The Andre Norton Megapack - 15 Classic Novels and Short Stories

she admitted as much. And now I can see the real reason, of course.”
    “If we’d only known that—”
    “But it didn’t amount to anything really—I never thought of it at the time.”
    Peter sighed heavily and then went on slowly: “By last Sunday night when Margie died, Philippine was beside herself with anxiety. She had ransacked the Farm and, as you say, she had had a good look at the Hart-well’s storeroom at the bookshop. But she thought she must have another look at once. So, without any idea beyond finding the stuff and getting rid of it, she abandoned James and came to call on you.”
    “I see. And, in a way, circumstances played into her hands. Jim Brown wanted to go home to his wife and baby. But when that happened I’d have thought she would simply have waited until I got to sleep and then had a look-around.”
    “Perhaps she intended to do that but when you practically told her where the face cream was, she didn’t dare risk having you wake up and find her out getting rid of it. She was almost insane by then, I imagine, and on the spur of the moment, she thought up this lunatic scheme of killing you and faking an attack on herself.”
    “She almost got away with it.”
    “Yes—almost.”
    “And if she had, you’d have gone on suspecting her, I suppose, but would have had no evidence to pin it on to her.”
    “Theoretically, yes. But, in fact, if she had killed you, we’d have got her somehow.”
    Fredericka felt suddenly cold. “I think on the whole I’d rather be here,” she said with a poor effort at laughter.
    “And I’d rather you were, too—on the whole. But I might have spared you everything if I’d had even one grain of sense. I underestimated her—an unforgivable sin in my profession.” He stopped and then said abruptly: “And now I’m dead beat and so are you. Tonight we can sleep, both of us. Tomorrow is another day. I’m going to try to get you out of this hole. Connie wants to be your nurse and assistant in the bookshop until you learn to manage it in some wonderful crab-like way.”
    “But Peter! Oh—please don’t go. You haven’t told me anything—I know from what you say that you’ve caught Philippine, but how? —and where?”
    “That’s just what I didn’t want to tell you tonight but I suppose I’ll have to even if it does give you nightmares. You’ve been a good Watson and you’ve earned it.” He ran a hand through his hair and for a moment he sat quietly as though searching for words.
    Feeling the weight of his tiredness and depression, Fredericka forced herself to say: “Look, Peter, I can wait until morning if you really want me to. I know you’re worn out. Perhaps I’m being unfair.”
    “No. Let’s get it over with. It’s so damn grisly, though. Thank God you weren’t in at the kill.”
    Fredericka wished she had been, but didn’t dare to say so. She lay back on the pillows and waited patiently for him to light them each a cigarette before he went on.
    Then, quite simply, Peter recounted the story of his day’s adventures from the time he left Fredericka. When he told her of his search among Margie’s treasures in the old shed, Fredericka broke in to say suddenly: “Of course. That night she scared me stiff I suppose she was just paying a regular visit to her hideout.”
    “No, I don’t think so now. I believe it was Philippine. That was the very night after the murder, you remember, and Margie would have been too scared. We were fools to think it could have been her.”
    “And Philippine was having another look around for the silver box?”
    “Yes—I think so but, again, you threw a monkey wrench in her plans. She couldn’t hang around after you discovered her so, cleverly, she pretended to be Margie.”
    “I see.”
    “And Margie’s junk in the old shed meant nothing to any of us—a kid’s secret hiding place—and we left it alone. So it was natural that Margie should take her jar of magic cure to her hidey-hole. And I’m sure she went there and used it until she was too sick to use it any more. By then, of course, it had done its work.”
    “So you sat and talked to Chris and did some heavy thinking?” Fredericka prompted.
    “Yes. Then I saw daylight. After Philippine thought she had got rid of you, she still had to find whatever it was she was looking for before she could do the faked attack on herself. So she shoved you down the well, put that mass of boards on top and went on to the shed where she found