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2
and sighed.
“Well,” he said, “we’ve cleared a good deal of ground.”
“The servants are out,” he said. “They were together all through the crit-
ical period—those that sleep here. The ones that don’t live in had gone
home.”
He had interviewed physiotherapists, members of the teaching staff,
and what he called to himself, the “two young lags” whose turn it had
been to dine with the family that night. All their stories dovetailed and
checked. He could write them off. Their activities and habits were com-
munal. There were no lonely souls among them. Which was useful for the
could judge, the chief person in charge of the Institute, to the end.
“But we’ll have him in now, Lake.”
looking behind his pince-nez.
Maverick confirmed the statements of his staff, and agreed with Curry’s
findings. There had been no slackness, no loophole in the College impreg-
the “young patients” as Curry almost called them—so hypnotized had he
“But patients is exactly what they are, Inspector,” said Dr. Maverick with
a little smile.
It was a superior smile, and Inspector Curry would not have been hu-
man if he had not resented it just a little.
He said professionally:
“Now as regards your own movements, Dr. Maverick? Can you give me
an account of them?”
times.”
Dr. Maverick had left the Great Hall at fifteen minutes after nine with
Mr. Lacy and Mr. Baumgarten. They had gone to Mr. Baumgarten’s rooms
where they had all three remained discussing certain courses of treatment
until Miss Bellever had come hurrying in and asked Dr. Maverick to go to
the Great Hall. That was at approximately half past nine. He had gone at
Inspector Curry stirred a little.
“Just a minute, Dr. Maverick. Is this young man, in your opinion, defin-
itely a mental case?”
Dr. Maverick smiled the superior smile again.
“We are all mental cases, Inspector Curry.”
Tomfool answer, thought the Inspector. He knew quite well he wasn’t a
mental case, whatever Dr. Maverick might be!
“Is he responsible for his actions? He knows what he is doing, I sup-
pose?”
“Perfectly.”
“Then when he fired that revolver at Mr. Serrocold it was definitely at-
“No, no, Inspector Curry. Nothing of that kind.”
“Come now, Dr. Maverick. I’ve seen the two bullet holes in the wall.
They must have gone dangerously near to Mr. Serrocold’s head.”
of wounding him. He is very fond of Mr. Serrocold.”
“It seems a curious way of showing it.”
Dr. Maverick smiled again. Inspector Curry found that smile very trying.
“Everything one does is intentional15. Every time you, Inspector, forget a
name or a face it is because, unconsciously, you wish to forget it.”
Inspector Curry looked unbelieving.
“Every time you make a slip of the tongue, that slip has a meaning.
easily have shot him dead. Instead, he missed him. Why did he miss him?
Because he wanted to miss him. It is as simple as that. Mr. Serrocold was
never in any danger—and Mr. Serrocold himself was quite aware of that
fact. He understood Edgar’s gesture for exactly what it was—a gesture of
simple necessities of a child’s life—security and affection.”
“I think I’d like to see this young man.”
There is a great improvement today. Mr. Serrocold will be very pleased.”
Inspector Curry stared hard at him, but Dr. Maverick was serious as al-
ways.
Curry sighed.
“Arsenic?” The question took Dr. Maverick by surprise. It was clearly
unexpected. “What a very curious question. Why arsenic?”
“Just answer the question, please.”
“No, I have no arsenic of any kind in my possession.”
“But you have some drugs?”
“Do you attend Mrs. Serrocold?”
“No. Dr. Gunter of Market Kimble is the family physician. I hold a med-
“I see. Well, thank you very much, Dr. Maverick.”
As Dr. Maverick went out, Inspector Curry murmured to Lake that psy-
chiatrists gave him a pain in the neck.
“We’ll get on to the family now,” he said. “I’ll see young Walter Hudd
first.”
Walter Hudd’s attitude was cautious. He seemed to be studying the po-
tric system was very old-fashioned. They wouldn’t stand for a system like
that in the States.
“It was installed, I believe, by the late Mr. Gulbrandsen when electric
light was a novelty,” said Inspector Curry with a faint smile.
date.”
The fuse which controlled most of the lights in the Great Hall had gone,
and he had gone out to the fuse box to see about it. In due course he got it
repaired and came back.
“How long were you away?”
“Why, that I couldn’t say for sure. The fuse box is in an awkward place. I
had to get steps and a candle. I was maybe ten minutes — perhaps a
quarter of an hour.”
“Did you hear a shot?”
“Why no, I didn’t hear anything like that. There are double doors
through to the kitchen quarters, and one of them is lined with a kind of
felt.”
“I see. And when you came back into the Hall, what did you see?”
“They were all crowded round the door into Mr. Serrocold’s study. Mrs.
Strete said that Mr. Serrocold had been shot—but actually that wasn’t so.
Mr. Serrocold was quite all right. The boob had missed him.”
“You recognised the revolver?”
“Sure I recognised it! It was mine.”
“When did you see it last?”
“Two or three days ago.”
“Where did you keep it?”
“In the drawer in my room.”
“Who knew that you kept it there?”
“I wouldn’t know who knows what in this house.”
“What do you mean by that, Mr. Hudd?”
“Aw, they’re all nuts!”
“When you came into the Hall, was everybody else there?”
“What d’you mean by everybody?”
“The same people who were there when you went to repair the fuse.”
“Gina was there … and the old lady with white hair—and Miss Bellever
… I didn’t notice particularly—but I should say so.”
“Mr. Gulbrandsen arrived quite unexpectedly the day before yesterday,
did he not?”
“I guess so. It wasn’t his usual routine, I understand.”
“Did anyone seem upset by his arrival?”
Walter Hudd took a moment or two before he answered, “Why no, I
wouldn’t say so.”
Once more there was a touch of caution in his manner.
“Have you any idea why he came?”
“Their precious Gulbrandsen Trust I suppose. The whole setup here is
crazy.”
“You have these ‘setups’ as you call it, in the States.”
“It’s one thing to endow a scheme, and another to give it the personal
touch as they do here. I had enough of psychiatrists27 in the army. This
place is stiff with them. Teaching young thugs to make raffia baskets and
carve pipe racks. Kids’ games! It’s sissy!”
Inspector Curry did not comment on this criticism. Possibly he agreed
with it.
He said, eyeing Walter carefully:
“So you have no idea who could have killed Mr Gulbrandsen?”
“One of the bright boys from the College practising his technique, I’d
say.”
“No, Mr. Hudd, that’s out. The College, in spite of its carefully produced
those lines. Nobody can run in and out of it after dark and commit
murders.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them! Well—if you want to fix it nearer home, I’d
say your best bet was Alex Restarick.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He had the opportunity. He drove up through the grounds alone in his
car.”
“And why should he kill Christian Gulbrandsen?”
“I’m a stranger. I don’t know the family setups. Maybe the old boy had
heard something about Alex and was going to spill the beans to the Serro-
colds.”
“With what result?”
by all accounts.”
“You mean—in theatrical31 enterprises?”
“That’s what he calls it?”
“Do you suggest it was otherwise?”
Again Walter Hudd shrugged his shoulders.
“I wouldn’t know,” he said.
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