夜雨聆风I don’t think he meant to shoot himself for a minute,” said Miss Black-lock. “He wasn’t the kind of man who shoots himself.”
“You tell me, Miss Blacklock, that until the revolver was fired youthought the whole business was a joke?”
“Naturally. What else could I think it was?”
“Who do you think was the author of this joke?”
“You thought Patrick had done it at first,” Dora Bunner reminded her.
“Patrick?” asked the Inspector sharply.
“My young cousin, Patrick Simmons,” Miss Blacklock continued sharply,annoyed with her friend. “It did occur to me when I saw this advertise-ment that it might be some attempt at humour on his part, but he denied itabsolutely.”
“And then you were worried, Letty,” said Miss Bunner. “You were wor-ried, although you pretended not to be. And you were quite right to beworried. It said a murder is announced-and it was announced-yourmurder! And if the man hadn’t missed, you would have been murdered.
And then where should we all be?”
Dora Bunner was trembling as she spoke. Her face was puckered up andshe looked as though she were going to cry.
Miss Blacklock patted her on the shoulder.
“It’s all right, Dora dear - don’t get excited. It’s so bad for you.
Everything’s quite all right. We’ve had a nasty experience, but it’s overnow.” She added, “You must pull yourself together for my sake, Dora. Irely on you, you know, to keep the house going. Isn’t it the day for thelaundry to come?”
“Oh, dear me, Letty, how fortunate you reminded me! I wonder if they’llreturn that missing pillowcase. I must make a note in the book about it. I’llgo and see to it at once.”
“And take those violets away,” said Miss Blacklock. “There’s nothing Ihate more than dead flowers.”
“What a pity. I picked them fresh yesterday. They haven’t lasted at all-oh, dear, I must have forgotten to put any water in the vase. Fancy that!
I’m always forgetting things. Now I must go and see about the laundry.
They might be here any moment.”
