“I will. She’ll be sorry she missed you.”
Chesterfield sat in a comfortable armchair across from the deputy DA and the detectives. “How can I be of assistance, Peter?”
“We’re trying to get background information about anyone who might have had a reason to poison Sophie Randall or Samuel Moser. You knew Sophie Randall, didn’t you?”
“I saw her around the club.”
“And you know Sam Moser?”
“I do.”
“I understand that you and Sam had a row.”
“We did.”
“It concerned Mrs. Randall, didn’t it?”
“In part.”
“Didn’t she accuse you of making a pass at her?”
“That’s what Moser said. It wasn’t true.”
“Then why did she accuse you?”
“We only have Moser’s word that she did accuse me, and the poor girl is deceased. I assure you that contrary to the vicious rumors Moser’s been spreading, I never said or did anything inappropriate where Mrs. Randall was concerned.”
“Mr. Moser was the recipient of the chocolates that poisoned Mrs. Randall. Obviously, he was the intended victim. You don’t deny that you threatened him, do you?”
Chesterfield looked amused. “Really, Peter, you’re playing this hand as badly as you play bridge. There’s no need to beat around the bush. If you think I tried to kill Moser, why not come out and say so.”
“Well?”
“No, Peter, I did not send poisoned chocolates to Samuel Moser.”
“What about Arthur Gentry?”
“What about him?”
“Did you cause his death?”
“Why would I poison Arthur Gentry? I barely knew the man.”
“Arthur Gentry was an old friend of your wife’s. He wanted to marry her. Gentry stood between you and Mrs. Dowd’s fortune.”
Chesterfield shook his head. “Really, Peter, I don’t know where you get your information. Lily and Gentry were friends, but she had no romantic feelings toward him. Believe me, I didn’t have to poison Arthur Gentry to get him out of the picture when I was courting Lily.”
Chesterfield looked sad. “I’m sorry you have such a poor opinion of me, Peter. You could have saved yourself the trouble of a drive in this awful weather if you’d told me why you wanted to talk to me when you called.”
Chesterfield cast a condescending look in Ragland’s direction. “And, if I did kill someone, do you think I would confess to you and these nice gentlemen?”
Quinlan couldn’t believe how badly Ragland was botching the interview. Chesterfield was making a fool of him. Even worse, he now knew that they suspected that Arthur Gentry had been murdered and he was a suspect.
“You’ve got me all wrong,” Ragland stammered as he scrambled to save the situation. “We’re not accusing you of anything. We just want to know if you have any information that will help us solve these murders.”
“How could I? I resigned several months before Mrs. Randall was poisoned, and I had no contact with the Westmont after I resigned. I’m not surprised that someone tried to murder Moser. He is thoroughly unlikable and he treated me with a total lack of respect. I’m sure I’m not the only person who was upset by his superior attitude—an attitude that I don’t appreciate in an employee. Do you have any more questions for me?”
Quinlan was fed up. “Yeah,” he said, “I got a few. How did you know Arthur Gentry was poisoned?”