May 15, 2025 • 24 mins
Penned by Alfred Walter Stewart under the pseudonym J.J. Connington, Case With Nine Solutions introduces us to the astute and highly regarded police professional, Sir Clinton Driffield. Thrust into a tangled web of murder, Driffield and his loyal sidekick, Inspector Flamborough, must sift through nine possible scenarios to uncover the truth. This complex case brings a beguiling temptress, her unsuspecting husband, a clandestine admirer, and a smitten young man into the mix. As the pair delve deeper into the mystery, they navigate a labyrinth of scientific evidence, cryptic messages, and rely on their sharp deductive reasoning skills to solve the murder.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nineteen of the Case with Nine Solutions by J. J. Connington.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Excerpts from
Sir Clinton's note book, written after the murder at Heatherfield.
The following thing seemed suggestive. One the break up of
(00:21):
the Silverdale minage, with Silverdale turning to have a steep car,
whilst Missus Silverdale let Hassendeene frequent her openly. Two Hassendeen's
interference with the usual routine of coffee serving after dinner
at Heatherfield. Three the day's appearance of Missus Silverdale when
she left the house after coffee. Four The fact that
(00:42):
the two shots which wounded Hassendeen at close quarters were
not fired in Ivy Lodge. This exonerates Doctor Ringwood, who
might otherwise have come under suspicion. Five the disappearance of
Missus Silverdale, who was last seen in Hassendeen's company. Six
the words caught me, thought it was all right, never guessed,
(01:04):
which Hassendeen uttered before he died. Seven the murder of
the maid at Heatherfield, which was clearly done by someone
she knew well, or she would not have admitted him
at that time. Of night. Eight the ransacking of one
particular drawer in Missus Silverdale's bedroom, suggesting that the murderer
had full knowledge of her private affairs. Nine the envelope
(01:27):
fragment with the date stamp nineteen twenty five, which might
indicate that the drawer had held letters compromising to the murderer.
Ten the old dance programs on which Astoris stood for
the name of some partner who must have been intimate
with her at that period. The affair can hardly have
been the usual social triangle tragedy Silverdale surprising his wife
(01:49):
with Hassendein. This hypothesis fails to account for a the
day'sed appearance of Missus Silverdale, which suggests drugging b the
murderer on burglary at Heatherfield Silverdale's own house, in which
he could come and go freely without resorting to such extremes.
And see the expression cut me in Hassendein's last words,
(02:11):
since caught us would have been the natural phrase in
the case of the triangle drama. Curious that doctor Markfield
should pilot Ringwood right across the town and then drop
him at the end of the avenue instead of going
a hundred yards or so further to the very gate
of the house. Worth keeping in mind that doctor Markfield
knew Missus Silverdale well at one time, though he cooled
(02:33):
off later. Ring was evidence. Compare the old dance programs
written after the discovery of the Bungalow tragedy. This is
clearly the second half of the Hassendeine business. Obviously, Hassendein
prepared the bungalow beforehand for the reception of Missus Silverdale.
Either she consented to go there willingly or else as
(02:55):
it seems more likely, he drugged her after dinner and
took her there without her concer. In any case, it
was premeditated on his part. Evidently he overshot the dose
of the drug and killed her. His subsequent shooting the
body suggests that he meant to leave an obvious cause
of death, which might divert attention from the poison altogether
(03:16):
and cause it to be overlooked in a p M examination.
In that case, it's likely that he meant to take
the body elsewhere in his car and leave it, meaning
to suggest that she committed suicide. Of course, the shooting
may have been done accidentally or by a third party
who did not know she was already dead, but this
seems unlikely on the face of things. Four people at
(03:38):
least were at the bungalow that night, Missus Silverdale, Hassendein,
and the two watchers at the windows. One of the
watchers must be this fellow justice who had the first
news of the affair. One of them was probably the
murderer of Hassendein, since he entered the room. The second
watcher may have seen the murder committed, though this is
(03:59):
not certain. Apart from the general state of the bungalow,
the only clues of interests are the cigarette holder and
the signet ring on Missus Silverdale's finger. Silverdale denies that
he gave her the ring, and as the date nineteen
twenty five in it belongs to the period of dissociation
in the Silverdale minage, it seems probable that he is
speaking the truth. The initial be engraved in the ring
(04:22):
evidently indicates the donor, and it may stand for either
a real initial or the initial of a pet name.
Possibly the donor was the person indicated by an asterisk
on the dance programs, and or the person who burglared
Heatherfield to get hold of letters which perhaps compromised him.
The cigarette holder found that the bungalow is undoubtedly Silverdale's,
(04:44):
but that does not necessarily prove that Silverdale was ever there.
Some one else who had a chance of laying hands
on his cigarette holder may have left it to mislead us.
