The nauseating odour emitted by the moving of the body drove Poole to the door for a breath of fresh air. When he returned, he found the more hardened Barrod and the surgeon closely examining a mark upon the left centre of the back. The whole surface was stained, as was inevitable, but in one spot there was a deeper and more clearly defined stain. The surgeon pressed it gently with his sensitive fingers, then, producing a magnifying-glass, turned the beam of a powerful electric torch on to the spot and examined it with minute attention. After a couple of minutes he straightened his back.
“Yes,” he said, “this is more than ordinary post-mortem staining; there clearly has been rupture of small capillary vessels. That means a blow, and from the look of it, a violent and concentrated blow.”
CHAPTER X.
The Inquest
The inquest on the exhumed body of Sir Garth Fratten was held at Scotland Yard, as any unnecessary movement was considered undesirable in view of the stage of decomposition that had been reached. For a similar reason it was arranged to hold the first stage of the inquest at once, without waiting for the collection of further evidence. After the inspection of the body by the jury, evidence as to identity, cause of death, and other preliminaries, an adjournment could be obtained and the body decently re-buried.
As can be imagined, the news of the prospective inquest was received with intense interest, and even excitement, by the press and public. The applications for the few available seats ran into hundreds, and for every curious spectator who found a place in the body of the court, twenty were turned away. When the Coroner, Mr. Mendel Queriton, took his seat at eleven o’clock on Wednesday 6th November, the room was packed to suffocation—so much so, indeed, that the jury, filing back from their unpleasant duty, demanded and obtained a wholesale opening of windows.
After the preliminary formalities, the first witness to be called was Sir Horace Spavage. Sir Horace identified the body and gave evidence as to the cause of death. He explained the nature of the disease, using very much the same terms and similes as he had done to Poole, but the detective noticed that the distinguished physician did not now display the same confidence and impatience as he had done on the first occasion.
“Knows he’s skating on thin ice,” thought Poole.
Having listened to what Sir Horace had to say, the Coroner caused to be handed to him a narrow sheet of paper, on which were visible both printed and written words.
“That, Sir Horace, is the certificate of death signed by you immediately after Sir Garth Fratten’s death?”
“It is.”