Agatha Christie - They Do It With Mirrors

Lewis Serrocold took him into the library, and he glanced keenly round the assembled people, making brief notes in his mind. An old lady with white hair, a middle-aged lady, the good looking girl he'd seen driving her car round the countryside, that sulky looking American husband of hers. A couple of young men who were mixed up in the outfit somewhere or other and the capable woman, Miss Bellever, who'd phoned him and met him on arrival.

Inspector Curry had already thought out a little speech and he now delivered it as planned.

'I'm afraid this is all very upsetting to you,' he said, 'and I hope not to keep you too long this evening. We can go into things more thoroughly tomorrow. It was Miss Bellever who found Mr Gulbrandsen dead, and I'll ask Miss Bellever to give me an outline of the general situation as that will save too much repetition. Mr Serrocold, if you want to go up to your wife, please do, and when I have finished with Miss Bellever, I should like to talk to you. Is that all quite clear? Perhaps there is some small room where -'

Lewis Serrocold said: 'My office, Jolly?'

Miss Bellever nodded, and said: 'I was just going to suggest it.'

She led the way across the Great Hall, and Inspector Curry and his attendant Sergeant followed her.

Miss Bellever arranged them and herself suitably. It might have been she and not Inspector Curry who was in charge of the investigation.

The moment had come, however, when the initiative passed to him. Inspector Curry had a pleasant voice and manner. He looked quiet and serious and just a little apologetic. Some people made the mistake of underrating him. Actually he was as competent in his way as Miss Bellever was in hers. But he preferred not to make a parade of the fact.

He cleared his throat.

'I've had the main facts from Mr Serrocold. Mr Christian Gulbrandsen was the eldest son of the late Eric Gulbrandsen, the founder of the Gulbrandsen Trust and Fellowships… and all the rest of it. He was one of the trustees of this place and he arrived here unexpectedly yesterday. That is correct?'

'Yes.'

Inspector Curry was pleased by her conciseness. He went on:

'Mr Serrocold was away in Liverpool. He returned this evening by the 6.30 train.'

'Yes.'

'After dinner this evening, Mr Gulbrandsen announced his intention of working in his own room and left the rest of the party here after coffee had been served. Correct?'

'Yes.'

'Now, Miss Bellever, please tell me in your own words how you came to discover him dead.'

'There was a rather unpleasant incident this evening. A young man, a psychopathic case, became very unbalanced and threatened Mr Serrocold with a revolver.

They were locked in this room. The young man eventually fired the revolver - you can see the bullet holes in the wall there. Fortunately Mr Serrocold was unhurt. After firing the shots, this young man went completely to pieces. Mr Serrocold sent me to find Dr Maverick. I got through on the house phone but he was not in his room.

I found him with one of his colleagues and gave him the message and he came here at once. On my own way back I went to Mr Gulbrandsen's room. I wanted to ask him if there was anything he would like - hot milk, or whisky, before settling for the night. I knocked, but there was no response, so I opened the door. I saw that Mr Gulbrandsen was dead. I then rang you up.'

'What entrances and exits are there to the house? And how are they secured? Could anyone have come in from outside without being heard or seen?'

'Anyone could have come in by the side door to the terrace. That is not locked until we all go to bed, as people come in and out that way to go to the College buildings.'

'And you have, I believe, between two hundred and two hundred and fifty juvenile delinquents in the College?'

'Yes. But the College buildings are well secured and patrolled. I should say it was most unlikely that anyone could leave the College unsponsored.'

'We shall have to check up on that, of course. Had Mr Gulbrandsen given any cause for - shall we say, rancour? Any unpopular decisions as to policy?' Miss Bellever shook her head.

'Oh no, Mr Gulbrandsen had nothing whatever to do with the running of the College, or with administrative matters.'

'What was the purpose of his visit?'

'I have no idea.'

'But he was annoyed to find Mr Serrocold absent, and immediately decided to wait until he returned?'

'Yes.'

'So his business here was definitely with Mr Serrocold?'

'Yes. But it would be - because it would be almost certainly business to do with the Institute.'

'Yes, presumably that is so. Did he have a conference with Mr Serrocold?'

'No, there was no time. Mr Serrocold only arrived just before dinner this evening.'

'But after dinner, Mr Gulbrandsen said he had important letters to write and went away to do so. He didn't suggest a session with Mr Serrocold?' Miss Bellever hesitated.

'No. No, he didn't.'

'Surely that was rather odd - if he had waited on at inconvenience to himself to see Mr Serrocold?'

'Yes, it was odd.'

The oddness of it seemed to strike Miss Bellever for the first time.

'Mr Serrocold did not accompany him to his room?'

'No. Mr Serrocold remained in the Hall.'

'And you have no idea at what time Mr Gulbrandsen was killed?'

'I think it is possible that we heard the shot. If so, it was at twenty-three minutes past nine.'

'You heard a shot? And it did not alarm you?'

'The circumstances were peculiar.'

She explained in rather more detail the scene between Lewis Serrocold and Edgar Lawson which had been in progress.

'So it occurred to no one that the shot might actually have come from within the house?'

'No. No, I certainly don't think so. We were all so relieved, you know, that the shot didn't come from in here.'

Miss Bellever added rather grimly:

'You don't expect murder and attempted murder in the same house on the same night.'

Inspector Curry acknowledged the truth of that.

'All the same,' said Miss Bellever, suddenly, 'you know, I believe that's what made me go along to Mr Gulbrandsen's room later. I did mean to ask him if he would like anything, but it was a kind of excuse to reassure myself that everything was all right.' Inspector Curry stared at her for a moment.

'What made you think it mightn't be all right?'

'I don't know. I think it was the shot outside. It hadn't meant anything at the time. But afterwards it came back into my mind. I told myself that it was only a backfire from Mr Restarick's car-'

'Mr Restarick's car?'

'Yes. Alex Restarick. He arrived by car this evening he arrived just after all this happened.'

'I see. When you discovered Mr Gulbrandsen's body, did you touch anything in the room?'

'Of course not.' Miss Bellever sounded reproachful. 'Naturally I knew that nothing must be touched or moved. Mr Gulbrandsen had been shot through the head but there was no firearm to be seen, so I knew it was murder.'

'And just now, when you took us into the room, everything was exactly as it had been when you found the body?' Miss Bellever considered. She sat back screwing up her eyes. She had Inspector Curry thought, one of those photographic memories.

'One thing was different,' she said. 'There was nothing in the typewriter.'

'You mean,' said Inspector Curry, 'that when you first went in Mr Gulbrandsen had been writing a letter on the typewriter, and that that letter had since been removed?'

'Yes, I'm almost sure that I saw the white edge of the paper sticking up.'

'Thank you, Miss Bellever. Who else went into that room before we arrived?'

'Mr Serrocold, of course. He remained there when I came to meet you. And Mrs Serrocold and Miss Marple went there. Mrs Serrocold insisted.'