All that it tells us is that someone associated with
Silverdale was at the bungalow. Both Sundein and missus Silverdale
fit this description. As to Silverdale is evident that he
(05:05):
wanted to get rid of his wife and marry Miss Deepcar,
but that does not prove he was prepared to go
the length of murder to gain his ends. He has
no alibi for the period of the Bungalow affair, but
few of us could produce an alibi for a given
time on the spur of the moment. Miss Hailsham had
a grudge against Hassendean, but there is no evidence connecting
her with the Bungalow affair. The maid at Heatherfield seems
(05:29):
a mere pawn in the game. Silverdale might have used
her to drug the coffee, but Hassendeen's unusual interference with
the normal serving of the coffee, coupled with his preparations
beforehand that the bungalow point to him as the administrator
of the drug. As to the drug, Hassendeen must have
had easy access to it. It's a mydriatic drug since
(05:50):
the eye pupils were expanded. Miss Deepcarr mentioned hyocene when
she came into the room at the Crowthornton Institute, so
that evidently they have it on the premises there. Hyacine
narcosis has one special peculiarity. It obliterates from the patient's
memory all recollection of what may have happened while the
drug was acting. At least that's what they say about
(06:11):
the Twilight Sleek treatment. This would be the very drug
Hassendein would require for his purpose. Missus Silverdale would wake
up from the narcosis with only the very faintest recollection
of what had happened. A preliminary hypothesis seems possible. Hassendin
resolved to drug miss A Silverdale with hyacine and take
her to the bungalow while under the influence of the narcotic.
(06:35):
He prepared the place beforehand and got her there successfully,
but he overshot the dose he gave her and she
died in his hands at the bungalow. He then shot
her in the head, meaning to take her away in
his car and leave the body somewhere arranged as though
it were a case of suicide. He might hope that
in these circumstances the drug might not be spotted, and
(06:56):
thus he would be completely clear. But some one else
saw the shooting, and, being keenly interested in Missus Silverdale,
shot Hassendine in revenge. On the face of things, this
third party might be either Justice or the second Watcher. Then,
if this third party had been intimate with Missus Silverdale,
there might be letters in her possession which would bring
(07:17):
out their relations, and these letters it might be essential
to secure. Hence, the murder of the maid and the
burglary at Heatherfield very sketchy, of course, but it seems suggestive.
If it be the truth, or near it, then the
murderer must have known when to strike at Heatherfield, for
usually there were two maids on the premises, which would
(07:38):
be too big a job for a single assailant. But
from Ringwood's evidence, Markfield learned the state of affairs at
Heatherfield that night from the phone call which came through
when he was at Ringwood's house, and at once he
offered to pilot Ringwood through the fog, which gave him
a perfectly sound excuse for being in the neighborhood of
Heatherfield if any one happened to recognize him. Further, he
(08:01):
deliberately avoided taking Ringwood up to the Heatherfield Gate, but
dropped him at the end of Lauderdale Avenue. This would
avoid any chance of his being directly connected with Heatherfield
that night, and after he left Ringwood he could easily
drive round to the back of Heatherfield and watch his
chance to enter the house. Written after reading Hassendeen's journal,
(08:24):
three things emerge from Hassendeen's MSS. One he seems to
have excited miss Hailsham to the extent of a loss
of control when he jolted her, but that does not
in itself prove anything. Two, Missus Silverdale obviously led him
on and continually disappointed him. This fits in with the
hypothesis I made. Three His remark only I shall know
(08:48):
of my triumph agrees very neatly with the memory blotting
property of Hiocene as a whole. Then the hypothesis seems justified,
as to Markfield. I notice he makes a rate of
intense reluctance if he is asked to give evidence involving Silverdale.
But when he is actually induced to talk, he says
things which tell heavily against his colleague. As he's by
(09:11):
no means a fool, this seems worth attention. It is
possible that the money lender might wish to ensure that
young Hassendine's death should be proved to be due to murder,
but I doubt if affirm doing so well as appears
from their office, which Flamborough describes as opulent, would be
likely to go the length of murder itself for the
sake of a mere five thousand pounds. And if Spratton
(09:34):
had no hand in the actual murder, it is hard
to see how he could get the first news of it.
On the face of things, it's unlikely that he was justice,
and it is practically impossible to fit him into the
affair at Heatherfield, which is interlocked with the Bungalow tragedy.
Bernard's story of Missus Silverdale's inheritance may have some bearing
(09:54):
on the affair, but only if Silverdale is the murderer,
and that won't fit in with the Heatherfield business on
any reasonable assumptions. One point certainly tells badly against Silverdale's credibility.
He must have told the deliberate lie when he said
that on the night of the Bungalow murder he was
working late at the Croft Thornton Institute. This tale seems
(10:16):
completely exploded by the evidence which Flamborough unearthed. Silverdale, however,
is not necessarily a murderer because he has been trapped
in a lie. He may have used his lie to
cover up something quite other than murder, and since he
was obviously being suspected of murder, his motive for lying
must have been a strong one, or he would have
made a clean breast of the affair. The only factor
(10:38):
of sufficient importance seems to be a woman whom he
hoped to shield by his lie, and the only woman
in the case so far whom he has a clear
interest in his miss deep Car. One can easily imagine
circumstances in which he might find it politic to lie.
