The San Francisco call., 1910-12-25
By 0. H. Heyneman
For 10 Years Secretary 70 ChIef Lee

For 10 Years Secretary to Chief Lees
Copyright by the Author.)
n MONG the many details intrusted
TO me while with Isaiah W. Lees
chief Of police. was the perusal
OF all the daily papers. The
Old chief kept large scrapbook.
Every criminal occurrence in the Unit
cd States and Europe was clipped from
the papers, pasted and indexed in this
book for ready reference. In the 10
years that I was with the chief 1
scrapped and indexed possibly As vol
umes for him, covering every oonceiv-
able crime This was my first duty
upon the arrival at the Office in the
morning. Whenever there was a case
OF extreme import ] would take it in
10 the chief and read it to him in its
entirety.
One morning my attention was at
tracted by an item recording the sud
oen and mysterious deaths of three
wen known people prominent in a city
IN Delaware. Little did I imagine when
] read that short 10 line dispatch the
interest that particular case would. in
short time thereafter create here in
San Francisco. 1t had really drawn
my attention less because of the people
concerned, who were unknown to me.
than because the deaths occurred close
20 the home OF the old chief. where
knew he had spent the better part of
his youth
So II was quite natural that I should
take the paper in TO him and draw
his attention TO the item while wonder
Ing whether he were acquainted with
any or the unfortunates. I read the
paragraph carefully to him.
Hold that article
Billy" he said when I had finished,
before pasting it in the scrapbook"
At the moment the request puzzled
me- wondered whether any of the
names brought back to him familiar
scenes or situations, or some long for
gotten association. But the old warrior
was noncommittal. His face betrayed
no sentiment whatever.
TIE request was a genuine riddle: its
solution failed TO come. Was 1t some
weird, psychic, intuitive sense that the
chief possessed, and that had marked
so frequently in my long association
with him that caused him to ask to
have that particular news item re-
serVedg / dismissed the matter from
my mind and continued my work
very soon after this incident and
after the item had been duly pasted
and indexed, there came one dav
long telegram from the superintendent
those mysterious deaths had occurred
informing Chief Of Police Lees that
San Francisco was interested very de-
cioedly IN what now developed into an
absorbing murder mystery His intu-
ttion, then, was the thought that came
into my mind as the wire was read.
had not been at fault when he bade
me reserve that particular newspaper
item.
The telegram related that the
stomachs Of the three victims had been
analyzed by the city chemist and traces
OF crystallized arsenical poison. had
been established. Tt was furthermore
related that all the victims had par
taken of some French mixed candy
which had arrived through the mails,
addressed to one Of the victims. Mrs.
Jack Deering. The package bore q
San Francisco postmark, the box IL
self had upon II the name of one of
san Francisco's leading candy firms.
Immediately upon the discovery of the
candy IL had been sent to the city
chemist and in several Pieces Of clioc-
~Slate globules OF arsenic had been
found.
diabolical murder mystery this
surely was, the worst and most hor-
rible form OF murder known TO the
criminal mind.
The coroner's jury had brought in
verdict of murder in the first degree
by party or parties unknown.
As the chief perused the message
from the eastern superintendent OF po-
lice his eyes glistened with the bright
ness Of the old war horse when aroused
10 action. A tremendous crime had
been committed, murder frightful in
its flendishness. Three deaths as the
result Of some devil incarrate-it was
up 10 the chief to get busy, and he did.
Instantly he wired the authorities in
Delaware to retain most carefully the
evidence; TO save the remnants or the
candy, the box, the paper in which it
had been wrapped. the string and par
tcularly the sample of handwriting on
the covering; 10 send this along with
the testimony taken at the coroner's
inquest He also asked that these be
sent by some tried and trusted agent
who was thoroughly conversant with
the case and who had worked on it
from the beginning.
Lees asked the superintendent to wire
Immediately with whom, If any one, the
deceased persons were acquainted in
san Francisco, whether they had rela-
iANes here, or friends: to wire every
particle OF Information no matter how
tL-t-al looking toward q clew Of some