"
"Suppose, then," continued the detective, "I am the investigating
magistrate. I cause my man to be arrested, and, twenty minutes later,
he is standing before me. I do not amuse myself by putting questions to
him, more or less subtle. No, I go straight to the mark. I overwhelm him
at once by the weight of my certainty, prove to him so clearly that I
know everything, that he must surrender, seeing no chance of escape.
I should say to him, 'My good man, you bring me an _alibi_; it is very
well; but I am acquainted with that system of defence. It will not do
with me. I know all about the clocks that don't keep proper time, and
all the people who never lost sight of you. In the meantime, this is
what you did. At twenty minutes past eight, you slipped away adroitly;
at thirty-five minutes past eight, you took the train at the St Lazare
station; at nine o'clock, you alighted at the station at Rueil, and
took the road to La Jonchere; at a quarter past nine, you knocked at the
window-shutter of Widow Lerouge's cottage. You were admitted. You asked
for something to eat, and, above all, something to drink. At twenty
minutes past nine, you planted the well-sharpened end of a foil between
her shoulders.
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