Agatha Christie Read Online Free

was at a quarter past six. I heard the church tower chime. It must have been – well, say somewhere about half past.’
    A grim smile came to the colonel’s lips.
    â€˜Quite right, young man,’ he said. ‘Half past six was the time. Perhaps you’ve heard that already? But this is altogether a most peculiar murder!’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜So many people confess to it,’ said Colonel Melrose.
    They heard the sharp intake of the other’s breath. ‘Who else has confessed to it?’ he asked in a voice that he vainly strove to render steady.
    â€˜Lady Dwighton.’
    Delangua threw back his head and laughed in rather a forced manner. ‘Lady Dwighton is apt to be hysterical,’ he said lightly. ‘I shouldn’t pay any attention to what she says if I were you.’
    â€˜I don’t think I shall,’ said Melrose. ‘But there’s another odd thing about this murder.’
    â€˜What’s that?’
    â€˜Well,’ said Melrose, ‘Lady Dwighton has confessed to having shot Sir James, and you have confessed to having stabbed him. But luckily for both of you, he wasn’t shot or stabbed, you see. His skull was smashed in.’
    â€˜My God!’ cried Delangua. ‘But a woman couldn’t possibly do that –’
    He stopped, biting his lip. Melrose nodded with the ghost of a smile.
    â€˜Often read of it,’ he volunteered. ‘Never seen it happen.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Couple of young idiots each accusing themselves because they thought the other had done it,’ said Melrose. ‘Now we’ve got to begin at the beginning.’
    â€˜The valet,’ cried Mr Satterthwaite. ‘That girl just now – I wasn’t paying any attention at the time.’ He paused, striving for coherence. ‘She was afraid of our suspecting him. There must be some motive that he had and which we don’t know, but she does.’
    Colonel Melrose frowned, then he rang the bell. When it was answered, he said, ‘Please ask Lady Dwighton if she will be good enough to come down again.’
    They waited in silence until she came. At sight of Delangua she started and stretched out a hand to save herself from falling. Colonel Melrose came quickly to the rescue.
    â€˜It’s quite all right, Lady Dwighton. Please don’t be alarmed.’
    â€˜I don’t understand. What is Mr Delangua doing here?’
    Delangua came over to her, ‘Laura – Laura – why did you do it?’
    â€˜Do it?’
    â€˜I know. It was for me – because you thought that – After all, it was natural, I suppose. But, oh! You angel!’
    Colonel Melrose cleared his throat. He was a man who disliked emotion and had a horror of anything approaching a ‘scene’.
    â€˜If you’ll allow me to say so, Lady Dwighton, both you and Mr Delangua have had a lucky escape. He had just arrived in his turn to “confess” to the murder – oh, it’s quite all right, he didn’t do it! But what we want to know is the truth. No more shillyshallying. The butler says you went into the library at half past six – is that so?’
    Laura looked at Delangua. He nodded.
    â€˜The truth, Laura,’ he said. ‘That is what we want now.’
    She breathed a deep sigh. ‘I will tell you.’
    She sank down on a chair that Mr Satterthwaite had hurriedly pushed forward.
    â€˜I did come down. I opened the library door and I saw –’
    She stopped and swallowed. Mr Satterthwaite leaned forward and patted her hand encouragingly.
    â€˜Yes,’ he said. ‘Yes. You saw?’
    â€˜My husband was lying across the writing table. I saw his head – the blood – oh!’
    She put her hands to her face. The chief constable leaned forward.
    â€˜Excuse me, Lady Dwighton. You thought Mr Delangua had shot him?’
    She nodded. ‘Forgive me, Paul,’ she pleaded.