He nodded. “Yes. I’ll finish speaking to the members of the, er, Murder Club”—his voice held a note of disbelief as if astonished by the name—“here, and then perhaps I could speak to Mr. and Mrs. Mallowan and their guests at Mallowan Hall later.”

“Whatever you like, Inspector,” she replied, mildly surprised that he would be willing to relocate himself up to the hall. And then she remembered Mrs. Puffley and her apple cinnamon scones. The inspector clearly hadn’t had dinner, and he would certainly remember Mrs. Puffley’s cooking talents.

Aside from that, Phyllida was quite delighted that the inspector wanted to return to Mallowan Hall, for that would give her much more of an opportunity to listen in on his interrogations.

“Why don’t you come inside and sit in the rectory’s parlor,” she suggested. “I can bring some coffee, and you can interview everyone in there.”

Phyllida would be thrilled to serve coffee and whatever leftover treats were available. That would enable her to listen in on those conversations as well, for her experience with Inspector Cork suggested he was likely to miss some important information.

* * *

Phyllida was just preparing a tray to take to the inspector in the sitting room when Molly came into the rectory kitchen.

“I found this, ma’am,” she said, and offered her a small dark bottle.

“Where did you find it?” Phyllida took the bottle of Monteleone’s Special Bitters, ruing the fact that her maid didn’t wear gloves and hadn’t thought to pick it up with a napkin. This bottle of bitters was half full and was presumably the one that had been replaced with a poisoned bottle.

Someone had come prepared.

“It was on the ground behind one of the stone benches under a bush,” replied Molly, once again attesting to her efficiency and attention to detail. “I nearly didn’t see it from the shadows.”

“Thank you very much. You’ll have to show me which bench,” Phyllida said. It might not be important, but then again, if everyone’s movements during the party needed to be accounted for—which of course they would—then it could be instrumental in determining who had the opportunity to replace the bitters with poison.

Outside in the courtyard, the lanterns cast a pleasant yellow glow. The summer day had cooled into early night, and Phyllida saw that clouds were gathering, beginning to obstruct the moon and stars. Nonetheless, she looked around with satisfaction. All of the table decorations had been removed, as well as most of the tablecloths. The glasses and plates were in the kitchen, where Rita was washing them in between sniffles.

Stanley and Bradford, who’d already returned from driving Miss Sayers and Mr. Berkeley—as well as Mr. Dobble—back to Mallowan Hall, had begun to remove the tables.