Chapter 12 Section 12

On Thursday, the day before Dr. Peckman disappeared, Professor West asked me to get some blood for him, saying that he would use it for the next day's class.He said, "I need a pint (equal to 0.473 liters - author's note)." I took a glass jar from his shelf.He added, "Go to Massachusetts General and get it filled, if possible." On Friday, November 23rd, at a quarter to two in the afternoon, I saw Dr. Peckman approaching the medical school.He was on the Fruit Road, walking fast.As I had agreed to go upstairs at two o'clock to help Professor Holmes, I went upstairs.After a while I came down and closed the front door.I think I spent about 15 minutes with Professor Holmes.Then went to Professor West's lab to clean the furnace, but his door was locked from the inside.I tried another door and found it was plugged in too.I think I heard him walking around in it, and the splashing of water.I went up to the second floor and tried to go around from the stairs in the student lab to his back door on the first floor, but I still couldn't get in.

I didn't try his door again that afternoon until very late, about half past five, when I was in the kitchen and heard someone coming down the back stairs.When I went out, I saw that it was Professor West holding a lit candle in his hand. I did not see Professor West that night.I went to the party at Mr. Grant's dance school after dinner and didn't come back until after ten o'clock.I first went to the kitchen to change clothes, lit an oil lamp, and then started a routine inspection of all the doors and windows in the building.The first door I checked was Professor West's laboratory, which had been bolted from the inside.I went to the anatomy laboratory next door. There was another door leading to Professor West's laboratory in the corridor there, which was also locked.I was trying to turn off the lights in the anatomy lab because the anatomy class was until 10pm that day.But there were no lights inside, and no one was there.I had never seen Professor West's lab closed like this on a class night since I was in medical school.

On Saturday morning, the door of the professor's laboratory was still locked, but the door of the corridor of the anatomy laboratory was opened.I distinctly remember that I had bolted the door with my own hands the night before.At that time, I thought that there might be students locked in by me, so I didn't think about anything else.I tried the doors of Professor West's laboratory again, and all the doors were locked.Not long after, the professor came. I followed him and saw him take out the key to open the door and go in, and then used the key to open the door leading to the laboratory on the second floor.The first thing he said to me was, "Mr. Littlefield, please light the fire." I lit the fire, and asked him if there was anything else, and he said no.I saw him again later, around eleven o'clock, I think, with a roll of newspaper wrapped in his arm.I gave him the $15 gold eagle that I sold him to Mr. Ridgway, a medical student.Since then, the doors of Professor West's laboratory have been locked again.Saturday is my day to sweep the floor, I tried several times, I can hear people walking in the lab on the first floor, but I just can't get in.

I didn't see Professor West during the day on Sunday, but his laboratory was still locked.In the evening, I was standing on North Grove Street talking to Mr. Cahool about the disappearance of Dr. Peckman when Professor West came.He started by asking, "Mr. Littlefield, did you see Dr. Peckman during the second half of last week?" I said, "Yes, about one-thirty on Friday." He said, "Where?" I said, "Here it is." He said, "That's when I handed him $483 and some change." He went on to say that the place where they handed over the money was at the table in the lab, and the doctor took the money He didn't even count, so he hurried away in three steps at a time, saying that he would go to Cambridge to cancel the mortgage contract immediately."I think he's deregistered, but I haven't had time to check with the Registrar of Deeds," Professor West said.

On Monday, I tried twice to get into Professor West's laboratory and light his furnace, but couldn't.Then the front doorbell rang, and it was Mr. Parker Bracker (Dr. Parkerman's relative and property manager—author's note), who wanted to see Professor West.This time the professor opened the door and said let him in.I went in with Mr. Bracco.It should have been around 10:30 by then. At 11:30 I went to his laboratory again and found the door locked again. The police came at twelve o'clock, Mr. Kensley and Constable Stilwell. They asked to see Professor Holmes, and I took them upstairs.After a while, Professor Holmes came to me and said, let me show them around.Mr. Kensley said to go to Professor West first.I went to knock on the door, but the laboratory door was still locked.After a few minutes, Professor West opened the door.I told him the police were coming, for Dr. Peckman.I can't remember what he said.He let us in.We walked through the laboratory on the second floor, and then entered the laboratory downstairs through the back door of the stairs.I took the police to see various places in the building, and even went to the attic on the top, and then they left.

On Tuesday morning, Professor West's door was locked again. At 9:30, or 10:00, I opened the door with the key and found him inside.Wearing a hat and coveralls, he seemed busy getting ready for a 12 o'clock class.As I went round the table, I found a fire already lit in his stove.That day, the police came again, and one of them said, "Let's go to Professor West." I went upstairs and found the student lab door unlocked but locked from the inside.I knocked hard on the door, but no one answered.I knocked again, and after a minute or two Professor West opened the door.I told him the police wanted to see the lab.

Everyone went into his room.I seem to remember Inspector Colap coming to the door of the Chamber of Secrets.I can't get into that secret room.Professor West said: "It's full of my valuables and dangerous goods." Inspector Colap didn't go in, pretending to be very scared on purpose, and didn't look inside much.We all went down the stairs at the back together.When passing the bathroom, Inspector Colap asked, "What's in it?" At that time, Professor West was about 3 feet behind us, and I said, "That's Professor West's own bathroom." I think, At this time, Professor West deliberately diverted the police's attention from the bathroom. He opened the door of the fuel storage room next to him and said, "Gentlemen, there is another room here." Then everyone rushed over.