“Thought she was indispensable, did she? What was Miss Holland’s reaction?”
“Simply to tell her that a bursar would be appointed this last September and that the post and its benefits would not be there for her when she wanted it. That did the trick. The senior maths mistress, Miss Bulmer, was appointed deputy headmistress and Miss Lickfold took up her duties—nominally—as bursar.”
“And it was in this connection that Miss Holland had proposed to visit Hussey this afternoon, had she been alive to do so?”
“That’s right. Of course, a department like a bursar’s office takes some time to establish properly, and Mabel was faced with the task of prising all but the actual legal business out of Hussey’s hands.”
“He didn’t want to let it go?”
“He has been dragging his feet. Always with an apparently good excuse, of course. The affairs were a bit widespread. An accounts clerk had the school bills, the conveyancing man had the deeds of the school and the three boarding houses. Hussey himself had the board’s minutes and all the contracts. According to Mabel who was, I may tell you, a very precise and neat administrator, Hussey’s handling of our affairs reminded her more of a kitten’s efforts with a ball of wool than a well-regulated business house.”
“Could it be that her knowledge of how ill-conducted Hussey’s business appeared to be helped Miss Holland to come to her decision to instal a bursar?”
“I would say it had a lot to do with it. Which bird came first—Hussey’s slipshod methods or Miss Lickfold’s inadequacies—I can’t be sure, but Mabel was intent on using the one stone to kill the two.”
“How did Hussey take it when Miss Holland suggested to the board that a bursar should be appointed? I presume that, as secretary to the governors, he was present?”
“He didn’t like the idea.”
“But the board members did?”
“All of us. I’ve no doubt whatsoever that Mabel had done a bit of lobbying before the meeting. It was easy for her, really. The three women governors were all for having a woman administrator instead of leaving it in the hands of a man, and as for the male members of the board . . . Well, Mabel was a very attractive, persuasive woman. And, in any case, when it came to the day-to-day running of the school, we rarely thwarted the wishes of the headmistress, particularly those of so able a headmistress as Mabel.”
“So today, Miss Holland was to have visited Hussey to make sure that everything which should have been handed over had, in fact, been given to the new bursar?”
“That was just like Mabel. She wouldn’t have left it to a subordinate to do the dirty work.”
“Meaning there was a degree of ill feeling on Hussey’s part? Otherwise the task would not have been unpleasant?”
“Raymond Hussey can be a bit mean-minded.”
“Yet Miss Holland proposed to put her own affairs in his hands. Is he the only trustworthy solicitor in Bramthorpe?”
“Apart from the fact that it would be useful for her, as my wife, to use the same man, it was to soften the blow. To give him at least a bit of something by way of recompense for removing so much of the school business.”
“That reply indicates that Miss Holland was aware that she was not exactly Hussey’s favourite headmistress.”
“You could put it that way.”
“I think I must, don’t you, Sir Thomas? We are presuming somebody bore her sufficient ill will to poison her. We must consider, therefore, both Miss Lickfold, who may be feeling aggrieved because she lost the headship to Miss Holland who then dealt blows to her pride by removing her first from the senior school and then from teaching altogether, and also Mr Hussey who is less than pleased with losing a slice of lucrative business.”
Kenny got to his feet, clearly ill at ease. Then he said: “I feel terrible about this. It’s as though I had delivered those two people into your hands.”
“No, sir. Nobody has delivered anybody into my hands. I am looking round. Nothing more.”
Before Kenny could reply, the phone rang.
Masters was quite happy to tell Green that he and Reed would be round at the school to pick him and Berger up in no time at all.
*
They sat up late in Masters’ room. Each pair reported fully on their respective interviews. After some discussion, Green said: “So it looks as though there are three possibilities on the list so far.”
“Three?” asked Berger. “How do you make that out? The Lickfold woman. She had a grudge—hurt dignity—and it’s quite feasible to suppose she could potter round to the School House to see Miss Holland. All of a doodah to see if the headmistress was going to get what she wanted out of that nasty Mr Hussey. And while she was there, she could have off-loaded a handful of laburnum seeds into something . . .”
