فصل 06 - 03

Emily Barton, the owner of our house, also called on us just after we had finished tea to talk about the garden. As we walked back towards the house she said, ‘I do hope that Megan hasn’t been too upset by this awful business?’

‘Her mother’s death, you mean?’

‘That, of course. But I really meant, the unpleasantness behind it.’

I was interested. ‘What do you think about that letter? Was it true?’

‘Oh, no, no. I’m quite sure that Mrs Symmington never - but why would anyone want to write such a thing? ‘ ‘A twisted mind.’

‘That seems very sad.’

‘It doesn’t seem sad to me. It just seems evil.’

‘But why, Mr Burton, why? What pleasure can anyone get out of it?’ She lowered her voice. ‘They say that Mrs Cleat - but I really cannot believe it. Nothing like this has ever happened before in Lymstock.’

I said, ‘You’ve not - er - received any letters yourself?’

Her face went very red. ‘Oh, no - oh, no. Oh! That would be dreadful.’

I quickly apologized, but she went away looking upset and I went into the house.

Joanna was standing by the sitting room fire. She had a letter in her hand. ‘Jerry! I found this in the letterbox. It begins, “You are an evil painted woman.”’

‘What else does it say?’

‘Same but worse.’ She dropped it onto the flames.

With a quick move that hurt my back I picked it up just before it caught fire. ‘Don’t,’ I said. ‘We may need it.’

‘Need it?’

‘For the police.’