Agatha Christie: Yowards Zero

"Exactly," said Battle . "And not half a bad idea, either."

"And why should I want to kill Camilla Tressilian?"

"You didn't," said Battle . "But you did want to hang the woman who left you for another man. You're a bit unhinged mentally, you know. Have been ever since you were a child — I've looked up that old bow and arrow case, by the way. Anyone who does you an injury has to be punished — and death doesn't seem to you an excessive penalty for them to pay. Death by itself wasn't enough for Audrey — your Audrey whom you loved — oh, yes, you loved her all right, before your love turned to hate. You had to think of some special kind of death, some long-drawn-out specialised death. And when you'd thought of it, the fact that it entailed the killing of a woman who had been something like a mother to you didn't worry you in the least …"

Nevile said, and his voice was quite gentle: "All lies! All lies! And I'm not mad. I'm not mad."

Battle said contemptuously: "Flicked you on the raw, didn't she, when she went off and left you for another man? Hurt your vanity? To think she should walk out on you. You salved your pride by pretending to the world at large that you'd left her and you married another girl who was in love with you just to bolster up that belief. But underneath you planned what you'd do to Audrey. You couldn't think of anything worse than this — to get her hanged. A fine idea — pity you hadn't the brains to carry it out better!"

Nevile's tweed-coated shoulders moved, a queer, wriggling movement.

Battle went on: "Childish — all that niblick stuff! Those crude trails pointing to you! Audrey must have known what you were after! She must have laughed up her sleeve! Thinking I didn't suspect you! You murderers are funny little fellows! So puffed up. Always thinking you've been clever and resourceful and really being quite pitifully childish …"

It was a strange, queer scream that came from Nevile.

"It was a clever idea — it was. You'd never have guessed. Never! Not if it hadn't been for this interfering jackanapes, this pompous Scotch fool. I'd thought out every detail — every detail! I can't help what went wrong. How was I to know Royde knew the truth about Audrey and Adrian? Audrey and Adrian … Curse Audrey — she shall hang — you've got to hang her — I want her to die afraid — to die — to die … I hate her. I tell you I want her to die …"

The high, whinnying voice died away. Nevile slumped down and began to cry quietly.

"Oh, God," said Mary Aldin. She was white to the lips.

Battle said gently, in a low voice: "I'm sorry, but I had to push him over the edge … There was precious little evidence, you know."

Nevile was still whimpering. His voice was like a child's.

"I want her to be hanged. I do want her to be hanged …"

Mary Aldin shuddered and turned to Thomas Royde.

He took her hands in his.

"I was always frightened," said Audrey.

They were sitting on the terrace. Audrey sat close to Superintendent Battle. Battle had resumed his holiday and was at Gull's Point as a friend.

"Always frightened — all the time," said Audrey.

Battle said, nodding his head: "I knew you were dead scared first moment I saw you. And you'd got that colourless, reserved way people have who are holding some very strong emotion in check. It might have been love or hate, but actually it was fear, wasn't it?"

She nodded.

"I began to be afraid of Nevile soon after we were married. But the awful thing is, you see, that I didn't know why. I began to think that I was mad."

"It wasn't you," said Battle .

"Nevile seemed to me when I married him so particularly sane and normal — always delightfully good-tempered and pleasant."

"Interesting," said Battle . "He played the part of the good sportsman, you know. That's why he could keep his temper so well at tennis. His role as a good sportsman was more important to him than winning matches. But it put a strain upon him, of course; playing a part always does. He got worse underneath."

"Underneath," whispered Audrey with a shudder. "Always underneath. Nothing you could get hold of. Just sometimes a word or a look and then I'd fancy I'd imagined it … Something queer. And then, as I say, I thought I must be queer. And I went on getting more and more afraid — the kind of unreasoning fear, you know, that makes you sick!"

"I told myself I was going mad. That I couldn't help it I felt I'd do anything in the world to get away! And then Adrian came and told me he loved me, and I thought it would be wonderful to go away with him, and he said …"

She stopped.

"You know what happened? I went off to meet Adrian — he never came … he was killed … I felt as though Nevile had managed it, somehow."

"Perhaps he did," said Battle .

Audrey turned a startled face to him. "Oh, do you think so?"

"We'll never know now. Motor accidents can be arranged. Don't brood on it, though, Mrs. Strange. As likely as not, it just happened naturally."

"I — I was all broken up. I went back to the Rectory — Adrian 's home. We were to have written to his mother, but as she didn't know about us, I thought I wouldn't tell her and give her pain. And Nevile came almost at once. He was very nice — and kind — and all the time I talked to him I was quite sick with fear! He said no one need know about Adrian , that I could divorce him on evidence he would send me and that he was going to remarry afterwards. I felt so thankful. I knew he had thought Kay attractive and I hoped that everything would turn out right and that I should get over this queer obsession of mine. I still thought it must be me."

"But I couldn't get rid of it — quite. I never felt I'd really escaped. And then I met Nevile in the Park one day and he explained that he did so want me and Kay to be friends and suggested that we should all come here in September. I couldn't refuse — how could I? After all the kind things he'd done."

"'Will you walk into my parlour? Said the spider to the fly,'" remarked Superintendent Battle.

Audrey shivered. "Yes, just that …"

"Very clever he was about that," said Battle . "Protested so loudly to everyone that it was his idea, that everyone at once got the impression that it wasn't."

Audrey said: "And then I got here — and it was like a kind of nightmare. I knew something awful was going to happen — I knew Nevile meant it to happen — and that it was to happen to me. But I didn't know what it was. I think, you know, that I nearly did go off my head! I was just paralysed with fright — like you are in a dream when something's going to happen and you can't move …"

"I've always thought," said Superintendent Battle, "that I'd like to have seen a snake fascinate a bird so that it can't fly away — but now I'm not so sure."

Audrey went on.

"Even when Lady Tressilian was killed I didn't realise what it meant. I was puzzled. I didn't even suspect Nevile. I knew he didn't care about money — it was absurd to think he'd kill her in order to inherit fifty thousand pounds."

"I thought over and over again about Mr. Treves and the story he had told that evening. Even then I didn't connect it with Nevile. Treves had mentioned some physical peculiarity by which he could recognise the child of long ago. I've got a scar on my ear, but I don't think anyone else has any sign that you'd notice."

Battle said: "Miss Aldin has a lock of white hair. Thomas Royde has a stiff right arm, which might not have been only the result of an earthquake. Mr. Ted Latimer has rather an odd-shaped skull. And Nevile Strange — "

He paused.

"Surely there was no physical peculiarity about Nevile?"

"Oh, yes, there was. His left-hand little finger is shorter than his right. That's very unusual, Mrs. Strange — very unusual indeed."