Dr Grainger

In the novel Dumb Witness, Dr Grainger is a physician in Market Basing, and has lived there since 1919.

Dr Grainger was physician to Emily Arundell, until the time of her death. While she was alive, they had been "allies of long-standing". He "bullied and she defied", and they got a lot of pleasure out of each other's company.

Dr Grainger is about sixty years old, with a thin bony face, and "an aggressive chin, bushy eyebrows, and a pair of very shrewd eyes".

Dr Grainger lost his sense of smell, after having the flu four years before the events of the novel. He considers this a nuisance, as he cannot enjoy smoking as he used to.

Poirot tells Dr Grainger that he is writing a book on General Arundell, and Dr Grainger tells him some information about the Arundell family. He also tells Poirot that Miss Peabody will be able to give him more information.

Dr Grainger later finds out that Poirot is a detective, and that he is not writing a book on General Arundell at all. He is furious that he had been lied to, and furious that he had believed the lie. However, his anger subsides after Poirot explains that the fall Miss Arundell had was attempted murder and not an accident, and that there might have been a second attempt on her life.

Poirot asks Dr Grainger if he is sure that Miss Arundell's death was due to natural causes, and if arsenic poisoning could have been involved. Dr Grainger says that arsenical poisoning could not account for the symptoms in Miss Arundell's case, and he is sure that she died of yellow atrophy of the liver.