:53:00
Thank you, Doctor, I shall be quite safe,
what with the pills and the cocoa.
:53:04
Come along, Carter.
:53:07
From the body temperature
and other factors,
:53:10
we placed the time of death
at between 9.30 and 10pm,
:53:14
approximately 30 minutes before Janet
McKenzie returned home and called us.
:53:20
Death was instantaneous, caused by one
blow from a heavy and blunt instrument.
:53:26
Were there any signs of a struggle?
:53:28
None. Just the one blow.
:53:30
Would that indicate that the murderer
had taken Mrs French by surprise?
:53:34
My lord, I must object.
:53:38
My learned friend refers
to the assailant as "the murderer".
:53:42
We have not yet determined whether
the assailant was a man or a woman.
:53:45
It could quite conceivably
have been "the murderess".
:53:48
Mr Myers, Sir Wilfrid has joined us just in
time to catch you on a point of grammar.
:53:54
Please rephrase your question.
:53:56
Yes, my lord. Inspector,
is it your opinion that the assailant,
:54:02
whether he, she or it,
had taken Mrs French by surprise?
:54:06
My lord, I am taken by surprise
:54:09
that my learned friend should try to solicit
from the witness an opinion, not a fact.
:54:13
Quite so. You'll have
to do better than that, Mr Myers.
:54:16
My lord, I withdraw the question entirely.
:54:19
- Is that better?
- That's much better.
:54:27
Silence! Silence!
:54:32
Very well, Inspector,
let us proceed with the facts.
:54:35
After establishing the cause and the time
of death, what did you then do?
:54:39
A search was made, photographs were
taken and the premises fingerprinted.
:54:43
- What fingerprints did you discover?
- I found the fingerprints of Mrs French,
:54:47
those of Janet McKenzie, and some which
later proved to be those of Leonard Vole.
:54:51
- No others?
- No others.
:54:54
Did you say the room had the appearance
that a robbery had been committed?
:54:58
Yes. Things were strewn about and the
window had been broken near the catch.