Barrant walked round to the other side of the bed, knelt down by the edge of it, and examined the underneath part of the arm.

A single livid mark was imprinted upon it.
The inference was unmistakable.

The four upper marks were fingerprints, and the lower one a thumb mark.

Somebody had caught the dead man's arm in such a strenuous grip that the livid impression had remained after death.
The discovery was significant enough, but Barrant was not at that moment prepared to say how much it portended.

It seemed certain that the marks had not been made by Robert Turold himself.