CHAPTER 14-2

 

　　"Yes," said Father. "You‘re quite right. That’s where he – well, that‘s where he was supposed to be doing."

　　"Do you mean he didn’tturn up there?"

　　"No," said Father, "he didn‘t turn up."

　　"Oh, well," said MissMarple, "I expect he got his dates wrong."

　　"Very likely, very likely."

　　"I’m afraid,"said Miss Marple, "that that‘s not the first time that that’s happened. I wentto have tea with him in Chadminster once. He was actually absent from home. Hishousekeeper told me then how very absent-minded he was."

　　"He didn‘t sayanything to you when he was staying here that might give us a clue, I suppose?" asked Father, speaking in an easy and confidential way. "You know the sort of thing I mean, any old friend he’d met or any plans he‘d made apart from thisLucerne Conference?"

　　"Oh no. He just mentioned the Lucerne Conference.I think he said it was on the 19th. Is that right?"

　　"That was the date of the Lucerne Conference, yes."

　　"I didn’t notice thedate particularly. I mean –” like most old ladies, MissMarple here became slightly involved “– I thought he saidthe 19th and he might have said the 19th, but at the same time hemight have meant the 19th and it might really have been the 20th. Imean, he may have thought the 20th was the 19th or he may havethought the 19th was the 20th."

　　"Well –” saidFather, slightly dazed.

　　"I‘m putting it badly,"said Miss Marple, "but I mean people likeCanon Pennyfather, if they say they’re going somewhere on aThursday, one is quite prepared to find that they didn‘t meanThursday, it may be Wednesday or Friday they really mean. Usually they find out in timebut sometimes they just don’t. I thought at the time thatsomething like that must have happened."

　　Father looked slightly puzzled.

　　"You speak as though you knew already, MissMarple, that Canon Pennyfather hadn‘t gone to Lucerne."

　　"I knew he wasn’t inLucerne on Thursday," said Miss Marple. "He was here all day – or most of the day. That‘s why I thought, of course, that though he may have said Thursday to me, itwas really Friday he meant. He certainly left here on Thursday evening carrying he B.E.A.bag."

　　"Quite so."

　　"I took it he was going off to the airport then,"said Miss Marple. "That’s why I was so surprised to see he was back again."

　　"I beg your pardon, what do you mean by ‘back again’?"

　　"Well, that he was back here again, I mean."

　　"Now, let‘s get thisquite clear," said Father, careful to speak in an agreeableand reminiscent voice, and not as though it was really important. "You saw the old idio – you saw the Canon, that isto say, leave as you thought for that airport with his overnight bag, fairly early in theevening. Is that right?"

　　"Yes. About half-past six, I would say, or quarterto seven."

　　"But you say he came back."

　　"Perhaps he missed the plane. That would accountfor it."

　　"When did he come back?"

　　"Well, I don’t reallyknow. I didn‘t see him come back."

　　"Oh," said Father,taken aback. "I thought you said you did see him."

　　"Oh, I did see him later," said Miss Marple, "I meant I didn’t see him actually come into the hotel."

　　"You saw him later? When?"

　　Miss Marple thought.

　　"Let me see. It was about 3 a.m. I couldn‘t sleep very well. Something woke me. Some sound. There are so many queernoises in London. I looked at my little clock, it was ten minutes past three. For somereason – I’m not quite sure what –I felt uneasy. Footsteps, perhaps, outside my door. Living in thecountry, if one hears footsteps in the middle of the night it makes one nervous. So I justopened my door and looked out. There was Canon Pennyfather leaving his room – it‘s next door to mine – and going off down the stairs wearing his overcoat."

　　"He came out of his room wearing his overcoat andwent down the stairs at 3 a.m. in the morning?"

　　"Yes," said MissMarple and added: "I thought it odd at the time."

　　Father looked at her for some moments.

　　"Miss Marple," hesaid, "why haven’t you told anyonethis before?"

　　"Nobody asked me," saidMiss Marple simply.