The Three-Body Problem Read online

  Mrs Wiggins: Yes, I was, less luck to me.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you describe the situation of Mr Akers’ rooms?

  Mrs Wiggins: They was up one flight of stairs from the base of the north-east tower.

  Mr Bexheath: Was anyone living below, or on the same level as Mr Akers?

  Mrs Wiggins: No, the other rooms are above.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you tell me if Mr Akers ever received visitors in his rooms?

  Mrs Wiggins: I believe ’e never did. At least they left no trace. ’E was a very unsociable man.

  Mr Bexheath: Did you never see the prisoner in or about Mr Akers’ rooms?

  Mrs Wiggins: No, thank God, I never.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you describe the general state of Mr Akers’ rooms?

  Mrs Wiggins: ’E was a dirty man, sir. I cleaned good and regular, but he dirtied it all up just as fast. Papers everywhere, all mixed up, and he angry if I so much as touched any. Cigar ash, ’e was a one for smoking, and dropped the ash down just anywhere. Food and drink left about. ’E was a man of irregular ’abits. But visits and friends ’e did not ’ave.

  Mr Bexheath: Now, Mrs Wiggins, one of the main questions I have for you is this. Can you describe any changes that you noticed in Mr Akers’ rooms, between the time that you last cleared up there, on the 14th of last February, and the following day, when you were called into his rooms by the police?

  Mrs Wiggins: Well, as I’ve already told you, sir, there was a mess that was not there when I left the previous day. The papers was all messed about, and the drawers in the study open.

  Mr Bexheath: The room appeared to have been searched?

  Mrs Wiggins: Well, it might have been Mr Akers messing about, looking for something ’isself. If ’e did that, ’e would leave the drawers open as well. That’d be typical. ’E would never think of closing a drawer to save an elderly woman’s back.

  Mr Bexheath: Yes, of course. But somebody searched the room, whether Mr Akers himself, or the person who lay in wait for him in his rooms.

  Mrs Wiggins: Or somebody else.

  Mr Bexheath: Quite. Did Mr Akers frequently dine out?

  Mrs Wiggins: ’E may have dined in college, or out, but certainly not in ’is rooms. Didn’t fancy ’isself as a cook, I’d say; I wouldn’t ’ave either.

  Mr Bexheath: Did he ever spend a night away from home?

  Mrs Wiggins: Not that I know. ’Is bed was always undone and a right mess every morning. Sundays I wouldn’t know.

  Mr Bexheath: Thank you. Now let us pass to another subject, namely the rooms of Mr Crawford, in the same college. Can you describe them?

  Mrs Wiggins: They weren’t nigh so bad as Mr Akers’. Mr Crawford was a big, rough man but ’e ’ad a good ’eart. ’E’d pass the time o’ day with me, like as not, when ’e was in. Mr Akers never.

  Mr Bexheath: Did Mr Crawford occasionally receive visitors?

  Mrs Wiggins: Yes, sometimes.

  Mr Bexheath: Frequently? For meals?

  Mrs Wiggins: No, not for meals, but for drinks now and then. Not too often, I’d say. Maybe every couple o’ months or so ’e’d have some friends by.

  Mr Bexheath: Did you see them?

  Mrs Wiggins: No, they’d come after I was done. I did ’is rooms in the morning. But they’d leave glasses and things about for me to wash up the next day.

  Mr Bexheath: So you have no idea who Mr Crawford’s occasional visitors might have been.

  Mrs Wiggins: No, I don’t.

  Mr Bexheath: How many came at one time?

  Mrs Wiggins: Oh, just a couple, one or two. Mr Crawford didn’t ’ave no grand parties in ’is rooms!

  Mr Bexheath: Can you remember any time when Mr Crawford received visitors who drank whisky?

  Mrs Wiggins: It’s been some time, but there was some, because the bottle was out and the glasses and all, and it smelt whisky that strong I had to air out the rooms.

  Mr Bexheath: When was that?

  Mrs Wiggins: That was months ago.

  Mr Bexheath: How many months?

  Mrs Wiggins: Oh, three or four. Yes, that’d have been back in February, that would have been. Round about the murder of Mr Akers, it was.

  Mr Bexheath: Before or after his murder?

  Mrs Wiggins: I don’t rightly remember, but I think it must have been just before, because I was cleaning up and I hadn’t got any thoughts about Mr Akers in my head right then, as seems natural I would have had, if I’d heard about him already.

