When the body was brought to the surface its condition was terrible, but the clothes were in a good state of preservation. By means of these, and a gold tooth in the left upper jaw, the body was identified as that of Eric Tombe. A post-mortem examination Showed that he had died from gunshot wounds which could not have been self-inflicted, Fragment by fragment the Yard pieced together the history of this murder mystery. It began shortly after the war, when the two central figures, Eric Tombe and 30-year-old Ernest Dyer, two young Army officers, were facing the problem of returning to civil life. Tombe had no immediate worries, for he had an income of his own, but all Dyer had was his Army gratuity of £600, Dyer had, before the war, lived to a large extent by his wits, and his life as an officer had brought him into association with men above him in social standing, He had made up his mind that he was not returning to @ humdrum existence.
So these two young men, of totally different upbringing and with widely differing characters, began to work out their destinies together. They were drawn to each other because they were opposites in almost every respect.
Searching the papers for ideas for a new career, Dyer's eyes fell on an advertisement announcing the sale of the stud farm at Henley.
To Tombe he probably painted a glowing picture of the immense possibilities of an investment in this direction, Tombe fell in with the idea, and he supplied the £2,000 with which the farm was purchased.
The two ex-officers took possession at the end of 1919, and for a time, no doubt with the aid of further capital from Tombe, they laid the foundation of a good business.
The stable at "The Welcomes" had room for 20 horses, and Dyer was given the handling of a number of steeplechasers, including Square Up, a horse that, after going to another racing stable, was later entered for the Grand National. future of "The Welcomes" as a training establishment would have been assured. Dyer himself seemed to believe that nothing could now go wrong, for he became a familiar figure at the post-war night clubs of the West End.
It was in one of these one night that he pulled a revolver from his pocket and began firing at a bunch of artificial grapes hanging on the walls.
This type- of life, together with heavy and unsuccessful gambling, absorbed his entire capital, The Yard men found that in 1921 there had been a peculiar fire at "The Welcomes" which had practically destroyed the entire building.
They discovered that Dyer had insured the premises, purchased for £2,000, for £12000. He had made a claim for this amount, but the insurance company, after investigation, refused to pay. There were many disquieting facts about the origin of the fire, and Dyer did not press his claim, Within the next few months there were probably further calls on Tombe's private income.
Then, early in 1922, Tombe disappeared. Dyer told friends in the neighbourhood that he had gone to Paris owing him £1,600, For a time this story, Yb accepted.
But to Dyer, Tombe had become very friendly with a London girl, who now began to ask a number of awkward questions, Dyer realized that the time had come to make his own disappearance. So he hired a car to take him to the station and on the way told the driver that he was going to Paris to recover his money from Tombe, Henley never saw Mr. Dyer again.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.