Peter & Harriet: "Strong Poison" Pt. 2 - Sleuthing Quiz

Answer: One month

Harriet's barrister, Sir Impey Biggs, explains to Lord Peter that the new trial will be scheduled at the next "Assizes," which would begin in a month. According to the website, parliament.uk, the Courts of Assize in England and Wales were "courts held in the main county towns, and presided over by visiting judges from the higher courts based in London." In London, the Assizes were calendar periods during which trials were scheduled to be conducted.

In 1971, however, the system was completely overhauled, and a permanent Crown Court was established.

Answer: Philip had an aunt, an elderly actress whose stage career had been successful, but scandalous.

One of Lord Peter's theories of the crime hinges on the possibility of Philip Boyes having had expectations of inheriting money. Is it less likely that he committed suicide if he could reasonably expect an influx of sudden wealth? Does money figure in the case at all? Rev. Boyes makes a casual reference to an aunt who accumulated a fortune over the years as a flamboyant entertainer whose risque performances were frowned upon by those in "polite" society.

She was firmly ostracized by almost all the members of her own family who preferred to pretend she didn't exist.

Answer: Cremorna Garden

Abandoned and snubbed by her relatives, the infamous Cremorna Garden had been married and widowed, but had no children. Her gentlemen admirers had been quite generous to her in her younger days, thus her fortune in money and property. She had lived to such a ripe old age she had gotten senile, and had only two living relatives left: Norman Urquhart, and his cousin, Philip Boyes, our murder victim.

Answer: Mrs. Pettican and Hannah Westlock

Hannah Westlock is the maid, and Mrs. Pettican is the cook. When Lord Peter's invaluable manservant (gentleman's gentleman), Bunter, goes to the Urquhart residence on the pretext of delivering a note from Lord Peter, he charms the two ladies into offering an invitation to share afternoon tea in the kitchen.

He skillfully turns the conversation to the death of Philip Boyes and gathers some potentially valuable information.

Answer: Cattery

Few people knew that Lord Peter Wimsey's wealth was behind the typing bureau employing a number of mostly older single women. Although they certainly could type and perform other secretarial duties if need be, their primary job was answering advertisements placed for nefarious purposes such as luring single women into situations that would deprive them of their money and/or virtue. Lord Peter believed women of a certain age had a natural talent for eliciting information, a valuable resource that had gone unrecognized by traditional law enforcement.

He strenuously disagreed with the society's viewpoint that all these "spinsters" were "superfluous."

Answer: Miss Joan Murchison

Lord Peter sees an opportunity to gather inside information about this solicitor who was Philip's cousin. Noting that the head clerk, Mr. Pond, is annoyed with the abrupt loss of their female clerk due to her romantic entanglements, Lord Peter suggests that all the candidates sent along should be of a mature, steady type with their skirts the "regulation 4 inches below the knee."

Answer: "Blindfold Bill" Rumm

Bill Rumm is a reformed ex-convict who had excelled in his profession as a safe-breaker. After serving his sentence, he became an honest and hardworking locksmith. The story relates that Lord Peter got to know Bill when he caught the wily thief trying to break into the safe in his lordship's library.

But Lord Peter took a liking to Bill as they chatted while awaiting the police. Bill credited Lord Peter with setting him on the right path, "praise the Lord," meaning the Creator, not his lordship; Bill had also become quite religious along the way and his conversation is liberally sprinkled with expressions of religious fervor.

Answer: A chipped letter 'p' and crooked capital 'A'

Lord Peter is by nature observant of even the smallest details. When he sees that both the will and the note from Miss Murchison must have been typed on the same machine (indicated by unique flaws in the 'p' and 'A'), he immediately inquires of her as to the age of the office typewriter she used.

She learns it was purchased only three years earlier. BUT... the will is supposed to have been drafted several YEARS before that! Miss Murchison, being a dedicated sleuth in her own way, observed Urquhart staying late at the office, and the next morning she saw that the cover of the typewriter and some papers left inside have been disarranged. Clearly Norman was doing some typing.

Answer: Megatherium Trust

Freddy, though somewhat 'dim' when it comes to most subjects, has an uncanny intuition for shifts in financial markets, and a talent for making money. In the book, the Megatherium Trust had failed dramatically, causing large losses for its investors. Lord Peter's connection in Norman Urquhart's office (Miss Murchison) had overheard a conversation that intrigued her because she had previously worked for a financier and knew something about the economic markets. Thus, she mentioned to Lord Peter that it might be worth finding out if Urquhart had money in Megatherium, and he, in turn, asked Freddy to make inquiries. Freddy obliged, and discovered that not only was the supposedly quiet and respectable solicitor involved, but likely lost a huge sum.

But where did all that money come from? Hmm.

Answer: Katherine Climpson

Lord Peter instructs Miss Climpson to travel to Wyndle in the guise of a retired lady, not wealthy, but comfortably well off, and take up residence at a refined boarding house for ladies where she can quickly pick up all the local gossip. Then she is to make contact with whoever is Mrs. Wrayburn's nursing attendant, get herself invited to the Wrayburn estate, and snoop around without arousing anyone's suspicions.

She succeeds admirably.