  Mr Bexheath: What did you do with the whisky bottle that day?

  Mrs Wiggins: I put it back on the shelf; it was still near half-full. Then I washed out the glasses.

  Mr Bexheath: Did Mr Crawford generally have a bottle of whisky about his rooms?

  Mrs Wiggins: There was always a bottle o’ whisky on Mr Crawford’s shelf, along with other bottles. ’E was a one for a drink.

  Mr Bexheath: Did you ever notice if the bottle of whisky on the shelf was full or empty?

  Mrs Wiggins: No, I never paid attention, just flicked my duster and went on. It might ’ave been the same bottle or changed twenty times as he drank it down, I never noticed.

  Mr Bexheath: All right. Now, Mrs Wiggins, can you remember any other specific times that Mr Crawford received visitors?

  Mrs Wiggins: Not specific. O’ course, there may have been visitors any time who didn’t drink. Last month some time, there was someone for certain.

  Mr Bexheath: Someone? One person visited Mr Crawford?

  Mrs Wiggins: Yes, I remember that.

  Mr Bexheath: You cannot recall when?

  Mrs Wiggins: No; it was more than a month ago, though.

  Mr Bexheath: But less than two months ago?

  Mrs Wiggins: Oh yes, it’d have been right around the middle of April.

  Mr Bexheath: And how do you know there was a single visitor?

  Mrs Wiggins: Well, I remember washing up two glasses, and putting away the bottle.

  Mr Bexheath: Oh, so they drank whisky?

  Mrs Wiggins: No, it was red wine.

  Mr Bexheath: I see. Red wine, indeed. You remember that.

  Mrs Wiggins: Oh yes, I aired, because it smelt. Mr Crawford don’t – didn’t, poor gentleman – open his windows much. It was always easy to say what ’e’d been a-drinking of.

  Mr Bexheath: Thank you, Mrs Wiggins.

  Cross-examination of Mrs Wiggins, by Mr Haversham

  Mr Haversham: When you said there was a single visitor to Mr Crawford’s rooms some time in the last month or two, do you have any idea whom it might have been?

  Mrs Wiggins: No sir, except it was someone who drank red wine.

  Mr Haversham: Do you know what time of day that person visited Mr Crawford?

  Mrs Wiggins: No sir, except it was not in the morning when I was there.

  Mr Haversham: I see. So someone who can be identified exactly by the two facts of his being acquainted with Mr Crawford, and his accepting a glass of red wine, visited Mr Crawford sometime, on an unknown day, at an unknown hour. Do you think we can draw any conclusion from this?

  Mrs Wiggins: No sir.

  Mr Haversham: The mysterious visitor could have been Mr Beddoes as easily as it could have been Mr Weatherburn, or some other person.

  Mrs Wiggins: For aught I know, sir.

  Mr Haversham: Thank you. You may stand down.

  Mr Justice Penrose: Have the police made an effort to trace this person?

  Mr Haversham: Yes, my Lord, without success. His visit was not witnessed by anyone on Mr Crawford’s stair.

  The second witness called was Mrs Beddoes. I felt sorry for the poor lady, as I saw her take the stand, and my heart was wrung with fear that her statements, probably filled with resigned conviction of Arthur’s guilt, would have great weight with the jury on account of her mourning, and her gentle, sorrowful face.

  Direct examination of Mrs Beddoes, by Mr Bexheath

  Mr Bexheath: Mrs Beddoes, I am very sorry to call you here. I deeply sympathise with your mo
urning, and I shall try to trouble you as little as possible.

  Mrs Beddoes: (with a wavering voice) Thank you, sir.

  Mr Bexheath: I would just like to ask you a few questions about the relations between Mr Akers, your husband, Mr Crawford and the prisoner.

  Mrs Beddoes: Yes?

  Mr Bexheath: Was your husband the friend of each of the other three men?

  Mrs Beddoes: Yes, sir, he was a good friend to all three of them.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you describe the nature of his friendship with Mr Akers?

  Mrs Beddoes: My husband was not as close to Mr Akers as he was to the other two. They talked mathematics sometimes, however, and my husband admired Mr Akers. He often said that Mr Akers had a wonderful talent for calculating things by wise methods, which no one else would have been able to calculate ever.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you tell me where they discussed mathematics? The testimony of Mrs Wiggins appears to indicate that they did not discuss it in Mr Akers’ rooms.

