Miss Marple: At Bertram's Hotel (1987) s01e02 Episode Script

Morning.
- Morning.
Good morning, Madam.
Lady Selina is over here.
Yes.
May I?
- Of course.
Thank you very much.
- Good morning, Jane.
Have you heard the news?
- What news? Good morning.
There's been another robbery.
During the night.
I heard it on the wireless.
I'm just telling Bess.
And what this time?
The Irish Mail Train.
Apparently they held it up
and nabbed all the special mail bags
while the passengers were asleep.
- Got away with a small fortune.
They think it was
the same gang as last time.
Was anyone injured?
No. Only trussed and gagged.
Got to hand it to them.
Clever blighters.
Henry, could I have
some more toast, please?
Milady.
Dear.
Passengers from
Geneva, please contact Air Italia.
Hello, Biddy. It's me, I'm back.
Yes, I did find out.
No, it wasn't all right.
Listen, can you call cousin Mildew
and tell her I won't be back
till this evening?
I've got to see someone urgently.
And then I'm going to see
you-know-who.
Well, use your initiative.
The last time I saw you,
you were about ten years old.
How old are you now?
Sixteen, 17?
I'm nearly 20.
- I had no idea.
Derek Luscombe always talks about you
as if you were still
I know. But I'm not a child,
Mr. Egerton.
No. Well, let me see.
You have been away in Italy,
haven't you? Finishing?
Yes.
I'm not sure. I suppose,
as one of my trustees,
you'd have to agree
to anything I did want.
Yes. Is there something, then?
Not at the moment.
- Then why are you here?
Well, it's just
No one ever tells me things.
You mean things about yourself.
- Yes.
Well, Uncle Derek is very kind,
but I'm tired of being shielded.
I thought perhaps you might
treat me like an adult.
What is it you want to know,
my Elvira?
Doing some sight-seeing, Madam?
Yes. We thought
we'd go to the Tower of London.
There you are. God bless you.
Enjoy yourselves, now.
So I'm really quite rich?
You'll be very rich indeed,
when you're 21.
Until then, it's in the hands
of your trustees.
Unless I marry before then?
That would alter the situation, yes.
If I was married, and died,
I suppose my husband would get
my money, would he?
Yes.
- And if not?
It would go to Lady Sedgwick,
as your closest relative.
Close?
She is still your mother, Elvira.
Morning.
Colonel Luscombe, please.
Thank you.
But we will be able
to see each other, won't we?
Of course.
But I mean often. I can come
up to town whenever you want.
You mustn't go taking stupid risks.
For you I'd risk anything.
I'll drop you at the station.
Next time I'll borrow
Cousin Mildew's car.
I wish I didn't have to go.
Me too.
If only we could be together
all the time.
One day.
Promise?
You mustn't miss your train.
- Promise.
I promise.
Goodbye, Jane.
You will keep in touch, won't you?
And perhaps one of these days,
I'll visit dear St. Mary Mead again.
Do, please.
There.
Goodbye, Lady Selina.
Safe journey.
Thank you. Goodbye.
Miss Gorringe. I'm back.
I've come to see Lady Sedgwick.
She is expecting me.
One moment, Colonel.
Alice, would you put through
to Lady Sedgwick? Please?
Lady Sedgwick.
Miss Gorringe speaking.
I have Colonel Luscombe here.
Certainly. Would you care to go up
to her suite, Colonel?
It's number two.
First floor.
- Thank you.
Forgive me. You don't know me.
At least we've nodded to each other.
I was staying here
when you were here last week.
Yes.
- Yes. With your niece, was it?
My ward.
- Yes.
Well, I wondered if I
could have a word with you.
In private.
Thank you. I didn't feel I could tell
Lady Sedgwick, in the circumstances.
Why don't we
Thank you.
Well, I do hope you won't think it
presumptuous of me.
I don't usually interfere in
these things, and I wouldn't now,
if it wasn't for his uncanny
resemblance to Basil Twisk.
I beg your pardon?
Someone in my village. A philanderer,
if ever there was one.
I'm sorry, but I'm not
I thought you ought to know
That is, if you don't know already.
Of course, I could be mistaken.
He may be a friend of the family.
Who, Madam?
But on the other hand, in that case,
why did they pretend
not to know each other
when he came here last week?
