Final Proof; Or, The Value of Evidence, Page 3

  II

  THE MISSING LINK

  "The object of my visit," began Mr. Barnes, "is of such grave importancethat I approach it with hesitation, and I may even say reluctance. Willyou give me your closest attention?"

  "I understood from your note," replied Mr. Mitchel, "that you wished toconsult me in regard to some case which you are investigating. As youare well aware, I take the keenest interest in the solving of criminalproblems. Therefore proceed. But first let me light a Havana. A goodcigar always aids my perception."

  The two men were in the sumptuous library of Mr. Mitchel's new house,which he had bought for his wife shortly after their marriage. It wasten in the morning, and Mr. Mitchel, just from his breakfast-room, wascomfortably attired in a smoking-jacket. After lighting his cigar, hethrew himself into a large Turkish chair, rested his head upon thesoft-cushioned back, and extended his slippered feet towards the gratefire, his legs crossed. As he blew little rings of smoke towards thedetective, he seemed absolutely unsuspicious of the story about to betold.

  Mr. Barnes, on the contrary, appeared ill at ease. He declined a cigar,and, without removing his overcoat, he leaned his left arm on the lowmarble mantel as he stood talking, his right being free for gestureswhen he wished to emphasize a point.

  After a brief pause he began:

  "Whilst I am not officially connected with the regular police, my youngfriend Burrows is, and is highly esteemed by the Chief. You willremember him in connection with the Quadrant case. He called upon meabout noon on last Sunday. The story which he had to tell was the mostremarkable in some respects that I have heard. Briefly, it is asfollows: As you know, it is common practice among speculating buildersto erect a row of houses, finishing them at one end first, so that, notinfrequently, one or two of the row may be sold while the mechanics arestill at work on the other end. In this manner ten houses have beenbuilt in this immediate vicinity."

  "In the street just back of me," said Mr. Mitchel.

  Mr. Barnes watched him closely at this moment, but he seemed entirelycomposed and merely attentive. The detective proceeded.

  "It appears that two of these houses have been sold and are alreadyoccupied. The next four are completed, and the sign "For Sale" appearsin the windows. The others are still in the hands of the workmen. Thefour which are for sale are in the care of a watchman. They are open forinspection during the day, but he is supposed to lock all the doorsbefore going to his home in the evening, and to open them to the publicagain on the following day. According to this man, he locked all thedoors of these four houses on Saturday night at six o'clock, and openedthem again at eight on Sunday morning. Between eight and nine he showedtwo parties through one of the houses and, after dismissing the last,was sitting on the stoop reading the morning paper, when he was startledby hearing a scream. A moment later he saw two women rush out of thehouse next to where he sat, and from their actions it was evident thatthey were terribly frightened. It was some time before he could get anylucid explanation from either, and when he did he understood them tointimate that some one had been murdered in the house. He asked them toshow him to the spot, but they most positively declined. He therefore,with unusual display of common sense, summoned a policeman, and with himvisited the room indicated by the frightened women, who made no attemptto run away, though they again refused to go into the house, even withthe officer. What the two men found was horrible enough to account forthe women's actions. In the bathtub lay the body of a woman, the head,hands, and feet having been cut off and removed."

  "I should say that, under these circumstances, identification would bemost difficult," said Mr. Mitchel, "unless, indeed, the clothing mightafford some clue."

  "The body was nude," said the detective.

  "In that case, you have to deal with a man who has brains."

  "Yes; the murderer has adopted just such methods as I imagine you wouldpursue, Mr. Mitchel, were you in his predicament."

  Mr. Mitchel frowned very slightly, and said:

  "You offer me a doubtful compliment, Mr. Barnes. Proceed with your case.It is interesting, to say the least."

  "It grows more so as we proceed, for we have once more an evidence ofthe futility of planning a crime which shall leave no clue behind."

  "Ah, then you have found a clue?" Mr. Mitchel removed his cigar tospeak, and did not resume his smoking, but seemed more attentive.

  "Listen," said the detective. "The policeman immediately notified hissuperiors, and by ten o'clock Burrows was at the house, having beendetailed to make an examination. Having done so, and recognizing that hewas face to face with a crime of unusual importance, he hastened tosolicit my assistance, that I might be early upon the scene. I amsatisfied that I reached the house before any material alteration hadbeen made in any of those small and minute details which are overlookedby the careless eye, but which speak volumes to one with experience."

  "I suppose, then, that you can describe what existed, from your personalinvestigation. That is more interesting than a report at second hand."

