The Murder at the Vicarage-11
The 
Murder at the Vicarage
Chapter Eleven
I saw at a glance that Colonel Melchett and Inspector Slack had not 
been seeing eye to eye about the case. Melchett looked flushed and annoyed, and the 
Inspector looked sulky.
※I＊m sorry to say,§ said Melchett, ※that Inspector Slack doesn＊t 
agree with me in considering young Redding innocent.§
※If he didn＊t do it, what does he go and say he did it for?§ 
asked Slack skeptically.
※Mrs. Protheroe acted in an exactly similar fashion, remember, Slack.§
※That＊s different. She＊s a woman, and women act in that silly 
way. I＊m not saying she did it, for a moment. She heard he was accused, and she trumped 
up a story. I＊m used to that sort of game. You wouldn＊t believe the fool things I＊ve 
known women do. But Redding＊s different. He＊s got his head screwed on all right. And 
if he admits he did it, well, I say he did do it. It＊s his pistol 每 you can＊t get 
away from that. And, thanks to this business of Mrs. Protheroe, we know the motive. That 
was the weak point before, but now we know it 每 why, the whole thing＊s plain sailing.§
※You think he can have shot him earlier? At six 每 thirty, say?§
※He can＊t have done that.§
※You＊ve checked up his movements?§
The Inspector nodded.
※He was in the village near the Blue Boar at then past six. From 
there he came along the back lane where you say the old lady next door saw him 每 she 
doesn＊t miss much, I should say 每 and kept his appointment with Mrs. Protheroe in the 
studio in the garden. They left there together just after six 每 thirty and went along 
the lane to the village, being joined by Doctor Stone. He corroborates that, all right 每 
I＊ve seen him. They all stood talking just by the post office for a few minutes; then 
Mrs. Protheroe went into Miss Hartnell＊s to borrow a gardening magazine. That＊s all 
right, too. I＊ve seen Miss Hartnell. Mrs. Protheroe remained there talking to her till 
just on seven o＊clock, when she exclaimed at the lateness of the hour and said she must 
get home.§
※What was her manner?§
※Very easy and pleasant, Miss Harnell said. She seemed in good 
spirits 每 Miss Hartnell is quite sure there was nothing on her mind.§
※Well, go on.§
※Redding, he went into Doctor Stone to the Blue Boar, and they had a 
drink together. He left there at twenty minutes to seven, went rapidly along the village 
street and down the road to the Vicarage. Lots of people saw him.§
※Not down the back lane this time?§ commented the Colonel.
※No 每 he came to the front, asked for the Vicar, heard Colonel 
Protheroe was there, went in 每 and shot him 每 just as he said he did! That＊s the 
truth of it and we needn＊t look further.§
Melchett shook his head.
※There＊s the doctor＊s evidence. You can＊t get away from that. 
Protheroe was shot not later than six 每 thirty.§
※Oh, doctors!§ Inspector Slack looked contemptuous. ※If you＊re 
going to believe doctors. Take out all your teeth 每 that＊s what they do nowadays 每 
and then say they＊re very sorry, but all the time it was appendicitis. Doctors!§
※This isn＊t a question of diagnosis. Doctor Haydock was absolutely 
positive on the point. You can＊t go against the medical evidence, Slack.§
※And there＊s my evidence for what it is worth,§ I said, suddenly 
recalling a forgotten incident. ※I touched the body and it was cold. That I can swear 
to.§
※You see, Slack?§ said Melchett.
Inspector Slack gave in with a good grace.
※Well, of course, if that＊s so. But there it was 每 a beautiful 
case. Mr. Redding only too anxious to be hanged, so to speak.§
※That, in itself strikes me as a little unnatural,§ observed 
Colonel Melchett.
※Well, there＊s no accounting for tastes,§ said the Inspector. ※There＊s 
a lot of gentlemen went a bit balmy after the war. Now I suppose it means starting again 
at the beginning.§ He turned on me. ※Why you went out of your way to mislead me about 
the clock, sir, I can＊t think. Obstructing the ends of justice, that＊s what that was.§
I was stung.
※I tried to tell you on three separate occasions,§ I said. ※And 
each time you shut me up and refused to listen.§
※That＊s just a way of speaking, sir. You could have told me 
perfectly well if you had had a mind to. The clock and the note seemed to tally perfectly. 
Now, according to you, the clock was all wrong. I never knew such a case. What＊s the 
sense of keeping a clock a quarter of an hour fast anyway?§
※It is supposed,§ I said, ※to induce punctuality.§
The Inspector snorted.
