Three Blind Mice and Other Stories Part 7

"Isee,"hesaid."Isee."Hemovedaway."Well,I'dbetterclearoutand-notinterruptyou."

Mollycried,"Don'tgo!"justas.h.i.+shandwasonthedoorhandle.

Heturnedround,lookingatherquestioningly.Thenhecameslowlyback.

"Doyoureallymeanthat?"

"Meanwhat?"

"Youdefinitelydon'twantmeto-go?"

"No,Itellyou.Idon'twanttobealone.I'mafraidtobealone."

Christophersatdownbythetable.Mollybenttotheoven,liftedthepietoahighershelf,shuttheovendoor,andcameandjoinedhim.

"That'sveryinteresting,"saidChristopherinalevelvoice.

"Whatis?"

"Thatyou'renotafraidtobe-alonewithme.You'renot,areyou?"

Sheshookherhead."No,I'mnot."

"Whyaren'tyouafraid,Molly?"

"Idon'tknow-I'mnot."

"AndyetI'mtheonlypersonwho-fitsthebill.Onemurdererasperschedule."

"No,"saidMolly."Thereare-otherpossibilities,I'vebeentalkingtoSergeantTrotteraboutthem."

"Didheagreewithyou?"

"Hedidn'tdisagree,"saidMollyslowly.

Certainwordssoundedoverandoveragaininherhead.Especiallythatlastphrase:'Iknowexactlywhat'sinyourmind,MrsDavis.'Butdidhe?Couldhepossiblyknow?Hehadsaid,too,'thatthemurdererwasenjoyinghimself.'Wasthattrue?

ShesaidtoChristopher,"You'renotexactlyenjoyingyourself,areyou?Inspiteofwhatyousaidjustnow."

"GoodG.o.d,no,"saidChristopher,staring."Whataveryoddthingtosay."

"Oh,Ididn'tsayit.SergeantTrotterdid.Ihatethatman!He-heputsthingsintoyourhead-thingsthataren'ttrue-thatcan'tpossiblybetrue."

Sheputherhandstoherhead,coveringhereyeswiththem.VerygentlyChristophertookthosehandsaway.

"Lookhere,Molly,"hesaid,"whatisallthis?"

Shelethimforcehergentlyintoachairbythekitchentable.Hismannerwasnolongerhystericalorchildish.

"What'sthematter,Molly?"hesaid.

Mollylookedathim-alongappraisingglance.Sheaskedirrelevantly,"HowlonghaveIknownyou,Christopher?Twodays?"

"Justabout.You'rethinking,aren'tyou,thatthoughit'ssuchashorttime,weseemtoknoweachotherratherwell."

"Yes-it'sodd,isn't.i.t?"

"Oh,Idon'tknow.There'sakindofsympathybetweenus.Possiblybecausewe'veboth-beenupagainst.i.t."

Itwasnotaquestion.Itwasastatement.Mollylet.i.tpa.s.s.Shesaidveryquietly,andagainitwasastatementratherthanaquestion,"Yournameisn'treallyChristopherWren,isit."

"No."

"Whydidyou-"

"Choosethat?Oh,itseemedratherapleasantwhimsy.TheyusedtojeeratmeandcallmeChristopherRobinatschool.Robin-Wren-a.s.sociationofideas,Isuppose."

"What'syourrealname?"

Christophersaidquietly,"Idon'tthinkwe'llgointothat.Itwouldn'tmeananythingtoyou.I'mnotanarchitect.Actually,I'madeserterfromthearmy."

JustforamomentswiftalarmleapedintoMolly'seyes.

Christophersawit."Yes,"hesaid."Justlikeourunknownmurderer.ItoldyouIwastheonlyonethespecificationfitted."

"Don'tbestupid,"saidMolly."ItoldyouIdidn'tbelieveyouwerethemurderer.Goon-tellmeaboutyourself.Whatmadeyoudesert-nerves?"

"Beingafraid,youmean?No,curiouslyenough,Iwasn'tafraid-notmorethananyoneelse,thatistosay.ActuallyIgotareputationforbeingrathercoolunderfire.No,itwa.s.somethingquitedifferent.i.twas-mymother."

"Yourmother?"

"Yes-yousee,shewaskilled-inanairraid.Buried.They-theyhadtodigherout.Idon'tknowwhathappenedtomewhenIheardabout.i.t-IsupposeIwentalittlemad.Ithought,yousee,ithappenedtome.IfeltIhadtogethomequicklyand-anddigmyselfout-Ican'texplain-itwasallconfused."Heloweredhisheadtohishandsandspokeinam.u.f.fledvoice."Iwanderedaboutalongtime,lookingforher-orformyself-Idon'tknowwhich.Andthen,whenmymindclearedup,Iwasafraidtogoback-ortoreport-IknewIcouldneverexplain.Sincethen,I'vejustbeen-nothing."

Hestaredather,hisyoungfacehollowwithdespair.

"Youmustn'tfeellikethat,"saidMollygently."Youcanstartagain."

"Canoneeverdothat?"

"Ofcourse-you'requiteyoung."

"Yes,butyousee-I'vecometotheend."

"No,"saidMolly."Youhaven'tcometotheend,youonlythinkyouhave.Ibelieveeveryonehasthatfeelingonce,atleast,intheirlives-that.i.t'stheend,thattheycan'tgoon."

