Guilty Party 62-08-14 (07) Poison in the Afternoon

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Guilty Party 62-08-14 (07) Poison in the Afternoon"

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio
Episode Date: October 9, 2025
Original Airdate: August 14, 1962 (BBC Radio)
Genre: Crime/mystery radio drama
Theme: Listeners are invited to solve a classic Golden Age radio "whodunit" alongside a panel of experts.

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Episode Overview

This episode showcases a broadcast from the classic BBC radio mystery series "Guilty Party." The featured play, "Poison in the Afternoon," invites listeners and a live panel of experts to unravel the mystery behind the sudden poisoning of Mrs. Martha Slater during a family outing at a countryside café. After the dramatization of the crime, a panel interrogates the suspects, debates clues, and attempts to identify the murderer before the true solution is revealed.

The episode combines drama and interactive sleuthing, highlighting the intellectual engagement and charm of mid-20th-century radio crime shows.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene (00:31–03:03)

• The play opens with private investigator Joe McCready introducing the murder case.
• The Slater family and in-laws (Monica and Jack Weston) are gathered at their usual Wednesday meal at the countryside café.
• Notable routine: Mr. Slater’s habit of feeding sugar lumps to his horse, Dobbin.

2. Events Leading up to the Death (03:03–06:18)

• Family banter ensues, with comic nitpicking over sugar lumps and nail varnish.
• Martha Slater receives five lumps of sugar (handled with unwashed hands by her husband, David Slater).
• A small argument occurs about the hygiene of handling sugar lumps.
• Monica paints her nails at the table, giving off a distinct "pear drops" (nail varnish) smell.
• Food and tea are served; everyone, except Monica and Jack (for health reasons), takes sugar.

3. The Crime: Sudden Death at the Café (06:18–07:24)

• Mrs. Slater becomes ill soon after drinking her tea ("This tea tastes a bit queer" – Joe McCready, 06:14).
• She collapses and dies. The incident appears as a possible heart attack, but the truth soon emerges.

4. The Investigation – Facts & Suspicions (07:24–13:54)

• Inspector Galloway detects the bitter almond scent of potassium cyanide.
• All had the same tea and milk; only Mrs. Slater and David took sugar.
• The waiter confirms nothing was unusual about the routine.
• David Slater is visibly shocked; Monica is upset, and Jack seems more resigned.
• Lily the waitress and all family members are questioned for motives and routines.

Memorable Quote
Joe McCready (on the poisoning's impossibility):
"But until he knows and never minds suddenly left. Why, I have plenty in my pocket. Leave it all with us for analysis, will you?" (14:06)

5. Motive and Means (13:54–15:59)

• Interview of all involved reveals:
  • Mrs. Slater controlled the money and farm.
  • Inheritance splits between David and Monica; Jack is excluded.
  • Farm used cyanide to kill wasps (accessible toxin).
  • Family always sits at the same positions during café visits (crucial for plotting).

Notable Insight
No one tasted their tea except for Mrs. Slater. Monica and Jack’s health restrictions removed them from sugar consumption. David had a habit of refusing to drink until after Martha.

6. Panel Investigation (17:26–23:19)

• The panel (John Arlott, F.R. Buckley, Robert Fabian) interrogates the suspects:
  • Mrs. Weston (Monica) did not taste her tea; she was waiting for her nails to dry.
  • Jack poured Martha’s tea and added sugar during David’s absence.
  • Sugar for the horse was habitually collected and, in this case, is tested and found harmless.
  • Cyanide was available at the farm and known to both David and Jack.

