"Oi, Robbie, look at this!" "Whoa-oh!" "Ooh!" "Hey, Mike." "What?" "I'll race ya." "Whoo!" "Be careful, don't slip." "Come on, faster!" "Pete!" "Pete!" "Help me!" "I got ya!" "I got ya!" "Grab my hand!" "Hold on to me, Pete!" "Oh, God, no!" "No!" "PETE!" "No!" "'In my end is my beginning.'" "That's what they say, isn't it?" "My end, my beginning." "I miss him so much." "On a chat with Robbie Hayman remembering Pete, and talking about our plans for the future." "I can't tell you how grateful we are." "I didn't do anything." "You risked your life." "Anyone would've done the same." "You're the best friend in the world, Mike." "More than a friend." "Come on, mate." "One day I'll repay you." "Something really special." "When I first saw Ellie, insubstantial as a dream." "Are you thinking of buying?" "Oh, it's out of my league, I'm afraid, madam." "Just passing through, are you?" "Yes, madam." "Working, I imagine." "Driving an old couple around." "Yes." "It is such a lovely corner of the world, don't you think, mister...?" "Rogers." "Marple." "Jane Marple." "I-I'm not from these parts either." "I'm just staying with an old friend who's recently lost her husband." "One can find it all too easy to lose touch." "I'm sure one can, madam." "There's really no need to call me 'madam'." "Sorry, madam, that's..." "There I go again." "Yes, this is an unhappy house, one hears." "In what way?" "I'm not the person to ask, Mr Rogers, but they do say the gypsies have put a curse on it." "Now why would they go and do a thing like that?" "It's all superstition, of course." " The locals take it very serious." " Jane!" "My old friend Marjorie." "She insists on a brisk walk before luncheon." "It's been so nice to meet you, Mr Rogers." "Miss Marple." "Oh, Marjorie, I just met the sweetest man..." "A gypsy's curse." "That was a new one." "So I thought I'd take a peek." "It wasn't a ruin I was looking at." "It was my destiny." "Gipsy's Acre." "I'd knock it down, build the most fantastic house, and there you'd have it - my future." "'Michael Rogers, country squire.' Sounded good to me." "What are you up to?" "Just having a look." "Thinking of buying?" "Yes." "Chauffeur, are you?" "That's right." "Best foot forward, Jane." "The sooner we finish, the sooner we eat." "..Gipsy's Acre you don't." "What's there to know?" "Go on, tell me." "What happened there?" "The last owners died." "All of them." "How?" "You're out of your depth, sonny." "Go back to mummy." "Tell me." "Read your palm for sixpence." "Go on then." "Going to be rich, am I?" "Every night and every morn, some to misery are born." "Every morn and every night, some are born to sweet delight." "Sixpence for that?" "You're having a laugh." "Some are born to sweet delight." "Some are born to endless night." "I had to put my dreams of Gipsy's Acre on hold on return to London." "Turned my hand to lots of things, but never stuck at them." "But I'm lazy and just sort of restless." "All that war stuff, austerity." "Know your place." "Time for a change, I reckon." "I wasn't sure how." "Then one day, with time to kill, I found myself on Bond Street, so I thought I'd do a bit of window shopping." "And something caught my eye." "Now, he seemed a nice enough bloke, so I popped in and asked the price." "25 grand?" "!" "I needed a stiff one after that." "Robbie?" "An architect?" "Yes." "You always did have a bit of artistic bent." "What have you been up to?" "What haven't I been up to?" "Stable boy, fruit picker, waiter... ..lifeguard." "Lifeguard?" "I was a chauffeur for a while, driving these pompous old gits around here and on the continent." "Stinking rich they were." "Forever looking down their noses." "But I was nice as pie." "I can imagine." "Always ended up with a whacking great tip." "That's a nasty cough you got there." "I'm not too clever." "You should get that seen to." "I haven't forgotten, you know." "What?" "Trying to save Pete." "Oh." "That was ages ago." "Get a load of that." "I-I could build you a house." "I know exactly what you like." "And do you know exactly how much I got in my post office savings?" "Born poor doesn't mean you have to stay poor." "Good old, Robbie." "Ever the romantic." "I'm serious." "It's a dream, mate." "It's just a dream." "Sold to the gentleman at the back." "Now, ladies and gentlemen..." "We can't keep you away, can we?" "Oh, I'm afraid not, Miss Marple." "Day off, is it?" "I've moved on." "Oh, I was wondering where that smart uniform had gone." "I'm just a humble barman now." "Now, where were we?" "2,250..." "Gipsy's Acre is still casting its spell though." "Well, the trouble is, when I want something..." "Oh, everyone has to be tenacious these days." "All a little cut and thrust for my liking." "The house didn't get sold." "So I decided to take another look." "And that's how I came to meet Ellie." "Sorry, I wasn't expecting to..." "That's quite alright." "I wasn't expecting to meet anybody either." "Such a lonely spot." "Sort of... scary." "Old ruins can get you like that." "It's up for auction today." "I've just come from there, as it happens." "Do you know if it was sold?" "Didn't meet its reserve." "Are you thinking of buying?" "No." "I can't think of anything better." "It's rather decrepit." "Oh, yeah, but you pull it all down." "Build something really special." "And the view... whoa!" "If you cleared all this away and..." "Voila." "A beautiful jewel." "A house for lovers." "So I told her about Robbie and how we dreamt of the future, how I tried to save his brother's life, and how he'd offered to repay me." "But that's awful!" "Yeah." "I'd like a house like that, built out of love." "What's your name?" "Mike." "Mike Rogers." "Fenella Goodman." "But my friends call me Ellie." "Well... well, it's nice to meet