Four Days in October

Chapter Two: Return to Thorney Manor

It was remarkably quiet at Thorney Manor that morning, considering all the confusion of the previous evening. The police had gone back to Scotland Yard at around 6am, taking various prisoners with them. The wounded had been taken away by ambulance and the bodies of the gunmen who had been shot dead had been removed to the police mortuary. Mr Paul Simpson MP and his wife Grace had gone to bed around 6.30am, to snatch a few hours' sleep. The guests and the live-in servants slept late, recovering from the excitement of the shoot-out the previous evening and then the police questioning that had followed into the early hours. Only the servants who lived off the premises turned up on time at 7.30am, and found their colleagues still in bed. 

At 7am Nurse O'Leary had opened the door out of the room where George Manfred and his wife Maria of Gratz were staying, to fetch her patient a glass of water. She found a young policewoman sitting on a chair directly outside the door: WPC Annie Busby. Busby greeted her cheerfully: 'Is she awake?' 

'Mrs Maria is dozing,' answered Nurse stiffly. 'I don't think we've been introduced,' she continued. 

'I'm woman police constable Busby, and Inspector Meadows of Scotland Yard asked me to sit here to stop anyone getting into the room and killing that woman,' said Busby. She held out a right hand to Nurse, who shook it briefly. 'My colleague WPC Pearce is downstairs, looking round the place to check that no one is lurking in corners.' 

'Good,' answered Nurse. 'I'm just going downstairs to fetch some water for my charge.' 

Busby nodded, and moved out of the way to allow Nurse to pass. She then moved back to the middle of the doorway, to bar any would-be visitors. Meadows's instructions to her had been strict, but Busby had not needed to be told: absolutely no one must be allowed into that room, except people Busby knew could be trusted. That cut out virtually everyone in the house, including Mr Simpson and his wife. 

Nurse O'Leary made her way downstairs to the kitchen, where she took a glass at random from a kitchen cupboard, rinsed it at the kitchen tap, filled it and carried it upstairs. Busby allowed her into the room, and Nurse carried the water to Mrs Maria's bedside. George Manfred sat there, holding his wife's hands in his, murmuring words of comfort to her.  

Maria lay very still. Her face was white and her breathing was shallow, but she was still alive despite having taken a bullet in her body the previous evening - a bullet that had been intended for Inspector Meadows. Having sworn several times in the previous few days that he would gladly see the beautiful terrorist dead, Meadows was now in the embarrassing situation of owing her his life. He had commented to Leon and Raymond, however, that if it hadn't been for Maria, he would not have been on the scene; the case would have been dealt with by the Berkshire police. He was there only because Maria was involved, as she was on bail from Scotland Yard. 

Now George took the glass of water from Nurse O'Leary's hand, and held it to his nostrils for a moment to check that it was pure. He sniffed; then he sniffed again. Then he handed the water back to Nurse. 

'That does not smell clean,' he said. 'Do taste it.' 

Nurse O'Leary sniffed, and then said: 'I'm sure it was a clean glass!' 

George wished that Raymond Poiccart was there; he would have tested the water immediately. He said, 'Do find WPC Pearce and ask her to help you check. It may be this glass was contaminated from previous use.' 

Nurse O'Leary retired, puzzled and confused. She went downstairs again and found WPC Pearce in the kitchen examining the glassware by holding it up to the electric light; it was still too early in the morning to use sunlight. 'This is all smeared with something,' she said. 'What do you have there?'