six minutes after three
If you see one of the Hoffs leave the house , do n't merely report to me that the old man or the young man left the house about three o'clock . That wo n't do at all . I want to know the exact time . Was it six minutes after three or eleven minutes after three ? I must know what direction he went , if he was alone , how long he was absent , where he went , what he did , to whom he talked . Here in my office I take your reports , Carter 's reports , a dozen other reports , and study them together . Things that in themselves seem trifling , unimportant , of no value , coupled with other seemingly unimportant trifles sometimes develop most important evidence . ''