Agatha Christie – A Murder Is Announced

‘Oh, Sonia. But they quarrelled years ago and made a clean break of it.’

‘He disapproved of her marriage?’

‘Yes, she married a man called—now what was his name—?’

‘Stamfordis.’

‘That’s it. Dmitri Stamfordis. Randall always said he was a crook. The two men didn’t like each other from the first. But Sonia was wildly in love with him and quite determined to marry him. And I really never saw why she shouldn’t. Men have such odd ideas about these things. Sonia wasn’t a mere girl—she was twenty-five, and she knew exactly what she was doing. He was a crook, I dare say—I mean really a crook. I believe he had a criminal record—and Randall always suspected the name he was passing under here wasn’t his own. Sonia knew all that. The point was, which of course Randall couldn’t appreciate, that Dmitri was really a wildly attractive person to women. And he was just as much in love with Sonia as she was with him. Randall insisted that he was just marrying her for her money—but that wasn’t true. Sonia was very handsome, you know. And she had plenty of spirit. If the marriage had turned out badly, if Dmitri had been unkind to her or unfaithful to her, she would just have cut her losses and walked out on him. She was a rich woman and could do as she chose with her life.’

‘The quarrel was never made up?’

‘No. Randall and Sonia never had got on very well. She resented his trying to prevent the marriage. She said, “Very well. You’re quite impossible! This is the last you hear of me!”’

‘But it was not the last you heard of her?’

Belle smiled.

‘No, I got a letter from her about eighteen months afterwards. She wrote from Budapest, I remember, but she didn’t give an address. She told me to tell Randall that she was extremely happy and that she’d just had twins.’

‘And she told you their names?’

Again Belle smiled. ‘She said they were born just after midday—and she intended to call them Pip and Emma. That may have been just a joke, of course.’

‘Didn’t you hear from her again?’

‘No. She said she and her husband and the babies were going to America on a short stay. I never heard any more…’

‘You don’t happen, I suppose, to have kept that letter?’

‘No, I’m afraid not…I read it to Randall and he just grunted: “She’ll regret marrying that fellow one of these days.” That’s all he ever said about it. We really forgot about her. She went right out of our lives…’

‘Nevertheless Mr Goedler left his estate to her children in the event of Miss Blacklock predeceasing you?’

‘Oh, that was my doing. I said to him, when he told me about the will: “And suppose Blackie dies before I do?” He was quite surprised. I said, “Oh, I know Blackie is as strong as a horse and I’m a delicate creature—but there’s such a thing as accidents, you know, and there’s such a thing as creaking gates…” And he said, “There’s no one—absolutely no one.” I said, “There’s Sonia.” And he said at once, “And let that fellow get hold of my money? No—indeed!” I said, “Well, her children then. Pip and Emma, and there may be lots more by now”—and so he grumbled, but he did put it in.’

‘And from that day to this,’ Craddock said slowly, ‘you’ve heard nothing of your sister-in-law or her children?’

‘Nothing—they may be dead—they may be—anywhere.’

They may be in Chipping Cleghorn, thought Craddock.

As though she read his thoughts, a look of alarm came into Belle Goedler’s eyes. She said, ‘Don’t let them hurt Blackie. Blackie’s good—really good—you mustn’t let harm come to—’

Her voice trailed off suddenly. Craddock saw the sudden grey shadows round her mouth and eyes.

‘You’re tired,’ he said. ‘I’ll go.’

She nodded.

‘Send Mac to me,’ she whispered. ‘Yes, tired…’ She made a feeble motion of her hand. ‘Look after Blackie…Nothing must happen to Blackie…look after her…’

‘I’ll do my very best, Mrs Goedler.’ He rose and went to the door.

Her voice, a thin thread of sound, followed him…