‘Was this a regular invitation?’
‘Not regular, no, but I’ve been here for Christmas a couple of times recently. I was widowed five years ago and I think they took pity on me.’
‘Mrs Falkner invited you?’
‘Officially, yes, though I suspect it was the daughters behind it. They don’t get much male company.’
Felix smiled. ‘So you repaid their hospitality by getting engaged to someone else?’
Alf smiled uncertainly back. ‘Afraid so, yes. Florence was my housekeeper until a couple of weeks ago. She’s a very nice lady and, as you probably noticed, extremely attractive. We get on pretty well, so I decided to propose to her. Somewhat to my surprise she accepted.’
‘Two weeks ago?’
‘Yes. Nearer three now, I suppose.’
‘I understand you rent land from the Falkners, is that correct?’
‘Yes, about two hundred acres. It sounds a lot but it’s mostly hill pasture, as is mine. I run sheep on it.’
‘Profitably?’
‘Reasonably so. There’s not much else you can do with it. Do you know about farming?’
‘As a matter of fact, I do. My parents live in a Hampshire village. They don’t farm but they have land for their horses, and rent some of it to a neighbour, also for his sheep.’
‘Then you’ll know all about it. What sort of horses?’
‘Whatever takes our fancy, is the answer to that.’
Alf visibly relaxed. ‘You ride?’
‘When I can, which isn’t often enough. Take me through your Christmas. When did you arrive?’
‘About eleven, Christmas morning. We rode over because of the snow – we’d just had quite a fall of it – and the horses are still stabled here. We helped build a snowman, then sat around talking until dinner at about one-thirty.’
‘You and Mrs Gray both?’
‘Yes, except when she went to change. She was chatting to Ethel, one of Mrs Falkner’s grandchildren. They seem to have palled up rather.’
‘That’s the eldest one?’
‘Yes, that’s right. Pretty girl. Birds of a feather and all that.’
‘The Falkners knew Mrs Gray before the holiday, presumably?’
‘Yes, but they’d scarcely met. They only knew her as my housekeeper so I had to introduce her on Christmas Eve as my fiancée.’
‘How was that received?’
‘Well enough. They’ll have seen us around the village together so I doubt it was entirely a surprise.’
‘Perhaps a little jealousy?’
Alf looked uncomfortable. ‘I couldn’t say. Is that what they told you?’
‘No. Just conjecture. They’re all single, after all. You’ll understand that I’m looking for anything that might provoke a fatal poisoning. Jealousy might do it.’
‘I should hardly think so in their case. In general, I suppose it might.’
‘Men frequently fail to notice their effect on the fairer sex, I find, especially if it’s not reciprocated. However, let us call it emotion in general — fear, hatred and so on. Apart from that there is really only gain, in all its forms.’
‘I’ll take your word for that. But why Mrs Falkner for goodness’ sake? And why on earth did she then drag me into it? Are you saying the murderer was trying for me and Florrie and got Mrs Falkner instead, or were they trying for Mrs Falkner and we were just lucky? Or were they after someone else entirely? None of it makes any sense.’
‘At this stage, Mr Brown, we’re no wiser than you are. I understand your Christmas dinner was interrupted?’
‘Er, yes. A long-lost friend of Alison Falkner turned up, a Mr Albert Little. I remember him from when he worked for Driffield’s. It’s a local estate. He hadn’t been back here, that I’m aware of, since the war. Her mother asked him to dine with us and then in front of everyone asked how he’d got on in prison. It ruined the meal of course and the poor fellow fled the house. I don’t know what he’d done but that seemed uncalled-for.’
‘That would qualify as engendering emotion, one would have thought. Did you feel she was being deliberately provocative or was it just a social faux pas?’
‘I wouldn’t care to say. Could be either. In any case, it had nothing to do with me and Florrie.’
‘However, you opted to remain in this unpleasant atmosphere?’
