by Ashton, Hugh
“ We will discover more tomorrow, no doubt,” replied Holmes, and returned to his reflections while leafing through the papers that had been supplied to him by Lestrade.
zz
The next day saw us travelling to Reigate, where we made our rendezvous with Lestrade as had been previously arranged. Mme. Montpensier welcomed us, and made the dining-room available to us. Her appearance remained as of one who had suffered a severe shock to the system, and her face bore evidence of the grief at her loss. It was impossible for me to regard her as the murderer of her own step-daughter, however strong the evidence against her might appear to be.
“ Where shall we start ? ” asked Lestrade of Holmes. The little inspector seemed more unsure of his own abilities than he had the previous evening.
“ Since you have yet to interview Madame Montpensier yourself, I would suggest that this would seem a logical place to begin your enquiries here. I would make the request, though I realise that you are within your rights to refuse, that Dr. Watson and I remain in the room during your questioning.”
“ Very well,” answered Lestrade, and requested me to bring Mme. Montpensier to the room. On entering, Lestrade, with more gentleness than was usual for him, invited her to sit, and he commenced his questioning regarding the events of the morning on which the body had been discovered.
She answered him briefly and concisely, but at times interrupted by sobs, giving the same facts as she had previously reported to Holmes and myself when she had visited us at Baker-Street, and which she had repeated at the inquest. Lestrade then turned the subject to the terms of the will of her late husband, and the conditions under which the money would pass to her before raising the subject of the paper that had been found in the dead girl’s room. Again, she insisted that the person mentioned in the note that had been discovered was her absent husband, Colethorpe. Throughout this testimony, her answers were entirely consistent with what we had heard earlier from her and the evidence she had given at the coroner’s hearing. When she tearfully repeated that she could provide no more information, Lestrade dismissed her, and turned to Holmes.
“ Weeping women are the very devil when it comes to obtaining useful information, are they not, Mr. Holmes ? I find it impossible to pursue any consistent line of enquiry with them.”
“ As is often their intention,” remarked Holmes, sardonically.
“ You believe she is withholding information from us ? ”
“ Without a doubt. As yet, I have no idea what that information may be, but since you have yet to interview the servants involved in this affair, I would suggest that we take our enquiries further by asking them about their impressions of the fateful morning. It has now been so long since the event that we can place little reliance on their memories for the exact facts, I fear, but we should at the least be able to obtain some general idea of the events of that night.”
One Hannah Turvey, the maid who had entered the room first following Mme. Montpensier’s discovery of the body, and who had then raised the alarm, was the first to be called. She was a woman of late middle-age, and had an air of solidity and dependability about her.
She could add little to what we had already been told, except when Holmes questioned her about the note that had been discovered.
“ You found it on her dressing table, I believe ? ”
“ No, sir, I did not. It was lying on a small desk that stands by the window in her room.”
“ Did you say this to your mistress ? ”
“ I am not certain that I did so, sir. I may have simply said to Madame Montpensier that I discovered it in the room.”
“ No matter, it may prove to be of little significance. Let us turn now to the drink that was mentioned in the note. What drink would this be ? ”
“ That would be Miss Annabel’s hot cocoa, sir, which she always drank of an evening before she went to sleep.”
“ And you would prepare it for her ? ”
“ Oh no, sir. That was Sarah’s job—that is, the kitchen-maid, Sarah Nolan. That’s what I said at the inquest.”
“ So you did. I simply wished to make certain of my facts. Why was that not the task of the cook ? ”
“ Cook was almost always gone to bed by the time Miss Annabel was ready for her drink. Sarah would make the cocoa and hand it on a tray to Miss Annabel as she went to bed.”
“ This is all in the transcript of the inquest. In this case, it was not this Sarah who actually handed the cocoa to Miss Stevens, though,” Lestrade pointed out to Holmes.
“ I realise that, but it is always good to have these matters confirmed beyond reasonable doubt.” He turned to the maid. “ What happened to the cup in which the cocoa was served ? ” he demanded of her.
