The fact that one of the windows on the ground floor of Riversbrook had
been found open was regarded as evidence that the murderer had broken
into the house. Imprints of footsteps had been found in the ground
outside the window, and the police had taken several casts of these; but
whether the man who had broken into the house with the intention of
committing burglary or murder was a matter on which speculation differed.
If the murderer was a criminal who had broken into the house with the
intention of committing a burglary, there could be no connection between
the return of Sir Horace Fewbanks from Scotland and his murder. The
burglary had probably been arranged in the belief that the house was
empty, Sir Horace having sent the servants away to his country house in
Dellmere a week before. But if the murderer was a burglar he had stolen
nothing and had not even collected any articles for removal. The only
thing that was known to be missing was the dead man's pocket-book, but
there was nothing to prove that the murderer had stolen it. It was quite
possible that it had been lost or mislaid by Sir Horace; it was even
possible that it had been stolen from him in the train during his journey
from Scotland.
Pages:
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29