Quotable Moments

• Jack on cyanide:
  "I ought to. What does it smell like? Strong, sort of bitter almond smell." (19:44-19:47)
• Panel deduction:
  "So we are inclined to go for Jack Weston because he is the only one who had the chance to administer the poison after the cups had been switched." (23:12)

7. Solution & The Twist (23:20–26:33)

• The panel initially suspects Jack Weston due to his involvement with pouring tea after the cup switch.
• Revelation: Jack corrects the panel, revealing the true killer was David Slater.
  • David brought two sets of sugar lumps: one harmless (left pocket), one poisoned (right pocket).
  • He mingled poisoned sugar into the bowl, knowing only he and Martha took sugar.
  • After Martha objected to dirty hands, David swapped cups, intended to take Martha's, left with a poisoned lump, then secretly disposed of poisoned sugar during a trip to the lavatory (restroom).
  • When the table overturned after Martha collapsed, he quickly retrieved and disposed of more sugar lumps, ensuring only harmless ones remained.
• Key Clue: David’s quick comment about not being able to smell the “bitter almond” aroma was the subtle giveaway.

Final Revelation Quote:
Jack (recounting David Slater’s actions):
"He arrived with his left hand pocket full of perfectly innocent sugar lumps and his right hand pocket containing several treated sugar lumps containing in the middle, potassium cyanide crystals..." (23:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Motive and Money:
  "Now that Martha Slater's dead, who owns the farm?" (16:25)
  "The will splits the money and property between David Slater and me. She didn’t approve of my Jack. He gets nothing." — Monica/Lily (16:28-16:39)

• On the Poisonous Plan:
  "He then came back. He now had one poisoned lump of sugar in his own cup. There were several poisoned lumps of sugar still in the basin. Jack Weston served five lumps of sugar from the top of the basin to Martha. And it was 100 to 1 that at least one of them would be a treated one, which in fact proved to be the case." — Jack (24:51)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:31] – Introduction to the mystery and the crime setup by Joe McCready
• [03:03] – The family orders tea and food; interactions over sugar and nail varnish
• [06:14–06:39] – Martha Slater falls ill and dies suddenly; beginning of the investigation
• [07:24–10:17] – Initial police interviews and gathering of facts
• [13:54] – Sugar sample analysis shows Dobbin’s (horse’s) sugar was harmless
• [15:20] – Questions about relationships, cyanide access, and inheritance
• [17:26] – Panel of experts begin interviewing suspects
• [23:12] – Panel’s (incorrect) deduction of Jack as the murderer
• [23:30–26:33] – True solution and step-by-step reveal of David Slater’s poisoning plot

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Tone and Style

• Atmospheric and immersive: The episode maintains the flavor of classic British radio mystery—witty, unhurried, and detailed.
• Playful engagement: The panel’s live questioning, occasional banter, and listener involvement create an interactive, game-like experience.
• Subtle clues and character interplay: The drama hinges on small details, classic motives, layered with red herrings and social nuances.

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Summary Verdict

This episode is a quintessential “armchair detective” experience, mixing period charm, methodical sleuthing, and live debate. The story intricately weaves motive, means, and opportunity, challenging both panelists and listeners to solve the crime—only to reveal that the least suspected, David Slater, was the careful and calculated murderer.

A must-listen for fans of classic radio mysteries and interactive crime-solving.

Transcript

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

The BBC presents Guilty Party, a problem in crime detection in which you're invited to match your wits with a panel of experts, John Arlott, FR Buckley and Robert Fabian. First of all, you will hear the crime play Poison in the Afternoon. The panel will then decide on a line of investigation and cross examine the suspects who give unscripted answers to their questions. But first of all, here is Joe McCready, private investigator. These are the facts in the case of the death by poison of Mrs. Martha Slater in the Countryside Cafe one afternoon last summer. Inspector Galloway and I were finishing a very late lunch there and as we lingered over our coffee they all trooped into the cafe and took the table next to ours. There were four of them. Mr. Slater, a breezy life and soul of the party. Welshman, his wife Martha, and their daughter and son in law, Monica and Jack Weston. More earlier in earlier. Depends which way you look at it, isn't it? Are we having late lunch or early high tea? Oh, whatever it is, I'm ready for it.

