Black Bess was always ticking off Patricia's beloved Nigel, putting him ri-L lit, you know, when he made silly statements in the way he does sometimes." "You think it was more likely to have been Patricia Lane than Nigel himself?" "Oh, yes. I don't think Nigel would bother, and he'd certainly not go using his own pet brand of ink. He's got plenty of brains. But it's just the sort of stupid thing that Patricia would do without thinking that it might involve her precious Nigel as a suspect." "Or again, it might be somebody who had a down on Nigel Chapman and wanted to suggest that it was his doing?" "Yes, that's another possibility." con'Who dislikes Nigel Chapman?" 'Oh, well, Jean Tomlinson for one. And be and Len Bateson are always scrapping a good deal." "Have you any ideas, Miss Hobhouse, how morphia could have been administered to Celia Austin?" "I've been thinking and thinking. Of course, I suppose the cot ee is the most obvious way.

We were all milling around in the Common Room.

Celia's coffee was on a small table near her and she always waited until her coffee was nearly cold before she drank it. I suppose anybody who had sufficient nerve could have ,dropped a tablet or something into her cup without being seen, but it would be rather a risk to take. I mean, it's the sort of thing that might be noticed quite easily." was The morphia," said Inspector Sharpe, "was not in tablet form." What was it? Powder?" :ea'allyes." Valerie frowned.

That would be rather more difficult, wouldn't it?" :ea'Anything else-besides cotee you can think of?" "She sometimes had a glass of hot milk before she went to bed. I don't tldnk she did that night, though." "Can you describe to me exactly what happened that evening in the Common Room?" "Well, as I say, we all sat about, talked, somebody turned the wireless on. Most of the boys, I think, went out. Celia went up to bed fairly early and so did Jean Tomlinson. Sally and I sat on there fairly late. I was writing letters and Sally was mugging over some notes. I rather think I was the last to go up to bed." "It was just a casual evening, in fact?" "Absolutely, Inspector." "Thank you, Miss Hobbouse. Will you send Miss Lane to me now?" Patricia Lane looked worried, but not apprehensive. Questions and answers elicited nothing very new. Asked about the damage to Elizabeth Johnston's papers Patricia said that she had no doubt that Celia had been responsible.