Gina said: ‘I don’t believe you really want me to come back to America with you…’ Walter Hudd did not answer.
Gina Hudd turned on him and stamped her foot.
‘I hate you. I hate you. You are horrible – a beast – a cruel unfeeling beast. After all I’ve tried to do for you!
You want to be rid of me. You don’t care if you never see me again. Well, I don’t care if/never seeyou again! I was a stupid little fool ever to marry you, and I shall get a divorce as soon as possible, and I shall marry Stephen or Alexis and be much happier than I ever could be with you. And I hope you go back to the States and marry some horrible girl who makes you really miserable?
‘Fine!’ said Wally. ‘Now we know where we are?
II Miss Marple saw Gina and Wally go into the house together.
She was standing at the spot where Inspector Curry had made his experiment with Constable Dodgett earlier in the afternoon.
Miss Believer’s voice behind her made her jump.
‘You’ll get a chill, Miss Marple, standing about like that after the sun’s gone down.’
Miss Marple fell meekly into step with her and they walked briskly through the house.
‘I was thinking about conjuring tricks,’ said Miss Marple. ‘So difficult when you’re watching them to see how they’re done, and yet, once they are explained, so absurdly simple. (Although, even now, I can’t imagine how conjurers produce bowls of goldfish!) Did you ever see the Lady who is Sawn in Half- such a thrilling trick.
It fascinated me when I was eleven years old, I remember. And I never could think how it was done. But the other day there was an article in some paper giving the whole thing away. I don’t think a newspaper should do that, do you? It seems it’s not one girl – but two. The head of one and the feet of the other. You think it’s one girl and it’s really two – and the other way round would work equally well, wouldn’t it?’
Miss Believer looked at her with faint surprise.
Miss Marple was not often so fluffy and incoherent as this. ‘It’s all been too much for the old lady,’ she thought.
‘When you only look at one side of a thing, you only see one side,’ continued Miss Marple. ‘But everything fits in perfectly well if you can only make up your mind what is reality and what is illusion.’ She added abruptly, ‘Is Carrie Louise – all right?’ ‘Yes,’ said Miss Believer. ‘She’s all right, but it must have been a shock, you know – finding out that someone wanted to kill her. I mean particularly a shock to her, because she doesn’t understand violence.’ ‘Carrie Louise understands some things that we don’t,’ said Miss Marple thoughtfully. ‘She always has.’ ‘I know what you mean – but she doesn’t live in the real world.’ ‘Doesn’t she?’ Miss Believer looked at her in surprise.
‘There never was a more unworldly person than Cara ‘ ‘You don’t think that perhaps -‘ Miss Marple broke off, as Edgar Lawson passed them, swinging along at a great pace. He gave a kind of shamefaced nod, but averted his face as he passed.
‘I’ve remembered now who he reminds me of,’ said Miss Marple. ‘It came to me suddenly just a few moments ago. He reminds me of a young man called Leonard Wylie. His father was a dentist, but he got old and blind and his hand used to shake, and so people preferred to go to the son. But the old man was very miserable about it, and moped, said he was no good for anything any more, and Leonard who was very softhearted and rather foolish, began to pretend he drank more than he should. He always smelt of whisky and he used to sham being rather fuddled when his patients came. His idea was that they’d go back to the father again and say the younger man was no good.’
‘And did they?’
‘Of course not,’ said Miss Marple. ‘What happened was what anybody with any sense could have told him would happen! The patients went to Mr Reilly, the rival dentist. So many people with good hearts have no sense.