Miss Silver coughed.
“And so, Randal, could anyone else.”
He said with some bitterness,
“Exactly-the case is wide open again. Any one of the people in these two houses could have killed Helen Adrian. It remains to be seen how many of them could have killed Cyril Felton. Crisp wants me to arrest Felix Brand, and as far as Helen Adrian is concerned he’s back at the top of the list. But when it comes to Cyril Felton he’s pretty near the bottom.” He dived into a pocket and took out a folded paper.
“These are just rough notes of what Crisp had got before I came. He’s always fancied Felix, so he led off with him. Well, it seems Penny Halliday went up on the cliffs with him as soon as they had washed up lunch. He says they stayed there till getting on for half past four, when she came in to get tea for the old ladies. He said he didn’t want any-couldn’t face another family meal-and stayed where he was until about half past five, when he came strolling in to see why Penny hadn’t come back, and walked into Crisp on the doorstep. Penny Halliday confirms all the first bit. Says it was five-and-twenty past four when she looked at her watch and said she must go in. She says it’s about ten minutes fast going, and it may have taken her a quarter of an hour. She boiled a kettle and took the tray into the front sitting-room where Mrs. Brand was having her rest at just after five o’clock, coming up with Miss Remington in the hall. They had hardly begun their tea, when they heard someone scream next door, and she ran over to see what was happening. Now you see, it is just physically possible for Felix to have followed her back to the house, got into that ground-floor room which Felton was using as a bedroom. The window was wide open and no distance from the ground-” He broke off. “It’s physically possible, as I say, but looked at from any other point of view, it doesn’t make sense. He couldn’t have heard what Felton said to his wife about knowing the murderer, because he was up on the cliffs with Penny. If Cyril had already started a blackmailing approach and the murder was planned, is it credible that he would have left it so late in the afternoon? He couldn’t have got to the house till a quarter to five, just when everybody would be rousing up and thinking about tea. And how could he know that Cyril would be in his room and asleep? If it wasn’t planned, he had to go into the house and get a weapon-probably a knife from the kitchen-whilst Penny was getting tea and Miss Remington was coming downstairs. And then he had to get rid of the weapon- probably by cleaning it and putting it back in the drawer, because both Penny and Eliza say there isn’t a knife missing on either side of the house.” He made an impatient movement. “I suppose it could just have been done, but nothing will ever persuade me that it was done.”
Miss Silver inclined her head.
“I think you are right, Randal. As you know, I have never believed that Felix Brand was the murderer.”
He said, “You still think-well, never mind now, let’s get on with this. I suppose Penny Halliday could have done it, but everything I’ve just said about Felix applies, and more strongly, to her. She would have a bare quarter of an hour to boil a kettle and get tea, get in through the window and kill Felton, clean up herself and the knife. That’s a point I forgot when we were talking about Felix-the murderer was lucky if he got off without a stain on him somewhere. But to get back to Penny. It would have been pretty good going, wouldn’t it? And I may say that even Crisp isn’t barking up that particular tree.”
“I am glad to hear it. It would not be possible for Penny Halliday to murder anyone.”
He looked at her in a quizzical manner.
“Not even to cover up for Felix? Tigress in defence of cub?”
Miss Silver coughed in a reproving manner.
“It would not be possible for her to stab a man in his sleep.”
“No-I believe you’re right. And, as I say, even Crisp isn’t keen on her as a suspect. Of course the person who had all the time in the world to do it is Eliza Cotton. She admits to having heard part of the conversation between Felton and his wife when she was out in the garden, and she could very easily have heard him tell her he knew who the murderer was and then say that he was going to his room to get some sleep. She says she went in and had a bath, but there was most of the afternoon for her to wait until he had dropped off and then go in and kill him. And plenty of time after that to clean the knife, and put it back, and go and have a bath. The motive, of course, would be the same as Penny Halliday’s-to protect Felix Brand.”
She coughed again, indulgently this time.
“As a hypothetical case you put it well. I do not think that you are very serious about it.”
He said, “Perhaps not. Less likely things have happened.” Then, after a pause, “I’m rather at a loose end. I brought over a search-warrant for Crisp, and I’m letting him get on with it. He’s having a female searcher to do the women and go through their clothes. You see, as I said, whoever knifed Felton would be lucky if he got away without a stain somewhere. I think everyone will have to submit to a personal search.”
“I am quite willing to do so, Randal.”
“You?”
She said in a placid voice,
“I was in the house. I have no alibi. I was quite alone in the study. I could very easily have done it. It would probably make it easier for everyone if no exceptions were made.”
He said thoughtfully,
“Yes, that’s true. And very good of you to think of it.” Then, with a half laugh, “I am expecting hysterics next door.”
As he spoke, there was a knock. Inspector Crisp followed it, notebook in hand. On seeing Miss Silver he checked, but was told to come in. To March’s “Anything fresh?” he replied, “Not yet, sir. I’ve left Mrs. Larkin with the ladies. Mrs. Brand is riding a very high horse indeed, and Miss Remington is saying she was never so insulted in her life, so I came away and left them to it. I thought you might like to know what kind of account everyone gives of how they spent the afternoon. Eliza Cotton we’ve had, Miss Halliday we’ve had. Miss Brand and Mr. Cunningham say they walked along the beach. She says round about four o’clock she dropped off, and he says he went for a stroll, but never out of sight. Says he wouldn’t have left her. Well, he could have, and he could have done the job and got back again-they were only round the next point. But where’s the motive? I can’t see that either of them has got one.”
“As you say. What were the ladies next door doing?”
Crisp did not exactly sniff. He merely gave the impression that he might have done so if he had belonged to the sniffing sex.
“Mrs. Brand says she was in her sitting-room-that’s the room corresponding to the one where Mr. Felton was killed. Her sister and Miss Halliday say she puts up her feet and goes to sleep over a book as regular as clockwork every Sunday afternoon. She says she was reading and never closed an eye, and if anyone had gone out of the front door or across in front of the window she’d have known. If you ask me, I should say she was asleep-and she isn’t the kind to wake easy.”
March nodded.
“And Miss Remington?”
“Says she made herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen, and after that she was up in her room doing this and that. Says she took off her dress and laid down, and she might have dropped off for a bit but she wouldn’t swear to it. I asked her if she heard Eliza Cotton in the garden calling the cat, and she says she might have done, she couldn’t be sure, Eliza was always calling him. I asked her whether she heard Mr. and Mrs. Felton talking in Mrs. Felton’s room, and she said if she did she wouldn’t take any notice-the house wasn’t their own any longer, and you couldn’t expect it to be quiet like it was in Mr. Brand’s time. Well, of course I wasn’t taking that for an answer. She’s a lady that will play up if you give her a chance, so I just let her see I wasn’t giving her one. I said, ‘Miss Remington, I’m putting it to you straight. Your window and Mrs. Felton’s are next door to each other. Did you hear voices coming from Mrs. Felton’s room, or did you not? She said yes, she did, and how disturbing it was and people had no consideration for other people’s feelings. I asked her could she hear what was said, and she said no, she couldn’t, it was just voices. And then she got angry and asked if I thought she didn’t hear quite enough of the chatter that went on all day without listening to it more than she could help. I pressed her, but she wouldn’t admit to hearing anything more than the voices.”