New Britain herald., 1930-03-22
Paving Stone Odd Clue
 To Murder of Artist
The "inpoSsibIc"

T tell you" BristoW said. "th" thing is uncanny-it is Impossible
 Bristow was reporting 10 his chict in the Detective Bureau concerning the murder of Dane Hess, q conner cial artist.
 There was no question but what il was murder. A man cannot smash himself in the back of his own head with half granite paving block with sufficient force to crush his skull.
 If it happened" Kellogg, chief of the detective bureau replied, then it isn't impossible
 Tt happcncd-but how could it? No fire escapes to his windows, no ladder high enough 10 reach thcnr. His door was locked on the inside and also boltcd. We had the devils own time breaking it down and get ting in"
 Well, what did that mean?" kcl- logs asked.
 "Oh, I thought Of that-hc might have been afraid - might have feared an enemy and locked him. self in. The small skylight over his drawing desk was also padlocked in side, padlocked and covered with cobWebs. No sir. nobody could have got in there any other way than by .'nashing the skylisht or smashing in the door"
 Kellogg examined the half granite paving block. There was no question but what it had killed Hess. IL was slightly bloodstained and some of the dead nan's hairs clung to it. There were i',i;.ions of such blocks in the city, stacked up in heaps in city street department yards, docks and other rlaces where the blocks arv shipped in
 That block" said Bristow, anN- ious to prove to his superior officer that he was sharp was never laid in street, no traffic marks
 Anyone could see that"
 "But the blocks are shipped whole, twice this length. and if smashed in transit are smashed in unequal, irregular breaks. This rock was split in halves by a payers ham, mer. There are the marks
 That's worth noticing. Bristow.
 Somebody, no doubt the murder CT, picked that block up some place where there was street paving jol going on and where the block had been split, ready to be set in
 Good, but not good enough 10 solve the mystery. Bristow We've got to find out who picked up .he block, how he got into the Hes place and got out again-that will clinch tie killing part of it"
 That's why say it was impossible, Chief"
 I'll take a look" said Kellogg.
 He went over to the big clock.
 4 great many people lived in the apartments in this block. Hess had had four rooms at the top and pre- 9erred to work there rather than in an office He made many mechani- cal drawings for inventors and the like and had to keep his work under cover. One of the rooms in an angle at the court, had a skylight. Each top floor apartment had one room like that It wasn't large one, but let light directly down and would serve exceptionally well for a com- mercial artist working over intricate mechanical drawings.
 Kellogg was convinced from what he saw that no one could have en- tered through the one door to the apartment.
 It had been locked and boltod inside, as described. and nothing could have been pushed around tho iron door angle to shove the bolt The key was still turned in the lock
 Hess had been due with draw ing. He was looked up and no Te. sponse came to his telephone, < man was sent and couldn't raise hin at his door. Then the authorities were called in and found him on tn, floor, dead, as described. with thu granite half paving block beside him
 Kellogg agreed that the skyligh window hadn't been opened. But h, went up on the roof and examined ir. It appeared to him as shown il the sketch on this page.
 Well, we'll Bristow-thcrc no>h, ing impossible about this murder Kellogg said.
 He was right.
 What did he notice that led hin to this correct conclusion?