“Yes, they sent for me at once.”
“Who did?”
“Mr. Gibson himself. The moment the alarm was given and hehad rushed down with others from the house, he insisted thatnothing should be moved until the police should arrive.”
“That was sensible. I gathered from the newspaper report thatthe shot was fired from close quarters.”
“Yes, sir, very close.”
“Near the right temple?”
“Just behind it, sir.”
“How did the body lie?”
“On the back, sir. No trace of a struggle. No marks. No weapon.
The short note from Miss Dunbar was clutched in her left hand.”
“Clutched, you say?”
“Yes, sir, we could hardly open the fingers.”
“That is of great importance. It excludes the idea that anyonecould have placed the note there after death in order to furnish afalse clue. Dear me! The note, as I remember, was quite short:
“I will be at Thor Bridge at nine o’clock.”
“G. DUNBAR.
Was that not so?”
The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes 1337
“Yes, sir.”
“Did Miss Dunbar admit writing it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What was her explanation?”
“Her defence was reserved for the Assizes. She would saynothing.”
“The problem is certainly a very interesting one. The point ofthe letter is very obscure, is it not?”
“Well, sir,” said the guide, “it seemed, if I may be so bold as tosay so, the only really clear point in the whole case.”
Holmes shook his head.
“Granting that the letter is genuine and was really written, itwas certainly received some time before—say one hour or two.
Why, then, was this lady still clasping it in her left hand? Whyshould she carry it so carefully? She did not need to refer to it inthe interview. Does it not seem remarkable?”
“Well, sir, as you put it, perhaps it does.”
“I think I should like to sit quietly for a few minutes and thinkit out.” He seated himself upon the stone ledge of the bridge, andI could see his quick gray eyes darting their questioning glances inevery direction. Suddenly he sprang up again and ran across to theopposite parapet, whipped his lens from his pocket, and began toexamine the stonework.
“This is curious,” said he.
“Yes, sir, we saw the chip on the ledge. I expect it’s been doneby some passer-by.”
The stonework was gray, but at this one point it showed whitefor a space not larger than a sixpence. When examined closely onecould see that the surface was chipped as by a sharp blow.
“It took some violence to do that,” said Holmes thoughtfully.
With his cane he struck the ledge several times without leaving amark. “Yes, it was a hard knock. In a curious place, too. It was notfrom above but from below, for you see that it is on the lower edgeof the parapet.”
“But it is at least fifteen feet from the body.”
“Yes, it is fifteen feet from the body. It may have nothing to dowith the matter, but it is a point worth noting. I do not think that wehave anything more to learn here. There were no footsteps, you say?”
“The ground was iron hard, sir. There were no traces at all.”
“Then we can go. We will go up to the house first and lookover these weapons of which you speak. Then we shall get on toWinchester, for I should desire to see Miss Dunbar before we gofarther.”
Mr. Neil Gibson had not returned from town, but we saw inthe house the neurotic Mr. Bates who had called upon us in the1338 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
morning. He showed us with a sinister relish the formidable arrayof firearms of various shapes and sizes which his employer hadaccumulated in the course of an adventurous life.
“Mr. Gibson has his enemies, as anyone would expect who knewhim and his methods,” said he. “He sleeps with a loaded revolverin the drawer beside his bed. He is a man of violence, sir, and thereare times when all of us are afraid of him. I am sure that the poorlady who has passed was often terrified.”
“Did you ever witness physical violence towards her?”
“No, I cannot say that. But I have heard words which werenearly as bad—words of cold, cutting contempt, even before theservants.”
“Our millionaire does not seem to shine in private life,”
remarked Holmes as we made our way to the station. “Well,Watson, we have come on a good many facts, some of them newones, and yet I seem some way from my conclusion. In spite ofthe very evident dislike which Mr. Bates has to his employer, Igather from him that when the alarm came he was undoubtedlyin his library. Dinner was over at 8:30 and all was normal up tothen. It is true that the alarm was somewhat late in the evening,but the tragedy certainly occurred about the hour named in thenote. There is no evidence at all that Mr. Gibson had been outof doors since his return from town at five o’clock. On the otherhand, Miss Dunbar, as I understand it, admits that she had madean appointment to meet Mrs. Gibson at the bridge. Beyond thisshe would say nothing, as her lawyer had advised her to reserveher defence. We have several very vital questions to ask that younglady, and my mind will not be easy until we have seen her. I mustconfess that the case would seem to me to be very black againsther if it were not for one thing.”
“And what is that, Holmes?”
“The finding of the pistol in her wardrobe.”
“Dear me, Holmes!” I cried, “that seemed to me to be the mostdamning incident of all.”
“Not so, Watson. It had struck me even at my first perfunctoryreading as very strange, and now that I am in closer touch withthe case it is my only firm ground for hope. We must look forconsistency. Where there is a want of it we must suspect deception.”
“I hardly follow you.”
“Well now, Watson, suppose for a moment that we visualize youin the character of a woman who, in a cold, premeditated fashion,about to get rid of a rival. You have planned it. A note has beenwritten. The victim has come. You have your weapon. The crimedone. It has been workmanlike and complete. Do you tell methat after carrying out so crafty a crime you would now ruinThe Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.
