bottle with a syringe. I don't remember any corks on the bottles.'
'They're plastic corks. Someone must have made an infusion of hemlock.'
'Fingerprints?'
'Only the gardener's.'
'And the rest of the bottles?'
'I don't know. They're examining them at the moment. Collins is screaming at forensics that they were supposed to have checked every item in that kitchen.'
Charles ordered sea bass and a glass of white wine and leaned back in his chair. 'It takes suspicion away from the family surely. I mean, they could have drunk it.'
'I don't think so,' said Agatha. 'Mrs Tamworthy insisted on serving it but she was the only one who drank it. I took a sip and so did Charles but we didn't like it so we didn't have any more. It's terribly sweet. The rest of the family didn't touch it at all.'
'Well, they wouldn't, would they?' said Bill.
'That is, if one of them or all of them knew about that poisoned bottle or bottles. But there's something very odd. Instick delivered vegetables to the manor and according to Alison, he put his head round the drawing-room door where they were all gathered and said, 'I know which one of you did it.''
'Oh dear, it really looks as if one of them is a murderer,' said Agatha. 'Bill, you said there were only Fred's fingerprints on the bottle. That means of course someone wiped the bottle clean before putting it back on the rack.'
'Certainly looks that way.'
Agatha had a sudden bright image of Jimmy, smiling and laughing as he practically gave away all the stock in the shop. She hoped it wouldn't turn out to be Jimmy who was the murderer. He'd already spent a good part of his life in one sort of prison.
'There's another thing. Paul Chambers is out on bail and back in his pub with the locals ganging up behind him. You'd better keep young Toni away from that village.'
Toni's mobile phone rang that evening. To her surprise it was George Pyson. 'Feel like going out for a drink?' he asked.
Toni hesitated only a moment. She was tired of feeling too frightened to go out in Mircester in the evening in case she ran into her brother. George was a bit old but he had looked strong.
'All right,' she said.
'I'd pick you up,' said George, 'but there was only your phone numbers on your card.'
'I'll meet you somewhere.'
'What about the George, like my name, in the centre?'
'Fine. Say, half an hour?'
'See you there.'
Toni put on some light make-up. She had bought black mascara on the road home. She decided not to put it on. Might give the old boy some ideas.
When she entered the lounge bar of the George she wished she had dressed up instead of keeping on the jeans and white T-shirt she had been wearing all day. He had changed into a welltailored suit, blue shirt and silk tie.
He really was quite handsome, she decided with surprise.
'What are you having?' he asked.
'Just a tonic water.'
'Right.' Toni was impressed by the fact that he hadn't urged her to take something stronger.
When he came back with the drinks, he began to talk about Lower Tapor, explaining, 'I've been thinking and thinking if I might know anything that might help you. I went over there after you left and I talked to the tenant farmer, Kenneth Macdonald.'
'Sounds Scottish.'
'He is. The former tenant died leaving no heirs and so I advertised and got him. He's a good worker and honest. He's not accepted by the villagers and so he has a detached view of them. He says he's sure they practise witchcraft and are planning something for next Saturday night. He overheard two of the farmhands talking.'
Toni's eyes gleamed with excitement. 'Does he know where?'
'No, but there's a stand of trees on a hill above Lower Tapor. They're supposed to be fairy trees. I would guess there.'
'I might go over and have a look at that,' said Toni.
'Might not be safe. Remember, there's a murderer about.' He fiddled with the stem of his wine glass. 'I could go with you if you would like?'
'I've been told by my boss to keep away from the village,' said Toni. 'The landlord of the pub, Paul Chambers, tried to rape me.'
'That's awful. I heard he was out on bail but the newspapers didn't give the name of the victim and the locals apart from Kenneth don't gossip to me. On the orders of the family, I've given him a month to pack up and get out. The family owns the pub. If they are going to wind up the estate, I could probably get a fair price for them from one of the breweries.'
'He must really hate me now,' said Toni. 'I don't have a car, yet. I'm taking a crash course next week. Yes, I would like you to drive me there.'
'Right, when you've finished your drink, I'll walk you home. I'll pick you up at around ten o'clock on Saturday evening. We'll need to find a good place to hide ourselves.'
Toni was relieved when he walked her home chatting away about the estate, because he showed no signs of being interested in her sexually.
'I've just remembered something,' said Agatha. 'British sherry.'
'What about it?' asked Bill.
'She said she loved draught British sherry. I don't think it's been around for years. So she must have stocked up on bottles and put them in the cellar.'
Bill took out his mobile. 'I'll be back in a moment. I'd better tell them to search the whole of the cellar.'
When he had gone, Agatha turned to Charles.
'Do you plan to stay with me?'
'That's the idea, Aggie.'
'I'm not giving you a set of keys, mind'
'Suit yourself, sweetie.'
Chapter Eight
The following day, Agatha phoned Alison and told her that there was no point in her going to the manor while the police were around and asked her if she could possibly get away and come to the office. Alison said she would be there in an hour's time.
Agatha decided her staff should work on other cases. Toni was sent in search of a missing teenager. She did not tell Agatha anything about the coming Saturday night. She was sure Agatha would refuse to let her go.
Patrick brightened when he was given a case of suspected industrial espionage at a sweet factory. The owners claimed that they were planning the launch of a new chocolate bar. The previous launch of a new health bar had been stolen by their competitors. 'Anything to get away from divorce,' said Patrick. Phil sighed. He was stuck with a divorce case.
Charles strolled into the office, helped himself to a coffee, and sat quietly in the corner.
When everyone had left except Mrs Freedman, Charles asked, 'What now?'
'Alison should be here soon,' said Agatha. 'Better here than up at the manor with police and the enraged
