The Andre Norton Megapack - 15 Classic Novels and Short Stories

asked.
    “Yes. You see, Thane Carey’s man found it outside here and he left it with me to see if I could find out who it belonged to. He took out the remaining capsules, but perhaps Margie thought they were still in it, and that they would be used as evidence, especially after what you had seen.”
    “That must have been how it was,” Philippine said slowly and thoughtfully.
    “But,” Fredericka went on, thinking out loud, “But, Philippine, I just can’t believe it. She was such a blundering child. Perhaps she did hate Catherine, but to kill her!”
    “That was what I thought at first. But then when she confessed to me, she poured it all out—all the hate and misery and things shut up inside of her ever since Catherine came back.”
    “What things?”
    “Catherine was cruel. More than cruel. She was a beast—like those Nazi fiends we all know about—but I more than you. It was cruelty of the mind—the spider to the fly in its web. Margie was afraid of Catherine and showed her fear and that made it worse. Little beastly things she did, always. Oh, I saw her but she was too clever. We could not stop her, any of us. And the cruel things she would say—and then, you see—Catherine she was beautiful like a film star, and Margie was an unattractive adolescent girl. She had no beaux and not very many friends. She was eaten alive with jealousy of Catherine. She hated her and the hate in her grew and grew until—until this. And I, I do not blame that child. As I have said already, and I would say over and over again, the world is better without that woman—she was evil!” Philippine spat out the word with such venom that Fredericka drew back as if she had been struck.
    After a moment Philippine went on more quietly: “So, when Margie told me and I knew the truth, I told her that I would not tell this to anyone. I told her that if she did not say anything when they questioned her that no one could make her say anything. But, you see, she is a good child, really. She couldn’t live with herself any more. This illness. I think it is because she wanted to die. Oh, Fredericka—it is all such a terrible wicked wrong and needless thing.”
    “But she couldn’t have had such an illness just from wanting to die,” Fredericka said.
    “Well,” Philippine said slowly and with obvious reluctance, “there are those herbs in the lab. I should have taken away all the poisons, perhaps. But how did I know what she would do? I do not know now what she did take. I could not find anything missing. It is strange because if she really wanted to kill herself she could have had the yellow jessamine. But that she did not touch again. She kept all her private things here somewhere in her aunt’s house. I know because her mother is so strict. I tried to see if I could find anything that might have explained it. That was the day I came for her insurance and I kept thinking if we could know what she was doing to herself then we could have known what remedy.”
    “You really did think, even then, that she was poisoning herself in some way?” Fredericka asked.
    “Yes. That is, when she began to have the odd symptoms and be so very ill. But I could find nothing.”
    “Why didn’t you tell Dr. Scott? Oh, of course, you couldn’t without letting him know why.” Suddenly Fredericka remembered the bottles and jars that she had discovered in the shed. “Philippine,” she said quickly, “I wish you had told me then, I mean that day when you came over. Margie did have a secret hiding place in an old shed, a sort of disused greenhouse, down by the alley. Thane’s men found a collection of oddments there and Chris told me they were Margie’s. I meant to ask her about them, but she was so odd these last days and I never managed to.”
    “That’s it—that’s her secret hiding-place—of course. I’m sure that’s it.” Philippine jumped to her feet. “Come, Fredericka, we must see those things. Now. At once.”
    “Oh no, Philippine. It’s—good heavens—it’s after midnight. It’s dark as pitch out back. Philippine, it’s madness to go poking around out there tonight. Please let’s go to bed. Whatever there is will keep until morning. What difference does it make now, anyway? Margie’s dead. We can’t get any remedy now.” Fredericka’s words fell over each other as she tried to hold Philippine back. “Oh, Philippine, don’t persist in this madness. I tell you, it’s black as night out there. We’d