Title: A Couple of Tiny Hints
Fandom: Miss Marple
Rating: G
Length: 993 words
Summary: Miss Marple provides a couple of hints to Inspector Craddock

It was the final day of Miss Marple’s stay at the hotel.  She would not be leaving until after lunch, but in order for the room to be made up for the next guest, she had arranged for her luggage to remain in the reception until she was ready to depart.  Her suitcase was almost packed, to be finished after breakfast, and she was admiring the view from her bedroom window.  It looked as if the weather was about to change, the clouds were blowing in to cover the blue sky, which she had enjoyed during the whole of her stay.  It was obviously a good time to be leaving.  Catching sight of the colonel walking briskly across the lawn, she realised that it was later than she had thought and hurried down to breakfast.

Arriving in the dining room, the waitress greeted her.  “Good morning, Miss Marple.  You’re earlier than usual, I hope there are no problems.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Miss Marple replied.  “I must have mistaken the time.”

She sat at her usual table and, since she was early, she took her time over breakfast.  Finally, she stood up to leave, thanked the waitress and said how much she’d enjoyed the stay.  As she left the dining room, she saw the colonel hurrying down the staircase, calling for assistance.  Then he and the assistant manager hurried back up the stairs.

“How very interesting,” Miss Marple thought.

She returned to her own room and finished packing her suitcase, before sitting down in the chair by the window to think.  A while afterwards there was a knock and the door opened, as a maid came in.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the maid said.  “I thought this room was empty.”

“Is that the time?” Miss Marple exclaimed.  She looked at her watch.

“Oh, madam, no.  Please don’t let me disturb you.”

“It’s my fault.  I’d lost track of time.  I meant to ask the porter if he could carry my case down.  I’ll go down now and ask him to come up for it.”

“I can carry it down for you, madam, if you really are ready to leave.  There’s been a bit of a todo, and I’m not sure whether Joe’s around at the moment.”

“Oh dear, what’s happened?”

“Well, you know the colonel…”  Miss Marple nodded.  “It seems as though ‘e went out for ‘is usual walk, and when ‘e came back, ‘is wife was dead.  In ‘er bed.”

“How awful.”

“Well, yes.  They’ve called for the doctor, and ‘cos it was sudden, they’ve ‘ad to call for the police too.”

“Oh, how dreadful.”  Miss Marple stood up.  “In which case, if you were able to carry my case downstairs, I’d be very grateful.”

“Of course, madam.”

Miss Marple took a seat in the lounge, and over a cup of coffee she watched with interest as a number of people went up and down the stairs.  Finally, one of them came over to join her.

“Dermot, I’m delighted to see you,” she said.

“And I you,” Inspector Craddock replied.  “I don’t suppose you’re able to throw any light on this affair.”

“Well, I’m not sure I can be much help.  I presume, since you’re here, there are questions around the death?”

“Yes.  And before you ask, I know you won’t tell anyone, it looks like an overdose of sleeping tablets, although the post-mortem will confirm this.  Are you surprised at this?  I have been given the impression that she was worried about something.”

“She wasn’t the sort of person I’d expect to take an overdose, either deliberately or accidentally.  And she certainly wasn’t giving the impression of worry.  I heard her remonstrating with her husband a couple of days ago, but she seemed angry, rather than worried.”

“Hmm.  Now, her husband says he went out for his usual morning exercise, and the staff have confirmed this was his habit, but no-one took any particular notice of him today.  I don’t suppose you could confirm it at all?”

“Actually, he went out earlier than usual, although I suspect he came back at his regular time.  I noticed him setting off, and so hurried down for breakfast, thinking I was later than usual, but in fact I was early.”

“So when he said he went out at half past eight as usual, this wasn’t the case.”

“Oh dear me no.  When the waitress asked me if anything was wrong as I was early, I looked at the clock and it said quarter past.”

“I wonder why he would do that?”

“Perhaps to be sure the tablets had taken effect before he got back?”

“That’s a possibility.  Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“I can’t, but there’s a young woman staying her called Emily Parratt.  She’s deaf, but very observant.  If I were you, I’d have a word with her, her husband will interpret for you.  She may have noticed something useful.”

“Thank you, you’ve been very helpful, as usual.”  Craddock smiled and departed.

By the time Raymond West arrived to pick up his aunt just after lunch, there had been no obvious developments, although Miss Marple was fairly sure progress was being made behind the scenes.  As they were walking towards the door they were overtaken by the inspector, who smiled and gave Miss Marple a thumbs up sign.

“What was that about?” West asked.

“I’ll explain when we get in the car, dear,” Miss Marple replied.  “There’s been a bit of an occurrence this morning.”

“Don’t tell me you’re involved in another murder.”

“Not involved really.  More an interested observer.”

“Sufficiently interested to be giving the police some pointers I presume.”

“Just a couple of tiny hints.”

“Not that tiny given the positive way Dermot Craddock has just left.  I’d say an arrest is on the cards.”

“In which case, dear, I suggest we leave as quickly as possible.  Such matters can get quite unpleasant.”

“Whatever you wish, Aunt Jane.”