"It is not my handkerchief," she stated clearly.
Penfield replaced the handkerchief on the table with the same care
he had picked it up, and turned again to her.
"Thank you, Miss McIntyre; I won't detain you longer. Logan," to
the morgue master, "ask Dr. Stone to step here."
Almost immediately Stone reentered the room and hurried to the
platform.
"Would two or more capsules of amyl nitrite constitute a lethal
dose?" asked Penfield.
"They would be very apt to finish a feeble heart," replied Stone.
"Three capsules, if inhaled deeply would certainly kill a healthy
person."
Penfield showed the handkerchief to the physician. "Can a chemist
tell, from the particles clinging to this handkerchief, how many
capsules have been used?"
"I should say he could." Stone looked grave as he inspected the
linen, taking careful note of the letter "B" in one corner of the
handkerchief. "But there is this to be considered - Turnbull may
not have crushed those capsules all at the same time."
"What do you mean?"
"He may have felt an attack coming on earlier in the evening and
used a capsule, and in the police court used the same handkerchief
in the same manner.
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