※I don＊t think we need go farther into that now, Inspector,§ said 
Colonel Melchett tactfully. ※What we want now is the true story from both Mrs. Protheroe 
and young Redding. I telephoned to Haydock and asked him to bring Mrs. Protheroe over here 
with him. They ought to be here in about a quarter of an hour. I think it would be as well 
to have Redding here first.§
※I＊ll get on to the station,§ said Inspector Slack, and took up 
the telephone. He spoke down it. ※And now,§ he said, replacing the receiver, ※we＊ll 
get to work on this room.§
He looked at me in a meaning fashion.
※Perhaps,§ I said, ※you＊d like me out of the way.§
The Inspector immediately opened the door for me. Melchett called out, 
※come back when young Redding arrives, will you, Vicar? You＊re a friend of his, and 
you may have sufficient influence to persuade him to speak the truth.§
I found my wife and Miss Marple with their heads together.
※We＊ve been discussing all sorts of possibilities,§ said 
Griselda. ※I wish you＊d solve the case, Miss Marple, like you did the way Miss 
Wetherby＊s gill of picked shrimps disappeared. And all because it reminded you of 
something quite different about a sach of coals.§
※You＊re laughing, my dear,§ said Miss Marple. ※But, after all, 
that is a very sound way of arriving at the truth. It＊s really what people call 
intuition and make such a fuss about. Intuition is like reading a word without having to 
spell it out. A child can＊t do that, because it has had so little experience. But a 
grown 每 up person knows the word because he＊s seen it often before. You catch my 
meaning, Vicar?§
※Yes,§ I said slowly. ※I think I do. You mean that if a thing 
reminds you of something else 每 well, it＊s probably the same kind of thing.§
※Exactly.§
※And what precisely does the murder of Colonel Protheroe remind you 
of?§
Miss Marple sighed.
※That is just the difficulty. So many parallels come to the mind. For 
instance, there was Major Hargraves, a churchwarden and a man highly respected in every 
way. And all the time he was keeping a separate second establishment 每 a former 
housemaid, just think of it! And five children 每 actually five children 每 a terrible 
shock to his wife and daughter.§
I tried hard to visualize Colonel Protheroe in the role of secret 
sinner, and failed.
※And then there was that laundry business,§ went on Miss Marple. 
※Miss Hartnell＊s opal pin 每 left most imprudently in a frilled blouse and sent to 
the laundry. And the woman who took it didn＊t want it in the least, and wasn＊t by any 
means a thief. She simply hid it in another woman＊s house and told the police she＊d 
seen this other woman take it. Spite, you know, sheer spite. It＊s an astonishing motive 
每 spite. A man in it, of course. There always is.§
This time I failed to see any parallel, however remote. Miss Marple 
went on in a dreamy voice.
※And then there was poor Elwell＊s daughter 每 such a pretty, 
ethereal girl 每 tried to stifle her little brother. And there was the money for the 
Choir boys＊ Outing (before your time, Vicar_ actually taken by the organist. His wife 
was sadly in debt. Yes, this case makes one think of so many things 每 too many. It＊s 
very hard to arrive at the truth.§
※I wish you would tell me,§ I said. ※Who were the seven suspects?§
※The seven suspects?§
※You said you could think of seven people who would 每 well, be glad 
of Colonel Protheroe＊s death.§
※Did I? Yes, I remember I did.§
※Was that true?§
※Oh, certainly it was true. But I wasn＊t mention names. You can 
think of them quite easily yourself, I am sure.§
※Indeed I can＊t. There is Lettice Protheroe, I suppose, since she 
probably comes into money on her father＊s death. But it is absurd to think of her in 
such a connection and outside her I can think of nobody.§
※And you, my dear?§ said Miss Marple, turning to Griselda.
Rather to my surprise Griselda colored up. Something very like tears 
started into her eyes. She clenched both her small hands.
※Oh!§ she cried indignantly. ※People are hateful 每 hateful. The 
things they say! The beastly things they say!§
I looked at her curiously. It is very unlike Griselda to be so upset. 
She noticed my glance and tried to smile.
※Don＊t looked at me as though I were an interesting specimen you 
didn＊t understand, Len. Don＊t let＊s get heated and wander from the point. I don＊t 
believe that it was Lawrence or Anne, and Lettice is out of the question. There must be 
some clue or other that would help us.§
※There is the note, of course,§ said Miss Marple. ※You will 
remember my saying this morning that that struck me as exceedingly peculiar.§
※It seems to fix the time of his death with remarkable accuracy,§ I 
said. ※And yet, is that possible? Mrs. Protheroe would only have just left the study. 
