Bess Hadston hires Vulp to find out who is sending anonymous letters that tarnish her reputation. Vulp sends Goodwin to Bess’s house to check the situation. The situation is the most relaxed imaginable: Goodwin plays tag with a chimpanzee, trips over a live crocodile, and Bess accidentally wounds her toe with a shard of a broken glass. It’s Friday, and on Tuesday Bess dies of tetanus that got into the wound. Vulp suspects murder, though the police don’t believe it.