“Yis, sor; but the other key was also in my safe,” replied McGorry.
“Have either of these keys ever been missing?”
“Shure and they haven’t been out of my keeping since the apartment was vacated last May, until three days ago when the painters begun work here. Since then they have had one of the keys during the day, but have always returned it before leaving.”
“Now, tell me,” continued the Coroner, turning to the foreman, “has the key been missing since you had it?”
“Not that I know of; we leave it sticking in the door all day, and only take it out when we leave.”
“So that it is possible that a person might have come to the door, taken the key, and kept it for some hours without your noticing it?”
“Yes, sir, it’s possible, but it aint likely; I haven’t seen anyone pass since I’ve been working here.”
“Could the corpse have been brought in here any other way than through the front door?”
“No, Mr. Coroner,” a quiet voice at my side replied; “I have just examined the fire-escape and all the windows. The fastenings have not been tampered with, and the dust on the fire-escape shows no signs of recent disturbance.” Mr. Merritt had gone on his search so unobtrusively that I had not noticed his absence till he reappeared, a good deal less immaculate than before.