A Pocket Full of Rye

The chapter opens from the perspective of Inspector Neele of Scotland Yard. Neele is often regarded as unintelligent, though he has a keen analytical mind. He interviews Miss Griffith, another of Rex’s secretaries, and briefly imagines her to be the killer but soon dismisses the idea. Neele is privately certain that Rex has been poisoned, and he is waiting for official confirmation of this as well as an update on his condition. He interviews Miss Grosvenor, who assures him that she used the same tea as always and never used milk or sugar.

Neele takes a phone call from the hospital, where the medical examiner, a colleague of his, informs him that Rex has died. Based on his symptoms, Dr. Bernsdorff believes that it was an unusual poison, taxine, derived from the berries of the yew tree. Most cases occur when children ingest the berries as part of a game. The doctor informs him that the poison is not fast acting, so it was likely administered earlier that morning, not during working hours. Neale asks to speak to his sergeant, Hay, who informs him of one other unusual detail: Grains of rye were found in Rex’s pocket.

Based on this information, Neele decides that the office staff are no longer suspects but that they can still provide him with useful data about the dead man. He learns that Rex lived with his family in a nearby suburb, Baydon Heath, well-known for its golf courses. Neele is stunned to learn that the family home is called Yewtree Lodge, indicating that the poison could have come from the property itself.

Miss Griffith tells Neele that Rex’s wife, Adele Fortescue, is much younger than him. Rex’s older son, Percival Fortescue, worked with him in the firm and is currently in Northern England on official business. Miss Griffith reluctantly explains that the younger son, Lancelot “Lance” Fortescue, is estranged from the family. Percival’s wife, Jennifer Fortescue, is in the city shopping, so none of the family yet know of the death. Miss Griffith explains that Lance recently married the widow of a minor nobleman. Pat Fortescue also has aristocratic origins in Ireland, so Lance’s marriage made him more of a social success than his brother. Their younger sister, Elaine Fortescue, is unmarried.

Neele dials the house and eventually persuades the butler to put the housekeeper on the phone. Miss Mary Dove, poised and professional, is shocked by the news of the death but promises to try to inform her employers. Miss Dove is taken aback when Neele explains that he is a detective, but Neele explains that his involvement is typical when people die suddenly without a recent medical exam. Miss Dove cryptically comments that Percival had been trying to get his father to see a doctor recently, to no success. Miss Dove inquires, somewhat coolly, about what she should tell Adele, and Neele tells her to assure the widow “that in a case of sudden death we have to make a few inquiries” (19).

Neele, after hanging up the phone, sharply points out to Miss Griffith that she never mentioned any recent concerns for Rex’s health. Miss Griffith explains that he had recently seemed impulsive and reckless, far from his usual reserved self. This resulted in arguments with Percival, and Rex had openly considered offering Lance a return to the firm. Miss Griffith defends Lance’s youthful impulsivity.

When the police constable, a younger man, tells Neele that he is impressed by the office and Rex’s family name, Neele wryly tells him that Rex adopted the surname Fortescue to hide his Central European origins. Neele adds that Rex’s business practices always skirted the limits of legality, suggesting that the firm’s respectable appearance is misleading. Neele begins to speculate that the case could be a typical family drama but is interrupted by the arrival of Miss Grosvenor, who is ready to answer more questions. Miss Grosvenor confirms her employer’s recent erratic conduct. She cannot account for the grain in his pocket. Neele’s bafflement deepens.

Neele arrives at Yewtree Lodge, unimpressed with its ostentatious display of wealth and status. Neele is surprised to see that Miss Dove is a young woman, dressed demurely, as though “her appearance was directed toward living up to her name” (30). Neele asks her to give his sergeant access to the kitchen and breakfast dishes.

Miss Dove shows Neele to a nearby lounge, where they discuss the household’s breakfast routine. Neele does not correct Miss Dove’s assumption that Rex died of complications from food poisoning, though she eventually notices that he asks about medications Rex took with breakfast. Neele admits that the actual case is murder, with poison as the cause of death, and Miss Dove seems more intrigued than horrified. She tells Neele plainly that Fortescue was so detestable that narrowing down suspects is difficult. She insists on her own innocence.

Neele asks for her assessment of the family, and Miss Dove offers to be brutally candid, telling Neele that she is invested in household management only because she is paid well. When Neele questions her choice of butler, Dove explains coolly that Crump is an unreliable man with an addiction to alcohol, whom she hired only because his wife, Mrs. Crump, is an expert cook. Miss Dove describes the entire family as “really all quite odious” (35), emphasizing Rex’s personal brutality and lack of business ethics. Adele married him for mercenary reasons, and Percival is stingy and scheming. His wife is middle class and despised in the family. Elaine wanted to marry a radical schoolteacher, but when Rex threatened her inheritance, the affair ended. Miss Dove admits that she has never met Lance but suspects that the recent tensions between Rex and Percival might have led to Lance’s eventual return.

Miss Dove describes the servants, including the unreliable housemaid Gladys Martin. Rex’s elderly sister-in-law, Miss Ramsbottom, also lives with the family but avoids them due to her general misanthropy. Miss Dove cannot explain the rye in her employer’s pocket.

When Neele asks why it has been so hard to locate Adele if she is playing golf in a neighborhood known for its courses, Miss Dove dryly admits that while Adele is out of the house, it is likely not for sport. This implies that she is having an affair with her golf instructor, Vivian Dubois, which is confirmed in subsequent chapters. Miss Dove says pointedly to Neele, “I should hardly advise you to put much stock in what I’ve told you. I’m a malicious creature” (41). Neele reflects that he has no lack of suspects to choose from.