Thank you, Mrs. Cabot.
Did you enjoy your visit
to the Haymarket last night?
Yes, indeed.
Such a cute little theater that is.
I said to Elmer,
"Can't you just picture Henry Irving
walking across that stage?"
Bertram's Hotel,
at your service.
Yes. What name shall I say,
Madam?
It's for you, Miss Gorringe.
A Mrs. MacCrae. She says she's
Canon Pennyfather's housekeeper.
Hello, Mrs. MacCrae.
Miss Gorringe here.
I'm so glad you've rung.
No, that's what I was
about to ask you.
We expected him back
the day before yesterday.
We've had no word from him
and his luggage is still here.
Yes, it is.
Of course we know the Canon is apt
to be a little
Well, forgetful at times.
I'm sure he'll be in touch.
Indeed I will, and I'd be grateful
if you'd do the same.
Meanwhile, we've put his cases
in the baggage room.
Not at all.
Goodbye, Mrs. MacCrae.
You are an old fusspot, Derek.
It was Richard Egerton
put the wind up me.
He phoned me
as soon as she'd left his office.
Said he felt sure there was
a man involved.
It'd be surprising if a girl
as attractive as Elvira
hadn't got a boyfriend.
Some decent young chap, perhaps.
Vetted by myself or Mildred.
But I'm afraid Egerton was right.
You know who it is, then?
- I do, now.
Some well-meaning old biddy
downstairs
saw them in the park together
a couple of days ago.
You're not gonna like this, Bess.
This is Room 57
and I should like a telephone number,
please.
Um Chadminster 5-2-0.
Yes. Thank you.
Mrs. MacCrae?
This is Jane Marple speaking.
Yes. How clever of you to remember.
Yes. Very well, thank you.
I'm staying at Bertram's Hotel.
Yes. Quite.
That's why I'm ringing.
I do hope you don't think
I'm interfering, Mrs. MacCrae,
but I think you should report his
disappearance to the police at once.
I hope you don't mind my dragging
along behind you, Inspector Campbell.
Not in the least, sir.
It's just that I've got an interest
in Bertram's Hotel.
Quite beyond your missing clergyman.
As long as I know
what the form is, sir.
Don't you worry. I shan't butt in.
By the way
There's no no need
to call me "sir" while we're here.
Just treat me as your stooge.
Yes, sir.
As you wish.
Thank you.
Not at all. It's a pleasure.
Goodbye.
Good afternoon, Madam.
I telephoned earlier. Police.
Would you mind
keeping your voice down?
Sorry.
Would you fetch Mr. Humfries, please?
You'll be Miss
- Gorringe.
Detective Inspector Campbell.
And this is Ch
My assistant.
- We've met before.
I've had tea here once or twice.
Yes.
I'm very partial
to your muffins.
We'd like to talk to you
about Canon Pennyfather.
You'd better come into the office.
Will you take over, Alice?
I do hope it won't get into
the Sunday papers.
That he's missing, that is.
Or at any rate,
that they won't mention Bertram.
Hello, Bessie.
I told you not to use
that god-awful name.
It was good enough for you
back in Ballygowlan.
Please will you get out of my way?
Where are you off to
in such a hurry?
To sort out another rat.
Now, don't be like that.
I was wondering if we couldn't have
a little chat some time.
So you can try to screw
some money out of me?
I warned you the other day
- You've got me all wrong, Bessie.
Have I?
If it's money I was after,
there's others round here
I've got more on than you.
All right.
So Canon Pennyfather left here
at approximately 2.30 p.m.
on Wednesday last. The 19th.
That is correct.
He had with him a small overnight bag
and left in a taxi
for the Athenaeum Club.
The Commissionaire will verify that.
And he should have returned here
late the following evening.
Or first thing next morning.
Was it a little BOAC bag?
That he had with him?
One of their little blue bags?
It is blue, isn't it?
Yes.
- I thought so.
I used to have a similar one.
And the rest of his luggage
is still here?
In the baggage room.
Two suitcases.
You've known Canon Pennyfather
for some time, haven't you?
Yes. He's been a regular here
for years.
I'm afraid he's always been
absent-minded.
Are you absolutely certain
there was no message from him?
Positive.
Yes, Miss Gorringe, what
Mr. Humfries. These are
the two gentlemen from Scotland Yard.
