“Very simple and very well known ones; at least, among the profession. There was too little blood seen, for the wounds to have been inflicted before death or within a few minutes after it. Had the woman been living when they were made, or even had she been but a short time dead, the floor would have been deluged with the blood gushing from so many and such serious injuries. But the effusion was slight, so slight that I noticed it at once, and came to the conclusions mentioned before I found the mark of the stab that occasioned death.”
“I see, I see! And was that the reason you called in two neighboring physicians to view the body before it was removed from the house?”
“Yes, sir; in so important a matter, I wished to have my judgment confirmed.”
“And these physicians were—”
“Dr. Campbell, of 110 East —— Street, and Dr. Jacobs, of —— Lexington Avenue.”
“Are these gentlemen here?” inquired the Coroner of an officer who stood near.
“They are, sir.”
“Very good; we will now proceed to ask one or two more questions of this witness. You told us that even had the woman been but a few minutes dead when she received these contusions, the floor would have been more or less deluged by her blood. What reason have you for this statement?”
“This; that in a few minutes, let us say ten, since that number has been used, the body has not had time to cool, nor have the blood-vessels had sufficient opportunity to stiffen so as to prevent the free effusion of blood.”
“Is a body still warm at ten minutes after death?”
“It is.”
“So that your conclusions are logical deductions from well-known facts?”
“Certainly, sir.”
A pause of some duration followed.
When the Coroner again proceeded, it was to remark:
“The case is complicated by these discoveries; but we must not allow ourselves to be daunted by them. Let me ask you, if you found any marks upon this body which might aid in its identification?”
“One; a slight scar on the left ankle.”
“What kind of a scar? Describe it.”
“It was such as a burn might leave. In shape it was long and narrow, and it ran up the limb from the ankle-bone.”
“Was it on the right foot?”
“No; on the left.”
“Did you call the attention of any one to this mark during or after your examination?”
“Yes; I showed it to Mr. Gryce the detective, and to my two coadjutors; and I spoke of it to Mr. Howard Van Burnam, son of the gentleman in whose house the body was found.”
It was the first time this young gentleman’s name had been mentioned, and it made my blood run cold to see how many side-long looks and expressive shrugs it caused in the motley assemblage. But I had no time for sentiment; the inquiry was growing too interesting.
“And why,” asked the Coroner, “did you mention it to this young man in preference to others?”