Bridge laughed grimly and shook his head. "Colonel Carr was the last man in the world to take his own life sir,--too much afraid of the burning pit for that. I examined the body this morning, and I say--murder. Certainly my examination was cursory. But if he had shot himself through the heart, the linen over it would have been scorched. There is no mark of powder not even a singe. No sir, that shot was fired at a long range. If you did not alter the position of the body Dr. Herrick, I should say that the shot had been fired from the door." "I did not alter the position of the body Mr. Inspector. I merely turned it over, and replaced it. H'm! murder you say. And the assassin placed the revolver in the dead hand to hint at suicide. Clever man or woman Mr. Inspector. Which?" "Lord knows," replied Bridge rubbing his grey hair. "The Colonel had heaps and heaps of enemies I can tell you. Whether man or woman, I do not know. But I'll tell you one thing Dr. Herrick, whosoever fired the shot knew the Colonel excellently well." "I see what you mean. The assassin knew that his victim was left-handed." "Right sir. You've hit it. Now," added Bridge meditatively, "could it have been Frisco?" "Frisco. Who is he or her?" "Frisco was the servant of Colonel Carr," explained the Inspector, "and as great a mystery as his master; San Francisco, he called himself, and that I take it is the name of a town. The wicked Colonel shortened it to Frisco for short. Yes! Frisco might have killed him!" "If you would only give me a concise biography of Carr, I should be less in the dark Mr. Inspector." "Oh, you'll hear plenty of stories about him,--none of them creditable. But to put all you need know at present into a nut-shell, I can only say that the wicked Colonel returned here from foreign parts ten years ago. He built that tower, and shut himself up to live the life of a recluse. He brought Frisco with him, and the two inhabited that house all alone. No one thought of going near it." "Ah! That is why the crime was not discovered earlier." "Certainly Doctor. The milkman, the baker, and the butcher, were always instructed to leave their goods in a porch at the side of the house. In that porch," added Bridge, "we have found two days provisions. To-day is Friday, last night when you discovered the body was Thursday, and the provisions for that day and Wednesday were untouched." "H'm! So Carr was alive on Tuesday!" "I believe doctor, that he was murdered on Tuesday night. According to Napper, Frisco, was drinking here on that evening, and spoke ill of his master. Carr must have been alive then. If Frisco killed him, he would leave Saxham on Tuesday night, therefore the provisions for Wednesday and Thursday would not be taken in." "Did not the baker and the rest suspect anything, when they found two day's provisions untouched?" "Lord bless you, no sir," said Bridge jovially. "The wicked Colonel was that queer, that nothing he did seemed strange."