"Mr. Ashton!"
"You know him?" said Viner.
"Gent that came to live at number seven in your square a while back,
Mr. Viner," answered the policeman. "Australian or New Zealander, I
fancy. He's gone right enough, sir! And--knifed! You didn't see anybody
about, sir?"
"Yes," replied Viner, "that's just it. As I turned into the passage, I
met a young fellow running out of it in a great hurry--he ran into me,
and then, shot off across the road, Westbourne Grove way. Then I came
along and found--this!"
The policeman bent lower and suddenly put a knowing finger on certain of
the dead man's pockets.
"Robbed!" he said. "No watch there, anyway, and nothing where you'd
expect to find his purse. Robbery and murder--murder for the sake of
robbery--that's what it is, Mr. Viner! Westbourne Grove way, you say this
fellow went? And five minutes' start!"
"Is it any good getting a doctor?" asked Viner.
"A thousand doctors'll do him no good," replied the policeman grimly.
"But--there's Dr. Cortelyon somewhere about here--number seven in the
terrace. One of these back doors is his. We might call him."
He turned the light of his lantern on the line of doors in the
right-hand wall, and finding the number he wanted, pulled the bell.
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