The Murder at Sissingham Hall by Clara Benson

Author:Clara Benson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: mystery, Mystery, Cozy, British Detectives, Thriller & Suspense, Women Sleuths, Literature & Fiction
ISBN: 9781300841210
Publisher: Clara Benson
Published: 2013-03-16T04:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

‘What do you mean, he’s upset Simon?’ asked Angela.

‘Oh, he just kept on asking him questions about where he was and what he was doing during those fifteen minutes,’ said Joan, throwing her hands up in despair. ‘Just because he is conscientious about doing his work properly, the police seem to think he must be a murderer! It’s not his fault if he was out of the room when Neville was k—killed. And now I don’t know where he’s gone and I’m so afraid he might have done something silly. He’s not strong. He can’t cope with this sort of thing.’

She burst into tears as she spoke. Angela went to comfort her.

‘Don’t cry, darling,’ she said. ‘He wouldn’t do anything silly, I’m sure.’

‘But I’ve looked all over the house!’ wailed Joan.

‘He’s probably gone out for a walk in the grounds,’ said Sylvia reasonably. ‘That’s what I should do if someone had upset me and I wanted to cool down.’

‘Do you really think so?’ said Joan. ‘I couldn’t see him from any of the upstairs windows. But perhaps you’re right.’

‘What exactly did he say?’ I asked.

‘Oh, I don’t know, he just muttered something about getting away and hurried off. I should have followed him. I shall never forgive myself if anything happens to him.’

‘I’m sure there’s no need to worry,’ said Angela soothingly. ‘Of course it is difficult for all of us at the moment but the police have to do their job. Simon probably just wanted to get away from the pressure for a while. I’m sure he will turn up for tea.’

‘I dare say you’re right,’ said Joan, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. ‘But I can’t help worrying.’

But Simon Gale did not turn up to tea, or to dinner either. It was soon discovered that he had taken Sir Neville’s car and had last been seen heading for the nearest town.

‘Well, that’s that, then,’ said Bobs, when he heard that Gale had gone missing. ‘Nice of him to save us the bother of a police investigation but he could have had the decency to stay here and face up to it.’

Indeed, most of the party seemed to take it for granted that Gale’s disappearance was tantamount to a confession of murder, even though he had no apparent motive. I supposed that as a nervous type, he had experienced some kind of temporary disorder of the brain that had caused him to lash out and kill his employer. Remembering Gale’s pale face as we debated the Mason case at dinner, I wondered whether the subject had struck too close to home: whether, in fact, he had known of his weakness and his own liability to resort to violence. The police immediately instituted a search for the missing man, scouring the countryside for any trace of him and in the meantime, I think the rest of us, with the possible exception of Joan, felt something of a sense of relief that the matter had been resolved so rapidly.

I mentioned this to Angela Marchmont.

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