Free Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

it — or I thought so.”
    “When I was an undergraduate I became a Plymouth Brother for two months. It seemed frightfully important at the time. I believe nowadays they go in for Black Magic.”
    “Yes, Maurice tried that when he was up. Then he switched over to this.”
    “You speak of Mr. Pringle?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did he introduce you to this church?”
    “Clever of you,” said Janey. “Yes, he did.”
    “When was this?”
    “Oh, about six months ago.”
    “You have advanced rather quickly, surely.”
    “This was my first evening as an Initiate. Maurice has been one for some time. I was to have begun special instruction next week.”
    “You don’t mean to go on with it?”
    “I don’t, ” said Janey.
    “Would you mind telling me why?”
    “I think perhaps I would.” She looked thoughtfully at Alleyn. “No, I’ll tell you. I’ve got my doubts about it. I’ve had my doubts about it for some time, to be quite honest.”
    ‘Then why—?”
    “Maurice was so terribly keen. You see we’re engaged. He could talk of nothing else. He’s awfully highly strung— terribly sensitive — and — and sort of vulnerable, and I thought—”
    “You thought you would keep an eye on him — that it?”
    “Yes. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
    “I am sure you will not regret doing so. Miss Jenkins, do you know what Mr. Pringle was driving at when he said that Mr. Garnette. was keeping them all quiet, that Mrs. Candour would have taken Miss Quayne’s place if she could, and that he was going to tell everybody something?”
    “How do you know Maurice said that?”
    “You may remember he was in the middle of it when I arrived. He stopped short when he saw me. I heard some of it. Mr. Bathgate has told me the rest What is the explanation?”
    “I don’t think I can answer that.”
    “Can’t you? Why not?”
    “I don’t want to stir it all up. It has got nothing to do with this dreadful thing. I’m sure of that.”
    “You cannot possibly be sure of that. Listen to me. Mr. Bathgate is prepared to swear that Miss Quayne put nothing into the cup after it was handed to her. She took it by the stem in both hands and drank from it without changing their position. She died two minutes after she drank from the cup. It had gone round the circle of Initiates. No one else, except the acolyte and Mr. Garnette, had handled it. Can you not see that the inter-relationships of those six people are of importance? Can you not see that I must learn all I may of them? I must not try to persuade you to speak against your judgment — if I did this I should grossly exceed my duty. But please Miss Jenkins,
don’t
say: ‘It’s got nothing to do with the case.’ We don’t know what may or may not bear on the case. There is only one person who could tell us that.”
    “Only one person? You mean — a guilty person?”
    “I do. If such a one exists.”
    There was a long silence.
    “I’ll tell you this much,” said Janey at last. “Maurice hero-worshipped Father Garnette. He went, as Mr. Ogden would say, crazy about him. I think Father Garnette took hold of his imagination. Maurice is very responsive to personal magnetism.”
    “Yes.”
    “I feel for it myself. When he preaches — it’s rather extraordinary — one feels as though the most terrific revelation is being made. No, that’s not quite it. Everything seems to be beautifully dovetailed and balanced.”
    “A sense of exquisite precision,” murmured Alleyn. “I believe opium smokers experience it.”
    Janey flushed.
    “You mean we were drugged with words. I don’t think I quite admit that. But where was I? Oh. Well, a little while ago Maurice began to suspect that things were happening all the time in the background. He had put Father Garnette on a pedestal, you see, and the least suggestion of — of worldly interest seemed wrong to Maurice. Some of the women in the congregation, Mrs. Candour and poor Cara too, I’m afraid, were rather