Major characters:
- Max Carrados, blind amateur detective
- Parkinson, his butler/guide
- Louis Carlyle, private inquiry agent
- Lt. Hollyer
- Millicent Creake, sister of Lt. Hollyer
- Austin Creake
Synopsis: Lt. Hollyer comes to amateur detective Max Carrados with a concern about his sister, Millicent Creake. Millicent, 28, is married to a much older man, Austin Creake. He is a taciturn man, and the marriage was discouraged by the family.
Lt. Hollyer believes that Austin plans to do away with Millicent, by poison. His motive: under the terms of the will of Lt. Hollyer and Millicent's parents, she receives regular income from investments, and at her passing, the lump sum of principal would come to Austin. Austin keeps poison in a cabinet, in a beer bottle, along with bottles of actual beer. Lt. Hollyer thinks Austin will trick her into drinking the poison by mistake.
Carrados tells Hollyer to leave the area for a while. Then, he and private inquiry agent Louis Carlyle "case the joint" in hopes of trapping Austin. They pretend to be potential buyers of their house in order to get inside, where they find evidence of a strange electrical apparatus.
Review: You can pass this short story by. It is a strong story, building in action and tension until the trap is ready to be sprung, then the story comes to a sudden, crashing stop. I turned the last page expecting the story to continue, but that was the end. The end feels rushed and unsatisfying on several levels.
The one part I did like is how Carrados manages to get a copy of a telegram sent to the Creakes. His method of obtaining it is a prime example what is termed social engineering* today.
*the use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information.
You may also enjoy this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.
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