The Finishing Stroke by Ellery Queen Page A

He’s been in the house long enough for his shoes to have dried out. Felton, are you back there? Did you let him in?’
    â€˜Not me, sir!’
    â€˜Mrs. Janssen? Mabel?’ After a moment Ellery said in a depersonalized tone, ‘Mr. Craig, you’d better phone the police.’
    Alderwood’s police force consisted of five men, four patrolmen under the command of a chief named Brickell who had held his job for over twenty years. Brickell’s prime function over that span was to haul out-of-town motorists before the local justice to pay the fines that relieved Alderwood’s taxpayers of most of their police department’s budget. His office was a shadowy cubicle in one corner of the town hall; his lockup consisted of two rusty cells in the basement, whose only visitors were occasional Saturday night drunks.
    Chief Brickell’s first words on entering the Craig house were, ‘My God, Mr. Craig, how did you happen to get a killed man dumped in your house?’
    Craig growled back, ‘My God, Brick, how would I know?’
    The man evidently had not the cloudiest notion of where to begin. He could only stare down at the corpse and mutter, ‘Stuck in the back, huh? Hell of a note,’ while his weathered face registered a deeper shade of green. When he was told that all present disclaimed knowledge of the dead man’s identity, he actually looked relieved.
    â€˜Then I don’t think we got much to worry about. He’s likely some tramp. Maybe him and another ’bo sneaked in to steal something, got in a Fight, and the other one stabbed this one and beat it. That would explain this.’
    â€˜It certainly would,’ Ellery murmured. ‘But we don’t know that evidentially, Chief, do we? Don’t you think you’d better go into it a little more thoroughly? I’d be glad to help.’
    â€˜You a police officer?’
    â€˜No, but I’ve had some experience in police work.’
    â€˜This is Ellery Queen, Brick,’ John said. ‘His father is Inspector Queen of the New York police department. Ellery’s the fellow who solved that big New York murder case last year, the killing of Monte Field in the Roman Theatre.’
    â€˜Oh!’ Chief Brickell shook Ellery’s hand heartily. ‘Glad to meet you, Mr. Queen! Got any suggestions?’
    â€˜I’d notify the county police, Chief.’
    â€˜Give them the headache, hey? Mind if I use your phone, Mr. Craig?’
    â€˜Go right ahead,’ Craig said, not without humour.
    â€˜Oh, Brickell. While you’re phoning. Is it all right with you if I look the dead man over?’
    â€˜Hell, yes.’
    â€˜Wait till I tell my father,’ Ellery said sotto voce as the police chief tramped off. ‘Letting a suspect in a murder investigation be the first to examine the body!’
    By the time Brickell returned, Ellery had the dead man’s pockets turned inside out.
    â€˜I’m afraid the county police are being handed a pig in a poke, Chief.’
    â€˜They’ll be over right away … What say, Mr. Queen?’
    â€˜His pockets have been cleaned out. No wallet, papers, keys, jewellery, money, handkerchief – nothing. Just to make it more interesting, all the labels have been removed from his clothing, even the sweatband in his hat.’ Ellery studied the little corpse thoughtfully. ‘So his killer didn’t want him recognized. Thus making the question of his identity crucial. Is there a coroner’s physician in Alderwood, Chief?’
    Dr. Dark answered. ‘Dr. Tennant.’
    â€˜Might be a nice idea to notify him , too, Chief.’
    â€˜Oh! Yeah, sure.’ Brickell hurried out, leaving a wake of silence.
    â€˜That Santa Claus yesterday morning,’ Rusty said suddenly. ‘Could this man be –?’
    â€˜No,’ Ellery said. ‘Our little visitor from outer space couldn’t have stood more than