Nineteen
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.
Maverick1 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—Hullo, what’s up?”
Lewis repeated his information, and as he finished speaking, Dr. Maver-
ick came in with a fair-haired boy with pink cheeks and a suspiciously an-
gelic expression. Miss Marple remembered his being at dinner on the
night she had arrived at Stonygates.
“I’ve brought Arthur Jenkins along,” said Dr. Maverick. “He seems to
have been the last person to talk to Ernie.”
“Now, Arthur,” said Lewis Serrocold, “please help us if you can. Where
has Ernie gone? Is this just a
prank3?”
“I dunno, sir. Straight, I don’t. Didn’t say nothing to me, he didn’t. All full
of the play at the theatre he was, that’s all. Said as how he’d had a smash-
ing idea for the scenery, what Mrs. Hudd and Mr. Stephen thought was
first class.”
“There’s another thing, Arthur. Ernie claims he was prowling about the
grounds after lockup last night. Was that true?”
“’Course it ain’t. Just boasting, that’s all. Perishing
liar4, Ernie. He never
got out at night. Used to boast he could, but he wasn’t that good with locks!
He couldn’t do anything with a lock as was a lock. Anyway ’e was in larst
night, that I do know.”
“You’re not saying that just to satisfy us, Arthur?”
Lewis did not look quite satisfied.
“Listen,” said Dr. Maverick. “What’s that?”
A
murmur2 of voices was approaching. The door was flung open and,
looking very pale and ill, the spectacled Mr. Birnbaum staggered in.
He
gasped6 out, “We’ve found him—them. It’s horrible….”
He sank down on a chair and mopped his forehead.
Mildred Strete said sharply:
“What do you mean—found them?”
Birnbaum was shaking all over.
“Down at the theatre,” he said. “Their heads crushed in—the big coun-
terweight must have fallen on them. Alexis Restarick and that boy Ernie
Gregg. They’re both dead….”
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