Agatha Christie - The Unexpected Guest

He broke off, hearing Miss Bennett out in the corridor calling, 'Jan!', and laughed. 'Silly old Benny!' he shouted, bouncing up and down on the sofa.

'Now, do be nice to Benny,' Laura cautioned Jan, as she pulled him to his feet. 'She's having such a lot of trouble and worry over all this.' Guiding Jan to the door, Laura continued gently, 'You must help Benny, Jan, because you're the man of the family now.'

Jan opened the door, then looked from Laura to Julian. 'AH right, all right,' he promised, with a smile. 'I will.' He left the room, shutting the door behind him and calling 'Benny!' as he went.

Laura turned to Julian Farrar who had risen from his armchair and walked over to her. Td no idea he knew about us,' she exclaimed.

'That's the trouble with people like Jan,' Farrar retorted. 'You never know how much or how little they do know. He's very – well, he gets rather easily out of hand, doesn't he?'

'Yes, he does get easily excited,' Laura admitted. 'But now that Richard isn't here to tease him, he'll calm down. He'll get to be more normal. I'm sure he will.'

Julian Farrar looked doubtful. 'Well, I don't know about that,' he began, but broke off as Starkwedder suddenly appeared at the french windows.

'Hello – good evening,' Starkwedder called, sounding quite happy.

'Oh – er – good evening,' Farrar replied, hesitantly.

'How's everything? Bright and cheerful?' Starkwedder enquired, looking from one to the other. He suddenly grinned. 'I see,' he observed. 'Two's company and three's none.' He stepped into the room. 'Shouldn't have come in by the window this way. A gentleman would have gone to the front door and rung the bell. Is that it? But then, you see, I'm no gentleman.'

'Oh, please –' Laura began, but Starkwedder interrupted her. 'As a matter of fact,' he explained, 'I've come for two reasons. First, to say goodbye. My character's been cleared. High-level cables from Abadan saying what a fine, upright fellow I am. So I'm free to depart.'

'I'm so sorry you're going – so soon,' Laura told him, with genuine feeling in her voice.

'That's nice of you,' Starkwedder responded with a touch of bitterness, 'considering the way I butted in on your family murder.' He looked at her for a moment, then moved across to the desk chair. 'But I came in by the window for another reason,' he went on. 'The police brought me up in their car. And, although they're being very tight-lipped about it, it's my belief there's something up!'

Dismayed, Laura gasped, 'The police have come back?'

'Yes,' Starkwedder affirmed, decisively.

'But I thought they'd finished this morning,' said Laura.

Starkwedder gave her a shrewd look. 'That's why I say – something's up!' he exclaimed.

There were voices in the corridor outside. Laura and Julian Farrar drew together as the door opened, and Richard Warwick's mother came in, looking very upright and self-possessed, though still walking with the aid of a cane.

'Benny!' Mrs Warwick called over her shoulder, and then addressed Laura. 'Oh, there you are, Laura. We've been looking for you.'

Julian Farrar went to Mrs Warwick and helped her into the armchair. 'How kind you are to come over again, Julian,' the old lady exclaimed, 'when we all know how busy you are.'

'I would have come before, Mrs Warwick,' Farrar told her, as he settled her in the chair, 'but it's been a particularly hectic day. Anything that I can possibly do to help –' He stopped speaking as Miss Bennett entered followed by Inspector Thomas. Carrying a briefcase, the inspector moved to take up a central position. Starkwedder went to sit in the desk chair, and lit a cigarette as Sergeant Cadwallader came in with Angell, who closed the door and stood with his back to it.

'I can't find young Mr Warwick, sir,' the sergeant reported, crossing to the french windows.

'He's out somewhere. Gone for a walk,' Miss Bennett announced.

'It doesn't matter,' said the inspector. There was a momentary pause as he surveyed the occupants of the room. His manner had changed, for it now had a grimness it did not have before.

After waiting a moment for him to speak, Mrs Warwick asked coldly, 'Do I understand that you have further questions to ask us, Inspector Thomas?'

'Yes, Mrs Warwick,' he replied, I'm afraid I have.'

Mrs Warwick's voice sounded weary as she asked, 'You still have no news of this man MacGregor?'

'On the contrary.'

'He's been found?' Mrs Warwick asked, eagerly.

'Yes,' was the inspector's terse reply.

There was a definite reaction of excitement from the assembled company. Laura and Julian Farrar looked incredulous, and Starkwedder turned in his chair to face the inspector.

Miss Bennett's voice suddenly rang out sharply. 'You've arrested him, then?'

The inspector looked at her for a moment before replying. Then, 'That, I'm afraid, would be impossible. Miss Bennett,' he informed her.

'Impossible?' Mrs Warwick interjected. 'But why?' 'Because he's dead,' the inspector replied, quietly.

A shocked silence greeted Inspector Thomas's announcement. Then, hesitantly and, it seemed, fearfully, Laura whispered, 'Wh– what did you say?'

'I said that this man MacGregor is dead,' the inspector affirmed.

There were gasps from everyone in the room, and the inspector expanded upon his terse announcement. 'John MacGregor,' he told them, 'died in Alaska over two years ago – not very long after he returned to Canada from England .'

'Dead!' Laura exclaimed, incredulously.

Unnoticed by anyone in the room, young Jan passed quickly along the terrace outside the french windows, and disappeared from view.

'That makes a difference, doesn't it?' the inspector continued. 'It wasn't John MacGregor who put that revenge note on the dead body of Mr Warwick. But it's clear, isn't it, that it was put there by someone who knew all about MacGregor and the accident in Norfolk . Which ties it in, very definitely, with someone in this house.'

'No,' Miss Bennett exclaimed sharply. 'No, it could have been – surely it could have been –' She broke off.

'Yes, Miss Bennett?' the inspector prompted her. He waited for a moment, but Miss Bennett could not continue. Suddenly looking completely broken, she moved away towards the french windows.

The inspector turned his attention to Richard Warwick's mother. 'You'll understand, madam,' he said, attempting to put a note of sympathy into his voice, 'that this alters things.'

'Yes, I see that,' Mrs Warwick replied. She rose. 'Do you need me any further, Inspector?' she asked.

'Not for the moment, Mrs Warwick,' the inspector told her.

'Thank you,' Mrs Warwick murmured as she went to the door, which Angell hastened to open for her. Julian Farrar helped the old lady to the door. As she left the room, he returned and stood behind the armchair, looking pensive. Meanwhile, Inspector Thomas had been opening his briefcase, and was now taking out a gun.

Angell was about to follow Mrs Warwick from the room when the inspector called, peremptorily, 'Angell!'

The valet gave a start, and turned back into the room, closing the door. 'Yes, sir?' he responded quietly.

The inspector approached him, carrying what was clearly the murder weapon. 'About this gun,' he asked the valet. 'You were uncertain this morning. Can you, or can you not, say definitely that it belonged to Mr Warwick?'

'I wouldn't like to be definite, Inspector,' Angell replied. 'He had so many, you see.'

'This one is a continental weapon,' the inspector informed him, holding the gun out in front of him. 'It's a war souvenir of some kind, I'd say.'

As he was speaking, again apparently unnoticed by anyone in the room Jan passed along the terrace outside, going in the opposite direction, and carrying a gun which he seemed to be attempting to conceal.