midnight
But this was only one aspect of the mystery . There were others as obscure . Saul Arthur Mann went back to his bureau , and for the twentieth time gathered the considerable dossiers he had accumulated relating to the case and to the characters , and went through them systematically and carefully . He left his office near midnight , but at nine o'clock the next morning was on his way to Eastbourne . Constable Wiseman was , by good fortune , enjoying a day 's holiday , and was at work in his kitchen garden when Mr. Mann 's car pulled up before the cottage . Wiseman received his visitor importantly , for , though the constable 's prestige was regarded in official circles as having diminished as a result of the trial , it was felt by the villagers that their policeman , if he had not solved the mystery of John Minute 's death , had at least gone a long way to its solution . In the spotless room which was half kitchen and half sitting room , with its red-tiled floor covered by bright matting , Mrs. Wiseman produced a well-dusted Windsor chair , which she placed at Saul Arthur Mann 's disposal before she politely vanished .