John Hector McFarlane turned to us with a gesture of despair and sank into his chair like a man who is crushed.
"One moment, Lestrade," said Sherlock Holmes. "Don't take him away just yet. This gentleman was about to give us his account of this very interesting affair. His story might aid us in clearing up the mystery."
"I think there will be no difficulty in clearing it up," Inspector Lestrade said grimly.
"Nevertheless, with your permission, Dr. Watson and I would be very interested in hearing his account," said Holmes.
"Well, Mr. Holmes, it is difficult for me to refuse you anything because you've helped Scotland Yard in the past." Lestrade looked at his watch and then at McFarlane. "I'll give you half an hour."
McFarlane took a deep breath and began his story. "I must first say that I knew little about Mr. Jonas Oldacre," said McFarlane. "His name was familiar to me because my parents were acquainted with him years ago, but they drifted away from him."
McFarlane was very much surprised, therefore, when Oldacre walked into his office the previous afternoon at about three o'clock. Oldacre was carrying several sheets of paper covered with scribbled writing.
"Here is my will," said Oldacre. "I want you, Mr. McFarlane, to get it into proper legal shape, and I will stay here while you do so."
McFarlane began to copy it and was soon astonished to realize that he was the major beneficiary of the will.
"Oldacre was a strange, ferret-like man," said McFarlane. "And when I looked up at him, I found his keen gray eyes fixed on me with an amused expression. I could hardly believe the terms of the will. But he explained that he was a bachelor with few living relatives. He'd known my parents in his youth, and he'd heard that I was a very deserving young man. I thanked him and continued with my work, which you see here."
At this point McFarlane laid the will and Oldacre's rough draft on our table. Then McFarlane continued with his story.
"Mr. Oldacre informed me that there were a number of documents—leases, deeds, mortgages—that I should examine," said McFarlane. "He begged me to come out to his house that night, but insisted that I not mention the will to my parents until he and I had everything settled. He said that the will would be a nice surprise for my parents."
Oldacre suggested that he and McFarlane dine together at nine o'clock as Oldacre might not be home before then. So McFarlane sent a telegram to his parents, saying that he had important business to attend to and that he would be late returning to Blackheath. He went out to Norwood, but had difficulty finding Oldacre's house. It was almost half past nine when he knocked on the door.
"One moment!" said Holmes. "Who opened the door?"
"A middle-aged woman," replied McFarlane. "I suppose she was Oldacre's housekeeper."
"Please continue," said Holmes.
McFarlane wiped his damp brow and then told us that the woman had taken him into a sitting room, where a frugal supper was laid out. After supper Oldacre showed McFarlane into his bedroom, which contained a heavy safe.
"Mr. Oldacre opened the safe and took out a stack of documents," said McFarlane. "We went over these together until eleven or twelve o'clock."
When it was time to leave, McFarlane could not find his walking stick. Oldacre told him not to worry about that because they would be seeing a great deal of each other from now on, and he could get it the next time they met.
"Mr. Oldacre said we must not disturb the housekeeper, so he showed me out through his own French window," said McFarlane. "I left him in his bedroom with the safe open and the papers arranged in packets on the table. It was so late that I could not get back to Blackheath. Thus I spent the night at the local hotel and knew nothing of this horrible affair until I read about it this morning."
"Is there anything more you'd like to ask, Mr. Holmes?" said Lestrade, who had raised his eyebrows in disbelief several times during this remarkable explanation.
"Not until I have been to Blackheath," said Holmes.
"You mean to Norwood," said Lestrade.
"Oh, yes, that's what I must have meant," said Holmes with a mysterious smile.
"Now come along, Mr. McFarlane," said Lestrade. "Two of my policemen are waiting for you in the hall."
The miserable young man stood up and, with a last beseeching glance at us, walked from the room. The policemen led him away to jail, but Lestrade remained with us. Meanwhile Holmes had picked up the rough draft of the will and was looking at the pages with keen interest.
"There's something strange about that document, wouldn't you say so, Lestrade?"
Holmes pushed the pages across the table to the inspector.
Lestrade looked at them with a puzzled expression. "I can read the first few lines and some in the middle and one or two at the end, but the writing in between is very bad."
"It must have been written on a train," said Holmes. "In fact, an express train, making only one stop between Norwood and London Bridge Station. The places where you can read the writing represent Norwood, London Bridge, and the stop in between."
Lestrade began to laugh. "Very good, Mr. Holmes, but what bearing does this have on the case?"
"It's strange that a man would draw up such an important document in so haphazard a fashion—unless, of course, he never intended to use it. This case is not clear to me yet."
"Not clear?" said Lestrade. "What could be clearer? The young man learns he will inherit a fortune, invents a reason to see his client that night, and kills the older man."
"It strikes me as being just a trifle too obvious," replied Holmes. "If you were this young man, would you commit your crime on the very night after the will had been made? Would you choose a time when the housekeeper had seen you arrive? Would you take great pains to dispose of the body but leave your own walking stick behind?"
"As for the stick, Mr. Holmes, you know as well as I do that a criminal is often flustered and does things that a calm person would not. McFarlane was very likely afraid to return to the room." Lestrade paused. "And there is one more thing that you should note, Mr. Holmes. As far as we know, none of the important papers were removed from the room. The prisoner is the one man in the world who had no reason to take them because he would eventually inherit them."
Holmes seemed struck by this remark. "I don't mean to deny that some of the evidence is very strongly in your favor," said Holmes. "I only wish to point out that there may be another theory. Good morning, Lestrade," he went on. "I have work to do if I am going to prove this young man's innocence."