you, Ellie." "You're not welcome here." "What are you playing at?" "This is gypsies' land and they drove us off." "I thought it was up for sale." "Bad luck'll come to whoever buys it." "There's a curse on this land." "Clear off if you know what's good for you." "This is Mrs Lee." "She gets money out of people by telling their fortunes." "I know things, young lady, it'd be wise for you to know." "Alright then." "Amaze me." "What do I see?" "What is it?" "What's wrong?" "Forget this place." "Forget you ever saw it." "Oh, for God sake." "Go where you're loved, where you're cared for." "This isn't the place for you." "Something happened up there, didn't it?" "That's why it's going cheap." "What was it, Mike?" "Tell me." "Apparently, the people that lived there..." "They all died." "It was a murder." "A man and his wife and another man, the husband shot the other two, and then shot himself." "Wasn't there some doubt about the verdict?" "No doubt at all." "It was all perfectly true." "Marjorie, you're frightening the poor girl." "No, I want to know." "That place is cursed." "Jane Marple, by the way." "Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm forgetting my manners." "This is Fenella Goodman." "Philpot." "Marjorie." "Widow." "We met a few days later in London." "Ellie had mentioned it was her 21st in a few weeks' time." "So I thought I'd show her I meant business." "Happy birthday." "Chalk and cheese, that's us." "How do you mean?" "Well, you're rich and I'm not." "I gradually got to know more about her." "Her parents were dead and she couldn't stand her stepmother." "She told me she could never do what she wanted, and made out that money wasn't all it was cracked up to be." "Don't you have any friends?" "I've got one." "Greta." "Uh-huh." "A sort of chaperone." "She's a godsend." "What's she like?" "Oh, she's marvellous." "And she's beautiful too." "Was it Greta who suggested you go to Gipsy's Acre that day?" "I'm allowed some secrets, aren't I?" "Oh, I can't wait to be 21." "After that I'll be able to do what I like." "Don't you think I ought to meet your family?" "Oh, but they'd make such a fuss." "Can we go on as we are?" "If that's what you want." "It's just... so nice to have somebody one can..." "make believe with." "And we did a lot of that." "Then she was gone, whisked off to the south of France by her family to celebrate her 21st birthday." "But I couldn't settle." "I called the auctioneers and heard the Gipsy's Acre had been sold." "All those dreams, all come to nothing." "And I decided to see my mum." "So what have you been up to?" "This and that." "The usual then." "How have you been?" "The same." "You have many jobs since I last saw you?" "Four or five." "And what are you doing now?" "I'm a chauffeur." "No, you're not." "What do you mean?" "You threw in the towel, went sick." "Dumped your clients on the continent or wherever." "How did you know that?" "Firm rang me, wanted your address." "Why didn't you report to them when you got back?" "I had other fish to fry." "What's happened?" "Nothing." "Something has, I can tell." "You know all about me, don't you?" "I know when you're up to no good." "A girl, is it?" "In a way." "What kind of girl?" "The right kind." "Am I going to meet her?" "No." "You're worried I'd disapprove." "I wouldn't pay attention if you did." "Oh, but you would, Michael." "You take notice of me, you always have." "I'm the only person who really knows you." "What is it you want?" "Nothing." "You always want something." "Money." "To spend on her?" "For a suit... to get married in." "You're going to marry her." "If she'll have me." "I'm never coming back, you know." "Never." "After Ellie got back, there was a confidence about her I hadn't seen before." "And do you know that I love you?" "Of course I do." "So... what are we going to do about it?" "We're going to get married and then live in a house on Gipsy's Acre that Robbie Hayman will have built for us." "That's what you want, isn't it?" "But, Ellie, I..." "I don't know how to tell you this." "What?" "Gipsy's Acre's been sold." "So sorry." "What's so funny?" "The look on your face." "Silly boy." "I know it's been sold." "I'm the person who's bought it." "My lawyer set the whole thing up, ready for me to sign, as soon as I came of age." "You got lawyers?" "Of course." "What about the deposit?" "Mike, I have a lot of money." "You told me." "But I mean a lot." "So, I've spoken with my lawyers and all it needs is for your say so." "I think you're missing the point, Miss Goodman." "This is not a business deal." "It's a personal gesture of gratitude." "And with your talent and my money, we can see it come to fruition." "This isn't exactly how I imagined it." "How do you mean, Robbie?" "Would you be happy with such an arrangement?" "Of course I would." "Because of Ellie, we can actually have what we'd only dreamt of." "And you always get what you want." "Don't you, Mike?" "So how about it, Mr Hayman?" "As you wish." "Good." "Mike?" "It so happens that I have drawn some preliminary sketches." "You... you haven't seen the sight yet." "Well, I popped down one weekend." "Best be prepared, I thought." "Raring to go." "I like that." "You're in love with a house that might never have been built." "Is this something that might capture your heart?" "That... that's it." "That's absolutely it." "Yes." "Yes, it's perfect." "You sound terrible." "I am." "You're very brave." "When something is certain... there's nothing to be brave about." "It gives me the strangest feeling of... power." "If I'm going to die anyway, I can do what I want." "I mean, what's to stop me from robbing a bank?" "Even shooting someone?" "What's to stop me from walking down the street and shooting anyone I choose?" "Think of that!" "Firing