Page:Christie - The Mysterious Affair at Styles.djvu/287

 "But, certainly. Who else? It was most easy for her.  She is of a good height, her voice is deep and manly; moreover, remember, she and Inglethorp are cousins, and there is a distinct resemblance between them, especially in their gait and bearing. It was simplicity itself.  They are a clever pair!"

"I am still a little fogged as to how exactly the bromide business was done," I remarked.

"Bon! I will reconstruct for you as far as possible. I am inclined to think that Miss Howard was the master mind in that affair.  You remember her once mentioning that her father was a doctor? Possibly she dispensed his medicines for him, or she may have taken the idea from one of the many books lying about when Mademoiselle Cynthia was studying for her exam.  Anyway, she was familiar with the fact that the addition of a bromide to a mixture containing strychnine would cause the precipitation of the latter.  Probably the idea came to her quite suddenly.  Mrs. Inglethorp had a box of bromide powders, which she occasionally took at night.  What could be easier than quietly to dissolve one or more of those powders in Mrs. Inglethorp's large sized bottle of medicine when it came from Coot's? The risk is practically nil.  The tragedy will not take place until nearly a fortnight later.  If anyone has seen either of them touching the medicine, they will