‘Yes, but it was awkward. The daughters were noticeably cool towards her afterwards, especially Alison of course, and mostly hid in the kitchen. The rest of us attempted to behave as if nothing had happened. She was always there in the parlour with us, so we had no choice really. Ethel and her cousin Charles went for a walk, Helen helped the children with their puzzles, and I went home to see how my livestock was faring, which I’d planned to do anyway. Harry Falkner came with me to use the telephone. He was worried about not getting back to open his shop. The roads were impassable then, although they soon cleared. I think his mother-in-law was going to do it for him. Open the shop, I mean.’
‘You get on well with Harry Falkner?’
‘Yes, he’s a nice chap and about my own age. They’re a nice family, and the Bartletts too. It’s dreadful that it should end like this.’
‘How did the rest of the day go?’
‘Oh, the usual thing. Beatrice played the piano for us and we played some games. Walter Bartlett sang – he has a good voice – and regaled us with stories about the motor trade, while Charles, his son, talked about his experiences as a junior doctor. The time passed pleasantly enough, under the circumstances.’
‘Did Mrs Falkner have much to say for herself?’
‘Very little. Nothing provocative. We spoke to her when spoken to and that was about all.’
‘Anyone eat any chocolates?’
Alf smiled wryly. ‘Yes, we all did. Everyone seemed to have a box of the confounded things. It’s a dry house, you know, so we smoked and stuffed ourselves with assorted confectionary.’
‘Any offering around?’
‘Yes, but I wasn’t keeping count. There were still some left the following morning, which is when Mrs Falkner offered me and Florrie one. Florrie refused, and thank God she did. I only took it to be sociable.’
‘Did she offer one to anyone else, at that time? There was a roomful, I believe?’
‘Yes, there was. Walter Bartlett was there, and Harry and family, and Rosie was in and out, but she only offered them to us. I assumed at the time that they were the chocolates we’d given her ourselves and she was offering them out of politeness. She could hardly have known they were poisoned, of course.’
‘You gave her some Pride and Taylor’s chocolates?’
‘Yes, along with practically everyone else. I think Dr Bartlett counted six boxes.
‘When you say they were the chocolates you gave her, could you have identified them as such? Was there a gift message or anything on them? Did you see her open them for the first time?’
Alf shook his head. None of that, I’m afraid. I’d only assumed they were the same ones. It appeared she’d made a start on them as there were a couple missing. One, anyway. I’d been rather avoiding engaging with her, so I hadn’t taken much notice of her or what she’d been doing. Anyway, I’d not long eaten the damned thing when Albert Little came storming into the room and began ranting at her. It would seem that Alison had told him something about her he didn’t previously know, or he’d found it out.’
‘Something about Mrs Falkner?’
‘Yes. Well, presumably. He was beside himself with rage, called her a wicked old cat, and said she’d ruined their lives – I presume he meant his and Alison’s – but he didn’t physically attack her. Never attempted to. If he’d tried it, I think one of us would have managed to grab him first. Anyway, that’s when she had her first convulsion. I think we all assumed it was the shock of being talked to like that. Harry went to find Cha
rles and he surprised us by diagnosing strychnine poisoning. He wasn’t sure because he’d never actually seen it, just learned about it, but they sent for Dr Absalom and he confirmed it. I didn’t take much part in all that because I was busy drinking the well dry, as instructed. She lingered into the small hours and when she’d passed away Dr Absalom called the police from his house. You don’t really think I did it, do you?’
Felix stood up. ‘On the strength of what I’ve been told so far, it seems unlikely, Mr Brown, but you’ll understand there’s much to do yet. I must ask you to remain here now. We’re not unreasonable. If you have an urgent need to visit your farm you must do so, but you must come and see me first and report back afterwards. Did you visit anyone else this morning?’
‘I had a double whiskey at the Sheep’s Head.’
‘And told Mr Craddock all about it, no doubt?’
‘Er, some of it, yes. Sorry. There was no-one else there though.’
‘What do you think of him, Teddy?’ said Felix, when he’d gone. ‘Nervous, of course.’
‘As anyone would be. Trouble is, you can’t really tell if he’s hiding something else. If he is, it’ll be submerged in funk.’
