The Middle of ThingsFletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
General
The Middle of Things
Fletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
Detective and mystery stories
The only new evidence produced by the prosecution was that of the
greengrocer on whose premises Hyde had admitted that he passed most of
the night of the murder, and in whose shed the missing valuables had been
found. The greengrocer's evidence as to his discovery was given in a
plain and straightforward fashion--he was evidently a man who would just
tell what he actually saw, and brought neither fancy nor imagination to
bear on his observation. But when the prosecution had done with him, Mr.
Millington-Bywater rose and quietly asked the police to produce the
watch, chain and ring which the greengrocer had found, in their original
wrappings. He held up the wrapping-papers to the witness and asked him if
he could swear that this was what he had found the valuables in and had
given to the police. The greengrocer was positive as to this; he was
positive, too, that the other wrappings which Felpham had carefully
preserved were those which had been on the outside of the parcel and had
been thrown aside by himself on its discovery and afterwards picked up by
Viner. Mr. Millington-Bywater handed all these papers up to the
magistrate, directing his attention to the strong odour of drugs or
chemicals which still pervaded them, and to the address of the
manufacturing chemists which appeared on the outer wrapping. The
magistrate seemed somewhat mystified.
"What is the object of this?" he asked, glancing at the defending
counsel. "It is admitted that these are the wrappings in which the watch,
and chain and ring were found in the witness's shed, but"--he paused,
with another inquiring look--"you propose to--what?" he asked.
"I propose, Your Worship, to prove that these things were never put there
by the prisoner at all!" answered Mr. Millington-Bywater, promptly and
with an assurance which was not lost on the spectators. "I intend to show
that they were purposely placed in that outhouse by the real murderer of
John Ashton after the statement made by the prisoner at the inquest
became public--placed there, of course, to divert any possible suspicion
of himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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