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Speaker 1: A murderous mistake by h. A. Ripley. Look, professor, that's

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how the murderer got in, all right, said Tracy, as

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Fordney walked over to the ladder, Standing two feet from

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the back of the house. He knelt down and carefully

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studied the heavy footprints around it. Whose room is that,

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he inquired, pointing to a second story window against which

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the top of the thirty foot ladder rested. That's uncle's study,

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replied Tracy. Going into the house, Fordiney first questions Withers,

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who had discovered the body of Lane Tracy's uncle. I

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was reading in my room, he said, about two o'clock.

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I heard a noise, so I armed myself and crept

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out into the hall. Then I heard it again, apparently

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in the study. So I stole down the corridor, opened

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the door, and rushed in. I turned on the light,

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ran over to the open window, looked out and saw

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a man scurry down the ladder, jump off and run.

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I fired twice, but evidently missed him. He concluded, were

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you home all evening, mister Tracy? No. I had just

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put up the car when I heard the shots and

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saw a figure dash around the house. I'll take a

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look at your car. Later, Tracy Withers, show me exactly

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how you found Lane before you lifted him onto the divan.

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As Withers righted the overturned chair, fitted its legs carefully

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to four impressions in the rug at the right of

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a smoking stand, sat down and slumped over to the left.

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Fordney said, that's enough. Which one of you killed him?

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Solution These murderers, like many others, betrayed themselves by a

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simple oversight. One look at the ladder, and Fortney knew

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that no man could have climbed up or down it.

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A thirty foot ladder was placed two feet from the house.

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Any person ascending or descending the ladder in such a

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position would have fallen backwards before reaching the top or bottom.

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The end of a murderous mistake by H. A. Ripley