The body of the guilty man was afterwards recovered from the reservoir. On it there were found documents (enclosed) showing that he had for some years been lending money to Moses Moss, having been told by Moss that he had a rich uncle—Professor Arnell—who was in bad health, and who was going to leave him money. There is no evidence that Wallace ever believed this, but it seems probable that he soon formed his plot of murdering Professor Arnell and forging his will, thus ensuring that the money would be paid to him. He has been connected with several blackmail plots, and it is highly probable that he would later have blackmailed Moss, by pretending to have knowledge proving that Moss had killed his uncle.

He did not leave the money to Moss himself in the forged will because he was afraid that Moss would be suspected of the crime, and he knew that the will would be called invalid in that case.

He kidnapped Miss Arnell with the idea of terrorising her into marrying Moss, when the money would have come within his grasp. If she persisted in her refusal, he was planning to murder her also, but in such a way that it would merely seem that she had disappeared, and then the legal steps necessary to assuming her death would have been taken.

I may say that I am pleased that the man died in the way he did, for I am firmly convinced that if he had lived, we should have found that he was insane, and unfit to plead.

The way that things have turned out seem to me to be the better for all concerned.

(Signed) Henry Shelley, Detective-Inspector, C.I.D.

2. Letter from Henry Fairhurst to Moses Moss.

My dear Mr. Moss,

It was without doubt a most extraordinary concatenation of circumstances. But the fact remains, as I told you the other day, that the man who kidnapped our fair young friend wished her to enter into matrimony with yourself. And the other fact, which I promised that I would reveal to you as soon as circumstances rendered it in any way possible for me to do so, is merely this: the murderer and kidnapper of Miss Arnell, and the villain, in short, who was responsible for the troublous circumstances which have involved us all—and a strangely variegated crowd we were—was a man to whom you owed a lot of money. That was the item of evidence, so I am led to understand by our good friends the police, which first put them firmly on the somewhat difficult trail of the gentleman in question. I hope that you will follow me, my dear Mr. Moss. I conclude, my dear sir, with all good wishes to yourself.

Yours very sincerely,

Henry Fairhurst.

3. Letter from Violet Arnell to Inspector Shelley.

Dear Inspector Shelley,