  Mrs Beddoes: Nor did they discuss it in our house. I do not know, sir. It must have been in their offices at the university, or in the library, or in other rooms, or at dinner.

  Mr Bexheath: Did they actually collaborate? Work on mathematics together? Or did they just talk about it?

  Mrs Beddoes: I don’t know, sir. But I believe they never went so far as regularly working together.

  Mr Bexheath: Now, can you describe your husband’s relations with Mr Crawford?

  Mrs Beddoes: They were close friends. Mr Crawford had a strong personality, and my husband was sometimes put off by his ways, but their friendship was a deep one. They had a difference back in April, but Mr Crawford forgot it and my husband kept no rancour, so they became friends again.

  Mr Bexheath: Was your husband in the habit of visiting Mr Crawford’s rooms?

  Mrs Beddoes: I really don’t know, but I do not remember his ever mentioning it.

  Mr Bexheath: Did they dine together?

  Mrs Beddoes: Yes, occasionally they did.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you remember if they were to dine together on the night of your husband’s death?

  Mrs Beddoes: No. I’ve been asked that many times already. I am very sorry, but my husband did not tell me whom he was dining with that night, or anything at all about Mr Crawford. He only – he only left me a message to say he would not be dining at home.

  Mr Bexheath: I see. Now, let us proceed to the relations between your husband and the prisoner.

  Mrs Beddoes: My husband was very fond of Mr Weatherburn. He spoke very highly of him and said he would go far. They met regularly to talk. Mr Weatherburn was very friendly with me also. I thought he was a nice young man. I had no idea …

  The witness burst into tears.

  Mr Bexheath: Now, now, Mrs Beddoes. Please calm yourself. I will not ask you any more questions.

  Mr Haversham: I have no questions for this witness.

  The witness was led away sobbing into her handkerchief, to the accompanying sympathetic murmur of the public gallery.

  Mr Haversham: I would like to point out to the members of the jury that the evidence of this witness as to the existence of a quarrel between Mr Beddoes and Mr Crawford is of fundamental importance. It ties in with the mysterious, red-wine drinking visitor to Mr Crawford’s rooms; this could have been Mr Beddoes, and it might have been the occasion of the quarrel. Or else the quarrel took place on another occasion, but in any case, it undoubtedly took place. Please do not omit to note this important fact.

  Oh, Dora – poor Mrs Beddoes. I wonder if she really does think Arthur is guilty. She said … but no. If I were she, I would hardly care what happened in the world around me, after the bitter loss. I shall go and visit her. I continue to listen carefully to everything that the witnesses say, for somewhere within it the truth must be hidden. I read my notes over and over. But I cannot see anything. Can you? We must find something!

  Your very own

  Vanessa

  Cambridge, Tuesday, May 22nd, 1888

  My dearest Dora,

  As the witnesses arrived and took their places this morning, I asked Mr Morrison in a whisper what had transpired yesterday afternoon. He told me that every one of Mr Crawford’s neighbours had been interrogated, and no less than two of them had testified to being acquainted with Arthur, and having seen him enter Mr Crawford’s rooms on at least one occasion, though no dates were made explicit.

  This morning, Mr Bexheath called Mr Withers as a witness. I had already observed him to be sharp and unkind, but in his testimony he showed himself to be a vile man. That weasel-faced betrayer – his heart must resemble a shrivelled walnut! I would not exchange mine for his for the universe and my happiness besides.

  Direct examination of Mr Withers, by Mr Bexheath

  Mr Bexheath: Please give your name, age and profession.

  Mr Withers: Edward Withers, thirty-two years old, Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at Cambridge University.

  Mr Bexheath: You were acquainted with the three murder victims, Mr Akers, Mr Beddoes and Mr Crawford, as well as with the prisoner?

  Mr Withers: Well, hardly. I saw them occasionally, of course, but couldn’t say I knew them very closely. I would like to say that I really have no connection with this whole story.

  Mr Bexheath: Mr Withers, were you at all familiar with Mr Crawford’s drinking habits?

  Mr Withers: I was not familiar enough with him to describe his regular habits. But I must say I have seen him, on occasions at which he was extremely excited, down a great quantity of whisky, without apparently losing his faculties by doing so.

