“The job was pulled off, all right,” replied the sergeant. “Come in, Mr. Carter, and see for yourself.”
“Presently.” Nick still detained him. “I first want to learn what is known about the crime. Who discovered it?”
“A milkman who called at the house in the rear of this one about an hour ago,” said Kennedy. “He saw an old slouch hat in the back yard, near the fence that divides the two lots. He went and picked it up and found fresh spots of blood on it.”
“And then?”
“Looking over the rear fence, he then saw that the[Pg 5] back door of this house was wide open,” Kennedy continued. “He could see no one, however, and knew that the house had not been occupied for a month. He then suspected there was something wrong, and he decided to look into the matter.”
“What did he do?” questioned Nick.
“He vaulted the fence and entered the back door. That is as far as he went. It’s as far as most men would have gone. When he saw the corpse on the kitchen floor—well, he dropped the hat and bolted.”
“Bolted where?”
“Luckily, Mr. Carter, he ran nearly into the arms of Policeman Brady, who is on this beat in the morning,” said Kennedy. “He told him what he had seen, and Brady returned with him to the house. He saw at a glance that a double murder had been committed, and he then notified the precinct station.”
“That was about an hour ago.”