夜雨聆风Miss Marple’s voice dropped. It was no longer excited and pleased. Itwas quiet and remorseless.
“I knew then something had got to be done. Quickly! But there stillwasn’t any proof. I thought out a possible plan and I talked to SergeantFletcher.”
“And I have had Fletcher on the carpet for it!” said Craddock. “He’d nobusiness to go agreeing to your plans without reporting first to me.”
“He didn’t like it, but I talked him into it,” said Miss Marple. “We wentup to Little Paddocks and I got hold of Mitzi.”
Julia drew a deep breath and said, “I can’t imagine how you ever got herto do it.”
“I worked on her, my dear,” said Miss Marple. “She thinks far too muchabout herself anyway, and it will be good for her to have done somethingfor others. I flattered her up, of course, and said I was sure if she’d been inher own country she’d have been in the Resistance movement, and shesaid, ‘Yes, indeed.’ And I said I could see she had got just the temperamentfor that sort of work. She was brave, didn’t mind taking risks, and couldact a part. I told her stories of deeds done by girls in the Resistance move-ments, some of them true, and some of them, I’m afraid, invented. She gottremendously worked up!”
“Marvellous,” said Patrick.
“And then I got her to agree to do her part. I rehearsed her till she wasword perfect. Then I told her to go upstairs to her room and not comedown until Inspector Craddock came. The worst of these excitable peopleis that they’re apt to go off half-cocked and start the whole thing beforethe time.”
“She did it very well,” said Julia.
“I don’t quite see the point,” said Bunch. “Of course, I wasn’t there—”
she added apologetically.