at random, shoppers dropping like flies." "Well, ah... they'd hang you." "If I hadn't died first." "A heady proposition." "Don't you think?" "Oh, this is it." "Ellie made me give up my job." "But before giving up my bedsit she was determined to spend a night there." "How the other half lives, I suppose." "Robbie's kind of odd, isn't he?" "Sort of frightening." "You didn't seem very frightened." "The way he looked at me." "Well, why was that?" "He didn't warm to me, that's all." "I didn't notice." "Then I expect you didn't notice the way he looked at you." "What... it's what arty types do." "They take everything in." "I don't mean that." "Then I don't know what you mean." "Supposing, when he's built the house, he came in after us, closed the door and..." "..and cut our throats." "Where did that come from?" "Perhaps it's all the talk of a curse." "Oh, hey." "Trouble is I dream too much." "Well..." "..dream of this." "What is it?" "Ellie?" "What happened?" "That gypsy woman." "Oh." "What about her?" "I saw her." "Well, Ellie, you were just dreaming." "Mike..." "She's already got to you, hasn't she?" "Look... if you think we should live somewhere else..." "No." "No, I want to live there." "Gipsy's Acre is mine." "Ours." "And that's how I want it to be." "And so, we got married." "In a suburban registry office." "All arranged by the beautiful Greta." "We did the grand tour for our honeymoon and ended up in Rome." "Family's going to be hopping mad." "And they'll be down on us like a cloud of vultures." "Well, I'm a big boy." "I can take it." "They'll probably try to buy you off." "Although, they wouldn't put it so crudely." "You mean I could trade you in?" "If the fancy took you!" "My stepmother Cora has been married four times." "I made a fortune out of it!" "Of course, I rather hope you won't trade me in." "I'd kill for a decent pint." "Probably won't be too happy with Greta either." "She won't mind." "She's tough." "Won't it stop her getting another job?" "She won't need to." "She'll be coming to live with us." "No, she won't." "What do you mean?" "I mean, I don't want anyone living with us." "But I don't know what I'd do without her." "We wouldn't be married if it weren't for her!" "I won't have her interfering!" "You haven't even met her yet." "And keep your voice down." "Yeah, I know I haven't." "But don't we want to be by ourselves?" "In our own house?" "Isn't that what you want, Ellie?" "Oh, my darling." "Darling Mike." "What are they doing here?" "Mr Rogers!" "Miss Marple!" "Marjorie, it's Mr Rogers!" "Who?" "What?" "You know, the young man we had tea with at The George." "Fancy seeing you here." "And Miss Goodman!" "Ah, yes, Goodman." "Well, what a coincidence." "Isn't it, though?" "Well, Marjorie's always wanted to visit Rome." "But the Major couldn't abide Italians." "And it so entrancing this time of year." "You're Cora van Stuyvesant's stepdaughter, aren't you?" "Yes." "The penny suddenly dropped after I met you in the village." "You know her then?" "I do, as it happens." "Although I can't say I like her." "Oh, Marjorie." "Very few people do." "What a small world." "You were curious about that miserable pile at Gipsy's Acre as I recall." "That's right." "Thought you might be interested to hear that it's been sold." "Good riddance." "I know." "I bought it." "Oh, I see." "We'd been wondering who had." "So it won't be miserable for much longer." "Does Cora know?" "She hasn't a clue." "You surely don't intend living there alone." "Oh, no." "I'll be living there with my husband." "I didn't know you had one!" "Well, now you do." "And what's more, we're on our honeymoon." "Good gracious!" "Congratulations." "Ah, Cora didn't say!" "Cora doesn't know." "But she will now." "As soon as we got back to England the vultures descended." "First, we got a grilling from the family lawyer," "Lippincott." "'On the run.' I was doing no such thing." "Ha!" "What did you expect?" "If I'd done it any other way there would have been the most frightful fuss." "The people who care for you were bound to be a little agitated." "Cora doesn't care for me." "And if you think of it, Uncle Andrew," "I've saved everybody a lot of trouble." "Others might say you've been very deceitful." "Aided and abetted by someone who should have known better." "Greta only did what I asked her to." "She abused her position." "You mustn't blame Ellie, sir." "It was easier for Greta rather than me to get in touch with you all." "Ha." "So, do you propose to live in this house you're building, Ellie?" "Of course I do." "Ellie's a British subject now, sir." "Ellie can live in any country she chooses." "She has properties all over." "Now, if you wouldn't mind excusing us for a minute, my dear." "I would like to have a little word with this husband of yours." "I am so glad you're safe." "I trust you don't mind me speaking frankly, Rogers?" "Call me Mike now we're family." "She's a delightful girl, and in some ways very, very vulnerable." "You're not the kind of man I should have wished her to marry." "As her guardian and a trustee of her affairs" "I would have preferred someone of her own set." "But that horse, for now, has bolted." "Well, this horse has no intention of bolting, sir." "In it to the finishing line." "That's me." "Best intentions are as good a start as any, I suppose." "I'm nothing, sir." "Nobody." "My dad was a drunk and my mum slaved to get me an education." "If I'm honest, I think I was always a bit of a disappointment to her." "She won't accept that I want to get on." "But since I met Ellie, for the first time life looks bright." "Hmm." "And this house that you're building?" "Oh, it's going to be a gem, sir." "A mate of mine, Robbie Hayman, has designed it." "Very up and coming, so they say." "Yeah." "But