Murder Is At Hand.

Chapter 6.

"No" Commander Armstrong replied. "We swapped around after drinks."

I nodded again.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for my interruptions. Please go on."

Armstrong seemed satisfied with my apologies, and carried on his description.

"We played a few hands. Both the lieutenant and Nestby-"

"Nesbitt, sir" I corrected.

"Very well" the commander said stiffly. "Nesbitt and the lieutenant were very good. The other boy, Grange, was less so. He kept a tally of how well he was doing, or how badly, as the case was. By the end of the evening, he was betting very little. Wise move, considering how much he'd lost. Nesbitt, on the other hand, had quite the pile by the end. Personally, I think he was cheating. He was the dealer, after all."

I raised an eyebrow cynically.

"But I got onto him, alright" the commander continued proudly. "He kept dealing me the same card. Every single time. I assume it's a trick. Keep one card in your sights the whole time, and you can work out where the rest are. I would have given him quite the earful, if that murder hadn't happened."

"How clever of you" I said dryly. "What happened when you stopped for drinks?"

"It was the lieutenant who decided it" Armstrong told me. "He asked if anyone wanted drinks, and the dead boy jumped up to get them. I then asked if we could change places, since I wanted a better view of Nesbitt's dealing. We swapped around. The dead boy was facing the door, with the Lieutenant opposite him. I had the lieutenant on my right, and Nesbitt opposite me. I think he knew I was onto him, as he was a bit more careful with his dealing after that. We played a few more hands, and then, just like that, the boy just keeled over."

"Your memory really is fantastic, sir" I praised. "I'm eternally grateful for it. Can you remember what you talked about during the evening?"

"Talked about?" Commander Armstrong repeated. "Heavens, no. Who listens to conversations between soldiers and lieutenants?"

"But you did join in with the discussions, did you not?" I asked.

"I...may have" he replied vaguely. I hid my annoyance and went for the question that had been bugging me for a while.

"Why were you returned from India, sir?" I asked. There was an ominous silence.

"That is private" the Commander said curtly. I had the decency to look apologetic.

"I'll have to continue puzzling through the rumours, then."

"Why does my past concern you anyway, Miss Winter?" Commander Armstrong asked slowly.

"Just an idea I'm working on" I replied carefully.

"I suggest you drop it. Or things are likely to get messy."

With that, the commander strode away. I smiled to myself. Sadly for him, I didn't drop things so easily these days. Especially when they were important things.

Lazily, I slid back down my chair and put my feet back up on the other one. Putting my fingers together pensively, I began to process everything I had just found out. There were two things that I didn't like; one, Nesbitt's apparent cheating, and two, the fact that the only person who had the opportunity to touch the drinks was the victim. Why would Nesbitt choose to cheat at a friendly game of poker? The money at stake was small, and no bragging rights could be earned in such a small game. Besides, none of the men at the table were renowned poker experts, I smiled cynically, so why cheat? Secondly, if Armstrong was telling the truth and I was right in believing the poison was in the drinks, then the whole thing could only be an elaborate suicide. But why do it there? Why not wait until you were alone, and why do it in a room with three other people? Nothing made sense.