The Clue Against the Locked Door

Good Morning, Midnight (Reginald Hill Edition)

Forensic details progressively dismantle the apparent impossibility of the study and redirect suspicion toward the staging itself.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Locked and Bolted Room A Locked and Bolted Room from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Locked and Bolted Room The initial puzzle Police find the study door locked and bolted, with the key on the inside.

A Locked and Bolted Room from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Locked and Bolted Room The initial puzzle Police find the study door locked and bolted, with the key on the inside.

A Locked and Bolted Room The initial puzzle Police find the study door locked and bolted, with the key on the inside. The windows and shutters appear secured, supporting an apparent suicide. A misleading certainty The room seems to define what could have happened. Pascoe recognizes that the physical arrangement may be evidence of staging rather than proof of isolation.

The Prints Below the Keyhole The Prints Below the Keyhole from "Good Morning, Midnight". The Prints Below the Keyhole Unusual contact Pascoe and Novello find a palm print low on the damaged door and notice the absence of the dead man’s expected…

The Prints Below the Keyhole from "Good Morning, Midnight". The Prints Below the Keyhole Unusual contact Pascoe and Novello find a palm print low on the damaged door and notice the absence of the dead man’s expected…

The Prints Below the Keyhole Unusual contact Pascoe and Novello find a palm print low on the damaged door and notice the absence of the dead man’s expected prints on the knob and key. A changed question The marks may belong to someone kneeling outside the door. The investigation shifts from how the victim escaped the room to how another person could make it appear locked.

A Mechanism Reconstructed A Mechanism Reconstructed from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Mechanism Reconstructed The laboratory account Arnold Gentry describes thread attached to the gramophone spindle and passed through the keyhole.

A Mechanism Reconstructed from "Good Morning, Midnight". A Mechanism Reconstructed The laboratory account Arnold Gentry describes thread attached to the gramophone spindle and passed through the keyhole.

A Mechanism Reconstructed The laboratory account Arnold Gentry describes thread attached to the gramophone spindle and passed through the keyhole. The record player could pull the key around from outside. The illusion explained Burning the thread could remove part of the mechanism and preserve the appearance of a locked study. A technical solution turns the room from an impossibility into an engineered scene.

The Matching Palm Print The Matching Palm Print from "Good Morning, Midnight". The Matching Palm Print A new connection Gentry matches the palm print at the door to a print Pascoe left on a sheet of paper.

The Matching Palm Print from "Good Morning, Midnight". The Matching Palm Print A new connection Gentry matches the palm print at the door to a print Pascoe left on a sheet of paper.

The Matching Palm Print A new connection Gentry matches the palm print at the door to a print Pascoe left on a sheet of paper. A partial print on the key appears to match as well. Suspicion redirected The evidence points toward someone who had been inside the house and knew how to set the mechanism. It supports staging but does not by itself prove a killing.

The Room Cleared The Room Cleared from "Good Morning, Midnight". The Room Cleared A search interrupted Kay Kafka returns and opens the concealed compartment after Pascoe has removed the room’s contents.

The Room Cleared from "Good Morning, Midnight". The Room Cleared A search interrupted Kay Kafka returns and opens the concealed compartment after Pascoe has removed the room’s contents.

The Room Cleared A search interrupted Kay Kafka returns and opens the concealed compartment after Pascoe has removed the room’s contents. Edgar Wield encounters her before the team can question her further. A clue that turns inward The search suggests she knew about the hidden space, but the later forensic results show no prints of hers on the recovered material. The apparent clue does not provide a simple verdict.

March 20, 2002, night

March 22, 2002, morning

March 22, 2002, afternoon

March 22, 2002, late afternoon

March 22, 2002, night