‘Not entirely, my lady, no.’
‘It means we’ve been idiots, she said. ‘We’ve been looking for fast-acting poisons that someone could have given him on the day he was killed, or the day before, but what if he was poisoned with these deadly webwhatsits a whole week before?’
‘On market day…’ I said.
‘…at The Hayrick…’ she said.
‘…in the beef and mushroom pie!’ I finished. ‘Gracious. Do you really think so?’
‘Well, it’s better than anything we’ve come up with so far. We need to talk to whatshisname at the pub.’
‘Ronnie, my lady.’
‘That’s the chap. He cooked the pies.’
‘But he didn’t serve them; he was behind the bar. It was “the girl” who brought them out.’
‘Plump woman with no teeth? Yes, she’d have to be in on it. Make sure the right man got the deadly pie,’ she said
‘And suddenly it’s all terribly far-fetched again. Now it’s a conspiracy,’ I said, dejectedly.
‘Pardon me, ladies,’ said Halfpenny, politely.
‘Yes, Mr Halfpenny?’ said Lady Hardcastle.
‘To tell t’ truth, I prefer Jed, missus. But that i’n’t it. Are you saying someone’s been poisoned wi’ these mushrooms?’
‘It certainly looks that way, Jed,’ she said, and briefly recounted the events of the previous week.
‘I see,’ he said when she had finished. ‘Well it weren’t a woman, I can tell thee that.’
‘Could you even see if he were young or old?’ she said.
‘No, just saw a figure over here in t’ woods and by the time I got here, he were gone and so were t’ mushrooms.’
‘If nothing else, it does give us a new poison to investigate,’ I said.
‘Quite so,’ said Lady Hardcastle. ‘Jed, it was a genuine pleasure to meet you. Is there a way we can contact you if we or the police need to talk to you again?’
‘Police? Aye, I reckon they knows where to find me.’
‘Oh?’ she said.
‘I’m “known” t’police,’ he said. ‘They reckon I’m a poacher.’
‘And are you?’
He chuckled. ‘Never been convicted, so I don’t reckon so, no.’
She smiled. ‘But they know where to find you.’
‘Aye, they do. Old caravan over there a way.’ He pointed deeper into the woods.
‘Thank you, Jed, you’ve helped more than you know.’
‘P’raps you could explain it to me some time.’
‘I promise. Over there, you say? We’ll come and find you. But for now you will excuse us, won’t you. I rather think we’ve got a few fresh things to ponder upon and I need tea and a blackboard.’
He chuckled and bowed. ‘As you wish, ma’am.’
We turned and walked back the way we had come, while Jed vanished back into the woods behind us.
‘Unusual man,’ said Lady Hardcastle as we walked back towards the road, filled with a newfound enthusiasm for the case.
‘I rather liked him,’ I said.
‘Oh, I was definitely warming to him,’ she said. ‘And he seems like a very reliable witness. Oh, Flo, we’ve been so dense.’
‘Dense, my lady?’
‘All that messing about with rat poisons and who’d popped round for a cuppa. We should have been thinking on a much grander scale.’
‘We should?’
‘Always, pet. Always.’
It seemed like no time at all before we reached the road.
‘Would you be an absolute poppet and nip up to The Grange to see if we can borrow Bert tomorrow? I think we need to go into Bristol.’
‘Certainly, my lady. You don’t want to come? Lady Farley-Stroud would be delighted to see you.’
‘I know she would, dear, and that’s the problem. I do love the old biddy, but we’d end up gossiping for hours. We’ve got to get on.’
I laughed. ‘Right you are, my lady. Shall I get him round for nine o’clock?’
‘Nine?’ she said, dismayed. ‘Oh, I supposed so. The early bird catches the whatnot.’
By nine, the early bird and I would have caught any number of whatnots and done half a day’s work, but I decided to keep schtum and instead turned left up the hill towards The Grange while she walked brightly into the village and then home.
Lady Hardcastle had given no further hints about her new suspicions and I knew her well enough just to leave her in peace while she thought things through. After supper on Tuesday evening we had sat in companionable silence in the drawing room, with her leafing through her little notebook and occasionally scribbling additional thoughts across the page while I wrote my journal. From time to time she would get up and go into the dining room where I heard the tap of the chalk on the Crime Board. We retired early and I promised not to tease her too much about having to get up early for our trip to Bristol.
I managed to get her up on Wednesday morning with only minimal ragging and we were both washed, dressed and breakfasted in plenty of time for Bert’s customarily prompt arrival as the hall clock struck nine.
‘I swear he must arrive early and wait round the bend in the road,’ said Lady Hardcastle, buttoning her glove. ‘How can a man be so perfectly punctual all the time?’
I opened the door. ‘Good morning, Bert,’ I said. ‘How do you manage it?’
‘Morning, miss,’ said a slightly puzzled Bert. ‘Manage what?’
‘To be so perfectly on time,’ I said. ‘You always ring the bell just as the clock chimes.’
He chuckled. ‘Well, I has Our Dad’s pocket watch – keeps excellent time, that does – so that gets me here near enough… and then you has the loudest hall clock in Christendom. If I gets out of the car as soon as I hears it start to chime, I can ring the door just as it starts to strike the hour.’
‘Oh,’ I said, stepping aside so that Lady Hardcastle could get out of the door. ‘How mundane.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you, miss,’ he said with a grin.
‘Most mysteries offer up a mundane solution in the end, pet,’ said Lady Hardcastle as I locked the door and the three of us walked to the car.
‘Even the murder of Mr Carmichael?’ I said.
‘Actually, that could turn out to be a little more out of the ordinary, but I’d wager you’ll still say, “Oh,” in a disappointed tone if I’m proven correct. Mysteries are at their most interesting while they remain mysterious.’
Bert held the door for her and she slid gracefully into the back seat while I walked around the car and let myself in beside her.
The Gloucester Road took us all the way into Bristol and we saw few people until we arrived in the heart of the city. There were a few more motors, carts and carriages about as we climbed the slight hill towards the Bristol Royal Infirmary on Marlborough Street, our first stop.
‘This is a surprise,’ I said as the car drew up outside the entrance.
‘Just a quick visit to an old university friend, dear,’ she said. ‘I’m sure he won’t mind helping us out.’