PART 2
"Well I never" said Jones, " It's always the one you least suspect."
"No, I didn't murder Lord Beck" answered Dora. "I was out riding Copper early this morning. I found the fungi in the woods. I didn't
know they were poisonous. I picked them thinking Slugger would like fresh mushrooms to go in his stew. When I got back to
Follyfoot no one was about, only Callie, she was on her way to school. She said straight away they were Death Cap mushrooms
and were poisonous, she'd learnt all about them getting ready for her biology exam. She told me to get rid of them and wash my hands,
so I hid them in the bottom of the bin."
"Well for heaven's sake" said Barnaby, "Why didn't you tell us when I found them." "Because I didn't think you'd believe me" she replied.
"Well, we'll have to have a word with this Callie" said Jones, making notes, "To corroborate your story."
"She's at Thorner village school" said Dora.
"And don't go standing on any dustbins to look through the window" exclaimed Steve.
"Now," said Barnaby, "This is very important Dora, this bag containing the lethal mushrooms, are these all what you picked or are
there any missing?".
"You mean someone could have found the bag and used them to kill Lord Beck" said Lewis. "Possibly" answered Barnaby.
"No, they're all there, I'm sure" replied Dora.
"Oh well, just a thought" said Barnaby. "Still, at least I found them. One nil to Causton I think."
"I think you'll find it's one all" exclaimed Morse. "I've just found this bottle of tablets in the horse medicine cupboard in the kitchen.
You really shouldn't hide the key on the top of it" he said. "It says on the label Phenylbutazone, one hundred one gram tablets, take
2 a day for a week."
"They're for Ladybird" said Steve, "The vet prescribed them for her arthritis the other day."
"Yes" replied Morse, "The bottles dated 3 days ago. So, by my reckoning, 2 tablets a day for 3 days, makes that 6 tablets been used."
" 'Ang on" said Ron, scribbling away on a bit of paper, "I'll just check that."
"Blimey" exclaimed Slugger, "Einstein the second."
"Yeah, that's about right" said Ron, counting with his fingers.
"There's 100 tablets in the bottle" said Morse. "So there should be 94 left" replied Lewis.
"Exactly, but there's only 80 " explained Morse. "That means 14 are missing" said Jones.
" 'Ang about, I'm just checking that" said Ron, pieces of scrawled on paper all over the place.
"Oh for gawds sake give it a rest Ron" replied Slugger, "Otherwise they'll be another murder."
"Excuse me for a moment" said Barnaby, "Have to nip out to my car."
"So why are there 14 tablets missing?" asked Morse. "It has to be someone who works here" said Sergeant Jones. "You all had access
to the medicine cabinet, knew where the key was kept. One of you is the killer. But who?". Everyone stood silent.
"You'd better take statements from them all Lewis" continued Morse. "We have to be efficient here if we're to crack this murder."
"Indeed we do" said Barnaby, returning to the room. "That's why Jones and I had the forethought to call at Beck Hall on the way here
and speak to Lady Beck and to give her our condolences. We like to do things properly at Causton. And she told us that the vet
called to see Lord Beck about his horse this morning. It was very irritated, some sort of a strain."
"Yeah I know 'ow it feels" said Slugger, looking at a bewildered Ron who was scratching his head, strange sums on his bits of paper.
"Now, I've also looked in the medicine cabinet, and all the medicines in it have been signed and administered by the same vet"
continued Barnaby. "Except for these Phenylbutazone tablets, they've been issued by a different vet. Whilst at the car I took the
liberty of phoning the vets up. Apparently the usual vet's on holiday this week, they had to send a stand-in one."
"Yes" said Dora," It was a different vet who called."
"Perhaps he was an imposter" exclaimed Jones. "Perhaps he was the murderer. Perhaps..." " Just a minute Jones" interrupted
Barnaby. "I checked with the receptionist. He is genuine. And, apparently, these tablets, they call them Butes for short...."
"Great imagination there" said Ron. "Yeah" said Slugger, " I reckon even you could have worked that out Ron. If you had any paper left."
"Although they cure horses" continued Barnaby, "When mixed with paracetamol are fatal to humans."
"Yeah" said Slugger. "And I bet they could kill you as well."
"And you can get paracetamol from any chemist without prescription" said Jones.
"Yes, and the vets told me these tablets are slow release, they take about 4-6 hours before they work."
"So" exclaimed Jones, "The tablets wern't given to Lord Beck here, they were given to him this morning. But by who?".
"The receptionist also told me, and this is very interesting, that Lord Beck owned them a considerable amount of money" said Barnaby,
"he hadn't paid his vets bill for about six months. I think that the stand-in vet went to Lord Becks this morning to look at his horse.
He noticed on Lord Becks account he owed a lot of money, and demanded that he paid it. Lord Beck probably told him to mind his own
business. It wasn't Lord Beck who paid the bills, but his mother. The regular vet would have known that and asked Lady Beck and
she would have paid it. But the stand-in vet didn't know that. Lord Beck annoyed and angered him So he went to his van and mixed
a fatal concoction of the tablets with paracetamol that he carried with him. He was a vet, he knew all about the tablets, he put them
in Lord Becks tea when he wasn't looking. He knew they would kill him hours later, when he wouldn't be about. He didn't know Lord
Beck was going to Follyfoot that afternoon. That was just coincidence. Then the vet came to Follyfoot this morning to look at Ladybird,
but really he came to take 14 tablets out of the cabinet when no one was looking to replace the one's he'd taken from his van, to
make sure his stock levels matched so he wouldn't get found out. He didn't think anyone at Follyfoot would notice some of them
were missing."
"Well that all seems very feasible Barnaby" said Morse.
"Thank you" replied Barnaby.
"Except why would the vet kill him" said Morse. "He'd never get the money he owed him if he did that. No, I don't think the vet is our murderer. But someone here is. Arn't they Colonel Maddocks?"
"Uncle?" exclaimed Dora. "He couldn't have had anything to do with it. He's a good, kind, honest, helpful man. He wouldn't hurt a fly."
"They said that about Dr Crippen" replied Morse. "He poisoned and dismembered his wife. You see" continued Morse, "We also
took the opportunity to visit Lady Beck today. Apparently the Colonel visited her this morning. You've seen quite a lot of her just
lately, havn't you Colonel?"
"She's just a friend" he answered.