Chapter 16 Summary

Superintendent Battle assigns one of his men, Sergeant O'Connor, to unofficially interrogate Mrs. Craddock's former parlourmaid, Elsie Batt. Because he is approaching her unofficially, O'Connor is able to elicit information from Miss Batt that an official interview would never have uncovered. Elsie relates the argument Dr. Roberts had with Mr. Craddock, who believed the doctor to be guilty of some sort of impropriety with his wife. Dr. Roberts told Mr. Craddock that his wife was hysterical and did not know what she was saying. He managed to convince Mr. Craddock to go back to work and calm down and think things over. Before he left the Craddocks' home, Dr. Roberts had the opportunity to wash his hands in the washroom. Shortly after the argument, Mr. Craddock contracts anthrax from an infected shaving brush and eventually dies. The last time Mrs. Craddock sees the...