Written after the identification of hyacine in the body, as
(10:58):
I expected was the poison that fits in with Hassendein's
journal entry and with the hypothesis I made before Hassendein,
like most people at the croft, Thornton had access to
the hyacine in the store. The overdose which he used
gave me some trouble at first, but I think that's
cleared up. All the available evidence shows that Hassendein was
(11:20):
a careless and inaccurate worker. From his note book, I
found that he used the abbreviation GR for graham, whereas
Markfield uses GM. It seems probable that Hassendein looked up
the normal dose of hyacine in a book of reference,
found it given in apothecary's weights as one one hundredth gr,
and copied this down as it stood, without making a
(11:41):
note to remind him that here gr meant grain and
not graham. When he came to weigh out the dose
he meant to give missus Silverdale, he would read one
one hundredth gr as the hundredth part of a gram,
since in laboratory work the metric system has always used
and chemists never think in terms of grains. Thus Hassendine
(12:03):
weighing out when in his careless as he supposed to be,
a normal dose would take zero point zero one grams
of hyacine. The reference books state that serious poisoning has
been caused by as little as zero point zero zero
zero two gram of hioceine. As there are fifteen grains
in a gram, his quantity would be fifteen times a
(12:23):
normal dose, which fits fairly well with the amount found
in the body. He had no reason for killing Missus Silverdale,
provided that the hyacine obliterated her memory of that evening's proceedings,
and it seems most improbable that he deliberately planned to
cause her death. Miss Hailsham obviously does not wish to
see Hassendine's murderer cut, and therefore her identification with justice
(12:46):
is more than problematical. She may or may not have
an alibi for the time of the Bungalow affair. Since
she admits going to a dance in her car and
coming away almost immediately, one may keep her case in
reserve for the present. Markfield's car g X nine O
seven four is alleged to have been in an accident
that night. The man who complained about it might provide
(13:09):
a clue to Markfield's movements if we can lay hands
on him. The man who appeared at Fountain Street Police
Station fishing for a reward in connection with the Bungalow
affair can hardly be any one but one of the
two watchers at the windows. Unfortunately, unless he chooses to talk,
we have no power to extract information from him. Flamborough
(13:29):
states that he can lay hands on him at any moment,
as he is well known to our men. Written after
the receipt of the code advertisement, this justice is an
ingenious fellow. First, his trail was covered by using letters
clip from telegraph forms. Now he resorts to advertisements so
that we do not get his handwriting. However, he betrays
(13:51):
his knowledge of the internal affairs of the craft Thornton,
which is a bad mistake since it limits the circle
of inquiry. Written after the interview with Renat, I don't
much care for mister Renard. He poses too much as
the honest fellow, rather puzzled by the course of events.
His evidence certainly supplied a fresh motive for Silverdale in
(14:11):
the role of murderer. But Silverdale will not fit into
the Heatherfield affair on any reasonable basis, and the tragedies
at Heatherfield and at the Bungalow are obviously interconnected. It's
a nuisance that Silverdale won't tell us where he spent
the night of the murders. It might save trouble if
he did so. Justice seems to be making a fool
(14:32):
of himself. The fact that he forged Missus Silverdale's writing
in the advertisement address as limits the circle still further.
We now know a that Justice must have learned of
the Bungalow shooting almost as soon as it was done.
B that he knows High Seeing was in the croft
Thornton stores. C that he is in possession of specimens
(14:53):
of Missus Silverdale's writing. Markfield might fill the bill. Other
possibilities are Miss Hill Elsham, Miss Deep Car, and Silverdale
himself written after the Wally murder. So Flamborough has let
Wally slip through her fingers. My impression is that Wally
was murdered elsewhere and taken out in a car to
(15:14):
be dumped into the ditch where he was found. The
man behind all this is clever and wouldn't go in
for an open road murder in which he might be
interrupted by a motorist coming round the corner. The tourniquet
was obviously intended to mislead us, or it would never
have been left beside the body. The Heatherfield tourniquet was
a makeshift thing, which indicated no one in particular. This
(15:35):
new one, with its pressure tubing and banjo string, seems constructed,
specially as evidence. The tubing suggests the crow Thornton chemical work.
The banjo string points to Silverdale. Since I learned from
Ringwood that Silverdale was a banjo player. Both these points
would be familiar to Markfield. The laboratory coat was apparently
(15:56):
left on its peg every night after work was done.
It was therefore accessible to anyone in the Croft Thornton
after Silverdale had gone for the day. Markfield could have
procured it if necessary, and returned it when his work
with it was over. If the Walling murder was committed
in some secluded spot, say inside a house, the murderer
(16:16):
would hardly have left the clue like this button and
shred of cloth in his victim's hand, since he would
have plenty of time to search the body at leisure.
As things are, it looks like a manufactured clue, especially
since the shred of cloth is so characteristic. Silverdale again
has no alibi, but neither has Markfield, since his housekeeper
(16:38):
was away nursing a relative. We shall need to wait
for further evidence. Written after the raid on Avesteep Carr's house,
Flamborough has arrested Silverdale, perhaps as a sound move, though
not from his point of view. I hope it will
bring things to a crisis and that we may be
able to fish something out of the distry waters. One
(17:02):
point is already established. Silverdale had nothing to do with
this raid on Miss Deep Carr's house. The raider must
have been a man. Miss Deep Caarr herself could not
have impersonated me well enough to deceive her own maid.
