Death Points a Finger

by Will Levinrew

  Chapter VI

  Professor Brierly nodded with satisfaction when he looked up atthe rear facade of Miller's Folly. Near the edge of the roof, wasa chimney. A plumb line dropped from the center of the chimneywould drop about three feet to the right of the only window in theblank, forbidding wall.

  "I see," commented the old man, "a chimney. I did not know." Heturned to Brasher. "You offered to help, young man; here is yourchance. At the rear of the chimney, near its base, particularlythe two rear angles, you will find fresh marks. The chimney isprobably scuffed as though a rope had been drawn tightly about itand pulled back and forth. You will find the edges of the roof,coincident with the sides of the chimney, also scuffed as though arope had been pulled across the edge with quite a weight at itsend. You--"

  Brasher did not hear the end. He was racing around the side of thebuilding. In a short time they saw his figure on the edge of theroof clinging to the chimney. Then he crawled to the edge andleaning far forward, he gazed intently at something that the menbelow could not see.

  Brasher looked down and nodded his head so violently that henearly threw himself from the roof. He came racing around the sideof the house in a short time.

  "You're right, Professor; it's just like you said. I begin to see--"

  Professor Brierly was pointing at a spot on the wall about threefeet from the ground. There was a scar in the cement joining thestones. The scar was a small hole about large enough to hold aman's small finger. The scar ran obliquely from above, downwardand inward.

  Professor Brierly was saying:

  "There are a number of these scars running up in a staggeredarrangement, one above the other, about a foot apart, literally. Isaw some of these scars from the window above and one especiallydeep one. It is fairly obvious--"

  "I get you, Professor, I get you. You think--"

  Professor Brierly shook his head.

  "I shall tell you definitely what I think when I have made thetests with the revolver. Can we get shells like these at Hinkle's?I shall need some more."

  Professor Brierly chose to keep his own counsel on the way toLentone and thence to their camp on the lake. Arrived there, hedid not waste much time. Taking a number of sheets of paper, heshot at them from varying distances with the revolver found inMiller's room. Beginning by holding the muzzle an inch from thecards, he gradually increased the distance inch by inch until hewas shooting from a distance of twelve inches. Then he shot from adistance of fifteen, twenty, twenty-five and thirty inches.

  He now turned to the men who had been watching him.

  "I can now say definitely that Mr. Miller was shot with the muzzlesomewhere between twelve and fifteen inches from his temple. Istill do not understand why the killer approached so closewithout--"

  "Morris Miller was almost stone deaf," interrupted Brasher.

  "Ah, that accounts for it; that clears up something that puzzledme."

  "Since you three have conspired to make me take an interest incrime," his glance swept Jimmy, Matthews, and McCall, "I have gonerather exhaustively into matters that hitherto only interested mecasually. I spent two months in the Scientific Crime DetectionLaboratory of Northwestern University. Among the subjects I tookup were powder marks.

  "It was obvious to me at the first glance at the wound that it wasnot self-inflicted. I felt reasonably certain that the weapon washeld a greater distance from the head than it would be held if thevictim contemplated suicide. That is why I suggested thepossibility that he had held the weapon and it had gone off byaccident. That seemed a remote possibility, but still apossibility.

  "Powder marks tell quite an interesting story to the student.Black powder will not leave the same marks at the same distance,either in kind or degree, as will smokeless powder. The same kindof powder fired from a weapon with a short barrel will leave burnsthat differ radically from those fired from a long barrel. Theamount of powder also will make a difference.

  "Black powder is merely a physical mixture of three ingredients.The charcoal which goes into its composition is not burned at thetime of firing and remains unchanged. Each little unburnedcharcoal grain becomes a secondary projectile, which leaves itsmark not only on the surface that received the bullet if it isclose enough, but also makes little pits on the base of thebullet.

  "Smokeless or semi-smokeless powder is a chemical compound inwhich the ingredients are radically changed in form. At the timeof firing, smokeless powder is practically all burned and onlygases are left, leaving neither soot nor pits on, the base of thebullet. Smokeless powders will also leave burns on the surface atwhich the bullet is fired, but neither as black, nor deep, nor asnumerous as those left by black powder.

  "Thus you see, given the same ammunition, the same weapon, it canbe ascertained by tests, with a fair degree of accuracy, at whatdistance a shot was fired. The zone of black around the wounditself, the size of powder marks, the thinness with which they arescattered, all tell their story."

