Mrs Bradley, who had not cried since she was four, but who believed that crying at the pictures was a morbid symptom and reflected deep-seated neurosis built on self-pity, made no contribution to the discussion. Neither did she return the typescript to her nephew, although, in the privacy of her room, she studied it long and thoughtfully. She could think of nobody in the village who would be at all likely to type out and keep a longish and very apt quotation from Sir Thomas Browne. Then a possible explanation came to her, and she smiled.

CHAPTER 11

What’s in a Name?

‘I have and always had the manners of a hawk,

I am not lured with love; there must be

meat under the thumb.’

William Langland

Nothing out of the way occurred for about another fortnight, and then Jonathan received a telephone message from the farmer.

‘Rather a facer for Mr Tiny, I’m afraid, sir. He was telling me he thought he would be entitled to claim Mr Bill’s insurance money, as he was positively certain Mr Bill wasn’t married, whatever he might have put in his will. But now, it seems, somebody has turned up, and reckons to be the lady Mr Bill had secretly made his wife. Myself, I’ve been expecting her. Stands to reason Mr Bill had something up his sleeve to make such a will as that.’

‘Good Lord!’ said Jonathan. ‘That’s torn it!’ He hastened to communicate these tidings to his aunt. Mrs Bradley was delighted.

‘In Shakespeare’s words, “This falls out better than I could devise,”’ she observed. Her nephew studied her, and then said:

‘You know, you are pretty sure that you know the name of Tiny Fullalove’s accomplice.’

‘Am I?’ enquired his aunt. ‘I see no reason for your having come to that conclusion.’

‘Go on,’ said Jonathan.

‘I need not. I had hoped you might have thought of something else.’

‘And that is?’

‘No. You tell me. I should like to check my findings.’

‘Well, don’t laugh, then. I have at times rather wondered whether Bill was killed in mistake for Tiny, that’s all. There’s the question of the curry, you know. Tiny loved it, apparently. Bill didn’t like it at all. The murderer (if not Tiny) might not have known that.’

‘What a different light would be shed upon the affair if your words were true!’ said Mrs Bradley.

‘Yes. For one thing, I might be very seriously involved, if the thing did turn out to have been murder.’

‘You?’

‘Well, perhaps not involved, exactly, but I might find that I had some awkward explaining to do. After all, I am known to have a grievance against Tiny Fullalove. Suppose that it was Tiny, and not Bill, who had been found dead? After all, I’m known to have been the one to find the body! Where should I stand?’