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Chapter 5 |
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After the coffee and sandwiches, Inspector Walsh called Roger Clarkson to the office. |
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Roger came in and sat down. The Inspector began at once. |
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' Now, Mr Clarkson. Why was your mother angry with you last night?' |
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' This house is very big,' Roger said. ' It was a lot of work for Mother. |
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I wanted her to move. But no, she loved this house and garden. |
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She didn' t want to move.' ' Tell me about your job, Mr Clarkson. |
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Your mother is dead and now you' re rich. Do you need money?' |
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Roger' s face was suddenly afraid. ' What are you saying? I didn' t kill my mother. |
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I need money, that' s true. A friend and I want to build ten houses here, in this garden. |
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We can get a lot of money for them. So. I wanted Mother to sell this house. |
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It' s true. But Mr Briggs wanted half the garden, too, you know, for his farm.' |
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Inspector Walsh moved a pencil on the table. ' Tell me, what happened upstairs? |
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You went to your mother' s room?' ' Yes, I did. |
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I wanted to say goodnight to my mother.' ' Did you talk about the house again?' |
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' Yes, I did. Again, she said no. She loved the house and didn' t want to sell it.' |
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Inspector Walsh watched Roger for a minute. ' I see. |
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We found the empty bottle of sleeping tablets, Mr Clarkson, in Diane' s room.' |
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Roger' s face did not change. ' Oh? Someone put them there. |
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Diane did not kill my mother, I know that. She found the body.' |
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' Very well. I would like to see Diane next.' Roger got up and left the room. |
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Inspector Walsh stood up and put his hands in his pockets. |
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He went to the window and looked out at the trees. |
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Why was Roger Clarkson afraid? Was it important? He looked at Sergeant |
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Foster. |
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' Tomorrow morning, go to Mr Clarkson' s office you have the name,' he said. |
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' Ask some questions about him, about his job, friends, money.' |
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Sergeant Foster wrote it down. ' Yes, Inspector.' ' A good day for tennis, Sergeant?' |
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Sergeant Foster laughed. ' Don' t say that. It' s not easy, you know. |
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I don' t like sitting here looking at the sun.' |
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Diane came into the room and sat down. She looked at Sergeant Foster and smiled. |
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' I saw you at the Tennis Club last month, I think. You play very well.' |
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Sergeant Foster' s face went red. Inspector Walsh looked at him. |
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' Oh yes. A fast and exciting player is Sergeant Foster.' |
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Diane smiled again at Sergeant Foster and his face went redder. |
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' Well, Miss Clarkson,' Inspector Walsh said, ' I want you to talk about last night.' |
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Diane stopped smiling. ' Oh, I can talk about last night. I can' t stop talking about it. |
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We were all angry. Mother went to bed early and I made hot milk for her. |
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We were all in the kitchen, and Peter Hobbs came in. |
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He nearly broke the back door down.' Diane stopped. ' Yes?' |
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' He was very angry about a letter. He wanted to kill Mother. |
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Are you going to talk to him?' ' We' re going to talk to everyone.' |
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' Good. Tom Briggs came into the kitchen, too. Are you going to talk to him?' |
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I' m asking the questions, Miss Clarkson. When did you take the milk upstairs?' |
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' I went up after Roger.' She stopped for a minute. Then she began again. |
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' I didn' t like my mother, Inspector. She killed my father, you know. |
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Last winter, after Christmas, she drove the car into a tree and killed my father.' |
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Inspector Walsh watched Diane' s face carefully. |
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' I see. So you wanted to kill your mother?' Diane laughed. |
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' I wanted to kill her, but I didn' t. I can tell you a lot of things about this family, |
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Inspector. Everyone wanted Mother to die. |
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Uncle Albert wanted her money for his wife, Annie. And then my brother. |
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He needs a lot of money. He has an expensive house and an expensive car. |
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And think of Jackie. Do you know that Jackie didn' t like Mother? |
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A long time ago, a nice boy worked here. He was the gardener. |
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Jackie loved him very much, but Mother said no. |
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A gardener was not a good husband for a Clarkson girl!' |
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Inspector Walsh listened quietly. All this was very interesting but was it important? |
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Perhaps. What a happy family the Clarksons were! |
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' We found the empty bottle of sleeping tablets in your room,' |
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Inspector Walsh said quietly. He watched her face carefully. |
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Diane stood up suddenly, her face angry. |
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' What? I didn' t put it there! I' m not going to listen to this!' She ran out of the room. |
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' Well, well, well,' Inspector Walsh said. ' She likes you, Sergeant. |
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You need to be careful.' Sergeant Foster laughed but his face went red again. |
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' Someone put sleeping tablets in Molly' s hot milk,' the Inspector said. |
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' All the family were in the kitchen last night. |
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Peter Hobbs and Tom Briggs were there, too. One of them killed Molly.' |
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Inspector Walsh got his hat and coat. ' Come on. |
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We need to talk to Peter Hobbs and Tom Briggs. |
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Let' s get some more coffee first. I' d like a sandwich, too. I' m hungry again!' |
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