… The following things seem suggestive. (1) The breakup of the Silverdale ménage, with Silverdale turning to Avice Deepcar whilst Mrs. Silverdale lets Hassendean frequent her openly. (2) Hassendean’s interference with the usual routine of coffee serving after dinner at Heatherfield. (3) The “dazed” appearance of Mrs. Silverdale when she left the house after coffee. (4) The fact that the two shots which wounded Hassendean at close quarters were not fired in Ivy Lodge. (This exonerates Dr. Ringwood, who might otherwise have come under suspicion). (5) The disappearance of Mrs. Silverdale, who was last seen in Hassendean’s company. (6) The words: “Caught me … Thought it was all right. … Never guessed,” which Hassendean uttered before he died. (7) The murder of the maid at Heatherfield, which was clearly done by someone she knew well or she would not have admitted him at that time of night. (8) The ransacking of one particular drawer in Mrs. Silverdale’s bedroom, suggesting that the murderer had full knowledge of her private affairs. (9) The envelope fragment with the date-stamp 1925, which might indicate that the drawer had held letters compromising to the murderer. (10) The old dance programmes on which asterisks stood for the name of some partner, who must have been intimate with her at that period.
The affair can hardly have been the usual social-triangle tragedy: Silverdale surprising his wife with Hassendean. This hypothesis fails to account for (a) the dazed appearance of Mrs. Silverdale, which suggests drugging; (b) the murder and burglary at Heatherfield, Silverdale’s own house in which he could come and go freely without resorting to such extremes; and (c) The expression “Caught me …” in Hassendean’s last words, since “Caught us …” would have been the natural phrase in the case of the triangle-drama.
Curious that Dr. Markfield should pilot Ringwood right across the town and then drop him at the end of the avenue instead of going a hundred yards or so further, to the very gate of the house. Worth keeping in mind that Dr. Markfield knew Mrs. Silverdale well at one time, though he cooled off later (Ringwood’s evidence). Compare the old dance-programmes?