"What?" I exclaimed all of a sudden. "She died of a shot and not a stab wound?"
The three of them looked at me in amazement.
"Of a shot, sir, yes," the tall, thin and bony one said with a certain amount of surliness.
"And that woman maintained she had died of food poisoning," I said, more interested in this affair by the minute. "Tell me how it came about."
"And what concern is it of yours?" said the other with an offhand gesture.
"I'm very interested indeed to know the end of this horrific tragedy.
Does it not seem to be straight from the pages of a novel?"
"Where do novels and dead people come into it? Either you're mad or you're trying to make fun of us."
"Young man, be careful what you joke about," added the tall and thin one.
"Don't you think I know what happened? I know it all from start to finish. I witnessed all the various scenes of this horrendous crime. But you're saying that the Countess died of a pistol shot."
"Good God. We weren't talking about a Countess, but about my female dog that we inadvertently shot while out hunting. If you want to make a joke of it, meet me outside and I'll answer you as you deserve."