person. She becomes seized with an irresistible desire to do something, and she does it. It’s a kind of trance. Then it goes out of her mind. She does not now actually remember picking up that bottle and throwing it—”
Damon snorted. “She just admitted it!”
“She admitted it because three of us saw her do it and have—mentioned it to her. Miss Mowbray, Mr. Beck, and myself. At the moment she did it, Mrs. Pomfret was kneeling beside her son, Koch and Miss Tusar were bending over her, and Zorilla had gone after Fox. I was standing with Miss Mowbray and I said the bottle he drank out of ought to be corked but I didn’t know which one, and she said he always drank bourbon. I reached for it, but Miss Heath grabbed it and made one of her—made a gesture, a dramatic gesture, and hurled it out of the window. When Fox came I told him, and I also told the first policeman who appeared. But I knew by the look on her face, a kind of, uh, exaltation, that she didn’t know what she was doing—”
“Bah!” Felix Beck was out of his chair, trembling with indignation. “Her an artist! Not know what she was doing? Hah! She’s a Circe! An evil witch! First Jan, I warned him about her, and now this—”
“Oh, can it!” Ted snapped at him. “It’s bad enough without a lot of yapping—”
“Both of you can it,” Damon commanded sharply. He confronted Hebe. “I’ll talk with you later, Miss Heath, but I’ll ask you now, is Mr. Gill correct? Do you do things and forget about them?”
“Oh,” she breathed.
“Well, do you?”
“I don’t know.” Her lovely hands were clasped tight and pulled against her shape. “Oh, I don’t know!”
“Do you become seized with an irresistible desire to do something, and do it? Did you become seized with such a desire to put something into that bottle of bourbon?”
“To put …” She goggled at him. Her hands unclasped, and tension left the muscles of her face. “Put something
in
the bottle?” she demanded incredulously, in an entirely new tone. “Don’t be a damn fool!”
Damon grunted, and regarded her in silence. He raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck, and still gazed at her.
“May I suggest—” Tecumseh Fox began.
“No,” Damon said shortly. His eyes swept an arc around the faces, around to the left, slowly, and back to the right. “It is my duty to inform you,” he said in a tone of displeasure, “that there is a presumption that Perry Dunham was murdered. I’ll have to talk with each of you separately before you’re allowed to leave here, and that will take a long time. May I have a room to use, Mr. Pomfret?”
“Certainly. My wife …” Pomfret hesitated. “But of course. Or we’ll go somewhere else and you can use this.”
“That will do fine. You and your wife will go where you please. In your house. But the rest of you will staytogether in one room, with law officers present. I have the right to enforce that under the circumstances, but I would appreciate it if you will co-operate. I ask you to consider the possibility that the murderer of Perry Dunham is among you. If you don’t like that idea, neither do I. Now one thing. If there was poison in that bourbon, it could have been put there at any time since somebody last drank from it. It wasn’t necessarily put there in that room this afternoon. But it might have been. If it was, the container that held the poison is probably somewhere around, unless it was thrown out of the window the way the bottle was. That room is being searched, and the whole house will be. Each of you will be questioned about your movements. But there is a chance that the container is concealed on the person of someone. I think it would be a good plan if you would all allow yourselves to be searched. I think you should agree to that. For the ladies, I can have a policewoman here in five minutes.”
They shrank. They glanced at each other, and back at the inspector, and away. If the murderer was
Damon snorted. “She just admitted it!”
“She admitted it because three of us saw her do it and have—mentioned it to her. Miss Mowbray, Mr. Beck, and myself. At the moment she did it, Mrs. Pomfret was kneeling beside her son, Koch and Miss Tusar were bending over her, and Zorilla had gone after Fox. I was standing with Miss Mowbray and I said the bottle he drank out of ought to be corked but I didn’t know which one, and she said he always drank bourbon. I reached for it, but Miss Heath grabbed it and made one of her—made a gesture, a dramatic gesture, and hurled it out of the window. When Fox came I told him, and I also told the first policeman who appeared. But I knew by the look on her face, a kind of, uh, exaltation, that she didn’t know what she was doing—”
“Bah!” Felix Beck was out of his chair, trembling with indignation. “Her an artist! Not know what she was doing? Hah! She’s a Circe! An evil witch! First Jan, I warned him about her, and now this—”
“Oh, can it!” Ted snapped at him. “It’s bad enough without a lot of yapping—”
“Both of you can it,” Damon commanded sharply. He confronted Hebe. “I’ll talk with you later, Miss Heath, but I’ll ask you now, is Mr. Gill correct? Do you do things and forget about them?”
“Oh,” she breathed.
“Well, do you?”
“I don’t know.” Her lovely hands were clasped tight and pulled against her shape. “Oh, I don’t know!”
“Do you become seized with an irresistible desire to do something, and do it? Did you become seized with such a desire to put something into that bottle of bourbon?”
“To put …” She goggled at him. Her hands unclasped, and tension left the muscles of her face. “Put something
in
the bottle?” she demanded incredulously, in an entirely new tone. “Don’t be a damn fool!”
Damon grunted, and regarded her in silence. He raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck, and still gazed at her.
“May I suggest—” Tecumseh Fox began.
“No,” Damon said shortly. His eyes swept an arc around the faces, around to the left, slowly, and back to the right. “It is my duty to inform you,” he said in a tone of displeasure, “that there is a presumption that Perry Dunham was murdered. I’ll have to talk with each of you separately before you’re allowed to leave here, and that will take a long time. May I have a room to use, Mr. Pomfret?”
“Certainly. My wife …” Pomfret hesitated. “But of course. Or we’ll go somewhere else and you can use this.”
“That will do fine. You and your wife will go where you please. In your house. But the rest of you will staytogether in one room, with law officers present. I have the right to enforce that under the circumstances, but I would appreciate it if you will co-operate. I ask you to consider the possibility that the murderer of Perry Dunham is among you. If you don’t like that idea, neither do I. Now one thing. If there was poison in that bourbon, it could have been put there at any time since somebody last drank from it. It wasn’t necessarily put there in that room this afternoon. But it might have been. If it was, the container that held the poison is probably somewhere around, unless it was thrown out of the window the way the bottle was. That room is being searched, and the whole house will be. Each of you will be questioned about your movements. But there is a chance that the container is concealed on the person of someone. I think it would be a good plan if you would all allow yourselves to be searched. I think you should agree to that. For the ladies, I can have a policewoman here in five minutes.”
They shrank. They glanced at each other, and back at the inspector, and away. If the murderer was
Similar Books