not very well I gather." "You know him?" "Dying, in fact." "You people certainly do your homework." "Ha!" "It's very impressive, I saw it yesterday." "And I also spoke to the solicitor who oversaw the purchase." "He told me that it was acquired at a remarkably low price, but he did not advance an opinion as to why that was." "Well, it's got a curse on it, sir." "A gypsy's curse." "Well, now I've heard it all." "Shall I, ah, get Ellie back in, sir?" "One more thing, Rogers." "Greta Andersen." "I presume you've met her." "No." "I am surprised." "Was she not at your wedding?" "No, she wasn't." "That is odd." "Very odd." "And Ellie hasn't suggested that you meet her?" "Once or twice maybe." "But I don't want to share her with anyone." "Quite right." "I don't think that Greta's companionship is particularly desirable." "You gave us the most terrible shock marrying so secretly." "Cora, Ellie's stepmother." "She was a two-faced bitch." "But of course we all know it was that Greta woman who put you up to it." "Ah, Greta." "What a girl." "Frank Stanford, another of Ellie's trustees." "He's a fishy customer." "I can just see her in one of those Hamburg bars." "In heels and leather." "You know what I mean?" "Couldn't even touch me for a few quid." "I hope you're behaving yourself, Frank." "As good as gold!" "Incorrigible." "We don't want you corrupting that poor boy." "If only we'd known how very charming Michael was going to be." "Ellie had generously raised her allowance, which Cora knew would be stopped if she didn't behave herself." "Won't you all join us for dinner?" "Mmm." "Very kind of you, my dear." "But I think we all must get back to town." "So, will Fraulein Greta be moving in with you?" "I don't think so." "You might change your mind when you see her." "The happy couple." "Greta!" "Greta, meet Mike." "Nice to meet you." "Were they too ghastly?" "They gave me the sack." "So what will you do?" "Oh, I've got a job lined up in London." "But are you alright?" "Darling, how can I not be with that lovely cheque you sent me?" "You deserve every penny." "Has the cat got your tongue?" "He's strong and silent." "Aren't you, darling?" "Like no-one you've ever met." "That does sound exciting." "Pass me the pepper, darling." "I can't wait for you to see our house." "I saw it, first day I got back to England." "Thank you." "That architect, what a clever young man." "You must meet him." "I already have." "I must say, he looks as if he will give up the ghost at any minute." "I can't wait for us to move in." "That would be quite soon by the look of it." "So, Mike, tell me, what do you think of Ellie's so-called family?" "Well, um..." "Leeches all, believe me." "They'll go away soon enough, darling." "Let the poor boy speak for himself." "Um..." "This gift, it's very thoughtful of Miss Marple." "What a sweet lady she is." "Yes." "You do like Greta, don't you?" "Course I do." "I couldn't bear it if you didn't." "You hardly said a word." "I hardly got the chance." "And when you did you hardly looked at her." "I was nervous." "Why?" "She's quite awesome, you know?" "Like a Valkyrie." "Mike, that is a terrible thing to say!" "I just wish that..." "Well, I wish that you weren't quite so dependant on her." "I suppose I'm a little bit jealous." "Silly boy." "It's true, she meant everything to me." "Till you came along." "Oh, Mike!" "Robbie?" "Robbie!" "Said he'd be here." "It's open." "You're supposed to carry her over the threshold!" "Where were you hiding?" "Robbie, it's beautiful." "You're a genius." "Here's to our new life." "Let's hope you haven't started as you mean to go on." "I'll show you around." "You do like it, don't you?" "It's wonderful!" "You do, don't you, Mike?" "Of course I do." "Take care." "There are bad people out there." "Thanks, Robbie." "Promise kept." "No more." "No less." "For a moment I thought he might be losing it." "Then I put it down to the medication." "Well, at least he didn't cut our throats." "He is a bit creepy though, don't you think?" "Mmm." "He's not very well." "I haven't a clue what he was talking about." "Artistic temperament I'm thinking." "Anyway, we got what we want." "We're safe now." "Who the hell did that?" "No-one." "Ellie?" "Sweetheart." "It's just a tiny cut." "Just a little sliver." "Why would anyone do that?" "It was probably local lads." "There's something else, Mike." "Something we don't know about." "They want to drive us away." "Of course they don't." "That gypsy woman was right." "El, she's crazy." "She should be locked up." "We've done exactly what she told us not to." "No-one will drive us away." "Do you understand?" "No-one." "♪ SALSA TUNE" "Ellie insisted on a house-warming." "I couldn't think of anything worse." "We'd hired staff regimented by a recently-acquired manservant," "Winslow." "He'd been recommended by Andrew Lippincott." "The family tentacles spread wide, and Ellie was convinced he was there to spy on us." "Ooh!" "She does love her food!" "Perhaps she's compensating for her loss." "Do you know who those two are?" "Oh, yes." "That's Dr Shaw." "Somewhat of the old-school, Marjorie says." "Doesn't dispense pills like sweeties." "And the young lady is Claudia Hardcastle." "Very keen on horses." "She and Ellie should get on." "Ellie loves riding." "Her husband was a rich American." "Stanford I think his name was." "But it failed at the first hurdle." "Cora van Stuyvesant." "She is a little overbearing, isn't she?" "Did you know that she's looking for a house around here?" "Now, that is bad news." "You're a fountain of knowledge, Miss Marple." "Marjorie like to keep her ear to the ground." "See, I wish I could talk to my mum like I talk to you." "Well, I don't think Kingston Bishop has ever seen anything quite like that