The Inspector made a note or two in his book. Then he paused
thoughtfully tapping the end of his pencil against his teeth.
“It was Miss Trevert, you say, who found the body?”
“No,” Greve replied. “Her brother, Sir Horace Trevert. It was Miss
Trevert who heard the shot fired.”
“The door was locked, I think?”
“On the inside. But here is Sir Horace Trevert. He will tell you how he
got through the window and discovered the body.”
Horace Trevert gave a brief account of his entry into the library.
Again the Inspector scribbled in his notebook.
“One or two more questions, gentlemen, please,” he said, “and then I
should wish to see Miss Trevert. Firstly, who saw Mr. Hartley Parrish
last: and at what time?”
Horace Trevert looked at Greve.
“It would be when he left us after lunch, wouldn’t it?” he said.
“Certainly, certainly,” Dr. Romain broke in. “He left us all together
in the dining-room, you, Horace and Robin and Lady Margaret and Mary
... Miss Trevert and her mother, you know,” he added by way of
explanation to the Inspector.
“And he went straight to the library?”
“Straight away, Mr. Humphries, sir,” broke in Bude. “Mr. Parrish
crossed me in the hall and gave me particular instructions that he was
not to be disturbed.”
“That was at what time?”
“About two-thirty, sir.”
“Then you were the last person to see him before ...”
“Why, no ... that is, unless ...”
The butler hesitated, casting a quick glance round his audience.
“What do you mean?” rapped out the Inspector, looking up from his
notebook. “Did anybody else see Mr. Parrish in spite of his orders?”
Bude was silent. He was looking at Greve.
“Come on,” said Humphries sternly. “You heard my question? What makes
you think anybody else had access to Mr. Parrish before the shot was
heard?”
Bude made a little resigned gesture of the hands.
“Well, sir, I thought ... I made sure that Mr. Greve ...”
There was a moment’s tense silence.
“Well?” snapped Humphries.
“I was going to say I made certain that Mr. Greve was going to Mr.
Parrish in the library to tell him tea was ready. Mr. Greve passed me
in the hall and went down the library corridor just after I had served
the tea.”
All eyes turned to Robin.
“It’s perfectly true,” he said. “I went out into the gardens for a
mouthful of fresh air just before tea. I left the house by the side
door off the corridor here. I didn’t go to the library, though. It is
an understood thing in this house that no one ever disturbs Mr. Parrish
when he ...”
He broke off sharply.
“My God, Mary,” he cried, “you mustn’t come in here!”
All turned round at his loud exclamation. Mary Trevert stood in the
doorway. Dr. Romain darted forward.
“My dear,” he said soothingly, “you mustn’t be here ...”
Passively she let him lead her into the corridor. The Inspector
continued his examination.
“At what time did you come along this corridor, sir?” he asked Robin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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