An obscure instinct of pity rose in me.
Poor devils, I said.
Yespoor devils. Shell have the sense to look after herself, I suppose? I mean the right lawyersall that sort of thing.
It was queer, I thought, the dislike they all had for Brenda, and their scrupulous care for her to have all the advantages for defence.
Edith de Haviland went on:
How long will it be? How long will the whole thing take?
I said I didnt know exactly. They would be charged at the police court and presumably sent for trial. Three or four months, I estimatedand if convicted, there would be the appeal.
Do you think they will be convicted? she asked.
I dont know. I dont know exactly how much evidence the police have. There are letters.
Love letters? They were lovers then?
They were in love with each other.
Her face grew grimmer.
Im not happy about this, Charles. I dont like Brenda. In the past, Ive disliked her very much. Ive said sharp things about her. But nowI do feel that I want her to have every chanceevery possible chance. Aristide would have wished that. I feel its up to me to see thatthat Brenda gets a square deal.
And Laurence?
Oh, Laurence! she shrugged her shoulders impatiently. Men must look after themselves. But Aristide would never forgive us if She left the sentence unfinished.
Then she said:
It must be almost lunch time. Wed better go in.
I explained that I was going up to London.
In your car?
Yes.
Hm. I wonder if youd take me with you. I gather were allowed off the lead now.
Of course I will, but I believe Magda and Sophia are going up after lunch. Youll be more comfortable with them than in my two-seater.
I dont want to go with them. Take me with you, and dont say much about it.
I was surprised, but I did as she asked. We did not speak much on the way to town. I asked her where I should put her down.
Harley Street[137].
I felt some faint apprehension, but I didnt like to say anything. She continued:
No, its too early. Drop me at Debenhams. I can have some lunch there and go to Harley Street afterwards.
I hope I began and stopped.
Thats why I didnt want to go up with Magda. She dramatizes things. Lots of fuss.
Im very sorry, I said.
You neednt be. Ive had a good life. A very good life. She gave a sudden grin. And its not over yet.
Chapter 23
I had not seen my father for some days. I found him busy with things other than the Leonides case, and I went in search of Taverner.
Taverner was enjoying a short spell of leisure and was willing to come out and have a drink with me. I congratulated him on having cleared up the case and he accepted my congratulation, but his manner remained far from jubilant.
Well, thats over, he said. Weve got a case. Nobody can deny weve got a case.
Do you think youll get a conviction?
Impossible to say. The evidence is circumstantialit nearly always is in a murder casebound to be. A lot depends on the impression they make on the jury.
How far do the letters go?
At first sight, Charles, theyre pretty damning. There are references to their life together when her husbands dead. Phrases likeit wont be long now. Mind you, defence counsel will try and twist it the other waythe husband was so old that of course they could reasonably expect him to die. Theres no actual mention of poisoningnot down in black and whitebut there are some passages that could mean that. It depends what judge we get. If its old Carberry hell be down on them all through. Hes always very righteous about illicit love. I suppose theyll have Eagles or Humphrey Kerr for the defenceHumphrey is magnificent in these casesbut he likes a gallant war record or something of that kind to help him do his stuff. A conscientious objector is going to cramp his style. The question is going to be will the jury like them? You can never tell with juries. You know, Charles, those two are not really sympathetic characters. Shes a good-looking woman who married a very old man for his money, and Brown is a neurotic conscientious objector. The crime is so familiarso according to pattern that you really believe they didnt do it. Of course, they may decide that he did it and she knew nothing about itor alternately that she did it, and he didnt know about itor they may decide that they were both in it together.
And what do you yourself think? I asked.
He looked at me with a wooden expressionless face.
I dont think anything. Ive turned in the facts and they went to the DPP and it was decided that there was a case. Thats all. Ive done my duty and Im out of it. So now you know, Charles.
But I didnt know. I saw that for some reason Ta verner was unhappy.
It was not until three days later that I unburdened myself to my father. He himself had never mentioned the case to me. There had been a kind of restraint between usand I thought I knew the reason for it. But I had to break down that barrier.
Weve got to have this out, I said. Taverners not satisfied that those two did itand youre not satisfied either.
My father shook his head. He said what Taverner had said: Its out of our hands. There is a case to answer. No question about that.
But you dontTaverner doesntthink that theyre guilty?
Thats for a jury to decide.
For Gods sake, I said, dont put me off with technical terms. What do you thinkboth of youpersonally?
