I never know--"
"I'll give you an exact account of my proceedings, if you like. First,
I had a personal interview with Simpkins; and I may as well say at once
that I was on the whole favourably impressed by him. I don't mean to
say that he ought not to be killed, but merely that if left to myself I
would not go out of my way to kill him. I next talked the matter over
with Doyle and Dr. O'Donoghue. I found that they quite agreed with
you; and the doctor is prepared to sign the death certificate as soon
as Miss King--who will then, of course, be Mrs. Simpkins--has finished
him off. I then called at Ballymoy House and arranged with Callaghan,
the gardener, to keep me informed of the progress of events. Finally,
I interviewed Miss King herself. I was unfortunately obliged to offend
her a little, and I expect she won't care about talking to me for the
next few days."
"Did you allude to the trial?"
"No. And she wouldn't have minded in the least if I had. She's quite
frank with me in talking about her art. The fact is, she wanted to
flirt with me, and of course I couldn't have that."
"Are you sure of that, J. J.? It seems to me very unlikely that a lady
of that sort would want to flirt with a clergyman.
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