Page 151 - Labelle Gramercy, Detective

Airtight

untangle. He did have the means, under this theory, as well as the
opportunity. Motive? Murky, at best. And he did not know about
Blanche.”
“That she and Toro were, uh, lovers?”
“No. That she was under pressure from Semotech to sabotage the
project. If he had been aware of that, things might have turned out
differently. But he never found out, despite the availability of that
information. I had to ask myself why.”
She blew on the coffee again and took a couple of sips. Mine was
still steaming, so I waited.
“I finally arrived at the only explanation to fit the facts. You knew
about Blanche, didn’t you? Don’t bother to answer; I’ve already
talked to Ella Stissidy at Semotech, and she confirmed your inquiry
more than a year ago. So you should have blown the whistle, never
allowed Blanche Mandel to participate. But you didn’t, because you
needed an out, in case Toro proved more loyal than you feared.”
“What—what are you saying?” I stammered.
Lt. Gramercy took a hearty swig of coffee and looked me straight
in the eye. “You had it set up so that you could abort the mission at
any time, simply by pretending to discover Blanche’s connection to
Semotech. Otherwise, if Toro continued to pursue Dr. Reath, you
would simply remain silent and let the poison do its work at the
farewell party. You knew no one else would partake of the Ovaltine,
and its taste effectively masked the BugOff. Toro’s affair with the
victim would come out, he would probably have handled the poison
container, and he would be blamed. You could savor your revenge
for a whole year before it was taken, Miss Day, and then enjoy your
ex-lover’s difficulties facing a murder charge. Poison has often been
called a woman’s weapon; in this case it definitely was. What have
you to say?”
I laughed, a bit hysterically, I suppose. “Just this, Miss brilliant
know-it-all detective! You’re not going to be conscious in a few more
seconds. BugOff isn’t the only poison at my disposal. How you could
be so stupid as to accept a drink from me after solving your precious
crime is just amazing. The next face you see will be an emergency
room doctor’s—if you ever see anything again. I’ve got an air ticket
to Costa Rica at home, and a Swiss bank account full of money I

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