  Mr Bexheath: How often have you seen him doing so?

  Mr Withers: Not more than once or twice. I do not believe he did it frequently; only on particular occasions of excitement or rejoicing, when he seemed to lose count of the quantity consumed.

  Mr Bexheath: Thank you. Now, the second point I would like to raise is that of the relations between the prisoner and each of the three murder victims. Did you have occasion to observe them?

  Mr Withers: Yes, I observed them at various public occasions, and at some common meals.

  Mr Bexheath: How would you describe them?

  Mr Withers: Well, Weatherburn always acted very friendly with all three of them.

  Mr Bexheath: Would you say that he sought their friendship?

  Mr Withers: Yes, absolutely. He went out of his way to obtain their attention.

  Mr Bexheath: For what purpose?

  Mr Withers: I imagine he had purposes of his own in behaving thus.

  Mr Bexheath: Yes indeed, I imagine so too. Would you say that the prisoner went out of his way to cultivate their friendship and arrange to meet with them regularly?

  Mr Withers: Yes, he did.

  Mr Bexheath: Were you aware of the habit attributed very frequently to Mr Akers, and in a lesser measure to Mr Crawford, of directing quite insulting, sarcastic and offensive remarks to his colleagues in public?

  Mr Withers: Certainly.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you describe such an episode?

  Mr Withers: Well, I remember once Wentworth talking to a bunch of fellows, and Akers came along and stopped by to listen, and then he turned to Wentworth and said ‘Pretty presumptuous for a fellow who’s never proved a theorem worth a grain of salt in his life. I’d aim lower if I were you.’

  Mr Bexheath: Can you describe Mr Wentworth’s reaction?

  Mr Withers: He told Akers to go boil his head.

  Mr Bexheath: And was he subsequently again on friendly terms with Mr Akers?

  Mr Withers: Certainly not.

  Mr Bexheath: Would you say that was a normal reaction?

  Mr Withers: Absolutely. A man has to have some pride.

  Mr Bexheath: Was the prisoner ever the butt of such remarks in your hearing?

  Mr Withers: Oh, yes.

  Mr Bexheath: Can you describe his reaction?

  Mr Withers: He only smiled.

  Mr Bexheath: In other words, he endured the insults
without taking offence. Would you describe his attitude of deliberately not taking offence as sycophantic?

  Mr Withers: It struck me as obsequious.

  Mr Bexheath: Quite so. Now, Mr Withers, I would like to turn to the mathematical aspects of the case. Do you know what mathematical topics the deceased gentlemen worked on?

  Mr Withers: Rumour had it they were interested in the n-body problem. I myself heard Crawford mention it elusively when somewhat tipsy.

  Mr Bexheath: Do you know if the prisoner worked on that topic?

  Mr Withers: I don’t know it, no. But I certainly heard him discussing the problem at table.

  Mr Bexheath: With just the ordinary interest that any mathematician might evince in a difficult open problem, or with personal interest?

  Mr Withers: He was fairly enthusiastic. I would say personal interest.

  Mr Haversham: My Lord, I strongly object to this question and its answer, to say nothing of the previous ones, and request that they be struck from the record. The witness’s opinion is of no value.

  Mr Justice Penrose: Members of the jury, be aware that the last response given by the witness expresses his personal opinion, and should not be treated as an established fact.

  Mr Haversham: Why, you might as well ask him if he believes the prisoner to be guilty!

  Mr Justice Penrose: Let us remain reasonable. That is not at all the same.

  Mr Bexheath: Well, Mr Withers, can you perhaps tell us exactly what, in Mr Weatherburn’s manner of talking about the n-body problem, might have led you to form your opinion? Then we shall be on a basis of fact.

  Mr Withers: Let me see. I remember one day back in the first part of April, just a while after Easter, at high table, a number of people were discussing the n-body problem, and Weatherburn was among them. I was just listening, myself. I know nothing about the n-body problem, and really have no idea what Akers and Crawford might have been doing with it. I certainly never asked them. I would again like to stress that I really have no connections with all of this. However, a day or two later, I came across Weatherburn in town, and he was very excited about some wonderful result he claimed he had just proved. He was extremely pleased with himself. I didn’t ask for details, but given the previous day’s discussion, I naturally must have assumed it had to do with the n-body problem. This must be at the basis of the impression I mentioned before.