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The Secret of Chimneys - Chs 17 & 18 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Chs 17 & 18
Agatha Christie
The inquest took place on the following morning. It was extraordinarily unlike the inquests as pictured in sensational fiction. It satisfied even George Lomax in its rigid suppression of all interesting details. Superintendent Battle and the coroner, working together with the support of the chief constable, had reduced the proceedings to the lowest level of boredom.Immediately after the inquest, Anthony took an unostentatious departure.His departure was the one bright spot in the day for Bill Eversleigh.

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 16 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 16
Agatha Christie
Anthony regained the terrace with the feeling uppermost in his mind that the only safe place for private conversations was the middle of the lake.The resonant boom of a gong sounded from the house, and Tredwell appeared in a stately fashion from a side door “Luncheon is served, my lord.”“Ah!” said Lord Caterham, brisking up a little. “Lunch!”At that moment two children burst out of the house. They were high-spirited young women of twelve and ten, and though their names might be Dulcie and Daisy, as Bundle had affirmed, they appeared to be more generally known as Guggle and Winkle. They executed a kind of war dance, interspersed with shrill whoops till Bundle emerged and quelled them.“Where’s Mademoiselle?” she demanded.“She’s got the migraine, the migraine, the migraine!” chanted Winkle.“Hurrah!” said Guggle, joining in.

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 15 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 15
Agatha Christie
Virginia and Anthony walked side by side down the path which led to the lake. For some minutes after leaving the house they were silent. It was Virginia who broke the silence at last with a little laugh.“Oh, dear,” she said, “isn’t it dreadful? Here I am so bursting with the things I want to tell you, and the things I want to know, that I simply don’t know where to begin. First of all”—she lowered her voice—“What have you done with the body? How awful it sounds, doesn’t it! I never dreamt that I should be so steeped in crime.”“I suppose it’s quite a novel sensation for you,” agreed Anthony.“But not for you?”“Well, I’ve never disposed of a corpse before, certainly.”

The Secret of Chimneys - Chs 13 & 14 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Chs 13 & 14
Agatha Christie
Superintendent Battle replaced the sheet with the slightly crestfallen air of a man whose best point has fallen flat. Anthony stood with his hands in his pockets lost in thought.“So that’s what old Lollipop meant when he talked about ‘other means,’ ” he murmured at last.“I beg your pardon, Mr. Cade?”“Nothing, Superintendent. Forgive my abstraction. You see I—or rather my friend, Jimmy McGrath, has been very neatly done out of a thousand pounds.”“A thousand pounds is a nice sum of money,” said Battle.“It isn’t the thousand pounds so much,” said Anthony, “though I agree with you that it’s a nice sum of money. It’s being done that maddens me. I handed over that manuscript like a little woolly lamb. It hurts, Superintendent, indeed it hurts.”

The Secret of Chimneys - Chs 11 & 12 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Chs 11 & 12
Agatha Christie
So apprehensive was Lord Caterham of being consulted by George that he spent the whole morning making a tour of his estate. Only the pangs of hunger drew him homeward. He also reflected that by now the worst would surely be over.He sneaked into the house quietly by a small side door. From there he slipped neatly into his sanctum. He flattered himself that his entrance had not been observed, but there he was mistaken. The watchful Tredwell let nothing escape him. He presented himself at the door.“You’ll excuse me, my lord—”“What is it, Tredwell?”“Mr. Lomax, my lord, is anxious to see you in the library as soon as you return.”

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 10 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 10
Agatha Christie
Inspector Badgworthy in his office. Time, 8:30 a.m. A tall portly man, Inspector Badgworthy, with a heavy regulation tread. Inclined to breathe hard in moments of professional strain. In attendance Constable Johnson, very new to the Force, with a downy unfledged look about him, like a human chicken.The telephone on the table rang sharply, and the inspector took it up with his usual portentous gravity of action.“Yes. Police station Market Basing. Inspector Badgworthy speaking. What?”Slight alteration in the inspector’s manner. As he is greater than Johnson, so others are greater than Inspector Badgworthy.“Speaking, my lord. I beg your pardon, my lord? I didn’t quite hear what you said?”

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 9 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 9
Agatha Christie
“Anthony followed Virginia out of the room, smiling a little to himself. Events had taken quite an unexpected turn. But as he bent over the figure in the chair he grew grave again.“He’s still warm,” he said sharply. “He was killed less than half an hour ago.”“Just before I came in?”“Exactly.”He stood upright, drawing his brows together in a frown. Then he asked a question of which Virginia did not at once see the drift:“Your maid’s not been in this room, of course?”“No.”“Does she know that you’ve been into it?”“Why—yes. I came to the door to speak to her.”“After you’d found the body?”

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 8 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 8
Agatha Christie
On that same Thursday afternoon Virginia Revel had been playing tennis at Ranelagh. All the way back to Pont Street, as she lay back in the long, luxurious limousine, a little smile played upon her lips as she rehearsed her part in the forthcoming interview. Of course it was within the bounds of possibility that the blackmailer might not reappear, but she felt pretty certain that he would. She had shown herself an easy prey. Well, perhaps this time there would be a little surprise for him!

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 7 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 7
Agatha Christie
The letters were gone!Having once made up his mind to the fact of their disappearance, there was nothing to do but accept it. Anthony realized very well that he could not pursue Giuseppe through the corridors of the Blitz Hotel. To do so was to court undesired publicity, and in all probability to fail in his object all the same.He came to the conclusion that Giuseppe had mistaken the packets of letters, enclosed as they were in the other wrappings, for the memoirs themselves. It was likely therefore that when he discovered his mistake he would make another attempt to get hold of the memoirs. For this attempt Anthony intended to be fully prepared.

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 6 - Agatha Christie

The Secret of Chimneys - Ch 6
Agatha Christie
It was exactly five minutes to four when Virginia Revel, rendered punctual by a healthy curiosity, returned to the house in Pont Street. She opened the door with her latchkey, and stepped into the hall to be immediately confronted by the impassive Chilvers.“I beg pardon, ma’am, but a—a person has called to see you—”For the moment, Virginia did not pay attention to the subtle phraseology whereby Chilvers cloaked his meaning.“Mr. Lomax? Where is he? In the drawing room?”“Oh, no, ma’am, not Mr. Lomax.” Chilvers’ tone was faintly reproachful. “A person—I was reluctant to let him in, but he said his business was most important—connected with the late Captain, I understood him to say. Thinking therefore that you might wish to see him, I put him—er—in the study.”Virginia stood thinking for a minute.