before." "Why, Greta, you look like something out of a burlesque." "I ought to make a move." "You've done your friend proud, Mr Hayman." "He always was the clever one." "Bit of a swot." "And I was always getting into scrapes." "Well, you know what they say." "Opposites attract." "It's ridiculous, really." "But horses give me the most violent hayfever." "I have the exact same thing." "But I have these wonderful allergy capsules." "If Claudia ever finds another husband it'll probably be off a stud farm." "Don't be so unkind, Marjorie!" "Who knows what's round the corner?" "Certainly not around the one that leads up to Gipsy's Acre." "Strange things have happened around that corner." "Well, there's always an explanation for everything." "I might cut those trees down, lighten it up a bit." "You can't go round cutting down our trees!" "They're not your trees, Marjorie." "Mr Rogers can do what he wants." "Oh, I detest change!" "I always have." "The Major was the same." "That's why I married him." "So, I imagine you don't like this house then." "I certainly don't." "It's far too modern." "It looks like a furniture department." "This is Robbie Hayman, Marjorie, the architect." "Splendid!" "I hear old Esther Lee's been making a nuisance of herself." "According to her, we're cursed." "A bit dotty I think." "I expect she's quite harmless." "I shouldn't have been so scared." "As bad as that?" "Well, it was more of a threat than a warning." "Oh, that does seem a bit odd." "Not like her at all." "You know, I feel quite responsible for old Esther." "Why's that?" "She saved my brother's life." "Really?" "Fished the little blighter out of a pond when he'd gone through the ice." "Mike!" "Ah, it was nothing." "Let's take a look." "No!" "It's nothing." "Fine." "Fine." "It was hearing about the doctor's brother, wasn't it?" "The old gypsy managed to save him but... ..I didn't save Pete." "You tried your best." "And Robbie knows you did." "I couldn't get him out." "Help me!" "Hold onto me!" "Pete!" "Pete!" "No!" "It's 18th century, or 19th or something." " Anyway, it's old." " I'd got what I wanted." "But I hadn't counted on the mother-in-law." "She'd seen a house that had taken her fancy about half an hour away." "The thought of her coming round for a cup of sugar made me heave." "Wouldn't that be heaven?" "We were still exploring our property, and one day we discovered a folly hidden away in the woods." "Which we decided to do up ourselves." "I love it." "Now all we need is for the path to be cleared." "Oh, no, no." "That's our secret." "Only we need know about that." "That is so romantic." "Ellie!" "Nothing to worry about." "Just a sprain." "I'm so glad you came, Greta." "If you want me to stay, that is..." "That won't be necessary." "Oh, but I'd love that!" "I would like to stay." "Good." "Besides, Ellie is not very strong." "Medically qualified are you, Miss Andersen?" "She has a delicate constitution." "It's just a sprain." "I did not mean her ankle." "There has been concern about her heart." "That was nothing." "You never told me." "If you'd like a check-up...?" "There's no need." "Oh, I think it's a good idea." "Are you on medication?" "Only allergy pills." "These." "These shouldn't do you any harm." "I also take sleeping pills." "Now that's not such a good idea." "We'll take a look." "I am concerned for her health." "Dr Shaw said there's nothing wrong." "She needs to see a proper doctor." "He is a proper doctor!" "A specialist in London." "Ellie means the world to me!" "She means the world to me!" "That's why I married her." "You can't help yourself, can you?" "Hey?" "You're always bossing people around." "I will leave if that is what you want." "Please stop." "Both of you, that's enough." "Darling, I'm..." "I'm sorry." "I didn't realise you hated each other so much." "We don't hate each other, darling." "You know I am a little hot in the head." "And you know what my temper's like." "It is only because we care for you." "Then you must try to get along with one another." "I promise." "I'm so sorry to intrude." "Miss Marple." "I should have telephoned, I know." "But I needed a little break." "Is everything alright?" "Yes!" "Yes." "It's just that Marjorie has mislaid a brooch, and it crossed her mind that she may have dropped it at your party." "I'm sure it would've showed up by now." "Yes." "I will look." "And get Winslow to look too." "Oh, I would be so grateful." "Would you like a drink?" "No." "No, no." "Thank you." "Marjorie will be chafing at the bit for her supper." "If we find the brooch..." "Oh, that would be so kind." "Thank you." "Let's get you inside." "Ellie seemed unsettled, but was always happy to go riding with Claudia." "Or sometimes by herself." "I nearly ran someone over." "On that corner." "Yes." "Some old gypsy type." "She was standing right in the middle of the road, it is a miracle I didn't hit her." "She said we should all go back where we came from and shook her fist." "Did you have a good ride?" "Yes." "Thank you." "Have you seen her lately?" "No." "You don't sound very sure." "She said, 'I've warned them before and I shan't warn them again.'" "She said, 'It's death I see and that house will fall in ruins.'" "Most impertinent." "You're exaggerating." "It is what she said." "Silly old fool." "And it didn't end there." "Oh, Mr Rogers!" "Not now, Miss Marple." "What... what's happened?" "If you must know, we're being hassled by that wretched gypsy woman." "What, Mrs Lee?" "Yes." "Scared the life out of Ellie." "She's popping up all over the place." "And this morning, left a dead bird on the step with a threatening note attached." "She's overstepped her mark this time." "But, Mr Rogers..." "Please excuse me." "Mrs Lee?" "It's not like Mrs Lee to make threats." "Know if anyone's got it in for you and your wife, Mr Rogers?" "I'd say that's most unlikely." "Well, she has done something similar before." "Given someone the evil eyes, so to speak." "And then we found out someone paid her to do it." "Anyway, I'll have a word." "Thank you, Sergeant." "When she gets back." "Gets back?" "She goes on walkabout." "It's the gypsy in her." "A few days later I got a note from my mother." "I'd sent her a large cheque to use as she wanted." "It's from my mum." "Stubborn as they come." "She does love you though, even though she might not show it." "You sound very certain." "Ellie?" "Now, Mike, don't get mad, but I went to see her." "What?" "Just didn't seem right that we hadn't met." