“Why?”
“Because, sir, the man who has murdered Mr Goldberg is not a man to leave clues behind him.”
“You know him, then?”
“I believe I do, sir. I believe the man who has just committed this crime is no other than Klein, alias Kolbecker, alias Müller.”
The chief made an impatient movement.
“You must have that man on your brain,” said he. “What on earth connexion can you make between this and the Gyde case?”
“One moment, sir; you have had a large experience. Have you ever come across an exactly similar case to this, that is to say, the case of a harmless, elderly gentleman strangled openly in the street for no apparent reason?”
“No, I can recall no such case.”
“The fact of strangulation alone marks it as a crime by itself. Murderers use every sort of weapon save their own hands.”
“The hand, as a rule, is the weapon of the madman.”