  "I went over the ground thoroughly, as I think you will admit when Ihave told you all. Here was one of those wonderful cases where thecriminal exercised extreme caution to obliterate all traces of thecrime. His actions could only be surmised through analytical anddeductive methods. There are some facts which cannot be hidden, and fromthese a keen mind may trace backwards. For example, the head andextremities had been removed, and a minute scrutiny of the remainingparts might disclose many things."

  "Ah, here we note the triumph of mind over matter." There was just aslight sneer, which nettled the detective.

  Mr. Barnes proceeded with some asperity. Indeed, he spoke more likehimself; that is, with less hesitancy, as though heretofore he had foundthe story hard to tell, but that now his scruples had vanished.

  "An examination of the stumps of the arms proved conclusively that asharp knife had been used, for not only had the tendons and vessels beencleanly severed, but in two places the cartilage capping the ends of thebone had been shaved off smoothly."

  "Come, Mr. Barnes," said Mr. Mitchel, "do not dwell so upon unimportantdetails."

  "The weapon is always counted as a very important detail," said Mr.Barnes, sharply.

  "Yes, yes, I know," said Mr. Mitchel. "But you are above the ordinarydetective, and you surely perceive that it is a matter of no consequencewhether the knife used was sharp or dull. In either case it could behidden or destroyed, so that it could not be found to serve inevidence."

  "Oh, very well," said Mr. Barnes, testily. "I will come to thedeductions concerning the neck. Here there were several points ofinterest. Again it was evident that a sharp knife was used, and in thisinstance the condition of the edge of the knife becomes important."

  "Indeed! How so?"

  "The most minute scrutiny of the body disclosed no wound which couldhave been the cause of death. Unless poison had been administered, thereare but three ways by which death could have been effected."

  "And those are?"

  "Suffocation, either by choking or otherwise; drowning, by holding thehead under water in the bathtub; or by some mortal wound inflicted aboutthe head, either by a blow, the use of a knife, or a pistol shot. Idoubted the pistol, because so careful a man as the assassin evidentlywas, would have avoided the noise. A stab with a knife was possible, butunlikely because of the scream which would surely result. A blow wasimprobable, unless the man brought the weapon with him, as the house wasempty, and nothing would accidentally be found at hand. To drown thewoman, it would have been necessary to half fill the tub with waterbefore thrusting the victim in it, and such an action would have arousedher suspicion. Besides, the clothes would have been wet, and this wouldhave interfered with burning them. Thus by exclusion I arrived at thebelief that the woman had been choked to death, a method offering theleast risk, being noiseless and bloodless."

  "What has the sharpness of the knife to do with this?"

&nb
sp; "It was, in my mind, important to decide whether the head had beenremoved before or after death. A dull knife would not have aided me as asharp one did. With a sharp knife a severing of the carotid arterybefore death would have resulted in a spurting of blood, which wouldhave stained the walls or floor, so that it would have been difficult,or impossible, to wash away the telltale marks. But after death, or evenwhile the victim was unconscious, a cool hand, with a sharp blade, couldcut down upon the artery in such a way that the blood would flowregularly, and, the body being in the bathtub, and water flowing fromthe faucets, no stains would be left."

  "Then you think that the woman was choked to death?"

  "I have not a doubt of it. There was a terrible struggle, too, though inan empty house we could find no such signs as would inevitably have beenmade in a furnished apartment. But the woman fought for her life anddied hard. This I know because, despite the precaution of the assassinin removing the head, there are two or three distinct marks on the neck,made by the ends of his fingers and nails."

  "Well, having discovered so much, you are as far as ever from theidentity of the criminal, or of the woman."

  "Every point unravelled is so much gain," said Mr. Barnes, evasively."My next deduction was more important. Let us picture the scene of thecrime. For causes as yet unknown, this man wished to kill this woman. Helures her into this empty house, and, choosing a favorable moment,seizes her by the throat and strangles her to death. To prevent theidentification of the corpse, he decides to remove the head, hands, andfeet, parts which are characteristic. He takes off the clothes and burnsthem. We found the ashes in the kitchen stove. He takes the body to thebathroom, and, placing it in the porcelain tub, turns on the water, andthen proceeds with his diabolical scheme. Even though we suppose that hefirst filled the tub with water, the better to avoid stains, when weremember that he took away the severed parts it is inconceivable thatnot a stain of blood, not a smudge of pinkish tint, would be leftanywhere. Granting that he might have endeavored to wash away any suchdrippings, still it would be marvellous that not one stain should beleft."