“Like what?” asked Reed.
“Oh . . . the fried mushrooms or tomatoes or whatever. That’s not my point. Then there’s Hussey. He’d have a good excuse for calling round. ‘Oh, Miss Holland, I know you’re coming to see me tomorrow, but I think I ought to mention that your new bursar is really falling down on the job. I’ve been informed that the second half of the school rates are overdue and if they’re not paid by midday tomorrow at the latest there’ll be a summons taken out against you.’” Berger turned to Masters. “You know the sort of thing, Chief. He’s invited in for sherry and palms the seeds into something . . .”
“Like what?” asked Reed again.
Berger shrugged. “The exact method is not what I’m talking about. The D.C.I. said three suspects. I’m saying there’s only two as far as I can see.”
Reed shook his head in sorrow. “You should know by now that murder, like charity, begins at home. It’s a family affair more often than not.”
“Miss Holland hadn’t any family.”
“She had a housekeeper—same thing.”
“Who was out all day.”
“Still . . .”
“If you’d seen her and talked to her, you wouldn’t suspect Mrs Gibson.”
“Well, now . . .”
“Yes?”
“What about that deep custard we’ve heard about? With nutmeg on top? Who made that? And how do we know the coarsely ground nutmeg wasn’t coarsely ground laburnum seeds all baked in the pie?”
“It couldn’t have been.”
“Why not?”
“Because Mrs Gibson ate it up herself.”
“Did she? Was there any left for us to send for testing?”
“No.”
“There wouldn’t be, would there? Not if she disposed of it as soon as she could after she got home last night. I reckon a deep custard would go down a drain. The innards would slither down and the crust could be broken up to go through the grid.”
Berger looked across at Green. “Is that what you meant?”
“That’s it, laddie. Like you, I think Mrs Gibson is a genuine old trout, but we’ve got to bear all the possibilities in mind.”
Masters got to his feet. “We’ll call it a day. I want to make some notes for tomorrow.”
“You’re still set on appearing?”
“Yes.”
“Shall you approach the coroner beforehand?”
“I think I’d better. I don’t know whether he is one of those who has his witness list made up before he opens and then doesn’t stray from it, or whether he is one who will hear anybody who has—or thinks he has—anything to contribute. So I’ll make sure. I’ll ask to appear last. I want Mrs Gibson’s evidence to be heard before mine. And I’ve had another thought.”
“What’s that?”
“Because I want to use the contents of that letter from her daughter, I would like formal permission from Mrs Holland to represent her. That would give me the right to appear if Gilchrist raises any objections to two police witnesses.”
“I should say there’ll be no difficulty in getting Mrs Holland to agree, judging by her co-operative attitude when I spoke to her over the phone.”
“Good. You’re ar
ranging to have her met. Can I leave it to you to fix that, too—just in case I’m otherwise engaged?”
“Leave it to me.”
Chapter Four
Dr Gilchrist, the coroner, was a tall, spare man, dressed in a navy-blue suit with a chalk stripe. He wore a waistcoat, a semi-stiff collar and a club tie. His face was jowled and high-coloured; his hair grey and sleeked down; his spectacles gold-rimmed. Impeccable: no-nonsense. He gave the impression that he regarded the inquest as a job to be done well and with dispatch. Before the court opened he had listened gravely to Masters’ request to appear as a private individual representing Mrs Holland. He had disapproved, but conceded that he was in duty bound to hear all that was relevant to the case before him unless the Bramthorpe police were to ask for an adjournment, in which case he could conceivably curtail the hearing without calling Masters.
Masters would have welcomed an adjournment, because he liked neither the idea of appearing himself nor of parading evidence in public before he had been given the time to build his case. But he was certain that D.I. Lovegrove would not ask directly for an adjournment nor would he present his evidence in such a way as to suggest to Gilchrist that it would be desirable to allow the police more time. This being so, Masters was not prepared to risk an unfavourable verdict being brought in because of a lack of evidence from the locals and for the want of intervention on his own part.