The servant appeared to start weeping. “ You’re not the first one to ask me that, sir,” she answered him through her tears. “ I had taken the tray downstairs that morning and given it to Sarah for washing before I knew what I had done.”
“ You had not read the note ? ”
“ Yes, sir, I had. But it just came natural to me to clean up. I had no thought of anything else.” Her sobs broke out afresh.
“ There, there,” said Holmes kindly. “ No-one can blame you under such circumstances.”
“ Thank you, sir,” she sniffed.
“ Tell me, Hannah, how long have you been in service here ? ”
“ I started with Madame Montpensier when she first came to this country. I was her maid and her dresser when she worked as a dancer, and when she married Mr. Stevens, I stayed as her maid and have continued in her service since then.”
“ She is a good mistress to you ? ”
“ The best a body could wish, sir. She has never been anything but kindness and generosity itself to me.”
“ That is good to hear, Hannah. Thank you. We may require further questions of you, but for now you are dismissed. Please send the kitchen-maid, Sarah, to us.”
While we were waiting for Sarah Nolan to appear, Holmes turned to Lestrade. “ It was culpable of her to dispose of what might have proved important evidence, but there is nothing to be gained by our taking the matter further. What’s done is done, and cannot be put right now. We must now discover the exact circumstances under which the cocoa which was given to Miss Stevens was prepared by this Sarah.”
As he finished speaking, the young woman in question—indeed, she was little more than a girl—entered. Her manner seemed subdued and hesitant, in contrast to her general appearance, which was one of youth and energy. Her face, when she raised it to look Lestrade in the eye, was attractive and might almost have been termed ‘ pretty’, were it not for the dirt and grime consequent on her duties as a kitchen-maid.
“ Now, Sarah,” began Lestrade. “ You usually prepared the cocoa for Miss Stevens and served it to her before she retired for the night. Is that correct ? ”
The girl looked down at the floor. “ Yes, sir,” she mumbled.
“ And you did so on the night that Miss Stevens died ? ”
“ No, sir, I did not. I did not prepare it, and the mistress has said herself, hasn’t she, that she gave it to Miss Annabel.” Her voice was a little clearer, and she raised her head to look Sherlock Holmes in the eye.
Lestrade sat forward in his seat. “ Why did you not mention this at the inquest ? ”
“ Nobody asked me, sir.”
The little policeman sighed heavily and slumped back in his chair. “ Mr. Holmes, please continue.”
My friend took up the questioning again. “ So, Sarah,” he said gently to the girl, who now appeared somewhat terrified. “ If you did not give the cocoa to Miss Stevens, who did so ? ”
“ It was the mistress, sir. Mrs. Colethorpe. I’d started to make the cocoa as I usually do, and had just put the cup on the tray before putting in the hot milk to mix in with the cocoa powder. I was just about to start when Mrs. Colethorpe walked into the kitchen.”
“ Did she often come into the kitchen ? ”
; “ Quite often, sir. She usually came in to talk to Cook, and to give orders for that day’s meals and that sort of thing. It wasn’t common for her to come in at that time of night, but it wasn’t the first time, either, by a long way. Sometimes she liked to make the cocoa, and of course, I couldn’t say ‘ no’ to her when she got that sort of fancy in her head.”
“ What time was this ? ”
“ It was about half-past ten, sir. In fact, I remember the clock in the hall striking as the milk came to the boil. Made me jump a bit, it did, and I almost spilled some of the milk.”
“ I see,” said Holmes. “ And what did she say to you when she came in ? ”
“ I can’t remember exactly, sir, but it was something like, ‘ Don’t worry about that, Sarah, I’ll make sure she gets it.’ And then she started to make the cocoa. Then she picked up the tray and walked out of the kitchen with it.”
“ Was this the first time she had done this ? ”
“ Oh, Lord love you, sir, not at all. I won’t say it was common for her to do this, because it wasn’t, but it wasn’t the first time, like I said to you just now.”