  "Yet you found none?" Mr. Mitchel smiled, and resumed his smoking.

  "Yet I found none," said Mr. Barnes. "But this was a most significantfact to me. It led me to a suspicion which I proceeded to verify. Theplumbing in this house is of the most approved pattern. Under theporcelain bathtub there is a patent trap for the exclusion ofsewer-gas. This is so fashioned that some water always remains.Supposing that bloody water had passed through it, I should find thistrap partly filled with water tinted in color. I removed the screw,which enabled me to catch the water from the trap in a bowl. It wasperfectly clear. Not a trace of color."

  "From which you deduced?" asked Mr. Mitchel.

  "From which I deduced," said the detective, "that the woman had not beenkilled, or dismembered, in the house where her body was found. Byexamining the other houses and emptying the traps, I found one whichyielded water plainly colored with blood, and I also found a few smudgesabout the bathtub; places where blood had splashed and been washed off.The assassin thought that he had made all clean, but as so often happenswith porcelain, when dried there still remained a slight stain, whicheven showed the direction in which it had been wiped."

  "Very good! Very good indeed!" Mr. Mitchel yawned slightly. "Let me see.You have discovered--what? That the knife was sharp. And that the womanwas killed in one house and carried to another. How does that help you?"

  At this point Mr. Barnes gave Mr. Mitchel a distinct surprise. Insteadof answering the question, he asked suddenly:

  "Mr. Mitchel, will you permit me to examine that watch-chain which youare wearing?"

  Mr. Mitchel sat straight up in his chair, and looked sharply at thedetective, as though trying to read his innermost thoughts. Thedetective stared back at him, and both were silent a moment. Thenwithout speaking, Mr. Mitchel removed the chain, and handed it to Mr.Barnes, who took it with him to the window, and there examined itclosely through a lens. Mr. Mitchel threw the remains of his cigar intothe fire, and, placing both hands behind his head as he lay back in hischair, awaited developments. Presently Mr. Barnes returned to his placeby the mantel, and in resuming his narrative it was noticeable from histone of voice that he was more than ever troubled.

  "You asked me," said he, "how my discoveries helped me. I say from thebottom of my soul that they have helped me only too well. That I proceedin this matter is due to the fact that I must follow the dictates of myconscience rather than my heart."

  "Brutus yielded up his son," suggested Mr. Mitchel.

  "Yes. Well, to resume my story. The point of importance was this.Imagine the assassin with both hands at the woman's throat--two thingswere inevitable. The woman would surely struggle, with arms and legs,and the murderer would be unable to resist, his own hands beingoccupied. What more natural than that the arms of the dying woman shouldbe wrapped about the body of her assailant? That the hands should graspand rend the clothing? Might perhaps come into contact with awatch-chain and tear it off, or break it?"

  "And you are intending to examine all the watch-chains in theneighborhood upon such a chance as that?" Mr. Mitchel laughed, but Mr.Barnes took no notice of the intended taunt.

  "I have examined the only chain I wished to look at. Deducing thestruggle, and the possible tearing off of some part of the assassin'sattire, I was glad to know which house was the scene of the crime.Having satisfied myself in this direction, I proceeded to search for themissing link in the chain of evidence, though I must confess that I didnot expect it to be truly a link, a part of a real chain. The idea thata watch-chain might have been broken in the struggle did not occur to meuntil I held the evidence in my hand."

  "Oh; then you did find your missing link?"

  "Yes. I personally swept every room, and the staircase, and at last Ifound the link. But it would be more correct to say _your_ missing link,than mine, Mr. Mitchel, for it was from this chain that it was broken."

  "Indeed!"

  Mr. Barnes was amazed at the imperturbable manner in which thisstatement was received. Becoming slightly agitated himself, hecontinued:

  "As soon as I picked up that link, I was shocked at my discovery, for,from its peculiar shape, I recognized it as similar to your chain, whichI had often observed. Still, I hoped that there might be some mistake;that it might have fallen from some other man. But you permitted me toexamine this chain, and the last doubt is swept away. I note that everyalternate link is solid, the intermediate ones having a slit, by whichthe links are joined into a chain. The wrench given by the dying womanstrained one of these links so that it opened, allowing the chain topart, and later this particular link dropped off. Either you did notobserve it at once, or else, being small, you could not find it. If thisoccurred as I have described, what would be the result? Your chain,where parted, would terminate at each end with a solid link. Thus, tounite the chain again, my lens shows me that you have sawed through onelink, and so rejoined your chain. And not only do I see the freshlysawed link, but, as must necessarily be the case, we have two linksadjacent, each of which can be opened."

