Confronting Mary
Warren’s daughter’s death was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Soper finally located Mary, who was working for a new family. He confronted her about her role in possibly spreading the disease. But things didn’t go quite to plan. Soper reportedly acted “as diplomatic as possible,” but nevertheless, the confrontation infuriated Mary so much so that she threatened the investigator with a carving fork.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
At the time, Soper didn’t have any proof that Mary was a carrier. After all, she didn’t have any typhoid fever symptoms. So, the investigator asked the cook to provide him with samples, but she refused, thereby forcing Soper to try a different approach. He started looking back at her employment records from the past five years.