Neele’s next interview is with the young parlor maid Gladys, who strikes him as “an unattractive, frightened looking girl” (42). Gladys immediately insists on her innocence, and Neele assumes that this is merely anxiety. Gladys cannot explain the rye in the suit pocket, though she typically handles Rex’s clothes. Neele briefly wonders if she may somehow be involved but dismisses the thought. The telephone rings, and Miss Dove takes down a telegram. In it, Lance Fortescue announces that he has left Kenya and recently arrived in Paris and will see them all soon.

The chapter opens in Paris, with Lance and his wife taking in the scenery and discussing his family. Pat is immensely curious about her in-laws and is especially intrigued by Lance’s insistence that his father’s business practices are somewhat shady. The narrator describes her as “not beautiful but with a charm that was made up of vitality and a warm hearted personality” (46). Pat observes that Lance seems to appreciate his father, for all his criticisms. Lance begrudgingly admits this, and as Pat laughs, Lance is struck by his adoration of her.

Lance admits that he is somewhat reluctant to settle into a typical suburban life but is eager to prove himself against his brother, his lifelong rival. He speculates that Percival may have somehow engineered his downfall in their youth. Lance was wrongly accused of check forgery, which led to his estrangement from his family and his departure from England. He remarks that Percival likely has no idea that their father has summoned him back to London via a recent letter. Lance tells Pat that her aristocratic ties, while technically undistinguished, are far more impressive to Rex than Percival’s middle-class wife, which may have brought about the rapprochement. When Lance speaks about his sister without warmth and remembers his mother as aged and distant, Pat is briefly dismayed. Lance assures her that while he has no real attachment to his family of origin, he is devoted to her.

Adele arrives, and Neele goes to meet her. He is struck by her beauty but notes that she also seems calculating, deciding, “Adele Fortescue liked men, but she would always like money even better” (53). Adele seems genuinely shocked when Neele tells her that Rex is dead, and she relies heavily on Vivian, her golf instructor, for support. Vivian is instantly alarmed once he learns that Neele is a police officer on the case. Adele is slow to accept Neele’s explanation that her husband was poisoned. After learning this, Vivian rushes off anxiously, despite Adele’s protests.

Adele speculates that something could have been wrong with the food. Neele asks her what she knows of yew berries as a poison, and she seems unknowledgeable. She also doesn’t know why grain would be in her husband’s pocket. Adele pleads exhaustion and begins to weep. As Neele leaves her, he sees beneath her handkerchief “a very faint smile” (57).

Sergeant Hay returns to the main area of the house, telling Neele that most of the breakfast food has been sampled for analysis. Jennifer, Percival’s wife, arrives. Neele notices that she seems animated, almost fascinated, with the investigation. Jennifer is surprised to learn that the poison was likely administered over breakfast and openly speculates as to how Adele might have done it. Miss Dove enters to offer her tea, saying quietly to Neele, “I don’t think she’s ever heard the word slander” (62). Neele moves on to his next interview, with the housemaid Ellen.

Ellen is elderly and opinionated, attributing Rex’s death to an overall atmosphere of moral decay in the family. She is particularly disgusted by Adele’s affair with Vivian. Ellen seems almost disappointed to report that she has never seen Adele with a yew plant. Neele asks Ellen to take him to Miss Ramsbottom, Rex’s aged sister-in-law. Ellen warns him that Miss Ramsbottom is solitary and difficult, but she agrees to see him.

Neele finds the old lady playing patience, a form of solitaire. She betrays no emotion on hearing of Rex’s death, seeing it as divine retribution. Miss Ramsbottom primly refuses to speculate about his murderer but does tell Neele that “old sins have long shadows” (66). She tells him that she suspects the servants, specifically mentioning Gladys, and then coldly ushers him out. In the hall, Neele meets Elaine. She is the first family member who openly weeps for Rex, though she admits that his death will simplify her life.

Neele takes a meeting with one of the assistant commissioners. They agree that Adele is their most likely suspect, though Elaine and Jennifer also had the opportunity. The lab report has confirmed Rex’s death due to taxine poisoning, so breakfast was the only time when the poison could have been administered, as they suspected. Neele is faintly suspicious of Miss Dove’s open dislike of her employers but thinks that none of the other servants could be responsible. The assistant commissioner tells him to meet with Percival and approves of his plan to intercept Lance as soon as his flight from Paris arrives, to surprise him with the news of his father’s death.

Percival is stunned to hear that his father was poisoned. In response to Neele’s inquiries, Percival explains the main terms of his father’s will: Adele is left £100,000, while Elaine receives £50,000. Percival will receive whatever remains, including his share of the business, while Lance is disinherited apart from his role in the family firm. He reluctantly admits that his father’s recent erratic behavior has made the firm less profitable than it would otherwise be, resulting in less of a legacy for him. Percival is angry when Neele alludes to his quarrel with his father, denying its relevance. Neele presents him with one last surprise, the telegram Lance sent about his impending arrival. Percival, furious, says, “[H]ow outrageous of him, to go behind my back and send for Lance” (73). Percival gripes at the inconvenience that the investigation will pose. When Hay notices Neele deep in thought, Neele quotes Alice in Wonderland, saying, “[T]hey’re all very unpleasant people” (74).