About Canon Pennyfather.
Yes. You rang, didn't you?
Extraordinary business.
Hope nothing's happened to him.
Such a splendid chap.
One of the old school.
Inspector Campbell was just asking
if he might interview
some of the staff.
We'll be pleased to help
in any way we can.
Who did you want to see, Inspector?
The waiter who attended
Canon Pennyfather's table, for one.
Henry'll help you there.
Henry?
- Our head waiter.
A bit of a personality.
Sets the tone of the place.
Anyone else?
The chambermaid.
Rose Shelton?
I'm sure that can be arranged.
She'll be on duty at
- Five o'clock, Mr. Humfries.
Perhaps in the meantime you'd care
to have tea in the lounge?
No, I think perhaps we'd better
What a good idea.
Who can resist tea at Bertram's?
Good afternoon, Miss Marple.
Might I have some tea?
Good afternoon.
- Mind if I join you?
Please do.
Would you like me to?
- Would you?
I should be most grateful.
There.
Thank you.
I believe you know
Canon Pennyfather.
Yes. Yes, indeed. Yes.
His father was a great friend
of my uncle, the Canon of Ely.
Was it by any chance you who rang
his housekeeper this morning?
Well, yes, I did, yes.
Because I felt there was
something not quite right.
Of course you see I realized on
Wednesday evening
there must have been a muddle.
- Wednesday?
Yes. I thought perhaps that he
might have missed his plane.
That would account for it,
wouldn't it?
Account for what?
- His coming back here.
He came back?
- Yes. Yes, I saw him.
When did he come back?
- Well, I don't know.
But you said just now you saw him?
Well, that must have been later.
I wasn't sleeping properly.
I was worrying about something else,
about a young girl
who's staying here,
but nothing to do with Bertram's.
And yet maybe
Somehow everything here
seems to be
I don't know, of a pattern.
What was once so reassuring
now seems to be false.
Menacing, even.
But getting back to
Canon Pennyfather
Yes. Yes, indeed.
Well, I was lying awake.
Or something woke me,
because there are a lot of
strange noises in London.
And I looked at my little clock
and it said ten past one.
And then I heard footsteps
in the corridor.
For some reason, I felt uneasy.
So I opened my bedroom door,
and there was Canon Pennyfather,
walking towards the stairs
with his outdoor coat on.
Was he carrying anything?
No. No, he wasn't.
Interesting.
I thought there must be
some connection, you see.
Connection?
- Yes.
Between the Canon's disappearance,
and whatever it is
that's going on here.
All right. So I've seen the girl
a few times.
I should have guessed, shouldn't I?
I met her in Italy.
When she mentioned
she was your daughter
You thought you'd play her along.
It did lend an added frisson, yes.
You bastard.
Does she know about you and me?
Not as far as I know.
Since when are you
so interested in her well-being?
Since now.
She's young and vulnerable.
I'm not letting you ruin her life.
Now would I do that?
Yes. I know what it's like to have
your life messed up at that age.
From now on you leave her alone.
Do you understand, Lausy?
And if I don't?
No, Bess.
We need each other too much.
Then there is something wrong
with this place?
I've no doubt about it.
Poor Bertram's. It's always sad when
a work of art has to be destroyed.
Yes
- You know, it's like when you get
that weed ground elder
in a garden border.
There's nothing you can do,
except dig the whole lot up.
Well, I'm not in a position to start
digging anything up, yet.
The whole operation is managed
and financed from here.
That I know. Though I don't know
who's masterminding it.
No. I think you're wanted.
You'll have to excuse me,
Miss Marple.
I've got to go and see
the chambermaid. Rose Shelton.
Now, you'd do well
to talk to that young woman.
I've trained quite a few maids
in my time,
but I've never seen
a bob curtsey like that
since the St. Mary Mead Players
put on a French farce.
So you didn't go into his room
at all on Thursday?
Yes, I did. I went in as usual.
To dust, sir.
We dust all the rooms every day.
And then I took back
his two clean shirts as well.
Had the bed been slept in?
- No, sir.
What about the bathroom?
Any towels been used?
Just the hand towel, sir.
He must've washed his hands
just before going off
the day previous.
But there was nothing to suggest
that he had come back to the room
late the same night?
- No, sir.
What about his clothes?
Were they packed up in cases?
