“If it was necessary to offset some testimony that could be advanced by the other servants, would not some such story as this be concocted to cover the time necessary for the taking away of the body?”
And he quickly gave himself the answer:
“The story is admirably suited to just such a series of circumstances, and if the stories told by the others show a necessity for this tale, I shall at once set Joe Timon down as an accessory, no matter how great the trust Mr. Field may have had in him.”
He now had in his possession practically all that could be told of the main features of the case, and he wanted now to use his eyes a little more before questioning the other servants.
Speaking to Barnes, he said:
“It must have been here that the body lay.”
“It was. That is the spot that Timon pointed out to me.”
From here there was a depression of the nap of the carpet, in two long, straight lines, toward the door.
They were such marks as would be left by the heels of a person being dragged along by the shoulders.
The detective now stepped toward the door to which these marks led, Barnes following him closely and saying: