Chapter 5
Foxglove on the Cuff
Thomas Vale arrived at the police station wearing a jacket dusted with foxglove pollen.
The radio host called it occupational hazard. He presented a Sunday gardening programme, owned three expensive microphones and had never willingly touched soil.
June watched through the interview-room window while Asha placed bank statements before him. Thomas had paid Arthur four hundred pounds every month for six years.
"Consultancy," he said.
"On what?"
"Reputation management."
Mabel, beside June, gave a short laugh. "Blackmail with invoices. How modern."
Thomas claimed the pollen came from the Garden Swap. Elsie's photographs showed him nowhere near the foxglove table. His cuff, however, matched the height of the plants outside Arthur's potting-room window.
For two hours the case arranged itself around poison, access and money.
Then the laboratory called.
Asha returned with a face that told June the tidy answer had failed.
"No foxglove in Arthur's blood. No oleander, aconite or yew. The pollen proves Mr. Vale touched a plant. It does not prove he killed anyone."
Thomas's smile recovered.
"The altered medicine remains the cause?" June asked.
"Likely."
Outside, Thomas caught June at the steps. "Arthur collected secrets. If you want the useful one, ask why a man who hated digital records kept a coded ledger in cloud storage."
"How do you know it was coded?"
He looked toward the interview room.
"Because I paid to keep my flower name out of it."