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NGAIO MARSH
Spinsters in Jeopardy
For Anita and Val Muling with my thanks
CONTENTS
4. The Elusiveness of Mr Garbel
| Roderick Alleyn | Chief Detective-Inspector, CID, New Scotland Yard | |
| Agatha Troy | His Wife | |
| Miss Truebody | Their fellow-passenger | |
| Dr Claudel | A French physician | |
| Raoul Mllano | Of Roqueville. Owner-driver | |
| Dr Ali Baradi | A surgeon | |
| Mahomet | His servant | |
| Mr Oberon | Of the Château de la Chèvre d’Argent | |
| Ginny Taylor |
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| Robin Herrington | His guests | |
| Carbury Glande | ||
| Annabella Wells | ||
| Teresa | The fiancée of Raoul | |
| M. Dupont | Of the Sûreté. Acting Commissaire at the Préfecture, Roqueville | |
| M. Callard | Managing Director of the Compagnie Chimique des Alpes Maritimes | |
| M. & Madame Milano | The parents of Raoul | |
| Marie | A maker of figurines | |
| M. Malaquin | Proprietor of the Hôtel Royal | |
| P. E. Garbel | A chemist |
Without moving his head, Ricky slewed his eyes round until he was able to look slantways at the back of his mother’s easel.
‘I’m getting pretty bored, however,’ he announced.
‘Stick it a bit longer, darling, I implore you, and look at Daddy.’
‘Well, because it’s just about as boring a thing as a person can have to do. Isn’t it Daddy?’
‘When I did it,’ said his father, ‘I was allowed to look at your mama, so I wasn’t bored. But as there are degrees of boredom,’ he continued, ‘so there are different kinds of bores. You might almost say there are recognizable schools.’
‘To which school,’ said his wife, stepping back from her easel, ‘would you say Mr Garbel belonged? Ricky, look at Daddy for five minutes more and then I promise we’ll stop.’
Ricky sighed ostentatiously and contemplated his father.
‘Well, as far as we know him,’ Alleyn said, ‘to the epistolatory school. There, he’s a classic. In person he’s undoubtedly the sort of bore that shows you things you don’t want to see. Snapshots in envelopes.