‘Shielding the killer, for example? Unlikely to be him personally I shouldn’t think, notwithstanding the accusation, if that’s what it was. He hardly fits the profile of your typical poisoner, does he?’
‘Seems unlikely I agree. Whereas an embittered old maid, dominated by her hated mother . . .’
Felix nodded. ‘They have to top the list, don’t they? Although Rosie Falkner doesn’t quite fill the bill to my mind. Seems remarkably well-balanced, given the life she’s led. Nothing bitter about her.’
‘She’s preoccupied with her size.’
‘I don’t think we can hold that against her. Difficult for a woman.’
‘See another sister?’
‘Not yet, I think we’d best have Dr Bartlett in next.’
◆◆◆
‘It’s a proper performance, isn’t it?’ said Ethel, wiping the remains of the ink off her finger. ‘It makes you feel obscurely guilty, even when you’re not.’
‘I shouldn’t worry too much,’ said Charles reassuringly. ‘They never hang beautiful women.’
‘Oh, don’t! I don’t want anybody to hang. That would be too awful.’
‘Yes, it would. Though it’s not much fun having a poisoner in one’s midst either. Watch out, we’ve got company.’
‘Ah! Just the man I want,’ said Felix. ‘Would you mind if I borrow him for a while, Miss Falkner? I promise to return him undamaged.’
‘Just see that you do,’ said Ethel fiercely.
‘Do sit down, Doctor Bartlett,’ said Felix, shaking his hand. ‘That’s a pretty young lady. Fiancée?’
‘Not yet. Soon, I hope.’
‘How long have you known each other?’
‘Er, five days.’
The detectives glanced at each other and smiled. ‘Fast worker eh?’ said Felix. ‘Does she know how you feel?’
‘Oh yes, it’s mutual. I hope so anyway.’
‘Well, it’s nice to know something positive has come out of this business. Take me through your Christmas if you will. Or did the time pass in a romantic haze?’
‘I’m rather afraid that it did,’ admitted Charles. ‘We spent much of our time alone together, either in the hall or dining room or walking about outside. I’ve thought about this of course, wondering if it gave us a unique perspective, so to say, but we almost never encountered anyone else apart from the occasional aunty bustling by, and one or two people going up and down stairs. It has been extremely cold, and people tended to huddle in the parlour, which is where they mostly were when Hannah Falkner began showing symptoms of poisoning. We were in the dining room and Harry had to come and fetch us.’
‘When was this?’
‘At about eleven twenty on Boxing Day morning, give or take five minutes.’
‘And what did you find?’
‘Mrs Falkner was presenting with a severe convulsive seizure. Her limbs were stiff and her back arched. All typical of strychnine poisoning, which is why I was able tentatively to diagnose it.’
‘Never having encountered it previously?’
‘No, I hadn’t.’
‘Was she conscious?’
‘Yes, but not taking much interest in her surroundings. She appeared mainly conscious until she died.’
‘Do you think she understood what was happening to her?’
‘Yes, I’m sure she did, and she could be said to have accused Mr Brown; although she didn’t, as I told the constable, mention poison per se. Her actual words were, “It was that Alf Brown did this.”’
‘Any doubt about that? Her exact words, I mean.’
‘No, it was reasonably clear. I went and got Dr Absalom, who was dozing next door, and asked her to repeat it, but she only got as far as “Alf Brown.” Then she died.’
‘I see. So only you, in fact, heard the whole thing?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you swear to it in court?’
‘Oh, certainly.’
‘Did she volunteer this information or had you been questioning her?’
‘She volunteered it. We’d asked her nothing. Any sort of stimulation of the patient was likely to cause further convulsions, which we naturally wished to avoid. I felt, however, that it required a second witness, and she clearly did too, as she was prepared to repeat it, or try to.’
‘How did Mr Brown, get to hear of it? Was he there?’
