Every time I read that a knowing sleuth leans into the vicinity of the
newly corpsed and says sagely "ah, the scent of bitter almonds." I
wonder if I would recognize the odor my self. I smell almonds everyday
but my old nose is not what it used to be which is sometimes a good thing.
These almonds are not bitter of course. Besides if the detective can smell it,
why does the victim never get a whiff of the characteristic aroma? In Agatha
Christie’s The Mirror Cracked the doomed secretary did smell it but alas it was
too late to stop the effects of the poison in the atomizer.
There are some other signs more readily visible which might help me if one
were at a weekend party at a country house isolated by some freak weather. If
the body is found in the library but seems to have sustained no trauma the
characteristic cherry red coloring seen on the skin of someone who has
succumbed to Carbon Monoxide is easy to spot. Naturally one would rather
not come upon the naked dead in which the livedo pattern is most clear and so a
glance at the hands may be all that is needed.
The eyes are the mirrors to the soul it is said. They also give clues
that are easier to detect when you come across someone who is moribund, in
those final seconds before all the muscles relax. Pinpoint pupils are seen with
many narcotic poisonings including morphine and heroin. They are also a factor
in organophosphate toxicity. Organophosphates are substances such as pesticides
and nerve gases. These can be absorbed through the skin. In these situations
there may also be obvious tearing of the eyes and lots of saliva as well as
other intestinal side effects.
Dilated pupils are seen with poisonings by drugs such as cocaine or
methamphetamine as well as more exotic agents like hemlock or Jimson weed. In The Affair at the Victory Ball cocaine was the cause of one murder.
Pupils that are unequal in size suggest head trauma or even a stroke.
Another cause of death that an amateur sleuth may be able to determine
is no laughing matter despite the name Risus Sardonicus. This is the one of the
final living expressions of the dying person and it resembles a tremendous
devilish smile or maybe a grinning grimace. The cause is Strychnine, which
causes the body to go into spasms that are terrible to see.
This method of murder was used by Miss Christie in The Murderous Affair at Styles
Observers with a keen eye for detail may be able to diagnose one last
poison by looking at the fingernails.
A horizontal white band affecting all the nails is a sign of arsenic
ingestion. The poisoning in this case would have been some time in the past
determined by the rate of nail growth. Some times there are several bands
suggesting that the ingestion may not be purely accidental.
So the next time it is your lot in life to help Miss Marple, well maybe
not her, she needs no help keep these little tips in mind.
Dilated pupils are seen with poisonings by drugs such as cocaine or
methamphetamine as well as more exotic agents like hemlock or Jimson weed. In The Affair at the Victory Ball cocaine was the cause of one murder.
