“Do you consider that the deadly nature of cocaine is known to the public? I mean, is that knowledge not confined to those with some medical training?”
“I think the danger to a weak or diseased heart is pretty generally known. Most people are aware that deaths have occurred by its use, for example, by dentists, and that for this reason it is now seldom employed as an anesthetic.”
The coroner slowly blotted his manuscript.
“Now, Dr. Lingard, injections are administered with a hypodermic syringe, are they not?”
“That is so.”
“Is there any other way in which they can be given?”
“No.”
“Was such a syringe found in the present instance?”
Dr. Lingard did not know. He had examined the body only, not the house in which the death had occurred. The coroner turned to another point.
“Did the body show any sign of the injection having been forcibly administered?”