Read Online The Mirror Crack's From Side to Side by Agatha Christie - Free Book Online
Authors: Agatha Christie
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a wife, or tried to?'
'No,' said Miss Marple, 'he didn't remind me of anyone I know.' She added, 'But she did.'
'Who - Mrs Badcock?'
'Yes,' said Miss Marple, 'she reminded me of someone called Alison Wilde.'
'And what was Alison Wilde like?'
'She didn't know at all,' said Miss Marple slowly, 'what the world was like. She didn't know what people were like. She'd never thought about them. And so, you see, she couldn't guard against things happening to her.'
'I don't really think I understand a word of what you're saying,' said Mrs Bantry.
'It's very difficult to explain exactly,' said Miss Marple, apologetically. 'It comes really from being self-centred and I don't mean selfish by that,' she added. 'You can be kind and unselfish and even thoughtful. But if you're like Alison Wilde, you never really know what you may be doing. And so you never know what may happen to you.'
'Can't you make that a little clearer?' said Mrs Bantry.
'Well, I suppose I could give you a sort of figurative example. This isn't anything that actually happened, it's just something I'm inventing.'
'Go on,' said Mrs Bantry.
'Well, supposing you went into a shop, say, and you knew the proprietress had a son who was the spivvy young juvenile delinquent type. He was there listening while you told his mother about some money you had in the house, or some silver or a piece of jewellery. It was something you were excited and pleased about and you wanted to talk about it. And you also perhaps mention an evening that you were going out. You even say that you never lock the house. You're interested in what you're saying, what you're telling her, because it's so very much in your mind. And then, say, on that particular evening you come home because you've forgotten something and there's this bad lot of a boy in the house, caught in the act, and he turns round and coshes you.'
'That might happen to almost anybody nowadays,' said Mrs Bantry.
'Not quite,' said Miss Marple, 'most people have a sense of protection. They realise when it's unwise to say or do something because of the person or persons who are taking in what you say, and because of the kind of character that those people have. But as I say, Alison Wilde never thought of anybody else but herself - She was the sort of person who tells you what they've done and what they've seen and what they've felt and what they've heard. They never mention what any other people said or did. Life is a kind of one-way track - just their own progress through it. Other people seem to them just like - like wall-paper in a room.' She paused and then said, 'I think Heather Badcock was that kind of person.'
Mrs Bantry said, 'You think she was the sort of person who might have butted into something without knowing what she was doing?'
'And without realising that it was a dangerous thing to do,' said Miss Marple. She added, 'It's the only reason I can possibly think of why she should have been killed. If of course,' added Miss Marple, 'we are right in assuming that murder has been commited.'
'You don't think she was blackmailing someone?' Mrs Bantry suggested.
'Oh, no,' Miss Marple assured her. 'She was a kind, good woman. She'd never have done anything of that kind.' She added vexedly, 'The whole thing seems to me very unlikely. I suppose it can't have been -'
'Well?' Mrs Bantry urged her.
'I just wondered if it might have been the wrong murder,' said Miss Marple thoughtfully.
The door opened and Dr Haydock breezed in, Miss Knight twittering behind him.
'Ah, at it already, I see,' said Dr Haydock, looking at the two ladies. 'I came in to see how your health was,' he said to Miss Marple, 'but I needn't ask. I see you've begun to adopt the treatment that I suggested.'
'Treatment, Doctor?'
Dr Haydock pointed a finger at the knitting that lay on the table beside her. 'Unravelling," he said. 'I'm right, aren't I?'
Miss Marple twinkled very slightly in a discreet, old-fashioned kind of way.
'You will have your joke,
'No,' said Miss Marple, 'he didn't remind me of anyone I know.' She added, 'But she did.'
'Who - Mrs Badcock?'
'Yes,' said Miss Marple, 'she reminded me of someone called Alison Wilde.'
'And what was Alison Wilde like?'
'She didn't know at all,' said Miss Marple slowly, 'what the world was like. She didn't know what people were like. She'd never thought about them. And so, you see, she couldn't guard against things happening to her.'
'I don't really think I understand a word of what you're saying,' said Mrs Bantry.
'It's very difficult to explain exactly,' said Miss Marple, apologetically. 'It comes really from being self-centred and I don't mean selfish by that,' she added. 'You can be kind and unselfish and even thoughtful. But if you're like Alison Wilde, you never really know what you may be doing. And so you never know what may happen to you.'
'Can't you make that a little clearer?' said Mrs Bantry.
'Well, I suppose I could give you a sort of figurative example. This isn't anything that actually happened, it's just something I'm inventing.'
'Go on,' said Mrs Bantry.
'Well, supposing you went into a shop, say, and you knew the proprietress had a son who was the spivvy young juvenile delinquent type. He was there listening while you told his mother about some money you had in the house, or some silver or a piece of jewellery. It was something you were excited and pleased about and you wanted to talk about it. And you also perhaps mention an evening that you were going out. You even say that you never lock the house. You're interested in what you're saying, what you're telling her, because it's so very much in your mind. And then, say, on that particular evening you come home because you've forgotten something and there's this bad lot of a boy in the house, caught in the act, and he turns round and coshes you.'
'That might happen to almost anybody nowadays,' said Mrs Bantry.
'Not quite,' said Miss Marple, 'most people have a sense of protection. They realise when it's unwise to say or do something because of the person or persons who are taking in what you say, and because of the kind of character that those people have. But as I say, Alison Wilde never thought of anybody else but herself - She was the sort of person who tells you what they've done and what they've seen and what they've felt and what they've heard. They never mention what any other people said or did. Life is a kind of one-way track - just their own progress through it. Other people seem to them just like - like wall-paper in a room.' She paused and then said, 'I think Heather Badcock was that kind of person.'
Mrs Bantry said, 'You think she was the sort of person who might have butted into something without knowing what she was doing?'
'And without realising that it was a dangerous thing to do,' said Miss Marple. She added, 'It's the only reason I can possibly think of why she should have been killed. If of course,' added Miss Marple, 'we are right in assuming that murder has been commited.'
'You don't think she was blackmailing someone?' Mrs Bantry suggested.
'Oh, no,' Miss Marple assured her. 'She was a kind, good woman. She'd never have done anything of that kind.' She added vexedly, 'The whole thing seems to me very unlikely. I suppose it can't have been -'
'Well?' Mrs Bantry urged her.
'I just wondered if it might have been the wrong murder,' said Miss Marple thoughtfully.
The door opened and Dr Haydock breezed in, Miss Knight twittering behind him.
'Ah, at it already, I see,' said Dr Haydock, looking at the two ladies. 'I came in to see how your health was,' he said to Miss Marple, 'but I needn't ask. I see you've begun to adopt the treatment that I suggested.'
'Treatment, Doctor?'
Dr Haydock pointed a finger at the knitting that lay on the table beside her. 'Unravelling," he said. 'I'm right, aren't I?'
Miss Marple twinkled very slightly in a discreet, old-fashioned kind of way.
'You will have your joke,
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