ring,ring …
« Inspector Jailsender, I’m listening to you. »
« Hello Inspector, come on quickly. We need your help. », a policeman said.
« I’m coming. Where are you ? », Inspector Jailsender answered.
« I’m in Bendtown at 20 Wallpaper Street. »
« Wait for me. I will be there with my assistant in a few minutes. »
Then, the Inspector arrived and he was entering when he saw a man dead. He was hung with a rope. A phone had fallen on the floor and the man had marks on the neck. The Inspector learnt his name, Harry Sadcrown. He was a famous jeweler in Bendtown. According to the clues, Harry’s death was a suicide. However, something wasn’t clear. At least the Inspector thought that. Harry had been dead for some days, we could smell his body in the room. A pearl put on the floor puzzled the Inspector Jailsender although a pearl wasn’t rare in a jeweler’s house. It was a blue pearl which was certainly very expensive. Afterwards, the policeman was informed that the jeweler was in divorce proceedings with a woman called Miss Alberto.
With no time to spare, our brave Inspector went to Miss Alberto’s house.
« Hello Miss Alberto, I’m an inspector. Your ex-husband has been recently found dead. Have you noticed a weird behaviour in this man these last weeks ? », Jailsender asked.
« You know Inspector, Harry and I were in divorce procedings so I haven’t seen him for a long time. », she retorted.
« When was the last time you saw him ? »
« It was three weeks ago, at my home. Harry wanted me to lend him money. He was broke, as always. », she answered with doubt.
« Thank you Miss Alberto. Can I search your house ? »
« Yes, sure. »
The Inspector couldn’t believe his ears. First, Miss Alberto didn’t care at all about Harry Sadcrown and, then, she said that this jeweler was penniless. It was very suspicious.
Afterwards, the Inspector and his assistant, Lucy Smilth, investigated in the house. After one hour, nothing had been found. But, suddenly, the assistant discovered the same pearl as the one found in the jeweler’s house. What a coincidence! All of a sudden, Lucy noticed that the door was closed and a tick-tock reverberated. Fortunately, the Inspector and his assistant had the time to hide themselves under a sofa before the explosion. There was smoke in all the house and only one chair had exploded. Miss Alberto had disappeared. Really, this woman wasn’t clear.
Next, the Inspector and the assistant went back to the Inspector’s office. The police called them. The analysis of Harry showed that he had been poisoned and there was another piece of information. Harry had a mistress nammed Miss Hapitulive. So, the Inspector went to the mistress’ s house to know more about this woman. When the Inspector and his assistant arrived, they immediately knew that there was a problem. They knocked at the door but nobody opened. The Inspector decided to smash in the door. When they entered the house, they felt a heavy atmosphere. The house was dark, gloomy and scary. The rooms bathed in half-light. There were creakings in all the house. The Inspector and Lucy were moving when, suddenly, four eyes appeared. Screams rose in all the house. The creatures went out of the dark and seemed to attack. They were two cats. What a fright for nothing. Finally, the cats ran away and the Inspector turned on the light. He discovered a woman dead on the floor. The assistant spoke :
« Inspector, look at the table. »
« The table ? Do you want to talk about the food ? »
« Yes, it isn’t expired. Miss Hapitulive’s death must be recent. Moreover, we should analyse it. It may be a clue. »
The Inspector and his assitant went back to the office after declaringMiss Hapitulive’s death. The analysis showed that the food and the woman had been poisoned. And, it was the same poison as the poison discovered in Harry Sadcrown’s body. So, the Inspector thought about all the clues :
« Harry’s death is not a suicide but a murder. Miss Hapitulive and Harry Sadcrown have been poisoned, most probably, by the same person. And Harry has been hung with a rope. He may have known he was poisoned so he wanted to kill himself but that’s not sure… And he may have eaten at his mistress’ house ; and Harry and Miss Hapitulive were poisoned at that moment. However, who poisoned the food ? So many questions without answers ; it’s irritating. »
After thought, an idea came to the Inspector. He said to his assistant :
« Assisant Smilth, let’s drive to Miss Hapitulive’s house. »
They arrived at the house but another inspector was on the same track. He was Mr Kolen, the biggest concurrent of Jailsender. They caught their eyes and you could feel the tension. Afterwards, the Inspector Jailsender searched fastly the house but he didn’t find anything. Then, assistant Smilth approached the Inspector and whispered :
« I have found the poison, now we can go. »
« Good job, assistant ! », Jailsender congratulated.
