four o'clock in the afternoon
It was thought at first that the crime was the work of burglars , for Mr. Marks 's rooms contained many art treasures of considerable value . A further examination , however , revealed the fact that nothing had been tampered with , and the next day the whole country was startled and amazed to learn that Neil Lyndon had been arrested on suspicion . At the trial it was proved beyond question that the accused was the last person in the company of the murdered man . He had gone round to Mr. Marks 's flat at four o'clock in the afternoon , and had apparently been admitted by the owner . Two hours later Mr. Marks 's servant returning to the flat was horrified to find his master 's dead body lying in the sitting-room . Death had been inflicted by means of a heavy blow on the back of the head , but the state of the dead man 's face showed that he had been brutally mishandled before being killed . The accused , while maintaining his innocence of the murder , did not deny either his visit to the flat , or the fact that he had inflicted the other injuries on the deceased .