“ Did you see her give the tray to Miss Stevens ? ”
The kitchen-maid shook her head. “ No, sir. She took the tray and walked out of the kitchen with it. I stayed in the kitchen and cleaned up after making the cocoa. If I leave the things till the next morning, Cook gets terrible angry with me.”
Holmes smiled at her. “ I am sure she does, and I am sure that she will be angry with me if I keep you from your duties for much longer. Two more questions. How do you usually prepare the cocoa, and on that night, was the way you were going to prepare the cocoa in any way different from the usual ? ”
The girl appeared to regard the question with a little wonder. “ Why, sir, I was going to make it just the same as I usually do. That is, I boiled up the milk and then I was going to mix a little with the cocoa powder, and add a spoonful of sugar. Then I usually add the rest of the hot milk, and mix it all up. That’s the way I’ve always done it, and I can tell you that I wasn’t going to make any changes on that night.”
“ You watched your mistress prepare the drink ? Did she make it in that way ? ”
“ I was cleaning up some things, sir, but I did notice her making the cocoa while I was doing that. Mixing the cocoa powder with a bit of the milk, and then adding the milk, and a few spoons of sugar, like she usually did. There was nothing strange about it, except that the sugar went in after, which is different to the way I do it, like I say. Nothing that I would not have done myself, really.”
“ Thank you. That is most helpful. We may ask you more questions in the future, but for the moment, you are free to go, unless the Inspector here has any further questions.”
“ If I may, sir— ? ” It was clear that there was something more of which she wished to inform us.
“ Well ? ”
“ The next morning, I was preparing for the breakfast. Cook does the cooking, but it is my job to make the kitchen ready, and to fetch the milk and so on. I was in the pantry, and I noticed Mrs. Colethorpe coming into the kitchen.”
“ What time was this ? ” Lestrade asked her.
“ I hadn’t been up and about for more than about thirty minutes. I am not certain of the exact time, but it would be about half-past six.”
“ Did you speak to her ? ”
“ No, sir, I did not. She was coming in all secret-like, as though she didn’t want to be seen. She was carrying the jar in which we keep the sugar in the kitchen.”
“ You are positive about that ? ”
“ Why, yes, sir. It’s a blue and white pottery jar, and it has the word ‘ Sugar’ written on it. There was no mistaking it.”
“ Why would it be out of the kitchen ? Did you see her remove it on the previous night when she made the cocoa ? ”
“ No, sir. I put that jar back on the shelf myself, after she’d carried the tray with the cocoa to Miss Annabel.”
“ And was it missing when you entered the kitchen the next morning ? ”
“ I didn’t notice, sir.”
“ And it is there now ? ”
“ Yes, sir, it is. But the strange thing is that I saw Mrs. Colethorpe leave the kitchen that morning, and she was carrying the same jar with her when she went out of the kitchen. When she had gone, I went straight to the place where the sugar jar is kept, and it was still there.”
“ And there is only the one jar of that type ? ” Lestrade demanded.
“ Yes, sir. I have never seen any other jar in this household of that shape and colour with the word ‘ Sugar’ on it.”
“ I see,” said Holmes. “ I think I have no more questions for now. Inspector ? ”
Lestrade shook his head, and the girl left us.
“ Why, in the name of everything, could this not all have come out at the inquest ? ” said Lestrade. “ All that was asked was ‘ Did you usually make the cocoa for Miss Stevens ? ’“
“ To which she naturally answered, ‘ Yes,’” said Holmes. “ In her defence, it may be said that she did, after all, tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
“ And why in the name of thunder did Montpensier not tell us that she had made the cocoa herself ? ”
“ I would have thought that was somewhat obvious, Inspector. She had no wish to incriminate herself still further. I agree that the case against her is looking rather black. This business of the sugar jar—or rather the jars, for there can be no doubt that there is more than one such in the case—is a totally unexpected twist.”
