Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun

Life stretched before her-endless-in a series of days darkened and poisoned by Arlena’s presence. She was childish enough still to have little sense of proportion. A year, to Linda, seemed like an eternity.

A big dark burning wave of hatred against Arlena surged up in her mind. She thought:

‘I’d like to kill her. Oh! I wish she’d die…’

She looked out above the mirror on to the sea below.

This place was really rather fun. Or it could be fun. All those beaches and coves and queer little paths. Lots to explore. And places where one could go off by oneself and muck about. There were caves, too, so the Cowan boys had told her.

Linda thought:

‘If only Arlena would go away, I could enjoy myself.’

Her mind went back to the evening of their arrival. It had been exciting coming from the mainland. The tide had been up over the causeway. They had come in a boat. The hotel had looked exciting, unusual. And then on the terrace a tall dark woman had jumped up and said:

‘Why, Kenneth!’

And her father, looking frightfully surprised, had exclaimed:

‘Rosamund!’

Linda considered Rosamund Darnley severely and critically in the manner of youth.

She decided that she approved of Rosamund. Rosamund, she thought, was sensible. And her hair grew nicely-as though it fitted her-most people’s hair didn’t fit them. And her clothes were nice. And she had a kind of funny amused face-as though it were amused at herself, not at you. Rosamund had been nice to her, Linda. She hadn’t been gushing orsaid things. (Under the term of ‘saying things’ Linda grouped a mass of miscellaneous dislikes.) And Rosamund hadn’t looked as though she thought Linda a fool. In fact she’d treated Linda as though she was a real human being. Linda so seldom felt like a real human being that she was deeply grateful when anyone appeared to consider her one.

Father, too, had seemed pleased to see Miss Darnley.

Funny-he’d looked quite different, all of a sudden. He’d looked-he’d looked-Linda puzzled it out-why, young, that was it! He’d laughed-a queer boyish laugh. Now Linda came to think of it, she’d very seldom heard him laugh.

She felt puzzled. It was as though she’d got a glimpse of quite a different person. She thought:

‘I wonder what Father was like when he was my age…’

But that was too difficult. She gave it up.

An idea flashed across her mind.

What fun it would have been if they’d come here and found Miss Darnley here-just she and Father.

A vista opened out just for a minute. Father, boyish and laughing, Miss Darnley, herself-and all the fun one could have on the island-bathing-caves-

The blackness shut down again.

Arlena. One couldn’t enjoy oneself with Arlena about. Why not? Well, she, Linda, couldn’t anyway. You couldn’t be happy when there was a person there you-hated. Yes, hated. She hated Arlena.

Very slowly again that black burning wave of hatred rose up again.

Linda’s face went very white. Her lips parted a little. The pupils of her eyes contracted. And her fingers stiffened and clenched themselves…

Kenneth Marshall tapped on his wife’s door. When her voice answered, he opened the door and went in.

Arlena was just putting the finishing touches to her toilet. She was dressed in glittering green and looked a little like a mermaid. She was standing in front of the glass applying mascara to her eyelashes. She said:

‘Oh, it’s you, Ken.’

‘Yes. I wondered if you were ready.’

‘Just a minute.’

Kenneth Marshall strolled to the window. He looked out on the sea. His face, as usual, displayed no emotion of any kind. It was pleasant and ordinary.

Turning round, he said:

‘Arlena?’

‘Yes?’

‘You’ve met Redfern before, I gather?’

Arlena said easily:

‘Oh yes, darling. At a cocktail party somewhere. I thought he was rather a pet.’

‘So I gather. Did you know that he and his wife were coming down here?’

Arlena opened her eyes very wide.

‘Oh no, darling. It was the greatest surprise!’

Kenneth Marshall said quietly:

‘I thought, perhaps, that that was what put the idea of this place into your head. You were very keen we should come here.’

Arlena put down the mascara. She turned towards him. She smiled-a soft seductive smile. She said:

‘Somebody told me about this place. I think it was the Rylands. They said it was simply too marvellous-so unspoilt! Don’t you like it?’

Kenneth Marshall said:

‘I’m not sure.’

‘Oh, darling, but you adore bathing and lazing about. I’m sure you’ll simply adore it here.’

‘I can see that you mean to enjoy yourself.’

Her eyes widened a little. She looked at him uncertainly.

Kenneth Marshall said:

‘I suppose the truth of it is that you told young Redfern that you were coming here?’

Arlena said:

‘Kenneth darling, you’re not going to be horrid, are you?’

Kenneth Marshall said:

‘Look here, Arlena. I know what you’re like. They’re rather a nice young couple. That boy’s fond of his wife, really. Must you upset the whole blinking show?’

Arlena said:

‘It’s so unfair blaming me. I haven’t done anything-anything at all. I can’t help it if-’

He prompted her.

‘If what?’

Her eyelids fluttered.

‘Well, of course. I know people do go crazy about me. But it’s not my doing. They just get like that.’

‘So you do admit that young Redfern is crazy about you?’

Arlena murmured:

‘It’s really rather stupid of him.’

She moved a step towards her husband.

‘But you know, don’t you, Ken, that I don’t really care for anyone but you?’

She looked up at him through her darkened lashes.

It was a marvellous look-a look that few men could have resisted.

Kenneth Marshall looked down at her gravely. His face was composed. His voice quiet. He said:

‘I think I know you pretty well, Arlena…’

When you came out of the hotel on the south side the terraces and the bathing beach were immediately below you. There was also a path that led off round the cliff on the south-west side of the island. A little way along it, a few steps led down to a series of recesses cut into the cliff and labelled on the hotel map of the island as Sunny Ledge. Here cut out of the cliff were niches with seats in them.

To one of these, immediately after dinner, came Patrick Redfern and his wife. It was a lovely clear night with a bright moon.

The Redferns sat down. For a while they were silent.

At last Patrick Redfern said:

‘It’s a glorious evening, isn’t it, Christine?’

‘Yes.’

Something in her voice may have made him uneasy. He sat without looking at her.

Christine Redfern asked in her quiet voice:

‘Did you know that woman was going to be here?’

He turned sharply. He said:

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘I think you do.’

‘Look here, Christine. I don’t know what has come over you-’

She interrupted. Her voice held feeling now. It trembled.

‘Overme? It’s what has come over you!’

‘Nothing’s come over me.’

‘Oh! Patrick! it has! You insisted so on coming here. You were quite vehement. I wanted to go to Tintagel again where-where we had our honeymoon. You were bent on coming here.’

‘Well, why not? It’s a fascinating spot.’

‘Perhaps. But you wanted to come here becauseshe was going to be here.’

‘She? Who is she?’

‘Mrs Marshall. You-you’re infatuated with her.’

‘For God’s sake, Christine, don’t make a fool of yourself. It’s not like you to be jealous.’