Inspector Alleyn 3-Book Collection 7: Off With His Head, Singing in the Shrouds, False Scent. Ngaio Marsh

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СКАЧАТЬ hesitated, frowning. ‘I saw him crouch down after the end of the dance. He sat there for a moment, and then lay down. When he lay down, he – I mean I really couldn’t see him. I expect that was the idea. He meant to hide. I think he must have been in a bit of a hollow. So I’d have noticed like anything if he’d got up.’

      ‘Or, for the sake of argument, if anybody had offered him any kind of violence?’

      ‘Good heavens, yes!’ she said, as if he’d suggested the ridiculous. ‘Of course.’

      ‘What happened immediately after he sank out of sight? At the end of the dance?’

      ‘They made a stage picture. The Sons had drawn their swords out of the lock. “Crack” stood behind the stone looking like a sort of idol. Ralph stood on the prompt side and the Sons separated. Two of them stood on one side, near me, and two on the other, and the fifth, the Whiffler – I knew afterwards it was Ernie – wandered away by himself. Ralph went round with the collecting thing and then Ralph snatched Ernie’s sword away and they had a chase. Ralph’s got rather a nice sense of comedy, actually. He quite stole the show. I remember “Crack” was behind the dolmen about then so he ought to be able to tell you if there was anything – anything – wrong –’

      ‘Yes. What did he do while he was there?’

      ‘Nothing. He just stood. Anyway,’ Camilla said rapidly, ‘he couldn’t do anything much, could he, in that harness? Nothing – nothing that would –’

      ‘No,’ Alleyn said, ‘he couldn’t. What did he do, in fact?’

      ‘Well, he sort of played up to Ralph and Ernie. He gave a kind of falsetto neigh, and he went off at the back.’

      ‘Yes? And then?’

      ‘Then Ralph pretended to hide. He crouched down behind a heap of rubble and he’d still got Ernie’s sword. And Ernie went off-stage looking for him.’

      ‘You’re sure all this is in the right order?’

      ‘I think so. One looked at it in terms of theatre,’ said Camilla. ‘So, of course, one wouldn’t forget.’

      ‘No,’ Alleyn agreed with careful gravity, ‘one wouldn’t, would one. And then?’

      ‘Then Uncle Dan did his solo and I rather think that was when the bonfire flared up.’ She looked at Dr Otterly. ‘Do you?’

      ‘It was then. I was playing “Lord Mardian’s Fancy,” which is Dan’s tune.’

      ‘Yes. And Ralph came out of his hiding-place and went off at the back. He must have returned his sword to Ernie and walked round behind the wall because he came on at the O.P. entrance. I call it “O.P.” ’

      ‘Precisely.’

      ‘And I think, at about the same time, Ernie and “Crack” must have come back together through the centre entrance at the back.’

      ‘And Ernie had got his sword?’

      ‘Yes, he had. I remember thinking: “So Ralph’s given him back his sword,” and anyway, I’d noticed that Ralph hadn’t got it any longer.’

      Camilla had a very direct way of looking at people. She looked now straight at Alleyn and frowned a little. Then, a curious thing happened to her face. It turned ashen white without changing its expression. ‘About the sword,’ she said. ‘About the sword –?’

      ‘Yes?’

      ‘It wasn’t – it couldn’t have been – could it?’

      ‘There’s no saying,’ Alleyn said gently, ‘what the weapon was. We’re just clearing the ground, you know.’

      ‘But it couldn’t. No. Nobody went near with the sword. I swear nobody went near. I swear.’

      ‘Do you? Well, that’s a very helpful thing for us to know.’

      Dr Otterly said: ‘I do, too, you know, Alleyn.’

      Camilla threw a look of agonized gratitude at him and Alleyn thought: ‘Has she already learnt at her drama school to express the maximum of any given emotion at any given time? Perhaps, but she hasn’t learned to turn colour in six easy lessons. She was frightened, poor child, and now she’s relieved and it’s pretty clear to me she’s fathoms deep in love with Master Stayne.’

      He offered Camilla a cigarette and moved round behind her as he struck a match for it.

      ‘Dr Otterly,’ he said, ‘I wonder if you’d be terribly kind and ring up Yowford about the arrangements there? I’ve only just thought of it, fool that I am. Fox will give you the details. Sorry to be such a bore.’

      He winked atrociously at Dr Otterly, who opened his mouth and shut it again.

      ‘There, now!’ said Mr Fox, ‘and I’d meant to remind you. ’T, ’t, ’t! Shall we fix it up, now, Doctor? No time like the present.’

      ‘Come back,’ Alleyn said, ‘when it’s all settled, won’t you?’

      Dr Otterly looked fixedly at him, smiled with constraint upon Camilla and suffered Mr Fox to shepherd him out of the room.

      Alleyn sat down opposite Camilla and helped himself to a cigarette.

      ‘All wrong on duty,’ he said, ‘but there aren’t any witnesses. You won’t write a complaint to the Yard, will you?’

      ‘No,’ Camilla said and added: ‘Did you send them away on purpose?’

      ‘How did you guess?’ Alleyn asked admiringly.

      ‘It had all the appearance of a piece of full-sized hokum.’

      ‘Hell, how shaming! Never mind, I’ll press on. I sent them away because I wanted to ask you a personal question and, having no witnesses makes it unofficial. I wanted to ask you if you were about to become engaged to be married.’

      Camilla choked on her cigarette.

      ‘Come on,’ Alleyn said. ‘Do tell me, like a nice comfortable child.’

      ‘I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t.’

      ‘Can’t you make up your mind?’

      ‘There’s no reason that I can see,’ Camilla said, with a belated show of spirit, ‘why I should tell you anything at all about it.’

      ‘Nor there is, if you’d rather not.’

      ‘Why do you want to know?’

      ‘It makes it easier to talk to people,’ Alleyn said, ‘if you know about their preoccupations. A threatened engagement is a major preoccupation, as you will allow and must admit.’

      ‘All right,’ Camilla said. ‘I’ll tell you. I’m not engaged but Ralph wants us to be.’

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