An English town puzzles over a spy who came in from the cold

SALISBURY, England – For Amber McAuley, life in Salisbury — known as the gateway to Stonehenge — has become surreal ever since the town became the scene of a spy drama worthy of John le Carre.

The 20-year-old student became a bit player in the story when she visited the Mill pub on March 4, only to learn the next day that a former Russian spy and his daughter might have been poisoned there a few hours earlier.

Prime Minister Theresa May has applauded the "fortitude and calmness" of the town's residents as she said Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were targeted with a military-grade nerve agent developed by Russia.

But while McAuley spent a day scrubbing herself and repeatedly washing her clothes, most other residents are taking events in stride.