“Been moved at all?” he asked sharply.

 

“Beyond making certain that life was extinct—an easy matter—I have not disturbed

the body in any way.”

 

“Ah! And everything points to the murderer having got clear away—for the moment,

that is. Now then, let me hear all about it. Who found the body?”

 

I explained the circumstances carefully.

 

“A telephone message, you say? From the butler?”

 

“A message that I never sent,” declared Parker earnestly. “I’ve not been near

the telephone the whole evening. The others can bear me out that I haven’t.”

 

“Very odd, that. Did it sound like Parker’s voice, doctor?”

 

“Well—I can’t say I noticed. I took it for granted, you see.”

 

“Naturally. Well, you got up here, broke in the door, and found poor Mr. Ackroyd

like this. How long should you say he had been dead, doctor?”

 

“Half an hour at least—perhaps longer,” I said.

 

“The door was locked on the inside, you say? What about the window?”