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I was going to." "What did she say?" "Nothing." "What did she say?" "She said you're afraid of her." "Afraid." "Because she knows too much about you." "Well, that hit home, didn't it?" "You should have told me!" "Why are you so angry?" "Because it's disgraceful!" "We shouldn't have secrets from each other!" "Everybody has secrets and you know it." "I'll fix that." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to lose my temper." "Doesn't bother me." "I'm not afraid of you." "To make it up to her," "I decided to buy Ellie a real classy birthday present." "Mmm." "That's lovely, Michael." "It's Ellie's birthday next week." "I want it to be a surprise." "Very good taste you have." "Is she with her German friend?" "No, she's out riding." "Greta's gone to London for the day with Claudia Hardcastle." "Actually, we're meeting for tea." "Why don't you join us?" "Oh, thank you." "I do think it's strange though, don't you, Michael, that Mrs Lee should leave her handbag if she was going away for a while?" "With money in it too, and in an unlocked cottage." "Marjorie says she never locks the door." "I've told Sergeant Keene and he said they'll keep an eye out." "You look worried, Michael." "Oh, it's... it's just Ellie, she seems to be running rather late." "Probably 'cause Greta's in London." "She's so very dependant on Miss Andersen, isn't she?" "I know." "She relies on her for everything." "Would you mind if we went back?" "See what's going on?" "No, no." "That's Frank Stanford." "Wasn't that Claudia Hardcastle with him?" "I think it was." "So she's not in London after all." "I thought you said they'd split up." "Well, they have." "Perhaps they decided to get together again." "I wonder why." "Has she got money?" "Yes." "There's your answer." "Ellie?" "She still hadn't turned up." "So Winslow and a stable boy came with us to look for her." "Ellie!" "Any sign?" "Ellie?" "Mrs Rogers?" "Oh!" "Over here!" "Oh, my God!" "Ellie!" "Ellie!" "Ellie!" "Ellie!" "Ellie!" "Get Dr Shaw!" "Ellie!" "All I can is that she's been dead for three or four hours." "Was anything broken?" "It doesn't seem to be." "I'll have a better idea when I've made a complete examination." "Perhaps it was shock." "You don't die of shock." "Anyway, these questions will be addressed at the inquest." "It could have been that gypsy that frightened her." "I was walking down the road this morning and I saw her." "You saw Mrs Lee?" "I think it was her." "Where was she going?" "The path into the woods." "She could've scared the horse." "If it was her." "My poor Ellie." "Gone forever." "Within a day or two Andrew Lippincott had flown in." "She would want to be buried here at Gipsy's Acre." "I'm, ah, afraid that's out of the question." "She needs to be laid to rest with her forebears." "We can, however, arrange for the funeral to be held while you're in America dealing with the estate." "I presume you are aware that Ellie made you the principle beneficiary." "Didn't even know she made a will." "Oh, yes." "Just after you were married." "I can arrange for a reputable lawyer to safeguard your interests." "With a fortune like yours, you're going to need the best advice." "Mr Rogers, you should trust nobody." "The inquest seemed unreal." "Dr Shaw's evidence was inconclusive." "Did you detect any specific organic injury that might have explained her death?" "No." "Despite belief, she died from heart failure caused by shock." "Greta who had been in a terrible state when she heard what had happened, was more insistent about Ellie's heart condition." "She had a heart problem three or four years ago." "Do you know what sort of heart problem it was, Miss Andersen?" "No." "But her family always stressed that she should not overdo things." "Then he called me." "Did Mrs Lee ever threaten your wife?" "In a sense, yes." "I never really thought she meant it." "Did she hold any particular grudge against her?" "My wife thought so, but she couldn't see why." "She believed our land belonged to her tribe, whatever they call themselves." "Was she ever violent?" "No." "She just... banged on about putting a curse on us." "Did she ever mention the word 'Death'?" "I think she did." "But we didn't take her seriously." "At least, I didn't." "And your wife?" "Well, the older woman could be rather alarming." "Where is Mrs Lee?" "Ah, no-one knows, sir." "She hasn't been seen for several weeks." "Did she not leave an address?" "She often goes off without telling anybody." "So you couldn't have seen her the morning of Mrs Rogers' death." "Maybe she popped back for the day." "Then the coroner adjourned proceedings until they'd tracked her down." "Do you think she's come back for the day?" "Well, I suppose it's possible." "Gypsies do go hither and thither." "Well, if she planned to come back, what if she'd had a motive?" "A motive?" "Yeah." "What if someone was paying her to frighten Ellie?" "Well, I think that's a little dramatic, Michael." "Where did you get that idea?" "Sergeant Keene." "He said it had happened