Miss Hailsham has a girl's figure and could hardly have
posed as myself. The shape of her face and especially
her mouth, would make that impossible. No other woman that
(17:24):
we know about is sufficiently mixed up in the business
to make it worth while to run a risk like that. Markfield,
according to Ringwood's evidence, used to go in for amateur theatricals. Further,
Markfield knew, for he told me so at the crow
Thornton that Miss Deep Carr was out of town on
the night of the raid on her house. So if
he was the raider, he could be sure that he
(17:46):
wouldn't have to meet her and run the risk of
meeting a a person who knew him when undisguised, and
b a person who knew my appearance well enough. What
was he after letters? Evidently, and again this limits the circle,
since the raider must be some one who has knowledge
of the relations between Silverdale and Miss Deep Car. Miss
(18:06):
Deep Car's evidence gives Silverdale a complete alibi for the
time of the Bungalow murder. On the other hand, they
may both have been mixed up in it, in which
case her evidence carries no weight. But the Heatherfield affair
seems the key to the whole business, and Silverdale had
no motive for that murder, even assuming he wanted to
destroy the draft of his wife's new will. On the
(18:28):
face of it, Miss Deep Carr's evidence seems sound and clear.
Silverdale written, after the receipt of the photographs, Curious how
people will never let well alone. If this fellow justice
had been content to stay out of the case, we'd
have had a much stiffer job. Now at last, he's
let us see what side he's on, Auntie Silverdale. Definitely,
(18:52):
the photographs are obvious fakes if one examines them carefully.
Their only importance is as a guide to the identity
of justice. They limit the circle still further, since the
production of them implies the use of a good microphotographic camera,
and the crow Thornton Institute has more than one of
these points which seemed to tell against Markfield. One he
(19:15):
was intimate with Missus Silverdale shortly after she came here.
Two he was near Heatherfield on the night of the murder.
Three he knew the maid was alone in Heatherfield except
for her sick companion. Four he could easily have obtained
possession of Silverdale's cigarette holder. Five. Owing to his housekeeper's absence,
(19:37):
he could move about freely with no check on the
times when he left his house or return to it.
Six he was out at the research station on the
Lizard Bridge Road early in the evening on the night
of the Bungalow affair. Seven. The evidence he gave us
for all his pretense of reluctance was directed against Silverdale.
Eight he was well acquainted with all the arrangem of
(20:00):
the craw Thornton Institute. Nine. Owing to his earlier association
with Missus Silverdale, he had access to specimens of her writing.
Ten his car's number g X nine O seven four
was known to Wally, who made inquiries about it with
reference to the Knight of the Murders. Eleven, he knew
(20:21):
that Silverdale had a banjo. Twelve he had access to
Silverdale's laboratory code. Thirteen He knew of the relations between
Silverdale and Miss Deep Car. Fourteen He knew that Miss
Deep Carr would be out of town on the night
when the raid was made under House. Fifteen he was
a good amateur actor. Sixteen he had access to a
(20:46):
microphotographic camera. These are established facts. Make the assumption that
his earlier association with Missus Silverdale was a guilty and
not an innocent one, and see where that leads. It
suggests the following A that they took special care to
conceal their intimacy, since Silverdale would have been glad of
(21:06):
a divorce. B That they themselves did not wish for
a divorce, possibly for financial reasons. C That Hassendine was
utilized as a shield for the real intrigue without understanding
that he was serving this purpose. D That he took
the bit in his teeth and resorted to hyacine to
gain his ends. E That Markfield, on his way home
(21:30):
from the research station that night caught a glimpse of
Hassendein driving Missus Silverdale out to the bungalow, and became
suspicious f that he followed them, and the tragedy ensued.
G that after the tragedy, Markfield realized the danger of
his love letters to Missus Silverdale, which were in her
room at Heatherfield. H that the Heatherfield murder followed as
(21:55):
a sequel to this. Finally, there was the inscription in
the ring which Missus Silverdale war Markfield has no initial
bee in his name, but the Bee might stand for
some pet name which he used for him. The net
result of it all is that there are strong grounds
for suspicion against him, but no real proof that one
could put confidently before a jury. Possibly he might be bluffed.
(22:19):
I'll try it written some time after the explosion at
Markfield's house. One might put it down as a drawn game.
We failed to hang Markfield, for the explosion killed him
on the spot. Luckily, the effects were extraordinarily localized, and
Flamborough and I got off alive, though badly damaged temporarily. Markfield,
(22:41):
one has to admit, was too clever for us at
the last, from what a chemist has since told me
to Tranatromathane detonates with extraordinary violence in the presence of triathylamine,
though it is perfectly safe to handle under normal conditions.
Markfield had about half a pound or more of tatran
it tromethane in his conical flask. In his dropping funnel
(23:03):
he had alcohol or some other harmless liquid colorless like triathylamine,
And in his stoppered bottle he had triathylamine itself. While
he talked to us, he ran the alcohol into the tetrandatromethane,
a perfectly harmless operation. Then when he saw the game
was up, he ran the funnel empty and refilled it
(23:24):
from the bottle. As we saw it, this was simply
a preparation for continuing the experiment, which he had already
found to be harmless. But in practice it meant that
he had only to turn his tap and mix the
two liquids in order to get his explosion. He staged
it so well that neither Flamborough nor I spotted what
he was after. The house was a perfect wreck, they
(23:47):
tell me, doors and windows blown out, ceilings down, walls cracked.
