夜雨聆风well wrapped up, Miss Marple took the notefrom Bunch’s hand.
“Tell Miss Blacklock,” said Bunch, “that Julian is terribly sorry he can’tcome up himself. He’s got a parishioner dying out at Locke Hamlet. He’llcome up after lunch if Miss Blacklock would like to see him. The note’sabout the arrangements for the funeral. He suggests Wednesday if the in-quest’s on Tuesday. Poor old Bunny. It’s so typical of her, somehow, to gethold of poisoned aspirin meant for someone else. Goodbye, darling. I hopethe walk won’t be too much for you. But I’ve simply got to get that child tohospital at once.”
Miss Marple said the walk wouldn’t be too much for her, and Bunchrushed off.
Whilst waiting for Miss Blacklock, Miss Marple looked round the draw-ing room, and wondered just exactly what Dora Bunner had meant thatmorning in the Bluebird by saying that she believed Patrick had“tampered with the lamp” to “make the lights go out.” What lamp? Andhow had he “tampered” with it?
She must, Miss Marple decided, have meant the small lamp that stoodon the table by the archway. She had said something about a shepherdessor a shepherd—and this was actually a delicate piece of Dresden china, ashepherd in a blue coat and pink breeches holding what had originallybeen a candlestick and had now been adapted to electricity. The shadewas of plain vellum and a little too big so that it almost masked the figure.
What else was it that Dora Bunner had said? “I remember distinctly that itwas the shepherdess. And the next day—” Certainly it was a shepherdnow.
Miss Marple remembered that when she and Bunch had come to tea,Dora Bunner had said something about the lamp being one of a pair. Ofcourse—a shepherd and a shepherdess. And it had been the shepherdesson the day of the hold-up—and the next morning it had been the
