New Britain herald., 1930-04-21
THE PROBLEM

4 couple Of Workmen on llc TOOL of the Tanner building, looking across narrow Spring street. could see through q window in the Pel- ram block into the top floor offices. In one room they could see that man lay huddled up on the floor.
 One of the workmen went down and told a policeman who came up on the roof of the Tanner build ing to see for himself. Convinced that something was wrong he got another officer and the janitor Of the Pelham tlock ard went up 10 this office.
 The door was so firmly locked that it had to be opened by force. r. was found that there was an inner bolt that had been slipped into place.
 The man on the floor had been shot through the head and had teen dead several days, the mcdl- cal examiner estimated.
 The customary search was made LOT ClutS, lItlc Npo 'i' "N'At'N'A Of any sort in the office, other than a flimsy paper cutter. The officer who went to the root of the Tanner building at the request or the workman noted that the window in the office of the mur- dered man was closed. It was no illusion, for the window was closed when the authorities broke into the office.
 Drugs on Every Side
 The dead man, Thomas Morgan, was a dealer in postage stamps - to all appearances, but when his place was searched it was found that hundreds of packets sup posedly containing small stamp collections really held drugs. Nor gan's stamps were merely blind 10 his real business, that of selling them to the people who made q business of directly supplying the users.
 This might or might not be clue. Just then it did not solVa the problem of how Morgan Was murdered. He had been shot, to be sure. The .S2-calibre bullet Lore no unusual marks and was like others used in thousands Of revolvers. But the question was, how was he shot?
 It was natural that Morgan would have the extra bolt to his ooor, since he dealt in drugs. If someone had come into his office and shot him, there was no possible way the man could have shot the bolt after he stepped out.
 The bullet mad killed Morgan in stantly. the doctor declared. He couldn't have lived long enough after the shot to have bolted the . door or to have thrown his weapon out Of the window.
 The window was closed.
 Monkey business" Detective Barney muttered as he studied the situation.
 s"Plain murder, and your job is to find out how it was done,' his superior told him when he had ex- plained.
 This man. Sergeant Cotton, ha come over to the Morgan office out of curiosity. He had then gone to the roof of the Tanner building and talked with Peter Reardon, the workman who had discovered Nor gan's body on the floor.
 -- Well, what's your solution ?" Detective Barney asked.
 Sergeant Colton froHned ami looked wise. But he had no solu- tion.
 The door was boltcd inside. II couldn't have been bolted from the outside. The man was instantly killed evidently while sitting at his table desk. The window was closed. The window glass is intac; No bullet went through it. Now how did it happcn?" Barney per. sisted.
 Peter Reardon, the workman. listened as they talked. after they had questioned him. Peter didn't know it, but he and his fellow workman had been investigated l. was learned that they never uscl or handled drugs and didn't knoy Morgan. Their part had bocn only the discovery of the body on the office floor.
 Finally Peter Iieardon, the work man who was putting new tar oa