The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Author:Marie Benedict
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2020-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Day Five after the Disappearance

Wednesday, December 8, 1926

Styles, Sunningdale, England, and the Rio Tinto Company Building, London, England

Tuesday night is not kind to Archie. The evening started with private police reports and public newspaper articles on the slew of purported sightings. Although the reward certainly incentivized most of the reports—the spurious and the earnest claims alike—the revelation that some reporters actually paid some citizens to file fake claims so they’d have fresh sensational articles has astonished even the crime-hardened police. The night continued with the newspapers releasing details about his wife’s letter to his brother, homing in on Agatha’s reference to feeling ill: what, the reporters had posited, or who could have caused Mrs. Christie to be so ill that she’d flee? Archie worries that this inquiry will lead them back to him.

His apprehension becomes reality. Reporters and readers cast about for a source of Agatha’s illness, and by Wednesday morning, their eyes land on Archie. He’s certain that suggestions and innuendos Kenward has been feeding to the press—or so he believes—have fanned these flames. Overnight, he is transformed from handsome war hero in an idyllic marriage to suspicious catalyst for his wife’s flight.

Kenward and Goddard are overwhelmed with the sighting accounts, and their collective forces are tasked with interviewing the involved citizens. As a result, the official search is halted for the day, even though civilians still prowl the fields and woods for clues. Despite experiencing relief at the shift in focus, Archie feels aimless after Charlotte and the police escort take Rosalind to school. He decides on a dose of normalcy and heads to his office in the Delage.

As he drives toward London, he’s tempted to swerve off course to see Sam James or Nancy; to bolster their spirits, he rationalizes to himself. But then he realizes the true reason he wants to see them is to quell his own nerves as well as his fears about what they might have said to the authorities. Even though they’d all agreed to temporarily halt communication with one another, he finds himself veering toward the exit to Hurtmore Cottage first and then to the home Nancy shares with her parents. Each time, just as he’s about to make the turn, he stops himself.

Archie congratulates himself for having made the correct decision a few minutes later when he notices a plain gray Morris following his route into the city. Has the car been there the entire time but he too enmeshed in his own thoughts to notice? Or has he become paranoid? Taking an earlier exit to London than usual, he watches to see if the automobile mimics his quick turn. It does. As he weaves in and out of traffic and traverses down side streets to reach his office building, the Morris never loses sight of him. He begins to feel irritated at Kenward, who undoubtedly ordered this surveillance, but he tells himself not to worry, that protocol must demand it regardless of how the constable perceives him.

Instead of

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