Miss Marple gently but firmly took the box away from her. Without a word she took it out of the room and went to find Lewis Serrocold. It took her some time because he had gone over to the College – she found him in Dr Maverick’s room there. She put the box on the table in front of him. He listened to her brief account of the circumstances. His face grew suddenly stem and hard.
Carefully, he and the doctor lifted out chocolate after chocolate and examined them.
‘I think,’ said Dr Maverick, ‘that these ones I have put aside have almost certainly been tampered with. You see the unevenness of the chocolate coating underneath? The next thing to do is to get them analysed.’
‘But it seems incredible,’ said Miss Marple. ‘Why, everyone in the house might have been poisoned?
Lewis nodded. His face was still white and hard.
‘Yes. There is a ruthlessness – a disregard -‘ he broke off. ‘Actually I think all these particular chocolates are Kirsch flavouring. That is Caroline’s favourite. So, you see, there is knowledge behind this.’
Miss Marple said quietly:
‘If it is as you suspect – if there is – poison – in these chocolates, then I’m afraid Carrie Louise will have to know what is going on. She must be put upon her guard.’ Lewis Serrocold said heavily:
‘Yes. She will have to know that someone wants to kill her. I think that she will find it almost impossible to believe.’
CHAPTER 16
“Ere, Miss. Is it true as there’s an ‘ideous poisoner at work?’
Gina pushed the hair back from her forehead and jumped as the hoarse whisper reached her. There was paint on her cheek and paint on her slacks. She and her selected helpers had been busy on the backcloth of the Nile at Sunset for their next theatrical production.
It was one of these helpers who was now asking the question. Ernie, the boy who had given her such valuable lessons in the manipulation of locks. Ernie’s fingers were equally dexterous at stage carpentry, and he was one of the most enthusiastic theatrical assistants.
His eyes now were bright and beady with pleasurable anticipation.
Ernie shut one eye.
‘It’s all round the dorms,’ he said. ‘But look ‘ere, Miss, it wasn’t one of us. Not a thing like that. And nobody wouldn’t do a thing to Mrs Serrocold. Even Jenkins wouldn’t cosh her. ‘Tisn’t as though it was the old bitch.
Wouldn’t ‘alf like to poison ‘er, I wouldn’t.’
‘Don’t talk like that about Miss Believer.’
‘Sorry, Miss. It slipped out. What poison was it, Miss?
Strickline, was it? Makes you arch your back and die in agonies, that does. Or was it Prussian acid?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ernie.’ Ernie winked again.
‘Not ‘alfyou don’t! Mr Alex it was done it, so they say.
Brought them chocs down from London. But that’s a lie.
Mr Alex wouldn’t do a thing like that, would he, Miss?’ ‘Of course he wouldn’t,’ said Gina.
‘Much more likely to be Mr Baumgarten. When he’s giving us P.T. he makes the most awful faces, and Don and I think as he’s batty.’
‘Just move that turpentine out of the way.’
Ernie obeyed, murmuring to himself:
‘Don’t ‘arf see life ‘ere! Old Gulbrandsen done in yesterday and now a secret poisoner. D’you think it’s the same person doing both? What ‘ud you say, Miss, if I told you as I know oo it was done ‘im in?’
‘You can’t possibly know anything about it.’
‘Coo, carn’t I neither? Supposin’ I was outside last night and aw something.’
‘How could you have been out? The College is locked up after roll call at seven.’
‘Roll call… I can get out whenever I likes, Miss. Locks don’t mean nothing to me. Get out and walk around the grounds just for the fun of it, I do.’
Gina said:
‘I wish you’d stop telling lies, Ernie.’
‘Who’s telling lies?’
‘You are. You tell lies and you boast about things that you’ve never done at all.’
‘That’s what you say, Miss. You wait till the coppers come round and arsk me all about what I saw last night.’ ‘Well, what did you see?’