‘Was it locked when you went out?’
Miss Blacklock frowned.
‘I can’t remember…I think so. I certainly locked it when I came in.’
‘That would be about quarter-past six?’
‘Somewhere about then.’
‘And the front door?’
‘That’s not usually locked until later.’
‘Then Scherz could have walked in quite easily that way. Or he could have slipped in whilst you were out shutting up the ducks. He’d already spied out the lie of the land and had probably noted various places of concealment—cupboards, etc. Yes, that all seems quite clear.’
‘I beg your pardon, it isn’t at all clear,’ said Miss Blacklock. ‘Why on earth should anyone take all that elaborate trouble to come and burgle this house and stage that silly sort of hold-up?’
‘Do you keep much money in the house, Miss Blacklock?’
‘About five pounds in that desk there, and perhaps a pound or two in my purse.’
‘Jewellery?’
‘A couple of rings and brooches, and the cameos I’m wearing. You must agree with me, Inspector, that the whole thing’s absurd.’
‘It wasn’t burglary at all,’ cried Miss Bunner. ‘I’ve told you so, Letty, all along. It was revenge! Because you wouldn’t give him that money! He deliberately shot at you—twice.’
‘Ah,’ said Craddock. ‘We’ll come now to last night. What happened exactly, Miss Blacklock? Tell me in your own words as nearly as you can remember.’
Miss Blacklock reflected a moment.
‘The clock struck,’ she said. ‘The one on the mantelpiece. I remember saying that if anything were going to happen it would have to happen soon. And then the clock struck. We all listened to it without saying anything. It chimes, you know. It chimed the two quarters and then, quite suddenly, the lights went out.’
‘What lights were on?’
‘The wall brackets in here and the further room. The standard lamp and the two small reading lamps weren’t on.’
‘Was there a flash first, or a noise when the lights went out?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘I’m sure there was a flash,’ said Dora Bunner. ‘And a cracking noise. Dangerous!’
‘And then, Miss Blacklock?’
‘The door opened—’
‘Which door? There are two in the room.’
‘Oh, this door in here. The one in the other room doesn’t open. It’s a dummy. The door opened and there he was—a masked man with a revolver. It just seemed too fantastic for words, but of course at the time I just thought it was a silly joke. He said something—I forget what—’
‘Hands up or I shoot!’ supplied Miss Bunner, dramatically.
‘Something like that,’ said Miss Blacklock, rather doubtfully.
‘And you all put your hands up?’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Miss Bunner. ‘We all did. I mean, it was part of it.’
‘I didn’t,’ said Miss Blacklock crisply. ‘It seemed so utterly silly. And I was annoyed by the whole thing.’
‘And then?’
‘The flashlight was right in my eyes. It dazzled me. And then, quite incredibly, I heard a bullet whizz past me and hit the wall by my head. Somebody shrieked and then I felt a burning pain in my ear and heard the second report.’
‘It was terrifying,’ put in Miss Bunner.
‘And what happened next, Miss Blacklock?’
‘It’s difficult to say—I was so staggered by the pain and the surprise. The—the figure turned away and seemed to stumble and then there was another shot and his torch went out and everybody began pushing and calling out. All banging into each other.’
‘Where were you standing, Miss Blacklock?’
‘She was over by the table. She’d got that vase of violets in her hand,’ said Miss Bunner breathlessly.
‘I was over here.’ Miss Blacklock went over to the small table by the archway. ‘Actually it was the cigarette-box I’d got in my hand.’
Inspector Craddock examined the wall behind her. The two bullet holes showed plainly. The bullets themselves had been extracted and had been sent for comparison with the revolver.
He said quietly:
‘You had a very near escape, Miss Blacklock.’
‘He did shoot at her,’ said Miss Bunner. ‘Deliberately at her! I saw him. He turned the flash round on everybody until he found her and then he held it right at her and just fired at her. He meant to kill you, Letty.’