The room we were in was completely gutted by the
explosion and Markfield was torn in pieces. I didn't see it,
of course. The next thing I remember was waking up
in a nursing home. Possibly it was cheap at the
price of getting rid of Markfield. He was a good
(24:07):
specimen of the callous murderer. The only saft spot in
him seems to have been his passion for Yvon Silverdale.
End of Chapter nineteen. End of the Case with Nine
Solutions by J. J. Connington
Chapter nineteen of the Case with Nine Solutions by J. J. Connington.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Excerpts from
Sir Clinton's note book, written after the murder at Heatherfield.
The following thing seemed suggestive. One the break up of
(00:21):
the Silverdale minage, with Silverdale turning to have a steep car,
whilst Missus Silverdale let Hassendeene frequent her openly. Two Hassendeen's
interference with the usual routine of coffee serving after dinner
at Heatherfield. Three the day's appearance of Missus Silverdale when
she left the house after coffee. Four The fact that
(00:42):
the two shots which wounded Hassendeen at close quarters were
not fired in Ivy Lodge. This exonerates Doctor Ringwood, who
might otherwise have come under suspicion. Five the disappearance of
Missus Silverdale, who was last seen in Hassendeen's company. Six
the words caught me, thought it was all right, never guessed,
(01:04):
which Hassendeen uttered before he died. Seven the murder of
the maid at Heatherfield, which was clearly done by someone
she knew well, or she would not have admitted him
at that time. Of night. Eight the ransacking of one
particular drawer in Missus Silverdale's bedroom, suggesting that the murderer
had full knowledge of her private affairs. Nine the envelope
(01:27):
fragment with the date stamp nineteen twenty five, which might
indicate that the drawer had held letters compromising to the murderer.
Ten the old dance programs on which Astoris stood for
the name of some partner who must have been intimate
with her at that period. The affair can hardly have
been the usual social triangle tragedy Silverdale surprising his wife
(01:49):
with Hassendein. This hypothesis fails to account for a the
day'sed appearance of Missus Silverdale, which suggests drugging b the
murderer on burglary at Heatherfield Silverdale's own house, in which
he could come and go freely without resorting to such extremes.
And see the expression cut me in Hassendein's last words,
(02:11):
since caught us would have been the natural phrase in
the case of the triangle drama. Curious that doctor Markfield
should pilot Ringwood right across the town and then drop
him at the end of the avenue instead of going
a hundred yards or so further to the very gate
of the house. Worth keeping in mind that doctor Markfield
knew Missus Silverdale well at one time, though he cooled
(02:33):
off later. Ring was evidence. Compare the old dance programs
written after the discovery of the Bungalow tragedy. This is
clearly the second half of the Hassendeine business. Obviously, Hassendein
prepared the bungalow beforehand for the reception of Missus Silverdale.
Either she consented to go there willingly or else as
(02:55):
it seems more likely, he drugged her after dinner and
took her there without her concer. In any case, it
was premeditated on his part. Evidently he overshot the dose
of the drug and killed her. His subsequent shooting the
body suggests that he meant to leave an obvious cause
of death, which might divert attention from the poison altogether
(03:16):
and cause it to be overlooked in a p M examination.
In that case, it's likely that he meant to take
the body elsewhere in his car and leave it, meaning
to suggest that she committed suicide. Of course, the shooting
may have been done accidentally or by a third party
who did not know she was already dead, but this
seems unlikely on the face of things. Four people at
(03:38):
least were at the bungalow that night, Missus Silverdale, Hassendein,
and the two watchers at the windows. One of the
watchers must be this fellow justice who had the first
news of the affair. One of them was probably the
murderer of Hassendein, since he entered the room. The second
watcher may have seen the murder committed, though this is
(03:59):
not certain. Apart from the general state of the bungalow,
the only clues of interests are the cigarette holder and
the signet ring on Missus Silverdale's finger. Silverdale denies that
he gave her the ring, and as the date nineteen
twenty five in it belongs to the period of dissociation
in the Silverdale minage, it seems probable that he is
speaking the truth. The initial be engraved in the ring
(04:22):
evidently indicates the donor, and it may stand for either
a real initial or the initial of a pet name.
Possibly the donor was the person indicated by an asterisk
on the dance programs, and or the person who burglared
Heatherfield to get hold of letters which perhaps compromised him.
The cigarette holder found that the bungalow is undoubtedly Silverdale's,
(04:44):
but that does not necessarily prove that Silverdale was ever there.
Some one else who had a chance of laying hands
on his cigarette holder may have left it to mislead us.
All that it tells us is that someone associated with
Silverdale was at the bungalow. Both Sundein and missus Silverdale
fit this description. As to Silverdale is evident that he
(05:05):
wanted to get rid of his wife and marry Miss Deepcar,
but that does not prove he was prepared to go
the length of murder to gain his ends. He has
no alibi for the period of the Bungalow affair, but
few of us could produce an alibi for a given
time on the spur of the moment. Miss Hailsham had
a grudge against Hassendean, but there is no evidence connecting
her with the Bungalow affair. The maid at Heatherfield seems
(05:29):
a mere pawn in the game. Silverdale might have used
her to drug the coffee, but Hassendeen's unusual interference with
the normal serving of the coffee, coupled with his preparations
beforehand that the bungalow point to him as the administrator
of the drug. As to the drug, Hassendeen must have
had easy access to it. It's a mydriatic drug since
(05:50):
the eye pupils were expanded. Miss Deepcarr mentioned hyocene when
she came into the room at the Crowthornton Institute, so
that evidently they have it on the premises there. Hyacine
narcosis has one special peculiarity. It obliterates from the patient's
memory all recollection of what may have happened while the
drug was acting. At least that's what they say about
(06:11):
the Twilight Sleek treatment. This would be the very drug
Hassendein would require for his purpose. Missus Silverdale would wake
up from the narcosis with only the very faintest recollection
of what had happened. A preliminary hypothesis seems possible. Hassendin
resolved to drug miss A Silverdale with hyacine and take
her to the bungalow while under the influence of the narcotic.
