The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories

I directed Gwen to bring in the cherry brandy and some glasses and I hurried into the drawing-room. I don't know whether you remember Mr. Petherick? He died two years ago, but he had been a friend of mine for many years as well as attend-ing to all my legal business. A very shrewd man and a really clever solicitor. His son does my busi-ness for me now--a very nice lad and very up to date--but somehow I don't feel quite the confi-dence I had in Mr. Petherick.

I explained to Mr. Petherick about the fires and

he said at once that he and his friend would come into the dining-room--and then he introduced his friend--a Mr. Rhodes. He was a youngish man--not much over forty-and I saw at once that there was something very wrong. His manner was most peculiar. One might have called it rude if one

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hadn't realized thai the poor fellow was suffering from strain. When we were sttled in the dining-room and Gwen had brought the cherry brandy, Mr. Pethe-rick explained the reson for his visit. "Miss Marple," Be said, "you must forgive an old friend for takin a liberty. What I have come here for is a consultation." I couldn't understand at all what he meant, and he went on: "In a case of illess one likes two points of view--that of the specialist and that of the family physician. It is the fashion to regard the former as of more value, but I am not sure that I agree. The

specialist has experience only in his own subject--the

family doctor has, perhaps, less knowledge--but a wider experience." I knew just what he meant, because a young niece of mine not ing before had hurried her child off to a very ell-known specialist in skin diseases without consulting her own doctor whom she considered an old dodderer, and the specialist had ordered some vegY expensive treatment, and later they found that all the child was suffering from was rather an un0sual form of measles. I just mention this--though I have a horror of digressing--to show that I appreciated Mr. Petherick's point--bui I still hadn't any idea of what he was driving at. "If Mr. Rhodes is ill--" I said, and stopped--because the poor ma gave the most dreadful laugh. He said: "I expect t( die of a broken neck in a few months' time." And then it all came out. There had been a case

132 Agatha Christie

of murder lately in Barnchester--a town about twenty miles away. I'm afraid I hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, because we had been having a lot of excitement in the village about our district nurse, and outside occurrences like an earthquake in India and a murder in Barnchester, although of course far more important really--had given way to our own little local excitements. I'm afraid villages are like that. Still, I did remember having read about a woman having been stabbed in a hotel, though I hadn't remem-bered her name. But now it seemed that this woman had been Mr. Rhodes' wife--and as if that wasn't bad enough--he was actually under suspi-cion of having murdered her himself.

All this Mr. Petherick explained to me very clearly, saying that, although the Coroner's jury had brought in a verdict of murder by a person or persons unknown, Mr. Rhodes had reason to be-lieve that he would probably be arrested within a day or two, and that he had come to Mr. Petherick and placed himself in his hands. Mr. Petherick went on to say that they had that afternoon con-suited Sir Malcolm Olde, K.C., and that in the

event of the case coming to trial Sir Malcolm had

been briefed to defend Mr. Rhodes.

Sir Malcolm was a young man, Mr. Petherick said, very up to date in his methods, and he had indicated a certain line of defense. But with that line of defense Mr. Petherick was not entirely satisfied.

"You see, my dear lady," he said, "it is tainted with what I call the specialist's point of view. Give Sir Malcolm a case and he sees only one point-

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the most likely line of defense. But even the best line of defense may ignore completely what is, to my mind, the vital point. It takes no account of what actually happened." Then he went on to say some very kind and flattering things about my acumen and judgment and my knowledge of human nature, and asked permission to tell me the story of the case in the hopes

that I might be able to suggest some explanation.