Ngaio Marsh: Spinsters in Jeopardy

“Indeed, we should. It’s going to be difficult to cope with Miss Truebody. Of course, they never sent for a nurse?”

“No, no! Too dangerous, by far. But I assure you every care has been taken of the poor thing.”

“I’ll bet it has. They didn’t want two bodies on their hands. M. le Commissaire has arranged for a doctor and a nurse to come up by the night train from St. Christophe. In the meantime, shall we visit her?”

Miss Garbel led the way up to the front landing. M. Dupont indicated the wrought-iron door. “We discovered the key, my dear Alleyn,” he said gaily. “An excellent move!” They climbed to the roof-garden and thence though a labyrinth of rooms to one of the bridge-like extensions that straddled the outside passage-way.

They were half-way across this bridge when their attention was caught by the sound of voices and of boots on the cobblestones below.

From the balustrade they looked down into a scene that might have been devised by a film director. The sides of the house fell away from moon-patched shadow into a deep blackness. At one point a pool of light from an open door lay across the passage-way. Into this light moved an incongruous company of foreshortened figures: the Egyptian servant, Baradi and Oberon in their white robes, Carbury Glande bareheaded and in shorts, and six gendarmes in uniform. They shifted in and out of the light, a curious pattern of heads and shoulders.

“ Alors ,” said Dupont, looking down at them: “ Bon débarras !”

His voice echoed stonily in the passage. One of the white hoods was tilted backwards. The face inside it was thus exposed to the light but, being itself dark, seemed still to be in shadow. Alleyn and Baradi looked at each other. With a peck of his head Baradi spat into the night.

“ Pas de ça !” said one of the gendarmes and turned Baradi about. It was then seen that he was handcuffed to his companion.

“Mr. Oberon,” Alleyn said, “will be delighted.”

The procession moved off with a hollow clatter down the passage. Raoul appeared in the doorway, rolling a cigarette, and watched them go.

Miss Garbel made a curious and desolate sound but immediately afterwards said brightly: “Shall we—?” and led them indoors.

“Here we are!” she said and tapped. A door was opened by the woman Alleyn had already seen at Miss Truebody’s bedside.

“These are the friends of Mademoiselle,” said Miss Garbel. “Is she awake?”

“She is awake but M. le Docteur left orders, Mademoiselle, that no one—” She saw Dupont’s uniform and her voice faded.

“M. le Docteur,” said Miss Garbel, “has reconsidered his order.”

The woman stood aside and they went into the room. Dupont stayed by the door but Alleyn walked over to the bed. There, on the pillow, was the smooth, blunt and singularly hairless face he had remembered. She looked at him and smiled and this time she was wearing her teeth. They made a great difference.

“Why, it’s Mr. Alleyn,” she murmured in a thread-like voice. “How kind!”

“You’re getting along splendidly,” Alleyn said. “I won’t tire you now, but if there is anything you want you’ll let us know.”

“Nothing. Much better. The doctor — too kind.”

“There will be another doctor tomorrow and a new nurse to help these.”

“Not—? But — Dr. Baradi—?”

“He has been obliged to go away,” Alleyn said, “on a case of some urgency.”

“Oh.” She closed her eyes.

Alleyn and Dupont went outside. Miss Garbel came to the door.

“If you don’t want me,” she said, “I’ll stay and take my turn. I’m all right, you know. Quite reliable until morning.”

“And always,” he rejoined warmly.

“Ah,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s another story.”

She showed them where a stairway ran down to ground level and she peered after them, smiling and nodding over the banister.

“We must pay one more visit,” Alleyn said.

“The third English spinster,” Dupont agreed. He seemed to have a sort of relish for this phrase.”

But when they stood in the whitewashed room and the raw light from an unshaded lamp now shone dreadfully on what was left of Grizel Locke, he looked thoughtful and said: “All three, each after her own fashion, may be said to have served the cause of justice.”

“This one,” Alleyn said drily, “may be said to have died for it.”

v

It was a quarter past two when Grizel Locke was carried in her coffin down to a mortuary van that shone glossily in the moonlight. Two hours later Alleyn and Dupont walked out of the Château de la Chèvre d’Argent. They left two men on guard and with Raoul went down the passage-way to the open platform. It was flooded in moonlight. The Mediterranean glittered down below and the hills reared themselves up fabulously against the stars. Robin Herrington’s rakish car was parked at the edge of the platform.

Alleyn said: “These are our chickens come home to roost.”

“Ah!” said M. Dupont cosily. “It is a night for love.”

“Nevertheless, if you will excuse me—”

“But, of course!”

Alleyn, whistling tunelessly and tactfully, went over to the car. Robin was in the driver’s seat with Ginny beside him. Her head was on his shoulder. He showed no particular surprise at seeing Alleyn.

“Good morning,” Alleyn said. “So you had a breakdown.”

“We did, sir, but we think we’re under our own steam again.”

“I’m glad to hear it. You will find the Chèvre d’Argent rather empty. Here’s my card. The gendarme at the door will let you in. If you’d rather collect your possessions and come back to Roqueville, I expect we could get rooms for you both at the Royal.”

He waited for an answer but it was perfectly clear to him that although they smiled and nodded brightly they had not taken in a word of his little speech.

Robin said: “Ginny’s going to marry me.”

“I hope you will both be very happy.”

“We think of beginning again in one of the Dominions.”

“The Dominions are, on the whole, both tolerant and helpful.”

Ginny, speaking for the first time, said: “Will you please thank Mrs. Alleyn? She sort of did the trick.”

“I shall. She’ll be delighted to hear it.” He looked at them for a moment and they beamed back at him. “You’ll be all right,” he said. “Get a tough job and forget you’ve had bad dreams. I’m sure it will work out.”

They smiled and nodded.

“I’ll have to ask you to come and see me later in the morning. At the Préfecture at eleven?”

“Thank you,” they said vaguely. Ginny said: “You can’t think how happy we are, all of a sudden. And just imagine, I was furious when the car broke down! And yet, if it hadn’t, we might never have found out.”

“Strange coincidence,” said Alleyn, looking at Robin. And seeing that they were incapable of coming out of the moonlight he said: “Good morning and good luck to you both,” and left them to themselves.

On the way down to Roqueville he and Dupont discussed the probable development of the case. “Oberon,” Alleyn said, “has gone to pieces, as you see. He will try and buy his way out with information.”

“Callard also is prepared to upset the peas. But thanks to your admirable handling of the case we shall be able to dispense with such aids, and Oberon, I trust, will be tried with Baradi.”

“Of the pair, Oberon is undoubtedly the more revolting.” Alleyn said thoughtfully. “I wonder how many deaths could be laid at the door of those two. I don’t know how you feel about it, Dupont, but I put their sort at the top of the criminal list. If they hadn’t directly killed poor Grizel, by God, they’d still be mass murderers.”