Chapter Six
"You're looking for an expert with a stiletto."
Mac was in her stride, which given the fact that the milk had yet to arrive on Phryne's doorstep was, in Phryne's opinion, a bit much.
Jack was also rather irritatingly on the ball.
"Why expert, Mac?"
She reached behind her for the tagged murder weapon and proceeded to demonstrate.
"The Stiletto. Weapon of choice for efficient killing since – heck, medieval times."
She stood in front of them and thrust the blade forward.
"You can just – stab. So, That will probably, eventually kill your subject."
"There was a lot of blood," remarked Jack thoughtfully, unless his thought was supposed to include those people who would really rather consider blood after the sun was over the yardarm; in which case, he wasn't being thoughtful at all.
"However, if you were killing someone with one of these, it was generally a bit more, well, workmanlike."
Keeping the handle of the knife at the same point, she rotated the blade to left and right, up and down.
Phryne gave her best female friend her best withering look.
"I thought we had an agreement that unpalatable subjects during the hours of darkness, which this might as well be, were made palatable with strong spirits or otherwise left for the tasteless masses to consume?"
Mac had the grace to look ashamed. "True. Sorry, Phryne. But that's what happened – there are multiple lacerations to the vital organs, despite the entry wound being relatively small, although," she warmed to the subject again, "you can look on the bright side."
Jack and Phryne's eyes met. Only Mac could have a bright side for the acts currently being described.
"The victim didn't know a thing."
"What do you mean?" asked Jack.
"That glass that you gave me with dregs of communion wine? It also contained a high concentration of chloral hydrate." Mac straightened, put her hands on her hips and nodded at each of them in turn.
"Somebody slipped Father Ryan a Mickey Finn before he was killed."
Phryne's interest was piqued.
"So they wanted to be sure he wouldn't fight back?"
"Got it in one, Phryne Mine," replied Mac happily. "Is it too early for a scotch?"
"Absolutely not," declared Phryne, with relief.