John opened the door and sighed at the crush of people packed in the stuffy interior. The stifling heat only increased the further he tried to press to the center of the mob, removing his jacket as he did so. Robert stayed back by the entrance, shaking his head when John tried to summon him forward, and folded his arms over his chest to block the entrance to the room.

Clearing his throat John tried to get everyone's attention. "I'm DCI Bates and I'll be conducting the interviews this evening." Their chatter did not die down so John raised his voice to shout. "Would everyone please shut up?"

The room quieted and John nodded to all of them. "Thank you. I'm DCI Bates and I'm here to start the interviews about the events of this evening. Alright then, now that we're all here I need to understand, from all of you, what happened." Everyone started speaking at once so John shouted, "One at a time."

"What order do you want sir?" A tall man, holding a class of something dark colored with his fingers keeping a still smoking fag from dropping ash onto the carpet. "We're all in a bit of a tizzy here."

"I'm aware and I apologize for that." John pointed to Robert, "My partner, DI Crawley will start with the gentlemen and I'll begin with the ladies."

"Any reason for that?" A slender woman with dark hair and darker eyes raised one of her eyebrows.

"I'm nicer than he is and we don't want to make this any worse than it already is." John rubbed his hands together, "What you've all witnessed, to whatever degree you actually witnessed it, is horrible and I want to make sure we find answers without causing you anymore undue stress."

"How very kind of you." The woman rolled her eyes and John nodded across the room to Robert.

"DI Crawley'll escort the men to another room and run the interviews one at a time. Please don't leave before you've been interviewed or else our dutiful constable downstaris'll have a nice place for you to wait that's not nearly as comfortable as this club." John pointed to the couch, "If the ladies'll please take seats on the couch."

The room cleared quickly and John laid his jacket on the back of a chair. He sucked the inside of his cheek, risking a look through the windows of the Grey Room to see the forensic scientist guiding her team around the body still in the middle of the floor. Turning back to the women on the sofas he took a deep breath.

"I know this was shocking, ladies, but who wants to go first."

"What exactly are you asking us to tell you?" The same woman from before, leaning on her crossed legs, drawled out while rubbing at her forehead. "The lights went out and that was it."

"I guess you want to start."

"I don't mind starting."

John guided them both to the corner of the room and directed the woman to a seat. He took his own chair, facing the woman while flipping open his pad, "Can you start by telling me your name?"

"I'm Mary Crawley." John's eyes widened and she waved a hand, "Yes, I know, it's not a name you hear often."

"Then you're related to DI Crawley?"

"He's my father but we haven't spoken in ages."

"Any reason for that?"

"Not anything dramatic, if that's what worries you." Mary sat back in her chair, "My husband Matthew and I have been busy with our business."

"What is it that you do?"

"We're land developers. Matthew inherited a bit of money from a man who treated him like his son and we used it to build our business."

"Any relation?"

"No," Mary shook her head, "Matthew was good friends with his daughter, Ms. Lavinia Swire, and cared for her father until he died. Stayed by his bedside until the last moments."

"Didn't Ms. Swire stay there too?"

"No, she died a year before her father. Scarlet fever she picked up while abroad doing missionary work."

John nodded, pointing his pencil at the window. "And what were you and your husband doing here tonight?"

"Celebrating." Mary smiled, "We're some of the founding patrons of this lovely place and it's our tradition to come here on special occasions."

"Two questions then, why here and what did you have to celebrate?"

"I've been coming here since I was a child. One of the owners, Mr. Carson, has been a great influence in my life. He used to care for me when I was young." Mary pointed to one of the other women, "That's his wife, Mrs. Hughes. Known her a long time too."

"Are you trying to advocate for their characters, Mrs. Crawley?"

"Would I be out of character to do so?"

"Not at all." John tapped his pad, "I return to my second question. What was your special occasion?"

"Matthew and I just closed a very lucrative deal and we finally signed the papers this afternoon. We came here for a night out since we haven't had one since our son was born."

"How old?"

"He's four now. Bit of a handful but he looks just like his father and that's the most helpful thing for a possibly frustrating child."

"I wouldn't know."

"Are you married DCI Bates?"

"I was but not anymore."

Mary shrugged, "I guess she missed out then."

"You can ask her," John pointed to the end of the far couch. "She's right over there."

"Oh," Mary grimaced, "I wish you luck then. I had half a conversation with her while trapped in this room and I can tell you I'd rather scoop my own eyes out with a melon baller than speak to her again."

"Then you understand a fraction of my pain."

"I think you must've been a masochist then." She took a breath, "I'd have risked a trial to kill that woman."

"I wouldn't." John shook his head, "Could you tell me what happened then, to ruining your celebratory evening?"

"Matthew and I were sitting there, enjoying wine before dessert, when a rather boisterous group near our table got rather rowdy." Mary shuddered, "Some people have no decorum."

"What about the six people that then tried to rob the place?"

Mary frowned, "I'm sorry?"

"The constable at the door told me that seven people broke in here, tried to rob the place, and then left a dead man in their wake."

"Then he's wrong because no one broke in, at least not the way you'd think." Mary shifted in her seat, "The dead man was sitting at the table with six other people."

"Could you identify those people, if asked to do so?"

"They're all still here."

John stopped, her brow furrowing, "Then what would give the constable downstairs the impression that six people got away?"

"No idea but I could tell you that the woman you pointed out was one of them. There were at least three other men I could see and then two others I only saw from the back. A man and a woman."