No, sir. They were hanging
in the cupboard.
Until Miss Gorringe asked for them
to be moved because the room
was needed for the new lady.
Then I put them in the suitcase.
What about his little blue bag?
I beg your pardon, sir?
His BOAC bag.
You must have seen that?
Yes, that. Yes.
At least No. I mean,
he'd taken that abroad with him.
But he didn't go abroad.
So he must've left it behind.
Or else he came back and left it
with the other luggage.
Yes. Yes, that's wha
I think That I'm not quite sure.
I'm sorry, sir.
That will be all, Rose.
Thank you, sir.
Well, they forgot to brief her
about that, didn't they?
Let's see if they've done
any better with Henry.
So you served Canon Pennyfather
yourself that morning, Henry?
Supervised the service. I like
to keep an eye on our regulars.
And no doubt you exchange
a few pleasantries with them?
I consider that part of my job, sir.
Did you converse with
Canon Pennyfather?
Yes, sir. We had some discussion
about his haddock.
And that led on to
the Parable of the Loaves and Fishes.
But he said nothing that might
indicate a change of plan?
No, sir.
"I'm seeing an old missionary I met
in Arizona." Something like that?
Nothing remotely like that, sir.
He told me he wouldn't be here
the following morning
as he would be in Lucerne.
He was a trifle disparaging
about continental breakfasts.
The Pendlebury's were
absolutely right about this place.
It just is old England.
I feel as if any minute now,
Edward VII will walk
right out of those doors.
Elmer, be careful with those cases.
Taxi, sir?
- No, thank you.
Police.
I believe you put Canon Pennyfather
in a taxi last Wednesday afternoon.
That's right, sir.
He was going to his club.
Excuse me, sir.
Can I have a word with you?
We've just had a call from the Yard.
It's no use,
Inspector. I can't remember a thing.
You don't recall being hit by a car?
Afraid not.
Then what makes you
think that you were knocked down?
Well, the couple
who found me said so.
Well, that's what they surmised.
How else could I
be lying in the road?
With your BOAC bag.
And you've no idea how you came to be
in the area of Milton St. John?
Never heard of the blessed place.
Are you quite sure?
As sure as anyone can be
in a state of concussion.
Just tell us, Canon,
in your own good time
What was the last thing
that you do recall?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
What's that?
- What?
You said something
about the mirror.
Did I? I can't think why.
I'm sorry, you were asking
The last thing you remember
before waking in a strange bed
in Milton St. John.
I remember taking a taxi
to the air terminal.
And after that?
Not a sausage.
Not, for instance,
traveling on a train?
Why should I take a train
when I'm supposed to be flying?
An acquaintance of yours,
a Mrs
A Mrs. Pierce. She sings
in the church choir, I believe?
I remember her.
She reported seeing you on a train.
In the early hours
of Thursday morning.
A train? What train?
The Irish Mail.
You're saying she saw him
in the Irish Mail Train?
This Mrs. Pierce?
Seems she woke up
when the train stopped.
Looked out in the corridor,
rather as you had done earlier,
and saw Canon Pennyfather,
climbing into the compartment.
She saw him climbing
into the train?
She presumed he had
climbed down onto the line previously
to see what was going on.
And she was sure it was
Canon Pennyfather?
Positive. He has
a very distinctive appearance.
Yes. Like Justice Ludgrove.
Well, that was the name of the judge
who was implicated
in the bank robbery, wasn't it?
There are no flies on you,
Miss Marple.
How very kind of you to say so.
And Canon Pennyfather himself
remembers nothing
about being in the train?
Nothing whatever.
There was one thing, though.
He muttered something about a mirror.
Didn't seem to know why.
It sounded like that rhyme from
one of those fairy stories.
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall"
- "Who is the fairest of them all?"
Yes. Snow White.
The wicked stepmother.
Yes. Mothers and daughters, they do
seem to keep cropping up, don't they?
This chap who's courting
Lady Sedgwick and her daughter
What's he like?
About 30-ish. Handsome.
But his face is a bad face.
Predatory. And if Basil Twisk's
record is anything to go by
Basil Twisk?
Yes. He sold insurance
in Much Benham.
And I'm afraid
that's not all he sold.
He drove a racing car, too.
Does this chap drive a racing car?
- Yes. A red Jaguar.
