“These little things are very significant.” “But who was Helen?” asked Gwenda in a bewildered way.
“Tell me, my dear, are you still quite sure it was Helen?” “Yes…. It’s frightfully odd, because I don’t know who ‘Helen’ is — but at the same time I do know–I mean I know that it was ‘Helen5 lying there…. How am I going to find out more?” “Well, I think the obvious thing to do is to find out definitely if you ever were in England as a child, or if you could have been. Your relations — ” Gwenda interrupted. “Aunt Alison. She would know, I’m sure.” “Then I should write to her by air mail.
Tell her circumstances have arisen which make it imperative for sssssssssssyou to know if you have ever been in England. You would probably get an answer by air mail by the time your husband arrives.” “Oh, thank you. Miss Marple. You’ve been frightfully kind. And I do hope what you’ve suggested is true. Because if so, well, it’s quite all right. I mean, it won’t be anything supernatural.” Miss Marple smiled.
“I hope it turns out as we think. I am going to stay with some old friends of mine in the North of England the day after tomorrow. I shall be passing back through London in about ten days. If you and your husband are here then, or if you have received an answer to your letter. I should be very curious to know the result.” “Of course, dear Miss Marple! Anyway, I want you to meet Giles. He’s a perfect pet. And we’ll have a good powwow about the whole thing.” Gwenda’s spirits were fully restored by now.
Miss Marple, however, looked thoughtful.
5 MURDER IN RETROSPECT
IT was some ten days later that Miss Marple entered a small hotel in Mayfair, and was given an enthusiastic reception by young Mr. and Mrs. Reed.
“This is my husband. Miss Marple.
Giles, I can’t tell you how kind Miss Marple was to me.” “I’m delighted to meet you. Miss Marple. I hear Gwenda nearly panicked herself into a lunatic asylum.” Miss Marple’s gentle blue eyes summed up Giles Reed favourably. A very likeable young man, tall and fair with a disarming way of blinking every now and then out of a natural shyness. She noted his determined chin and the set of “`his jaw.
“We’ll have tea in the little writingroom, the dark one,” said Gwenda. “Nobody ever comes there. And then we can show Miss Marple Aunt Alison’s letter.
“Yes,” she added, as Miss Marple looked up sharply. “It’s come, and it’s almost exactly what you thought.” Tea over, the air mail letter was spread out and read.
Dearest Gwenda, (Miss Danby had written) I was much disturbed to hear that you had had some worrying experience. To tell you the truth, it had really entirely escaped my memory that you had actually resided for a short time in England as a young child.
Your mother, my sister Megan, met your father. Major Halliday, when she was on a visit to some friends of ours at that time stationed in India. They were married and you were born there. About two years after your birth your mother died. It was a great shock to us and we wrote to your father with whom we had corresponded, but whom actually we had never seen, begging him to entrust you to our care, as we would be only too glad to have you, and it might be difficult for an Army man stranded with a young child. Your father, however, refused, and told us he was resigning from the Army and taking you back with him to England. He said he hoped we would at some time come over and visit him there.
I understand that on the voyage home, your father met a young woman, became engaged to her, and married her as soon as he got to England. The marriage was not, I gather, a happy one, and I understand they parted about a year later. It was then that your father wrote to us and asked if we were still willing to give you a home. I need hardly tell you, my dear, how happy we were to do so. You were sent out to us in charge of an English nurse, and at the same time your father settled the bulk of his estate upon you and suggested that you might legally adopt our name. This, I may say, seemed a little curious to us, but we felt that it was kindly meant — and intended to make you more one of the family — we did not, however, adopt that suggestion. About a year later your father died in a nursing home. I surmise that he had already received bad news about his health at the time when he sent you out to us.