The use of the plural pronoun stimulated Peter immensely. “Yes—yes, of course,” he contributed.
Anthony continued with the expression of his theory. “The murderer cleared the table to the best of his ability—but he—(or she)—forgot the ink. And as it happened he had dropped some dirt into the bowl where the ink was.”
Peter’s wonderment increased. “Really, I don’t altogether follow you,” he declared. “What did he do to make the table dirty—I don’t know?”
Anthony poured the ink back into the bowl—after carefully removing the tell-tale stone. “I’ll retrace my steps then a trifle,” he remarked. “First of all, I am fairly confident that this murder was not a premeditated one. It was deliberate and brutal, but as I read the case, something unexpected happened that forced the murderer into what he considered was an impossible situation and one that called for the murder of Stewart—quickly.”
“You mean that Stewart fired at him and he killed Stewart in a sort of self-defence?”
Anthony thought over that for a moment—then shook his head. “No—not that exactly—Stewart was murdered treacherously—as he sat there,” he pointed to the seat by the desk—“killed from behind—but I think you’re right in your assumption that Stewart fired at him—we’ll look into that question in a moment.”
“How do you mean, then, that the murderer was forced into killing Stewart?”
“Dead men tell no tales,” replied Anthony gravely.
Peter nodded. “I see what you mean. But I’ll tell you something that I can’t quite get the hang of!”
“I’m listening,” said Anthony. “Fire away.”