JANE!
Had he cried out, or had they? The room was full of light and noise, but his voice rose above it.
‘Jane, Jezebel! I killed her. I poisoned her. Jane, jade, Jezebel. The doctor never knew, but she knew, and he knew, and now you all know. Get out! damn you! curse you! Let me go!’
Chairs were falling, people were shouting, clutching at him. He smashed a fist into a silly, gaping face. He was on the balcony. He was fighting for the balustrade. The lights on the Surrey side were like tall Japanese lanterns. He was over. The black water leapt to meet him. Cataracts, roaring.
It had all happened so quickly that the actors knew nothing about it. As Tom Deering pulled off his coat to dive after Markham and Mrs Lester rushed to telephone the river police, George’s voice announced ‘The Whole Word’, and the curtains were flung open to display the tent of JAEL.
Credits
‘The Snapdragon and the CID’ by Margery Allingham reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the estate of Margery Allingham
‘Let Nothing You Dismay!’ by Ellis Peters, reprinted by permission of United Agents
‘Tooth of the Lion’ by Edmund Crispin, reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the estate of Edmund Crispin
‘Rumpole and the Spirit of Christmas’ from Rumpole at Christmas by John Mortimer (Penguin Books, 2009). Copyright © Advanpress Ltd, 2009
‘The Assassins Club’ by Nicholas Blake, reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the estate of Nicholas Blake
‘The Ascham’ by Michael Innes, reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the estate of Michael Innes
‘A Scandal in Winter’ by Gillian Linscott, reprinted by permission of the author
‘Waxworks’ by Ethel Lina White
‘Twixt the Cup and the Lip’ by Julian Symonds, reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Group Ltd, London, on behalf of The Beneficiaries of the Estate of Julian Symonds. Copyright © Julian Symonds
‘Nebuchadnezzar’ by Dorothy L. Sayers, from In the Teeth of the Evidence, reprinted by permission of David Higham Ltd
While every effort has been made to contact copyright-holders of each story, the editor and publishers would be grateful for information where they have been unable to trace them, and would be glad to make amendments in further editions.
Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season Page 20