Classic Scottish Murder Stories (50 page)

Brown's case appears in Scottish law books, illustrating the principle that although the result of the act done may not be that which was intended, the perpetrator may still be guilty of a criminal act. Real doubts remain. The crystals of strychnine in the icing on the shortbread were found by the Edinburgh city analyst to be very small, and much smaller than those in the strychnine bought by Brown six months earlier. This assumes that he had kept and used precisely that supply for his murderous purpose. It was suggested that he pounded up the strychnine in a mortar and thereby reduced the size of the crystals. But can crystals be reduced in this way? My researches have shown experts to be divided on this crucial point.

Is it possible that a killer from Kilmarnock, man or woman, motivated by some old grudge, as in a Sherlock Holmes mystery, or driven by outright insanity, posted the poisoned parcel, and that it was coincidental that Brown was out and about on the same day? It was too easy to blame the neighbourhood epileptic who actually knew the intended victim. Prejudice was at work.

1
‘Flighty little trollop' would seem to convey the spirit of the description.
‘Cutty' is usually given as ‘a short stump of a girl', sometimes used playfully.

2
Not traced. I suppose you
could
steep lozenge sweets in water, or wine, and make a kind of sweet cordial. Or, as a long-shot: fake, i.e. non-alcoholic wine, from losenger (obs.) – a deceiver.

Molly Whittington-Egan is a lawyer and full-time crime writer. She is married to the leading criminologist Richard Whittington-Egan and lives in the town of Malvern in a house crammed full of murder memorabilia. She has written several books on murder as well as co-authoring a number with her husband.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Khaki Mischief: The Agra Murder Case

Murder on the Bluff: The Carew Poisoning Case

Stockbridge Baby Farmer

Scottish Murder Stories

Jack l'éventreur
(a translation of the novel by Jean Dorsenne)

Dr Forbes Winslow: Defender of the Insane

With Richard Whittington-Egan

The Story of Mr George Edalji (Ed.)

The Bedside Book of Murder

The Murder Almanac

Murder On File

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© Molly Whittington-Egan, 2011

The author has established her moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.

First published in 2007. Reprinted May & November 2010.

Print edition ISBN: 978-1-903238-92-9
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-906476-40-3