‘No, but Harry Falkner had stayed up with us and came through with Dr Absalom, and afterwards we discussed it. It was never suggested by anyone that we should hush it up, although I suppose we should have done. I don’t know who told Mr Brown. He already knew about it when he next spoke to me. I would remind you, however, that Mr Brown is Dr Absalom’s patient.’
‘Point taken. At what time did she pass away?’
‘Three-twenty in the morning. The time it took for her to die suggests to me a relatively low dose, although you’ll want to confirm that with Dr Absalom. I presume you’ll be speaking to him?’
‘Yes, we will. You don’t mind that?’
‘Not in the least. My head is full of theory but I’ve barely six months clinical experience. I was very relieved to have him here, I can tell you.’
‘When did you summon him?’
‘Five or ten minutes after I was called to the patient. I sent Mrs Gray for him and my father drove her there. She lives in the village so knew where to go. Dr Absalom had no sooner arrived than he confirmed my diagnosis and we moved Mrs Falkner to her darkened bedroom – in here, as it happens – taking it in turns to sit with her.’
‘And then you collected up the boxes of chocolates?’
‘Yes, and was roundly chastised by the local constable for doing so. I knew it was probably the wrong thing to do but we have an eleven-year-old in the house. He seems sensible enough but you can never tell at that age.’
‘No, you can’t. Well, it’s done now, and you made good notes which redeems you somewhat.’ He pulled forward his report. ‘I gather from this that there were six boxes of chocolates altogether, all of them Pride and Taylor’s Luxury Selection.’
‘Yes, that’s right. Which includes the one from Mr Little to the deceased. I wouldn’t have known about it but Alison Falkner told me he’d brought it with him and she’d put it under the tree. It must have been opened because they all were, but I don’t know by whom or which of the boxes it was. He would never have had the chance to present it to Mrs Falkner personally, or to anyone else, as after the upset at Christmas dinner he refused to come back indoors. I believe he’s been staying with Jeremy Bates, their farmworker. Anyway, I noted all the contents, closed the lids and collected them up. There was some dispute as to who owned
which box and I just had to take people’s word for it. No-one was laying special claim to one — they just didn’t know. I was especially careful to note the contents of the one on Mrs Falkner’s table, as you might imagine.’
‘Good,’ said Felix. He reached for his case and flicked open the catches. ‘Now it so happens that with the foresight for which I am justly famed I stopped on the way up here and bought a box of the offending chocolates. Here we are. Perhaps you will tell me, to the best of your recollection, which ones were missing?’
Charles pursed his lips and studied them. ‘Um, that one, that one and those two.’
Felix referred to his notes. ‘That’s what you said last time. Well done. Whom do you think did this dreadful thing? Any theories?’
Charles shook his head. ‘Nearly everyone here is a relative of mine and I don’t want to believe it’s any of them. I will say that apart from Albert Little, about whom I know nothing, they all seem sane and reasonably intelligent, but I don’t suppose that helps very much.’
‘I’m afraid it doesn’t,’ said Felix. He sat back and contemplated him for a moment. ‘Dr Bartlett, would it greatly incommode you to stay on for a few days? I realise they’ll be expecting you back at work.’
‘No, it’s all right. I’ve squared it with the boss. There’ll be an inquest coming up, presumably, and it would be expensive to make the trip twice. Also, I wouldn’t wish to leave here without Ethel, given the circumstances.’
Felix smiled. ‘No, I don’t suppose you would. You were in the dining room, you say, when you were called to Mrs Falkner. Anyone else with you, apart from Ethel?’
‘No.’
‘Anyone enter the parlour with you or come in later?’
‘No. I believe everyone was there, including Albert Little. Beatrice and Delia had just come in from the kitchen. There’s a connecting door.’
‘Any peculiar behaviour on anyone’s part, before or after?’
‘If there was, I didn’t notice it. Everyone was very shocked, including me. I’m very sorry, Chief Inspector, if I didn’t do things in quite the prescribed fashion.’
‘Well, you’re not a policeman. You’ll know another time.’
Death Among the Kisses (The Inspector Felix Mysteries Book 10) Page 7