Chapter 4 #3
“I imagine,” Penelope said, “that a man like Moran, absorbed with his politics and his business endeavors, would have spent much of his time in his study. Consequently, surreptitiously introducing the poison into that decanter wouldn’t have been easy.
Indeed, it had to have been carefully planned to avoid both Moran and the staff. ”
“The poison has to be the work of someone with ready access to the study,” Stokes said.
Penelope nodded. “Someone who, if found there, wouldn’t raise any meaningful surprise, much less alarm.”
Silence fell as they dwelled on the implications of that.
Eventually, Stokes shut his notebook and tucked it away.
“Because of the earl’s rank, we need to make sure we do everything expected of us.
That means interviewing everyone who was in the house at the time of the murder, so all the family members.
In addition to that, in light of the poisoning, we need to conduct a thorough search of the premises for any possible source of the poison as soon as possible. ”
Barnaby said, “Findlay seemed sure it was strychnine, for which rat poison is a common source.”
“And,” Penelope said, “virtually every house will have some of that tucked away somewhere.”
Barnaby frowned. “That said, I seriously doubt rat poison was used in this instance.” He met Stokes’s eyes.
“It comes in pellets, and introducing them into a glass decanter and hoping they would dissolve completely and no cloudiness would remain to tip off Moran sounds…unlikely. I can’t see a conscientious butler like Winslow not noticing something like that. ”
“More to the point,” Penelope put in, “the decanter had been emptied, remember? Winslow filled it himself, presumably from a bottle in the cellar.”
Stokes frowned. “Not a cask?”
“Highly unlikely for the likes of Moran,” Barnaby said. “Christopher told us the whiskey in the study was ‘the good stuff,’ implying it was the best in the house that Moran kept for himself, and that would certainly come in bottles, not casks.”
“Indeed.” Penelope went on, “So Winslow would have opened a bottle, filled the decanter, then taken it back to the study. Obviously, Winslow himself didn’t poison the whiskey, and someone introducing poison into an unopened bottle in a way that a butler of Winslow’s experience wouldn’t notice is very hard to imagine, which means?—”
“That the poison was already in the emptied decanter.” Stokes frowned. “How was that done?”
“Someone emptied the decanter or found it empty and introduced a solution of strychnine, then swirled it around and restoppered the decanter,” Penelope said. “I believe the coating would be virtually invisible.”
Stokes had reopened his notebook and was scribbling again. “How do you make a solution of strychnine?”
“Just water, I believe,” Penelope said. “And in this case, most likely, the poisoner used the powdered form. It’s readily available through apothecaries and used on estates and in the country in general for making baits.”
Stokes shot her a glance. “Your knowledge has few bounds.”
She grinned, then sobered. “The use of the powder, however, means that your men will need to search the whole house, not just the kitchens.”
Stokes grimaced. “I’ve enough men here to mount a thorough search.
I’ll put O’Donnell and Morgan onto it. However”—he looked at Barnaby—“regarding who among the family might have cause to do away with the earl, we’ll need to look into their finances and, specifically, the details of the inheritance. ”
“In this case,” Barnaby said, “the inheritance will be straightforward. The title and entailed estate, which, I might add, is substantial, will go to Frederick, the earl’s oldest surviving brother and next in line.
But regarding the finances of the various family members, you’re right.
We need Montague, and Thomas as well, running their eyes over the various family members’ accounts.
The earl’s brothers, brothers-in-law, and nephews. ”
“I’ll ask my usual sources as well,” Penelope said. “They’re sure to have some valuable insights.”
Stokes nodded. “An excellent idea, and in this case, the ladies are likely to be even more helpful than usual. However, for now, our immediate task is to do what we were unable to accomplish earlier this morning, namely interview all the family members who were under this roof yesterday evening.”
Barnaby, Penelope, and Stokes looked at each other, waiting for any further insight. When none came, Stokes rose and sent a footman to fetch O’Donnell and Morgan from the front of the house.
Meanwhile, Barnaby sorted through Winslow’s desk to find paper, pen, and ink, then he sat behind the desk and composed missives to Montague and Thomas Glendower, outlining the case and requesting what help they and their offices could provide.
When O’Donnell and Morgan arrived, Stokes gave orders for a search to be conducted. “However,” Stokes said, “we’ll need to get permission from at least one of the family.”
O’Donnell nodded. “So we’ll organize and wait for the word.”
Penelope looked up from mentally composing a list of all the Fitzhugh family members they needed to interview to say, “If you find any suspicious powder, don’t forget to use gloves or paper or something to stop you getting any on your hands.”
O’Donnell and Morgan grinned, and both tipped her a salute. “We will, ma’am,” O’Donnell averred.
Satisfied, Penelope returned to her task of defining the optimal order in which to interview the members of the House of Moran.