The Eames-Erskine case

A Detective Story
A. Fielding
A. L. Burt Company Publishers New York
Copyright, 1925, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Published, March, 1925
Dedicated to
my dear mother
who first read and liked and
criticised this yarn
The door opened noiselessly, and four men came in. They were in plain clothes, and one carried a large box.
“Evening,” said the first. “I am Chief Inspector Pointer from New Scotland Yard. These are detectives Watts, Miller and Lester. What's wrong?”
“I 'phoned,” a tall young man answered crisply. “I am the manager of the hotel. This is Mr. Beale, an American gentleman to whom this room was let a couple of hours ago. It really belongs to a young fellow who is away for the week-end, but as there was no other room available we assigned it to this gentleman for the one night. Mr. Beale has just told me that there is something wrong about the wardrobe you see there. Kindly investigate that large knot-hole in the back for yourself, Inspector.”