Raisins and almonds - Poisoned Pen Press (UK)

Raisins and Almonds 1
‘Someone set a trap for poor Shimeon,’ whispered Simon.
‘And killed him as coldly as you kill a mouse.’
‘Yes, and with the same poison,’ agreed Robinson absently.
There was a crash as the book hit the floor, but the alert
constable managed to catch Simon.
The Detective Constable had no imagination, so he was not
shocked by the murder weapon or the collapse of the dark boy,
which he had expected. But he was horrified by the way Miss
Fisher had called his chief ‘Jack, dear’.
He had never thought of Detective Inspector Robinson in
that light before.
As they left the shop, a woman in shabby clothes caught at
Miss Fisher’s arm. ‘Excuse me, Miss, are these the jacks who are
saying Miss Lee’s a murderer?’
‘They’re the ones,’ agreed Phryne. ‘Who are you?’
‘I’m Mrs. Price. I clean this shop and I’m here to tell them
they’re wrong. You the head cop? You’re looking for the rat
poison, ain’t yer?’
Jack Robinson said ‘Mind your language, Mrs. Price. Yes, I am
looking for the rat poison. Do you know what happened to it?’
‘Yair,’ said the cleaning woman angrily. ‘I spilled it and I threw
it away. I been sick with the ’flu and I didn’t know about all this
till my son told me tonight. So that’s where it went, right?’
‘Right,’ said Detective Inspector Robinson, humbly.