Bass interrupted the professor. “Is that a real musket?”
“Oh, no,” Walpole said, and then started to talk on that subject without taking a breath. “I couldn’t afford a real one. It’s a replica. A very good replica. I have others in my gun room. I’m a collector, you might know. I have a whole room of military memorabilia.” He paused and then added: “I have the paperwork. Really. It’s all in order if you care to see?”
“No, that’s okay,” Bass replied. “I was just wondering about the musket.”
“It was my hobby of collecting military memorabilia that actually drew my attention to your case. When I read in the newspaper that a Browning, single-action, 9mm semi-automatic, hi-powered at that, was used, I immediately asked the question, ‘I wonder who could have owned a gun such as that?’ A questi
