Эрл Гарднер - The Case of the Backward Mule

He gave Cynthia Renton a full five minutes. Then he walked back into the warehouse, switched the lights off and on, entered the office, was careful to avoid the pool of blood as he tiptoed his way around to the telephone.

As he was about to pick up the receiver, he noticed near the telephone a fresh sliver where the wood had been marred by some recent injury.

Clane bent for a closer inspection.

He saw that a bullet, apparently of .38 caliber, had struck the wall and slightly embedded itself. From the size and shape of the hole, Clane would have said that the bullet had been somewhat battered before it had penetrated the wood.

Clane moved over, picked up the telephone receiver and said, “Police Headquarters, please. Get me the Homicide Department. I want to report a murder.”

Inspector Jim Malloy of Homicide greeted Terry Clane with the cordial enthusiasm that one customarily shows towards a rich relative.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Clane,” he said, wrapping Clane’s hand with duck, powerful fingers. “I suppose you remember me all right. I worked on that Mandra murder case — a most interesting...”

“I remember you perfectly,” Clane said.

“Well now, that’s nice of you. That’s interesting, the idea that a man like you would remember just a dumb cop. Now, of course, with me, I remember you because it’s my business to remember people. And then, of course, we don’t ordinarily meet people like you, but you’re meeting average people like me every day, lots of them. And now you say you have another body down here?”

“A body, not another body.”

“That’s right, that’s right. You’ll pardon me. I was thinking of that other case. And this body, do you happen to know who he is?”

“George Gloster.”

“Gloster, Gloster. Now I’ve heard that name... Let’s see, this is a warehouse, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Eastern Art Import and Trading Company.”

“Well, well, well, I knew I’d heard the name Gloster before somewhere. Now this man Horace Farnsworth that was murdered a while back — he was a member of this Eastern Trading Company, or whatever you call it, wasn’t he?”

“I believe he was.”

“Well now, let’s just go take a look,” Inspector Malloy said. “I take it you didn’t touch anything? Of course, you wouldn’t — you’ve been all through this before. It isn’t like talking with an amateur, so to speak.”

“I touched the telephone,” Clane said, “because it was the only chance I had to get the police department. There aren’t many phones around here. You could walk for miles in this district without finding a phone.”

“You could for a fact,” Malloy said. “Well, we’ll just discount that then. Your fingerprints on the telephone. Fingerprints anywhere else?”

“I may have touched a chair or two inadvertently, before I realized what I was up against.”

“I see. Of course, you shouldn’t have done that, Mr. Clane, but you’ll learn. You’ll learn as you have more experience. You’ll learn.”

“I don’t want any more experience.”

“Well, of course, of course! Now let’s see. We go right in here and the lights are on. Were they on when you came, Mr. Clane?”

“They were not,” Clane said.

“You turned them on?”

“I did.”

“Well now, are you a member of this Eastern Trading Company?”

“No, I am not a member of the Eastern Art Import and Trading Company. Perhaps I’d better tell you my story after you’ve looked around a bit.”

“Well, I’ll just take a look. Now the light switch is right here by the door. You turned this on?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’ll account for another fingerprint. You’ll have to remember that — your fingerprint on the light switch. Then what did you do?”

“I went through this door here to the left.”

“That’s right, the door in this room. Oh — there it is. There’s the body.”

“There’s the body,” Clane said.

“Just like it was when you arrived?”

“That’s right.”

“You didn’t move anything?”

“No.”

“Good boy,” Malloy said. “You’re learning, you’re learning. Well now, let’s see. There’s a window open over there. You didn’t open that window?”

“No.”

“It was open like that when you came?”

“Yes.”

Malloy turned back to one of the men on Homicide. “Sammy, run around and take a look under that window. Be careful now — you might find a footprint or perhaps the mark of a jimmy on the window sill. Be careful you don’t mess things up. Just sort of tiptoe around and give it the once-over. Now let’s see, there’s the body lying over there, feet toward us, head toward the telephone, lying on its stomach, head turned a little bit to the right, right hand outstretched and about even with the head, left hand doubled back and about even with the man’s belt. You can identify him? You say that’s Gloster?”

“That’s Gloster.”

“You went over and took a look?”

“I went over and took a look.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. You should have identified him after we got here.”

“I had to use the telephone,” Clane said.

“That’s right, that’s right. You went over there to use the telephone. See anything else while you were mere?”

“I just used the phone, that’s all. I did notice where a bullet had embedded itself in the boards.”

“A bullet? Well now, that’s interesting. You looked at it pretty carefully? Sure it was a bullet?”

“I just saw the end of it. It’s a round object that looks like a bullet.”

“You didn’t touch it?”

“No.”

“That’s fine. No fingerprints of yours on the bullet then. That’ll help. Now if you’ll just step outside, Mr. Clane, and let our men get busy here, we’ll perhaps find out a lot more things. There’s a little fingerprinting to do, and a little checking up. You know how those things are. By the way, here’s a pile of canned goods and a cot. Looks as though someone had been sleeping here. Did Gloster live here?”

“I don’t know. I shouldn’t think so.”

“I wouldn’t think so either. Hardly a place for a man to live. Perhaps a night watchman has been sleeping here. But there’s been a lot of cooking, hasn’t there?”

“Apparently.”

“Someone lived here, someone who was rather neat. Yes, I’d say neat as a pin. Dishes all washed up nice and clean. Empty cans all stacked in a big wastebasket. Quite a few empty cans there. Apparently the man didn’t have much of an opportunity to get out to dispose of his garbage. Now that’s interesting.”

Clane said nothing.

“Very interesting indeed,” Inspector Malloy went on. “Now if this here Gloster was a member of this Far Eastern what-do-you-call-it Company, then there’s a pretty good chance he knew this Edward Harold that the police are looking for. Don’t you suppose he did?”

“I suppose it’s a natural assumption.”

“Did you know that he did?”

“I think that he did.”

“Well now, that’s interesting. Now wouldn’t it be funny if... Well, I guess we won’t bother you any more right now, Mr. Clane. You’re probably a little squeamish about these things. If you’ll step out and wait in the police car, you’ll find one of the boys there to talk to you.”

“And see that I don’t get away?”

“Oh no, heavens, no, nothing like that! Why should you want to get away?”

“I thought perhaps you thought I wanted to get away.”

“And why should I be thinking anything like that, Mr. Clane? What have you got to get away for?”

“Nothing.”