Since everyone who knew Velikovsky well knew of his habit of licking his fingers to turn pages in documents and books, the murderer reasoned that a good way to administer a slow-acting poison would be to put it on the pages of a book, especially a book that carried a curse against anyone who removed it from its proper place, and having the poison very gradually transferred orally. Since Mrs. Borden knew how to manufacture scented paper, Kiki and Puzzle Cat reasoned that she could be the one who slowly poisoned Velikovsky every time he touched, and tasted, the pages of the cursed book; this, incidentally, was why Kiki became so alarmed when Feed reached for that book.