6. The inquest by Agatha Christie
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the mysterious Affair at Styles chapter 6 the inquest

in_the interval before_the inquest, Poirot was unfailing in_his activity . twice he_was closeted with Mr Wells . he also took long walks into_the country .I rather resented his not taking me into his confidence, the more so as I_could_not in_the least guess what he_was driving at .

it occurred to_me that he_might_have_been making inquiries at Raikes's farm; so, finding him out when I called at Leastways cottage on Wednesday evening, I walked over there by_the fields, hoping to meet him . but there_was no sign of him, and I hesitated to_go right up_to_the farm itself . as I walked away, I met an aged rustic, who leered at me cunningly .

" you'm from_the hall, bain't you ? '' he asked .

" yes .I'm looking for a friend of_mine whom i_thought might_have walked this_way .''

"A little chap ? as waves his hands when he talks ? one_of_them Belgies from_the village ? ''

" yes,'' I_said eagerly ." he has_been here, then ? ''

"Oh, ay, he's been here, right enough . more'n once too . friend of yours, is he ? Ah, you gentlemen from_the hall -- you'n a pretty lot ! '' and he leered more jocosely than ever .

" why, do_the gentlemen from_the hall come here often ? '' I asked, as carelessly as I_could .

he winked at me knowingly .

" one does, mister .Naming no names, mind . and a very liberal gentleman too ! Oh, thank_you, sir, I'm sure .''

I walked on sharply .Evelyn Howard had_been right then, and I experienced a sharp twinge of disgust, as i_thought of Alfred Inglethorp's liberality with another woman's money . had that piquant gipsy face been at_the bottom of_the crime, or was_it the baser mainspring of money ? probably a judicious mixture of both .

on one point, Poirot seemed to_have a curious obsession . he once_or_twice observed to_me that he thought Dorcas must_have made an error in fixing the time of_the quarrel . he suggested to her repeatedly that_it_was 4 .30, and not 4 o'clock when she had heard the voices .

but Dorcas was unshaken . quite an hour, or even more, had elapsed between_the time when she had heard the voices and 5 o'clock, when she had taken tea to her mistress .

the inquest was held on Friday at_the Stylites Arms in_the village .Poirot and I sat together, not being required to_give evidence .

the preliminaries were gone through . the jury viewed the body, and John Cavendish gave evidence of identification .

further questioned, he described his awakening in_the early hours of_the morning, and_the circumstances of_his mother's death .

the medical evidence was next taken . there_was a breathless hush, and every eye was fixed on_the famous London specialist, who was known to_be one_of_the greatest authorities of_the day on_the_subject of toxicology .

in a few brief words, he summed up the result of_the post-mortem . shorn of_its medical phraseology and technicalities, it amounted to_the fact that Mrs Inglethorp had met her death as_the result of strychnine poisoning .Judging from_the quantity recovered, she must_have taken not less_than three-quarters of a grain of strychnine, but probably one grain or slightly over .

" is_it possible that she could_have swallowed the poison by accident ? '' asked the coroner .

" i_should consider it very unlikely . strychnine is_not used for domestic purposes, as some poisons are, and there_are restrictions placed on its sale .''

"Does anything in your examination lead you to determine how the poison was administered ? ''

" no .''

" you arrived at Styles before Dr .Wilkins, I believe ? ''

" that_is so . the motor met me just outside the lodge gates, and I hurried there as fast as I_could .''

" will_you relate to_us exactly what happened next ? ''

"I entered Mrs Inglethorp's room . she was at_that moment in a typical tetanic convulsion . she turned towards me, and gasped out: ' Alfred -- Alfred -- -- ' ''

" could the strychnine have_been administered in Mrs Inglethorp's after-dinner coffee which_was taken to her by her husband ? ''

" possibly, but strychnine is a fairly rapid drug in its action . the symptoms appear from one to two hours after it_has_been swallowed . it_is retarded under certain conditions, none of_which, however, appear to_have_been present in this_case .I presume Mrs Inglethorp took the coffee after dinner about eight o'clock, whereas the symptoms did_not manifest themselves until the early hours of_the morning, which, on_the face of it, points to_the drug having been taken much later in_the evening .''

" Mrs Inglethorp was in_the habit of drinking a cup of coco in_the middle of_the night . could the strychnine have_been administered in_that ? ''

" no, I myself took a sample of_the coco remaining in_the saucepan and had it analysed . there_was no strychnine present .''