[Lily (Waitress)]

If Dilly doesn't mind, we're going to give it.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

That's right, Lily. Survey. We're here again. Look, the status of the Westerns in full force.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Afternoon, Lord. Usual order.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Ah, this table will do. Take your seats then.

[Jack Weston]

Who's for hak?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Well, I never say no, do you?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Me? Jack, how about you? Ah, suit me fine. All right, Lily, you've got enough.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Four on eggs and chips, bread and butter for four as usual and a.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Few bases of bollocks and right away the biggest pot of tea you ever saw.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Four thirsty people in two minutes, Mr. Slater.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Good girl.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Good, good. Ah, now let's see. Sugar then. Where is it?

[Lily (Waitress)]

None on the table. Have to wait till Lily comes back.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Damn. No, old Dobbin won't wait for his sugar. Into the cafe will be through the front door and sharp. If I don't take him his asher. Exc. Me, sir. Who?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Or me?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Why I, I, I wonder now if maybe you'd finished with your sugar basin by there? Sure, help yourself. We've no further Use for it. Thank you very much.

[Lily (Waitress)]

What a waitress. Into the way you pinch your sugar.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Every week to give to Dobin.

[Lily (Waitress)]

I can't imagine.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Oh, she don't mind. Always tip handsome, don't we? While you see the do. I'll just go along and wash my hands, David. All right. Oh, go on. Oh, no, Monica, not again.

[Lily (Waitress)]

It's your fault. Rush, rush, rush. Back on the farm to get away in time. I just don't have a minute or two, so. All right. While we're waiting for the food, I'll paint my nails. Who's going to worry?

[Jack Weston]

Phew.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Can't stand that smell of tear drops.

[Lily (Waitress)]

I like it. Always did ever since I was a kid. Davis, don't take all the sugar. Be reasonable.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

I'm not doing anything of the sort there. Who else takes sugar anyway, apart from you and old Dobbin?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, get on with you and hurry up. Lily will be here with the food any minute.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Shan't be too tasty. And don't you have all the sugar that's left, Mother? I wish I'd have a few lumps for Dobbin for after.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, get off him and that horse. I can't see why you don't give up the pony and trap and go in for a car. Oh, Davies, never do. That horse Maddie is. I often say. I'm sure if it came to the.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Decision, they would keep the horse and.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Get rid of me.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

That's tough tongue.

[Jack Weston]

Don't.

[Lily (Waitress)]

It won't take me long. But I do like to have my nails looking nice after all. Working up at the farm? If we do, it's difficult to keep your hands decent.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Oh, I'll never worry. Who's with our hands, anyway?

[Lily (Waitress)]

You never know. Oh, hello, Jack. That's better.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

No tea, aren't you?

[Jack Weston]

No.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Don't expect they're quite ready to start teas yet.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

We're never here at the right time.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Always in between lunch and tea.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Oh, they don't mind as long as they're selling food. That's what they're here for, whatever time it is.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Sorry I took a bit long. It's the hot water system. There's always something up with it. Now, sugar. Oh, you've got some. Oh, those gentlemen are on the next table. Kind of let us have theirs. And I bet I know where Mr. Slater is right now and half the sugar bowl with him.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Oh, here he is. Come on, David. You know Dobby say thank you, then. Oh, most grateful he was, Toby. Never forget my kindness. Brought the cup. That she has. But does not inebriate. Come along now. Now I'll be mother. Martha. Sugar. What is it now? Five lumps. You know very well it is about sugar daddies I have. But our Martha's a sugar mummy for sure. Monica doesn't take sugar. I've got Ms. Saccharine tablets.

[Lily (Waitress)]

David Slater, did you just put those five sugar lumps into my cup with your fingers?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

What do you expect me to use? My feet? You.

[Lily (Waitress)]

You can just take them out of my cup.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

The very idea. Oh, now what did I do wrong?