(06:35):
He prepared the place beforehand and got her there successfully,
but he overshot the dose he gave her and she
died in his hands at the bungalow. He then shot
her in the head, meaning to take her away in
his car and leave the body somewhere arranged as though
it were a case of suicide. He might hope that
in these circumstances the drug might not be spotted, and
(06:56):
thus he would be completely clear. But some one else
saw the shooting, and, being keenly interested in Missus Silverdale,
shot Hassendine in revenge. On the face of things, this
third party might be either Justice or the second Watcher. Then,
if this third party had been intimate with Missus Silverdale,
there might be letters in her possession which would bring
(07:17):
out their relations, and these letters it might be essential
to secure. Hence, the murder of the maid and the
burglary at Heatherfield very sketchy, of course, but it seems suggestive.
If it be the truth, or near it, then the
murderer must have known when to strike at Heatherfield, for
usually there were two maids on the premises, which would
(07:38):
be too big a job for a single assailant. But
from Ringwood's evidence, Markfield learned the state of affairs at
Heatherfield that night from the phone call which came through
when he was at Ringwood's house, and at once he
offered to pilot Ringwood through the fog, which gave him
a perfectly sound excuse for being in the neighborhood of
Heatherfield if any one happened to recognize him. Further, he
(08:01):
deliberately avoided taking Ringwood up to the Heatherfield Gate, but
dropped him at the end of Lauderdale Avenue. This would
avoid any chance of his being directly connected with Heatherfield
that night, and after he left Ringwood he could easily
drive round to the back of Heatherfield and watch his
chance to enter the house. Written after reading Hassendeen's journal,
(08:24):
three things emerge from Hassendeen's MSS. One he seems to
have excited miss Hailsham to the extent of a loss
of control when he jolted her, but that does not
in itself prove anything. Two, Missus Silverdale obviously led him
on and continually disappointed him. This fits in with the
hypothesis I made. Three His remark only I shall know
(08:48):
of my triumph agrees very neatly with the memory blotting
property of Hiocene as a whole. Then the hypothesis seems justified,
as to Markfield. I notice he makes a rate of
intense reluctance if he is asked to give evidence involving Silverdale.
But when he is actually induced to talk, he says
things which tell heavily against his colleague. As he's by
(09:11):
no means a fool, this seems worth attention. It is
possible that the money lender might wish to ensure that
young Hassendine's death should be proved to be due to murder,
but I doubt if affirm doing so well as appears
from their office, which Flamborough describes as opulent, would be
likely to go the length of murder itself for the
sake of a mere five thousand pounds. And if Spratton
(09:34):
had no hand in the actual murder, it is hard
to see how he could get the first news of it.
On the face of things, it's unlikely that he was justice,
and it is practically impossible to fit him into the
affair at Heatherfield, which is interlocked with the Bungalow tragedy.
Bernard's story of Missus Silverdale's inheritance may have some bearing
(09:54):
on the affair, but only if Silverdale is the murderer,
and that won't fit in with the Heatherfield business on
any reasonable assumptions. One point certainly tells badly against Silverdale's credibility.
He must have told the deliberate lie when he said
that on the night of the Bungalow murder he was
working late at the Croft Thornton Institute. This tale seems
(10:16):
completely exploded by the evidence which Flamborough unearthed. Silverdale, however,
is not necessarily a murderer because he has been trapped
in a lie. He may have used his lie to
cover up something quite other than murder, and since he
was obviously being suspected of murder, his motive for lying
must have been a strong one, or he would have
made a clean breast of the affair. The only factor
(10:38):
of sufficient importance seems to be a woman whom he
hoped to shield by his lie, and the only woman
in the case so far whom he has a clear
interest in his miss deep Car. One can easily imagine
circumstances in which he might find it politic to lie.
