"Yes," said the Inspector carelessly; "I believe this is the first time murder has been connected with his name--publicly, that is. Who knows what assassinations he may not have to answer for privately? However, here is the room and the corpse. What do you make of both?"
The other man looked round slowly. The room blazed with the full power of the many electric lights, which the Inspector had turned on; also, as the apartment was square and sparsely furnished, there was no nook or cranny that could not be seen at a glance. The three windows had neither blinds nor curtains, in accordance with Mr. Dimsdale's craze for fresh air; but round the desk, which was on the right side of the room, near the fireplace, a high screen was drawn, the same which the girls had used on that morning when they were selecting the guests for the fatal ball. In a chair, turned sideways from the desk, drooped the form of the dead man. He was arrayed in evening dress, but his shirt-front was crumpled, and his face was swollen and discoloured. There was no disorder round about the desk; the Persian mat had not even been kicked out of the way.
"Yes," said Drench in answer to a look from Vernon, "there could not have been any struggle, since all is in order. In my opinion The Spider--if it was that chap, as you seem to think--must have come silently behind his victim, and strangled him with the handkerchief before he had time to call out. He came to kill as well as to rob."
"A handkerchief?" asked Vernon interested. "I thought he did it with his hands, Mr. Inspector?"
Drench shook his iron-grey head. "There are no marks of hands on the throat, Mr. Vernon; only a cruel black line, which shows that a cord or handkerchief must have been used--and used with great force. Though, to be sure," added the Inspector reflectively, "Mr. Dimsdale was so short and fat in the neck that a slight pressure must have caused apoplexy."
"Did he die of that?"
"And strangulation; a mixture of both. But it's odd, Mr. Vernon, that with those uncurtained windows he should have been murdered without anyone seeing the performance. There must have been many guests in the front garden, as people always do wander outside between the dances to get fresh air."
Vernon pointed to the screen. "That served the purposes of both curtain and blind, Mr. Inspector. Behind that the crime could be committed without anyone being the wiser, even if anyone had been on the verandah."
"Provided there was no noise," insisted Drench.
"Exactly; so that makes me believe that your surmise is correct. The Spider, for some reason, may have come to kill, as well as to blackmail. Perhaps, as he learned about the trap--which he must have done to arrange for my absence--he dreaded lest Dimsdale should prove a dangerous person, and so got rid of him. If that mirror"--Vernon pointed to a long, broad looking-glass which covered one side of the fireplace, and which reflected desk and chair and screen and seated figure--"could speak it would tell how the crime was committed. I can guess myself," he ended.