left me this morning to go and see Miss Grant, I gather you did meet Miss Cynthia Drew ?'

'Yes.’

'Did you - harrumph - enlighten her? Did you tell her that Miss Grant was not, in fact, an evilly disposed character suspected of three murders ?'

'No. She wouldn't admit she'd heard anything at all about Lesley. So I didn't say anything, naturally.'

' Did you tell anybody else ?'

'No. I haven't seen anybody else.'

'What about your friend Dr Middlesworth? Is he likely to spill the beans that Miss Grant is not a poisoner ?'

'Hugh Middlesworth,' answered Dick, 'is as close-mouthed a chap as you'll find anywhere. He'll be especially close-mouthed about this. You can bet your shirt he won't talk.'

Dr Fell mused for a moment

'Therefore,' he went on, 'there is somewhere within reach a person who STILL believes this yarn. This person killed Sam De Villa, arranged all the trappings to suggest murder by Lesley Grant, and is now hugging himself or herself for sheer joy. Except in the unlikely event that the murderer is our friend Lord Ashe...'

' Good God!' exclaimed Lord Ashe.

Totally taken aback, he dropped on the table the pearl necklace which he had been examining. His grey eyes, with their darkish eyebrows in contrast to the iron-grey hair, wore behind the pince-nez a look of consternation. His mouth was open.

'That, sir,' growled Superintendent Hadley, 'was just an example of Dr Fell's own peculiar idea of humour.'

' Oh. A joke. I see. But...'

'Except in that unlikely event,' pursued Dr Fell, 'I repeat that the real murderer still believes this yarn. Now come on! Use your very capable intelligence, Hadley! Having provided us with a problem, it follows as a corollary that the real murderer must do what ?'

'Well?'

'Why, damn it,' thundered Dr Fell, rapping the ferrule of his cane against the floor,- 'he must now provide us witha solution.'

Wheezing, Dr Fell looked from one to the other of them.

'Sam De Villa's corpse,' he emphasized, 'is found in a room locked up on the inside. So far, so good. Lesley Grant, argues the murderer, will be blamed for doing this. But how did she do it?

'Remember, these imaginary crimes were supposed to have been unsolved. You, the police, were supposed to have been baffled. Very well: but it won't do to have you baffled this time. If the blame is to be placed on Miss Grant, we must learn how the thing was done or we still can't touch her. The murderer's whole design against her fails unless it is proved how the locked room worked. Do you follow me now?'

Dick Markham hesitated. 'Then you think... ?'

'I rather think,' responded Dr Fell, 'we shall get a communication of some kind.'