A charred piece of the contract was found in the actor’s fireplace, in front of which he lay. Jenks’s cane and a vanity-case monogrammed ‘S. M.’ were also found in the room.
Acquainted with the facts by Sergeant Reynolds, Fordney replied,
‘I’m afraid you’ve overlooked a valuable clue.’
What was it?
46 _Murder at the Lake_
‘Here’s all we’ve been able to learn, Professor. I wish you’d see what you can make of it,’ said Sheriff Darrow.
‘Garden’s cottage fronts the lake at a point about halfway between the head and foot of its mile length.
‘A strong east wind off the lake that morning caused him and his two guests to abandon their proposed fishing trip. Garden remained behind while Rice and Johnson set off hiking in opposite directions.
‘Rice said that fifteen minutes later, as he was retrieving his hat which had blown into the lake, he heard a shot and hurried to the cottage. There he found Johnson with blood on his hands bending over Garden, who had been shot through the heart.
‘Johnson said he had gone only about two hundred yards when he heard the shot and rushed back. He claims he got the blood on his hands when ascertaining if Garden were alive. He also admits moving some furniture, although cautioned against it by Rice.
‘Fortunately for Rice, we found his hat still wet, but discovered he had changed his shirt before the arrival of the police. He had also gone through Garden’s desk, but said he removed nothing.
‘Both men entered through the back door, though the front entrance was more convenient.
‘We haven’t found a gun or any other weapon and we haven’t been able to establish a motive yet,’ concluded Darrow. ‘What do you make of it?’
‘It’s a bit muddled, Sheriff,’ replied Fordney, ‘but I would question ________ further.’
Of whom was he definitely suspicious—and why?
47 _The Professor Studies a Coat_
‘They covered us with a gun, and when the cashier tried to give an alarm, they shot him. Then they handcuffed me, grabbed five stacks of bills, and beat it.’
‘Calm yourself,’ ordered Fordney, ‘and tell me who “they” are.’
‘Two fellows who robbed the bank just now,’ explained the excited narrator, who had rushed into Fordney’s cottage at Lakeview. ‘I knew you were vacationing in the village, so, as soon as they escaped in their car, I ran over here.’
‘Didn’t you call a doctor for the cashier?’
‘Too late. He must have died instantly.’
‘How do you know the bandits escaped in a car?’
‘I saw them from the window.’
‘Were you and the cashier alone at the time of the shooting?’
‘Yes. I had just made a deposit. I guess they got my money, too.’
Fordney walked over and picked up the overcoat his visitor had removed upon entering the living-room.
‘You seem to have had a little accident. How did you get this?’ he asked, examining a long tear in the front of the coat.
‘Why—I guess I tore it on the door when I rushed out of the bank. I broke a button, too, you’ll notice.’
‘Let’s see your hat!’ demanded Fordney, eyeing his visitor sharply.
‘Why—where is it? I—must have left it in the bank!’
‘Well—let’s go. The police will be interested in your story—and bring that coat with you!’
Why did Fordney suspect this man of complicity in the hold-up?
48 _Too Late_
‘Perhaps you’d better tell me exactly what happened,’ said Professor Fordney kindly to the agitated man.
‘Well,’ continued Palmer, ‘Frank has been despondent and talked of suicide for some time. I thought exercise and the open air would do him good, so I suggested a vacation at my place in the country.
‘We’d been there three days, and he seemed in much better spirits. Then, Thursday morning, after we’d been fishing an hour or so, he said he thought he’d try another stream about a mile away. I was having good luck, so I told him to go ahead and I’d meet him at the cabin later.
‘About eleven o’clock, when I’d caught my limit, I started back. As I neared the cabin, I seemed to have a premonition of trouble, and ran the last few yards. When I opened the door, God! I’ll never forget it! I’d got there not more than five minutes behind him, and yet there he lay—dead! That hideous look on his face! It haunts me! Why couldn’t I have been just a few minutes earlier?
‘A whiskey bottle on the table and the glass which smelled of cyanide told me the story. He’d done it, after all! I’ll never forgive myself,’ Palmer concluded with a sob.
