“How do you explain the telephone call after the man was fatally shot?”
Prescott grunted. “An impossibility like that can be explained only by the discovery of facts not yet known. Maybe the doctors diagnosed wrong——”
“No, not Ely Davenport!” Barry declared.
“Well, then, maybe the man telephoned before he was shot, but was positive the shot was coming.”
“Telephoned in the presence of the murderer?”
“Oh, I don’t know! Didn’t I tell you nothing could explain that but to discover some new facts? I haven’t got ’em yet!”
“Do you expect to?”
“Honest, Mr Barry, I don’t know. A case like this—so full of queer and unexplainable conditions may suddenly become clear—or, it may never do so!”
“Isn’t that true of every case?”
“Well, I mean some unexpected clew may drop from the skies and clear it all up at once, or it may never be solved at all. Most cases can be worked out piece by piece, and require only patience and perseverance; but when you strike the work of a super-criminal, as this certainly is, then you have to wait for chance to help you. And that’s mighty uncertain!”