once before." "Good heavens." "Well, I did find all that money in her cottage." "But even so, to deliberately cause an accident..." "If this person wanted to get rid of us then there must be some reason for wanting the land to go back on the market." "You don't know who." "This came through the window this morning." "'It was a woman who killed your wife.'" "I think she's gone to Earth 'cause she knows we're looking for her." "And if someone's paying her, she'd be anxious to keep away." "Well, someone else would be anxious too." "This has all got a bit out of hand." "So, when Mrs Lee is found..." "Well, she won't spill the beans." "Someone wouldn't like that and they'd have to silence her pretty quickly." "Are you saying Mrs Lee might have been killed?" "Hello?" "Can I help you?" "Oh, Miss Andersen." "I am just getting my breath back." "How did you know about this place?" "Well, poor Ellie mentioned something about it." "Did she now?" "Yes." "It's quite a walk, isn't it?" "You shouldn't be wandering the woods alone, Miss Marple." "Well, I mustn't detain you, oh, no." "Goodbye then, Miss Andersen." "I'm sorry, Mike, about your loss." "Yes." "I hear you're off to America quite soon." "Who told you that?" "I simply presumed you would be." "Anyway, there was something I wanted to ask you." "It's just that if you're putting the house on the market" "I'd rather like first refusal." "I'm prepared to pay." "I shan't be selling, Claudia, not at any price." "Oh." "Ah, you were married, weren't you?" "Yes." "To Frank Stanford." "Grant this mercy, oh, Lord, we beseech thee, to thy servant departed, that she may not receive in punishment the requital of her deeds." "Who in desire, did keep thy will." "In New York I was out of my depth and couldn't wait to get back home." "The Ellie I had known had flown." "Returned to her own kind." "Though the mercy of God, rest in peace." "Go back where you belong, Ellie." "My condolences." "Thanks." "You must be very pleased with yourself." "You've taken everything." "And now my little girl." "Well done." "She was never your little girl." "Then it transpired that Stanford had given me some bad advice." "Frank Stanford advised me to get rid of some mining properties because the title deeds were dodgy." "So, I checked with the lawyer." "There's nothing wrong with it." "I suspect he's a crook." "Ha." "I suspect you're right." "Would you be willing to accept power of attorney?" "As far as financial matters are concerned, you can trust me absolutely." "Will you continue to live at Gipsy's Acre?" "Yes." "A large house for one." "Well, I still employ Winslow, as you know." "Greta's still there." "Oh, yes." "Greta." "I don't know how I would have coped without her." "I, ah, sent you a letter." "Well, I look forward to reading it." "Thanks for your help." "You have nothing to thank me for." "By the way, do you know Claudia Hardcastle?" "A little." "Why?" "She's dead." "She was thrown from her horse a day or two ago." "Bon voyage." "I want to see Mike." "You look terrible." "Where is he?" "He won't be back until this evening." "It's too late." "I have to go to hospital." "I need to see him." "There's nothing I can do." "Oh, God." "Is there a message I can pass onto him?" "No, I don't think there is." "The thing is, Mr Hayman, I have to go out." "I could come in." "Write him a note." "But there's no-one here." "I won't get another chance." "You can trust me." "We're old friends." "There's a desk in the study." "It is up the stairs..." "I know." "I designed it." "I'd arrived by train to avoid seeing anyone." "It was probably because I was dog-tired." "I'd get Winslow to pour me a large drink and have an early night." "There was something I had to do first." "For old times' sake." "Darling." "Now we have the money to go anywhere." "To have adventures." "Wouldn't you like that, darling?" "What is the matter?" "I saw Ellie." "Walking up the road just now." "I think I saw her." "Didn't they put her in a coffin?" "The point is, she didn't see me." "That's because she wasn't there." "No." "It's like I wasn't there." "I wasn't there." "This is stupid talk." "I'd been happy, you know." "Married to her." "I know what this is." "Those monsters in America, they have been getting into your brain." "That is how they work." "This came for you." "Lippincott's writing." "Dripping poison, no doubt." "It's a cutting from a Hamburg newspaper." "And the old fox knew all along." "Not necessarily." "Someone probably sent him this because they recognised me." "When he knows we're going to be married he'll suspect." "Michael, you are panicking..." "No, he will." "He's wily." "He knows." "And I wouldn't be surprised if Winslow's in on it too." "I saw him at the window on my way over here." "But you couldn't have." "I let him go yesterday." "Then who was it?" "A trick of the light." "Something's wrong, Greta." "We're not safe." "You're not safe." "Michael?" "Miss Andersen?" "Mr Winslow?" "Michael." "Miss Marple." "Welcome home." "I thought we had an intruder, but false alarm." "You seem to have a knack, don't you, of turning up in the right place at the wrong time?" "If this is inconvenient..." "How can I help you?" "Well, I thought you might be interested to hear that they've found Mrs Lee." "She's certainly given us the run-around." "She's dead, Michael." "They found her in the quarry." "That's pretty grim, isn't it?" "Yes, it is." "Anything else, Miss Marple?" "I'm quite tired after my... journey." "To be honest, I'm... quite tired altogether." "I'm getting married, you know?" "So soon." "No point hanging around." "To Greta." "Well, I hardly know her of course, but in a way that strikes me as rather a good match." "What way would that be, Miss Marple?" "You're both restless, living your lives on the very edge of wealth." "Most tantalising I should imagine." "When did you first meet her?" "Europe, was it?" "Chauffeuring your elderly clients around?" "In Hamburg, yes." "The beating of minds, how lovely." "She must have been like a breath of fresh air." "Young, beautiful..." "Oh, you can say that again." "..and not a moral between you." "I misjudged you, Michael." "For a little while, anyway." "But then, you are quite a charmer." "So they say." "Who's idea was it?