two o'clock
He is the husband of a dipsomaniac wife . She is , of course , under care , and is never mentioned in the house where he lives , maybe with his widowed mother and perhaps a maiden sister . They notice that he has become gloomy and brooding of late , but he lives his usual life , occupying himself each day with some harmless hobby . On foggy nights , once the quiet household is plunged in sleep , he creeps out of the house , maybe between one and two o'clock , and swiftly makes his way straight to what has become The Avenger 's murder area . Picking out a likely victim , he approaches her with Judas-like gentleness , and having committed his awful crime , goes quietly home again . After a good bath and breakfast , he turns up happy , once more the quiet individual who is an excellent son , a kind brother , esteemed and even beloved by a large circle of friends and acquaintances . Meantime , the police are searching about the scene of the tragedy for what they regard as the usual type of criminal lunatic .