Winters' Tales

The Very Short Puzzle Of The Wrong-Handed Man.

A/N. Okay, here's something you'll either love or you'll hate. A chance to accompany Allie and Smart on one of their later cases. Well, sort of. Read on and find out...!! R xxx

TEN YEARS AFTER THE EVENTS AT THE THAMES BRIDGE

When Smart and I first arrived at that big old house in the London square, we weren't expecting to find anything overly taxing inside. It was the house of a Mr. R. P. Swift, and he was the owner of a big mining business which stretched far overseas.

I had become accustomed to accompanying Smart on cases more and more often now, less to help him out, more to stop my brain exploding from sheer boredom. Scotland Yard had even given me a little unofficial badge.

As the pair of us walked up the marble steps and into the house, we were met by the pale face of the butler, who told us what had happened. Mr. Swift had recently invited one of his fellow businessmen, one Mr. Anchovy, to stay with him for a few days, to discuss the running of one of the company's outlets. This man was now dead, found sitting in the study room, at the desk, in the process of writing a letter. He didn't seem to have gotten very far, I noticed, as the butler took us upstairs to see the body, as only a few lines had been written, all sort of smudged, and with a few spots of blood.

I thought they read:

Mr. Gregory,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. Myself and Mr. Swift have continued to discuss the matter in question and-

While I was reading, Smart was still quizzing the butler.

"So, you know that Mr. Swift was in this room when the shot was fired?" the detective queried. The butler nodded.

"Yessir. They gave perfect instructions to me that they were not to be disturbed."

"And you obeyed?" Smart asked.

"Yessir. Until I heard the shot. Then I came in."

"And what did you see?"

The butler hesitated.

"Don't want to speak ill of the master, but I saw him running out of that door there." The butler pointed to the door Smart and I hadn't come through (there were two doors to the study room we were in).

"And where does that lead?" Smart demanded.

"To the servant's quarters, and the back door out onto the street" the butler replied. Smart nodded, sucking his lip.

"Show me, please" he said, walking to the door and opening it. "Allie, keep out of trouble" he added over his shoulder.

"I'll try" I replied dryly, now inspecting the body and the desk. There was the letter, with the ink still wet, implying that Mr. Anchovy was in the middle of writing said letter when he had taken a rather nasty bullet wound to the front right temple, which had thrown the man's head back over the chair, and he now sat staring the stare of death at the ceiling  with the gun lying on the floor below his limp right hand. I sucked my lip. This seemed gloriously obvious, but something was bugging me and I couldn't put my finger on it at that time.

I studied the desk from in front of it, facing the dead man. It looked as such:

On my left (and the dead man's right) sat the inkpot and blotter pad, then the quill Anchovy had been using, and then the drying, smudgy, half-written letter. I sucked my lip, bending down to look at Anchovy's hands, but at that point, Smart returned with the butler.

"It all seems very straightforward" my detective friend sighed, as I stood up. "We'll find Swift-Allie, what are you doing?"

I was grinning like a cat.

"I've one question" I explained. "And then I can prove that it's not as straightforward as it looks. In fact, it's downright clever."

"Ask away" Smart sighed, coming to stand over by the body, inspecting it and trying to work out what I had seen.

"How long did it take you to get in here after you heard the shot?" I asked the butler, who frowned.

"I was only out on the landing, Miss. Seconds, it must have taken."

I nodded.

"Then, I'm afraid I'm right, and it's not quite as easy as it seems. You got it yet, Toby?"

"I've got an idea" Smart replied pensively.

Allie's got it. Smart's closing in. But do YOU know what's going on? Answers in the comments:)
R xxx