Back once again in Baker Street, Holmes sank into his leather armchair and reached for the Persian slipper which contained his tobacco. “Something is not right here, Watson. Why should Flora be charged with murder? What have the police found?”
Holmes filled his favourite Meerschaum and lit it. He puffed steadily upon it and then began to read the police report. “Ah, now we have it. Listen to this, Watson. It is a report by Sergeant Grey who attended the scene. 'When I entered the premises at eight in the evening, I questioned the prisoner about why she had not reported the deaths immediately. She told me that she had been pinned beneath the body of her father for several hours and could not move.'
"That's just what Flora said, Holmes." I was pleased to hear that her account to us was accurate.
Holmes nodded and returned to the police report, "The sergeant continues… 'I went into the rear bedroom and whilst the prisoner had said the room had been full of smoke, I could not detect any. There were, however, the remnants of a fire in the grate. I briefly examined the bodies of the prisoner’s parents. There was bruising to the side of the chest and to the head of the father but no marks on the mother’s body. I did, however, find a large hammer under the sink in the scullery. The prisoner seemed confused when questioned about the hammer and, when asked about the bruising to her father's face and torso, said he had fallen down the cellar steps the previous evening. I reported my findings to the Inspector. He was not satisfied with the account given by the prisoner and ordered her arrest'.”
Holmes now had a frown upon his face. “There seems precious little here to level a charge of murder at the child. Perhaps the post-mortem will enlighten us further.” Taking up the report, he read it in silence. After several minutes his head came up and he tapped his lip with his forefinger, saying, “Hmm, we learn a little more from this. It is the report of the post-mortem carried out by a friend of ours, from the Lymington case, Dr John Parry. Give me your opinion, Watson."
I nodded in recognition of the name and Holmes read aloud to me. “On examining the body of James Smith his face was pale but showed signs of significant bruising. However, the skull was intact. There was vomit on the right side of his face and in his hair. On the left side of the torso there was serious bruising, though not sufficient to account for his death. The left arm showed a recent long graze from the heel of the palm to the elbow. There was coal dust residue beneath the fingernails of both hands and the nails of the left hand showed signs of tearing. Blood was discovered on the victims left thigh but that could be attributed to bleeding from the nose of his wife as she lay on him. An internal examination showed that he had three broken ribs, the internal organs showed no congestion which would indicate asphyxia. Samples of blood and lung tissue from both deceased were removed for further analysis.”
Holmes paused. “It is interesting, Watson, that the description of the wife's body is remarkably different. 'Catherine Smith had no bruising to the body, although her face showed a purplish hue. Her nose showed some signs of bleeding and was swollen, as were her gums and lips. Her body looked somewhat 'agitated' as though she had struggled, in contrast to that of her husbands, which looked calm.'
Holmes leafed through the file, saying, "There is a note here also that the stomach contents were removed for examination by Dr Parry as he thought that this could be a case of poisoning.”
I reflected on what I had heard for a minute or so. “There doesn't seem to be a great deal of physical damage, Holmes. Certainly not sufficient to cause death. Examining the stomach contents is both prudent and appropriate in order to confirm or eliminate poisoning as a cause of death. However, we know from Flora that both of the parents were inherently weakened by pre-existing conditions. If it were poisoning, it would take but only a little to cause death.”
I paused for a moment and frowned. “I am concerned regarding the discolouration of the face of the wife. Why just the wife and not the husband also? If they had both been poisoned, would not this poison have engendered the same symptoms in both victims?” I looked across at Holmes who seemed deep in thought and I continued with my assessment. “If Flora had poisoned them both, do you think it plausible that she herself took a mild dose of the poison to appear to have some symptoms, sufficient, perhaps, to put the police off the scent? I think not...although she did behave strangely whilst trying to raise the alarm.”
Holmes considered this before saying, “Yes, that is indeed a puzzle. We need to visit Broad Street and the scene of the crime...if, indeed, that is what it is.” I looked quizzically at Holmes. It seemed to me that there was already a solution forming in his head.