The Poisonous Biscuit

by Paul Edwards

  Chapter Six

  At the hospital, Helen was grieving after her daughter Ann, accompanied by her husband. After being there all night, she wanted answers. In the waiting room, there was an old lady talking to everyone, telling stories about her life. There was never a moment she didn't have something to say. Over she came and sat next to Hannah and her husband

  "Hello, what's your situation? I hope things are not to bad for you."

  "Our children are ill, and one has died already" Hannah replied.

  "That's awful, two of my children died, one by drowning and another by fire, it was years ago now but I always think back."

  "I'm very sorry to hear that."

  As nice as she was, they couldn't wait to get away from this lady as she was going on and on. After they’d waited for a good while, out came the nurse thankfully, telling them to come in to one of the rooms. It was almost like a miracle, Sally was awake and smiling, as they'd be waiting for all night. Helen squeezed her daughters’ arm.

  "Oh darling, we love you so much."

  Sally didn't speak, but assured them with a smile and a squeezing of the hand. After telling her the news about her younger sister, Helen explained that she was going to try and see Ben who they'd not heard much about. After enquiring at the desk many times, no satisfactory update was given about Ben. How was he doing? Was he even likely to make it? More to the point, what exactly was the cause of all this? Surely not just some dodgy biscuit that had gone wrong by accident in the cooking process.

  "Hello, are you the parents of Sally and Ben?" a doctor came out and asked.

  "Yes we are, what's going on?" Hannah said.

  "The thing is, this was definitely no accident. We have reason to believe your children were poisoned. More will be clear when the post-mortem comes back from Ann’s body, but we have found traces of some sort of poison from the examinations we have conducted. Also, I'm afraid things are not looking too good for Ben."

  Crying, she ran out of the hospital.

  While all this was happening, back at Orangely Hall, Hannah was wondering why the police were at the door, were they coming to arrest her? Were they coming to search the house or to interrogate her? This was the worst nightmare of her life, there could be no doubt about that.

  "Ill get the door" Peter said.

  "No, I'll get the door, I need to put on a good front." Hannah put her hand on the door handle, unsure of what to do next. Frozen, she didn't want to know what would happen once that door was open, would she suddenly lose control of her entire life?

  At the hospital, Hannah’s husband was chasing her down the road, as tears were streaming down her face and she was screaming. Into the nearest church she ran, and he followed her in.

  "Just leave me for a few minutes. Please" she insisted, while she looked almost in agony at the thought of one child after another going straight out of her life at once. After ten minutes of thought, they went outside and bumped into a familiar face.

  "Hello you two, remember me from the party? I am Alison. I hope your children are ok. If not, I would blame that Hannah, and I've told the police what I think of her." Helen was distraught.

  "We can't be sure it was her! and one of my children has died if you must know!"

  Off they both marched, not wanting to be around someone who seemed like such a trouble causer. Getting back to near the hospital, they nearly decided to go in a pub, as things were getting that bad.

  "Shall we go in there?" Kwiatoslaw said. "On second thoughts maybe not" he then said, after they both paused and looked in that direction for a while. After all, Kwiatoslaw, had a drink problem. It got so bad that he was drinking every night and his wife and children were really affected by it. Realising this he started going to special meeting which helped solve the problem. This would be the worst time to restart such a problem of, and he knew it, despite the temptation to avoid the reality that they were currently experiencing. Hannah instead had another suggestion

  "Should we go for a coffee in a cafe, help clear our heads rather than sitting in that awful waiting room? After all, Sally is getting better, and they won't let us see Ben in intensive care."

  Sitting down in a nice change of environment made them feel a lot better. Not sure what to order, due to not feeling hungry because of the situation, Hannah just said, "I'll have a latte" and her husband who didn't like coffee went for a tea, black tea. They sat there waiting for the world to go by, dreading going back into that hospital again. What news would they receive next? They were supposed to all be going on holiday to Greece the next month, where they would meet up with the Aunt of Kwiatoslaw, Kaleialoha, for their summer holidays. All that planning was ruined now, how would they break the news to their Aunt?

  Inside this cafe, it was cool, it had air conditioning, whereas outside it was very hot, as well as in that hospital which had the heating yanked up full blast it seemed. It was much more homely in here, no screaming, no death, no pain, all bliss. The waiter came over with his order pad and asked if they wanted anything else.

  "No thankyou" Helen replied, "I don't think I'll ever eat again, not without my babies."

  "Sorry, we're going through a hard time, thank you anyway though" her husband replied to the waiter. "Let’s go back to the hospital Helen, check on the kids."

  Up they went to the hospital, checking at the desk if there was any news. Still nothing. They waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. Helen was exhausted, she'd had no sleep. Out came the nurse finally after they had sat there for another hour

  "Are you the parents of Sally and Ben?"

  "Yes!!" they stood up and replied simultaneously.

  "I've got some good news and some bad news." They could not stand any more bad news, not now.

  "The good news is Sally is much better and should be able to leave hospital today. The bad news is, Ben hasn't made it I'm afraid."

