“Here is the envelope. You will notice that the postmark, which by the way has been drawn in, for it was too obliterated for any other method to be of use, shows the letter to have been posted in London just a month ago. For what it is worth I may remind you that almost any educated man would realize that such a communication should be sent to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Home Office, and not to Scotland Yard.”
“What happens,” asked Dr. Maclean, “when such a thing as this is received?”
“By long experience we are well aware that such a letter is likely to be only one of a series—and sure enough, four days later, came this second letter!”
The speaker pushed aside the first sheet of paper he had laid down, and put in its place another.
“This surely is from an uneducated person?” exclaimed Dr. Maclean.
He was now gazing at a most peculiar looking script, marked 2.
“Not necessarily,” said Mr. Kentworthy. “But whether written by the same individual or not, this was undoubtedly written with the left hand. It is extremely difficult for any handwriting expert, however clever, to identify a letter written with the left hand with the writer’s ordinary right-hand script. There are as a rule certain similarities, but those proceed from the brain rather than from the mechanical action of the hand.”
“I think I understand what you mean,” and, bending down, he read the following long comma-less sentence:
It’s a shame the police took no notice of what happened at The Thatched House when poor Mrs. Garlett died she died in agony her husband was carrying on at the time with more than one girl the doctor’s niece could tell you why poor Mrs. Garlett’s doctor made no fuss people have asked why no inquest echo answers why?
“What an abominable thing!”