“These footprints?” asked the Coroner, laying down his pen and looking at the inspector. “Are you of opinion that they will form any substantial clue to the assassin?”
“The marks were those of a woman’s feet,” Redway explained, whereat there was a stir of sensation among the public, who sat so quiet and open-mouthed that the proverbial pin might hitherto have been heard had it been dropped.
“Recent?”
“No doubt,” was his reply. “There were also the marks of the boots worn by deceased—and of others. The latter were probably those of Mr Woodhouse, Mr Warr and Constable Knight. They were so overtrodden that it was very difficult to recognise any distinctly. One fact, however, that I might mention, sir, and which adds a peculiar mystery to this case, is that I discovered that certain footprints had been deliberately erased.”
“Erased!” exclaimed the Coroner, surprised. “How do you mean?”
“Scratched over by some person who was able to visit the spot before I could arrive there.”
“Some accomplice?”
“It seems so. The spot was unfortunately left unguarded during Knight’s absence to warn me, and in that time it would appear that some one went there and deliberately set about to defeat the ends of justice.”
“This seems very curious and suspicious, gentlemen,” remarked the Coroner, re-adjusting his gold pince-nez as he turned to the twelve expectant jurymen. “If the theory of the police is true, then some second person, having knowledge of the crime, risked arrest and actually went to the spot and effaced those tell-tale marks. That the assassin had an accomplice is thus proved without a doubt. Therefore I think that under such peculiar circumstances you should leave the matter in the hands of the police to investigate. They will, I hope, be able both to establish the dead man’s identity, and to fix the crime upon the guilty person. In cases such as this it is always best for the jury to return a verdict of ‘Wilful Murder against some person or persons unknown,’ as it allows the police an entirely free hand afterwards, and prevents them from being compelled in evidence to disclose the nature or direction of the inquiries.”
“Redway’s a fool. He’ll discover nothing,” whispered the Earl to me, as he stood beside me in the further corner of the schoolroom. “If Sir Stephen had stirred up Scotland Yard we might have hoped for success. But now it’s in Redway’s hands we may rest assured it will be bungled from the very first.”