  "Is this true, Professor, at distances beyond which there arepowder marks?" asked Jimmy.

  "Yes, it is, but not within inches, of course, nor within a fewfeet, perhaps. But even at those distances it can often beapproximated.

  "Given the hypothesis that Miller was murdered, the rest was easy.If you will go back there, Brasher, and dig your nail into theputty holding the window nearest to the bolt, you will find itsoft; the other putty is hard. There are five rows of panes. Theone I refer to is in the middle row at the extreme left. Thekiller had the forethought to use putty that was of about the samecolor as old putty. But I saw on the sill some minute grains ofglass glinting in the light.

  "Mrs. Horsnall, without knowing why I asked the question assuredme that there had been no repairs, such as replacing panes ofglass. When I leaned out of the window, I saw the scars in thecement. Perfectly obvious. An active man, a strong man, probably aleft-handed man, threw a string with a stone at the end overMiller's Folly. With this string he drew over the building astronger twine. Finally he drew over the top of the building astrong rope, like a wash line, or something stronger. He then drewboth ends of the rope around, forming a loop, about the chimney.

  "Using the chimney as his anchor, with his rope looped around it,it was fairly easy for an active man. He used the kind of spursthat electric workers use to climb up wooden poles. Those spursleft the scars I pointed out. He had a hand hold, of course, onthe two ends of the rope hanging from the chimney about two feetfrom the window.

  "The rest was rather difficult. When he reached the height of thewindow, the nearest pane, fortunately for him, the one near thebolt was two feet from his perch, at his left. That is why Isuggest that he may be a left-handed man. He cut out the pane,opened the window, went in, killed Miller and then spent some timehiding his traces. Among these was replacing a pane of glass andusing putty colored like old putty.

  "A very, very dangerous murderer and a very clever one, but hardlya subtle one."

  He turned to Brasher. "Now, young man, the rest ought to be simplepolice work. Find a man in possession of twine and rope, on whichyou will find adhering bits of brick, cement and paint, fromMiller's roof. Find him in possession of a pair of spurs, on whichyou may find adhering bits of cement and you have your murderer."

  As Brasher, thanking him effusively, was about to go. ProfessorBrierly detained him.

  "Just a moment. I want to send a telegram to New York. Leave thisat the telegraph office for me, please."

  He turned to his companions as Brasher departed; he smiledwhimsically:

  "Since you insist on plunging me into these things, I might aswell be prepared. I wired for several things that we may needbefore this is over."

  McCall was knitting his brow. He had followed with glowingadmiration the exposition of the old savant.

  "Professor," he asked, "you say the murderer is a clever one, buthardly a subtle one. Why do you say that?"

  Professor Brierly dropped wearily into a deep chair on the porch.He shuffled the sheets of paper each with its bulle
t holesurrounded by powder marks.

  "A man who kills another, usually uses the tools he knows best;frequently he uses the tools of his trade. That is easiest;following the lines of least resistance. Or, if killing becomeshis profession, he adopts and adapts certain tools for hispurpose, with which he becomes familiar.

  "Just see how this murder was accomplished. A professional neednot be ashamed of the way the pane of glass was inserted, the useof the rope, the climbing irons, or the spurs. The man who didthis has used all these materials and tools before.

  "Even in this country, where we are far behind certain Europeancountries in such matters, it should be a simple matter for thepolice to pick up the killer. They can go through their recordsfor the men who are accustomed to rob houses this way. They mayfind half a dozen in their files. They will pick up all of themwho are not in prison and pin this murder on the guilty person.The others will have adequate alibis.

  "It must be obvious to you, of course, that though Miller's safewas rifled, robbery was not the real motive for the entrance; itwas murder. It must also be obvious that no eighty-two-year-oldman could have done this. If an eighty-two-year-old manengineered it, he hired some one. The man he hired, as I amshowing you, left a broad trail. Find him and you will find theman behind him."

  He rose. "I am rather tired. I am not as young as I was. I'dbetter take a rest."

  "An eighty-two-year-old man? Are you suggesting, Professor--" beganMcCall.

  "I? I am suggesting nothing. It was you, Mr. McCall, who made theugly suggestion, remember.

  "There is the mysterious number '14,' who, if he exists, isassuredly not less than eighty-two years old. Then, there is aseveral million dollar fund of which you told me. It was you, Mr.McCall, who made the ugly suggestion that such a sum was atremendous temptation, both for men who have always beencomparatively poor and for men who have had much and now havenothing.

