Murder in Outline by Anne Morice

Author:Anne Morice
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dean Street Press
Published: 2021-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

(2)

“Tell me something, Teeny,” I said, on re-entering the flat a moment or two later. “When Billy Boy eventually brought Connie’s glass of water, was it really water, or something else?”

“What do you mean by something else?” she demanded, giving me the Cyclops look.

“Oh well, you know, it could have been brandy or something and that’s why it took him so long?”

This was not really what I had in mind, but I thought a half-truth would be less likely to arouse her fury than the whole one. I was wrong though because the fierceness of her reaction was out of all proportion to the question which, on the face of it, I had considered to be harmless enough.

“Oh, I see what you’re getting at,” she replied in a disgusted voice. “And I know who you’ve been talking to.”

“Do you? Who?”

“Patsy; so don’t bother to deny it. She’s the only one who could have put that idea into your head.”

“The idea that Billy might have given his wife something slightly more stimulating than water, when she’d just had a choking fit and was battling through a crisis? What’s so terrible about that?”

“Oh, don’t go all babyfaced and innocent, it’s not your style. You know very well it’s not as simple as that and I must say I’m disappointed.”

“May we take this one step at a time?” I asked, for I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. “First of all, what are you disappointed about?”

“Old Patsy blabbing to you.”

“About what?”

“Alcohol being at the root of Connie’s trouble, of course. I know that’s Patsy’s private theory, because she once mentioned it to me, but I never dreamt she’d go spreading it around to all and sundry.”

“Well, we seem to be getting somewhere at last,” I admitted. “Although I’m not sure I care for the direction we’re going in. For one thing, I don’t much like being bracketed with all and sundry and, for another, Patsy has never dropped so much as a hint of that kind. I trust I can make you believe that?”

“You’ll have to work pretty hard at it.”

“Oh, I don’t foresee much difficulty,” I assured her. “Just listen to this: supposing, for the sake of argument, that Patsy had done the thing you’ve accused her of and supposing also that I’d thought there was some truth in it, would I then have asked you whether Billy had brought along something stronger than water?”

“Yes, in my opinion, that’s exactly what you would have done.”

“Are you mad, Teeny? He’s a doctor, need I remind you? He’d know better and sooner than anyone if his wife were turning into an alcoholic. How could I imagine he would be so irresponsible as to run around fetching up more of the stuff and literally putting it into her hands?”

“Because, my dear Tessa, knowing you, it would be such a short step from there to assuming that he not only does know, but is actively encouraging her.”

A great light dawned and I said:

“Well,

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