I saw it in the park the other day.
You don't happen to remember
the number?
F-A-N, double two, double six.
You're sure?
Yes, indeed. Because it made me think
of my cousin Fanny,
who had a stutter. T two. Si six.
I've seen it round here, too.
I saw it earlier today.
Really?
Do you think he has any connection
with the robberies?
Do you, Miss Marple?
Isn't everything
to do with Bertram's connected?
I feel so worried
about that poor girl.
I have a dreadful sense
of foreboding.
You see, Chief Inspector,
in the case of Basil Twisk,
there was a death.
Someone tried to kill me.
Someone
God.
They shot at me.
If it hadn't been for him
Is he badly hurt?
I'm afraid he's had it.
What's happened?
I thought I heard shots.
I'm sure it was nothing,
Lady Sedgwick.
Just a car backfiring.
Elvira.
- Mother.
What's happened?
- There's been an attempt on her life.
What, darling?
- I was on my way here.
And suddenly there was a shot.
A bullet went past my cheek.
And then he came running down
the road. The Commissionaire
He shoved me behind him and then
There was another shot.
He's dead, Mother.
- Mick Gorman?
Did you see whoever it was?
No. He rushed past me
into the fog and
he must have been hiding
in the area below.
Do you know why anybody
should want to kill you, Miss Blake?
No
But it isn't the first time
they've tried.
Sir!
Inspector Campbell, sir.
Inspector Campbell!
The other day,
something else happened.
I was on the tube. There were
lots of people on the platform.
Someone tried to push me
onto the rails.
Darling,
you were imagining things.
I told myself so at the time,
but after this evening
Steady, steady.
I understood that
you were living in Kent.
What were you doing up in London?
I came up to meet my friend
Bridget Sotheby for lunch.
And then we went to a Sunday concert
at the Festival Hall.
It was foggy when we came out.
But not too thick.
So I started to drive home.
Then it got worse.
I thought I'd better not take any
risks as it was Cousin Mildred's car.
So I wasn't far from here,
so I parked.
And thought I might find
a room at Bertram's.
I hoped I might see
mother again, too.
Did you see or hear
anyone near you?
I heard footsteps behind me,
but there are a lot of people
walking about in London.
Yes?
Excuse me, sir.
I thought you'd want to see this.
Thank you.
Sorry about this.
Miss Blake, do you know anybody
of the name of
Ladislaus Malinowsky?
The racing car driver?
No, I don't.
You do, of course, Lady Sedgwick.
Lord, yes.
We've been chums for years. Why?
I see.
So I drove this
feeble-minded clergyman
from Bertram's to Bedhampton,
and the two of us then proceeded
to waylay the Irish Mail Train.
Supposing I were to tell you that
a red sports car similar to yours
was seen in the area
around Bedhampton
just before the robbery?
I should ask if it had
the same number plates as mine.
Number plates can be changed.
You'll have to do better than that,
Chief Inspector.
Do you own a revolver,
Mr. Malinowsky?
Certainly. I have a revolver
and an automatic pistol.
Both with proper licenses.
And where are they now?
The pistol is
in the pocket of my car.
And the revolver in a drawer
at my flat.
You're right about
the revolver, but
what about this?
Where did you get this from?
The basement area
near Bertram's Hotel.
It was used last night
to shoot Michael Gorman,
the Commissionaire.
I see. So now I'm guilty of murder
as well as robbery?
This is ridiculous.
Why should I kill that pathetic
old war relic?
The bullet wasn't intended for him.
It was intended for a young lady.
Someone I believe you know.
Elvira Blake.
Why should I kill the girl
that I'm going to marry?
Apart from any romantic qualms,
I'd hardly ditch a fortune.
Unless you were
married to her already.
Then you'd inherit it.
Good try, Chief Inspector,
but wrong again.
I was playing poker last night.
Any other suspects?
Her mother, perhaps.
Bess, kill her own daughter?
She's next of kin.
She gets enough money
from her American ex.
Enough is not the same
as a fortune.
And she might've had
an additional motive.
Suppose her daughter was about to
marry the man that she loved?
Now I've heard everything.
All right, all right.
Bess and I have been lovers.
It was never serious.
On your part, perhaps.
What a hoot.
Trish Gormsby-Smyth
at a Hunt Ball.
