‘Right,’ said Kelley. ‘But you aren’t such a wise old owl, Fordney. This is like the Morrow case we handled. Remember?’
‘Good for you, Inspector,’ laughed the Professor.
[How did both men so quickly determine that the incriminating note had not been left by Dawson?]
18
Bloody Murder
‘A bad mess, this,’ said Professor Fordney to Sergeant Reynolds, as they viewed the bloody scene.
‘Yeah, I wish these guys wouldn’t be quite so thorough when they bump themselves off,’ replied Reynolds as he set grimly to work.
A man with his throat cut, the head almost severed, sat slumped over a blood-spattered desk. What a horrible sight! His bloodstained coat flung across the room, the razor! the shirt! the tie! his hands! covered with blood, made a ghastly and awesome picture framed by the flickering light of a dying candle.
After turning on the lights, Fordney bent down to take a closer look at the man.
‘His face seems vaguely familiar, Sergeant, but I can’t recall at the moment where I’ve seen him. How long has he been dead, Doctor?’
‘About two hours,’ replied the police surgeon.