Murder She Said Page #3

How old were you?

Mind your business.

Anyhow, it was a miserable weekend.

I hope it'll be a long time before

I have to put up with them again.

Not a nice way

to talk about one's family.

Not a nice family. You know what

that overgrown beatnik Cedric did?

He told Emma in front of me

she should get away and get married.

Trying to make her

as selfish as he is.

I don't know. If Emma did marry,

it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Father, I thought I'd tell you,

I'm just going into town.

I'm leaving. Can I give you a lift?

Why do you want to go to town?

Can't she go for you?

It's tradesmen. A few bills to pay.

Oh, money, that's a different thing.

You can't trust anybody

these days. Off you go.

- May I be of service?

- Thank you.

Of course you can, save the price

of a taxi. I pay you enough as it is.

It will be on your bill.

Are you ready?

- Only my coat.

- Good.

Friday then, Mr Ackenthorpe.

Good day, Miss Marple.

Good day, Doctor.

If you don't

shut those windows, you'll be fired!

In that case, I shall require

four weeks wages in lieu of notice.

- Get out of my sight, woman!

- With pleasure!

Your weight isn't evenly distributed.

I'll have you know that I won

the Ladies Open Handicap in 1921.

- Really?

- You must have many things to do.

Not at all, I'm most interested.

We've never had a golf-playing maid.

This is the age of the common woman.

- You hooked.

- I'm aware of it.

- You know something?

- What?

I believe

you pulled those shots on purpose.

Alexander,

if you wish to be helpfuI at all,

will you kindly look for the hook

while I look for the slice.

- Found yours yet?

- Yes, have you?

- Disappeared without a trace.

- Fortunately I have some more.

At the present rate,

you're going to need them.

Perhaps you could

demonstrate the next one.

Certainly.

Let's see how close

you can get to those outbuildings.

Yes, I think that's possible.

Fair.

You know perfectly well

it was superb for a boy of my age.

A chip and a putt

and I'd have holed out in three.

Does you grandfather

keep horses, Alexander?

He did. Now he just keeps relics

of a more spacious age.

Nostalgia, you know - a failing

of the old, I suppose. Like to look?

Well, I think

I'm old enough, don't you?

An old-fashioned pony chaise.

It was used for going to the village.

And the Victoria

for going to church?

Yes, on Sundays

in the summer I believe.

The brougham is

for the winter perhaps?

Yes, I expect so.

It's haunted here. Grandfather found

a man hanging from this rafter.

- Oh!

- He'd been dead for a week.

- All purple, you know.

- Alexander!

- What was that?

- I wonder.

- All right, I'll look.

- All yours.

Dear, dear.

We are nervous, aren't we?

- Pity.

- What did you expect to find?

- Bodies.

- What?

Live ones, of course.

Used to be quite a spot

for courting couples

till Grandfather got

Hillman to put a stop to it.

Quite extraordinary

the goings-on here.

- Apparently, this girl...

- That's enough.

There may be

some other poor bird trapped.

Look. Somebody else must have been

in here. This isn't Aunt Emma's.

It's mine. I must have dropped it.

Thank you so much.

It was bequeathed to me.

Are you on the run from the police?

Too much television. You must learn

to rationalize your imagination.

What's behind there?

More relics from the past?

Yes. The fruits

of Grandfather's Egyptian phase.

Indeed.

How interesting.

- No one's allowed in there.

- Let go!

What are you up to?

- The boy was showing me round.

- What boy?

- Alexander!

- You're lying.

Alexander, come out of there at once.

I thought discretion

the better part of valour.

He's not above

clipping a person's ear.

Your grandfather don't like snoopers.

Don't think I won't tell him neither.

Despite the double negatives,

I'm sure you will. Come, Jane.

Good for you, young man.

What?

No! No!

Now listen, Mr Stringer,

I want you

to inform the police anonymously.

Don't mention me yet,

I wish to be

in at the kill so to speak.

Miss Marple, really!

All right, but it makes my blood

run cold to think of you there alone.

I was wondering perhaps

they have a vacancy for a gardener?

They've got one.

Very well, I'll do as you say.

The compact! If the murderer

should know that you have it...

I'll be carefuI, dear Mr Stringer.

Now, phone the Inspector right away.

- Well?

- I've never seen her before.

No, she's not from these parts.

Whoever she is,

I want her out of here at once.

If you hadn't left the barn unlocked,

we wouldn't have

these people poking their noses in.

- Are you all right, Father?

- Of course I'm all right.

I have seen a corpse before.

I'll be one myself soon.

Perhaps you'd better go back

to the house. I'll follow you up.

Whoever it was

tried to get her in here first.

It must have taken

the strength of a maniac to shift it.

- Inspector?

- Yes, Doctor?

I don't know if this is helpfuI.

- Go on.

- Well, the woman...

No one recognised her and her

clothes struck me as being foreign.

Perhaps French.

Yes, that's very interesting.

Thank you, Doctor.

Well, it was just a thought.

It may be a usefuI one. Thank you.

That explains why I didn't recognise

her. I know every face around here.

I'm sure you do.

I have to assume there's a connection

between her and the family.

I think

I'll get the whole bunch down here.

They hate the sight of each other.

So I believe. Anyway, routine first.

Have they got any other servants?

Yes, they have, Inspector.

Good Lord! You!

Yes.

Dotty old me.

In there please.

It's only a cigarette packet -

of doubtfuI significance, I'd say.

I'll bear your views in mind.

Any idea

what you expect your fellows to find?

- Clues.

- Well, naturally.

Do you seriously

think they'll find anything?

Well, somebody dragged the body

from there over to there.

Something could have been dropped

in the process, don't you agree?

- Yes. Yes, I do.

- Did you find anything?

No, Inspector. Not a thing.

- The family is here by the way.

- Thank you.

I'll get around to them later.

They'll enjoy that, I'm sure.

Good hunting.

Some idiot strangles his girlfriend,

which she probably deserved

and what do they do -

swarm all over the place and

mess about in our private affairs.

I said to Inspector Haddock

or whatever his name is...

Craddock, sir. Shall I pour?

Of course.

Anyway,

I said to this fellow, Haddock,

that no member of my family

had ever seen the woman before.

- What makes you so sure of that?

- Cedric, this is absurd.

She wasn't from around here

and she was found in our stable.

One of us could have known her.

- Maybe she was your girlfriend.

- What?

Yes, yes,

I suppose Cedric has a point there.

- He never has a point.

- I mean from the police's viewpoint.

You're not too concerned

with the family reputation.

You're not a member of it,

are you, strictly speaking?

Who telephoned the police?

Oh, I know who did that!

Oh, who?

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