Written after the identification of hyacine in the body, as
(10:58):
I expected was the poison that fits in with Hassendein's
journal entry and with the hypothesis I made before Hassendein,
like most people at the croft, Thornton had access to
the hyacine in the store. The overdose which he used
gave me some trouble at first, but I think that's
cleared up. All the available evidence shows that Hassendein was
(11:20):
a careless and inaccurate worker. From his note book, I
found that he used the abbreviation GR for graham, whereas
Markfield uses GM. It seems probable that Hassendein looked up
the normal dose of hyacine in a book of reference,
found it given in apothecary's weights as one one hundredth gr,
and copied this down as it stood, without making a
(11:41):
note to remind him that here gr meant grain and
not graham. When he came to weigh out the dose
he meant to give missus Silverdale, he would read one
one hundredth gr as the hundredth part of a gram,
since in laboratory work the metric system has always used
and chemists never think in terms of grains. Thus Hassendine
(12:03):
weighing out when in his careless as he supposed to be,
a normal dose would take zero point zero one grams
of hyacine. The reference books state that serious poisoning has
been caused by as little as zero point zero zero
zero two gram of hioceine. As there are fifteen grains
in a gram, his quantity would be fifteen times a
(12:23):
normal dose, which fits fairly well with the amount found
in the body. He had no reason for killing Missus Silverdale,
provided that the hyacine obliterated her memory of that evening's proceedings,
and it seems most improbable that he deliberately planned to
cause her death. Miss Hailsham obviously does not wish to
see Hassendine's murderer cut, and therefore her identification with justice
(12:46):
is more than problematical. She may or may not have
an alibi for the time of the Bungalow affair. Since
she admits going to a dance in her car and
coming away almost immediately, one may keep her case in
reserve for the present. Markfield's car g X nine O
seven four is alleged to have been in an accident
that night. The man who complained about it might provide
(13:09):
a clue to Markfield's movements if we can lay hands
on him. The man who appeared at Fountain Street Police
Station fishing for a reward in connection with the Bungalow
affair can hardly be any one but one of the
two watchers at the windows. Unfortunately, unless he chooses to talk,
we have no power to extract information from him. Flamborough
(13:29):
states that he can lay hands on him at any moment,
as he is well known to our men. Written after
the receipt of the code advertisement, this justice is an
ingenious fellow. First, his trail was covered by using letters
clip from telegraph forms. Now he resorts to advertisements so
that we do not get his handwriting. However, he betrays
(13:51):
his knowledge of the internal affairs of the craft Thornton,
which is a bad mistake since it limits the circle
of inquiry. Written after the interview with Renat, I don't
much care for mister Renard. He poses too much as
the honest fellow, rather puzzled by the course of events.
His evidence certainly supplied a fresh motive for Silverdale in
(14:11):
the role of murderer. But Silverdale will not fit into
the Heatherfield affair on any reasonable basis, and the tragedies
at Heatherfield and at the Bungalow are obviously interconnected. It's
a nuisance that Silverdale won't tell us where he spent
the night of the murders. It might save trouble if
he did so. Justice seems to be making a fool
(14:32):
of himself. The fact that he forged Missus Silverdale's writing
in the advertisement address as limits the circle still further.
We now know a that Justice must have learned of
the Bungalow shooting almost as soon as it was done.
B that he knows High Seeing was in the croft
Thornton stores. C that he is in possession of specimens
(14:53):
of Missus Silverdale's writing. Markfield might fill the bill. Other
possibilities are Miss Hill Elsham, Miss Deep Car, and Silverdale
himself written after the Wally murder. So Flamborough has let
Wally slip through her fingers. My impression is that Wally
was murdered elsewhere and taken out in a car to
(15:14):
be dumped into the ditch where he was found. The
man behind all this is clever and wouldn't go in
for an open road murder in which he might be
interrupted by a motorist coming round the corner. The tourniquet
was obviously intended to mislead us, or it would never
have been left beside the body. The Heatherfield tourniquet was
a makeshift thing, which indicated no one in particular. This
(15:35):
new one, with its pressure tubing and banjo string, seems constructed,
specially as evidence. The tubing suggests the crow Thornton chemical work.
The banjo string points to Silverdale. Since I learned from
Ringwood that Silverdale was a banjo player. Both these points
would be familiar to Markfield. The laboratory coat was apparently
(15:56):
left on its peg every night after work was done.
It was therefore accessible to anyone in the Croft Thornton
after Silverdale had gone for the day. Markfield could have
procured it if necessary, and returned it when his work
with it was over. If the Walling murder was committed
in some secluded spot, say inside a house, the murderer
(16:16):
would hardly have left the clue like this button and
shred of cloth in his victim's hand, since he would
have plenty of time to search the body at leisure.
As things are, it looks like a manufactured clue, especially
since the shred of cloth is so characteristic. Silverdale again
has no alibi, but neither has Markfield, since his housekeeper
(16:38):
was away nursing a relative. We shall need to wait
for further evidence. Written after the raid on Avesteep Carr's house,
Flamborough has arrested Silverdale, perhaps as a sound move, though
not from his point of view. I hope it will
bring things to a crisis and that we may be
able to fish something out of the distry waters. One
(17:02):
point is already established. Silverdale had nothing to do with
this raid on Miss Deep Carr's house. The raider must
have been a man. Miss Deep Caarr herself could not
have impersonated me well enough to deceive her own maid.
Miss Hailsham has a girl's figure and could hardly have
posed as myself. The shape of her face and especially
her mouth, would make that impossible. No other woman that
(17:24):
we know about is sufficiently mixed up in the business
to make it worth while to run a risk like that. Markfield,
according to Ringwood's evidence, used to go in for amateur theatricals. Further,
Markfield knew, for he told me so at the crow
Thornton that Miss Deep Carr was out of town on
the night of the raid on her house. So if
he was the raider, he could be sure that he
(17:46):
wouldn't have to meet her and run the risk of
meeting a a person who knew him when undisguised, and
b a person who knew my appearance well enough. What
was he after letters? Evidently, and again this limits the circle,
since the raider must be some one who has knowledge
of the relations between Silverdale and Miss Deep Car. Miss
(18:06):
Deep Car's evidence gives Silverdale a complete alibi for the
time of the Bungalow murder. On the other hand, they
may both have been mixed up in it, in which
case her evidence carries no weight. But the Heatherfield affair
seems the key to the whole business, and Silverdale had
no motive for that murder, even assuming he wanted to
destroy the draft of his wife's new will. On the
(18:28):
face of it, Miss Deep Carr's evidence seems sound and clear.
