“Surely,” said Inspector Blaikie, “after what I’ve just told you, there can’t be the shadow of a doubt about it.”
Superintendent Wilson gave a short laugh, and sat upright in his chair. He was beginning to enjoy himself.
“Ah, but I think there can. Come now. Let us take first only the murder of John Prinsep, leaving out of account for the moment the murder of George Brooklyn. Now, what evidence have you as to the murder of John Prinsep?”
“First, that Walter Brooklyn’s walking-stick has been found in his room, and secondly that Walter Brooklyn rang up from Liskeard House at about 11:30 that night. He must have rung up from Prinsep’s room. There are only two telephones in the building, one in the porter’s room downstairs, connecting with the offices on the ground floor, and the other, on a separate line, in Prinsep’s room. He couldn’t have used the downstairs phone, because it was out of order that night. Winter told me that.”
“Assume that you are right. Still, there is at least as strong evidence that George Brooklyn was in the room that night, too. Remember his handkerchief you picked up, and the draughtsman’s knife. And in any case he was seen leaving the house at 11:30, and we know from the discovery of his body in the grounds that he came back afterwards.”
“Yes, I know that,” said the inspector.
“And do you mean to tell me that, in face of that evidence, you can prove to a jury that it was Walter, and not George Brooklyn, who killed Prinsep?”
“Perhaps not, if the case were taken alone. But it has to be considered together with the other—the murder of George Brooklyn. The double incrimination seems to me decisive.”
“Wait a bit. Next let us take George Brooklyn’s case, leaving aside for the moment that of Prinsep. Now, there, what evidence have you?”
“The finding of the ferrule in the garden, and the strong motive Walter Brooklyn had to put both nephews of Sir Vernon out of the way.”
“Motive by itself, however strong, is not enough; and the ferrule evidence is rather slender. It may have been dropped previously.”
“Walter Brooklyn had not been to Liskeard House for more than a week before the murder, and the ferrule was on his stick only three days before.”
“I allow you that point. But, even if his stick was in the garden, it does not follow that he was there. He may have lost it earlier. Prinsep may have had it for all we know. Moreover, what of the evidence which seems to show that Prinsep murdered George Brooklyn? He was seen in the garden just before eleven o’clock. The cigar-holder which he habitually used, and had been using that very evening, was found broken on the spot where the murder was done. Moreover, I have in my possession now a far more decisive piece of evidence. You told me that you were sure the fingerprints on the stone club found in the garden were those of Prinsep. You were perfectly correct. The Fingerprint Department has compared them with the impressions of John Prinsep’s hands, and these coincide beyond a doubt with the marks left on the stone. You have not yet seen the reproductions, inspector. Here they are.”
The superintendent took some papers and photographs from a drawer, and handed them across the table to the inspector, who pored over them for some time without speaking. Finally, he said, with something of a sigh—
“There can be no doubt they are the same. And, as you say, this throws a quite new light on one of the murders. It seems to prove that George Brooklyn was killed by Prinsep.”
“I do not regard it as proof positive: but it is certainly very strong evidence, especially as the marks on the club are just where a man would take hold in order to deal a smashing blow. The murderer used both hands, you notice. The prints are quite distinct for both the thumbs.”
“Yes, that is clear enough, although none of the impressions is quite complete. Somehow a part of the marks had got rubbed off before the club was properly examined.”
“These accidents will happen. It is only fortunate that the marks were not destroyed beyond hope of identification. Perhaps you yourself, inspector, or one of your subordinates, handled the club carelessly. Or perhaps someone else handled it before you came on the scene.”
“No. I was most careful, and no one touched it after I appeared except myself. The sergeant did not allow it to be touched at all until I arrived. Miss Cowper, who first discovered the body, told me she had not even noticed the weapon, much less handled it. She was too upset to notice anything except the body.”
“Well, I suppose it does not greatly matter, as the identification of the prints is still quite clear. There remains, of course, the bare possibility that, while Prinsep did handle the club, he did not actually kill George Brooklyn. But it is certain that the club was the weapon used. The fragments of hair clotted with blood which are still on it came quite definitely from the head of the deceased. The only doubt in my mind is whether Prinsep was a powerful enough man to strike such a blow. But I suppose we must take it that he was. It was a terrific blow, I understand from the medical evidence.”
“Yes, but a man not unusually strong can, by using his opportunities, get in a very big blow. I do not think there is much in that.”
“Quite so. Then I take it you agree that, in face of the evidence, it would be quite impossible to arrest Walter Brooklyn on the charge of having murdered George Brooklyn?”
The inspector sighed. “Yes,” he said, “you are right. I thought the case was getting straightened out, but it now seems darker than ever.” Then a thought came into the inspector’s mind; and his expression brightened. “But,”
