I was on the stairs while he was in the hall. He fled,
but as he did not pass me, he must have gone upwards. If Allan Morris
had done this murder he would not have thought of this; not knowing
the section, he would have been ignorant as to where the roof would
lead. But if Spatola were the man who remained, it would have been
different. Do the papers not say that he lives in a garret, or loft,
in the same block? How easy it would have been for him to pass out
upon the roof of 478 after the crime and then over the housetops of
the block until he came to a scuttle which perhaps led into his very
attic?"
"That," said Ashton-Kirk, "is very well conceived. But it has one
weakness. You are not sure that the murderer _did_ ascend to the roof
after the crime. He may have been lurking in the shadows which you say
were lying so thickly at the end of the hall. He may have been
watching you as you discovered the body, while you ran down the hall
once more and down the stairs. To be sure, you slammed the door behind
you; and so locked it. But like all spring or latch locks, it could be
readily opened from the inside. No one else came out while the cab
driver waited; but that was only for another fifteen minutes,
according to his own statement.
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