The tea finished, Mrs. Curtis continued on her search for the rat poison. She brushed past the mantle adorned with her wedding photo, an ancient wooden clock, and her Bible to check the little door where the milkman used to leave milk. She checked the attic, thinking she might have put it in one of the boxes to keep vermin away. She found many old souvenirs, a map of the London Underground, a dried rose, and a faded programme for H.M.S. Pinafore, but not what she was looking for.
Lastly, Mrs. Curtis decided to try the shed. She passed her garden on the way, with her prize-winning lilies in it. Her lilies were the envy of the town. Everyone asked how she did it, but the lilies were a secret that only Mr. and Mrs. Curtis knew.
In the shed, Mrs. Curtis still could not find the cyanide. Determining that there was not any, Mrs. Curtis decided to try a different method. She found a stout rope which once held up a swing for Agatha. She also found a small stepladder which she used for changing light bulbs. Mrs. Curtis took the two objects to the pole where she hung her clothesline. She tied one end around the top of the pole and the other into a slip knot, which she had learned to tie from the Scouts. She set the ladder beneath it.
Mrs. Curtis looked at her snug little house where Agatha had lived, and at the garden she grew with Mr. Curtis's help. Then, not being one to dawdle, she climbed up on the ladder, slipped the noose around her neck, and stepped off with a smile on her lips.
Which was exactly how Mrs. Fitzpatrick found her when she came to return the cyanide.
Link back to "The Lives and Deaths of Mrs. Curtis" Title Page. Send mail to marleigh@mit.edu.