‘They’ll need some evidence first.’

Gina wailed:

‘I’m frightened for you, Wally. I’ve been frightened all along.’

‘No good being scared. I tell you they’ve got nothing on me!’

They walked in silence towards the house.

Gina said:

‘I don’t believe you really want me to come back to America with you…’

Walter Hudd did not answer.

Gina Hudd turned on him and stamped her foot.

‘I hate you. I hate you. You are horrible — a beast — a cruel unfeeling beast. After all I’ve tried to do for you! You want to be rid of me. You don’t care if you never see me again. Well, I don’t care if I never see you again! I was a stupid little fool ever to marry you, and I shall get a divorce as soon as possible, and I shall marry Stephen or Alexis and be much happier than I ever could be with you. And I hope you go back to the States and marry some horrible girl who makes you really miserable!’

‘Fine!’ said Wally. ‘Now we know where we are!’

II

Miss Marple saw Gina and Wally go into the house together.

She was standing at the spot where Inspector Curry had made his experiment with Constable Dodgett earlier in the afternoon.

Miss Bellever’s voice behind her made her jump.

‘You’ll get a chill, Miss Marple, standing about like that after the sun’s gone down.’

Miss Marple fell meekly into step with her and they walked briskly through the house.

‘I was thinking about conjuring tricks,’ said Miss Marple. ‘So difficult when you’re watching them to see how they’re done, and yet, once they are explained, so absurdly simple. (Although, even now, I can’t imagine how conjurers produce bowls of goldfish!) Did you ever see the Lady who is Sawn in Half — such a thrilling trick. It fascinated me when I was eleven years old, I remember. And I never could think how it was done. But the other day there was an article in some paper giving the whole thing away. I don’t think a newspaper should do that, do you? It seems it’s not one girl — but two. The head of one and the feet of the other. You think it’s one girl and it’s really two — and the other way round would work equally well, wouldn’t it?’

Miss Bellever looked at her with faint surprise.

Miss Marple was not often so fluffy and incoherent as this. ‘It’s all been too much for the old lady,’ she thought.

‘When you only look at one side of a thing, you only see one side,’ continued Miss Marple. ‘But everything fits in perfectly well if you can only make up your mind what is reality and what is illusion.’ She added abruptly, ‘Is Carrie Louise — all right?’

‘Yes,’ said Miss Bellever. ‘She’s all right, but it must have been a shock, you know — finding out that someone wanted to kill her. I mean particularly a shock to her, because she doesn’t understand violence.’