said quietly:
'I already have a sample of it. I took it this evening before dinner.'
From a drawer in the desk he took out a small corked bottle with a red fluid in it.
Inspector Curry said with a curious glance:
'You think of everything, Mr Serrocold.'
'I believe in acting promptly. Tonight, I stopped my wife from taking her usual dose. It is still in a glass on the oak dresser in the Hall - the bottle of tonic itself is in the dining-room.'
Curry leaned forward across the desk. He lowered his voice and spoke confidentially and without officialdom.
'You'll excuse me, Mr Serrocold, but just why are you so anxious to keep this from your wife? Are you afraid she'd panic? Surely, for her own sake, it would be as well if she were warned.'
'Yes - yes, that may well be so. But I don't think you quite understand. Without knowing my wife Caroline, it would be difficult. My wife, Inspector Curry, is an idealist, a completely trustful person. Of her it may truly be said that she sees no evil, hears no evil, and speaks no evil. It would be inconceivable to her that anyone could wish to kill her. But we have to go farther than that. It is not just “anyone.” It is a case - surely you see that - of someone possibly very near and dear to her...'
'So that's what you think?'
'We have got to face facts. Close at hand we have a couple of hundred warped and stunted personalities who have expressed themselves often enough by crude and senseless violence. But by the very nature of things, none of them can be suspect in this case. A slow poisoner is someone living in the intimacy of family life. Think of the people who are here in this house; her husband, her daughter, her granddaughter, her granddaughter's husband, her stepson whom she regards as her own son, Miss Bellever her devoted companion and friend of many years. All very near and dear to her - and yet the suspicion must arise - is it one of them?'
Curry said slowly:
'There are outsiders -'
'Yes, in a sense. There is Dr Maverick, one or two of the staff are often with us, there are the servants - but frankly, what possible motive could they have?'
Inspector Curry said:
'And there's young - what is his name again - Edgar Lawson?'
'Yes. But he has only been down here as a casual visitor just lately. He has no possible motive. Besides, he is deeply attached to Caroline - just as everyone is.'
'But he's unbalanced. What about this attack on you tonight?'
Serrocold waved it aside impatiently.
'Sheer childishness. He had no intention of harming me.'
'Not with these two bullet holes in the wall? He shot at you, didn't he?'
'He didn't mean to hit me. It was play-acting, no more.'
'Rather a dangerous form of play-acting, Mr Serrocold.'
'You don't understand. You must talk to our psychiatrist, Dr Maverick. Edgar is an illegitimate child. He has consoled himself for his lack of a father and a humble origin by pretending to himself that he is the son of a celebrated man. It's a well-known phenomenon, I assure you. He was improving, improving very much. Then, for some reason, he had a set-back. He identified me as his “father” and made a melodramatic attack, waving a revolver and uttering threats. I was not in the least alarmed. When he had actually fired the revolver, he broke down and sobbed and Dr Maverick took him away and gave him a sedative. He'll probably be quite normal tomorrow morning.'
'You don't wish to bring a charge against him?'
'That would be the worst thing possible - for him, I mean.'
'Frankly, Mr Serrocold, it seems to me he ought to be under restraint. People who go about firing off revolvers to bolster up their egos! One has to think of the community, you know.'
'Talk to Dr Maverick on the subject,' urged Lewis. 'He'll give you the professional point of view. In any case,' he added, 'poor Edgar certainly did not shoot Gulbrandsen. He was in here threatening to shoot me.'
'That's the point I was coming to, Mr Serrocold. We've covered the outside.
'I already have a sample of it. I took it this evening before dinner.'
From a drawer in the desk he took out a small corked bottle with a red fluid in it.
Inspector Curry said with a curious glance:
'You think of everything, Mr Serrocold.'
'I believe in acting promptly. Tonight, I stopped my wife from taking her usual dose. It is still in a glass on the oak dresser in the Hall - the bottle of tonic itself is in the dining-room.'
Curry leaned forward across the desk. He lowered his voice and spoke confidentially and without officialdom.
'You'll excuse me, Mr Serrocold, but just why are you so anxious to keep this from your wife? Are you afraid she'd panic? Surely, for her own sake, it would be as well if she were warned.'
'Yes - yes, that may well be so. But I don't think you quite understand. Without knowing my wife Caroline, it would be difficult. My wife, Inspector Curry, is an idealist, a completely trustful person. Of her it may truly be said that she sees no evil, hears no evil, and speaks no evil. It would be inconceivable to her that anyone could wish to kill her. But we have to go farther than that. It is not just “anyone.” It is a case - surely you see that - of someone possibly very near and dear to her...'
'So that's what you think?'
'We have got to face facts. Close at hand we have a couple of hundred warped and stunted personalities who have expressed themselves often enough by crude and senseless violence. But by the very nature of things, none of them can be suspect in this case. A slow poisoner is someone living in the intimacy of family life. Think of the people who are here in this house; her husband, her daughter, her granddaughter, her granddaughter's husband, her stepson whom she regards as her own son, Miss Bellever her devoted companion and friend of many years. All very near and dear to her - and yet the suspicion must arise - is it one of them?'
Curry said slowly:
'There are outsiders -'
'Yes, in a sense. There is Dr Maverick, one or two of the staff are often with us, there are the servants - but frankly, what possible motive could they have?'
Inspector Curry said:
'And there's young - what is his name again - Edgar Lawson?'
'Yes. But he has only been down here as a casual visitor just lately. He has no possible motive. Besides, he is deeply attached to Caroline - just as everyone is.'
'But he's unbalanced. What about this attack on you tonight?'
Serrocold waved it aside impatiently.
'Sheer childishness. He had no intention of harming me.'
'Not with these two bullet holes in the wall? He shot at you, didn't he?'
'He didn't mean to hit me. It was play-acting, no more.'
'Rather a dangerous form of play-acting, Mr Serrocold.'
'You don't understand. You must talk to our psychiatrist, Dr Maverick. Edgar is an illegitimate child. He has consoled himself for his lack of a father and a humble origin by pretending to himself that he is the son of a celebrated man. It's a well-known phenomenon, I assure you. He was improving, improving very much. Then, for some reason, he had a set-back. He identified me as his “father” and made a melodramatic attack, waving a revolver and uttering threats. I was not in the least alarmed. When he had actually fired the revolver, he broke down and sobbed and Dr Maverick took him away and gave him a sedative. He'll probably be quite normal tomorrow morning.'
'You don't wish to bring a charge against him?'
'That would be the worst thing possible - for him, I mean.'
'Frankly, Mr Serrocold, it seems to me he ought to be under restraint. People who go about firing off revolvers to bolster up their egos! One has to think of the community, you know.'
'Talk to Dr Maverick on the subject,' urged Lewis. 'He'll give you the professional point of view. In any case,' he added, 'poor Edgar certainly did not shoot Gulbrandsen. He was in here threatening to shoot me.'
'That's the point I was coming to, Mr Serrocold. We've covered the outside.
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