They Do It With Mirrors

'Do you mean that it was Edgar Lawson who ran along the terrace and shot Gulbrandsen? Edgar Lawson who poisoned Mrs Serrocold?' 'But you see, Inspector, no one has been poisoning Mrs Serrocold at all. That's where the misdirection comes in.

Someone very cleverly used the fact that Mrs Serrocold's sufferings from arthritis were not unlike the symptoms of arsenical poisoning. It's the old conjurer's trick of forcing a card on you. Quite easy to add arsenic to a bottle of tonic - quite easy to add a few lines to a typewritten letter. But the real reason for Mr Gulbrandsen's coming here was the most likely reason - something to do with the Gulbrandsen Trust. Money, in fact. Suppose that there had been embezzlement - embezzlement on a very big scale - you see where that points? To just one person ' Inspector Curry gasped: 'Lewis Serrocold?' he murmured incredulously.

'Lewis Serrocold…' said Miss Marple.

Chapter 22

Part of letter from Gina Hudd to her aunt Mrs Van Rydock: - and so you see, darling Aunt Ruth, the whole thing has been just like a nightmare - especially the end of it. I've told you all about this funny man Edgar Lawson. He always was a complete rabbit - and when the Inspector began questioning him and breaking him dowr6 he lost his nerve completely and scuttled like a rabbit. Just lost his nerve and ran - literally ran. Jumped out of the window and round the house and down the drive and then there was a policeman coming to head him off, and he swerved and ran full tilt for the lake. He leaped into a rotten old punt that's mouldered therefor years and pushed off. Quite a mad senseless thing to do, of course, but as I say he was just a panic-stricken rabbit. And then LeWis gave a great shout and said 'That punt's rotten,' and raced off to the lake too. The punt went down and there was Edgar struggling in the water. He couldn't swim. Lewis jumped in and swam out to him. He got to him but they were both in difficulty because they'd got among the reeds. One of the Inspector's men went in with a rope round him but he got entangled too and they had to pull him in. Aunt Mildred said 'They'll drown - they'll drown - they'll both drown…' in a silly sort of way, and Grandam just said 'Yes.' I can't describe to you just how she made that one word sound. Just 'YES' and it went through you like - like a sword.

Am I being just silly and melodramatic? I suppose I am.

But it did sound like that…

And then - when it was all oer, and they'd got out and tried artificial respiration (but it was no go.

Inspector came to us and said to Grandam: 'I'm afraid, Mrs Serrocold, there's no hope.' Grandam said very quietly: 'Thank you, Inspector.'

Then she looked at us all longing to help knowing how, and Jolly, looking grtm and tender and to minister as usual, and Stephen stretching out, and funny old Miss Marple so sad.

Grandam looking so small and frail and leaning on

Gina paused and sucked the end of her fountair

She resumed:

About me and Wally - we're coming back to the Statas soon as we can.

Chapter 23

'What made you guess, Jane?'

Miss Marple took her time about replying. She looked thoughtfully at the other two - Carrie Louise thinner and frailer and yet curiously untouched - and the old man with the sweet smile and the thick white hair. Dr Galbraith, Bishop of Cromer.

The Bishop took Carrie Louise's hand in his.

'This has been a great sorrow to you, my poor child, and a great shock.'

'A sorrow, yes, but not really a shock.'

'No,' said Miss Marple. 'That's what I discovered, you.know. Everyone kept saying how Carrie Louise lived in another world from this and was out of touch with reality.

But actually, Carrie Louise, it was reality you were in touch with, and not the illusion. You are never deceived by illusion like most of us are. When I suddenly realized that, I saw that I must go by what you thought and felt.

You were quite sure that no one would try to poison you, you couldn't believe it - and you were quite right not to believe it, because it wasn't so! You never believed that Edgar would harm Lewis - and again you were right. He never would have harmed Lewis. You were sure that Gina did not love anyone but her husband - and that again was quite true.

'So therefore, if I was to go by you, all the things that seemed to be true were only illusions. Illusions created for a definite purpose - in the same way that conjurers create illusions, to deceive an audience. We were the audience.