I
Malcolm Sage found that Dawkins had completed his work, and the body
of Mr. Challoner had been removed.
Seating himself at the table, he took the automatic pistol in his
hand and deliberately removed the cartridges. Then placing the
muzzle against his right temple he turned his eyes momentarily on
Dawkins, who, having anticipated his wishes, had already adjusted
the camera. He removed the cap, replaced it, and then quickly
reversed the plate.
Pulling the trigger, Malcolm Sage allowed his head to fall forward,
his right hand, which held the pistol, dropping on the table before
him. Dawkins took another photograph.
"Now," said Malcolm Sage to Sir James. "You shoot me through the
right temple, approaching from behind. Grip my head as if you
expected me to resist."
Sir James did as he was requested, Dawkins making another exposure.
Malcolm Sage motioned Thompson to draw the curtains. Then dropping
on to his knees by the library door, he took the small mirror he had
borrowed from Miss Norman and, placing it partly beneath the door,
carefully examined the reflection by the aid of an electric torch.
When he rose it was with the air of a man who had satisfied himself
upon some important point. He then turned to Sir James.
"You might get those finger-prints," he said casually. "Get everyone
together in the dining-room. See that no one leaves it for at least
a quarter of an hour. Thompson will go with you."
"Then you think it was murder?" questioned Sir James.
"I would sooner say nothing just at the moment," was the reply.
Whilst Sir James Walton and Thompson were occupied with a room-full
of domestics, talking in whispers as if in the presence of death,
Malcolm Sage was engaged in a careful examination of the bottoms of
all the doors in the house by means of a mirror placed upwards
beneath each. He also removed the keys and gave a swift look at the
wards of each.
He moved quickly; yet without haste, as if his brain had entire
control of the situation.
One door in particular appeared to interest him, so much so that he
entered the room and proceeded to examine it with great thoroughness,
taking the utmost care to replace everything as he found it.
From the middle-drawer of the chest-of-drawers, he extracted from
under a pile of clothes a thin steel object, some five or six inches
in length, wound round with a fine, strong twine. This he slipped
into his pocket and, going down into the hall, rang up the manager
of the Lewes branch of the Southern Counties and Brown's Bank.
Passing into the library, he searched the drawers of the table at
which Mr. Challoner had been found. In one of them he discovered the
pass-book. Seating himself at the table, he proceeded to examine it
carefully. Turning to the pockets at either end, where cancelled
cheques are usually placed, he found both were empty.
When a few minutes later Sir James and Thompson entered with the
finger-prints, Malcolm Sage was seated at the table smoking, his
gaze concentrated upon the nail of the fourth finger of his right
hand. With him a contemplation of his finger-nails in general
indicated thoughtful attention; when, however, he raised the hand
and began to subject some particular finger-nail to a thorough and
elaborate examination, it generally meant the germination of some
constructive thesis.
Taking the sheets of paper from Thompson, he went through them
rapidly, then drawing a sheet of note-paper from the rack before him
he scribbled a hasty note, enclosed it with one of the fingerprints
in an envelope, which he sealed, addressed, and handed to Thompson
with instructions to see that it was delivered without delay. He
also told him to send Peters and Dane to the library.
Three minutes later Tims swung down the drive, his face beaming. He
was to drive to Scotland Yard and "never mind the poultry on the
road," as Thompson had phrased it.
"Have you the key of the safe, Mr. Dane?" enquired Malcolm Sage as
the young man entered, followed by Peters. Dane shook his head and
looked at Peters.
"Mr. Challoner always wore it on his key-chain, sir," said the
butler.
"Have you any objection to the safe being opened?" enquired Malcolm
Sage to Dane.
"None whatever."
"Then perhaps you will open it?" said Malcolm Sage, turning to Sir
James.
In the safe were found several bundles of letters and
share-certificates, and an old cash-box containing some loose
stamps; but nothing else.
Malcolm Sage dismissed Peters and Dane, saying that he would be
returning to town after dinner. In the meantime he and Sir James
strolled about the grounds, discussing the remarkable rise in the
chess-world of Capablanca, whilst Dawkins was busily occupied in a
darkened bath-room.
Dinner proved a far less sombre meal than luncheon. Malcolm Sage and
Sir James between them succeeded in placing young Dane more at his
ease. The haunted, shell-shock look left his eyes, and the twitching
disappeared from the corners of his mouth.
It was nearly nine o'clock when the distant moan of a hooter
announced to Malcolm Sage's alert ears the return of Tims. He rose
from the table and walked slowly to the door, where for some seconds
he stood with his hand upon the knob.
As the car drew up he slipped into the hall, just as Peters opened
the door.
A moment later the butler started back, his right hand seemed to fly
to his left breast pocket. At the same moment Malcolm Sage sprang
forward. There was a flash, a report, and two bodies fell at the
feet of Inspector Wensdale, of Scotland Yard, and another man
standing beside him.
