# The Arrest and the Fire explained — The Door with Seven Locks

> Chapter companion for The Door with Seven Locks by Edgar Wallace.

## What happens

Dick Martin confronts Mr. Havelock, revealing that the chase for Lord Selford was a ruse orchestrated by Havelock and Cody. Martin exposes Havelock's role in handing Selford over to Dr. Stalletti for experiments and in the murder of Cody. Meanwhile, a car accident in the lake kills three men, including Tom Cawler's brother, who had killed Cody under Stalletti's orders. Selford Manor is set ablaze, but Dick had already sent Mrs. Lansdown and Sybil to safety. Havelock is arrested by Inspector Sneed, and around his neck are found two keys of peculiar design.

## Themes in this chapter

### Crime and Detection

Dick Martin's detective work unravels Havelock's conspiracy, leading to his arrest.

### Secrecy and Deception

Havelock's elaborate ruse to mislead the investigation into Lord Selford's fate.

### Madness and Control

Stalletti's experiments on vulnerable individuals, including Lord Selford and Tom Cawler's brother.

## Character check-ins

### Dick Martin

Confronts Havelock, reveals the truth about the Selford chase, and rescues Tom Cawler from the lake.

### Mr. Havelock

Arrested for murder and incitement to murder; found with two keys around his neck.

### Thomas Cawler

Grief-stricken after the car accident kills his brother; confesses to killing Stalletti with a spanner.

### Inspector Sneed

Oversees the arrest of Havelock and remains calm during the fire.

### Sybil Lansdown

Mentioned as having been sent to London earlier for safety.

### Mrs. Lansdown

Mentioned as having been sent to London earlier for safety.

## Key lines

> I have known, from the day I saw a certain photograph in Cape Town, that my chase of Lord Selford was a fake organized by you to allay suspicion.

Dick reveals that he realized the hunt for Lord Selford was a sham after recognizing Tom Cawler in a Cape Town photograph.

_Key moment of revelation in the investigation._

> For that crime alone, Havelock, you shall go to the scaffold! Not for the murder of Cody, which you superintended; not for firing Selford Manor—you sent those three barrels of naphthaline which I found—but for the killing of two human souls!

Dick accuses Havelock of destroying two lives through Stalletti's experiments, calling it worse than murder.

_Highlights the moral gravity of Havelock's actions._

> My brother—the big fellow... Stalletti experimented on him first, before he took the other boy.

Tom Cawler reveals that his brother was Stalletti's first experimental subject.

_Explains the motive behind the brother's killing of Cody._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters/xxx
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_door_with_seven_locks_se/chapters