  "And your next move will be?" asked Mr. Mitchel, still apparentlyundisturbed.

  "I have no recourse open to me except to arrest you. That is why I havefound this whole interview so painful."

  "I understand your position, and sympathize with you thoroughly," saidMr. Mitchel. "And yet, see how easily you might dismiss this wholetheory of yours. These houses are in my neighborhood, immediately backof me, in fact. I am a householder. What more natural than my taking aninterest in property so near me? Why may I not have visited the housesto examine them? Then what more possible than the chance that in passingfrom one room to another, my chain should have caught on a door-knob,and have been broken, the link dropping as you have suggested? Myrepairing the damage would be but a natural sequence, and the subsequentmurder and your train of reasoning is resolved into a mere coincidence."

  "That is ingenious, Mr. Mitchel. But some ins
tinct tells me that I amright, and that you did commit this crime."

  "Intuition, which I suppose is what you mean by instinct, is not alwaysreliable, but, oddly enough, in this instance you are correct. I didkill that creature. Moreover, the sequence of events was as you havededuced. I commend you for your skill, for, believe me, I used everyprecaution to prevent detection."

  "Then you confess? My God! This is horrible!"

  At the prospect of arresting Mr. Mitchel, a man who had won his mostardent admiration, Mr. Barnes was so overcome that he sank into a chairand stared blankly at his companion.

  "Come! come!" said Mr. Mitchel. "Don't break down like that. The affairis bad enough, I admit, but it might be worse."

  "Might be worse!" ejaculated Mr. Barnes, amazed at the words as well asthe half-jocular tone.

  "Why yes. Much worse. Why, Mr. Barnes, have you not had evidence of myability to thwart detectives before to-day? Do you suppose that I shallpermit myself to be detected, arrested, imprisoned in this affair?Nothing is further from my mind, I assure you. True, you have, withyour uncommon skill, discovered a part of the truth. But that need nottrouble me, for no other detective will be so shrewd."

  "Do you mean to suggest that I should shield you in this matter?"

  "Well, yes. That is about what I expect from your friendship."

  "Impossible! Impossible! I wish that I could do what you ask! But no! Itis impossible!"

  "There. I have tried your patience long enough. Let me tell you thewhole story, and then you may decide as you please. A few years ago, inParis, a friend presented me with a poodle. French poodles, as you know,are considered the most intelligent of all dogs, and this one seemed tobe the wisest of his species. My friend had already trained him toperform many tricks, and these were done at command, without specialsignals, so that I could but believe what my friend claimed, that thedog actually understood what was said to him. Thinking this matter overone day, it presented itself to me in a singular light.

  "In the training of animals, man has always aimed to make the dumb bruteunderstand, and carry out, the master's wishes. No one, so far as I thenknew, had ever trained a dog to express his own wishes, in any wayintelligible to the master. This I undertook to do, and was fairlysuccessful. I printed words on cards, such as 'food,' 'drink,' 'yard,'etc., and, by means which I need not recapitulate, I taught my dog tobring me the special card which would represent his wishes. Thus, whenhe was thirsty, he could ask for 'water,' or when he wished to leave thehouse, he brought the card marked 'yard.' Imagine my astonishment whenone day a little sky-terrier, belonging to another lodger in the house,came to me with the 'food' card in his mouth. At first I supposed it tobe merely an accident, but I soon discovered that the terrier understoodthe cards as well as did the poodle. How, unless the poodle had taughthim? Do dogs, then, have a language by which they may communicate witheach other?

  "This was a new thought, which attracted me more and more as I revolvedit in my mind. Then it occurred to me that if animals have a language,monkeys would offer the best field for study, and I began investigating.The discovery that the apes do have a language has been made by Mr.Garner, and by him the fact has been published to the world. But I madethe discovery several years ago, though I kept it to myself, for reasonswhich you shall hear.

  "I practised upon the monkeys in the Zoological Gardens in Paris andLondon, until I was a veritable crank on the subject of monkey language.Nothing would satisfy me but a trip to Africa. Thither I went, and madegreat progress, so that by the time I captured a fine chimpanzee on theCongo, I was able to readily make him understand that I meant him noharm. At first he received my overtures with hesitation, his previousexperience with my race rendering him skeptical as to my goodqualities. But after a time, we became good friends; I might even saychums. After that I gave him his liberty, and we took strolls together.He was a very sociable fellow when one really got to know him well, butwe found the resources of the monkey language inadequate to our needs.The experiment with my dog recurred to me, and I undertook to teach hima human tongue. I chose German as the best adapted to his limitations,and he made such progress that in a few months we could converse withtolerable ease.