In a second, however, they had thrown themselves upon the struggling
heap, and when Malcolm Sage rose to his feet it was to look down
upon Peters pinned to the floor by the inspector, with the strange
man sitting on his legs.
II
"There is no witness so sure as the camera," remarked Malcolm Sage
as he gazed from one to the other of two photographs before him, one
representing him holding an automatic pistol to his own head, and
the other in which Sir James was posing as a murderer.
"It is strange that it should be so neglected at Scotland Yard," he
added.
Silent and absorbed when engaged upon a problem, Malcolm Sage
resented speech as a sick man resents arrowroot. At other times he
seemed to find pleasure in lengthy monologues, invariably of a
professional nature.
"But we use it a lot, Mr. Sage," protested Inspector Wensdale.
"For recording the features of criminals," was the retort. "No,
Wensdale, you are obsessed by the finger-print heresy, quite
regardless of the fact that none but an amateur ever leaves such a
thing behind him, and the amateur is never difficult to trace."
He paused for a moment; but the inspector made no comment.
"The two greatest factors in the suppression of crime," continued
Malcolm Sage, "are photography and finger-prints. Both are in use at
Scotland Yard; but each in place of the other. Finger-prints are
regarded as clues, and photography is a means of identification,
whereas finger-prints are of little use except to identify past
offenders, and photography is the greatest aid to the actual tracing
of the criminal."
Malcolm Sage never failed to emphasise the importance of photography
in the detection of crime. He probably used it more than all other
investigators put together. He contended that a photographic print
established for all time what the eye could only dimly register for
the moment, with the consequent danger of forgetfulness.
As the links in a chain multiplied, it was frequently necessary to
refer to the scene of a crime, or tragedy, and then probably some
important point would crop up, which the eye had not considered of
sufficient importance to dwell upon. By then, in the case of a
murder, the body would have been removed, and everything about it
either re-ordered or obliterated.
Malcolm Sage proceeded to stuff his pipe with tobacco which he drew
from the left-hand pocket of his jacket. He had discovered that a
rubber-lined pocket was the best and safest pouch.
He picked up a third photograph and laid it beside the others. It
was a print of Mr. Challoner's head, showing, marked in ink, the
course of the bullet towards the left of the frontal bone.
"A man shooting himself," began Malcolm Sage, "places the pistol in
a position so that the muzzle is directed towards the back of the
head. On the other hand, anyone approaching his victim from behind
would have a tendency to direct the muzzle towards the front of the
head. That is why I got Dawkins to take a photograph of me holding
the pistol to my head and of you holding it from behind. These
photographs will constitute the principal evidence at the trial."
Sir James nodded. He was too interested to interrupt.
"On this enlargement of the wound," continued Malcolm Sage, "you
will see an abrasion on the side nearer the ear, as if the head had
suddenly been jerked backwards between the time of the muzzle being
placed against the temple and the actual firing of the shot."
Thompson leaned across to examine the photograph.
"If the eyes of someone sitting at a table are suddenly and
unexpectedly covered from behind, the natural instinct is to jerk
backwards so that the head may be turned to see who it is. That is
exactly what occurred with Challoner. He jerked backwards, and the
barrel of the pistol grazed the skin and was deflected still more
towards the frontal bone."
Sir James and Thompson exchanged glances. Dawkins stood by, a look
of happiness in his eyes. His beloved camera was justifying itself
once more. Inspector Wensdale breathed heavily.
"Apart from all this, the position of the head on the table, and the
way in which the hand was holding the pistol, not to speak of the
curve of the arm, were unnatural. You get some idea of this from the
photograph that Dawkins took of me, although I could only simulate
death by relaxing the muscles. Again, the head would hardly be
likely to twist on to its side."
"The doctor ought to have seen that," said the inspector.
Another thing against the theory of suicide was that the second
joint of the first finger was pressing against the trigger. Mr.
Challoner was an expert shot, and would instinctively have used the
pad of the finger, not the second joint.
"The next step," continued Malcolm Sage, "was how could anyone get
into the room and approach Challoner without being heard or
'sensed.'"
"He must have been very much absorbed in what he was doing,"
suggested Sir James.
Malcolm Sage shook his head, and for a few seconds gazed at the
photographs before him.
"You will remember there was nothing on the table in front of him. I
shall come to that presently. It is very unlikely that a man sitting
at a table would not be conscious of someone approaching him from
behind, no matter how quietly he stepped, _unless that man's
presence in the room were quite a normal and natural thing_. That
gave me the clue to Peters. He is the only person who could be in
the library without Challoner taking any notice of him. Consequently
it was easy for him to approach his master and shoot him."
"But the locked door, sir," said Thompson.
"That is a very simple matter. An ordinary lead-pencil, with a piece
of string tied to one end, put through the ring of the key to act as
a lever, the cord being passed beneath the door, will lock any door
in existence. The pencil can then be drawn under the door. This will
show how it's done." Malcolm Sage reached across for a sheet of
paper, and drew a rough sketch.
