The Lately Deceased (26 page)

‘I see. What else did you find?'

‘That the skewer was liberally marked with Colin Moore's fingerprints.'

‘What did that prove?'

‘Well, of course, it was intended to prove that Moore was the last man to handle the weapon and was therefore the murderer. But, you know, fingerprints can be quite easily planted on any object having a suitable surface. They were in this instance, shortly after Moore lost consciousness and before Walker turned on the gas.'

‘Do you think Gordon meant me to find that skewer?'

‘Yes, that was all part of his plan. Cast your mind back to the evening when you found it. Who suggested that the lamp be moved across the room?'

‘It was Gordon,' Geoff said, promptly.

‘Precisely. He placed it there for you to find as soon as the lamp was moved.'

‘How perfectly grisly of him!' Eve said, thrilled.

‘In fact. the whole purpose of that little party was to set the scene for the “accidental” discovery of this additional bit of evidence of Moore's guilt.'

‘But if the skewer I found wasn't the murder weapon, what happened to the skewer that really
did
kill Margaret?'

‘I would say at a guess,' Meredith replied with a smile, ‘that it was gathered up and returned to stock by the bartender on the night of the murder. In all probability it is now again performing its proper function as a barbecue skewer.'

‘Ugh! What a perfectly disgusting thought.'

‘Yes, but then murder usually is disgusting.'

‘Look, officer,' Webster broke in, ‘Am I right in understanding that if poor Margaret had only kept her mouth shut on the night of the party, she'd be alive and well tonight.'

‘That's about the size of it, sir.'

‘And if she was alive now, so would be Colin Moore.'

‘He would.'

‘And if they were both alive, Gordon would be alive, too.'

‘Just that.'

Webster turned to his wife.

‘Let that be a lesson to you, darling. Never open your mouth unless you've got something worthwhile to put into it.'

And, suiting the action to his words, he raised his glass and drained its contents at a gulp.

THE END

Crime Fiction from

Bernard Knight

The Lately Deceased

The Thread of Evidence

Mistress Murder

Russian Roulette

Policeman's Progress

Tiger at Bay

The Expert

For more information about
Bernard Knight

and other
Accent Press
titles

please visit

www.accentpress.co.uk

First published by Herbert Jenkins Ltd 1963

This edition published by Accent Press Ltd 2015

ISBN 9781786150462

Copyright ©
Bernard Knight
2015

The right of
Bernard Knight
to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN