‘Well,’ said the Professor, ‘that ad furnished the strongest link in my chain of evidence. I had information that Jack Carroll was infatuated with Stone’s wife. At the suggestion of his wife, Stone answered this ad and received a reply requesting him to call for a personal interview. That interview was with death!
‘Mrs. Stone, when questioned, said she and her husband had not been on particularly friendly terms recently and that the last she saw of him was when he left for White Plains to see about the position.
‘I called at the newspaper office and was informed that the ad had been inserted by Jonathan Gills, Pomeroy Hotel. They remembered it because Mr. Gills had telephoned asking if there were any replies to his ad. Despite the affirmative answer, they had never been called for. I found Jonathan Gills was unknown at the Pomeroy Hotel.
‘I learned from Mrs. Stone that her husband had answered the ad in long-hand and that he was left-handed and a very poor penman.
‘Pondering the matter, though puzzled at first, I finally hit upon the manner in which Stone had been led to his death,’ concluded Fordney.
[How do you think it was done?]
66
A Rum Regatta
‘Here’s a story that should amuse you, Jean,’ said Professor Fordney to his efficient and charming secretary.
He laughed heartily as he handed her a letter from his old friend, George Collins, government investigator in Florida.
Jean read the following: