Patricia Wentworth - Anna, Where Are You?

It was at some time during this speech that there came the sound of the second shot. Anna heard it. It was then that her trumphant look returned. She lifted her head and let her voice ring out.

Thomasina heard it too, but she did not think about it. Not consciously. She heard it, and a cold breath touched her, but she did not think about it yet. It was a shot. She did not relate it to herself or to Anna. To Anna-her whole mind was taken up with Anna. She had been shocked in the quite literal sense of the word. She was not afraid. How could she be afraid of Anna Ball whom she had known so long and so well?

She had never known her at all. Under the dumb, sulky surface where she had thought there were sore places into which she had poured all she knew of kindness and healing, there had been a ravening jealousy and resentment. She was not afraid- not yet-but she knew now that there was something to be afraid of. She said soberly and quietly,

“I’m sorry, Anna-I didn’t know. I’ll go.”

She put her hand behind her to find the handle of the door. There was an instinct to stay facing Anna, not to turn round.

Anna’s hand went into the pocket of her slacks, and came out again with a revolver-one of those little things that look like a toy and hold half a dozen men’s lives. She pointed it at Thomasina and said,

“No, you don’t! If you touch that handle, I’ll fire! I won’t kill you, because I haven’t finished with you yet. I’ll just break your shoulder. I’m a dead shot-which is one of the things you didn’t know about me. I learnt in Germany, which is where I met Mr. Sandrow. He taught me-that, and other things. I’m going to tell you some of them. If the world kicks you in the face, get up and kick it back. If you haven’t any money, take it. If anyone gets in your way, shoot him down. It’s quite easy to learn when you’ve been hating people all your life. Well, I came back to England and waited while he made his plans, and then I came down here. Of course Emily Craddock was the most tiresome bore-and those awful children! But I used to slip out and meet Mr. Sandrow.” She let her voice twist on the name again. “And then, as you know, it wasn’t for long. We staged a very good disappearance, didn’t we? Me in a red hat, going off from Dedham, and practically the whole Colony to see me go by in the car with Peveril. And then at the station I was so agitated and distressed that the stationmaster couldn’t help noticing me, and Peveril was able to explain how neurotic I was, and how glad they were to get rid of me. I didn’t go very far, you know. I just stuffed the red hat into my suit-case, tied a handkerchief over my head, and changed at the first junction. I shan’t tell you where I went, but it wasn’t a hundred miles from here. Mr. Sandrow and I had it all planned. And now, I suppose, you would like to know who he is. You’ll be surprised! But I’ll give you three guesses. It’s someone you know. There-I’ve given you a lead! Someone you know very well. Come along, Thomasina-surely you’re going to have a try!”

Thomasina’s lips said, “No.” Her mind said, “She wouldn’t tell me these things if she was going to let me go.”

When she had groped for the handle of the door she had not found it. She was near enough to the wall, but too much to one side. If she moved or tried to reach for the handle now, Anna would shoot her down. Even without being a dead shot she could hardly miss. There was nothing to do but play for time.

There was no help in that. She was alone with Anna in this deserted place, and no one knew that she was here. She thought about Peter, and he seemed like someone who had happened long ago and very far away. It seemed a silly, trivial thing that she had quarrelled with him.

Anna’s voice broke in.

“If you are not going to guess, I shall have to tell you. Someone whom you know very well indeed. Did you know what a good shot he was, or did he keep that dark? There were quite a few things you didn’t know about him, I expect. You thought you could have him any time you wanted him, didn’t you? He pretended he didn’t like me. One of the things you didn’t know was that he was such a good actor, and another was that he was mine. Not yours, my dear Thomasina, but mine-mine- mine .”

Thomasina thought, “She’s mad. It’s all frightful, but she’s mad-she doesn’t know what she is saying.” She said,

“Anna, please do stop! You are making my head go round. I don’t know what you are talking about, and I don’t believe you do either. It’s frightfully late. I’m going home to bed.”

Anna came a step nearer. If she would come nearer still, there might be a chance of catching her by the wrist, knocking the revolver out of her hand.

But Anna took only that one step. She said in a warning voice,

“Oh, no, you don’t! You’ll do just as you are told, and when I am finished with you-when I’m quite finished with you-you shall have your sleep-your good long sleep.” She laughed and changed her tone. “I was telling you about Mr. Sandrow, wasn’t I? You ought to be pleased, because you were trying to find out about him. And so are the police. They’d give their eyes to know the things I’m telling you, but you won’t be able to repeat them. Mr. Sandrow is a very clever man, and he is going to be a very rich one. He can get a few thousand pounds any time he wants to just by walking into a bank and asking for it. And do you know, they never refuse him-he’s too quick a shot for that. And we drive away together with the money- you didn’t know I was such a good driver, did you? He gets into the car and off we go, with nothing for those stupid police to track us by. That first time at Enderby Green I was a boy, made up very dark with a green muffler and a black hat. And at Ledlington I was a dazzling blonde-it’s a lovely wig. And there was a young man went by who would have liked to know me better. That was when I was waiting outside the bank. I didn’t really let him see my face of course. I had my hand up pretending to do something to my hair. And to show you how good my nerve is, it didn’t shake in the least. And then Mr. Sandrow came out of the bank, and we drove away. Come now- haven’t you guessed who he is-not yet? Do you know, I don’t believe you can be as stupid as all that. Why, he’s Peter- Peter-Peter Brandon-whom you thought you had got in your pocket! And, oh, how we’ve laughed at it together, he and I! Well, now it’s your turn to laugh. It’s a good joke, isn’t it? Laugh, Thomasina-laugh-laugh- laugh !”

At the sound of the opening door Peter Brandon let go of the wrist he was holding and straightened up. He saw Miss Silver in her blue dressing-gown with the white crochet trimming, her hair very neatly arranged under the strong silk net which she wore over it at night, and a look of grave enquiry on her face. As he turned, she spoke in a serious, level voice,

“What are you doing here, Mr. Brandon?”

He could very reasonably have asked the same question, but it simply did not occur to him to do so. He might have been eight years old again, raiding the jam cupboard. He said,

“I was looking for Thomasina.”

“Is she here?”

“I don’t know. I was afraid she might be.”

Miss Silver gave her slight cough.

“We will speak of that later. Is Mr. Craddock dead?”

“I think so. He wasn’t when I came, but I can’t feel any pulse now.”

She came forward into the room, knelt down, and took hold of a wrist where the pulse would never beat again. After a moment or two she said,

“No, there is nothing. He is dead. How long have you been here?”

“I came to find Thomasina. She said something this afternoon about Anna Ball being here, locked up in a cellar. I said it was all nonsense, and we quarrelled. I wanted her to go away. I thought-”