[Lily (Waitress)]

You've been out and used those ends of yours to feed horse with.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Sugar.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Then in your common dish out sugar.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Lumps with the same fingers.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Disgusting.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Oh, all right. If you're fussy, I'll have that cup. I'm not afraid of getting foot and mouth to these or more dobbin. But then I only want one lump. Oh, Dobbin can have the others. There now you satisfy.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, go and wash your hands and hurry up about it. The food will be here in a second.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Peace for the weekend. No feet at all. Don't wait for me. Now get started. If any brings in the food, have a quick pantomime, isn't it? Never saw such a fuss and palava in my life.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Almond eggs and chips before coming up. Didn't take very long, did it? Oh, what a funny smell.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Oh, it's my Mrs. Lily. Look at those fingernails of hers.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, that's a pretty shade of pink. I like that sort of sheen on it. I just can't somehow get my nails to grow long enough. Perhaps it's C.O. i buy them.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Ah, could be.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Find a bad temper they say. Nobody's ever thought of me as bad tempered. Long fussing mill they call me. Ah, here he comes. Life. And so as a party himself.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Ah, lovely, lovely grub. I knew we should get it if we waited long enough. You know, I knew it.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Nobody ever gets served as quick as you do, Mr. Slater. And when you know it.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Here, Martha. One quarter there.

[Lily (Waitress)]

I have got to finish these nails. Than mine. I think they look nice. They look a tree.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Except for that little finger. That's not a bit.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh yes. Better touch that up again. Very observant of you to notice, Jack.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

This tea tastes a bit queer.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Martha.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Martha. Whatever is wrong? Here, hold on to me. She's the fight master. Martha Holder. Oh my God.

[Lily (Waitress)]

She coming off my frock. Tea in my lap. Whatever went wrong? Who?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Mr. Slater.

[Lily (Waitress)]

She hasn't just fainted. Look, she isn't breathing.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Excuse me, I'm a police officer. Can I help? Mother. Mother.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Come around.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

What's happened to her? I'm afraid by the look of things, she's had a heart attack or something. Joe, get a doctor, an ambulance, quickly. Right on, Inspector. A waitress.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes, sir.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Put a closed sign on the door for the next quarter of an hour or so.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, yes, sir, of course.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

What's happened? Monica, what are you doing? Mr. Slater? And you, Mr. Weston? I thought I'd start and clear up the mess a bit. Save Lily some work. Don't touch the broken crockery, please. You are not serious about Martha being. I mean, you don't mean she's going to die or anything? I hate to say it, Mr. Sator, but I'm afraid your wife shows no sign of light. Something happened very quickly, very quickly. The doctor will soon tell us. But there was no warning. No sign. Jack. Monica. What's happened?

[Lily (Waitress)]

What did she do? Look after him, Jack. You going to pass out?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Yeah, all right. Give us a hand to the toilet chat, man, will you? I. I feel sick. I feel like as if this was a sort of a bad dream. One minute Martha's talking to us natural, next minute she's lying there. Come on, baby, don't go. All right, now. We don't want to think touch for the time being. If Lily will get the proprietor quick as she can, then we can sort things out with a minimum of. So there it was. Martha Slater was dead. Cause of death poisoning by potassium cyanide. As soon as Inspector Galloway knelt down to examine the poor woman, he could smell the characteristic bitter almond flavor of the poison. That's why he'd insisted on having nothing moved. The strange thing was, our sugar basin was the one that had been used so logically. That ruled out the sugar. Everybody had had the milk. Everybody had taken tea poured from the same pot. So where did the poison come from? No one had begun to eat the food, so it couldn't have been in that. All the crocks and plates were strewn all over the floor. Two of the cups out of the four still had traces of potassium cyanide in the dregs that were left after the table turned over. One, obviously was Martha Slater's. Whose was the other? Weston. Is Mr. Slater still in the lavatory? Yes. He was very sick. Shock, I suppose. Perhaps you'll get him for me, Joe? Well, I have a word with Mr. And Mrs. Weston, the waitress. Sure. You say the doctor says she was poisoned? We shall know more about that after a more detailed examination has been made. Mr. Weston. Ah, here's Mr. Slater. Now, Joe, if we can have a word or two with Lily the waitress first. Lily. This weekly visit of the Slaters and the Westons was quite a regular affair, apparently.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, yes. Every Wednesday, regular as clockwork. Always the same time, always the same food they ordered.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Always the smell of tear drops from Mrs. Weston's nail varnish.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Well, most weeks she left her nails till she was sitting down at the table. I think she did it principally to annoy poor Mrs. Slater.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

But surely she was Mrs. Slater's daughter.

