Mingled With Venom

The next witness was the superintendent. ‘I was called in by Dr Mace to this house to investigate a case of sudden and unexpected death. The doctor suspected the deceased had taken poison. I sent specimens such as I need not name to be analysed. The poison was diagnosed as aconitine, known to be deadly. I set about finding out where the pot of pickle had come from and learned it had been prepared in this very kitchen.’

He was interrupted by a stricken cry of ‘I never! I swear and declare I never done it!’ from Mrs Plack, who was rebuked by the coroner, comforted by the kitchenmaid and spent the next few minutes quietly sobbing.

The superintendent was invited to resume his story. ‘Upon further enquiry I elicited that the pickle or sauce or condiment in question had been prepared last Friday ready for the Sunday dinner of roast beef, it keeping that long, in spite of cream being one of the ingredients, because of the vinegar. I ascertained that a vegetable substance reputed to be horseradish had been grated up ready for use by the kitchenmaid, Sonia Hills—’

‘Oo-er! I never knew what it were! I swear I never!’

‘Quiet, please, Miss Hills. You will have an opportunity to state your case later on. Go on, please, Superintendent.’

‘Having been apprised of the nature of the poison which had resulted in death of the deceased, I set about finding out where it could have come from, it seeming to me unlikely as it had come from a greengrocer or grower.’

‘Will you explain that to the jury?’

‘No need,’ growled a juryman. ‘Anybody as would dig up the wolfsbane, thinking it were horseradish, must ha’ been mad. Nobody hereabouts ud make a mistake like that. Monkshood be another name for the wolfsbane and everybody know them purple flowers. In flower that is already. Got some in my garden I have.’

‘Thank you, Isaac Trewethy. You have made your point. Superintendent?’

‘Trewethy has said what was in my mind, sir. Monkshood is a common enough garden plant in these parts.’

‘Is there not a wild variety, though?’

‘Ah, there is, but there again you couldn’t mistake it for horseradish, sir, not if you saw the actual plant growing. Horseradish—’ he consulted his notebook—‘otherwise armoracia rusticana, natural order cruciferae, does not resembel aconitum anglicum, the wild species of aconitum napellus, as mentioned by Dr. Mace—’

‘Yes, yes, Superintendent!’

‘Natural order ranunculaceae,’ continued the Superintendent, unmoved by the coroner’s testy tone, ‘in any respect as would cause it to be mistooken—’

‘We take your point. You mean that the poisonous root of the monkshood could not have got into Mrs Plack’s kitchen by accident. Call Sonia Hills. Now, Miss Hills, there is nothing to be alarmed about. Last Friday you grated up a root of what you supposed to be horseradish. Come right up to my table. Now here, as you see, I have two vegetable substances. Look at them very carefully. You may handle them if you wish.’

‘Not me!’ said Sonia, backing away as though she feared the roots would explode.

‘I understand your cautiousness. Will you point out which of these two roots resembles that which you grated up last Friday?’

The girl stared at the objects for several seconds, then hesitantly she pointed out one of the specimens in front of her.

‘Reckon that’s the one,’ she said, ‘but I couldn’t be sure.’

‘Thank you, Miss Hills. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, these two roots are identical in substance. Both are genuinely attested horseradish roots dug up yesterday morning under the personal supervision of the police. It is clear, therefore, that the witness is unable to distinguish between the root of the horseradish and the root of the monkshood or wolfsbane. That is all, Miss Hills. You will appreciate, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that, once the fatal root was grated up, no cook on earth would have known that it was not horseradish, so there is no point in my calling upon Mrs Plack to testify to that fact.’

‘And why?’ demanded Mrs Pack. ‘I can tell you one thing and it’s this: that nasty stuff as poisoned poor Mrs Leyden wasn’t never made in my kitchen. Tried mine, myself, I did, a whole dollopin’ tablespoon of it, and never took no harm, as Sonia here will testify. Changed over, them jars was, and so I’m telling you.’

‘I see,’ said the coroner. ‘Thank you, Mrs Plack.’ He glanced at the Superintendent and then called the parlourmaid. ‘Now,’ the coroner went on, ‘Miss Buskin, you waited at table last Sunday. Will you tell the jury exactly what happened at lunchtime?’

‘Mrs Porthcawl carved, there being no gentlemen present,’ said the girl, ‘and I carried round the plates as usual. There was mustard on the table and madam’s horseradish, nobody else liking it, and she helped herself very liberal, being partial to it.’

‘Nobody else took horseradish sauce?’

‘Nobody else, which on this occasion it was only Mrs Leyden that cared for it, like I said.’

‘Please continue.’

‘I don’t hardly like to. It was horrible. Madam took to clutching at her throat and all the rest of it, like we told the doctor when he came, and it was awful soon, thank God, before it was all over. Of course, Mrs Porthcawl sent me out quick to call the doctor as soon as she see how bad madam was—sick and all that, I mean—but by the time the doctor got here, all the way from St Austell it was, everything was over and madam gone to her last rest.’

‘What did you think had caused the fatal seizure?’

‘I didn’t know at the time. I know now, of course, as it was the horseradish. I never did like the stuff, but —’

‘Thank you, Miss Buskin. Call Margaret Denham. Now, Miss Denham, you were at one time the kitchenmaid here, were you not?’