"Rivers had that gun last summer. He
had it refinished by a gunsmith named Umholtz. After Umholtz refinished
it, the gun was in Rivers's shop until November of last year, when it was
sold by Rivers personally. And that was the revolver that was found in
Lane Fleming's hand, and the one I got from the coroner, with a letter
vouching for the fact that it had been so found."
He finished his cocktail. Gladys picked up the shaker mechanically and
refilled his glass.
"Now we have Dunmore with this .36 Colt, loaded with powder, caps and
bullets from the ammunition supply in the gunroom, waiting for a chance
to use it. And also, he has this Mill-Pack contract in his safe deposit
box at the bank. That takes care of the weapon and the motive; only the
opportunity is needed, and that came on the 22nd of December, when Mr.
Fleming brought home that Confederate Leech & Rigdon .36 he had just
bought. It was just a piece of luck that both revolvers were alike in
caliber and general type, but it wouldn't have made a lot of difference.
Nobody was paying much attention to details, and Dunmore was on the scene
to misdirect any attention anybody would pay to anything.
"Now, we come to the mechanics of the thing; the _modus operandi_, or,
as it is professionally known, the M.
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