Mystery fiction; Trials (Murder) -- Fiction; United States -- Fiction
"I made a superficial examination of the ground. Then with Miss Welsh I
went back to the main path, and requested her to stay there in sight of
the pond while I went to report. After doing so, I returned to the edge
of the woods and remained with Miss Welsh, in sight of the pond, until
others arrived: Lieutenant Kovacs, the photographer Sergeant Peterson,
Trooper Walter Curtis who brought equipment for making plaster casts,
and Trooper Morris. The coroner's physician Dr. Devens arrived soon, and
the undertaker's vehicle from Shanesville. However, Dr. Devens directed
that the body be taken to the Winchester City morgue, where I understand
there are better facilities. Trooper Morris and I lifted the body from
the water, and Dr. Devens made a brief examination at the scene. We then
placed the body in the vehicle, Dr. Devens gave his car keys to Trooper
Morris, and went himself in the undertaker's vehicle. Trooper Morris
followed with the doctor's car."
Smart and careful boy. It might still be necessary for T.J. to soothe
down little Dr. Devens if he got snippy about testifying to the same
technicality. Common sense says: Who's going to switch bodies on the
doctor? The law says: All right, but let's just make sure nobody does.
Not for the first time, Warner thought: _Granted, the law is an ass; but
better listen when it brays. Sometimes it's right._
"Go on, Sergeant."
"Under Lieutenant Kovacs' orders, I examined the pond's banks and the
immediate area, with Peterson and Curtis. Eliminating the marks made by
Dr. Chalmers, Miss Welsh and myself, only two sets of footprints were
found near the pond. Mrs. Doherty's were identifiable by the high-heeled
print of one shoe, and the stocking print of the other foot. The second
set was size six, low-heeled, blunt-toed, the right shoe showing a
slightly different sole-pattern from the left. I assisted Trooper Curtis
in making casts of the prints, and initialed them as he did. Mrs.
Doherty's footprints ended on the spur path, at the top of that slope I
mentioned. Where they ended, a blurred mark on the fairly soft ground
suggested that someone had fallen. It was not a very clear mark; all it
really indicated was some recent disturbance of the earth. And from my
experience of woodcraft and trail-reading--I think I can honestly claim
a bit of expert knowledge there, by the way--I would say that all the
marks from the beginning of the slope to the edge of the water were
quite indefinite; that is, I think they could be interpreted in several
different ways, all except one."
"And that one?"
"A heel-print belonging to the second set, the low-heeled set,
superimposed on the blurred mark where someone had apparently fallen.
And this mark told nothing except that whoever made it set her
heel--that is, the heel of a low shoe, size six--on top of the other
mark."
"Only one heel-mark?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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