Murder at Birlstone

Chapter two

'What time was the bridge raised?' asked the policeman.

'It was six o'clock,' said Ames the butler. 'Mrs Douglas had visitors so I raised it after they left.'

'So if anyone came in from outside - if they did - then they came into the house before six and hid there until Mr Douglas came into the room at about eleven o'clock.'

'That's right. Mr Douglas always checked all the lights in the house before he went to bed. He came in here, where the man was waiting to shoot him. Then the murderer got away through the window and left the gun behind. That's what I think.'

The policeman picked up a card which was lying on the floor beside the dead man. The initials V.V. and the number 341 were written on the card.

'What's this?' asked the policeman.

Barker looked at it.

'I didn't notice it before. The murderer probably left it behind.'

'V.V. 341. What does it mean? Somebody's initials, maybe.'

The policeman walked slowly around the room. He pulled back a window curtain. 'Look at this!' he said excitedly. 'Someone was hiding here, look at these muddy footprints.'

'What's this mark on his arm?' asked the doctor.

On the dead man's right arm was a strange brown design: a triangle inside a circle.

'It's not a tattoo,' said the doctor. 'I've never seen anything like it. This mark has been burnt onto the man. What does it mean?'

'I don't know what it means but Douglas has had that mark for at least ten years,' said Cecil Barker.

'Yes,' agreed the butler. 'I've often noticed it and wondered what it is.'

'Then it has nothing to do with the crime anyway,' said the policeman.

The butler suddenly gave a shout of surprise.

'What is it now?' said the policeman.

'They've taken his wedding ring! He always wore his wedding ring below this other one with the snake on it,' said the butler.

'You mean that the murderer first took off this snake ring, then the wedding ring and afterwards put the snake ring back on again?'

'It looks that way,' said the butler.

The policeman shook his head. 'The sooner the London police get here the better,' he said.

The Chief Detective for Sussex was Mr Mason. He was waiting for us at the railway station in Birlstone the next day.

'A very interesting case, MacDonald,' he said. He took us to our hotel. We sat down and Mason told us the details. Sherlock Holmes listened carefully.

'So what have you discovered so far?' he said when Mason had finished.

'I examined the shotgun,' said Mason. 'The gun wasn't very long and could easily be hidden under a coat. It was made in America. The butler says he has never seen it in the house before. It suggests that the stranger who entered the house and killed Douglas is American.'

MacDonald shook his head.

'I've heard nothing that proves that a stranger was even in the house.'

'What about the open window, the blood by the window, the muddy footprints?'

'They are all things which can be set up. The business with the ring and the card suggests premeditated murder for a private reason. But why would the murderer choose such a noisy weapon if he wanted to get away unnoticed? What do you think, Holmes?'

'It does seem strange,' agreed Holmes. 'Can we go to the house now? There may be some clues that will help us,' he added.

We walked through the village towards Birlstone Manor. Sergeant Wilson was still there.

'Anything new?' Mason asked the policeman.

'No, sir.'

'Then go home. You're tired. The butler can wait outside. Tell Cecil Barker and Mrs Douglas we want to talk to them in a short while. Now, I'll tell you what I think so far. I think it's murder. The question is, was it done by someone from outside or inside the house? It doesn't seem likely that it was someone inside the house: they did it at a time when the house was quiet but no one was asleep, and used the noisiest weapon possible, which hasn't been seen inside the house before. So we come back to the theory that it was done by someone from the outside.'

Holmes nodded in agreement.

'So, the man gets into the house sometime between four thirty and six. He hid behind the curtain until about eleven, when Douglas entered the room. If the two men spoke, then it was not for long. Mrs Douglas said her husband had left her only a few minutes before she heard the shot.'

'The candle shows that. It's a new candle but it has only burnt down a little,' said Holmes.

'Exactly. That means he put it on the table before he was attacked. This shows he wasn't attacked as soon as he entered the room. When Barker arrived, the candle was lit and the lamp was out.'

'That all seems clear,' said Holmes.

'So Douglas enters the room. He puts down the candle. A man appears from behind the curtain with a gun. He asks for the wedding ring - we don't know why but it seems so. Mr Douglas gives it to him. Then the man shoots Douglas. He drops the gun and this card "V.V. 341", whatever that means, and then escapes through the window and across the moat, just as Cecil Barker discovers the crime. How does that sound, Mr Holmes?'

'Interesting, but not very believable,' said Holmes.

'What's your theory then, Holmes?'

'I'd like a few more facts before I come up with a theory,' said Holmes. 'Ames, can you come in here for a moment please?'

The butler came in. 'Now, you've seen this mark on Mr Douglas's arm before?'

'Often, sir,' agreed Ames.

'There is also a small piece of plaster on Mr Douglas's chin. Did you see that when he was alive?' asked Holmes.

'Yes sir, he cut himself shaving yesterday morning,' said Ames.

'Did he often cut himself shaving?' asked Holmes.

'Not for a very long time, sir.'

'Interesting!' said Holmes.

'This might mean he was nervous and knew that he was in danger. Did you notice anything unusual in his behavior yesterday, Ames?'

'He did seem a bit nervous, sir,' said the butler.

'So, perhaps the attack wasn't unexpected then. Now, what about the card - V.V. 341. What do you think that means, MacDonald?'

'It seems like a secret society of some sort. I thought the same about the mark on the arm.'

'Someone from a secret society gets into the house, kills Mr Douglas and leaves this card. The newspapers will report it, so other members of the society will know that vengeance has been done. But why this gun? Why the missing ring? Why has no one been arrested yet?'

Holmes walked over to the window and examined the blood stain.

'It's a footprint but it looks very wide to me, wider than the other footprints over in the corner. What's this under the table?' asked Holmes, bending to pick up the object.

'Mr Douglas's dumbbells,' said Ames.

'Dumbbell,' corrected Holmes. 'There's only one of them. Where's the other?'

'I don't know, Mr Holmes. Perhaps there was only one. I haven't noticed them for months.'

Holmes looked serious. 'One dumbbell...' He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Cecil Barker came in.

'Sorry to interrupt,' he said, 'but they've found his bicycle. The man left it behind. Come and look.'