‘I was hoping you might tell me, Inspector.’
‘As a matter of fact, I was about to make a suggestion. I had a very interesting phone call from Dr Redwing before I left the office last night. Did you know her father’s just died? Natural causes, which makes a pleasant change. Well, apparently he had a bit of a story to tell and I rather think we need to talk to Clarissa Pye.’
4
Clarissa Pye came into the living room carrying a tray with three cups of tea and some biscuits, neatly arranged on a plate as if somehow the symmetry would make them more desirable. The room seemed terribly small with so many people in it. Atticus Pünd and his assistant were next to each other on the faux-leather sofa, their knees almost touching. The round-faced detective inspector from Bath had taken the armchair opposite. She could feel the walls hemming them in. But ever since Dr Redwing had told her the news, the house had not been the same. It was not her house. This was not her life. It was as if she had been swapped for someone else in one of those Victorian novels she had always enjoyed.
‘I suppose it was understandable that Dr Redwing should tell you what her father said,’ she began. Her voice was a little prim. ‘Although it might have been considerate to inform me that she was going to make the call.’
‘I’m sure she believed she was acting for the best, Miss Pye,’ Chubb said.
‘Well, I suppose it was only right that the police were informed. After all, whatever you may think of Dr Rennard, he committed a crime.’ She set the tray down. ‘He lied on the birth certificate. He delivered both of us, but I was the first. He should really be prosecuted.’
‘He’s gone somewhere far beyond the reach of the law.’
‘The reach of human law, certainly.’
‘You have had very little time to get used to all this,’ Pünd remarked, gently.
‘Yes. I only heard yesterday.’
‘I imagine it must have come as quite a shock to you.’
‘A shock? I’m not quite sure that’s the word I would use, Mr Pünd. It’s more like an earthquake. I remember Edgar Rennard very well. He was very much liked in the village and he often came up to the house when Magnus and I were growing up. He never struck me as an evil man and yet it really is a monstrous thing to have done. His lie took away my entire life. And Magnus! I wonder if he knew about it? He was always lording it over me, as if there was some terrific joke and I was the only one who wasn’t in the know. He threw me out of my own home, you know. I had to support myself in London and then in America. And all the time there was no need for it.’ She sighed. ‘I have been very much cheated.’
‘What will you do?’
‘I will claim what is mine. Why not? I have a right to it.’
Inspector Chubb looked uncomfortable. ‘That may not be as easy as you think, Miss Pye,’ he said. ‘From what I understand, Dr Redwing was alone in the room with her father when he told her what he’d done. There were no witnesses to the conversation. I suppose there’s always a chance you may find something in his papers. He may have written something down. But right now it’ll just be your word.’
‘He may have told someone else.’
‘He almost certainly told Sir Magnus,’ Pünd cut in. He turned to the detective inspector. ‘You remember the notepad that we found on his desk, the day after he was killed. Ashton H. Mw. A girl. Now it is all clear. The call was received from Ashton House. Edgar Rennard knew that he was dying and, out of a sense of guilt, telephoned Sir Magnus to explain that, when he delivered the twins, the first-born had in fact been a girl. The notepad also contained a number of crossings out. Sir Magnus was clearly perturbed by what he heard.’
‘Well, that could explain something,’ Clarissa said and there was real anger in her voice. ‘He came to this very house, sat where you’re sitting on the very day of his death. And he offered me a job at Pye Hall! He wanted me to move into the Lodge House and take over from Mary Blakiston. Can you imagine it! Maybe he was afraid that the truth was about to come to light. Maybe he actually wanted to contain me. If I’d moved in, I might have been the one with my head lopped off my shoulders.’
‘I wish you luck, Miss Pye,’ Chubb said. ‘It’s clearly a great injustice that’s been done and if you can find any other witnesses that will certainly help your case. But if it doesn’t offend you, I’d offer you this advice. You might be better off just accepting things as they are. You have a nice enough house here. You’re well known and respected in the village. It’s none of my business, but sometimes you can spend so much time chasing something that you lose everything else while you’re about it.’
Clarissa Pye looked puzzled. ‘Thank you for your advice, Inspector Chubb. However, I had assumed that the reason for this visit was that you had come to assist me. Dr Rennard committed a crime and we only have his daughter’s word that he wasn’t actually paid for his trouble. At any event, I assume it is a matter you would wish to investigate.’
‘I must be honest. That hadn’t really occurred to me.’ Chubb was suddenly uncomfortable, looking to Pünd for help.
‘You must remember that there have been two unexplained deaths in this village, Miss Pye,’ Pünd said. ‘I can understand your wish that the police should investigate the events that took place at the time of your birth and yet we are here on another matter. I would not wish to distress you any further in what is clearly a difficult time for you but I am afraid that I must ask you a question in connection with the two deaths – of Sir Magnus and of Mary Blakiston. It concerns a vial of liquid that went missing from Dr Redwing’s surgery quite recently. The vial contained a poison, physostigmine. Would you know anything about that?’
Clarissa Pye’s face went through a range of emotions, each one drawn so distinctly that they could have hung together like a series of portraits. First she was shocked. The question had been so unexpected – how could they possibly have known? Then there was fear. Were there to be consequences? Then came indignation, perhaps manufactured. She was outraged that they should suspect her of such a thing! And finally, all within a split second, came acceptance and resignation. Too much had happened already. There was no point denying it. ‘Yes. I took it,’ she said.
‘Why?’
‘How did you know it was me? If you don’t mind my asking …’
‘Mrs Blakiston saw you leaving the surgery.’
Clarissa nodded. ‘Yes. I saw her watching me. Mary had this extraordinary ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t know how she did it.’ She paused. ‘Who else knows?’
‘She kept a diary which Inspector Chubb has in his possession. As far as we are aware, she told nobody else.’