She would hardly have had time to reach the studio. The only way in which I can account 
for it is that he consulted his own watch and tat his watch was slow. That seems to me a 
feasible solution.§
※I have another idea,§ said Griselda. ※Suppose, Len, that the 
clock had already been put back 每 no, that comes to the same thing 每 how stupid of me!§
※It hadn＊t been altered when I left,§ I said. ※I remember 
comparing it with my watch. Still, as you say, that has no bearing on the present matter.§
※What do you think, Miss Marple?§ asked Griselda.
The old lady shook her head.
※My dear, I confess I wasn＊t thinking about it from that point of 
view at all. What strikes me as so curious, and has done from the first, is the subject 
matter of that letter.§
※I don＊t see that,§ I said. ※Colonel Protheroe merely wrote 
that he couldn＊t wait any longer＃§
※At twenty minutes past six?§ said Miss Marple. ※Your 
maid, Mary, had already told him that you wouldn＊t be in till half past six at the 
earliest, and he had appeared to be quite willing to wait until then. And yet, at twenty 
past six, he sits down and says he can＊t wait any longer.§
I stared at the old lady, feeling an increased respect for her mental 
powers. Her keen wits had seen what we had failed to perceive. It was an odd thing 
每 a very odd thing.
※If only,§ I said, ※ the letter hadn＊t been dated＃§
Miss Marple nodded her head.
※Exactly,§ she said. ※If it hadn＊t been dated!§
I cast my mind back, trying to recall that sheet of notepaper and the 
blurred scrawl, and at the top that neatly printed 6:20. Surely these figures were on a 
different scale to the rest of the letter.
I gave a gasp.
※Supposing,§ I said, ※it wasn＊t dated. Supposing that round 
about six 每 thirty Colonel Protheroe got impatient and sat down to say he couldn＊t 
wait any longer. And as he was sitting there writing, someone came in through the window＃§
※Or through the door,§ suggested Griselda.
※He＊d hear the door and look up.§
※Colonel Protheroe was rather deaf, you remember,§ said Miss 
Marple.
※Yes, that＊s true. He wouldn＊t hear it. Whichever way the 
murderer came, he stole up behind the Colonel and shot him. Then he saw the note and the 
clock and the idea came to him. He put six 每 twenty 每 two. It was a clever idea. It 
gave him, or so he would think, a perfect alibi.§
※And what we want to find,§ said Griselda, ※is someone who has a 
cast 每iron alibi for six 每 twenty, but no alibi at all for 每 well, this isn＊t so 
easy. One can＊t fix the time.§
※We can fix it within very narrow limits,§ I said. ※Haydock 
places six 每 thirty as the outside limit of time. I suppose one could perhaps shift it 
to six thirty 每 five, from the reasoning we have just been following out; it seems clear 
that Protheroe would not have got impatient before six 每 thirty. I think we can say we 
do know pretty well.§
※Then that shot I heard 每 yes, I suppose it is quite possible. And 
I thought nothing about it 每 nothing at all. Most vexing. And yet, now I try to 
recollect, it does seem to me that it was different from the usual sort of shot one hears. 
Yes, there was a difference.§
※Louder?§ I suggested.
No, Miss Marple didn＊t think it had been louder. In fact, she found 
it hard to say in what way it had been different, but she still insisted that it was.
I thought she was probably persuading herself of the fact rather than 
actually remembering it, but she had just contributed such a valuable new outlook to the 
problem that I felt highly respectful toward her.
She rose, murmuring that she must really get back 每 it had been so 
tempting just to run over and discuss the case with dear Criselda. I escorted her to the 
boundary wall and the back gate, and returned to find Griselda wrapped in thought. 
※Still puzzling over that note?§ I asked.
※No.§
She gave a sudden shiver and shook her shoulders impatiently.
※Len, I＊ve been thinking. How badly someone must have hated Anne 
Protheroe.§
※Hated her?§
※Yes, Don＊t you see? There＊s no real evidence against Lawrence 
每 all the evidence against him is what you might call accidental. He just happens to 
take it into hi s head to come here. If he hadn＊t 每 well, no one would have thought of 
connecting him with the crime. But Anne is different. Suppose someone knew that she was 
here at exactly six 每 twenty 0 the clock and the time on the letter 每 everything 
pointing to her. I don＊t think it was only because of an alibi it was moved to that 
exact time 每 I think there was more in it than that 每 a direct attempt to fasten the 
business on her. If it hadn＊t been for Miss Marple saying she hadn＊t got the pistol 
with her, and noticing that she was only a moment before going down to the studio 每 Yes, 
if it hadn＊t been for that＃§ She shivered again. ※Len 每 I feel that someone 
hated Anne Protheroe very much. I 每 I don＊t like it.§
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