AGATHA CHRISTIE. By the Pricking of My Thumbs

The information came to him by pure chance. Curious story, the whole thing.’ ‘What made him think that the child had been buried here?’ ‘I gather somebody who had come across his wife in wartime had told him that his wife had said she was living at Sutton Chancellor. It happens, you know. You meet someone, a friend or acquaintance you haven’t seen for years, and they sometimes can give you news from the past that you wouldn’t get in any other way. But she’s certainly not living here now. Nobody of that name has lived here – not since I’ve been here. Or in the neighbourhood as far as I know. Of course, the mother might have been going by another name. However, I gather the father is employing solicitors and inquiry agents and all that sort of thing, and they will probably be able to get results in the end.

It will take time ‘ ‘Was it your poor child?’ murmured Tuppence.

‘I beg your pardon, my dear?’ ‘Nothing,’ said Tuppence. ‘Something somebody said to me the other day. “Was it your poor child?” It’s rather a startling thing to hear suddenly. But I don’t really think the old lady who said it knew what she was talking about.’ ‘I know. I know. I’m often the same. I say things and I don’t really know what I mean by them. Most vexing.’ ‘I expect you know everything about the people who live here now?’ said Tuppence.

‘Well, there certainly aren’t very many to know. Yes. Why?

Is there someone you wanted to know about?’ ‘I wondered if there had ever been a Mrs Lancaster living here.’ ‘Lancaster? No, I don’t think I recollect that name.’ ‘And there’s a house – I was driving today rather aimlessly not minding particularly where I went, just following lanes ‘ ‘I know. Very nice, the lanes round here. And you can fred quite rare specimens. Botanical, I mean. In the hedges here.

Nobody ever picks flowers in these hedges. We never get any tourists round here or that sort of thing. Yes, I’ve found some very rare specimens sometimes. Dusty Cranesbe!i, for instance ‘ ‘There was a house by a canal,’ said Tuppence, refusing to be side-tracked into botany. ‘Near a little hump-backed bridge. It was about two miles from here. I wondered what its name was.’ ‘Let me sec. Canal – hump-backed bridge. Well… there are sevcrai houses like that. There’s Merricot Farm.’ ‘It wasn’t a farm.’ : ‘Ah, now, I expect it was the Perrys’ house – Amos and Alice Perry.’ ‘That’s right,’ said Tuppence. ‘A Mr and Mrs Perry.’ ‘She’s a striking looking woman, isn’t she? Interesting, I always think. Very interesting. Medieval face, didn’t you think so? She’s going to play the witch in our play we’re gettj’ng up.

The school children, you know. She looks rather like a witch, doesn’t she?’ ‘Yes,’ said Tuppence. ‘A friendly witch.’ ‘As you say, my dear, absolutely rightly. Yes, a friendly witch.’ ‘But he ‘ ‘Yes, poor fellow,’ said the vicar. ‘Not completely compos menth – but no harm in him.’ ‘ ‘They were very nice. They asked me in for a cup of tea,’ said

Tuppence. ‘But what I wanted to know was the name of the house. I forgot to ask them. They’re only living in half of it, aren’t they?’

‘Yes, yes. In what used to be the old kitchen quarters. They call it “Waterside”, I think, though I believe the ancient name for it was “Watermead”. A pleasanter name, I think.’ ‘Who does the other part of the house belong to?’

‘Well, the whole house used to belong originally to the Bradleys. That was a good many years ago. Yes, thirty or forty at least, I should think. And then it was sold, and then sold again and then it remained empty for a long time. When I came here it was just being used as a kind of weekend place. By some actress – Miss Margrave, I believe. She was not here very much. Just used to come down from time to time. I never knew her. She never came to church. I saw her in the distance sometimes. A beautiful creature. A very beautiful creature.’

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