  "I am merely giving you the results of my conclusions from factsas I found them.

  "Incidentally, this murderer, the man who killed Miller, is notvery original. I remember a case in Germany in which a robberentered a house using just that means, a rope, a chimney andclimbing irons. Yes, yes. It has all been done before. I did notneed all the clues I found on the window and outside the house.The powder marks were enough. The killer was too hasty or toocareless or too ignorant. He might not have known that there is anenormous difference between powder marks inflicted when the muzzleis two inches away and those inflicted when the muzzle of theweapon is twelve inches away. The powder marks alone, without anyother factors, that slight difference of a few inches, might makethe difference between life and death for the murderer."

  "And the two other men, Professor?" asked Jimmy.

  "Of the two other men," snapped Professor Brierly, impatiently, "Iknow no more than you, and little is known about their deathsright now."

  "But don't you think," continued the persistent reporter.

  "You don't mean, don't I think, Mr. Hale," jeered ProfessorBrierly. "You mean don't I guess. No, I never guess. I leave thatfor highly imaginative newspaper men, or," he waved his handsarcastically at his grinning assistant, "to John, there. Bring mesome facts and I shall try to give you an opinion, an opinion thatI may base on those facts, but, what do you know of the othermen?" he challenged sharply.

  "Well, there's not much question about one of them, the one whowas drowned at Bradley Beach. That seems like an honest drowning.But August Schurman, from our information, apparently hangedhimself in his study in one of those old houses on the lower westside."

  There was no sign of weariness now on the part of the oldscientist. He was fully aroused. His deeply sunken eyes wereglowing. Jimmy had used an old formula that he always foundefficacious.

  "Oh, yes?" Professor Brierly was leaning forward. "Not muchquestion about Wrigley, the man who was found in the water atBradley Beach, is there? All we know about him is that he wasfound dead in the water. Do you know that he was drowned? Ofcourse you don't.

  "And Schurman, the man who was reported to have committed suicideby hanging. All you know about that is that he was found hangingin his study, dead. Do you know that he died by hanging? Do youknow that he was not dead before he was hung? If that is the case,then obviously, he could not have hung himself. Perfectlyastonishing to me, Mr. Hale, that a man who has followed yourprofession as long as you have should be so gullible. For thatmatter, do you know those men are dead?"

  After firing this sarcastic shaft, he shook his head, saying: "AsI said, Mr. Hale, I am tired and I need some rest. And nothingmakes me more tired than idle, futile speculation. The principaldifference between a scientist and a newspaper man, Mr. Hale, isthat one knows--the other--guesses."

  * * * * *

  The last rays of the sun were flaming in the sky across the lakewhen Professor Brierly suddenly said to Matthews: "John, take medown to the Higginbotham camp. The Judge tinkers with physics andmechanics, he offered me the use of his equipment. It may be agood thing for all of us to take our minds from this terribleaffair. Too much brooding will certainly not help."

  Matthews looked at him suspiciously. Without comment, he madeready to go.

  Justice Higginbotham received the two men graciously. He took themat once to his work shop.

  "I'm just an amateur, Professor. But it is a good thing for an oldman to have a hobby, a very perplexing hobby. Modern science makesso many strides every year, every day, that it is practicallyimpossible for an amateur to keep apace." He preceded them to aspacious shed in the rear of the house. It was carefully andimmaculately arranged, each article in its place and most of themcarefully labeled.

  Professor Brierly's eyes gleamed with interest as his eyes fell ona series of tubes, some of which resembled radio tubes in theirsockets.

  "Ah," he murmured. "Photo-electric tubes. It should be fairly easyfor you to keep apace with that for the reason that thisparticular branch of science is still in its infancy and we areall groping in the dark. No matter how little you know about thematter, Judge, you cannot know a great deal less than any of us."

  "That's your modesty, Professor. I had just been installing someof the simpler devices when," his fine features clouded, "thisdeplorable, this terrible affair interrupted me." There wassilence for a moment. With a visible effort of the will, hecontinued:

  "I am so glad you and Mr. Matthews are here. I am rather vagueabout it. While I enjoy finding things out for myself, this hasbeen rather difficult. I am not certain I understand the photo-cell'ssensitiveness to color. You see, I was trying--"

  "Why, that is comparatively simple, Judge. I see you haveeverything needed right here."