[Lily (Waitress)]

By her first husband. But they never got on. Especially since Martha married David Slater. Monica Weston always felt that part of her father's money should have gone to her, not all to her mother.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

I see you got on well with Mr. Slater.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, old days. Always good for a laugh. We son to be with, you know. And Martha, Well, I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but she didn't half lead him a dog's life. She'd got the money bag, see.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

And our friend Jack Weston?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, he's a scrounger. Hung onto Monica and married her because he thought there was money there. Mind you, he's son at a party as well, but he's not a misery, just a waster, I'd say.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

And the late Martha Slater controlled the fat strings.

[Lily (Waitress)]

And how.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Thank you, Lily. So far as the routine of their visit to the cafe was concerned, it all went according to the usual plan, did it? Nothing unusual?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, no, nothing at all. Except all the tragedy, of course.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Of course. Thank you, Lily. Let's have a word with Jack Weston, Jo, shall we? Right. I'll get it. Mr. Weston. Were you four on good terms? Why, yes. Martha agged a bit. Kept David on a pretty short reign. But on the whole we got along. This business of feeding old Dobbin with sugar from the cafe, that usual. Oh, yes, David and Dobbin. Whatever happened, Dobbin always added sugar. You don't take sugar on your own tea? No, I'm a diabetic. I see. And was your wife always adamant about not taking sugar? For the past three months she's avoided sugar and starchy foods.

[Jack Weston]

She diabetic too?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

No, just overweight. So only Martha Slater, David Slater and the horse had sugar lumps from the sugar bowl. Which Mr. Slater took from our table, yes. So how could any poison be introduced into Mrs. Slater's cup? I mean, where's the motive for killing Martha anyway? You all benefit financially, surely? Oh, that.

[Jack Weston]

Yes.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

But it won't make any difference to our lives. The money is in the farm. We shall go on Farming it just the same. Three of us instead of four. Nobody's going to risk hanging for that. Not me, anyway. Was it always David Slater who fed Dobbin ever? Anyone else?

[Jack Weston]

Always.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

It was a ritual. Every time we came here, he'd always pinch practically the old sugar basin full of lump sugar for the horse. Really? Never mind it. He's got a soft spot for David Slater anyway. Did he normally carry sugar around with him for dubbing? Oh, no, no. We only use the horse and float occasionally on trips like this. I think you're barking right up the wrong tree, if you don't mind my saying so. Martha.

[Jack Weston]

Adam.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Heart attack. Must have done. Thank you for your opinion, Mr. Weston. Unfortunately, it conflicts with the official one. Now, could we see Mr. Davis later? Now, Mr. Slater, sorry to have to test you with questions. Look now, Inspector, I know you got your job to do, but you're not sitting there now and telling me my Martha died on account of foul play. That just doesn't happen around these parts. Very quiet people we are here. Respectable too. Mr. Slater, did you take a drink of your tea at all? No, I was just about to have a sup of it, you see, when suddenly my Martha got up and clutched at her throat. Well, you saw her, didn't you? You say you were just about to take a drink. Did you notice anything wrong with your tea? No, can't say I did. Why? Because we have a suspicion that your tea was poisoned as well as your wife's. But the table being overturned, put paid to that. You mean somebody might have put poison in my tea? But surely I'd have noticed. Not if you didn't taste it. No, I didn't taste it. With Monica's stinking nail varnish around, you stand no chance of smelling it, would you? No, I'd have drunk my tea normal like if it hadn't been for my Martha. But in any case, why would anybody want to kill Martha and me? The farm, the money you both dead, somebody would inherit. Dear Lord. Jack and Monica always been the best of friends. All of us together. No, I can't think you're right and couldn't be. Then again, how would the poison be administered? If you thought of that, then impossible it would be. Only you and your wife had sugar. That's true enough. But I put my own sugar in my cup, took it out of Martha's because she took exception of my hands not being washed.

