Morse was seriously ill at a reception in a museum and was hospitalized. In the hospital, President Sup. Range visited Morse and urged him to retire early, while Dr. Millicent 'Millie' Van Buren handed him her book, which told a 140-year-old court case, known as the Oxford Canal Murder. The case involved the murder and rape of a young woman, Joanna Franks, who travelled from Coventry to London on a canal boat. The case resulted in three boatman being sentenced to death, two of whom were hanged. Morse began to read Millie's book and dreamed of it. He soon had some problems with the case. Why are the three men not charged with theft? Why did Mrs. Franks choose a boat instead of a faster, more comfortable and more expensive train? Why didn't she abandon the ship after she complained about the obscene behavior of the crew of the Banbury Shipping Company? Why did she drink and "socialize" with the crew? She took the "carpet bag" on board, but did not mention it in the court case, nor did she put it in the archive room in her almost empty suitcase. What's the matter? The initials of her first husband who died were written on the suitcase. Why were her shoes found on the ship, but no one saw her return from the forest to the ship? PC Adrian Kershaw did some excellent leg work for Morse. He studies history and has valuable background knowledge. For example, he mentioned that the boatman had a bad reputation because they worked on Sundays and did not go to church. Later, a church was built for them in Oxford. The clothes and shoes of the dead woman found on the ship were submitted to the modern forensic investigation. The result is that these shoes do not belong to the dead woman found in the water, because she is taller. These shoes have never been used in the forest. Only Mrs. Franks' husband, Charles Franks, was called to identify the dead body. He claimed that when her face turned black and disfigured, he found a birthmark behind her ear. The prosecutor welcomes this information "; only the husband or lover will know ";. The defendant did not see the body. The defense lawyer just claimed that the crimes of the three were not confirmed. The three defendants finally claimed that they were innocent. One of them was not executed because he believed in Christianity in prison. Morse instructed Kershaw to investigate whether Charles Franks benefited from his wife's death. In fact, he pocketed the insurance money of 300 pounds. The case ended: Charles Franks was in the forest After meeting Joanna, Li murdered a tall woman and threw her into the canal. If Joanna Franks jumped out of the boat while the body fell into the water, she would swim to the shore and meet her husband. The couple changed their name for the second time after Charles Franks died as Joanna's first husband. The fourth boatman, a young man who has not been charged, may be Joanna who paid him for perjury. Morse went to Ireland to excavate the tomb of Joanna's first husband. The coffin contained several bags of sand and some stones.