Mrs Merrowdene

In the short story Accident, Mrs Margaret Merrowdene (previously Mrs Anthony) is the wife of Professor Merrowdene, residing in an English village. Inspector Evans, one of her neighbours, recognises her as one "Mrs Anthony". Some nine years earlier, she was put on trial for murdering her first husband, but she was acquitted. Checking into her background at that time, Evans had found that she is linked to a previous suspicious death: she had gone for a walk with her stepfather who had fallen down a cliff by accident. Evans believes murderers are seldom content with one crime. His suspicions are intensified when he discovers that Professor Merrowdene has taken out a life insurance which pays to her on his death.

How Evans deals with Mrs Merrowdene forms the main plot of the story and it does involve an "accident".