The Door with Seven Locks · Chapter
XXI explained
Dick Martin and Inspector Sneed discover the body of Mrs.
What happens
Dick Martin and Inspector Sneed discover the body of Mrs. Cody on the landing, dead from fright, clutching a key identical to the one in Dick's possession. They find bloody bare footprints leading from a locked room. Forcing entry to the library, they find Bertram Cody murdered with a poker, the telephone receiver in his hand, and all desk drawers emptied. The phone line is cut as they call for backup. Dick searches the house and finds a trail of blood and a discarded bandage, leading him to an attic room where he discovers Sybil Lansdown's bloodstained handkerchief.
Themes in this chapter
Crime and Detection
The chapter is a classic murder investigation scene: discovery of bodies, forensic clues (bloody footprints, fingerprints on poker), and systematic search of the house.
Secrecy and Deception
The duplicate key, the locked library door, and the emptied desk drawers suggest hidden motives and concealed evidence.
Madness and Control
The killer is identified as the 'half-nude savage' from Gallows Hill, whose violent actions and aimless wandering indicate a loss of control.
Characters to notice
- Dick Martin
Discovers Mrs. Cody's body and the duplicate key; finds Bertram Cody murdered; tracks bloody footprints and finds Sybil's handkerchief.
- Inspector Sneed
Conducts examination of Mrs. Cody's body; investigates the murder scene with Dick; sends for police photographer and local police.
- Mrs. Bertram Cody
Found dead on the landing, kneeling on a settee, died of fright; her clenched hand held a key identical to Dick's.
- Bertram Cody
Found murdered in the library, bludgeoned with a poker; telephone receiver in hand; desk drawers emptied.
- Sybil Lansdown
Mentioned as having been brought to the house by Mrs. Cody; her bloodstained handkerchief is found in an attic room, indicating she was held there.
Key passages
““Fright,” he said briefly. “I saw a man like this about ten years ago. She saw something—horrible!””
Sneed diagnoses Mrs. Cody's cause of death as sheer terror, recalling a similar case from his past.
Highlights the psychological horror element and Sneed's experience.
“It was a key—the fellow to that which reposed at his bankers.”
The key found in Mrs. Cody's hand is the exact match to the one Dick had deposited at the bank.
Crucial plot point linking the key to the mystery.
“The barefooted man had evidently wandered up and down the corridor, and it was clear to Dick Martin that he was wounded, for whilst the footprints were no longer visible, little spots of blood showed at intervals, and there was a smear against the white wall which almost located the position of the wound.”
Dick deduces the killer is injured, tracking him by blood spots and a wall smear where he likely leaned.
Shows Dick's detective reasoning and the killer's physical state.