But he had
returned unexpectedly; there were no servants in the house, and there was
no bed ready for him. In any case, if he intended stopping in the empty
house instead of going to a hotel he would have been wearing a sleeping
suit when his body was discovered; or, at most, he would be only
partially dressed if he had got up on hearing somebody moving about the
house. But the body was fully dressed, even to collar and tie. It was
absurd to suppose that the victim had been sitting in the darkness when
the murderer appeared.
Another difficult problem Scotland Yard had to face was the discovery of
the person who had sent them the news of the murder. How had Scotland
Yard's anonymous correspondent learned about the murder, and what were
his motives in informing the police in the way he had done? Was he
connected with the crime? Had the murderer a companion with him when he
broke into Riversbrook for the purpose of burglary? That seemed to be the
most probable explanation. The second man had been horrified at the
murder, and desired to disassociate himself from it so that he might
escape the gallows. The only alternative was to suppose that the murderer
had confessed his crime to some one, and that his confidant had lost no
time in informing the police of the tragedy.
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