"What happened then?"

"Three of them vanished, two men and the woman I mentioned, and then the man who died got even louder. He was raucous about something but the others tried to shut him up for a few moments." Mary shook her head, "The lights went out and then there was a choke. When the lights came back on the man was choking on the floor. Sybil tried to help him but the man's face purpled and that was it."

"That was it."

Mary sobered, her face graying slightly. "You could still see the surprise on his face. He didn't see it coming."

"What about the others from his table?"

"The ones who vanished never reappeared and the two other men kept their distance while the woman you said was your wife managed a strangled scream."

"Seeing death can do that to you."

"I haven't seen it enough to know." Mary pulled at her bag, taking the watch out, "Am I free to go? The woman watching my son will want more money since we've kept her into the wee hours and we promised we'd be back before morning."

"If your father's done interviewing your husband than you're free to relieve your sitter because as far as my questions are concerned I think I'm done." John flipped the notebook closed, "You may go Mrs. Crawley but do try to stay in touch."

"You might have more questions for me?"

"We might have more questions for everyone." John stood, "The nature of a case is that we're working in the bind until we know a lot more. We're just starting these questions with what we've got at the beginning as we hope the rest of it susses out the more we hear from you."

"Then I'll see if I remember anything else but mostly I just hope the second half of my celebratory evening I better than the first half was."

"I wish you luck on the second half then Mrs. Crawley." John extended his hand, "And I do wish we'd met under different circumstances."

"Maybe Matthew and I should have you for dinner." Mary shook his hand, "After the case finishes of course. We want to discuss how you solved it."

"You've a decent amount of faith in me."

"I tend to think well of policemen." Mary nodded her head at him. "Good evening DCI Bates."

"It's more like 'good morning' now Mrs. Crawley but the sentiment is still well received."

John waited for her to leave the room before turning to the couches, "If I could have Sybil next?"

Anna dusted the tableware and stepped back, looking down at the body. "You seem to've made a dinner for yourself."

"Do you always talk to the body?" The dark-haired woman dusting the place settings next to her looked up from her work, blowing gently to clear the excess dusting powder.

"As a doctor once told me, you should always talk to your patients as it humanizes them." Anna scanned the dinnerware, "Do we have prints for all the guests tonight Jane?"

"I've got Rose and Atticus taking them as they leave their interviews." Jane moved back from the table, "We've got seven sets of distinctive prints here. One for each place setting."

"And when's Doctor Clarkson coming for the body?"

"Said he'd be sending Mr. Moseley instead." Jane winced, "He's got a home birth the midwives requested his help with. They think it's triplets."

"Lucky them." Anna shrugged, "Or unlucky as the case may be."

"What do you make of him?" Jane walked over the body, crouching down by his face. "Other than the poisoning."

"He's a little too nice for around here." Anna changed her gloves, tucking the used ones into a sack, and bent down on the man's other side to pull his lips back. "Just what I thought."

"How so?"

"Look at his teeth." Anna pointed to them, "He's foreign. This man' never had to see a British dentist in his life."

"What else could you tell me?" Anna looked up, smiling at DCI Bates.

"I thought you were working on interviews."

"I am. I just finished with Sybil Crawley. She said she tried to help him and I wanted to check her story before I asked anyone else anything."

Anna craned her neck up to see the women gathered near the glass of the Grey Room. "I don't think they'll like having to wait much longer. It's already late."

"Or early, depending on how you judge time."

"I work the night shift most days Mr. Bates." Anna poked at the body, "It's early for me but late for most people."

"Are there signs of resuscitation?"

Anna unbuttoned the man's shirt and pulled it back to see his chest. "Compressions and there is slight bruising on the mouth would suggest that Mrs. Branson's story is accurate but I could've told you that without looking at him."

"How so?"

"I grew up with all three Crawley girls and Sybil Crawley-Branson is a nurse and an angel. Her first instinct is to help and serve."

"And yours, Ms. Smith?"

"Dr. Smith is one of the finest scientists I've ever worked with." Mr. Bates turned to the other woman, "I'm Jane Moorsum, her assistant."

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Moorsum."

"It's 'Mrs.' or 'Sister' if you're feeling professionally inclined."

"You're a nurse?"

"Certified as one but it doesn't pay as well as this does and the hours are better for me and my boy."

"You have a son?"

"Freddie." Jane smiled, "He's the light of my life."

"What about his father?" Anna bit her lip as Jane's face fell and DCI Bates stepped back. "I'm sorry I seem to've asked a rather inappropriate question."

"It's alright." Jane sniffed, "I lost Freddie's father in the war."

"Where'd he serve?"

"The Solomons." Jane stopped, "Did you serve, DCI Bates?"

"I was in Singapore."

Anna nodded her head, "I've heard about what happened in Singapore. It wasn't anything I'd want to experience."

"Did you serve?"

"I was a nurse with the Red Cross." Anna shrugged, "They had me on the boats shuffling our boys back from Dunkirk."

"And you survived?" DCI Bates nodded, "I applaud you."

"I applaud you surviving too." Anna pointed up to the window, "We're not done yet and I know those women are still waiting for you so I think we'd both better get back to our work."

"I couldn't agree more and thank you for your assistance." DCI Bates nodded to both of them, "Ladies, I wish you luck."

"As we do to you, Mr. Bates." Jane answered and Anna smiled until he disappeared. "He seems alright."

"Yes he does." Anna smiled to herself, turning back to the table. "Yes he does."