I heard Poirot chuckle softly beside me .

" how did you_know ? '' I whispered .

" listen .''

" i_should say'' -- the doctor was continuing -- " that I would_have_been considerably surprised at any_other result .''

" why ? ''

" simply because strychnine has an unusually bitter taste . it can_be detected in a solution of 1 in 70,000, and can only be disguised by some strongly flavoured substance .Coco would_be quite powerless to mask it .''

one_of_the jury wanted to_know if_the same objection applied to coffee .

" no . coffee has a bitter taste of_its own which would probably cover the taste of strychnine .''

" then you consider it more likely that_the drug was administered in_the coffee, but that for some unknown reason its action was delayed .''

" yes, but, the cup being completely smashed, there_is no possibility of analyzing its contents .''

this concluded Dr .Bauerstein's evidence .Dr .Wilkins corroborated it on all points . sounded as_to_the possibility of suicide, he repudiated it utterly . the deceased, he_said, suffered from a weak heart, but otherwise enjoyed perfect health, and was of a cheerful and well- balanced disposition . she_would be one_of_the last people to_take her own life .

Lawrence Cavendish was next called . his evidence was quite unimportant, being amere repetition of_that of_his brother . just as he_was about to step down, he paused, and said rather hesitatingly:

" i_should like to_make a suggestion if I_may ? ''

he glanced deprecatingly at_the coroner, who replied briskly:

" certainly, Mr Cavendish, we_are here to arrive at_the truth of this_matter, and welcome anything that_may lead to further elucidation .''

" it_is just an idea of_mine,'' explained Lawrence ." of_course I_may_be quite wrong, but it still seems to_me that my mother's death might_be accounted for by natural means .''

" how do_you make that out, Mr Cavendish ? ''

" my mother, at_the_time of her death, and for some_time before it, was taking a tonic containing strychnine .''

"Ah ! '' said the coroner .

the jury looked up, interested .

"I believe,'' continued Lawrence, " that there_have been cases where the cumulative effect of a drug, administered for some_time, has ended by causing death . also, is_it not possible that she may_have taken an overdose of her medicine by accident ? ''

" this_is_the first we_have heard of_the deceased taking strychnine at_the_time of her death . we_are much obliged to_you, Mr Cavendish .''

Dr .Wilkins was recalled and ridiculed the idea .

" what Mr Cavendish suggests is quite impossible . any doctor would tell you the same . strychnine is, in a certain sense, a cumulative poison, but it would_be quite impossible for_it to result in sudden death in_this_way . there would_have to_be a long period of chronic symptoms which would at once have attracted my attention . the whole thing is absurd .''

" and_the second suggestion ? that Mrs Inglethorp may_have inadvertently taken an overdose ? ''

" three, or even four doses, would_not have resulted in death .Mrs Inglethorp always had an extra large amount of medicine made up at_a_time, as she dealt with coot's, the cash Chemists in Tadminster . she would_have had to_take very nearly the whole bottle to account for_the amount of strychnine found at_the post-mortem .''

" then you consider that we_may dismiss the tonic as not being in any_way instrumental in causing her death ? ''

" certainly . the supposition is ridiculous .''

the same juryman who had interrupted before here suggested that_the chemist who_made up the medicine might_have committed an error .

" that, of_course, is always possible,'' replied the doctor .

but Dorcas, who was_the next witness called, dispelled even that possibility . the medicine had_not_been newly made up . on_the contrary, Mrs Inglethorp had taken the last dose on_the day of her death .

so the question of_the tonic was finally abandoned, and_the coroner proceeded with_his task .Having elicited from Dorcas how she had_been awakened by_the violent ringing of her mistress's bell, and had subsequently roused the household, he passed to_the subject of_the quarrel on_the preceding afternoon .

Dorcas's evidence on_this point was substantially what Poirot and I had already heard, so i_will_not repeat it here .

the next witness was Mary Cavendish . she stood very upright, and spoke in a low, clear, and perfectly composed voice . in answer to_the coroner's question, she told how, her alarm clock having aroused her at 4 .30 as usual, she was dressing, when she was startled by_the sound of something heavy falling .

" that_would_have been the table by_the bed ? '' commented the coroner .

