Chapter 36: The Inquest Continues

Tuesday Morning

"As the results of the more detailed autopsy indicate, Rachel Wenn was not pregnant. However, she was afflicted with ovarian cancer, which can mimic the symptoms of pregnancy," the coroner told the packed room. "This confirms a hunch by her GP, Dr. Ellingham."

As the coroner stepped down from the stand, Martin was prepared for the call to testify he knew would come next.

"At the urging of my, erm… former receptionist, I reviewed my file on Mrs. Wenn. I had not previously connected the name of the deceased with the patient who had come to see me in the early days of my practice here in Portwenn," he said, as the magistrate prompted him to explain.

"The patient had come to the surgery concerned that she was exhibiting signs of pregnancy, however she had taken three home pregnancy tests and each one proved negative. I determined that she was likely suffering from ovarian cancer, and that she needed tests to confirm the diagnosis and to start treatment immediately, as the disease can advance quickly and has a high mortality rate. She expressed concern because her mother had died of this form of cancer and she seemed disinclined to follow the same route."

In the audience, Mrs. Daniels half rose out of her seat. She had been observing the proceedings quietly up, but now her emotional state a marked contrast to Martin's clinical demeanour. "Disinclined to follow the same route?! She was bloody terrified. Rachel was a proud woman, a true fighter! She could never have let them poison her with that chemotherapy, to waste away into nothing!"

The magistrate cautioned her and the rest of the crowd to stay quiet. "Please proceed, Dr. Ellingham."

Martin maintained his professional tone, barely acknowledging to himself that he was a bit shaken by the outburst. "The patient… er, that is, Rachel Wenn, said she couldn't bear the thought of going through chemotherapy, especially if the odds of survival were not good. I did not hear from her again after that visit, so I never learned the outcome of her case. Until now, that is."

As Martin returned to his seat with the crowd murmuring, someone entered the room and handed a file of papers to the coroner, who looked through them and went to consult with the magistrate. The coroner then returned to the stand.

"It also appears we have the results of the toxicology test, as requested by Dr. Ellingham," he said. "The results are certainly significant. The cause of death was due to concentrated levels of oleander in stomach contents and in the blood."

Penhale was then called to the stand. "The Doc, Dr. Ellingham that is, had asked about the evidence found in the sailboat cabin." He held up a clear plastic evidence bag with a small bottle inside it. "Among the items was an empty 100 millimetre amber glass bottle with a screw-on lid. There is no label on the bottle."

"Is it possible a label could have peeled off in the sea water?" the magistrate asked.

"Sure, anything's possible," Penhale replied, to the crowd's laughter. "Even if we found a label though, any writing on it could have faded in the water. The important thing is the bottle remained sealed while underwater and the toxicology test confirmed that it contained traces of oleander oil. Nice call on that one, Doc!"

The crowd laughed again. Roused by the sight of the evidence, Mr. Wenn leapt to his feet and shouted. "That's exactly the type of bottle Mrs. Daniels used to keep in the kitchen at my house when she lived there, for her 'herbal remedies.' You need to search her cottage out on the moor, who knows what she's been up since she moved out there."

The magistrate called for order, then appearing to consider what Mr. Wenn had said, called him to the stand.

"Like I said, I recognize that type of bottle as one my housekeeper uses in her hobby as an herbalist," Mr. Wenn said. "She was obsessed with Rachel when Rachel was alive, always trying to ingratiate herself, and she's been noticeably cold to my new wife since I brought her home to the manor house."

"Were you aware of your wife's true situation before her disappearance, that she likely had an advanced form of cancer?" the magistrate asked.

"No, she never told me," Mr. Wenn admitted.

"Why do you think she didn't confide in her own husband?"

Mr. Wenn frowned and looked down at his hands. "I couldn't say." He looked up again, searching for his new wife's face, as if to draw reassurance from the sight of her.

Mrs. Daniels loudly snorted her scepticism. The magistrate looked at her disapprovingly, then called her up to grant her a chance to speak.

"So it's one of my bottles, what does that prove?" the housekeeper said. "Mrs. Wenn told me she was pregnant days before she went missing but then after she came back from the surgery, on the last day anyone saw her, she wouldn't say anything to me. She went out and then I noticed one of my bottles was missing from the kitchen. The cook was on holiday that week so it wasn't her that took it. It was an organic insecticide, all natural, made from oleander oil, not meant for human consumption, certainly not. Just to keep the pests away from the garden, mind you. The bottle had a skull and crossbones label on it when I last saw it."

As the crowd's murmurs rose to a roar, she raised her voice to be heard above them. "It wasn't a happy marriage in that house, and he never wanted kids, he just married her for her money. I have my suspicions but I'm not saying anything. You can put two and two together yourself!"

"How dare you insinuate that I had anything to do with this?" Mr. Wenn shouted back. "I'll sue you for slander."

The magistrate thought it best to close the inquest for the day, to give everyone a chance to calm down. As the crowd filed out, still buzzing with excitement, Martin went over to talk to a familiar face he had seen at the back.

"Oh, Auntie Joan," he reproved her. "I didn't think you would stoop to coming out to these things as a form of gossipy entertainment. Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people. Someone said that, possibly Eleanor Roosevelt."

"Don't be so judgmental, Marty," she scoffed. "You might get lonely up there in your ivory tower with nothing but ideas to keep you company. The most interesting people discuss all three, and that includes showing an interest in other people's behaviour as more than just a puzzle to be unravelled."

For once Martin was relieved to see Penhale trying to catch his eye across the room, apparently eager to tell him something. "Hm. The constable seems to need me."

To be continued…