Death on the Air by Ngaio Marsh

Author:Ngaio Marsh [Marsh, Ngaio]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780007502059
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

‘But,’ Troy said, ‘how could you be so sure?’

‘She was the only one who could leave her place in the church unobserved. She was the only one fat enough to rub her hips against the narrow door jambs. She uses an indelible pencil. We presume she arranged to meet Bates on the balcony, giving a cock-and-bull promise to tell him something nobody else knew about the Hadets. She indicated the text with her pencil, gave the Bible a shove, and, as he leaned out to grab it, tipped him over the edge.

‘In talking about 1921 she forgot herself and described the events as if she had been there. She called Bates a typical New Zealander but gave herself out to be a Londoner. She said whitebait are only a quarter of the size of sprats. New Zealand whitebait are – English whitebait are about the same size.

‘And as we’ve now discovered, she didn’t send my cables. Of course she thought poor little Bates was hot on her tracks, especially when she learned that he’d come here to see me. She’s got the kind of crossword-puzzle mind that would think up the biblical clues, and would get no end of a kick in writing them in. She’s overwhelmingly conceited and vindictive.’

‘Still—’

‘I know. Not good enough if we’d played the waiting game. But good enough to try shock tactics. We caught her off her guard and she cracked up.’

‘Not,’ Mr Fox said, ‘a nice type of woman.’

Alleyn strolled to the gate and looked up the lane to the church. The spire shone golden in the evening sun.

‘The rector,’ Alleyn said, ‘tells me he’s going to do something about the balcony.’

‘Mrs Simpson, nee Wagstaff,’ Fox remarked, ‘suggested wire netting.’

‘And she ought to know,’ Alleyn said and turned back to the cottage.

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