Ashton-Kirk, Investigator · Chapter
The Finish explained
Ashton-Kirk and Pendleton confront the mute Locke at his workshop, where Locke reveals a bomb and gives them two minutes to escape before detonating it, killing himself.
What happens
Ashton-Kirk and Pendleton confront the mute Locke at his workshop, where Locke reveals a bomb and gives them two minutes to escape before detonating it, killing himself. The chapter concludes with the case's resolution as Ashton-Kirk explains the final details of the night of Hume's murder.
Themes in this chapter
Detective Method and Reasoning
Ashton-Kirk's careful planning, use of surveillance (Burgess), and calm negotiation with Locke exemplify methodical detective work.
Secrecy and Deception
Locke's hidden bomb and his deceptive calm mask his true intentions, while the earlier deceptions of Morris and Spatola are unraveled.
Crime and Morality
The chapter explores the moral dimensions of Locke's suicide to avoid justice, and the culpability of Morris and Spatola in Hume's murder.
Characters to notice
- Ashton Kirk
Leads the final confrontation with Locke, calmly negotiates the standoff, and later explains the resolution of the case.
- Pendleton
Accompanies Kirk to Locke's house, expresses surprise at the danger, and reflects on the case's conclusion.
- Professor Locke
The mute inventor who prepares a bomb to kill himself rather than face capture, communicating through written notes before detonating the explosive.
- Burgess
Surveils Locke's house from a fence, reporting that Locke is still inside and has seen the morning papers.
- Dr. Mercer
Appears briefly in his buggy, attempting to visit Locke but unable to gain entry.
- Allan Morris
Mentioned as having left Kirk's office at the chapter's start; his role in the murder is clarified later.
Key passages
“For the first time, said Pendleton, as the door closed upon Allan Morris, I can feel sorry for him. To lose a girl like Edyth Vale is indeed a calamity.”
Pendleton expresses sympathy for Allan Morris after he leaves, noting the loss of Edyth Vale as a great misfortune.
Pendleton's empathy contrasts with Ashton-Kirk's focus on the case.
“I always prefer to finish my work in my own way, said the investigator.”
Ashton-Kirk insists on handling the final stage of the investigation personally.
Highlights Kirk's independent and methodical approach.
“The finish of a thing of this sort is always a matter for speculation. I have seen desperate criminals who surrendered like lambs; and I've seen the other sort give a platoon of police a good day's work in their taking.”
Ashton-Kirk remarks that the end of a case is unpredictable, as criminals can react with either passivity or violent resistance.
Foreshadows Locke's explosive end.
“You are a wise man. I had arranged everything before you came in, and had sat down to make an end of it. This button at my hand once started an electric apparatus; but now it is connected with a quantity of an explosive—my own invention, and a terrible one. Believe me, one touch and everything in this building is in fragments.”
Locke reveals he has rigged a bomb and threatens to detonate it if Kirk does not leave.
Climactic moment showing Locke's determination to die on his own terms.
“The thing which Spatola had carried under his coat that night was a diploma which he had received from a musical conservatory in Rome.”
Ashton-Kirk explains that the object Spatola carried was his music diploma, not a weapon.
Resolves a lingering mystery from earlier in the story.
