Hello crime readers, foodies and lovers of terrible puns!  Today’s Dining With The Dame comes to us via another short story, Witness For The Prosecution.  This story appears in the Hounds of Death collection.  We have already featured The Red Signal from this collection. I also have a French version of this story!  Today, I am pairing the story with a classic starter, Proscuitto and Melon.  We love a twofer here at Dining With the Dame so later this week, we will also be celebrating a very special occasion with a cocktail also inspired by this story.  

Witness For The Prosecution- The Plot

“Supposing I tell you that he did not come in that night at twenty past nine, but at twenty past ten?  You say that he tells you he knew nothing about the money coming to him.  Supposing I tell you he knew all about it, and counted on it, and committed murder to get it?”

Agatha Christie – The Witness for The Proecution

Young, handsome but hard up, Leonard Vole finds himself accused of murdering the elderly lady, Emily French, in order to inherit her wealth.  The facts seem stacked against Leonard.  Mr Mayherne his solicitor is certain that Leonard is innocent.  The only person who can provide an alibi for Leonard is his wife Romaine. 

My Mayherne goes to see her, despite knowing that a court is unlikley to give much credence to the evidence of a devoted wife.  He gets the a terrible shock when Romaine not only tells him she detests her husband but that he is not actually even her husband!  She was married to another man in her home country of Austria but he was locked away in a madhouse so the two could not marry. 

Therefore double jeopardy does not apply

She also says that Leonard committed the murder and confessed so to her. 

How can Mr Mayherne save Leonard when even his own wife is determined to see him hanged?

The Witness for the Proscution – The Covers

I could not find many covers for Witness for The Prosecution as it is usually part of a collection such as The Hound of Death.  We’ll look at some of the playbills and movie posters next time and talk a bit more about the 1957 movie next time.  

The Recipe: Proscuitto and Melon

I’m not entirely sure we need a recipe for somerthing as simple as this, but our old friend The A-Z of Cooking has one so here it is!  

I decided to sit my melon slices on some Romaine lettuce in honour of Leonard’s wife!

Links To The Christieverse

None that I could find but please let me know if you spotted any!

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Witness for The Prosecution

• Brandy

Our June read will be Taken at the Flood.  Yay, it’s a Poirot! 

Have a great week!