Agatha Christie - By the pricking of my thumbs

There was an empty boat drawn up under the bridge against the bank of the canal. In the distance were two poplar trees. It was a very pleasant little scene but nevertheless Tommy wondered why Tuppence was staring at it with such earnestness.

'How funny,' murmured Tuppence.

Tommy looked at her inquiringly. The things that Tuppence thought funny were, he knew by long experience, not really to be described by such an adjective at all.

'What do you mean, Tuppence?'

'It is funny. I never noticed that picture when I was here before. But the odd thing is that I have seen that house somewhere. Or perhaps it's a house just like that that I have seen. I remember it quite well... Funny that I can't remember when and where.'

'I expect you noticed it without really noticing you were noticing,' said Tommy, feeling his choice of words was rather clumsy and nearly as painfully repetitive as Tuppence's reiteration of the word 'funny'.

'Did you notice it, Tommy, when we were here last time?'

'No, but then I didn't look particularly.'

'Oh, that picture,' said Miss Packard. 'No, I don't think you would have seen it when you were here the last time because I'm almost sure it wasn't hanging over the mantelpiece then. Actually it was a picture belonging to one of our other guests, and she gave it to your aunt. Miss Fanshawe expressed admiration of it once or twice and this other old lady made her a present of it and insisted she should have it.'

'Oh I see,' said Tuppence, 'so of course I couldn't have seen it here before. But I still feel I know the house quite well. Don't you, Tommy?'

'No,' said Tommy.

'Well, I'll leave you now,' said Miss Packard briskly. 'I shall be available at any time that you want me.' She nodded with a smile, and left the room, closing the door behind her.

'I don't think I really like that woman's teeth,' said Tuppence.

'What's wrong with them?'

'Too many of them. Or too big - "The better to eat you with, my child." - Like Red Riding Hood's grandmother.'

'You seem in a very odd sort of mood today, Tuppence.'

'I am rather. I've always thought of Miss Packard as very nice - but today, somehow, she seems to me rather sinister. Have you ever felt that?'

'No, I haven't. Come on, let's get on with what we came here to do - look over poor old Aunt Ada's "effects", as the lawyers call them. That's the desk I told you about - Uncle William's desk. Do you like it?'

'It's lovely. Regency, I should think. It's nice for the old people who come here to be able to bring some of their own things with them. I don't care for the horsehair chairs, but I'd like that little worktable. It's just what we need for that corner by the window where we've got that perfectly hideous whatnot.'

'All right,' said Tommy. 'I'll make a note of those two.'

'And we'll have the picture over the mantelpiece. It's an awfully attractive picture and I'm quite sure that I've seen that house somewhere. Now, let's look at the jewellery.'

They opened the dressing table drawer. There was a set of cameos and a Florentine bracelet and earrings and a ring with different coloured stones in it.

'I've seen one of these before,' said Tuppence. 'They spell a name usually. Dearest sometimes. Diamond, emerald, amethyst, no, it's not dearest. I don't think it would be really. I can't imagine anyone giving your Aunt Ada a thing that spelt dearest. Ruby, emerald - the difficulty is one never knows where to begin. I'll try again. Ruby, emerald, another ruby, no, I think it's a garnet and an amethyst and another pinky stone, it must be a ruby this time and a small diamond in the middle. Oh, of course, it's regard. Rather nice really. So old-fashioned and sentimental.'

She slipped it on to her finger.

'I think Deborah might like to have this,' she said, 'and the Florentine set. She's frightfully keen on Victorian things. A lot of people are nowadays. Now, I suppose we'd better do the clothes. That's always rather macabre, I think. Oh, this is the fur stole. Quite valuable, I should think. I wouldn't want it myself. I wonder if there's anyone here - anyone who was especially nice to Aunt Ada - or perhaps some special friend among the other inmates - visitors, I mean. They call them visitors or guests, I notice. It would be nice to offer her the stole if so. It's real sable. We'll ask Miss Packard. The rest of the things can go to the charities. So that's all settled, isn't it? We'll go and find Miss Packard now. Goodbye, Aunt Ada,' she remarked aloud, her eyes turning to the bed. 'I'm glad we came to see you that last time. I'm sorry you didn't like me, but it was fun to you not to like me and say those rude things, I don't begrudge it to you. You had to have some fun. And we won't forget you. We'll think of you when we look at Uncle William's desk.'

They went in search of Miss Packard. Tommy explained that they would arrange for the desk and the small worktable to be called for and despatched to their own address and that he would arrange with the local auctioneers to dispose of the rest of the furniture. He would leave the choice of any societies willing to receive clothing to Miss Packard if she wouldn't mind the trouble.

'I don't know if there's anyone here who would like her sable stole,' said Tuppence. 'It's a very nice one. One of her special friends, perhaps? Or perhaps one of the nurses who had done some special waiting on Aunt Ada?'

'That is a very kind thought of yours, Mrs Beresford. I'm afraid Miss Fanshawe hadn't any special friends among from visitors, but Miss O'Keefe, one of the nurses, did do a lot for her and was especially good and tactful, and I think she'd be pleased and honoured to have it.'

'And there's the picture over the mantelpiece,' said Tuppence. 'I'd like to have that - but perhaps the person whom it belonged to, and who gave it to her, would want to have it back. I think we ought to ask her.'

Miss Packard interrupted. 'Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs Beresford, I'm afraid we can't do that. It was a Mrs Lancaster who gave it to Miss Fanshawe and she isn't with us any longer.'

'Isn't with you?' said Tuppence, surprised. 'A Mrs Lancaster? The one I saw last time I was here - with white hair brushed back from her face. She was drinking milk in the sitting room downstairs. She's gone away, you say?'

'Yes. It was all rather sudden. One of her relations, a Mrs Johnson, took her away about a week ago. Mrs Johnson had returned from Africa where she's been living for the last four or five years - quite unexpectedly. She is now able to take care of Mrs Lancaster in her own home, since she and her husband are taking a house in England. I don't think,' said Miss Packard, 'that Mrs Lancaster really wanted to leave us. She had become so - set in her ways here, and she got on very well with everyone and was happy. She was very disturbed, quite tearful about it - but what can one do? She hadn't really very much say in the matter, because of course the Johnsons were paying for her stay here. I did suggest that as she had been here so long and settled down so well, it might be advisable to let her remain -'

'How long had Mrs Lancaster been with you?' asked Tuppence.

'Oh, nearly six years, I think. Yes, that's about it. That's why, of course, she'd really come to feel that this was her home.'

'Yes,' said Tuppence. 'Yes, I can understand that.' She frowned and gave a nervous glance at Tommy and then stuck a resolute chin into the air.

'I'm sorry she's left. I had a feeling when I was talking to her that I'd met her before - her face seemed familiar to me. And then afterwards it came back to me that I'd met her with an old friend of mine, a Mrs Blenkinsop. I thought when I came back here again to visit Aunt Ada, that I'd find out from her if that was so. But of course if she's gone back to her own people, that's different.'