She looks like a horse herself.
Why did you tell them
you didn't know Ladislaus?
You don't have to lie to me.
He's no good, Elvira.
He's using you.
You say that because you're jealous.
I know about you and him.
Darling, that meant nothing.
Well, this means everything.
I know what it's like.
When I was your age, I thought
I was in love with someone
How can you compare what you felt
for that revolting Irishman
with what I feel for Ladislaus?
You don't know what it is
to love someone
the way I love him.
Canon Pennyfather.
The answer to my prayers.
Fully recovered, I trust?
How kind. I've come to fetch
What was it now?
Yes, my luggage.
- Well, before you go
I wonder, would you take part
in a little experiment?
Yes.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
Thank you, Canon.
That will do nicely.
Was it all right?
It wasn't you I saw that night.
No, he looked like you
but the walk was different.
And I think it was a younger man.
You mean I didn't come back here?
Yes, you came back.
There's no question of that.
You must've come upstairs
without anyone noticing you.
And then what happened?
You opened the door, so.
And what did you see?
I'm sorry.
It's still a complete blank.
Something in the mirror, perhaps.
Mirror, mirror
Yes, that's it.
Except
- There is no mirror
visible from the door.
My room is identical
to the one you had.
What you saw was someone
dressed up to look like you.
Yes. By George, I remember now.
I couldn't think what
And then
- Then someone hit you on the head.
And the false Canon Pennyfather,
your doppelganger,
was driven post haste
to Bedhampton.
And you say that the couple who found
him in the road were in on it too?
I've no doubt about it.
There's a network of contacts
throughout the country.
Really! Well, I'm very sorry
if I misled you, Chief Inspector.
But I might've known
it wasn't Canon Pennyfather.
A perfectly natural mistake,
and one they've been trading on.
Not only Justice Ludgrove.
But an admiral, an archdeacon
All the distinctive appearances,
all near the scene of the robbery.
And while we've been
running around in circles,
the impersonator returns to normal.
Well, thank you very much for
coming in, Miss Marple.
Well, I think it's a very
complicated way of doing things.
The person behind all this
is a very complicated character.
And you know who it is?
- At long last.
I only wish I knew who
murdered Michael Gorman.
Then I could clear the whole thing up
in one fell swoop.
Well, if I might make a suggestion,
Chief Inspector
Of course, I might be barking up
the wrong tree again.
I doubt it, Miss Marple.
But I think you'll find the answer
lies in a place called Ballygowlan.
Good afternoon, Madam.
Your table's ready.
Thank you.
Right. Now we'll go straight
to Bertram's.
Do you want to
handle this on your own, sir,
or would you like me to come along?
No, I want you to supervise
the other arrangements.
You sure you won't need someone?
- Yes. I'll have Miss Marple.
Come in, sit down.
Let me sit over there.
Would you like me
to fetch Elvira?
It's you I'd like to speak to,
Lady Sedgwick.
Have you any news of the man
who tried to shoot her?
Please.
- Not what you'd call news.
Tell me, Lady Sedgwick.
How much did that business upset you?
What a question.
I was sad, of course.
But as I only knew the man
to nod to, my concern was
You're sure?
- What?
I think you knew him
rather better than that.
Wasn't he your husband?
Dear. You police aren't as
slow-witted as people make out.
All right. We were married once.
But I hadn't seen him
for 30 years.
He was a groom
on my parents' estate.
I ran away with him
when I was younger than Elvira.
First 24 hours were enough to
disillusion me. Drunken brute.
Fortunately, my family caught up
with us and paid Mickey off.
And you didn't tell them
that you'd married him?
Not on your nelly.
So when you married Lord Coniston,
you committed bigamy.
And when I married Ridgway Becker
and Johnny Sedgwick.
Bigamy, trigamy,
what's the difference?
Scotch?
No, thank you.
Did you never think
of getting a divorce?
Why rake that all up?
And then Gorman turned up here
and tried to blackmail you.
That is pure supposition,
Chief Inspector.
No. We have it
on excellent authority.
How on earth could you know?
The chairs in the writing room
have very high backs.
Eavesdropping?
It is a public room.
She wasn't the only person
that overheard your conversation.
Not Selina Hazy.
It'll be all around London.
No, Lady Sedgwick.
Your daughter.
My God.
