“The second option, and the more likely one, is that very simply, Lettice Whittlesby would have done the same thing she did with the car accident: drink from the cocktail and then drop it whilst pretending to be poisoned. She would make sure everyone knew that her husband suggested she drink from it first. Whether it was a lie or not, it wouldn’t matter at that point when she was nearly a victim and someone else had already been poisoned.”

Bradford blinked, frowned, then nodded. “I suppose that could be the case. It seems awfully like she would leave a lot of things to chance.”

“Quite. And that is precisely what happens with most murders: the killer often leaves many things to chance. That is why they get caught.”

Having decided there was nothing more to say on the matter, Phyllida once more turned to go back inside. But Bradford stopped her again.

“One more thing, Mrs. Bright. You left this in the Daimler some time ago,” he said.

She took the handkerchief he offered. It was wrinkled and had clearly not been laundered recently. But it was hers. “Thank you for returning it,” she said.

“Of course,” he replied. “Myrtle has quite finished with it.”

And with that—and a broad grin Phyllida didn’t quite understand—he turned and walked away, the dark bundle of curls bounding after him.

She glowered at his broad shoulders and the overexcited dog and was, quite frankly, more than pleased to return to her far more orderly, sedate, and efficient world of cats, chintz, and housemaids.

MRS. BRIGHT’S COCKTAIL RECIPE

MRS. BRIGHT’S COCKTAIL RECIPE

Due to the harrowing events at the Murder Fête, Mrs. Bright was curious about Mr. Whittlesby’s Vieux Carré cocktail, particularly because of her fondness for rye whisky. She took it upon herself to take up a second investigation, this time into the ingredients of the cocktail that originated in New Orleans, and decided to make her own version of the drink.

She finds this a delightful libation to be sipped near a roaring fire on a winter’s night, or on a cool, summer evening. Even when, as is wont to happen, there is a rainy day in Devon. A Vieux Carré, she finds, is a delightful way to take off the damp and chill. As always, the mixture of cocktail could easily be added to a cup of hot tea for a unique hot toddy.

Mrs. Bright suggests the following recipe for any interested parties who might wish to make their own version of the cocktail favored by Alastair Whittlesby.

1 oz rye whisky
1 oz cognac
1 oz sweet vermouth (although Mrs. Bright prefers a trifle less vermouth, and suggests the bartender might not wish to fill the measurer to the full one ounce)
.3 oz Benedictine
3-4 shakes of bitters of the mixer’s preference (see note below)