Murder at Midnight by C. S. Challinor

closet with the aid of Alistair’s powerful flashlight. His colleague conducted a broader search. Both men came up empty-handed.
    “Back to searching the guests’ coats and bags?” Alistair asked.
    “I need to reflect a little first based on what we’ve discovered.”
    Rex returned to the living room and told his guests he would prepare some coffee and to sit tight until the police arrived. None of them, however, appeared to wish to stray away from the light.
    _____
    “Curare wasn’t the poison used in the film Death in the Clouds ,” Helen told him when they had closed themselves in the kitchen. “I saw it quite recently. I’m sure I’d have remembered that name.”
    Rex filled the kettle and put it on the red-enameled AGA, which was still warm from the soup Helen had reheated and which kept the room at a tolerable temperature.
    “Margarita’s from South America, isn’t she?” Helen went on. “She said she liked traveling and sight-seeing. You should ask her about the dart in private. I know she denied knowing anything about them, but she may be hiding something.”
    “Right. Obviously, we need to discover who brought the dart to the party and why. Looks like this was pre-meditated, but we need a motive.”
    “The blackout provided the opportunity.”
    “True. And we also need to find out the means. How were the darts administered?” Rex rummaged in the pantry. “Is there more instant coffee?” Helen opened a cabinet and pulled out a large canister of coffee granules. “Good, I feel it’s going to be a long night. How are you holding up, lass?”
    “Okay. I’m glad I was able to take a nap this afternoon.” Helen prepared the coffee in a large pot. “I still can’t believe it. Why at your party? And on New Year’s Eve of all nights!”
    “Safety in numbers? Inebriation and distraction? I wish I knew.”
    “Can we rule out John as a suspect?” Helen asked.
    “Possibly. But for a medical professional, he did seem a bit slow to respond to the Frasers.”
    “He probably thought, like the rest of us, that they’d drunk too much and passed out. But he was quick to respond when Drew choked on that chocolate. After that, he probably didn’t expect another mishap.”
    “Mishap?”
    “Well, okay, murder. Murders,” she corrected herself. “Why do so many happen when you’re around? I have often asked myself that question.”
    “They might go undetected otherwise,” Rex replied with an impudent grin. “You’d be surprised how many murders go undetected or unproved.”
    “Forget I asked.”
    “He also didn’t appear to be well up on poisons,” Rex continued on the topic of John.
    “He’s an ambulance man, Rex. He’s not a toxicology expert.”
    Rex conceded with a grudging nod. “Had Humphrey not been here, we wouldn’t know it was curare, if that’s what it is.”
    “I hope it is, for Vanessa’s sake. He said it wasn’t fatal if it didn’t get in your bloodstream. Lucky he knows his anthropology.”
    “It’d be luckier if none of this had happened at all,” Rex remarked.
    At that moment, Alistair knocked and entered the kitchen. “Any progress with your deductions, Sherlock?”
    “Not really. We were saying earlier that, as one of the nonsuspects, you should keep an eye on the others.”
    “In case anyone tries to get rid of the device that launched the dart,” Helen explained.
    “Or the other dart,” Rex added.
    “What should I be looking for? A long pipe would be easily spotted.”
    Rex shrugged, at a loss. “I imagine it could be any length.”
    “If we found it, we might be able to judge the distance from which the dart was shot,” Alistair suggested. “Or else an expert could. That might help a great deal.”
    “Aye, it would, if we could remember who was standing where. Many of the guests’ memories will be blurred by booze.”
    “Mine being no exception. Could I get some of that coffee?” Rex’s colleague asked. “I’m beginning to feel a bit