A master hand : $b The story of a crimeDallas, Richard
General
A master hand : $b The story of a crime
Dallas, Richard
Detective and mystery stories; Murder -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
I guessed that his purpose in omitting the testimony of the
night-officer was to collect evidence against Winters before disclosing
his case, but I felt it was only right he should do so and as I was
anxious that more should be learned if possible of the whereabouts of
the ulster, I agreed to the suggestion and the hearing was accordingly
adjourned.
After requesting him to send Detective Miles to me the following morning
to report, I gathered up the notes of the evidence which I had taken for
later use, and in company with Littell and Davis took my way to the
Crescent Club.
As we walked uptown Davis seemed too depressed for conversation, while
Littell with his usual serenity contented himself with the remark that
it was an unpleasant affair and he hoped it would soon be over.
I was not satisfied, however, to let the subject pass in so indifferent
a way, for I wanted some expression from him on certain points in the
case. I therefore asked him what he made of the disappearance of the
ulster. He answered rather impatiently, I thought, that he made nothing
of it, that he did not see how he could be expected to under the
circumstances, as no one had furnished him any information on the
subject.
At this Davis, who always had an ear for the ridiculous, laughed in a
half-hearted way.
I felt a little annoyed, however, at his indifference, more especially
as I was confident that his astute mind had not overlooked the incident
or its importance, and I asked him rather sharply not to trifle with a
serious subject, but to give me his real opinion, for I wanted it.
"Well, Dallas," he said, "if you must have it at this very undeveloped
stage of the evidence, I think that when you find the ulster you will be
on the track of the murderer," and after a moment's pause he continued:
"The ulster was in the room when we left it and it was not there the
following morning. Some one, therefore, was in the room in the meanwhile
and removed it. Now, it is very unlikely that more than one man was
there, and that man must have been the murderer as well as the thief."
He reflected a moment, and then went on: "The ulster, nevertheless, was
not taken for its value, for to have realized on it the thief must have
contemplated selling it and no man in his right senses, who had been
guilty of murder, would have jeopardized his neck by selling any article
taken from the scene of the crime so conspicuous as that ulster. No," he
resumed, after a moment's thought, "it was taken with some deeper design
and is now either destroyed or safely hidden, or, more likely still,
disposed of in some ingenious way that will only further baffle the
authorities when found."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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