[MaC] Everything Stops for Tea

[Jonathan Katalenic]

"Ah...yes.  Of course," Cyril said hesitantly.  It was
obvious it would do more damage to resist their
efforts.  "This way, ladies."  He motioned toward the
kitchen, his other arm protectively around Florence's
waist.

Lucinda followed with Nicola.
 
In the kitchen, Florence showed them the tea leaves in
the drainer, and the rest of the paraphenalia.  There
was no sign of any residue on the leaves.
 
"And, if it's what I think it is, it would be hard to
remove," said Lucinda thoughtfully.  "This suggests
that it wasn't the teapot that was poisoned - but the
sugar, the milk, or one of the cups."

"Who else had tea at the same time Fitzroy did?"
Marion Mauberley asked sharply.  "And don't let too
many people handle the pot or cup.  Fingerprints. 
Does anyone have the means to test for them?"

Lady Pamela did," said Oswald from his position at the
top of the stairs, still watching the bathroom door. 
"And she spilled most of it over her dress - perhaps
fortunately."

"Perhaps we should gather the other cups as well,"
Cyril called back over his shoulder to anyone
remaining in the room.

"I'll do that," said Marion, moving forward.  "And
mark them, as well."  She rummaged in her handbag;
unsurprisingly for a journalist, it contained, among
other things, a small notebook and a pencil.

Marion began scanning the room for teacups.

 
There were quite a few, but none of them bore any
traces of a suspicious residue.
 
(OOC - anyone want to check the milk or the sugar?)

"I think we need to alert an ambulance," said Lucinda,
aware of the banging coming from the bathroom.  "I'm
going to go down and collect our fingerprint case -
not that I think we'll find anything, but we ought to
check. And we can go out and see if we can get an
ambulance brought."

"I'll go with you," said Florence, a little shakily. 
"I need some fresh air... "

At the shouts from the group downstairs, Cyril called
back, "Coming!" and rushed to assist them.

Nicola headed over to the milk and sugar. 'Good thing
I did decide to wear gloves,' she thought as she
picked up a spoon and started sifting through the
sugar, looking for residue.

Following this, she started gently tilting the milk
container to shift the milk from one side to the other
and look for any residue inside it.


		
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