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Oh, I think you do." "To make Ellie fall in love with you..." "Do you know something, Miss Marple?" "You disappoint me." "You're just like any other old spinster, aren't you?" "Can't keep your nose out." "..and then kill her." "For her money." "The problem is, Miss Marple, you're far too easy to talk to." "Just like Greta." "I can put you in the way of marrying one of the richest girls in the world." "I look after her." "Her bosom buddy." "Play it right and she will go mad for you." "I told her about this place." "She thought it'd be the perfect setting." "She arranged that I'd see Ellie on the road, as if by accident." "Greta was a great planner." "But something was niggling me." "It's not enough." "I don't want to be kept." "Wives do... die, you know." "You are not shocked." "I knew you wouldn't be." "Ellie was so sweet." "If I'd tried, if I'd really tried," "I could have loved her." "But you killed her, didn't you, Michael?" "Her allergy capsule, you filled it with cyanide and made sure she took it the morning she died." "How do you know that?" "I worked it out when Claudia died." "Marjorie and I were walking on the downs and found her." "Cyanide." "I can smell it." "You didn't mean her to die, but she got hold of one of the allergy capsules." "It was in the folly, wasn't it, that you and Greta prepared them?" "Split them in two and filled them with poison?" "And Claudia, as Ellie's friend, went there because she dropped her lighter..." "I mean, it's ridiculous, really, the horses give me the most violent hayfever." "..saw the capsules, recognised them as perfectly innocent allergy medication and helped herself for the next time she went riding." "If Claudia's body had lain in the open for too long, as Ellie's did, there would have been nothing to smell." "Filling those capsules was tricky business." "We thought we were so clever." "But not clever enough." "Ellie means the world to me!" "She means the world to me!" "That's why I married her." "And that row that you and Greta had, it was a sham, wasn't it?" "I thought perhaps that it was staged in order to deflect from the fact that you were having an affair." "I didn't know you had murder in mind." "And the capsule, and the lighter and poor Claudia's death," "I was as certain as I could be." "Did you kill Mrs Lee, Michael?" "You tell me." "From what I've heard, I don't think she would have ever frightened Ellie without a little sweeten up." "And if Ellie was frightened, then when you killed her it would seem more feasible that she'd died of shock." "But when Mrs Lee realised what a dangerous man you were, she became frightened for Ellie... ..and took the cash while warning Ellie to have nothing to do with me." "I couldn't have that now, could I?" "So Greta stood in for her." "A couple of times." "Wasn't difficult." "Ellie was so suggestible by then." "How could you say you could ever have loved that poor girl when all the time you were planning to kill her?" "It gets you after a while." "Drains the life out of you." "You know every trick in the book, don't you?" "But the path you take, Michael, is down to you." "Where is Greta, by the way?" "Robbie!" "I thought, um..." "I thought you were in London." "I always presumed it came off in a struggle." "What?" "Dropped to the bottom and sank into the mud." "What are you going on about?" "This afternoon..." "You look terrible." "..I found it." "In a drawer." "You're not making any sense, Robbie." "This." "Pete's watch." "What the hell are you doing with it?" "You took it, didn't you?" "When he was drowning." "No!" "He was never without it." "You must've done." "That's not true." "It's not true." "Why on Earth would you steal it when you were trying to save him?" "But you weren't, were you, Michael?" "That's why you broke your glass at the party when Dr Shaw mentioned his brother." "The memory was too much to bear." "You never meant to save him, did you?" "Did you?" "!" "You killed my little brother for a wristwatch." "All this... one big lie." "And I thought that you were truly my friend." "Let me get you a doc..." "I always thought... in spite of everything, that there might be a glimmer." "Just a glimmer of light." "But now... now it's too late." "Marple!" "Oh, God." "Greta was a great planner, that's what you said." "Slip of the tongue." "What end, Michael?" "Why?" "!" "You get a taste for it." "Every morn and every night." "Some are born to endless night." "Oh, that gypsy." "Hit a nerve, didn't she?" "I expect you told Greta you loved her too." "The tragedy is, Michael, you don't know how." "You're just like my mum." "You think you know everything about me, don't you?" "But you don't." "Why was she never proud of me?" "Just once?" "The way she looks at me with those cold, cold eyes." "Mothers are the devil." "She was nothing to me." "You mean nothing to me." "So, what am I going to do with you?" "Hey?" "You seem to have an answer for everything." "Look, I know what you'd like to do, Michael, but... you won't, will you?" "Because if you kill me it would be like killing her." "Like killing your own mother!" "This is for you, Michael!" "It's all for you!" "'In my end... is my beginning." "That's what they say, isn't it?" "'" "My end." "My beginning."