‘Carrie Louise understands some things that we don’t,’ said Miss Marple thoughtfully. ‘She always has.’

‘I know what you mean — but she doesn’t live in the real world.’

‘Doesn’t she?’

Miss Bellever looked at her in surprise.

‘There never was a more unworldly person than Cara — ’

‘You don’t think that perhaps — ’ Miss Marple broke off, as Edgar Lawson passed them, swinging along at a great pace. He gave a kind of shamefaced nod, but averted his face as he passed.

‘I’ve remembered now who he reminds me of,’ said Miss Marple. ‘It came to me suddenly just a few moments ago. He reminds me of a young man called Leonard Wylie. His father was a dentist, but he got old and blind and his hand used to shake, and so people preferred to go to the son. But the old man was very miserable about it, and moped, said he was no good for anything any more, and Leonard who was very soft-hearted and rather foolish, began to pretend he drank more than he should. He always smelt of whisky and he used to sham being rather fuddled when his patients came. His idea was that they’d go back to the father again and say the younger man was no good.’

‘And did they?’

‘Of course not,’ said Miss Marple. ‘What happened was what anybody with any sense could have told him would happen! The patients went to Mr Reilly, the rival dentist. So many people with good hearts have no sense. Besides, Leonard Wylie was so unconvincing…His idea of drunkenness wasn’t in the least like real drunkenness, and he overdid the whisky — spilling it on his clothes, you know, to a perfectly impossible extent.’

They went into the house by the side door.

Chapter 19

I

Inside the house, they found the family assembled in the library. Lewis was walking up and down, and there was an air of general tension in the atmosphere.

‘Is anything the matter?’ asked Miss Bellever.

Lewis said shortly: ‘Ernie Gregg is missing from roll call tonight.’

‘Has he run away?’

‘We don’t know. Maverick and some of the staff are searching the grounds. If we cannot find him we must communicate with the police.’

‘Grandam!’ Gina ran over to Carrie Louise, startled by the whiteness of her face. ‘You look ill.’

‘I am unhappy. The poor boy…’

Lewis said: ‘I was going to question him this evening as to whether he had seen anything noteworthy last night. I have the offer of a good post for him and I thought that after discussing that, I would bring up the other topic. Now — ’ he broke off.

Miss Marple murmured softly:

‘Foolish boy…Poor foolish boy…’

She shook her head, and Mrs Serrocold said gently:

‘So you think so too, Jane…?’

Stephen Restarick came in. He said, ‘I missed you at the theatre, Gina. I thought you said you would — Hallo, what’s up?’

Lewis repeated his information, and as he finished speaking, Dr Maverick came in with a fair-haired boy with pink cheeks and a suspiciously angelic expression. Miss Marple remembered his being at dinner on the night she had arrived at Stonygates.