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‘But you are clever, my dear’

‘No, I’m not Not clever like Julian’

‘Julian, of course, has a very solid intellect,’ said Miss Marple

‘That’s it,’ said Bunch ‘Julian’s got the intellect, but on the other hand, I’ve got the sense’

‘You have a lot of coent’

‘You see, I don’t really knohat I ought to do I can’t ask Julian because—well, I mean, Julian’s so full of rectitude…’

This statement appeared to be perfectly understood by Miss Marple, who said, ‘I knohat you mean, dear We women—well, it’s different’ She went on ‘You told me what happened, Bunch, but I’d like to know first exactly what you think’

‘It’s all wrong,’ said Bunch ‘The , knew all about Sanctuary He said it just the way Julian would have said it I mean, he was a well-read, educatedhimself to a church afterwards and say “sanctuary” Sanctuary et into a church you’re safe Your pursuers can’t touch you At one tiet at you’

She looked questioningly at Miss Marple The latter nodded Bunch went on, ‘Those people, the Eccleses, were quite different Ignorant and coarse And there’s another thing That watch—the dead man’s watch It had the initials WS on the back of it But inside—I opened it—in very s there was “To Walter from his father” and a date Walter But the Eccleses kept talking of him as William or Bill’

Miss Marple seemed about to speak but Bunch rushed on ‘Oh, I know you’re not always called the naht be christened Willia But your sister wouldn’t call you William or Bill if your name was Walter’

‘You mean that she wasn’t his sister?’

‘I’m quite sure she wasn’t his sister They were horrid—both of thes and to find out if he’d said anything before he died When I said he hadn’t I saw it in their faces—relief I think myself,’ finished Bunch, ‘it was Eccles who shot him’

‘Murder?’ said Miss Marple

‘Yes,’ said Bunch ‘Murder That’s why I ca’

Bunch’s renorant listener, but in certain spheres Miss Marple had a reputation for dealing with murder

‘He said “please” tofor hi is I’ve no idea what’

Miss Marple considered for a moment or two, and then pounced on the point that had already occurred to Bunch ‘But as he there at all?’ she asked

‘You ht pop into a church anywhere There’s no need to take a bus that only goes four times a day and come out to a lonely spot like ours for it’

‘He ht ‘Heplace, Bunch Surely you must have some idea of who it was he came to see?’

Bunch reviewed the inhabitants of her village in herher head ‘In a way,’ she said, ‘it could be anybody’

‘He never mentioned a name?’

‘He said Julian, or I thought he said Julian It ht have been Julia, I suppose As far as I know, there isn’t any Julia living in Chipping Cleghorn’

She screwed up her eyes as she thought back to the scene The h the ith its jewels of red and blue light

‘Jewels,’ said Miss Marple thoughtfully

‘I’ of all The reason why I’ve really coreat fuss about having his coat We took it off when the doctor was seeing him It was an old, shabby sort of coat—there was no reason they should have wanted it They pretended it was sentimental, but that was nonsense

‘Anyway, I went up to find it, and as I was just going up the stairs I reesture with his hand, as though he was fuot hold of the coat I looked at it very carefully and I saw that in one place the lining had been sewn up again with a different thread So I unpicked it and I found a little piece of paper inside I took it out and I sewed it up again properly with thread that matched I was careful and I don’t really think that the Eccleses would know I’ve done it I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure And I took the coat down to them and made some excuse for the delay’

‘The piece of paper?’ asked Miss Marple

Bunch opened her handbag ‘I didn’t show it to Julian,’ she said, ‘because he would have said that I ought to have given it to the Eccleses But I thought I’d rather bring it to you instead’