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attack, though nothing will show up in the usual tests  and the poison could have
disappeared before other tests are done, especially if given in small doses.
 But why did she want to harm Sir Melvin? I thought Miss Stratton told you
she was hoping to marry him. Inspector Thorpe looked mystified.
 Yes, that was true. She did it because she wanted him to think he was ill. She
wanted him to sell that building land for a lot of money, because she was hoping to
marry him, I said.  Brenda liked to be in control. She believed she could gain
control of Melvin by making him dependant on her, but he proved obstinate  and
he had begun to turn to me instead of her. I was the fly in the ointment. I wanted to
change things too much. So she decided I had to be got rid of, and she knew it had to
look like an accident.
 Yes, another murder would have made me very suspicious of this
household, said Inspector Thorpe with a frown.
 Thank goodness you didn t drink that tea! Steve said, looking at me
anxiously.  I had begun to work it out, Georgie, though not all of it by any means &
I might have been too late. He looked stricken.
 Yes, she almost got away with it.
Brenda had been a clever actress, and for a long time she had managed to fool
us all  because even Steve had thought her aunt was the one hiding something,
which, of course, she had been. She alone had suspected Brenda from the beginning,
and that was why she had been given small doses of drugs that made her ill.
 I was convinced her aunt was the dangerous one.
 Yes, I agreed.  I began to suspect something when one of the doctors
mentioned he was puzzled by Sir Melvin s illness. He told me he didn t believe it
had been a heart attack and he thought the symptoms might have been induced by
some kind of drug  but they hadn t come up with any obvious answers. That
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lingered in my mind for a while and then other things began to occur to me  things
that didn t quite add up unless Brenda was behind it all. I suspected her reasons for
making Melvin ill, but I didn t see why she had killed April& 
Steve nodded.  It s odd how little things click into place, isn t it? When I
discovered the link between April and this place, but couldn t reach you by phone, I
knew you were in danger& 
 That s when Steve came to me, Harry Thorpe said.  I suspected from the
beginning that something was going on here, Miss Langley. At first I thought Sir
Melvin might be involved in your sister s murder  I got hold of the wrong end of
the stick years ago and that had always stayed with me. But then I did a rethink and
I began to see that maybe there was more to this than met the eye. I read up the old
case notes on Janice Creek s murder  it was very curious that we received those
anonymous phone calls as you pointed out.
 I hadn t thought about that much, because I was taken off the case before the
second one came in. The indications were that both calls had come from the same
person and that that person was likely to have been a woman. That made me
wonder about Miss Stratton& Brenda was too young to have been involved in that,
of course. And I suppose that s why I didn t make the connection sooner.
 I m sorry I couldn t tell you any more, I said.  I might have done that last
time  except that I thought Brenda was listening in on the call. To have said
anything then would have been to alert her. I was pretending to go along with her 
to believe that Miss Stratton had had a mental breakdown& 
 I ll be honest, Steve said.  I thought she might have done.
 Yes, so did I for a little while, I admitted.  But then I realized that she was
ill  not mentally but physically. I knew she had been very distressed when April
was killed, but I couldn t see why. It was a long time before I began to unravel the
various pieces of the puzzle. I never did guess that Brenda was her daughter, but I
did sense that she was a little wary of her. She obviously knew that Brenda was
giving her something to make her confused and ill&  I looked at Harry Thorpe.
 What will happen to Miss Stratton? Will she be charged with murder?
 For the moment she is going to be given nursing care, he replied.  She is
still suffering from strain and shock  and that will be taken into consideration.
 She probably saved my life& 
 It will be for others to decide whether she is charged and what that charge
will be, he said,  but I shall do my best to see that she is given a fair hearing, Miss
Langley. She might get away with manslaughter while the balance of her mind was
disturbed  and that could lead to a period of rehabilitation. If she agreed to
voluntary treatment she might be free in a year or two& 
 That hardly seems fair, I said.  She could be said to have killed in self
defense.
 Get a good lawyer for her, Harry Thorpe said.  And next time something
like this happens  tell the police.
 I hope nothing like this will ever happen again, I said with feeling.  And I
really think it s time you called me Georgie& 
 I think there is something else I ought to tell you, Harry Thorpe said.  I was
going to ask for a meeting with you and Sir Melvin next week& 
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 Oh&  I looked at him curiously and yet even before he spoke I was almost
sure I already knew in my heart what he was going to say.  Does this concern
Belinda Creek, Inspector?
 Yes&  He hesitated, his gaze narrowing.  I wasn t sure if you knew& 
 I don t know, though I believe Aunt Jane may have left me a letter. I shall
probably find it when I go through her things.
 What are you talking about, Thorpe? Melvin asked.  Spit it out man!
 Would you like to tell him, Georgie? Harry Thorpe asked.
 Yes, please&  I turned to Melvin and smiled at him.  I think we both sensed
it from the start  that special feeling between us. You tried to find Belinda but you
couldn t, but Inspector Thorpe knows that I am Janice Creek s daughter and you are [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]