His Burial Too

by Catherine Aird

At 11:30 p.m. in the old Saxon church tower at Randall’s Bridge, a huge statue toppled and smashed. Heavy blocks of broken marble now lay up against the doors, barring any exit. The solitary window was too narrow for a man to pass through; the belfry high above led only to the steep roof which rose beyond the reach of any ladder. When Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan put his shoulder to one tower door, it barely opened. Through the crack he could clearly see the room was empty—except for the bells, the debris of shattered marble… and the protruding arm of a dead man. How did the murderer escape this sealed tower? Sloan’s only clues: a spent match, an emerald earring, and a black thread.