Tuppence did not deign to reply.
III
On Monday morning, Albert, the domestic mainstay of the Beresfords’ life for many long years, ever since he had been roped into anti-criminal activities by them as a carroty-haired lift-boy, deposited the tray of early morning tea on the table between the two beds, pulled back the curtains, announced that it was a frae day, and removed his now portly form from the room.
Tuppence yawned, sat up, rubbed her eyes, poured out a cup of tea, dropped a slice of lemon in it, and remarked that it seemed a nice day, but you never knew.
Tommy turned over and groaned.
‘Wake up,’ said Tuppence.’ ,
Remember you re going places today.’ ‘Oh LOrd,’ said Tommy. ‘So I am.’
5O He, too, sat up and helped himself to tea. He looked with appreciation at the picture over the mantelpiece.
‘I must say, Tuppence, your picture looks very nice.’ ‘It’s the way the sun comes in from the window sideways and lights it up.’ ‘Peaceful,’ said Tommy.
‘If only I could remember where it was I’d seen it before.’ ‘I can’t see that it matters. You’ll remember sometime or other.’ ‘That’s no good. I want to remember ‘But why?’ ‘Don’t you see? It’s the only clue I’ve got. It was Mrs Lancaster’s picture ‘ ‘But the two things don’t tie up together anyway,’ said Tommy. ‘I mean, it’s true that the picture once belonged to Mrs Lancaster. But it may have been just a picture she bought at an exhibition or that somebody in her family did. It may have been a picture that somebody gave her as a present. She took it to Sunny Ridge with her because she thought it looked nice. There’s no reason it should have anything to do with her personally. If it had, she wouldn’t have given it to Aunt Ada.’ ‘It’s the only clue I’ve got,’ said Tuppence.
‘It’s a nice peaceful house,’ said Tommy.
‘All the same, I think it’s an empty house.’ ‘What do you mean, empty?’ ‘I don’t think,’ said Tuppence, ‘there’s anybody living in it.
I don’t think anybody’s ever going to come out of that house.
Nobody’s going to walk across that bridge, nobody’s going to untie that boat and row away in it.’ ‘For goodness’ sake, Tuppence.’ Tommy stared at her.
‘What’s the matter with you?’ ‘I thought so the £wst time I saw it,’ said Tuppence. ‘I thought “What a nice house that would be to live in.” And then I thought “But nobody does live here, I’m sure they don’t.” That shows you that I have seen it before. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.., it’s coming. It’s coming.’ Tommy stared at her.
‘Out of a /ndow,’ said Tuppence breathlessly. ‘Out of a car window? No, no, that would be the wrong angle. Running alongside the canal.., and a little hump-backed bridge and the pink walls of the house, the two poplar trees, more than two.
There were lots more poplar trees. Oh dear, oh dear, if I could ‘ ‘Oh, come off it, Tuppence.’ ‘It will come back to me.’ ‘Good Lord,’ Tommy looked at his watch. ‘I’ve got to hurry.
You and your clji vu picture.’ He jumped out of bed and hastened to the bathroom.
Tuppence lay back on her pillows and closed her eyes, trying to force a recollection that just remained elusively out of reach.
Tommy was pouring out a second cup of coffee in the dining-room when Tuppence appeared flushed with triumph.
‘I’ve got it – I know where I saw that house. It was out of the window of a railway train.’ ‘Where? When?’ ‘I don’t know. I’ll have m think. I remember saying to myself: “Someday I’ll go and look at that house” – and I tried to see what the name of the next station was. But you know what railways are nowadays. They’ve pullegi down half the stations – and the next one we went through was all torn down, and grass growing over the platforms, and no name board or anything.’ ‘where the hell’s my brief-case? Albert!’ A frenzied search took place.
Tommy came back to say a breathless goodbye. Tuppence was sitting looking meditatively at a fried egg.