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[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

It's fastidious mind. Very fastidious woman. You're a great one for feeding Dobbin with sugar. How is it, I wonder, that Dobbin hasn't been poisoned? If the sugar in the burl have been treated. What happened to the sugar? Dobbin hat. There you are then. Impossible. Like I said. Maybe you made a mistake somewhere, Inspector. Maybe. Where did your stepdaughter. Monica? Yes. Where did she meet her husband, Jack Weston? Oh, Jackie was traveling round with a fair. Sideshows and that. You know, find the lady, the pea and the thimble trick, all that. But Monica persuaded you to pack all that in and join us on the farm. Mr. Slater, you took a lot of sugar from the basin for your horse. And you even collected up the sugar lamps off the floor. I did? Yes. For Dobbin. But until he knows and never minds suddenly left. Why, I have plenty in my pocket. Leave it all with us for analysis, will you? Of course. And please ask Monica Weston to step in. Yes, but I don't understand. This seems impossible to me. Impossible, man. Did Monica get on well with her mother? I know. Well, to be honest about that, they didn't get along. Not as mother and daughter should. So be fair, they didn't. Thank you very much, Mr. Slater. You're welcome, I'm sure. But it's a sorry business whichever way you look at it. Sorry business at all to happen here of all places. Quiet, respectable phrases, Mrs. Ruthen. Can you possibly conceive how your mother could have been poisoned this afternoon right there under everybody's noses?

[Lily (Waitress)]

No, it couldn't have happened.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

But it did.

[Lily (Waitress)]

It wasn't possible. Unless that Lily's in it somewhere.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Lily? What on earth could she have to do with it?

[Lily (Waitress)]

She's got a thing about David Slater, my stepfather. And at her age. She's only a kid. Disgusting, I call it.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Mrs. Weston, why do you always paint your nails in cafes? It isn't exactly normal, is it?

[Lily (Waitress)]

I like my nails looking like this. On Wednesdays there's always this mad rush to get here. So I nearly always have to leave my nails than today.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Have you ever heard of potassium cyanide?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Vaguely. Poison, isn't it?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

A very deadly one. Know anything about it?

[Lily (Waitress)]

No. Nor where to get it if I wanted it. Nor how to administer it when I'd got it?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Quite. One last question from me, Mrs. Weston. When David Slater fed the horse with sugar.

[Lily (Waitress)]

David and that damned horse, why we couldn't have a car.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Please. When he fed the horse, was he always made to go and wash his hands before he ate his meal?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Well, it's the usual thing, isn't it? If you had a horse slobbering all over your hand while you give him sugar lumps. You don't usually start eating your food without washing, surely?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Thank you. Mrs. Weston, just before you go.

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Now that Martha Slater's dead, who owns the farm?

[Lily (Waitress)]

The will spits the money and property between David Slater and me.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

And Jack Weston.

[Lily (Waitress)]

She didn't approve of my Jack. He gets nothing. I look after him, though. Nobody needs to worry about Jack.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Thank you, Mrs. Weston. Well, Joe, we now know the sugar in David Slater's pocket was perfectly harmless. So what did happen? Our three experts have heard the facts in the crime play Poison in the Afternoon. Now they have the right to ask questions of the people concerned. The completely unrehearsed questions will be answered without any script or help by the persons interrogated. And they must tell the truth, except in the case of the guilty party, who can and will try to get out of difficulty if he or she is able to. Over now to John Allott just for a moment. We'd like, if we might, to ask Ted Mason a couple of questions. Ted, is there any sign of Galloway or Macready being poisoned?

