Wainwright was not at home.
"'I did not detect any odour when I opened the library door. No
glasses or bottles or vials or other receptacles which could have
held poison were discovered or removed by me, or to the best of
my knowledge and belief by anyone else.'"
"What happened next?" asked Craig eagerly.
"The family physician arrived and sent for the coroner immediately,
and later for myself. You see, he thought at once of murder."
"But the coroner, I understand, thinks differently," prompted
Kennedy.
"Yes, the coroner has declared the case to be accidental. He says
that the weight of evidence points positively to asphyxiation.
Still, how can it be asphyxiation? They could have escaped from
the room at any time; the door was not locked. I tell you, in
spite of the fact that the tests for poison in their mouths,
stomachs, and blood have so far revealed nothing, I still believe
that John Templeton and Laura Wainwright were murdered."
Kennedy looked at his watch thoughtfully. "You have told me just
enough to make me want to see the coroner himself," he mused. "If
we take the next train out to Williston with you, will you engage
to get us a half-hour talk with him on the case, Mr. Whitney?"
"Surely. But we'll have to start right away. I've finished my
other business in New York.
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