"You'vehadit,haven'tyou,Molly?Youmusthave-tobeabletospeaklikethat."

"Yes."

"Whatwasyours?"

"Minewasjustwhathappenedtoalotofpeople.Iwasengagedtoayoungfighterpilot-andhewaskilled."

"Wasn'ttheremoretoitthanthat?"

"Isupposetherewas.I'dhadanastyshockwhenIwasyounger.Icameupagainstsomethingthatwasrathercruelandbeastly.Itpredisposedmetothinkthatlifewasalways-horrible.WhenJackwaskilleditjustconfirmedmybeliefthatthewholeoflifewascruelandtreacherous."

"Iknow.Andthen,Isuppose,"saidChristopher,watchingher,"Gilescamealong."

"Yes."

Hesawthesmile,tender,almostshy,thattrembledonhermouth."Gilescame-everythingfeltrightandsafeandhappy-Giles!"

Thesmilefledfromherlips.Herfacewa.s.suddenlystricken.Shes.h.i.+veredasthoughwithcold.

"What'sthematter,Molly?What'sfrighteningyou?Youarefrightened,aren'tyou?"

Shenodded.

"Andit'ssomethingtodowithGiles?Somethinghe'ssaidordone?"

"It'snotGiles,really.It'sthathorribleman!"

"Whathorribleman?"Christopherwa.s.surprised."Paravicini?"

"No,no.SergeantTrotter."

"SergeantTrotter?"

"Suggestingthings-hintingthings-puttinghorriblethoughtsintomymindaboutGiles-thoughtsthatIdidn'tknowwerethere.Oh,Ihatehim-Ihatehim."

Christopher'seyebrowsroseinslowsurprise.

"Giles?Giles!Yes,ofcourse,heandIaremuchofanage.HeseemstomemucholderthanIam-butIsupposeheisn't,really.Yes,Gilesmightfitthebillequallywell.Butlookhere,Molly,that'sallnonsense.GileswasdownherewithyouthedaythatwomanwaskilledinLondon."

Mollydidnotanswer.

Christopherlookedathersharply."Wasn'thehere?"

Mollyspokebreathlessly,thewordscomingoutinanincoherentjumble."Hewasoutallday-inthecar-hewentovertotheothersideofthecountyaboutsomewirenettinginasalethere-atleastthat'swhathesaid-that'swhat.i.thought-until-until-"

"Untilwhat?"

SlowlyMolly'shandreachedoutandtracedthedateoftheEveningStandardthatcoveredaportionofthekitchentable.

Christopherlookedat.i.tandsaid,"Londonedition,twodaysago."

"ItwasinGiles'spocketwhenhecameback.He-hemusthavebeeninLondon."

Christopherstared.HestaredatthepaperandhestaredatMolly.Hepurseduphislipsandbegantowhistle,thencheckedhimselfabruptly.Itwouldn'tdotowhistlethattunejustnow.

Choosinghiswordsverycarefully,andavoidinghereye,hesaid,"Howmuchdoyouactually-knowaboutGiles?"

"Don't,"criedMolly."Don't!That'sjustwhatthatbeastTrottersaid-orhinted.Thatwomenoftendidn'tknowanythingaboutthementhattheymarried-especiallyinwartime.They-theyjusttooktheman'sownaccountofhimself."

"That'strueenough,Isuppose."

"Don'tyousayit,too!Ican'tbearit.It'sjustbecausewe'reallinsuchastate,soworkedup.We'd-we'dbelieveanyfantasticsuggestion-It'snottrue!I-"

Shestopped.Thekitchendoorhadopened.

Gilescamein.Therewasratheragrimlookonhisface."AmIinterruptinganything?"heasked.

Christopherslippedfromthetable."I'mjusttakingafewcookerylessons,"hesaid.

"Indeed?Well,lookhere,Wren,tete-a-tetesaren'tveryhealthythingsatthepresenttime.Youkeepoutofthekitchen,doyouhear?"

"Oh,butsurely-"

"Youkeepawayfrommywife,Wren.She'snotgoingtobethenextvictim."

"That,"saidChristopher,"isjustwhatI'mworryingabout."

Iftherewa.s.significanceinthewords,Gilesdidnotapparentlynoticethem.Hemerelyturnedaratherdarkershadeofbrick-red."I'lldotheworrying,"hesaid."Icanlookaftermyownwife.Gettheh.e.l.loutofhere."

Mollysaidinaclearvoice,"Pleasego,Christopher.Yes-really."

Christophermovedslowlytowardthedoor."Ishan'tgoveryfar,"hesaid,andthewordswereaddressedtoMollyandheldaverydefinitemeaning.

"w.i.l.l.yougetoutofhere?"

Christophergaveahighchildishgiggle."Aye,aye,Commander,"hesaid.

Thedoorshutbehindhim.GilesturnedonMolly.

"ForG.o.d'ssake,Molly,haven'tyougotanysense?Shutinherealonewithadangeroushomicidalmaniac!"

"Heisn'tthe-"shechangedherphrasequickly-"heisn'tdangerous.Anyway,I'monmyguard.Ican-lookaftermyself."

Gileslaughedunpleasantly."SocouldMrsBoyle."

"Oh,Giles,don't."

"Sorry,mydear.ButI'mhetup.Thatwretchedboy.WhatyouseeinhimIcan'timagine."

Mollysaidslowly,"I'msorryforhim."

"Sorryforahomicidallunatic?"