Three Blind Mice and Other Stories - novelonlinefull.com
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"Isee,"hesaid."Isee."Hemovedaway."Well,I'dbetterclearoutand-notinterruptyou."
Mollycried,"Don'tgo!"justashishandwasonthedoorhandle.
Heturnedround,lookingatherquestioningly.Thenhecameslowlyback.
"Doyoureallymeanthat?"
"Meanwhat?"
"Youdefinitelydon'twantmeto-go?"
"No,Itellyou.Idon'twanttobealone.I'mafraidtobealone."
Christophersatdownbythetable.Mollybenttotheoven,liftedthepietoahighershelf,shuttheovendoor,andcameandjoinedhim.
"That'sveryinteresting,"saidChristopherinalevelvoice.
"Whatis?"
"Thatyou'renotafraidtobe-alonewithme.You'renot,areyou?"
Sheshookherhead."No,I'mnot."
"Whyaren'tyouafraid,Molly?"
"Idon'tknow-I'mnot."
"AndyetI'mtheonlypersonwho-fitsthebill.Onemurdererasperschedule."
"No,"saidMolly."Thereare-otherpossibilities,I'vebeentalkingtoSergeantTrotteraboutthem."
"Didheagreewithyou?"
"Hedidn'tdisagree,"saidMollyslowly.
Certainwordssoundedoverandoveragaininherhead.Especiallythatlastphrase:'Iknowexactlywhat'sinyourmind,MrsDavis.'Butdidhe?Couldhepossiblyknow?Hehadsaid,too,'thatthemurdererwasenjoyinghimself.'Wasthattrue?
ShesaidtoChristopher,"You'renotexactlyenjoyingyourself,areyou?Inspiteofwhatyousaidjustnow."
"GoodG.o.d,no,"saidChristopher,staring."Whataveryoddthingtosay."
"Oh,Ididn'tsayit.SergeantTrotterdid.Ihatethatman!He-heputsthingsintoyourhead-thingsthataren'ttrue-thatcan'tpossiblybetrue."
Sheputherhandstoherhead,coveringhereyeswiththem.VerygentlyChristophertookthosehandsaway.
"Lookhere,Molly,"hesaid,"whatisallthis?"
Shelethimforcehergentlyintoachairbythekitchentable.Hismannerwasnolongerhystericalorchildish.
"What'sthematter,Molly?"hesaid.
Mollylookedathim-alongappraisingglance.Sheaskedirrelevantly,"HowlonghaveIknownyou,Christopher?Twodays?"
"Justabout.You'rethinking,aren'tyou,thatthoughit'ssuchashorttime,weseemtoknoweachotherratherwell."
"Yes-it'sodd,isn't.i.t?"
"Oh,Idon'tknow.There'sakindofsympathybetweenus.Possiblybecausewe'veboth-beenupagainst.i.t."
Itwasnotaquestion.Itwasastatement.Mollylet.i.tpa.s.s.Shesaidveryquietly,andagainitwasastatementratherthanaquestion,"Yournameisn'treallyChristopherWren,isit."
"No."
"Whydidyou-"
"Choosethat?Oh,itseemedratherapleasantwhimsy.TheyusedtojeeratmeandcallmeChristopherRobinatschool.Robin-Wren-a.s.sociationofideas,Isuppose."
"What'syourrealname?"
Christophersaidquietly,"Idon'tthinkwe'llgointothat.Itwouldn'tmeananythingtoyou.I'mnotanarchitect.Actually,I'madeserterfromthearmy."
JustforamomentswiftalarmleapedintoMolly'seyes.
Christophersawit."Yes,"hesaid."Justlikeourunknownmurderer.ItoldyouIwastheonlyonethespecificationfitted."
"Don'tbestupid,"saidMolly."ItoldyouIdidn'tbelieveyouwerethemurderer.Goon-tellmeaboutyourself.Whatmadeyoudesert-nerves?"
"Beingafraid,youmean?No,curiouslyenough,Iwasn'tafraid-notmorethananyoneelse,thatistosay.ActuallyIgotareputationforbeingrathercoolunderfire.No,itwa.s.somethingquitedifferent.i.twas-mymother."
"Yourmother?"
"Yes-yousee,shewaskilled-inanairraid.Buried.They-theyhadtodigherout.Idon'tknowwhathappenedtomewhenIheardabout.i.t-IsupposeIwentalittlemad.Ithought,yousee,ithappenedtome.IfeltIhadtogethomequicklyand-anddigmyselfout-Ican'texplain-itwasallconfused."Heloweredhisheadtohishandsandspokeinam.u.f.fledvoice."Iwanderedaboutalongtime,lookingforher-orformyself-Idon'tknowwhich.Andthen,whenmymindclearedup,Iwasafraidtogoback-ortoreport-IknewIcouldneverexplain.Sincethen,I'vejustbeen-nothing."
Hestaredather,hisyoungfacehollowwithdespair.
"Youmustn'tfeellikethat,"saidMollygently."Youcanstartagain."
"Canoneeverdothat?"
"Ofcourse-you'requiteyoung."
"Yes,butyousee-I'vecometotheend."
"No,"saidMolly."Youhaven'tcometotheend,youonlythinkyouhave.Ibelieveeveryonehasthatfeelingonce,atleast,intheirlives-that.i.t'stheend,thattheycan'tgoon."
