Perhaps the head will be there;
it's deeper than any of the others."
It now occurred to me that as I had learned all that I was likely to
learn, which was little enough, I might as well leave the inspector to
pursue his researches unembarrassed by my presence. Accordingly I
thanked him for his assistance and departed by the way I had come.
But as I retraced my steps along the shady path I speculated profoundly
on the officer's proceedings. My examination of the mutilated hand had
yielded the conclusion that the finger had been removed either after
death or shortly before, but more probably after. Someone else had
evidently arrived at the same conclusion, and had communicated his
opinion to Inspector Badger; for it was clear that that gentleman was in
full cry after the missing finger. But why was he searching for it here
when the hand had been found at Sidcup? And what did he expect to learn
from it when he found it? There is nothing particularly characteristic
about a finger, or, at least, the bones of one; and the object of the
present researches was to determine the identity of the person of whom
these bones were the remains.
Pages:
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267