[Jack Weston]

No, they're perfectly fit. They'll be appearing again next week.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

But did they think to take any fingernail pairings or anything from the suspects to see if any of them had handled cyanide?

[Jack Weston]

No, they didn't.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Not very helpful this week, are they?

[Jack Weston]

Not in that way, no.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Well, all right, then. Perhaps you could speak first of all to Mrs. Weston. Buck. Mrs. Weston, among all this confusion, can you remember, did you actually taste your tea?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, no, I didn't. You see, I wanted my fingernails to dry thoroughly before I touched anything at all.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Did you see anyone else, apart from your mother, taste it?

[Lily (Waitress)]

No, I didn't.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

When David Slater said he would take your mother's cup, did he actually take it?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes. Took it and put it in front himself.

[Narrator/Announcer]

And.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

And what did you do with his arm?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Oh, we put it in front of her. Just changed the two cups.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

He switched the two cups over. Who eventually put the sugar in your mother's cup?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Well, I said Jack did because he took over from the pouring out when David went off to wash his hands.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

And who poured the tea into your mother's cup?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Jack did.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Your husband. In both cases. One of your little fingers was smudged, wasn't it? Yes. Which one?

[Lily (Waitress)]

The little finger on my right hand.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Are you right handed?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Right. Thank you. Now, perhaps you'd send your husband in certain. Sit down, Mr. Weston, if you will. How were the cups arranged when you poured the tea? They were grouped together because David was going to be mother. He said something, he always did say, I'll be mother, and started to pour. And then there was the business with the sugar and off he went to wash his hands and I took it over and then I started it in Ford Masters. Were the cups set out with the cups and the saucers? Yes, yes, yes. Did each person more or less have a cup opposite them so that it would automatically go to them?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

The two they saw, obviously, were Monica's and mine. And the two, the other side were Martha's and David's. Who put the milk in the tea?

[Jack Weston]

Milk?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

I did. I did. You did? Yeah. Was the milk put in before the sugar in Mrs. Slater's tea? No, because the sugar was taken out again for in the first place, you see, she didn't want that sugar because David had put it in with his Aussie hands.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yes.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

You know what I mean. Sugar was put in first. Now, tell me, do you use cyanide or potassium on the farm for anything? For instance, for destroying wasps? It. Yeah, we have used it for about three years. Oh, you have? Yeah. Do you know what it smells like? Yes, I've used it. I ought to. What does it smell like? Strong, sort of bitter almond smell. Now, did you drink your tea? No, I didn't get a chance to. You didn't do any.

[Jack Weston]

Anybody at all?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Didn't get a chance to our poured martyrs and gave her first. And then all this happened sudden as soon as she. Did you see anybody else drink any of the tea? No. David was out washing his hands. Monica was waiting for an oath to dry, and I was just poor in mind when it happened. All right, good enough, Mr. Weston, thank you. Now, David Slater. Mr. Slater, what did you do with the lumps of sugar you took out of your last cup? Well, here, put them in my pocket with the other. Yes. In fact, probably those are some of the ones that I left behind for the analysis, you know. Yeah, but did you give all the first lot of sugar to Your horse? Well, I. I think so, yes. I mean, I may have had an odd one in the corner of a pocket, but I mean, I wouldn't. Wouldn't. Well, you don't know really, I suppose, where all the sugar came from that was in your pocket. Some from the sugar basin and some from.

[Jack Weston]

Well, I might. As I say, I've had an odd.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Lump, but I think it all came from the basin that was on the table with those other. You collect sugar for your horse anyway, after. Well, if I see a chance I can it. Did you see anyone else taste his or her tea? No. No indeed. Nobody tastes it, so far as you know. And you didn't either? No. I don't like it very hot, Anyway. All right, Mr. Slater. Thank you. I wonder if you'd ask Lily to come in as you ride. William. I did it. Now then, Lily, this is a very sad business. You were actually in the cafe near them when Mrs. Slater died, weren't you?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes, I was.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Did you see Anyone else except Mrs. Slater actually taste their tea?

