Early next morning the house was quiet.
Suddenly there was a cry from the room next to Roger’s, his mother’s room.
Roger opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It was nearly seven o’clock. He
got out of bed and opened the door quietly. At the same time the door of his
mother’s room opened and Diane came out. Her face was very white.
‘Roger! It’s Mother! I brought a cup of coffee
for her and I found her dead. She’s dead . . . dead in her bed,’ she cried.
Roger went quickly to the door of his
mother’s room and looked in. The window was open but the room was warm. Molly
was on the bed, one hand under her head. Roger went across to the bed and put
his hand on her arm. It was cold. On the little table next to the bed was a hot
cup of coffee and an empty cup.
‘I’m going to call the doctor,’ Diane said.
‘She’s dead,’ Roger said slowly. His face,
too, was white. ‘Mother is dead!’
Diane walked across the room to the door. ‘I’m
going to phone the doctor,’ she said again.
‘Wait a minute!’ Roger called. ‘Let’s tell
the family first.’
‘Family! Nobody loved Mother!’ Diane went
out and ran downstairs.
Roger slowly went downstairs after her and
stood by the telephone.
‘Dr Pratt, this is Diane Clarkson. It’s my
mother—she’s dead. Can you come quickly?’
Diane put the phone down. ‘It isn’t true,
Roger! Mother’s dead! Daddy died last winter, and now Mother.’ Diane began to
cry.
‘Don’t cry, Diane,’ Roger said. ‘Let’s go
upstairs and tell Uncle Albert and Jackie.’
‘No! You tell them! Nobody loved Mother.
You aren’t sorry. Look at you! You want her money. That’s all.’
Roger suddenly wanted to hit Diane. ‘Be
quiet!’ he said. ‘What about you? You didn’t love Mother. You wanted her money,
too. Don’t forget that!’
‘It’s true,’ Diane said. ‘Oh, I can’t stay
in this house. I’m going out. I’m going to the river with the dogs.’
‘No,’ Roger said. ‘The doctor’s coming and
I want you here.’
Diane said nothing. She went into the
kitchen and at once the dogs got up and came to her. ‘Beautiful dogs! Daddy
loved you and Mother loved you. Now I’m going to love you.’ She opened the back
door and went out with the dogs.
Roger did not move. He stood by the
telephone. ‘It’ s true,’ he thought. ‘I am happy about the money. I needed
money, and now I’ m rich. Things are going to be easier for me now. But Mother .
. . why didn’t I love her more? And now she’s dead.’ Slowly, Roger went back
upstairs. He wanted to dress before Dr Pratt arrived.
Dr Pratt was a little fat man without much
hair. He was the family doctor and he knew all the Clarkson family very well.
He went upstairs at once and looked at Molly’s body. He looked carefully at the
cup of coffee and the empty cup on the table next to her bed.
‘I’m sorry, Roger,’ he said. ‘Where is
Diane? She phoned me.’
‘She went out with the dogs,’ Roger said. ‘She
was angry with me—angry with everyone.’
Dr Pratt said nothing for a minute. ‘This
is going to be very difficult. I’m going to phone the police, Roger.’
‘Police! Why? What’s wrong?’
‘I don’t know . Your mother wasn’t ill. I
saw her on Thursday and she was very well. Why did she die? I don’t understand.
I want to find out’
Roger went across to the window and looked
out at the garden. It was a beautiful summer morning. The sky was blue and the
garden was green. It was all very quiet. His mother loved this garden. But Tom
Briggs wanted the garden. And Roger wanted the garden, too. Roger felt worse
and worse.
‘Your mother took sleeping tablets,’ Dr
Pratt said. ‘Did you know? On Thursday she had a new bottle of tablets, but I
can’t find it here in her room.’
‘I didn’t know,’ Roger said. ‘Very well.
Let’s go downstairs and you can phone the police.’
Roger went into the kitchen and made some
coffee. Just then Diane came in with the dogs.
‘Roger,’ she said. ‘Look, I’m sorry. I was
angry and said some angry things.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Roger said. ‘Here you
are, have some coffee. Dr Pratt is phoning the police. Did you know Mother took
sleeping tablets? Well, the bottle is not in her room.’
‘What? I don’t understand.’ Diane took the
coffee and began to drink. Her eyes looked big and dark.
Just then Dr Pratt came into the kitchen. ‘They’re
coming at once,’ he said. ‘Diane—I’m sorry
about your mother.’
‘Dr Pratt, I want to tell you about last
night. Everyone was very angry. . .’
‘Be quiet!’ Roger said quickly.
‘Diane never thinks before she opens her
mouth,’ he thought angrily.
Diane did not look at Roger. ‘Last night
Mother went to bed early because everyone. . .’
‘Don’t tell me,’ Dr Pratt said. ‘You can tell
the police.’
Roger’s face went red. Suddenly he felt
afraid. ‘The police are going to talk to everyone, and ask questions,’ he
thought. ‘And they’re going to want answers. It’s going to be very difficult.’
He finished his coffee and stood up.
‘I’m going upstairs,’ he said. ‘I’m going
to tell Uncle Albert and Jackie about Mother . . . and about the police.’