Silverdale written, after the receipt of the photographs, Curious how
people will never let well alone. If this fellow justice
had been content to stay out of the case, we'd
have had a much stiffer job. Now at last, he's
let us see what side he's on, Auntie Silverdale. Definitely,
(18:52):
the photographs are obvious fakes if one examines them carefully.
Their only importance is as a guide to the identity
of justice. They limit the circle still further, since the
production of them implies the use of a good microphotographic camera,
and the crow Thornton Institute has more than one of
these points which seemed to tell against Markfield. One he
(19:15):
was intimate with Missus Silverdale shortly after she came here.
Two he was near Heatherfield on the night of the murder.
Three he knew the maid was alone in Heatherfield except
for her sick companion. Four he could easily have obtained
possession of Silverdale's cigarette holder. Five. Owing to his housekeeper's absence,
(19:37):
he could move about freely with no check on the
times when he left his house or return to it.
Six he was out at the research station on the
Lizard Bridge Road early in the evening on the night
of the Bungalow affair. Seven. The evidence he gave us
for all his pretense of reluctance was directed against Silverdale.
Eight he was well acquainted with all the arrangem of
(20:00):
the craw Thornton Institute. Nine. Owing to his earlier association
with Missus Silverdale, he had access to specimens of her writing.
Ten his car's number g X nine O seven four
was known to Wally, who made inquiries about it with
reference to the Knight of the Murders. Eleven, he knew
(20:21):
that Silverdale had a banjo. Twelve he had access to
Silverdale's laboratory code. Thirteen He knew of the relations between
Silverdale and Miss Deep Car. Fourteen He knew that Miss
Deep Carr would be out of town on the night
when the raid was made under House. Fifteen he was
a good amateur actor. Sixteen he had access to a
(20:46):
microphotographic camera. These are established facts. Make the assumption that
his earlier association with Missus Silverdale was a guilty and
not an innocent one, and see where that leads. It
suggests the following A that they took special care to
conceal their intimacy, since Silverdale would have been glad of
(21:06):
a divorce. B That they themselves did not wish for
a divorce, possibly for financial reasons. C That Hassendine was
utilized as a shield for the real intrigue without understanding
that he was serving this purpose. D That he took
the bit in his teeth and resorted to hyacine to
gain his ends. E That Markfield, on his way home
(21:30):
from the research station that night caught a glimpse of
Hassendein driving Missus Silverdale out to the bungalow, and became
suspicious f that he followed them, and the tragedy ensued.
G that after the tragedy, Markfield realized the danger of
his love letters to Missus Silverdale, which were in her
room at Heatherfield. H that the Heatherfield murder followed as
(21:55):
a sequel to this. Finally, there was the inscription in
the ring which Missus Silverdale war Markfield has no initial
bee in his name, but the Bee might stand for
some pet name which he used for him. The net
result of it all is that there are strong grounds
for suspicion against him, but no real proof that one
could put confidently before a jury. Possibly he might be bluffed.
(22:19):
I'll try it written some time after the explosion at
Markfield's house. One might put it down as a drawn game.
We failed to hang Markfield, for the explosion killed him
on the spot. Luckily, the effects were extraordinarily localized, and
Flamborough and I got off alive, though badly damaged temporarily. Markfield,
(22:41):
one has to admit, was too clever for us at
the last, from what a chemist has since told me
to Tranatromathane detonates with extraordinary violence in the presence of triathylamine,
though it is perfectly safe to handle under normal conditions.
Markfield had about half a pound or more of tatran
it tromethane in his conical flask. In his dropping funnel
(23:03):
he had alcohol or some other harmless liquid colorless like triathylamine,
And in his stoppered bottle he had triathylamine itself. While
he talked to us, he ran the alcohol into the tetrandatromethane,
a perfectly harmless operation. Then when he saw the game
was up, he ran the funnel empty and refilled it
(23:24):
from the bottle. As we saw it, this was simply
a preparation for continuing the experiment, which he had already
found to be harmless. But in practice it meant that
he had only to turn his tap and mix the
two liquids in order to get his explosion. He staged
it so well that neither Flamborough nor I spotted what
he was after. The house was a perfect wreck, they
(23:47):
tell me, doors and windows blown out, ceilings down, walls cracked.
The room we were in was completely gutted by the
explosion and Markfield was torn in pieces. I didn't see it,
of course. The next thing I remember was waking up
in a nursing home. Possibly it was cheap at the
price of getting rid of Markfield. He was a good
(24:07):
specimen of the callous murderer. The only saft spot in
him seems to have been his passion for Yvon Silverdale.
End of Chapter nineteen. End of the Case with Nine
Solutions by J. J. Connington
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!