[Jack Weston]

No.

[Lily (Waitress)]

No.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Who laid the cups out on the table?

[Lily (Waitress)]

I did.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Do you know what cyanide potassium is?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yeah.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

You know it's a poison?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

You knew it was used on the farm?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes, we used to use it to. Well, you know, Mr. Slater and Mr. Weston, they used to kill wasps off with it.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Yes. You know how Mrs. Slater's first husband died?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Well, no, I don't, no.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

He wasn't poisoned or anything like that, did he?

[Lily (Waitress)]

I don't think so, no.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

You say the family comes regularly. Do they always sit at the same table, in the same positions?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes. Yes, always.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

They always sit the same way around the table?

[Lily (Waitress)]

Yes, always.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

I see. There's our signal to end the interrogation. Well, shall we try and work it out more or less as we thought it? Yes. Well, Ted, you look happier than we feel.

[Jack Weston]

Good.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

I can start it from the beginning. Slater, unless there's some bewildering sleight of hand, seems too obvious and not to have done it. Though he did make the one remark that attracted us to him when he said I couldn't smell it without knowing that it was a smelling poison. So we are inclined to go for Jack Weston because he is the only one who had the chance to administer the poison after the cups had been switched. And if it was intended to kill Mrs. Slater, he is the one who can have done it then.

[Jack Weston]

And that's your considered opinion?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Yeah.

[Jack Weston]

Well, you're 100% wrong. David Slater was the guilty party and you have in fact picked out the clue that gave him away, the fact that he mentioned that he wasn't able to smell the bit of almond. Exactly what happened was this. David Slater came prepared to kill his wife with potassium cyanide. He arrived with his left hand pocket full of perfectly innocent sugar lumps and his right hand pocket containing several treated sugar lumps containing in the middle, potassium cyanide crystals. Now, when he took the sugar basin From Galloway and McCready, he put over the top, quite simply, without anybody seeing him, several sugar lumps from his right hand pocket. In other words, several poison sugar lumps. He knew that only two people took sugar, himself and his wife. Then he began to dish out the sugar and he gave five lumps to his wife. His wife objected because his hands were dirty. This he largely suspected, but it wouldn't have mattered either way. So he took her cup, took out the five and left one in his own cup, a canoe cup that he got for himself. Are you with me?

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

Yes.

[Jack Weston]

He then puts the other four into his right hand pocket because they were probably treated. And he went to wash his hands and he flushed away the poisoned sugar down the lavatory. Then he came back. He now had one poisoned lump of sugar in his own cup. There were several poisoned lumps of sugar still in the basin. Jack Weston served five lumps of sugar from the top of the basin to Martha. And it was 100 to 1 that at least one of them would be a treated one, which in fact proved to be the case. David had no intention of drinking his own cup of tea until he knew what was happening to Martha. He was hoping, as indeed happened, that the smell of the pear drops from the nail varnish would kill the smell of bitter almonds. And such proved to be the case. As soon as she began to feel ill, he went to her assistance and he helped largely to knock the table over. Then, and this was another clue. Instead of being distraught and helping his wife, he scrabbled on the floor and started picking up all the sugar lumps which he put into his right hand pocket. He then felt ill again and was escorted to the lavatory. And once again all the poisoned sugar lumps were flushed down the lavatory. He still had a lot of sugar lumps which were pure in his left hand pocket. And that was how he did it. So that when he handed the sugar lumps from his left hand pocket over to Galloway and Macready, they were all clear. The other clue was of course, that he did take so much trouble to collect all the sugar lumps after they'd been tipped off.

[Joe McCready (Private Investigator)]

John Arlott, F R Buckley and Robert Fabian were the panel in Poison in the Afternoon, A Problem in Crime Detection, from the BBC series Guilty Party. The play was written by Edward J Mason and the program produced by Tony Shryan.