  "I decided to tell him something of the world of civilization, and oneday it occurred to me to expound to him the Darwinian theory. Helistened with an expression of learned thought upon his face which wouldhave well suited the countenance of a philosopher, but when I hadfinished, he astounded me by announcing that he thought he could show methat higher race of apes, which, being more humanly developed than anyspecies now known, might well be designated 'the missing link' whichconnects the Simian race with man. I begged him to do so, and heundertook the task, though he said that it involved a long journey. Iurged him to go, and he left me.

  "A month had passed, and I had begun to think that my new-found friendhad deserted me, when one day he walked into camp, accompanied by themost human-like ape I had ever seen. It was neither chimpanzee norgorilla, but a combination of both in those characteristics which weremost manlike. The most conspicuous advance beyond the anthropoid apesnow known, was the hairless skin. The hands and feet, too, were morehuman in shape, though on the latter the hallux still retained itsprehensile character, which perhaps is necessary to a tree dweller. Theface was peculiarly human, though the jaws retained certaindistinguishing attributes of the ape, as, for example, the space betweenthe anterior and posterior teeth, and the fang-like canine teeth.

  "As you must already suspect the sequel, I may hurry on to the end. Thecreature was a female, and in the trip to our camp my chimpanzee friendhad become much attached to her; indeed, I may say he had fallen in lovewith her. He had also begun her higher education, so that when we metshe was able to address a few words to me in German. As you may wellimagine, I was greatly interested in this animal, and did all in mypower to teach her. She made even more rapid progress than thechimpanzee had, and I was thinking of the sensation I could produce inParis by sending cards of invitation to the nuptials of my monkeyfriends, which I determined should occur in the great metropolis.

  "Imagine my horror one morning, upon finding the chimpanzee dead. I didnot immediately comprehend the full significance of this, but uponquestioning the ape a few days later, she candidly confessed to me thatshe had strangled the chimpanzee, her only reason being, that havingdecided for the future to live as a human being, she deemed it wise todestroy her companion, that he might not be able to divulge the secretof her origin.

  "Instantly my mind was awakened to a danger which menaced myself. I tooknew the secret of her savage ancestry, and the fact that she had notslain me also was probably due to her hope that I would fulfil mypromise and take her with me to more civilized parts. Indeed, so certainwas I of this, that I took the first opportunity to foster that ambitionin her bosom. At the same time I carefully planned a secret departure,and a few nights later succeeded in getting away unobserved, while theape slept. Throughout the journey to the coast I constantly fearedpursuit, but was fortunate enough to get safely on shipboard withouthearing more of the savage creature.

  "At dusk on last Saturday, I was strolling through the next street,when, to my amazement, I saw coming towards me what appeared to be awoman, whose face however was so startlingly like the ape which I hadleft in Africa that for a moment I was dazed. In the next instant,realizing that if my suspicion was true, I might be in danger even afterthe lapse of time, and hoping that it was merely a chance resemblance, Iquickly turned into one of the new houses still open for inspection. Idid not dare to look behind me, and even thought it a trick of myexcited imagination when I fancied that I heard steps following me as Iascended to the second floor. I turned upon reaching the floor above,and instantly with a savage cry the brute was upon me, her hands uponmy throat, making a desperate effort to strangle me. I gripped her neckin a similar manner, scarcely hoping to save my life. Fortune favoredme, however, and, after a lengthy struggle, the ape lay dead at my feet.I suppose that several years of life in
civilization had sapped hersavage strength.

  "My subsequent proceedings were actuated by two motives. In the firstplace any public connection of my name with such a horrible encounterwould naturally have greatly annoyed my wife, and secondly I could notresist my innate fondness for contending with detectives. I removed thehead, hands, and feet, to prevent identification, and also because withthem I can convince you that the animal was an ape, and not a woman. Asthere is no law against the killing of an ape, you must see, Mr. Barnes,that it would be futile to arrest me."

  "You are right," replied Mr. Barnes, "and I am truly glad that yourexplanation places you beyond the law. You must forgive me for mysuspicion."

  The two men joined hands in a firm clasp, which cemented theirfriendship, and guaranteed that the secret which they shared would neverbe divulged by either.