"I opened my door,'' continued Mary, " and listened . in_a_few_minutes a bell rang violently .Dorcas came running down and woke my husband, and we all went to my mother- in- law's room, but it_was locked -- -- ''

the coroner interrupted her .

"I really do_not think we_need trouble you further on_that point . we_know all that_can_be known of_the subsequent happenings . but i_should_be obliged if_you_would tell us all you overheard of_the quarrel the day before .''

"I ? ''

there_was a faint insolence in her voice . she raised her hand and adjusted the ruffle of lace at her neck, turning her head a little as she did so . and quite spontaneously the thought flashed across my mind: " she_is gaining time ! ''

" yes .I understand,'' continued the coroner deliberately, " that you were sitting reading on_the bench just outside the long window of_the boudoir . that_is so, is_it not ? ''

this_was news to_me and glancing sideways at Poirot, I fancied that_it_was news to him as_well .

there_was the faintest pause, the mere hesitation of a moment, before she answered:

" yes, that_is so .''

" and_the boudoir window was open, was_it not ? ''

surely her face grew a little paler as she answered:

" yes .''

" then you_cannot_have failed to hear the voices inside, especially as_they were raised in anger . in_fact, they_would_be more audible where you were than in_the hall .''

" possibly .''

" will_you repeat to_us what you overheard of_the quarrel ? ''

"I really do_not remember hearing anything .''

" do_you_mean to_say you_did_not hear voices ? ''

"Oh, yes, I heard the voices, but I_did_not hear what they said .'' a faint spot of colour came into her cheek ." I_am not in_the habit of listening to private conversations .''

the coroner persisted .

" and you remember nothing at all ? nothing, Mrs Cavendish ? not one stray word or phrase to_make you realize_that it_was a private conversation ? ''

she paused, and seemed to reflect, still outwardly as calm as ever .

" yes; I remember .Mrs Inglethorp said something -- I_do_not remember exactly what -- about causing scandal between husband and wife .''

"Ah ! '' the coroner leant back satisfied ." that corresponds with what Dorcas heard . but excuse me, Mrs Cavendish, although you realized it_was a private conversation, you_did_not move away ? you remained where you were ? ''

I caught the momentary gleam of her tawny eyes as she raised them . I_felt certain that at_that moment she_would willingly have torn the little lawyer, with_his insinuations, into pieces, but she replied quietly enough:

" no . i_was very comfortable where i_was .I fixed my mind on my book .''

" and_that is all you_can tell us ? ''

" that_is all .''

the examination was over, though I doubted if_the coroner was entirely satisfied with it . i_think he suspected that Mary Cavendish could tell more if she chose .

Amy hill, shop assistant, was next called, and deposed to having sold a will form on_the afternoon of_the 17th to William earl, under- gardener at Styles .

William earl and Manning succeeded her, and testified to witnessing a document .Manning fixed the time at about 4 .30, William was of_the opinion that_it_was rather earlier .

Cynthia Murdoch came next . she had, however, little to_tell . she had known nothing of_the tragedy, until awakened by Mrs Cavendish .

" you_did_not hear the table fall ? ''

" no . i_was fast asleep .''

the coroner smiled .

"A good conscience makes a sound sleeper,'' he observed ." thank_you, miss Murdoch, that_is all .''

" miss Howard .''

miss Howard produced the letter written to her by Mrs Inglethorp on_the evening of_the 17th .Poirot and I had, of_course already seen it . it added nothing to our knowledge of_the tragedy . the following is a facsimile:

[A picture]

STYLES court ESSEX July 17th

my dear Evelyn

can we not bury the hachet ? I_have found it hard to forgive the things you said against my dear husband but I_am an old woman & very fond of you

yours affectionately, Emily Inglethorpe

it_was handed to_the jury who scrutinized it attentively .

" I_fear it does_not help_us much,'' said the coroner, with a sigh ." there_is no mention of any of_the events of_that afternoon .''

" plain as a pikestaff to_me,'' said miss Howard shortly ." it shows clearly enough that my poor old friend had just found out she'd been made a fool of ! ''

" it says nothing of_the kind in_the letter,'' the coroner pointed out .

" no, because Emily never could bear to_put herself in_the wrong . but I_know her . she wanted me back . but she wasn't going to own that I'd been right . she went round about . most people do .Don't believe in_it myself

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