Read Online The Polo Ground Mystery by Robin Forsythe - Free Book Online Page A

for cartridge cases.”
    â€œIt suggests he was a crook who knew the danger of leaving any clue behind. If we could get hold of one of his empty shells we might be able to trace the weapon, and if we traced the weapon we should probably be able to lay hands on our man.”
    â€œYou’re deadly efficient fellows, Heather,” commented Vereker, and hastened his pace towards the northern goal flags of the polo ground. Some twenty paces from those goal flags he noticed a cross marked in whitewash on the close-shorn turf. “Is this the spot where Collyer found the body?”
    â€œYes. Mr. Armadale was lying on his back with his feet towards the house and his head towards the west.”
    â€œWith his feet towards the house,” repeated Vereker slowly, and was lost in a brown study. After a few moments he added, “That looks as if he had fallen forwards after being shot, and subsequently turned on his back.”
    â€œHow do you make that out, Mr. Vereker?” asked the inspector quickly.
    â€œIf he had fallen backwards, the man who shot him must have been between him and the house. As we are presuming he was chasing the burglar from the house, that would be ridiculous.”
    â€œFairly sound, Mr. Vereker. You’ve made a big advance since the Bygrave case.”
    â€œThere’s another thing I’ve learned since then, inspector.”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œThe sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Perhaps the burglar manoeuvred Armadale so that the sun would be in his eyes. But tell me, which direction do you think the murderer took after he’d done his dirty work?”
    â€œI’ve been figuring that out. I should say he hugged the stable and kitchen-garden wall until he reached the main road. This would cut out any risk of his being seen from the house. And now I’m going to give you a valuable bit of information. Very early that morning, Mr. Ralli, as he lay awake, heard a car start up on the main road, and Mrs. Burton, the gardener’s wife, heard that car pass the lodge at the front gates at great speed. Unfortunately neither is certain at what time that car passed,but it’s significant and probably fits in rather neatly.”
    The inspector had hardly finished speaking when Vereker suddenly knelt down on the ground and began to examine a small hole in the turf which the whitewash line marking the spot had made clearly visible.
    â€œWhat have you got there?” asked the inspector curiously.
    â€œI thought at first it was a bullet hole, Heather, but it’s not. It’s too large for that. There is also the run of a circular impression round it. What do you make of it?”
    â€œI told Sergeant Goss to mark the place with a cross, and I dare say he shoved in a sharpened stake as a temporary indicator.”
    â€œPossibly,” returned Vereker thoughtfully, “and possibly not. In any case, I suggest we make another thorough search of the ground round here for those two cartridge cases—if there are two.”
    â€œThat’s why I came up here,” replied the inspector, and getting down on hands and knees commenced the irksome task.
    â€œA nice snap you’d make for the picture page of the Daily Report , Heather,” remarked Vereker, laughing. “Detective Inspector caught grazing in an unguarded moment. Pity there’s not a clump of thistles in the foreground!”
    The inspector was too intent on his search to reply to this facetiousness, and for the next half-hour neither man spoke as he diligently covered every inch of the ground round the cross marking the spot where Sutton Armadale fell. Vereker was the first to break the silence.
    â€œHere’s a thing and a very pretty thing,” he suddenly exclaimed as he rose to his feet and approached the inspector.
    The latter jumped up quickly and glanced anxiously at the small brass object which Vereker held out on the palm of his