"You'vehadit,haven'tyou,Molly?Youmusthave-tobeabletospeaklikethat."
"Yes."
"Whatwasyours?"
"Minewasjustwhathappenedtoalotofpeople.Iwasengagedtoayoungfighterpilot-andhewaskilled."
"Wasn'ttheremoretoitthanthat?"
"Isupposetherewas.I'dhadanastyshockwhenIwasyounger.Icameupagainstsomethingthatwasrathercruelandbeastly.Itpredisposedmetothinkthatlifewasalways-horrible.WhenJackwaskilleditjustconfirmedmybeliefthatthewholeoflifewascruelandtreacherous."
"Iknow.Andthen,Isuppose,"saidChristopher,watchingher,"Gilescamealong."
"Yes."
Hesawthesmile,tender,almostshy,thattrembledonhermouth."Gilescame-everythingfeltrightandsafeandhappy-Giles!"
Thesmilefledfromherlips.Herfacewa.s.suddenlystricken.Sheshiveredasthoughwithcold.
"What'sthematter,Molly?What'sfrighteningyou?Youarefrightened,aren'tyou?"
Shenodded.
"Andit'ssomethingtodowithGiles?Somethinghe'ssaidordone?"
"It'snotGiles,really.It'sthathorribleman!"
"Whathorribleman?"Christopherwa.s.surprised."Paravicini?"
"No,no.SergeantTrotter."
"SergeantTrotter?"
"Suggestingthings-hintingthings-puttinghorriblethoughtsintomymindaboutGiles-thoughtsthatIdidn'tknowwerethere.Oh,Ihatehim-Ihatehim."
Christopher'seyebrowsroseinslowsurprise.
"Giles?Giles!Yes,ofcourse,heandIaremuchofanage.HeseemstomemucholderthanIam-butIsupposeheisn't,really.Yes,Gilesmightfitthebillequallywell.Butlookhere,Molly,that'sallnonsense.GileswasdownherewithyouthedaythatwomanwaskilledinLondon."
Mollydidnotanswer.
Christopherlookedathersharply."Wasn'thehere?"
Mollyspokebreathlessly,thewordscomingoutinanincoherentjumble."Hewasoutallday-inthecar-hewentovertotheothersideofthecountyaboutsomewirenettinginasalethere-atleastthat'swhathesaid-that'swhat.i.thought-until-until-"
"Untilwhat?"
SlowlyMolly'shandreachedoutandtracedthedateoftheEveningStandardthatcoveredaportionofthekitchentable.
Christopherlookedat.i.tandsaid,"Londonedition,twodaysago."
"ItwasinGiles'spocketwhenhecameback.He-hemusthavebeeninLondon."
Christopherstared.HestaredatthepaperandhestaredatMolly.Hepurseduphislipsandbegantowhistle,thencheckedhimselfabruptly.Itwouldn'tdotowhistlethattunejustnow.
Choosinghiswordsverycarefully,andavoidinghereye,hesaid,"Howmuchdoyouactually-knowaboutGiles?"
"Don't,"criedMolly."Don't!That'sjustwhatthatbeastTrottersaid-orhinted.Thatwomenoftendidn'tknowanythingaboutthementhattheymarried-especiallyinwartime.They-theyjusttooktheman'sownaccountofhimself."
"That'strueenough,Isuppose."
"Don'tyousayit,too!Ican'tbearit.It'sjustbecausewe'reallinsuchastate,soworkedup.We'd-we'dbelieveanyfantasticsuggestion-It'snottrue!I-"
Shestopped.Thekitchendoorhadopened.
Gilescamein.Therewasratheragrimlookonhisface."AmIinterruptinganything?"heasked.
Christopherslippedfromthetable."I'mjusttakingafewcookerylessons,"hesaid.
"Indeed?Well,lookhere,Wren,tete-a-tetesaren'tveryhealthythingsatthepresenttime.Youkeepoutofthekitchen,doyouhear?"
"Oh,butsurely-"
"Youkeepawayfrommywife,Wren.She'snotgoingtobethenextvictim."
"That,"saidChristopher,"isjustwhatI'mworryingabout."
Iftherewa.s.significanceinthewords,Gilesdidnotapparentlynoticethem.Hemerelyturnedaratherdarkershadeofbrick-red."I'lldotheworrying,"hesaid."Icanlookaftermyownwife.Gettheh.e.l.loutofhere."
Mollysaidinaclearvoice,"Pleasego,Christopher.Yes-really."
Christophermovedslowlytowardthedoor."Ishan'tgoveryfar,"hesaid,andthewordswereaddressedtoMollyandheldaverydefinitemeaning.
"w.i.l.l.yougetoutofhere?"
Christophergaveahighchildishgiggle."Aye,aye,Commander,"hesaid.
Thedoorshutbehindhim.GilesturnedonMolly.
"ForG.o.d'ssake,Molly,haven'tyougotanysense?Shutinherealonewithadangeroushomicidalmaniac!"
"Heisn'tthe-"shechangedherphrasequickly-"heisn'tdangerous.Anyway,I'monmyguard.Ican-lookaftermyself."
Gileslaughedunpleasantly."SocouldMrsBoyle."
"Oh,Giles,don't."
"Sorry,mydear.ButI'mhetup.Thatwretchedboy.WhatyouseeinhimIcan'timagine."
Mollysaidslowly,"I'msorryforhim."
"Sorryforahomicidallunatic?"
