Nick Carter, Master Detective - Ready for Murder

Nick and Patsy are entering the hotel room of John Ames, a young friend of Nick's. John says "Oh hello, Nick and Patsy, glad to see you. Come on in". Nick says "Thanks, good to see you again". Patsy says "Oh Nick, look at that darling Scotty on the bed".  John says "Hey Mac, get down off that bed". Patsy says "Oh, he looks so cute there with his head on the pillow". John says "I've never been able to break McTavish of the habit. Oh, by the way, this is Chief Danis of the local police. This is Nick Carter and Patsy Bowen, Chief. Well, let's get down to business. Chief Danis and I have just come from my Aunt Mary's funeral. As you know the coroner's verdict was that my Aunt Mary killed herself with aconite, but I don't believe it".  Nick asks "Why not, John?" He says "Well first, because she just wasn't the suicide kind. Second, because if she'd wanted to kill herself, she would have used poison she was more familiar with. She was a gardener and knew all about nicotine sulfate and arsenic, and so on". Nick says "There's nothing very positive there". Chief Danis says "Well Mr. Carter how about this, since John's grandfather, Old Henry Ames, passed on at the age of 83 four years ago, three of the heirs have died. Typhoid killed Frank last year, Phil was shot in a hunting accident two years ago, and now Mary dies of aconite poisoning, but the Purcell's keep right on running the farm the way they always have". Patsy asks "Who are the Purcell's?" John says "Adam and Paul Purcell were first employed as farm managers by my grandfather. Each successive owner since then has kept them on". Nick says "So far everything seems quite open and above board". Chief Danis says "Yes, but each time one of the last three Ames's has died, the word "murder" has been whispered all over town". Patsy says "But why? I don't get it". Chief says "Well it's just a feeling, no proof at all, but the rumor persists that the Purcell's know more about it than they can let on".