Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers Read Free Book Online Page A

the stuff himself, or that his cousin had given it to him. She was influenced, rather oddly, by the fact that she had attended one or two arsenic trials, and had not been satisfied by the verdict in some other cases – notably the Seddon trial. She has no opinion of men in general (she has buried her third) and she disbelieves all expert evidence on principle. She said that, personally, she thought Miss Vane might have done it, but she wouldn’t really hang a dog on medical evidence. At first she was ready to vote with the majority, but she took a dislike to the foreman, who tried to bear her down by his male authority, and eventually she said she was going to back up my friend Miss Climpson.”
    Sir Impey laughed.
    “Very interesting. I wish we always got this inside information about juries. We sweat like hell to prepare evidence, and then one person makes up her mind on what isn’t really evidence at all, and another supports her on the ground that evidence can’t be relied on. How about the man?”
    “The man was the artist, and the only person who really understood the kind of life these people were leading. He believed your client’s version of the quarrel, and said that, if the girl really felt like that about the man, the last thing she would want to do would be to kill him. She’d rather stand back and watch him ache, like the man with the hollow tooth in the comic song. He was also able to believe the whole story about purchasing the poisons, which to the others, of course, seemed extremely feeble. He also said that Boyes, from what he had heard, was a conceited prig, and that anybody who disposed of him was doing a public service. He had had the misfortune to read some of his books, and considered the man an excrescence and a public nuisance. Actually he thought it more than likely that he had committed suicide, and if anybody was prepared to take that point of view he was ready to second it. He also alarmed the jury by saying that he was accustomed to late hours and a stale atmosphere, and had not the slightest objection to sitting up all night. Miss Climpson also said that, in a righteous cause, a little personal discomfort was a trifle, and added that her religion had trained her to fasting. At that point, the third woman had hysterics and another man, who had an important deal to put through next day, lost his temper, so, to prevent bodily violence, the foreman said he thought they had better agree to disagree. So that’s how it was.”
    “Well, they’ve given us another chance,” said Mr. Crofts, “so it’s all to the good. It can’t come on now till the next session, which gives us about a month, and we’ll probably get Bancroft next time, who’s not such a severe judge as Crossley. The thing is, can we do anything to improve the look of our case?”
    “I’m going to have a strenuous go at it,” said Wimsey. “There must be evidence somewhere, you know. I know you’ve all worked like beavers, but I’m going to work like a king beaver. And I’ve got one big advantage over the rest of you.”
    “More brains?” suggested Sir Impey, grinning.
    “No – I should hate to suggest that, Biggy. But I do believe in Miss Vane’s innocence.”
    “Damn it, Wimsey, didn’t my eloquent speeches convince you that I was a wholehearted believer?”
    “Of course they did. I nearly shed tears. Here’s old Biggy, I said to myself, going to retire from the Bar and cut his throat if this verdict goes against him, because he won’t believe in British justice any more. No – it’s your triumph at having secured a disagreement that gives you away, old horse. More than you expected. You said so. By the way, if it’s not a rude question, who’s paying you, Biggy?”
    “Crofts and Cooper,” said Sir Impey, slyly.
    “They’re in the thing for their health, I take it?”
    “No, Lord Peter. As a matter of fact, the costs in this case are being borne by Miss Vane’s publishers and by a – well, a