The inquest had been relatively plain sailing. He, Miss Carruth and Miss Merton all testified that James Armstrong had been drinking too much and distressed about his friend’s departure. Curtis’s account, uncontested, told how a drunken James Armstrong had sprayed the empty folly with bullets, then shot his stepmother, how he had shot James, just too late to prevent murder, and how Sir Hubert had turned the gun on himself. March did not appear in his account, or at the inquest. The Graylings were in attendance, tight-lipped and miserable, but were not called. The Lambdons did not appear. Mr. Lambdon had not recovered from his head injury, it was said; his wife was receiving care in a sanatorium. Daniel da Silva was mentioned in passing as a guest who had left the house long before the terrible events. James’s mental collapse was linked to his friend Mr. Holt’s abrupt departure, but to the coroner’s annoyance, Mr. Holt could not be found. He had testy words to say about that. There was a brief difficulty over why Curtis had gone out for a morning stroll with a loaded revolver, but Vaizey had briefed him well.
