Patricia Wentworth - The Case of William Smith

She changed colour.

‘Like an elderly governess.’

William passed up his cup.

‘That’s what she used to be. It doesn’t sound as if she’d be much good.’

She ought to have let that go. If she had, perhaps he wouldn’t have thought about any of it again. Something in her wouldn’t let it go. She said,

‘She’s impressive.’

‘How?’

‘Well, she is. She knows things. She knows what you’re telling her, and what you’re keeping back. I didn’t tell her everything, and she knew what I was keeping back.’

William helped himself to more jam.

‘Perhaps that chap Abbott told her. Darling, you’re not eating anything.’

‘I’m not hungry. No, he couldn’t – he didn’t know.’

‘Why aren’t you hungry?’

She smiled at him.

‘Just not.’

‘If he didn’t tell her, how did she know?’

‘She puts things together – things you don’t notice when you’re saying them – you don’t think they’re going to mean anything to anyone else. She puts them together, and she’s got something you didn’t mean to tell her.’

William cut himself another slice of bread.

‘What did you tell her, and what did she get out of it? Darling, you’re pale. What is it?’

‘Nothing. She knew about your being hit over the head. Frank Abbott told her.’

William looked interested.

‘Is that his name? Does she call him Frank?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Must have, or you wouldn’t have known it was his name. I wonder why he told her about me.’

‘He thought she would be interested.’

‘Did you tell her about my being jabbed in the back?’

‘Yes. William, I told her about Emily Salt – about her being queer in the head. I thought perhaps she could find out whether she was more than just queer, and – well, where she was when you were pushed.’

He shook his head.

‘It wouldn’t be any good. Suppose she was out posting a letter – it wouldn’t prove anything. What did Miss Silver say?’

Katharine coloured. The things Miss Silver had said came back vividly – ‘I think you know much more than you have told me’ – ‘Your husband has lost his memory, but you have not lost yours’ – ‘Go home and think about what I have said. ’… Go home and think – she couldn’t stop thinking. Her colour faded. She was pale again as she answered William’s question.

‘She said I hadn’t told her everything. She said she couldn’t take the case unless I did. She told me to go home and think whether I wanted her to take it or not.’

He looked at her and said,

‘What didn’t you tell her?’

She met his look with distress.

‘It isn’t easy. I thought it was fair to tell her about Emily Salt. I don’t know about other people – ’

‘What do you mean by other people?’

Her colour came again.

‘There might be somebody else – I don’t know – I want to be fair – ’

‘Someone who wanted me out of the way?’

‘There might be. I don’t even like to think about it.’

‘Why? I mean, why would anyone want to get rid of me? Unless it was a chap who was fond of you and thought it would be a bright idea to bump me off.’ There was half a laugh in his voice, but it went before the end. His fair brows came together in a frown. ‘Darling, that’s barmy.’

She said, ‘Someone pushed you.’

They sat looking at each other. Then he said slowly,

‘Something else happened this afternoon – at least I found it out this afternoon. I didn’t mean to tell you, but I think I’d better. You know I was going to go over the car. Well, I did, and the near front wheel was loose.’

She echoed the last word, ‘Loose – ’

‘Someone had loosened the studs. They were all right last time I had her out. Someone must have done it.’

‘William!’

He nodded.

‘It’s all right – you needn’t look like that. They all chaff me about the way I go over the car. All the parts being old, you’ve got to be careful. It’s as well I am, because that wheel would just about have got us out into the traffic before it went to glory. It didn’t, so it’s all right. But someone must have been at those studs – ’ He was frowning and intent. ‘Of course it would be easy enough. The place is open most of the time because of Harman keeping his ladders there. Anyone could have slipped in and done the trick.’

Thoughts came and went in Katharine’s mind. They turned into words.

‘Would Emily Salt know how to loosen a wheel?’

‘I shouldn’t think so – she doesn’t look as if she would.’

‘She might.’

William burst out laughing.

‘I should think she would be afraid the car would bite her!’ Then all at once he was serious. ‘I don’t see how it could be Emily. She’s been in bed with a cold ever since Mr. Tattlecombe came home, and the car was all right then. Don’t you remember, Mrs. Salt rang up on Tuesday and said she couldn’t come and see Mr. Tattlecombe because poor Emily was in bed with a temperature, and what a good thing he came home when he did – in case of his getting whatever it was.’

Katharine remembered. She took William’s cup and filled it mechanically.

‘So it couldn’t have been Emily Salt,’ he said.

Katharine knocked on the door of Mr. Tattlecombe’s sitting-room. When he had said ‘Come in!’ she found him in his favourite chair with his leg up and a rug over it. He looked up from a large ledger and a litter of papers.

‘Good morning, Mrs. Smith. What is it?’

She said, ‘I wondered if I could talk to you about something. ’ She thought he looked surprised, and made haste to say, ‘About William.’

Right on that she was reminded in the most ridiculous way of Red Riding Hood in the nursery tale:

‘What big eyes you’ve got, Grandmamma.’

‘The better to see you with, my dear.’

Mr. Tattlecombe’s eyes were like bright blue saucers. He asked her to sit down, and he asked her if anything was wrong. And out it came,

‘I think someone is trying to kill him.’

Mr. Tattlecombe looked dreadfully shocked.

‘My dear Mrs. Smith!’

But he listened whilst she told him about William being hit over the head, about William being jabbed in the back, about the wheel being loosened on his car. When she had finished, he had stopped looking shocked. He said quite deliberately,

‘You’re thinking about Emily Salt, and so am I. But I never heard of her doing anything like that. And she couldn’t have had anything to do with the car – she’s been ill. To say nothing of not knowing the front end from the back.’

‘She really is ill?’ Katharine’s tone was tentative.

Abel nodded.

‘Abby says so. She’d know too – there isn’t much she doesn’t know about sickness. And I should say there’s nothing she don’t know about Emily. She’s lived with her for thirty years. How she’s done it, I don’t know, but there it is, she has. And I don’t think Emily could take her in – not after thirty years. But she’s coming to tea this afternoon – I’ll put it to her. Was that what you wanted?’

‘I’d be very glad if you would. It’s – it’s serious, Mr. Tattlecombe. What I really came to ask you was whether I might have part of the afternoon off. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this, and I’ve got an introduction to someone who I think might be able to help us.’

‘In what way, Mrs. Smith?’

Katharine did her best to explain Miss Silver. The extraordinary thing was that as she did so her own expectation of being helped was strongly increased. She didn’t know whether she was convincing Mr. Tattlecombe, but she was aware that she was convincing herself.