The only other object of note was a wax cylinder recording still spinning on the phonograph, its needle resting in the groove. Constable Crabtree had already cranked it once. “It’s Mr. Addington’s own voice, sir,” Crabtree said. “He’s giving a lecture about ‘lossless auditory replication’—his obsession.”
“You didn’t need to be there,” Murdoch said quietly. “You recorded your own alibi in advance—your voice, your handshake with the Inspector, the clink of glasses. Then you rigged Addington’s phonograph. When he played your ‘lossless’ lecture, the final groove triggered a galvanic charge through that metal cup. It superheated the alloy, expanded it, and struck him. He died alone, listening to his own murder being announced.” murdoch mysteries season 16 lossless
Detective William Murdoch examined the Victrola with an intensity usually reserved for autopsy reports. The device sat in the parlor of the late Mr. Percival Addington, a wealthy phonograph collector found dead in his study, a crushed silver cup near his hand. The only other object of note was a
Murdoch gazed at the spinning cylinder. “The real tragedy, Julia, is that he achieved lossless recording. And all it preserved was a perfect lie.” Addington’s own voice, sir,” Crabtree said