Then, they went back to the Inspector’s office. The Inspector thought about all the clues and the proofs he had. In the office the atmosphere was strained and heavy. The pression was rising and, all of a sudden, the assistant explained that the murderer wasn’t Miss Alberto :
« And why not her ? », Jailsender asked.
« Because of this thing ! », she asserted.
Lucy Smilth put promptly a paper on the desk.
« What is it ? », the Inspector asked.
« This is a register of the purchase of jewels from the Sadcrown’s shop. We can see that « he » had bought a bracelet », Lucy said.
« Do you mean… a pearls’ bracelet ? »
« And… his sister is… Miss Alberto ! »
« Woaw, amasing ! You’re very bright Lucy ! The investigation is coming to an end. », the inspector stated.
The next morning, the Inspector and his assistant went to Inspector Kolen’s office to talk about the investigation. But, when they entered, nobody was in the office. However it wasn’t closed. They were moving into the office when they saw Miss Alberto beheaded. A weird feeling came to them. Was it some fear or some disgust ? Miss Alberto’s body was lain on the floor. Then, a man appeared suddenly, got a gun out and pointed at the assistant. He said :
« Don’t move or I will kill her. »
« Inspector Kolen, I was sure that you were the criminal but, why did you kill this woman ? », Inspector Jailsender said.
« That’s not your problem ! », he answered spitefully.
« Put this gun down and no damage will be done to you. », the Inspector retorted.
« You’re kidding me Inspector. I have a gun. Do you know what it means ? »
And the inspector Kolen shot, but … nothing happened.
« What did you do Inspector Jailsender ? », the criminal asked.
« I only have emptied your cartridge clip while you were talking. »
« Nooooooo ! You’re never going to catch me ! »
The inspector Kolen fled but there was something he didn’t know. When he reached the door he came face to face with four policemen. They caught and tied him to a chair.
The Inspector Jailsender said :
« Now, I’m going to tell you a story. It’s a story about a jeweller who’s called Harry Sadcrown. This man was in divorce proceedings with Miss Alberto and he had a mistress nammed Miss Hapitulive. Harry went to Miss Alberto’s house three weeks ago and his ex-wife gave him a spicy sauce like a present. »
« How did you guess that Inspector ? », the criminal answered.
« When I was at Miss Alberto’s house I found a packof the same spicy sauce as the one I found in Miss Hapitulive’s house and there were recent fingerprints of Harry Sadcrown. Then, Harry met his mistress and they ate food with the spicy sauce. Harry gave the spicy sauce’s rest to Miss Hapitulive. One day after, the jeweler realised that he was poisoned by the spicy sauce and wanted to call his mistress. But, you knew that Harry hadn’t eaten enough spicy sauce to die, so you killed him in his house. Then, you hung Harry to simulate a suicide. However, when you were killing Harry by strangulation the phone fell down. Another, Harry had marks on the neck wich didn’t make me think of a suicide. Finally, Miss Hapitulive ate the poison and died at home. »
« How have you uncovered my guilt ? »
« Thanks to this paper. We can see the purchase of a pearl’s bracelet made by yourself. My assistant and I found the same pearls at Miss Alberto’s house and at Harry Sadcrown’s house. Moreover, you’re Miss Alberto’s brother and you gave the poison to Miss Alberto. She didn’t know that the spicy sauce was poisoned and when she discovered it you kidnapped and beheaded her. Miss Alberto was panic-striken before you kidnapped her. That’s why she fibbed me twice. Then, you wanted to kill me and my assistant in the house but you failed. »
« All that because of this nasty bomb. That’s unfair ! », the inspector Kolen shouted.
Afterwards, the criminal was sent to the prison and a policeman asked :
« Inspector, I have a question. Why did the inspector Kolen kill Harry Sadcrown ? »
« Harry Sadcrown was rich and the only heir of this fortune was Miss Alberto. Harry was dead so Miss Alberto inherited the money. But, the only family of Miss Alberto was his brother. By killing her the inspector Kolen would have inherited all the money. », the assistant Lucy answered.
« Well done Lucy. You’re smart, as always. », the Inspector ended.
Martin Balandraud and Yohann Le Saux