combination or not.”
“Thank you. Now let me ask you about the body of the deceased.”
“I have already indicated her position, Mr. Sparling.”
“Yes, I know. I still need you to describe what Lady Anne was wearing, however. For the record.”
“She had on a white nightdress and no slippers. She was not wearing any underwear.”
“What about jewelry?”
“She had on her wedding ring. Otherwise no jewelry at all. And no watch.”
“And the injuries?”
“There were two bullet wounds. One to the right neck-and-shoulder area. The other to the side of the head.”
“Anything else?”
“There was a small scratch on the left side of the deceased’s neck.”
“Thank you. Now, if we may turn to the exterior of the property. Can you assist us as to the intruders’ route of entry?”
“Yes. It began raining shortly after nine P.M. that evening, and the intruders’ footprints were preserved by the north gate and, to a certain extent, on the north lawn, which they crossed to reach the house.”
“Upon which sides of the north gate did you find the footprints?”
“On both sides. There were two sets of prints, which enabled me to establish that there were two intruders.”
“What about the north gate itself?”
“It is in fact a door in the wall. It was closed but unlocked. The footprints in the doorway showed quite clearly that the intruders came through the door rather than over the wall and left by the same route.”
“Did you inspect the lock, Officer?”
“I did. There were no signs that it had been forced. It is my opinion that it was unlocked using a key. The lock is modern and resistant to being picked from the outside. Picking would have left some scratches inside the lock itself, and there were none found.”
“I see,” said Sparling. “Now, you referred earlier to tire marks in the lane. Please would you tell us about them.”
“Yes, sir. They were distinctive. They were of a type usually fitted a Mercedes C-class vehicle, which had been turned at some speed in the roadway outside the north door before being driven away.”
“Were any of the other exterior entrances to the property open?”
“Only the main gates at the front of the property. They had been left open by Thomas Robinson when he went over to Christopher Marsh’s house.”
“To raise the alarm?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Thank you, Detective Butler. If you wait there, my friend here may have some questions for you.”
“Just a few, Officer,” said Miles Lambert, getting slowly to his feet. “Just a few. We wouldn’t want to keep you from your duties unnecessarily.”
Butler did not respond. He’d sworn to tell the truth, and that was what he was going to do. However, that did not extend to exchanging unnecessary pleasantries with the other side’s counsel. He kept his eyes fixed on a point just above Miles Lambert’s head and waited.
“Ransacking, Officer. A strong word.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Implying that those who did the ransacking did not know what they were looking for?”
“I can’t say, sir. I wasn’t there.”
“Yes, Detective Butler, that’s right,” interrupted the judge. “Mr. Lambert, stick to questions please. Don’t make points.”
“I’m sorry, my Lord. Let me ask you about the bed, Officer. Had it been slept in?”
“The one in the master bedroom?”
“Yes, the one in the room that was ransacked, as you put it a minute ago.”
“I’d say it had been slept in. Yes.”
“And what about the one in Thomas Robinson’s room?”
“That had more the appearance of having been laid on rather than slept in.”
“I see. Now the north door of the grounds. You believe it was unlocked using a key.”
“Yes, sir. After close examination of the lock, I feel sure of it.”
“Did you find the key?”
“Yes. It was hanging inside the side door of the house. With various other keys, sir.”
“Thank you. Now, you told Mr. Sparling earlier that it began raining that evening shortly after nine P.M.”
“Yes, sir. There was a thunderstorm. It rained for about half an hour.”
“And the rain would have washed away any footprints that were there before?”
“Where, sir?”
“In the lane and by the north door and on the lawn.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And the weather before it started raining. Was it hot or cold? Can you assist us with that, Detective Butler?”
“It was a warm evening, sir. Quite warm, as I understand it.”
“Understand it from whom?”
“From the meteorological office. There’s a report in the case papers.”
“Yes, I have it. Now, you’ve told us about the smashed window in the study, but what about the windows elsewhere in the house? Were any of them open?”
“The one in the boy’s room. In Thomas Robinson’s room. That was slightly open, but I don’t recall any others.”
“Thank you. Now, that’s all I want to ask you about the night of the thirty-first of May. I do, however, want to move you forward a little more than a year. To last Wednesday evening in fact. The fifth of July.”
“Yes, sir.” Butler looked unperturbed. He’d expected this line of questioning.
“Now, it’s right, isn’t it, that you were called to the House of the Four Winds again last Wednesday? To act as a crime-scene officer.”
“Yes, sir. I was called by Detective Sergeant Hearns, and I attended the scene at just before eight P.M.”
“Who was there when you arrived?”
“Thomas Robinson and two officers from Carmouth Police Station. Sergeant Hearns was also present.”
“You spoke to Thomas Robinson about what he said had happened?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tell us in outline what he told you, Officer. Just a thumbnail sketch.”
“He said that he had heard a car pull up in the lane and that he had seen two men enter the property through the north gate and cross the lawn to the front door. That he had hidden in a bench in the hallway while the two men searched the house, and that they had left when they heard a police siren in the road outside. Thomas had called the police earlier when he first saw the men.”
“So he said. Now, Officer, you naturally searched all the areas in the property where Thomas said the men had been?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Looking for clues. For forensic evidence. For fingerprints, DNA, things like that?”
“That’s right.”
“And did you find anything like that, Officer? Anything like that at all?”
“No, sir, I didn’t.”
“On your visit to the house on July fifth you found nothing to suggest that anyone had gotten in. Isn’t that right?”
“Nothing to suggest they had and nothing to suggest they hadn’t.”
“Well, let’s examine that, shall we? Beginning on the outside and working in. Let’s start with the lane. Did