  "Yes, I got it all from a catalogue. But now that I have it, whatam I going to do with it?"

  Professor Brierly stepped forward. He and Matthews worked quickly,deftly, the old scientist uttering a word of explanation now andthen. The venerable jurist watched their deft handling ofintricate mechanism with keen interest and obvious enjoyment.

  After half an hour that seemed to Justice Higginbotham only a fewminutes, so keen had been his absorption in the task, ProfessorBrierly and Matthews stepped back. Professor Brierly had threecards colored red, green and blue in his hand. He pointed to threeindicators that he had connected to wires running from a tube.

  "You see, Judge, the three indicators are marked respectively withthe colors of these cards. As I pass these cards in front of thetube, the corresponding indicator will record its passage. Watch!"

  He passed the cards in front of the tube slowly, first in oneorder then another. He changed their order; he increased theirspeed. The result was the same. The respective indicators eachtime, rapidly or slowly recorded the passage of the correspondingcolor correctly.

  Justice Higginbotham beamed with admiration.

  "I told you you were modest, Professor. It would have taken meweeks or months to do that. I've been working on rather anambitious project with these tubes, you may laugh when I tell you;I was we
ll on the way with it when," once more his featuresclouded, "this hellish thing interrupted me."

  Professor Brierly, glad to take the other's mind from the dreadfultragedy stalking him and his companions, asked:

  "What is the ambitious program you had mapped out that you believewill make me laugh?"

  "It is true, is it not, Professor, that the impulse transmitted bya photo electric cell can be translated into incalculable energy;can be made to do things that normally require a great deal ofpower?"

  "You have about stated the case, Judge. We know very little aboutit yet, about its possibilities, but they seem endless andpractically indefinite.

  "The impulse generated can be made to pick up a thread, or pull atrigger, operate a trip hammer, blow up a mine or move abattleship or an ocean liner, given a strong enough lever. Andthat means simply a proper transformation of power or energy.

  "The theory is comparatively simple. Wherever or whenever a beamof light can be received, interrupted, modified, amplified, orcontrolled in any way, a light-sensitive cell can be employed togenerate the impulse, which, properly applied, can do almostanything.

  "Does that seem too involved?" asked Professor Brierly.

  "No, I think not. It was acting on that theory that I experimentedwith--well, come along and I will show you."

  He led the way outside, where he pointed to the overhanging rock.

  "Professor, as that rock is situated now, what would happen if itcame down? You see how delicately it seems to be balanced."

  "If it came down," stated Professor Brierly, "it would crush yourmain building to match-wood."

  "Yes, I guess it would. Well, here is what I planned. I erected alever behind it operated by a trigger-like arrangement. Iinstalled a photo-electric cell with wires running to the trigger.I was going to shore up this side of the decline running from therock, so that when the trigger released it, it would be deflectedand roll into the lake.

  "But at that point, this deplorable affair with our grouphappened. All I needed to do was to shore up this side of it. Iwas going to make quite an occasion of it. I planned to invite anumber of friends and show them that with a simple beam of light Icould move that gigantic rock."

  "Hmm," commented Professor Brierly. "In view of the fact that youhave not yet made provision to deflect the rock it seems ratherdangerous to leave things in this state. If the rock came down itwould hit the roof of the porch and kill whoever happened to bethere. You say you have installed the photo-electric cell? What isto prevent--".

  "Oh, I have guarded against that, Professor. I placed the tube upthere," he pointed to what looked like a bird's nest near one ofthe gables. You see, as that is situated, no light can ever get atit; the foliage of that tree keeps the sun away and its alwaysrather dark there. In addition, there is that little shutter thatI placed in front of it.

  "I also disconnected the wires leading from the tube to thetrigger." He beamed with the pride of the child, or the amateur,who has done something clever. "What do you think of it,Professor?"

  "You managed very well, indeed. With this knowledge, I should feelrather uncomfortable sitting on the porch if I did not know youhad taken all the precautions you mentioned. Playing with thishobby must give you considerable satisfaction, Judge."

  "Yes, I get a great deal of joy out of it. But come, I am beingselfish keeping you away from my other guests. They--"

  He did not finish the sentence. He was once more reminded of theterrible pall of threatening gloom hanging over him and hiscomrades. The men sat in the large living-room chatting for awhile. But it was forced. None of them could pretend that he wascompletely at ease.