Sax Rohmer

“ I saw Colonel Menendez lying upon his face near the sun-dial. He was moving convulsively. Running up to him, I saw that he had been shot through the head.”
“What steps did you take?”
“My friend, Mr. Knox, had joined me, and I sent him for assistance.”
“But what steps did you take to apprehend the murderer?”
Paul Harley looked at him quietly.
“What steps should you have taken?” he asked.
Inspector Aylesbury cleared his throat again, and:
“I don’t think I should have let my man slip through my fingers like that,” he replied. “Why! by now he may be out of the county.” ”

“ Harley. The next thing is, what were you doing to-night, as I see that both you and Mr. Knox are still in evening dress?”
“We were keeping watch,” I replied.
Inspector Aylesbury turned to me ponderously, raising a fat hand. “One moment, Mr. Knox, one moment,” he protested. “The evidence of one witness at a time.”
“We were keeping watch,” said Harley, deliberately echoing my words.
“Why?”
“More or less we were here for that purpose. You see, on the night of the full moon, according to Colonel Menendez, Obeah people become particularly active.” ”

“ Knox, here, that these various attempts were due to members of a sect or religion known as Voodoo.”
“Voodoo?”
“Voodoo, Inspector, also known as Obeah, a cult which has spread from the West Coast of Africa throughout the West Indies and to parts of the United States. The bat wing is said to be a sign used by these people.”
Inspector Aylesbury scratched his chin.
“Now let me get this thing clear,” said he: “Colonel Menendez believed that people called Voodoos wanted to kill him? Before we go any farther, why?” ”