  "Nooooo" she cried very loud "Not my baby!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!"

  The nurse placed her hand on her shoulder.

  "I'm so sorry mam." Her husband, trying to hold back his tears tried to comfort her.

  "Come on, let’s be strong for Sally, let’s go in and see her.” They decided to go and see their now only daughter.

  “Mum! Dad!" she ran rover from the hospital bed, and they all had a group hug. Reunited at last, they went in to see Bens body for one last time after explaining to Sally that he had died. She insisted she wanted to say one last goodbye to Sam before they took him to the mortuary for examination. His body lied there, cold and dull, as they were all crying. Each one of them gave him a kiss and said, "I love you Ben." Luckily they'd caught him before the men had come to take his body away, but sadly they didn't get to see Ann, so they'd have to wait until she was in the chapel rest. This was probably for the best, they didn't like the thought of seeing their four-year-old daughter lying there, dead.

  Chapter Seven

  Finally, opening the door at Orangery Hall, Hannah was addressed by a man in uniform

  "I am PC McDermott, can I come in? I'm here about the death of Jack Adersall and the situation relating to this event."

  "Please do come in, yes."

  Trembling, she offered him a coffee and he declined. He started looking around the place, inspecting surfaces. Peter looked like he was going to say something, but he held him breath.

  "Can you show me where this event took place?"

  "Yes officer" she replied, and taking him to the parlour she said, "It all happened in this very room."

  "I'm afraid this house will now be a crime scene, so everyone will have to relocate for now. The thing is, this is now a murder investigation. Can I ask you to come down to the station Mrs Adersall?" Peter was not impressed and interrupted.

  "Whatever you want to ask her you can ask here." Hannah seemed hesitant to go anywhere, and the policeman was having none of it.

  "Hannah Adersall, I'm arresting you on suspicion of murder, You do not have to say anything, But it may harm your defence if you do no
t mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

  Helen and Kwiatoslaw together with their daughter Sally decided to go home now that she was getting better. She was now an only child, poor girl. All the way home, she was crying.

  "Why couldn't it be me, why wouldn't it be me!"

  "How do you think I feel Sally" her mum assured her. "I loved them both so much, me and your father are heart broken." Sally was fourteen, whereas Ben was only eight and Ann was only four. Perhaps Sally was able to take it more therefore, and hence she had survived. Perhaps her immune system was stronger?

  "Do you know what was wrong with me Mum? The doctor never explained anything to me."

  "Yes, it was poison as far as they can gather."

  Sally felt so lucky to be alive. Her poor brother was gone, and her sister, who she'd been so used to playing with for years. This made her feel very guilty, as when she was five her mum was pregnant with Ben, and this made her jealous. She loved being an only child, and then Ben was born when she had not long turned six, which made her furious. Often, she would ram his pram against the wall, things were that bad. These feelings died down a little when Ann was born, and then it wasn't one against the other so much anymore and she'd had a good few years of getting used to not being the centre of the universe. Now that all this had happened, she shouted out loud.

  "I feel so guilty, I hated no longer being the only one, but now I am again I wish I could turn back the clock."

  "There there" her Mum said, tapping her on the shoulder, as she’d kindly sat in the back of the car with her. Her Dad then had an idea,

  "I know what'll take our minds of everything, shall we go to the seaside before we go home? After all, it will do us no good rushing back to be upset in the house, will it?"

  Of to the seaside they went, something they'd never dream of doing, especially after losing two children, but they still had one left and they was thinking of her. They weren’t in the mood for rides or anything dramatic, just a little walk, while remembering the times they had with their younger two.

  "You see that seesaw Sally? When Ben was younger, I used to take him there while you and your mum had some time together, and we'd spend hours on that. That brings back some great memories that seesaw, he loved it."

  "That’s lovely Dad. By the way, that bench over there is in memory of somebody, but not all of the benches are Dad. Should we have one of these benches’ named in memory of Ben? And maybe Sally?"

  "Lovely idea" her mother replied, "your father and I will see what we can do. Shall we head home now?"

  As they were heading home, Helen had something on her mind.

  "Sally, I've got something really important to ask you, and I need you to be honest."

  She looked at her mother, with red rosy cheeks, wondering what she could possibly want to ask.

  "The thing is, Hannah is now at the police station in a cell, and she could go down for something she hasn't done. Now I know you loved your brother and sister very much, but I also know you sometimes felt jealous of them. Darling, I know it might have been a bad thought of the moment that went wrong, but did you have something to do with the death of your brother and sister?"

  Back at the police station, Hannah was furious. Hours had gone by and she was waiting to know if she would be released or not. She knew they had to either let her go or charge her, and yet so far, no decision had been made. It was awful in there, in the cell next to her was a man attempting to sing, presumably a drunken man. No doubt he would be let out once he was sobor the next morning, probably just arrested for disturbing peace and being a danger to himself. For Hannah however, things looked much worse than that.

