“Here you are,” Gibbs said, and handed the other a paper-wrapped parcel which when opened proved to contain a long sharp paper-cutter. The blade, apparently hastily wiped, still showed traces of what was unmistakably blood.
“Where’d it come from?” Corson said, staring at the thing.
“A boy connected with the service department found it stuck between the palings of a fence near the delivery entrance. It may have been placed there by the murderer of Sir Herbert Binney.”
“Where is this entrance? Why wasn’t this found sooner?”
“The place is around the corner,—a sort of obscure entrance on the side street, used only by the tradesmen, for delivery. A cleaner found this just a short time ago.”
“Well,” said Corson, very gravely, “this is the paper-cutter belonging to a set of writing implements on Miss Prall’s library table; and I have just come from there, and I noticed that, though the sheath of this was up there, the paper-cutter was missing!”
CHAPTER X
Seek the Women
Late that night,—in fact it was about midnight, when the onyx lobby was practically deserted save for an occasional late home-comer,—the two detectives arrived for a confab with Bob Moore.