Was She Wrong?

[Herlock Sholmes]

As George points out, you would have thought that McCarthy would have had his own key to the rooms therefore why did he break his door open? I wonder if Kelly had lost her key and McCarthy had given her his (intending, but failing, to get a new one?) As c.d. said, the police weren’t idiots. McCarthy would have been asked about a key before anyone got the axe out. Maybe he’d had a new one made but in the circumstances forgot; or he just couldn’t recall where he’d put it? I’d imagine that both he and Bowyer were seriously in need of a good stiff drink or six after what they had seen that morning.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hello Herlock,

When the police arrived I have to imagine their first question was to ask McCarthy if he had a key. If he said I have to go home and get it then depending on where he lived they might have said no, we need to get in the room now and thus broke down the door.

c.d.

Hi c.d.

Our posts crossed. You suggestion is a good one but it looks to me like McCarthy lived above the shop the but I’ll certainly stand correcting if someone knows otherwise.

[c.d.]

If a landlord having a spare key is completely normal and even expected, why would McCarthy be reluctant to admit he had one? Saying he didn't (if that was the case) would seem to me to be even more suspicious.

c.d.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I can’t see any reason for him to be reluctant c.d. It seems that, for whatever reason, McCarthy either a) didn’t have a spare key, or b) was too in shock to recall where he’d put it. To be honest I’m not too keen on b). Surely Mrs McCarthy or Bowyer would have known where the keys were kept and why would McCarthy have put a key somewhere else?

[c.d.]

Hello Herlock,

Whatever the case it would appear that his answers satisfied the police.

c.d.

[The Rookie Detective]

Unless the police were complete idiots (and I don't think they were) wouldn't one of the first things they attempted to determine be how the killer got into the room? Wouldn't that entail questioning McCarthy as to the key situation? How many were there? Who had them? Was there a spare key? Where was that kept? Could someone have gotten access to it without McCarthy's knowledge?

Wouldn't the question of why the door was broken when McCarthy had a key have been addressed in all this?

c.d.

A very good post indeed.

It seems to me that for McCarthy to have waited for the Superintendent to arrive before taking a pickaxe to the door, implies that upon Arnold's arrival, when he instructed for the door to be opened, Mccarthy at that point must have told Arnold that the key was missing and he wasn't able to enter the room through conventional means.This may have also given Mccarthy an excuse for given the impression he couldn't have entered the room prior to Arnold's arrival.

There was no reason for Mccarthy to have taken a pickaxe to the door.

The only explanation is that he told the police he didn't have a key.

Convenient.

[c.d.]

I'm lost here, R.D. What if legitimately did not have a key in his possession at the time. How in the world is that "convenient?"

c.d.

[The Rookie Detective]

I'm lost here, R.D. What if legitimately did not have a key in his possession at the time. How in the world is that "convenient?"

c.d.

A landlord who doesn't have a spare key/skeleton key to each of his rooms, could be deemed as convenient from the perspective that it is a way of telling the police that Mccarthy had no way of accessing the room himself.

When Mccarthy uses a pickaxe on the door, it's his way of giving himself some leverage against the possibility of him having been the killer.

He is giving himself a practical alibi because the first thing the police would want to know would have been to know exactly who had access to the room, and therefore be suspicious of anyone who would have been able to access the murder scene.

If Mccarthy says he has a spare key, the police would automatically treat him as a person of interest.


Therefore, by telling the police he needs a pickaxe to break down the door, he is conveniently ruling himself out as a suspect.

[c.d.]

He is giving himself a practical alibi because the first thing the police would want to know would have been to know exactly who had access to the room, and therefore be suspicious of anyone who would have been able to access the murder scene.

If Mccarthy says he has a spare key, the police would automatically treat him as a person of interest

But isn't the consensus here that it would have been normal for him to have a spare key? And wouldn't that have been easy for the police to check? All they had to do was ask Bowyer or any of the residents. It would be getting caught in a lie that would make him suspicious not simply having a key.

c.d.

[The Rookie Detective]

He is giving himself a practical alibi because the first thing the police would want to know would have been to know exactly who had access to the room, and therefore be suspicious of anyone who would have been able to access the murder scene.

If Mccarthy says he has a spare key, the police would automatically treat him as a person of interest

But isn't the consensus here that it would have been normal for him to have a spare key? And wouldn't that have been easy for the police to check? All they had to do was ask Bowyer or any of the residents. It would be getting caught in a lie that would make him suspicious not simply having a key.

c.d.

But the case of the missing key relates to Mccarthy's key and not Barnett and Kelly's key.

This is because the missing key later turns up again.

There's no way that Mccarthy wouldn't have had a master key of some kind.

[c.d.]

There's no way that Mccarthy wouldn't have had a master key of some kind.

If that is true, would that have been lost on the police? So it would seem that not having a key is much more suspicious than having one, correct?

It seems poor McCarthy just can't with respect to the key business. Damned if he has one. Damned if he doesn't.

c.d.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hello Herlock,

Whatever the case it would appear that his answers satisfied the police.

c.d.

Hello c.d.

Yes, I think it’s reasonable to assume that.

[Herlock Sholmes]

On the subject of the locked door - was a key actually required to lock the door to Kelly’s room? We had a similar discussion over on How Brown’s Carrie Brown: Murder In The East River Hotel site where the subject of a locked door was of importance due to the alleged key to the murder room surfacing 10 years later. Could it have been the kind of lock where you can flick some kind of catch and the door automatically locked after the door was shut? Maybe a key wasn’t required to lock the door, only to unlock it?

[Kattrup]

On the subject of the locked door - was a key actually required to lock the door to Kelly’s room? We had a similar discussion over on How Brown’s Carrie Brown: Murder In The East River Hotel site where the subject of a locked door was of importance due to the alleged key to the murder room surfacing 10 years later. Could it have been the kind of lock where you can flick some kind of catch and the door automatically locked after the door was shut? Maybe a key wasn’t required to lock the door, only to unlock it?

Hi Herlock

The door locked automatically, the lock was described as “spring lock”.
so no key was necessary to lock it.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Hi Herlock

The door locked automatically, the lock was described as “spring lock”.
so no key was necessary to lock it.

Hi Kattrup,

Just like magic, I mention the Carrie Brown case and you appear.

The sad thing is though - haven’t you previously mentioned to me that it was a ‘spring lock’ ? And not that long ago?