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Llewellyn-Smythe could never have written that codicil herself - for that's what they were saying, mind
you, as it wasn't the old lady who had written that at all, it was somebody else -"
"I see," said Mrs Oliver. "And so, what did you do?"
"I didn't do anything. And that's what's worrying me... I didn't get the hang of things at once. And when
I'd thought things over a bit I didn't know rightly what I ought to do and I thought, well, it was all talk
because the Lawyers were against the foreigner, like people always are. I'm not very fond of foreigners
myself, I'll admit. At any rate, there it was, and the young lady herself was swan king about, giving
herself airs, looking as pleased as Punch and I thought, well, maybe it's all a legal thing of some kind
and they'll say she's no right to the money because she wasn't related to the old lady. So everything will
be all right. And it was in a way because, you see, they gave up the idea of bringing the case. It didn't
come to court at all and as far as anyone knew, Miss Olga ran away. Went off back to the Continent
somewhere, where she came from. So it looks as though there must have been some hocus pocus of
some kind on her part. Maybe she threatened the old lady and made her do it. You never know, do you?
One of my nephews who's going to be a doctor, says you can do wonderful things with hypnotism. I
thought perhaps she hypnotised the old lady."
"This was how long ago?"
"Mrs Llewellyn-Smythe's been dead for - let me see, nearly two years."
"And it didn't worry you?"
"No, it didn't worry me. Not at the time. Because you see, I didn't rightly see that it mattered.
Everything was all right, there wasn't any question of that Miss Olga getting away with the money, so I
didn't see as it was any call for me -"
"But now you feel differently?"
"It's that nasty death - that child that was pushed into a bucket of apples. Saying things about a murder,
saying she'd seen something or known something about a murder. And I thought maybe as Miss Olga
had murdered the old lady because she knew all this money was coming to her and then she got the
wind up when there was a fuss and lawyers and the police, maybe, and so she ran away. So then I
thought well, perhaps I ought to - well, I ought to tell someone, and I thought you'd be a lady as has got
friends in legal departments. Friends in the police perhaps, and you'd explain to them that I was only
dusting a bookshelf, and this paper was there in a book and I put it back where it belonged. I didn't take
it away or anything."
"But that's what happened, was it, on that occasion? You saw Mrs Llewellyn-Smythe write a codicil to
her Will. You saw her write her name and you yourself and this Jim someone were both there and you
both wrote your own names yourselves. That's it, isn't it?"
"That's right."
"So if you both saw Mrs Llewellyn-Smythe write her name, then that signature couldn't have been a
forgery, could it? Not if you saw her write it herself."
"I saw her write it herself and that's the absolute truth I'm speaking. And Jim'd say so too only he's gone
to Australia, he has. Went over a year ago and I don't know his address or anything. He didn't come
from these parts, anyway."
"And what do you want me to do?"
"Well, I want you to tell me if there's anything I ought to say, or do now. Nobody's asked me, mind you.
Nobody ever asked me if I knew anything about a Will."
"Your name is Leaman. What Christian name?"
"Harriet."
"Harriet Leaman And Jim, what was his last name?"
"Well, now, what was it? Jenkins. That's right. James Jenkins. I'd be much obliged if you could help me
because it worries me, you see. All this trouble coming along and if that Miss Olga did it, murdered Mrs
Llewellyn-Smythe, I mean, and young Joyce saw her do it... She was ever so cock-a-hoop about it all,
Miss Olga was, I mean about hearing from the lawyers as she'd come into a lot of money. But it was
different when the police came round asking questions, and she went off very sudden, she did. Nobody
asked me anything, they didn't. But now I can't help wondering if I ought to have said something at the
time."
"I think," said Mrs Oliver, "that you will probably have to tell this story of yours to whoever represented
Mrs Llewellyn-Smythe as a lawyer. I'm sure a good lawyer will quite understand your feelings and your
motive."
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