Page 70 of A Whisper at Midnight

When it seemed the coroner was finished, Tilda surprised him—and probably everyone in the room—by asking if she could pose a question of her own.

“That would be highly irregular, Miss Wren.”

“Nevertheless, may I? The arsenic poisoning is a great surprise. Can you share how acute the poisoning was?”

“If you’re asking whether the arsenic contributed to Mr. Chambers’ death, it did not. Though if he’d continued to ingest it at the same levels, I expect he would have died from the poison in the near future.” The corner pursed his lips. “You may be seated, Miss Wren.”

Hadrian took that to mean that she was not to ask any further questions.

Next, Graythorpe questioned Pollard who provided an alibi for when Chambers had been murdered. Pollard had been atArthur’s until very late—or very early, depending on how one looked at it—with his cousin, whom he’d brought to the inquest. That was the gentleman who’d been standing with him earlier. And the woman was, apparently, Pollard’s wife.

Finally, Graythorpe asked Daniel and Oliver Chambers if they would answer a few questions. The coroner queried Oliver about investing in the store with Pollard—which he’d also discussed with Pollard a few minutes earlier. They both indicated that Louis Chambers hadn’t wanted to Oliver to invest.

When asked why, it was the eldest brother, Daniel, who responded. “Louis wanted to do something on his own. I inherited our father’s engineering firm, and Oliver had pursued a career in the church. Until recently, that is.”

Graythorpe addressed Oliver. “Was Louis upset with you for trying to intrude on his business plans?”

“Yes.”

“And now you are benefitting from his death since you are, in fact, going to invest in Pollard’s store.”

“We have not yet finalized the arrangement,” Oliver said quietly, his gaze focused on the floor.

The coroner looked toward Pollard once more. “Mr. Pollard, is it your intent to allow Mr. Oliver Chambers to invest?”

Pollard nodded. “Yes.”

Graythorpe returned his attention to Oliver. “You will benefit from your brother’s death.”

“No, he would have made the investment anyhow,” Daniel said, sounding angry. Hadrian couldn’t see his face. “Louis was going to have to accept him.”

“Why?” Graythorpe asked crisply.

Daniel frowned. “Because he was out of funds.”

The coroner arched his brow. “How do you know that?”

“I know because I’d been giving him money periodically for years and recently stopped. I refused to watch him recklesslyspend.” He pressed his lips together, his expression one of frustration and sadness.

“Thank you, Mr. Chambers. And Mr. Chambers.” Graythorpe turned his head to the jury. He asked if they needed to step out to deliberate or if they could come to a quick conclusion.

The jurors murmured amongst themselves and almost immediately returned their decision—Chambers had been murdered.

It wasn’t shocking, but still people reacted, muttering and whispering.

The coroner thanked the jury, then urged the police to find the murderer as soon as possible, noting that they had an abundance of suspects. Graythorpe’s gaze moved over those assembled, and for a brief moment his eyes connected with Hadrian’s. Swallowing, Hadrian jerked his attention toward Teague who’d stepped forward.

“I am Detective Inspector Teague. If you knowanythingat all about Mr. Chambers, please speak to me. I will remain here for a short while. You may also visit me at Scotland Yard.”

Everyone began to stand. Tilda clasped Hadrian’s forearm briefly. He turned toward her. “You did well,” she murmured. “I’m sorry you had to answer all that.”

“It’s all right. I look forward to when this is history once more.” He gave her a small smile.

“I’d like to go to the Chambers’ house,” Tilda whispered. She glanced toward Beryl who was speaking to Mrs. Styles-Rowdon. “Do you think Beryl will mind?”

Hadrian understood what Tilda wanted to do. “You want to investigate the poisoning.”

Her eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. “Yes. I would really like if Massey would come, but I’m not sure he will.”