  There was a noise, like a loud van outside the police station going past slowly. This interrupted her train of thought, stopping the constant worrying. She managed to look out of the window by stepping on top of the bed, which thankfully was not tinted. It was the bin collectors. Distraught was on her face, this meant she had lost so much control of her life that she had missed the bin collection, which was the next morning where she lived. All that rubbish from the unfinished party and she had missed it. This was the least of her worries, but it reminded her how serious things were getting. If she couldn't even put the bins out, how would she do other things which were much more important?

  Clunk, clunk, clunk. The cell doors were being opened. An officer was stood there at the door.

  "Hannah Adersall, would you like to come with me?" They went into an interview room, there was a table and four chairs.

  "We are going to ask you a few questions, if that's alright Hannah."

  Officer: Hannah Adersall, on the first day of April this year, the day of the death of your husband Jack Adersall, whereby he died from eating a poisonous biscuit, you did all the cooking and the food preparation, is that correct?

  Hannah: Yes Officer

  Officer: Who else participated in making the food on that day?

  Hannah: Well, erm, there was my friend Andria, but erm she wouldn't d...

  Officer: Just answer the questions please! Was it only the people who ate a certain large biscuit that died or became ill by this? Before you answer, I would like to let you to know that there are now three deaths involved out of four people who became ill.

  Hannah: Erm, erm, yes.

  Officer: Did you make these biscuits alone? Or were you aided by anyone else?

  Hannah: Alone.

  Officer: We have reason to believe that your husband always let you have the large biscuit by custom. On this one occasion, on which your husband died, did you insist in the parlour that your husband eat this specific biscuit in front of everyone despite him offering it to you? That being the biscuit which you alone made and which you knew would be eaten by him.

  Hannah: I need a lawyer; I am not answering anymore questions without a lawyer.

  Officer 2: Interview suspended at 3:05.

  Chapter Eight

  "Don't be absurd Mum!" Sally said, with extreme anger and confusion appearing on her face. "What are you talking about? My own brother and sister? No way."

  "Sorry, I wish I never asked now. I just had to, otherwise an innocent woman might go down and get a lot longer because of her age, and because you did express resentment over them many times. I'm sorry if that hurt you" Helen replied.

  "If it was me, do you think I would've eaten the biscuit?"

  "No, sorry Sally, I just had to ask."

  They got back to the house, and Sally ran up the stairs in resentment and silence. Helen was exhausted after having no sleep at all, so she went to bed.

  "I'll cook tea" Kwiatoslaw insisted.

  In the police station, Hannah's lawyer turned up, which meant the interview could restart. His name was Graham Pebble, and she had never really had to use him before, never even thinking she would need to. He was in fact, Jacks lawyer really. They had a personal meeting between the two of them before the next interview in which they discussed everything. Before entering the room, he said one last thing to her.

  "It is ok to refuse to answer questions, especially if they are what are known as leading questions. Let me build up your case and don't say too much."

  "Alright" Hannah assured him, "but I am innocent and have nothing to hide."

  "Well they don't know that Hannah, do they, so be careful that's all I'm asking."

  Officer 2: Interview reconvened at 4:25PM

  Officer: Hannah Adersall, as I basically said before the pause of the interview, we believe due to a witness that your husband normally always let you eat the largest biscuit. Despite that, on this occasion in which your husband died, am I correct that you insisted your husband eat this biscuit in front of everyone despite him offering it to you as was custom. This being the biscuit which you alone made and which you knew he was going to eat.

  Graham: Don't answer it, that is a leading question.

  Hannah: No comment.

  Officer: (sigh
s) Am I correct that if you would have eaten this biscuit you would have probably died?

  Hannah: Probably, yes.

  Officer: And your husband did offer it you, right?

  Hannah: Yes.

  Officer: And this is the only case in which you have ever insisted your husband eat the large biscuit and he's complied?

  Hannah: Yes.

  Officer: Then can you understand why this does not look like a coincidence?

  Graham: Don't respond.

  Hannah: No comment.

  Graham: Are you going to release my client or charge her with something?

  Officer: You will be released pending further investigation, but do not attempt to travel.

  Home time had come at last for her. She invited her lawyer to stay over but he insisted that he needed to get back home.

  "Thanks for coming this late on in the day, see you soon."

  "See you soon Hannah, farewell."

  After enquiring about a lift home, the police would not give her one. In the end she decided to get a taxi, because she could afford it and didn't want to trouble her family, nor wait any longer for them to come from all that way as a matter of fact.

  Meanwhile, at Helens house they started eating their evening meal. It was a late one, but it was good enough after what they had been through. As they were sitting at the table there was a long silence, and awkwardness mixed with a load of sad emotions.

  "Thanks for cooking" Helen broke the silence, to which he responded.

  "Pleasure, but don't expect it to become a thing" he joked. Then he patted his daughter on the back, saying "Are you talking me and mum then?" She sighed and said nothing. Next, he joked with her, "Come on, it wasn't me who upset you was it?"

  Helen gave him a gentle slap on the shoulder and was hoping he could talk her around. So, she stood up to leave the room.

  "Just going to use the ladies’ room, back in a moment." While she was gone, they had a chat.