twenty minutes past eleven in the evening
You see him everywhere . '' `` I see him everywhere , because he is everywhere . '' `` Say rather that you see him every time you encounter something you can not explain . Besides , you overlook the fact that the crime was committed at twenty minutes past eleven in the evening , as is shown by the clock , while the nocturnal visit , mentioned by the concierge , occurred at three o'clock in the morning . '' Officers of the law frequently form a hasty conviction as to the guilt of a suspected person , and then distort all subsequent discoveries to conform to their established theory . The deplorable antecedents of Victor Danègre , habitual criminal , drunkard and rake , influenced the judge , and despite the fact that nothing new was discovered in corroboration of the early clues , his official opinion remained firm and unshaken . He closed his investigation , and , a few weeks later , the trial commenced .