What must she have thought?
Enough to do as we have done.
Go over to Ireland
and search out the truth.
I must talk to her, explain.
You might reassure her that she
wasn't the intended murder victim.
That's how it appeared to her.
That's how the murderer
wanted it to look.
He fired a shot, taking care that
the bullet went nowhere near her,
she screamed,
Gorman ran down the road,
and then the murderer shot the person
he always wanted to shoot.
Michael Gorman.
I'm glad you said "he",
Chief Inspector.
For a moment I thought you were
about to accuse me.
There's plenty of people besides
yourself with motive to bump him off.
After all, Bertram's is
a blackmailer's paradise, isn't it?
Bertram's?
Well, it's the headquarters of one
of the biggest crime syndicates
we've ever known.
Dear old Bertram's?
It's the most respectable place
in London.
And a lot of money and time have gone
into making it so.
The genuine and the phony
all mixed up.
And a superb actor manager
in Henry.
But Henry is Bertram's.
Humfries is
wonderfully plausible, too.
Not to mention
Miss Gorringe and Rose Shelton,
and all those foreign visitors
with their luxury luggage.
Tailor-made for carrying money
in and out of the country.
Take those Cabots
that were staying here.
Those dreadful Americans?
Don't tell me they're crooks.
They left with 300,000 pounds
stashed away in their wardrobe.
But of course.
Proceeds from the Irish Mail robbery.
An affair in which your friend
Ladislaus Malinowsky
was up to his neck.
Ladislaus?
Which Michael Gorman
must have known.
And which you know too,
Lady Sedgwick.
How on earth should I know?
Because you're the brains
behind it all.
Me?
A master criminal?
Why not? You've tried most things.
It wasn't the money
that tempted you.
No, it was the excitement.
The challenge.
Where're you going?
- To ring my solicitor.
You'd be well-advised.
On second thought,
what the hell?
Yes, I ran the show.
And I loved
every crazy minute of it.
I haven't had such fun since I
sabotaged the Royal Tournament.
But you're wrong about Ladislaus
shooting Michael Gorman.
He didn't. I did.
I warned him I'd shoot him
if he started anything.
You heard me didn't you, Miss Marple?
In the writing room that day.
Yes.
- And that's what I did.
Just as you described it.
I'd spent the day before
with Ladislaus.
I pinched the pistol from his car.
It was so easy.
Remember, Miss Marple
you're a witness
to what I'm saying.
I killed Michael Gorman.
And now
catch me if you can.
There are men posted, sir.
She won't get away.
I wouldn't be too sure.
Where's her car?
Around the back.
- Right. Come on.
She's on the roof.
She just came by.
Oi. What are you doing?
Help!
Poor woman.
At least she told her story first.
You heard it, Miss Marple.
She confessed to Gorman's murder.
Yes. I heard.
Well, we'd better go and talk
to the young lady.
Yes.
Come in.
I'm so sorry.
Don't ask me how I feel.
I can't feel anything.
I believe Miss Marple told you that
your mother had confessed
to Michael Gorman's murder?
Yes.
Now that you've had time to think,
Elvira
is there anything
you'd like to tell us?
No. Nothing.
Are you sure?
Quite sure.
What a pretty sachet.
I had one like this
when I was your age.
I kept my diary in it.
No!
A diary in which I used to write
everything I did.
Are you sure there's nothing
you want to tell the Chief Inspector?
You old witch!
All right. So what?
So bloody what?
Why shouldn't she take the blame?
That's all she ever did for me.
I hated her. Hated her!
No.
Please. Or I'll lose him.
And he does love me.
I know he does.
I don't know.
Are you a witch, Miss Marple?
No.
- When did you suspect?
When I saw them together.
Such passion.
It was the money, I suppose.
She feared Malinowsky
wouldn't marry her without it.
It's extraordinary.
He even looked like Basil Twisk.
So you said.
When she found that
her mother had married Gorman,
she realized that the marriage
to her father was illegal.
She thought she wouldn't inherit.
No money, no lover.
And I suppose her mother guessed.
And confessed to the murder
so that her daughter could go free.
A remarkable woman.
Poor Bertram's.
It's always sad when a work of art
has to be destroyed.
It's like when you get
that weed ground elder
really badly in the garden border.
There's nothing you can do
but dig the whole lot up.