“ I think we may conclude that one of those jars contained poison together with the sugar, and was then replaced with one containing sugar alone by Mme. Montpensier early in the morning when she believed herself to be unobserved,” said Lestrade.
“ That would indeed seem to be a logical deduction. I would remind you though, Inspector, that there has been ample opportunity for the disposal of the jar containing the poison. I am certain there is nothing now present in the kitchen that will confirm this report. Furthermore, we have only the word of this one servant girl to inform us of this action.”
“ Do you suspect her of lying ? Of fabricating this story ? ”
“ I suspect her motives in concealing this information until now. Why did she not volunteer this information earlier ? She seems to have her wits about her.”
“ Because she was never asked these exact questions, as you said ? ” I suggested.
“ Quite possibly that is the sole reason, though I find it hard to credit. She seems to be a girl of some intelligence, and to understand the possible consequences of what she was saying to us.”
“ In any case,” Lestrade broke in, “ we should pay a visit downstairs to the kitchen and see this mysterious jar for ourselves.”
The basement kitchen was occupied by the cook, Mrs. Gresham, who obviously resented the intrusion into her domain by three middle-aged gentlemen.
“ If you’re the police, I want you to understand that I was in bed that night. I had a cold, and the mistress told me I should take myself to bed early. As soon as I had served up the dinner for the mistress and Miss Annabel, I took myself to bed. That was about eight o’clock.”
“ My dear Mrs. Gresham,” said Holmes. “ No-one is accusing you of anything. We merely wished to see how you keep your kitchen and your pantry.”
“ Well, I’m sure you’re welcome,” she sniffed. “ If you are going to go poking around, you’ve got to put back everything exactly where you found it, mind.”
“ Rest assured that your kitchen will be left in the state we discovered it,” Holmes told her. “ But maybe you can help us, and prevent us from disturbing you excessively by showing us where the cocoa and all the other ingredients for that drink are located.”
“ The cocoa is kept in this tin here, as you can see,” she said, leading us to a shelf, where the distinctively printed tin stood. The milk would come from the can here, and for them as l
ikes sugar, it’s here.”
We examined the container, which was exactly as had been described to us earlier, and Holmes, with the permission of the cook, took a sample of its contents which he placed in an envelope, Lestrade doing the same.
“ I fear that this will not produce any results, though,” he muttered as he sealed the envelope. “ I think we may be certain that this contains sugar alone.” He addressed himself to the cook. “ Sarah would boil the milk for the cocoa at the range here ? ”
“ She would.”
“ Thank you. Would you mind telling us what you gave your mistress and Miss Stevens for dinner that night ? ”
Her eyes narrowed. “ I hope you’re not suggesting that it was my cooking that killed Miss Annabel ? ”
“ By no means. How could it be when your mistress is alive and well ? They both partook of the same food, I am sure.”
“ Well, sir, yes they did. It was a light meal. Neither of them is a big eater at that hour, so I gave them some clear broth to start with, and they both had some of that, so Hannah told me.”
“ Excuse me,” interrupted Lestrade. “ May we take it that Hannah, Miss Stevens’ maid, served the meal to them ? ”
“ That’s right, sir. She did that. So, as I was saying, they started with the soup and then I gave them a nice bit of haddock, poached in milk, with potatoes and carrots and sprouts. And I used the milk I’d used for the fish to make a nice parsley sauce to go with it. I always say you can’t beat a nice parsley sauce to go with haddock cooked that way.”
“ Indeed so,” agreed Holmes, smiling.
“ There was a savoury of devils on horseback, and then they had stewed plums.”
“ And both partook of all the dishes ? ”
“ That they did, but Miss Annabel was never a heavy eater, and she didn’t eat much that night.”
“ Did they take any wine or anything to drink with the meal ? ”
“ The mistress, being French, liked a drop of wine with her food. No more than a glass with a meal. Miss Annabel, though, she never touched a drop. She would have water. And the mistress had water as well as her wine,” she added. “ Don’t go thinking it was the water that did it.”
