Come and sit here by the fire, Miss Hinchliffe.
The Inspector said he would be here in a quarter of an hour.
It must be nearly that now."
"Mitzi's come down again," said Julia.
"Has she?
Sometimes I think that girl's mad - quite mad.
But then perhaps we're all mad."
"I've no patience with this saying that all people who commit crimes are mad," barked Miss Hinchliffe.
"For me, all criminals are sane, intelligent even... in an awful way."
They heard the sound of an approaching car, and soon Inspector Craddock came in, bringing Coronel and Mrs. Easterbrook and Edmund and Mrs. Swettenham along.
All looked circumspect.
In a low voice, Coronel Easterbrook said:
"Oh, oh!
A nice fire!"
Mrs. Swettenham tried to cheer the atmosphere up, producing almost a parody of herself:
"It's weird, isn't it?" she said.
"All of this I mean.
It's best to say nothing.
The trouble is that we don't know who will be next... like in epidemics, isn't it?"
"Mother," said Edmund in a voice of acute suffering, "can't you shut up?"
"I'm sure, dear, I don't want to say a word," said Mrs. Swettenham, and sat down on the sofa by Julia.
Inspector Craddock stood near the door.
Facing him, almost in a row, were the three women.
Julia and Mrs. Swettenham on the sofa. Mrs. Easterbrook on the arm of her husband's chair.
He had not brought about this arrangement, but it suited him very well.
Miss Blacklog and Miss Hinchliffe were crouching over the fire.
Edmund stood near them.
Phillipa was far back in the shadows.
Craddock began without preamble.
"You all know that Miss Murgatroyd's been killed," he began.
"We've reason to believe that the person who killed her was a woman.
And for certain other reasons we can narrow it down still more.
I'm about to ask certain ladies here to account for what they were doing between the hours of four and four-twenty this afternoon.
I have already had an account of her movements from - from the young lady who has been calling herself Miss Simmons.
I will ask her to repeat that statement.
At the same time, Miss Simmons, I must caution you that you need not answer if you think your answers may incriminate you, and anything you say will be taken down by Constable Edwards and may be used as evidence in court."
"You have to say that, don't you?" said Julia.
She was rather pale, but still composed.
"I repeat that between four and four-thirty I was walking along the field leading down to the brook by Compton Farm.
I came back to the road by that field with three poplars in it.
I didn't meet anyone as far as I can remember.
I did not go near Boulders."
"Mrs. Swettenham?"
Edmund said,
"Are you cautioning all of us?"
The Inspector turned to him.
"No.
At the moment only Miss Simmons.
I have no reason to believe that any other statement made will be incriminating, but anyone, of course, is entitled to have a solicitor present and to refuse to answer questions unless he is present."
"Oh, but that would be very silly and a complete waste of time," cried Mrs. Swettenham.