‘Had you any visitors while at camp?’ asked Fordney.
‘No, we hadn’t seen anyone for two days.’
‘Did your friend smoke?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Was the door open or closed when you arrived?’
‘Why, closed.’
‘And the windows?’
‘Closed, too, Professor.’
‘If you’re innocent, Palmer, why are you lying?’ demanded Fordney.
What was the lie?
49 _Sergeant Reynolds’s Theory_
‘Inspector Kelley picks out such nice messy jobs for me.’
Professor Fordney smiled as Reynolds made a wry face.
‘We found him lying against a boulder about ten feet from the bottom of a fifty-foot embankment of solid rock. While there were no traces of the path of his fall, the concrete road directly above him was stained with blood. I don’t know why people insist on walking along the highway.
‘That’s such a bad curve right there. I don’t suppose we’ll ever find out who struck him. And then, it’s possible for someone to have hit him without knowing it. And I believe the car that did stopped and the driver seeing how badly he was hurt, in fear, drove on.’
‘What makes you think that, Reynolds?’
‘There are tracks of a car skidding along the shoulder of the road, and footprints in the blood where the fellow dropped on the pavement. I suppose the poor old man regained consciousness, staggered to his feet, and rolled down the embankment. That finished him. Ugh—it was a messy affair!’
‘Who is he?’
‘We’re not sure. The only identification was a small scrap of paper in his pocket with the name Tabor. By a queer coincidence there was a large T deeply cut in the blood-stained boulder which stopped his fall.’
‘No doubt, Sergeant, the murderers intended you should take exactly the inference you have, but don’t you see t____ w__ n_ b____ b______ t__ r___ a__ t__ b______?’
What did the Professor tell Reynolds?
50 _Daylight Robbery_
‘I went to the office Thursday to do some work,’ Shaeffer related.
‘About noon, I happened to look out the window and notice a black sedan draw up and two tough-looking fellows get out. They looked suspicious to me, and, as I wasn’t armed, I hastily banged the safe door closed and ran into the washroom—not a bit too soon either. In just a few seconds they came in, one carrying a sawed-off shotgun. I could see them plainly.
‘They looked around for a moment and one said, “If anybody comes in here before we’re through, give it to him.”
‘He then went over to the safe and, after working on it for about five minutes, had it open and took the money. They certainly had a lot of nerve. Even stopped to count it! Then they leisurely strolled out the door. I called Headquarters immediately.’
‘How much did they get?’ questioned Inspector Kelley.
‘Over fifteen thousand. We hadn’t banked the money from the day before because Thursday was a holiday.’
‘Get the number of the car?’
‘No. When it drove up to the office, I didn’t see a license plate on the front, and I couldn’t see the back. When I finished telephoning for the police, it had gone.’
‘Was there anyone at the office besides you?’
‘I was alone. A man telephoned an hour before, however, and asked if we were open. I told him no, but I’d be there until about two-thirty. He hung up without answering.’
‘Well, fellows,’ asked Professor Fordney, of the members of his class in criminology, to whom he was telling the story, ‘why did Inspector Kelley immediately arrest Shaeffer?’
51 _A Simple Solution_
The sun streamed cheerfully through the window, bringing into lively play the soft tones of the luxurious furnishings, as the two house guests, Professor Fordney and Inspector Kelley, entered the oil magnate’s bedroom.
‘Nothing in here to get excited about,’ said Kelley.
Fordney, opening the window and seeing Smith lying on the ground three stories below it, cried, ‘Run downstairs, Inspector. Quick! There he is!’
Kelley nodded, and was on his way. As he hurried out the door, he came face to face with the butler. Fordney eyed the servant suspiciously as he entered.
‘When did you see Mr. Smith last?’ he asked.
‘About an hour ago. He had a telephone call which seemed to excite him and he came right up here to his room.’
‘Who brought this up?’ Fordney asked, fingering an unopened letter with an illegible postmark.
‘He brought it up himself, sir, saying he was not to be disturbed.’
‘Anyone been here since?’