My personal opinion is no better than yours, Charles.
Yes, it is. Youve more experience.
Then Ill be honest with you. I justdont know!
They could be guilty?
Oh, yes.
But you dont feel sure that they are?
My father shrugged his shoulders.
How can one be sure?
Dont fence with me, Dad. Youve been sure other times, havent you? Dead sure? No doubt in your mind at all?
Sometimes, yes. Not always.
I wish to God you were sure this time.
So do I.
We were silent. I was thinking of those two figures drifting in from the garden in the dusk. Lonely and haunted and afraid. They had been afraid from the start. Didnt that show a guilty conscience?
But I answered myself: Not necessarily. Both Brenda and Laurence were afraid of lifethey had no confidence in themselves, in their ability to avoid danger and defeat, and they could see, only too clearly, the pattern of illicit love leading to murder which might involve them at any moment.
My father spoke, and his voice was grave and kind:
Come, Charles, he said, lets face it. Youve still got it in your mind, havent you, that one of the Leonides family is the real culprit?
Not really. I only wonder
You do think so. You may be wrong, but you do think so.
Yes, I said.
Why?
BecauseI thought about it, trying to see clearlyto bring my wits to bear[138]because (yes, that was it), because they think so themselves.
They think so themselves? Thats interesting. Thats very interesting. Do you mean that they all suspect each other, or that they know, actually, who did do it?
Im not sure, I said. Its all very nebulous and confused. I thinkon the wholethat they try to cover up the knowledge from themselves.
My father nodded.
Not Roger, I said. Roger wholeheartedly believes it was Brenda and he wholeheartedly wants her hanged. Itsits a relief to be with Roger, because hes simple and positive, and hasnt any reservations in the back of his mind.
But the others are apologetic, theyre uneasythey urge me to be sure that Brenda has the best defencethat every possible advantage is given herwhy?
My father answered: Because they dont really, in their hearts, believe she is guilty Yes, thats sound.
Then he asked quietly:
Who could have done it? Youve talked to them all? Whos the best bet?
I dont know, I said. And its driving me frantic. None of them fits your sketch of a murderer and yet I feelI do feelthat one of them is a murderer.
Sophia?
No. Good God, no!
The possibilitys in your mind, Charlesyes, it is, dont deny it. All the more potently because you wont acknowledge it. What about the others? Philip?
Only for the most fantastic motive.
Motives can be fantasticor they can be absurdly slight. Whats his motive?
He is bitterly jealous of Rogeralways has been all his life. His fathers preference for Roger drove Philip in upon himself. Roger was about to crash, then the old man heard of it. He promised to put Roger on his feet again. Supposing Philip learnt that. If the old man died that night there would be no assistance for Roger. Roger would be down and out. Oh! I know its absurd
Oh no, it isnt. Its abnormal, but it happens. Its human. What about Magda?
Shes rather childish. Sheshe gets things out of proportion. But I would never have thought twice about her being involved if it hadnt been for the sudden way she wanted to pack Josephine off to Switzerland. I couldnt help feeling she was afraid of something that Josephine knew or might say
And then Josephine was conked on the head?
Well, that couldnt be her mother!
Why not?
But Dad, a mother wouldnt
Charles, Charles, dont you ever read the police news? Again and again a mother takes a dislike to one of her children. Only oneshe may be devoted to the others. Theres some association, some reason, but its often hard to get at. But when it exists, its an unreasoning aversion, and its very strong.
She called Josephine a changeling, I admitted unwillingly.
Did the child mind?
I dont think so.
Who else is there? Roger?
Roger didnt kill his father. Im quite sure of that.
Wash out Roger then. His wifewhats her name Clemency?
Yes, I said. If she killed old Leonides it was for a very odd reason.
I told him of my conversation with Clemency. I said I thought it possible that in her passion to get Roger away from England she might have deliberately poisoned the old man.
She persuaded Roger to go without telling his father. Then the old man found out. He was going to back up Associated Catering. All Clemencys hopes and plans were frustrated. And she really does care desperately for Roger beyond idolatry.
Youre repeating what Edith de Haviland said!
Yes. And Ediths another whom I thinkmight have done it. But I dont know why. I can only believe that for what she considered a good and sufficient reason she might take the law into her own hands. Shes that kind of person.
And she also was very anxious that Brenda should be adequately defended?
Yes. That, I suppose, might be conscience. I dont think for a moment that if she did do it, she intended them to be accused of[139] the crime.