Sad cypress - Agatha Christie [71]
‘All that we do know is this: That at Nurse Hopkins’ instigation, Mary Gerrard made a will leaving everything she had to “Mary Riley, sister of Eliza Riley”. We know that Nurse Hopkins, by reason of her profession, had access to morphine and to apomorphine and was well acquainted with their properties. Furthermore, it has been proved that Nurse Hopkins was not speaking the truth when she said that her wrist had been pricked by a thorn from a thornless rose tree. Why did she lie, if it were not that she wanted hurriedly to account for the mark just made by the hypodermic needle? Remember, too, that the accused has stated on oath that Nurse Hopkins, when she joined her in the pantry, was looking ill, and her face was of a greenish colour – comprehensible enough if she had just been violently sick.
‘I will underline yet another point: If Mrs Welman had lived twenty-four hours longer, she would have made a will; and in all probability that will would have made a suitable provision for Mary Gerrard, but would not have left her the bulk of her fortune, since it was Mrs Welman’s belief that her unacknowledged daughter would be happier if she remained in another sphere of life.
‘It is not for me to pronounce on the evidence against another person, except to show that this other person had equal opportunities and a far stronger motive for the murder.
‘Looked at from that point of view, gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you that the case against Elinor Carlisle falls to the ground…’
II
From Mr Justice Beddingfield’s summing-up:
‘…You must be perfectly satisfied that this woman did, in fact, administer a dangerous dose of morphia to Mary Gerrard on July 27th. If you are not satisfied, you must acquit the prisoner.
‘The Prosecution has stated that the only person who had the opportunity to administer poison to Mary Gerrard was the accused. The Defence has sought to prove that there were other alternatives. There is the theory that Mary Gerrard committed suicide, but the only evidence in support of that theory is the fact that Mary Gerrard made a will shortly before she died. There is not the slightest proof that she was depressed or unhappy or in a state of mind likely to lead her to take her own life. It has also been suggested that the morphine might have been introduced into the sandwiches by someone entering the pantry during the time that Elinor Carlisle was at the Lodge. In that case, the poison was intended for Elinor Carlisle, and Mary Gerrard’s death was a mistake. The third alternative suggested by the Defence is that another person had an equal opportunity to administer morphine, and that in the latter case the poison was introduced into the tea and not into the sandwiches. In support of that theory the Defence has called the witness Littledale, who has sworn that the scrap of paper found in the pantry was part of a label on a tube containing tablets of apomorphine hydrochloride, a very powerful emetic. You have had an example of both types of labels submitted to you. In my view, the police were guilty of gross carelessness in not checking the original fragment more closely and in jumping to the conclusion that it was a morphine label.
‘The witness Hopkins has stated that she pricked her wrist on a rose tree at the Lodge. The witness Wargrave has examined that tree, and it has no thorns on it. You have to decide what caused the mark on Nurse Hopkins’ wrist and why she should tell a lie about it…
‘If the Prosecution has convinced you that the accused and no other committed the crime, then you must find the accused guilty.
‘If the alternative theory suggested by the Defence is possible and consistent with the evidence, the accused must be acquitted.
‘I will ask you to consider the verdict with courage and diligence, weighing only the evidence that has been put before you.’
III
Elinor was brought back into the court.
The jury filed in.
‘Gentlemen of the jury, are you agreed upon your verdict?’