[Illustration]
"That is why you examined the under-edge of the door?" suggested Sir
James.
Malcolm Sage nodded. "The marks of the cord were clearly defined and
reflected in the mirror. Had the key not been touched, it would have
helped."
"How?" asked Inspector Wensdale.
"By means of the string the key is turned only just to the point
where the lever falls through the hole to the floor. The fingers
would turn beyond that point, not being so delicate."
"Mr. Sage, you're a wonder," burst out the inspector.
"I then," proceeded Malcolm Sage, "examined all the other doors in
the house, and I found that of one room, which I after discovered to
be Peters', was heavily scored at the bottom. He had evidently
practised fairly extensively before putting the plan into operation.
He had also done the same thing with the library door, as there were
marks of more than one operation. Furthermore, he was wiser than to
take the risk of so clumsy a tool as a lead-pencil. He used this."
Malcolm Sage drew from his pocket the roll of twine with the thin
steel instrument down the centre. It was a canvas-needle, to the eye
of which the cord was attached.
"This was absolutely safe," he remarked. "Another thing I discovered
was that one lock, and only one lock in the house, had recently been
oiled--that of the library-door."
Sir James nodded his head several times. There was something of
self-reproach in the motion.
"Now," continued Malcolm Sage, "we come back to why a man should be
sitting at a table absorbed in gazing at nothing, and at a time when
most of the household are either in bed or preparing for bed."
"Peters said that he was checking his pass-book," suggested Sir
James.
"That is undoubtedly what he _was_ doing," continued Malcolm Sage,
"and Peters removed the passbook, put it in a drawer, first
destroying the cancelled cheques. He made a blunder in not replacing
the pass-book with something else. That was the last link in the
chain," he added.
"I don't quite see----" began Sir James.
"Perhaps you did not read of a case that was reported from New York
some eighteen months ago. It was very similar to that of Mr.
Challoner. A man was found shot through the head, the door being
locked on the inside, and a verdict of suicide was returned; but
there was absolutely no reason why he should have taken his life.
"What actually happened was that Mr. Challoner went to his bank to
draw five hundred pounds with which he hoped to bribe his nephew's
fiancée. He trusted to the temptation of the actual money rather
than a cheque. When he was at the bank the manager once more asked
him to return his pass-book, which had not been balanced for several
months. He was very dilatory in such matters."
"That is true," said Dane, speaking for the first time.
"That evening he proceeded to compare it with his cheque-book. I
suspect that Peters had been forging cheques and he saw here what
would lead to discovery. Furthermore, there was a considerable sum
of money in the safe, and the quarrel between uncle and nephew
to divert suspicion. This, however, was mere conjecture--that
trouser-pocket photo, Dawkins," said Malcolm Sage, turning to the
photographer, who handed it across to him.
"Now notice the position of those keys. They are put in head
foremost, and do not reach the bottom of the pocket. They had
obviously been taken away and replaced in the pocket as Challoner
sat there. Had he gone to the safe himself and walked back to his
chair, the position of the keys would have been quite different."
Instinctively each man felt in his trousers pocket, and found in his
own bunch of keys a verification of the statement.
"The whole scheme was too calculated and deliberate for an amateur,"
said Malcolm Sage, knocking the ashes out of his pipe on to a brass
ashtray. "That is what prompted me to get the fingerprints of Peters,
so that I might send them to Scotland Yard to see if anything was
known of him there. The result you have seen."
"We've been on the look-out for him for more than a year," said
Inspector Wensdale. "The New York police are rather interested in
him about a forgery stunt that took place there some time ago."
"I am confident that when Challoner's affairs are gone into there
will be certain cheques which it will be difficult to explain.
"Then, again, there was the electric light," proceeded Malcolm Sage.
"A man about to blow out his brains would certainly not walk across
the room, switch off the light, and then find his way back to the
table."
"That's true enough," said Inspector Wensdale.
"On the other hand, a murderer, who has to stand at a door for at
least some seconds, would not risk leaving on the light, which would
attract the attention of anyone who might by chance be in the hall,
or on the stairs."
Inspector Wensdale caught Thompson's left eye, which deliberately
closed and then re-opened. There was a world of meaning in the
movement.
"Well, I'm glad I didn't get you down on a fool's errand, Sage,"
said Sir James, rising. "I wonder what the local inspector will
think."
"He won't," remarked Malcolm Sage; "that is why he assumed it was
suicide."
"Did you suspect Peters was armed?" enquired Sir James.
"I saw the pistol under his left armpit," said Malcolm Sage. "It's
well known with American gunmen as a most convenient place for quick
drawing."
"If it hadn't been for you, Mr. Sage, he'd have got me," said
Inspector Wensdale.
"There'll be a heavy car-full for Tims," remarked Malcolm Sage, as
he walked towards the door.