Evidence of identification by two mistresses from the senior school staff. Evidence of cause of death from the Bramthorpe Hospital pathologist. Cytisine, a highly toxic alkaloid found in laburnum and some other leguminous plants. Resembles nicotine in its actions. Toxic effects include nausea and vomiting (Miss Holland had vomited massively), dilatation of the pupils and tachycardia—the coroner himself would know that tachycardia means abnormal rapidity of the heart’s action—followed by dizziness, mental confusion (which probably accounted for Miss Holland not telephoning for help), muscular inco-ordination and weakness (probably accounting for why she neither undressed before lying down nor managed to make her way to a bathroom or lavatory to vomit), followed by convulsions (which would account for the bedraggled state of the bed-clothes) followed by respiratory paralysis leading to death by asphyxia—which though literally meaning stoppage of the pulse, could be interpreted as suffocation produced by a deficiency of oxygen in the blood.
The amount of laburnum seeds? Probably a level tablespoonful. As many as that? It was an estimate, but—if the coroner would forgive the term—an educated estimate, arrived at scientifically.
Laburnum? Could the pathologist tell the court anything of the plant itself?
Certainly. Commonly called Golden Rain. Green, trifoliate leaves on long stalks; golden yellow flowers with five petals, unequal in size—hence the name Golden Rain—hanging from the branches, on long racemes—like bunches of grapes—seen in May and June; fruit pod has eight seeds which become dark brown when ripe. Seldom grows wild. Commonly cultivated. All parts poisonous, particularly bark and seeds. Laburnum causes the greatest number of cases of poisoning and death in man in Britain at present time. Children eat seeds in mistake for peas. Animals have also been poisoned. Seeds, wood, bark and roots of tree are consistently toxic.
Gilchrist thanked the pathologist who then stepped down.
Mrs Gibson. As expected, she had no light to throw on the tragedy, but she was duly led through her story, stressing, as she went, how level-headed, cheerful and happy Miss Holland had been right up to the last moment Mrs Gibson had seen her.
Fellows, the chemist, and his girl assistant both to report that Miss Holland had bought merely items for her holiday trip and had certainly not asked for any substance or medicament that was in the least toxic, that she had seemed happy and cheerful and not in the least depressed.
Masters began to feel slightly better about things. Gilchrist was apparently examining his witnesses with a view to scotching a suicide verdict. There remained only D.I. Lovegrove before he himself expected to be called.
It was Masters’ first sight of the local detective inspector. He was rather fleshy—thick of lip and neck. But smart in appearance and well-prepared in what he was saying. Glib? Masters found it hard to decide. Any police officer who did not prepare his spiel before appearing as a witness was a bit of a fool. But Lovegrove? Joe Smoothie of the year? Green evidently thought so. He grimaced and nudged Masters. “He’s got it all off pat, hasn’t he?” he whispered.
Lovegrove was pressing hard for a verdict of accidental death. There was no evidence to show that any second person had been in the School House that evening. There was no hint as to how a second person could have administered a large number of laburnum seeds to Miss Holland, either secretly or overtly. There had certainly been no struggle. Miss Holland had sustained no injuries, as she most certainly would have done had she tried to fight off another person intent on poisoning her. In addition to a conspicuous lack of either opportunity or means, there was no indication—despite careful investigation of this point by himself and his officers—of any ill will towards the deceased such as might constitute a motive for causing Miss Holland harm. Indeed, she was so popular and highly respected a person that it had proved impossible to find anybody who had wished her other than well.
Green grunted angrily as Lovegrove had his say and then answered the few questions put to him. As Lovegrove stepped down, the D.C.I. said hoarsely: “It’s up to you, George. That bastard thinks it’s all over bar the shouting.”
