[17. Too Clever]
The murderer tried to give the impression that Dawson had died before finishing the incriminating note. Had he written it and died before completing it, he could not have put the pen back in the tray where it was found.
In his effort to incriminate Lynch, the murderer had been too cautious. A costly oversight.
Man’s caution often into danger turns,
And his guard falling crushes him to death.
Young.
[18. Bloody Murder]
The Professor knew it was not suicide, because Thompson’s coat, which was flung across the room, was blood-stained. Quite impossible if he had taken his own life.
Blood, though it sleep a time, yet never dies.
Chapman.