On the afternoon of the first he had arrived at the house to find Mrs. Claverham dead. He had surmised her death had been caused by an overdose of the pills he had prescribed.
Had Mrs. Claverham suffered from depression? he was asked. He replied that there had been times when he had found her depressed. It was when she had suffered a great deal of discomfort and pain. He had thought it natural in the circumstances.
“How was she when you last saw her?”
“She was in good spirits. I had been able to tell her that new facts had come to light about her condition, and there was hope of a partial cure.”
There was a deep silence throughout the court.
“And Mrs. Claverham was naturally pleased to hear this?”
“She was delighted.”
“And she gave you the impression that she was looking forward to this cure?”
“She did indeed.”
At the end of Dr. Doughty’s evidence, it seemed unlikely that Lisa could have died by her own hand. The question was, then: how did she die?
Several of the servants were then called to give evidence. Gertie was one of them, because it was she who had gone into Lisa’s room and found her dead.
She used to look in at that time, she said, to see if there was anything Mrs. Claverham wanted.
“Did your mistress ever talk to you about herself?” she was asked.
“Oh yes, sir. She was always talking about how she ought to have been a great actress, and would have been but for her accident.”
“Did you think she was unhappy?”
“Oh yes, sir.”
“Why do you say this?”
“She was always talking about not being a great actress, and if she hadn’t hurt her back she would have been as great as Desiree … only better … if she’d had a chance, sir.”
“Thank you. You may step down.”
Roderick was called.
Had his wife ever threatened suicide?
“Never.”
Had he noticed a change in her during the last week?
Roderick said he had been away from home for the last weeks and had returned only the day before his wife’s death.
How had she been on his return?
She was elated because she had heard of a possible cure.
“Can you suggest how six tablets came to be dissolved in a glass of water taken by your wife?”
“No.”
“Unless someone put them there.”
“Obviously someone must have put them there.”
“And if your wife put them there and drank the solution, the inference must be that she intended to take her own life?”
“She may have taken a dose and forgotten, and then taken another.”
“You mean she put two tablets into the water, took them, and a few moments later took two more, and another two after that?”
“When she took a dose she quickly became drowsy. It may be that she forgot she had taken them.”
That was the end of Roderick’s evidence.
The butler and housekeeper were called. They had very little to add and then, to my surprise, Mabel was being questioned.
I had seen her about the house and spoken to her briefly. She was a nervous girl who could not have been more than thirteen years old. She always seemed to me to be half scared. I wondered how she could do the work required of her, and remembered that Gertie said she was simple.
What could she have to tell?
I soon discovered.
“Don’t be afraid,” she was told. “All you have to do is answer the questions.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You know that Mrs. Claverham has died?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You have told your friend in the house that you know why she died. Would you tell us?”
“He murdered her!”
There was a hushed silence throughout the court.
“Would you please tell us who murdered her?”
“Mr. Roderick.”
“How do you know this?”
“I know,” she said.
“Did you see him murder her?”
She looked puzzled.
“You must answer the question, you know.”
She shook her head.
“Is the answer no, you did not see him?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then how do you know?”
“He wanted to get rid of her.”
“How did you know that?”
“I heard … didn’t I?”
“You heard what?”
“She was shouting. She said: ‘I’m not going. This is my home and I’m going to stay here. You can’t get rid of me.’ “
“When did you hear this?”
“When he came back.”
“The day before she died?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell anyone?”
She nodded.
“Whom did you tell?”
“Gertie … and some of them.”
“That will be all.”
I felt sick with fear. It had seemed miraculous that so far nobody had mentioned that Roderick had been engaged to me and now I had returned to Leverson. I should never have come back, I told myself. But what was the use of saying that now? They would discover what had happened, and they would say Roderick had killed her.
Gertie was recalled.
“The last witness has told us she discussed the death of Mrs. Claverham with you. Is that so?”
“She said something about Mr. Claverham. I didn’t take much notice of what Mabel said.”
“Not when she accused one of the members of the household of murder?”
“No, sir.”
“Did it not seem a serious charge to make?”
“With anyone else … but not with Mabel. Nothing was serious with Mabel, sir.”
“Will you explain?”
“Well, she was a ha’p’orth short.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Gertie looked faintly superior at such a profession of ignorance.
“She wasn’t all there,” she explained patiently. “She fancied this and that.”
“You mean that what she said was not to be trusted?”
“Well, you wouldn’t believe her, would you? She’d say the maddest things. Nobody took any notice of what she said.”
“So when you were told that your master had murdered your mistress, what was your reaction?”
“I think I said: ‘Oh, did he?’ “
“And you left it at that?”
“Well, you went along with Mabel, didn’t you? You didn’t take any notice of what she said. She told us she was a lady … her father was some lord or other. Next day he was some king who’d been turned off his throne. None of it made sense.”
“I see. So you did not believe she had heard Mrs. Claverham say those words?”
“No, sir. I knew she didn’t. I’m not barmy. It was only because there was all this chat about Mrs. Claverham taking that dose … and she starts dreaming.”
“You may go.”
I sat there in trepidation. The court was tense. I glanced at Roderick. He was very pale. Lady Constance was clenching and unclenching her hands in great agitation.
Mabel was brought back.
“Mabel. When did you hear Mrs. Claverham say she would not go?’
Mabel wrinkled her brows.
“Try to think. Was it the day she died … the day before … or sometime during the week?”
Mabel was clearly distressed.
“Was it one day … two days … three days … five days before she died?”
Mabel hesitated and stammered: “It was five days that she said …”
“What? Five days?”
“Yes,” said Mabel. “That’s it.”