Death with Blue Ribbon (19 page)

‘I use the word suspects in the conventional sense. I did not regard the majority of these people as even remotely suspect. But there were certain anomalous circumstances which, too late for action, aroused my curiosity.

‘First of all the bitter enmity between Grace Marvell and Miss Trudge. I felt there was something excessive and not quite genuine about it. I first heard Grace Marvell speak of Miss Trudge's devotion to Imogen as “bitch-like”. “I can't bear her,” she told me, quite unnecessarily. Then Gloria Gee told me on Biskett's authority, “those two hate each other now though they were friendly enough till about three months ago.” Again, when the question of an injection arose, Biskett reported that they “had the same thing with her about three months ago” and the same space of time had passed since the reappearance of her husband Dudley Smithers. Finally, there was Mrs de Mornay's evidence on this point. “She (Miss Trudge) used to be very thick with Grace Marvell. But that ended in a blazing row about three months ago … They shouted at one another like fishwives.” This surprised Mrs de Mornay who never thought Miss Trudge “had it in her.”

‘She was quite right, Miss Trudge hadn't. The quarrel was faked.'

Carolus paused, aware now of Moore's keen interest.

‘If I had needed more evidence that the quarrel was pure stagecraft and make-believe, I had it when the contents of the will had been told them. If they had been genuinely at daggers drawn, Grace would never have rallied Trudge to fight the will
with
her, as she did. Each would have tried for herself.
But Grace, in the fury of the moment, showed that she and the secretary worked together. “We must do something. We're going to fight this thing tooth and nail”, she said to Trudge.

‘No, the quarrel was faked because it suited the purpose of these two women, who were both suffering under the heel of Imogen, and who believed (what until that time was true) that they would inherit everything on her death.'

‘Purpose, Deene?' questioned Mr Gorringer. ‘What purpose?'

‘They decided to kill Imogen Marvell.'

‘Good gracious me! Are you certain of what you say?'

‘No. I'm not. I probably never shall be. I have warned you that the evidence is circumstantial. But my theory fits the facts, such as they are.

‘Three months before she died, Imogen Marvell had one of her violent fits of hysteria and her doctor gave her an injection of Dormodina. Both Miss Trudge and Grace Marvell—who described the occasion—saw the effects of this. The doctor may even have warned them (as a doctor warned me on a similar occasion) of the very remote but none the less possible chance of suffocation during a sleep so induced. They were then “very thick”, I was told. Suppose they decided that on the next occasion when Imogen was given such an injection they would make sure of that suffocation in a way that would not be detected.

‘Their first step was to quarrel so that there could be no imputation of collaboration. They did not, Mrs de Mornay told me, speak to one another for a week after their noisy quarrel (so foreign to the nature of both), and had “never been more than barely civil since it happened”.

‘They had everything to gain. They knew that Imogen
Marvell had made a will in their favour and they did
not
know—Mrs de Mornay was sure of this—that the will had been changed. They were waiting for their chance.

‘It came at the Fleur-de-Lys after Imogen had swallowed Bridger's emetic in the
scampi.
Imogen felt she had been made to look ridiculous both in the restaurant and in the press. She raved and Grace Marvell, playing her part, induced Dr Jyves to inject Dormodina.

‘Then it was Maud Trudge's turn to act according to plan. She deliberately scratched her arm till blood came, implying by inventing foolish explanations that Imogen had done this in a fit of temper. Grace Marvell went for sticking-plaster and alcohol. These were necessary for their plan. Had they been in the luggage of any of them it might have aroused suspicion. So they purchased them openly in order to treat Miss Trudge's arm.

‘Miss Trudge was the Macbeth of the conspiracy, needing Grace's support and determination to make her act. But she did so. She stayed with Imogen when the injection had been given and remained with her, or near at hand, until she felt sure that her deep Dormodina-induced sleep would continue through almost anything. She sealed her mouth with sticking-plaster, then her nose. The unfortunate woman probably struggled very little. Miss Trudge was equal to that. After a few spasmodic movements she died, and Miss Trudge could remove the plaster and with the alcohol all traces of the plaster. The acting of both women, born of despair and greed, was so good that it deceived me. It was not until Mrs de Mornay described them as shouting at one another like fishwives that I suspected the truth and the sticking-plaster and alcohol seemed to me evidence. Then it was too late.

‘The timing of the actual murder is interesting. Dr Jyves gave Imogen the injection at about 9.10 and Trudge remained with her while Grace came downstairs. At 9.35 Stefan went to the room with a bottle of champagne which Imogen had ordered. He found the lights out and Imogen “snoring like a pig”. Trudge may have been waiting in her own room until she thought Imogen would be fully under the effects of the drug, she may have gone into Imogen's bathroom. Stefan left the bottle. Trudge thereupon locked the door, one may suppose, and fortified with the champagne carried out her task. She rejoined us downstairs at 10.20. When Dudley Smithers looked in on his wife at 10.50 she was dead.

‘What Trudge and Grace did nothing to simulate was their anger and dismay when they found that, purely to spite them it would seem, Imogen had left her fortune to her husband. That was genuine enough and will probably continue to the end of their lives. They have been punished certainly, but I do not think either of them will ever stand trial for murder. Unless…'

‘Unless?' asked John Moore, breaking his long silence.

‘Unless, by chance, the case is re-opened and an exhumation order is made and some trace of the sticking-plaster is found round Imogen's mouth or nose. All very unlikely. Or unless the two women fall out and are guilty of some wild indiscretion. Or Miss Trudge, less balanced than her co-conspirator, does something mad about it. Even then there couldn't be much proof. It was quite a clever murder and needed a good deal of patience and determination.'

‘Are you seriously asking us to believe,' said Mr Gorringer, glancing towards Moore in the hope of support, ‘that the death
of Imogen Marvell was in no way connected with these blackmailing villains whom we have now laid by the heels?'

‘Only very indirectly. They gave her an emetic in order to force Rolland to pay protection money. It was through the effects of that emetic that Imogen Marvell got herself into a condition to make an injection advisable and give Trudge and Grace the opportunity they wanted. That was the only connection. I can find no evidence at all that Imogen herself was being blackmailed or, as Mrs de Mornay more credibly suggested, was working with the blackmailers. She was a victim of the hatred she inspired in her followers and their greed for her money.'

‘Remarkable!' said Mr Gorringer. ‘One might say astounding.'

‘Not really,' said Carolus. ‘Is human nature ever really astounding? There are plenty of precedents, I am sure, even for Imogen herself. But I hope I may never see blue ribbon again.'