Read Online Death at Apothecaries' Hall by Deryn Lake - Free Book Online Page B

lodgings in London and never returned.
    There was a further tap on the door and a servant appeared bearing a tray.
    â€˜Set it down on the table beside me, if you please,’ the Magistrate said, then, hearing the tray deposited, proceeded to pour out two glasses of punch without assistance. ‘And now,’ he said, as the man left the room, ‘to the reason for your visit, my friend. I have a feeling that this is not merely a social call. Could you have come to see me about the recent strange events at Apothecaries’ Hall?’
    John stared, astonished. ‘I swear to God, Sir, that you read minds.’
    Mr Fielding chuckled. ‘Not at all. The outbreak of food poisoning was reported in the newspapers, read to me daily by the redoubtable Joe Jago. At least the important matters are the tittle tattle and gossip I hear from Elizabeth over the breakfast table. Naturally the latest trends in fashion are duly relayed by Mary Ann.’
    The Apothecary laughed, then said, ‘Have you heard about Josiah Alleyn, one of the Liverymen who attended the dinner?’
    The entire atmosphere in the room changed and Mr Fielding raised his head like a dog to a scent. ‘Are you telling me that there has been a fatality?’
    â€˜I believe,’ John replied slowly, ‘that there may well have been a murder.’
    The Blind Beak nodded calmly and sipped his punch. ‘Start at the beginning, Mr Rawlings. It is always the best way.’
    John took a deep draught of the hot comforting liquid and launched into his tale, the Magistrate sitting in silence, the black bandage which hid his eyes turned towards the Apothecary, his head utterly motionless.
    â€˜You have the arsenic with you, you say?’ he asked eventually.
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜Be kind enough to place a crystal on my finger.’
    The Apothecary did so and watched as John Fielding cautiously licked it. ‘A strange taste. One I have not experienced before.’
    â€˜Only safe in very small doses, I fear.’
    â€˜And you believe this was deliberately added to the flour?’
    â€˜Yes, I do. In sufficient quantities to make all those who attended the dinner violently ill’
    â€˜And kill one of them.’
    â€˜Indeed.’
    â€˜Um.’ Mr Fielding frowned. ‘What an extraordinary mind must be behind this. To murder one person is comprehendible, but to attack a whole group is a different matter entirely.’
    â€˜Nicholas, who first alerted me to the idea of poison, thought it might be someone with a grudge against apothecaries in general. A person whose spouse or close relative might have died whilst undergoing treatment.’
    â€˜That would certainly seem the most probable explanation.’
    â€˜But how in heaven’s name do we find such a one? Where does the search begin?’
    â€˜Whoever this person is, he or she must have access to Apothecaries’ Hall and to the kitchen. To mix white arsenic with the flour suggests that they know where the flour jar is kept. A grieving widow, bemoaning the loss of her husband at the hands of a quack, is hardly likely to have that knowledge, now is she?’
    â€˜Possibly not, but the Hall is not barred by sentries. Anyone could walk in.’
    â€˜None the less,’ said John Fielding, refilling their glasses, ‘I feel there must be some prior knowledge in this particular case, so I would suggest that you bend the ear of Mr Clarke and also that of Mrs Backler, remembering, of course, that they are not above suspicion themselves.’
    â€˜Surely …’
    The Magistrate raised an admonitory finger. ‘Believe me. They have the run of the place. I know they have been helpful to you so far, but that could merely be a cover for something more sinister.’
    â€˜Others have the run of the place too, Sir. What about the Master, the Beadle, and all the rest of the dignitaries? I, a humble Yeoman, can hardly start asking them