[00:02.76]Chapter 3
[00:06.06]Early next morning the house was quiet.
[00:10.17]Suddenly there was a cry from the room next to Roger's, his mother's room.
[00:19.62]Roger opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It was nearly seven o'clock.
[00:29.76]He got out of bed and opened the door quietly.
[00:36.07]At the same time the door of his mother's room opened and Diane came out.
[00:45.14]Her face was very white. 'Roger! It's Mother!
[00:53.07]I brought a cup of coffee for her and I found her dead.
[01:01.21]She's dead…dead in her bed,' she cried.
[01:09.91]Roger went quickly to the door of his mother's room and looked in.
[01:17.86]The window was open but the room was warm.
[01:23.53]Molly was on the bed, one hand under her head.
[01:30.29]Roger went across to the bed and put his hand on her arm. It was cold.
[01:39.30]On the little table next to the bed was a hot cup of coffee and an empty cup.
[01:49.86]'I'm going to call the doctor,' Diane said. 'She's dead,' Roger said slowly.
[02:02.71]His face, too, was white. 'Mother is dead!' Diane walked across the room to the door.
[02:14.52]'I'm going to phone the doctor,' she said again.'Wait a minute!' Roger called.
[02:25.31]'Let's tell the family first.' 'Family! Nobody loved Mother!'
[02:35.49]Diane went out and ran downstairs.
[02:40.62]Roger slowly went downstairs after her and stood by the telephone.
[02:48.86]'Dr Pratt, this is Diane Clarkson. It's my mother—she's dead. Can you come quickly?'
[03:05.81]Diane put the phone down. 'It isn't true, Roger! Mother dead!
[03:17.13]Daddy died last winter, and now Mother.' Diane began to cry.
[03:25.18]'Don't cry, Diane,' Roger said. 'Let's go upstairs and tell Uncle Albert and Jackie.'
[03:36.60]'No! You tell them! Nobody loved Mother. You aren't sorry. Look at you!
[03:48.75]You want her money. That's all.' Roger suddenly wanted to hit Diane.
[03:58.75]'Be quiet!'he said. 'What about you? You didn't love Mother.
[04:09.31]You wanted her money, too. Don't forget that!' 'It's true,' Diane said.
[04:18.68]'Oh, I can't stay in this house. I'm going out.
[04:28.34]I'm going to the river with the dogs.' 'No,' Roger said.
[04:34.97]'The doctor's coming and I want you here.' Diane said nothing.
[04:46.26]She went into the kitchen and at once the dogs got up and came to her.
[04:53.53]'Beautiful dogs! Daddy loved you and Mother loved you. Now I'm going to love you.'
[05:06.28]She opened the back door and went out with the dogs.
[05:15.08]Roger did not move. He stood by the telephone. 'It's true,' he thought.
[05:24.89]'I am happy about the money. I needed money, and now I'm rich.
[05:35.24]Things are going to be easier for me now.
[05:40.01]But Mother…why didn't I love her more? And now she's dead.'
[05:52.19]Slowly, Roger went back upstairs. He wanted to dress before Dr Pratt arrived.
[06:02.77]Dr Pratt was a little fat man without much hair.
[06:10.87]He was the family doctor and he knew all the Clarkson family very well.
[06:18.20]He went upstairs at once and looked at Molly's body.
[06:24.10]He looked carefully at the cup of coffee and the empty cup on the table next to her bed.
[06:34.28]'I'm sorry, Roger,' he said. 'Where is Diane? She phoned me.'
[06:43.26]'She went out with the dogs,' Roger said.
[06:48.73]'She was angry with me—angry with everyone.'Dr Pratt said nothing for a minute.
[06:59.82]'This is going to be very difficult. I'm going to phone the police, Roger.'
[07:08.08]'Police! Why? What's wrong? ’ 'I don't know. Your mother wasn't ill.
[07:19.62]I saw her on Thursday and she was very well. Why did she die?
[07:28.22]I don' t understand. I want to find out.'
[07:34.08]Roger went across to the window and looked out at the garden.
[07:42.34]It was a beautiful summer morning.
[07:47.03]The sky was blue and the garden was green. It was all very quiet.
[07:54.04]His mother loved this garden. But Tom Briggs wanted the garden.
[08:05.36]And Roger wanted the garden, too. Roger felt worse and worse.
[08:14.39]'Your mother took sleeping tablets,' Dr Pratt said. 'Did you know?
[08:22.85]On Thursday she had a new bottle of tablets, but I can't find it here in her room.'
[08:33.20]'I didn't know,' Roger said. 'Very well.
[08:39.52]Let's go down-stairs and you can phone the police.'
[08:44.78]Roger went into the kitchen and made some coffee.
[08:51.39]Just then Diane came in with the dogs.'Roger,' she said. 'Look, I'm sorry.
[09:02.51]I was angry and said some angry things.' 'It doesn't matter,' Roger said.
[09:12.07]'Here you are, have some coffee. Dr Pratt is phoning the police.
[09:19.96]Did you know Mother took sleeping tablets? Well, the bottle is not in her room.'
[09:30.97]'What? I don't understand.' Diane took the coffee and began to drink.
[09:40.40]Her eyes looked big and dark. Just then Dr Pratt came into the kitchen.
[09:49.77]'They're coming at once,' he said. 'Diane—I'm sorry about your mother.'
[09:59.99]'Dr Pratt, I want to tell you about last night. Everyone was very angry…'
[10:09.82]'Be quiet!' Roger said quickly.'Diane never thinks before she opens her mouth,'
[10:17.94]he thought angrily.Diane did not look at Roger.
[10:24.25]'Last night Mother went to bed early because everyone…'
[10:31.91]'Don't tell me,' Dr Pratt said. 'You can tell the police.'
[10:38.90]Roger's face went red. Suddenly he felt afraid.
[10:46.11]'The police are going to talk to everyone, and ask questions,' he thought.
[10:52.13]'And they're going to want answers. It's going to be very difficult.'
[11:00.12]He finished his coffee and stood up. 'I'm going upstairs,' he said.
[11:09.89]'I'm going to tell Uncle Albert and Jackie about Mother…and about the police.'