It caused a stir in the court when Gilchrist called Masters. Lovegrove, who hadn’t, by then, regained his seat, stopped and turned round in amazement. Then he stepped back into the aisle to confront Masters.
“You didn’t let us know you intended to appear,” he said.
“Sir!” reminded Masters blandly.
“Sir.”
“And you hadn’t the courtesy to make yourself known to me, Mr Lovegrove. Had you done so, we might have compared notes.”
“Superintendent,” called Gilchrist petulantly, “the court is waiting.”
“My apologies, sir. I was unexpectedly . . . er . . . accosted.”
Masters strode forward, a huge man in an impeccable suit and highly polished shoes. He carried a buff folder which he put on the shelf inside the box before looking up to face Gilchrist.
“I understand, Superintendent, that you feel you have something to contribute to this hearing.”
“If you please, sir.”
“I understand also that you have been brought from Scotland Yard to investigate this case, yet the police evidence has been given by Detective Lovegrove. Why is that?”
“Because, sir, I arrived only very late in the day. Sometime after teatime yesterday. Between then and now it has proved impossible—in view of this inquest and the fact that D.I. Lovegrove was not available to see me when I arrived—for me to get very far with my inquiries.”
“If you have no case to present to this court, why do you wish to appear?”
“To acquaint you with the circumstances leading to the request for help from Scotland Yard and to present some facts not yet mentioned.”
“A second set of police evidence, then?”
“Not formally, sir. I am appearing, by your courtesy, as a private individual, at least in part.”
“You have a personal interest in the case?”
“In so far as I am representing Mrs Holland, the deceased’s mother, in your court, sir.”
“This could be highly irregular.”
“With respect, sir, I think not. Even though I am a police officer, I have the same rights as any other citizen and hence am not precluded from appearing in any capacity or even in a dual role.”
The coroner considered this for a moment.
“Very well. Carry on. I will decide whether to include or exclude what you have to say after I have heard it.”
Masters inclined his head.
“Yesterday morning, after the circumstances of Miss Holland’s death were known, two
people made representations to the Chief Constable concerning it. One was Sir Thomas Kenny who, as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Bramthorpe College, knew Miss Holland extremely well. He gave it as his opinion that Miss Holland was the reverse of suicidal and that he, for one, could not accept that she had taken her own life.”
“Sir Thomas Kenny approached the police to say this?”
“As Chairman of the Watch Committee, he felt it his duty to return from holiday to make his opinion known in person.”
“And the second representation?”
“Came from Chief Superintendent Hildidge, the senior police officer of Bramthorpe. He has been involved for many years in dealing with cases of violent and unnatural death, and is, consequently, more aware than most men that it is impossible to say who is, and who is not, a suicidal type. And yet he felt so strongly that Miss Holland—with whom he was well acquainted—would not in any circumstances take her own life that, despite his great knowledge and experience, he made his opinion known to his superior officer.”
“Yet the local C.I.D. were inquiring into the death?”
“Quite so, sir. But as a result of the representations I have mentioned, I was asked to come to Bramthorpe to head an investigation.”
“Thank you, Superintendent. The court now knows why you are here. But, so far, you have shed no light on the mystery surrounding the death of the deceased. We have heard opinions only. I would prefer facts.”
“You shall have facts. But may I respectfully remind you, sir, that at this stage in the proceedings, opinions may be of value?”
“I am aware, Superintendent, that this is not a trial and that the court is required to reach an opinion. But that opinion will be based on fact. So may we now stop the verbal sparring and come to what you have to say?”
Masters waited for just a moment before continuing. He had to judge whether, in the face of what Gilchrist had just said, he could afford to pursue the line of argument he had prepared. As the coroner looked up to question the delay, Masters decided to stick to his guns.
“It is a fact, sir, that you as a medical man will have called for, or even been asked to give, a second opinion. Diagnosis and action follow opinion. May I suggest that the problem of Miss Holland’s death is a case where a somewhat similar procedure must be followed? Fact number one is this letter . . .”
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