Inspector Jailsender and the mystery of the pearl

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

Each act comes with a price

 »She was a gorgeous actress : Scarlett Hood had a lot of Oscars . Her boyfriend, Jim Smith wanted to marry her on the day of her death. She had a wonderful wedding dress and the wedding was in Las Vegas. She was killed by a gunshot in her head. The police think it was a suicide. The funeral of this star is going to be next sunday. Thank you for watching our programme regularly, see you tomorrow. Good night everyone! »

James Hook, the detective of the case of Scarlett, turned off the tv, he was angry because of the tv show which had lied. He knew that Scarlett’s death wasn’t a suicide :it was a murder. He knew that because on the place where the body was found dead, he didn’t find the gun which had been used to kill Scarlett. The next day, he joined his team mate, the best policeman of Las Vegas, Tommy Jones. They had known each other since their chilhood, they ahad been great friend since that time. They were going to question the two principal suspects of this case. First Jim Smith, Scarlett’s husband and Stephany Hood, the little sister of Scarlett’s younger sister.They arrived to Jim’s house and the interview began.

 »Good afternoon sir, I’m the superintendant Tommy Jones, and here’s the detective James Hook. »he said to Jim.

 »Goo…good afternoon. » Jim stammered

 »We are here to talk about your wife! »

 »Yes, of….of course »

 »We don’t want to lie to you, you are one of our suspects » James said.

 »Indeed, so we have some questions to ask to you. » Tommy replied.

 »Okay…ask. »

 »How was the relationship with your wife? »he started to ask.

 »We loved each other….more than anything »

 »Yes, of course, was her acting strangely lately? »

 »Oh…she was a little bit stressed by the wedding but….not really suicidal… »

 »Okay, but are you sure that is a suicide? »the detective asked.

 »Who…wanted to m…murder her? »

 »No, I think we can trust the tv on this point. I’m sure that it is a suicide, she was a loved actress »Tommy answered.

 »Well, thank you for your time Mister Smith, good luck for the rest  » James said.

 »Ye…yes, thanks, goo…goodbye sirs ».

He slammed the door.

 »Now, Tommy? » James asked.

 »Now, we ‘ll question Stephany Hood, her little sister. »

They knocked at the door, Stephany opened.

 »Hello miss Hood, I’m Tommy Jones ans this is the detective of the case of your sister, James Hook. »

 »Hello…. » Stephany said

 »I’m sorry for your sister, we know that you were very close to her » Tommy told to Stephany.

 »We have some questions to ask, miss » Hook started.

 »Yes of course, but I can’t swear that I’ll hold my tears »she answered.

 »Sorry, my colleague is very tough. »

 »That’s okay, he’s just doing his job. »

 »So, was your sister acting strangely lately? » Tommy asked.

 »No, she was very happy about her future husband and her wedding. She was like always, smiling. » Stephany answered.

 »And do you think that somebody could have murdered her? » James Hook insisted.

 »It wasn’t a suicide? »she asked.

 »That’s what the tv said. » he answered.

 »Oh well, to be honest I never trust this Jim Smith, he married her only for the money! He came from nothing, he was a homeless, he just wanted to have the money. »she asserted.

 »I think it will be okay for today, thanks for your time miss. » said Tommy.

 »You’re welcome officiers. »

James wasn’t sure about what he had heard that afternoon but he was sure about something now, it’s a murder. But, who was the murderer and why did he kill Scarlett? Stephany had said that Jim wanted to marry Scarlett for her money. James was questionning himself.  » Why would he marry her and murder her at the same time? To have the jackpot, he had to be married with her for three months, and he had to ask her for that! It was impossible, he was deeply in love with her, why didn »t Scarlett sister’s want to see the truth? Maybe she hated Jim, maybe she was jealous of her oldest sister. Maybe, she hated Jim, maybe they were together before he was with Scarlett, maybe they were having a relationship before. I am pretty sure Jim isn’t the murderer, he loved her for what she was and not for what she had » he was asking himself all the night and he didn’t sleep one second because he was thinking too much about this case. Three days later, it was the day of Scarlett’s funerals.

During the three days, he was thinking of the way to find the murderer to show the truth to everybody and make justice happen. It was the perfect time to do something, all the guests were here. Jim said his speech, it was very moving. Next, Stephany wanted to talk to everyone and delivered her speech too, James saw a love look between Stephany and someone in the audience, at his great surprise it was his old friend, Tommy. After the ceremony, James went to Stephany and told her something that would change the end of the life of Tommy and hers.

 »I saw your love look at the funeral, tell me the truth! Are you hiding something to me? »

Her face wasn’t smilling at all, they had been together for a long time, and her face was very anxious. James thought of something and, asked Stephany if he could search her bag. She didn’t want to let her bag to James. So, he grabbed it and found a gun, maybe the gun which had killed Scarlett. He wasn’t very surprised and he called Tommy to go to the police station. He had to be arrested and sent to the jail forever! So,James called the police to take her to jail. But, when Tommy arrived, he knew he was going to lie to protect her. But, for the honor of Scarlett, he had to stop them!

 »Stephany Hood,you’re under arrest for the murderof your oldest sister, Scarlett Smith! »

 »No, she’s not the murderer, why did you say it’s her! Do you have proof? »Tommy asked.

 »Yes, I have the gun which killed Scarlett, with a ballistic comparison, I can prove she is the murderer! » James answered.

After this intervention, Tommy wanted to see the gun more closely and took it hard from James’s hands. Then, he pointed the gun at James and said:  »No one will know that Stephany has killed her sister, we are the only ones who saw it , but you are going to be in troubles! So, I’m gonna kill you and you’ll never tell that to anyone! Goodbye my friend! Then, all Las Vegas heard a gunshot! Next, the silence….Then, they heard someone cry! The police came on time!James was safe and Tommy received a gunshot in his leg. Tommy ans Stephany have been in jail since that day. But, Stephany Hood told the detective she was jealous of the wealth of her oldest sister. She wanted to stop the wedding because she was the only one to get the legacy if her sister died. The detective of this case was thanked by Scarlett’s husband with a part of this jackpot. And of course, the husband got the legacy, not Stephany! Thanks for be than regular to our program, see you tomorrow! Goodbye everyone! » The tv turned off again! But, not by a remote control, but by the jail security. Tommy and Stephany had escaped…maybe to get their revenge.

THE END

Tony Tchivoulou / Aurore Vadot

Scoundrels or rats ?

The inspector  Geralt Deriv was in his office with a coffee and a bagel, when a call was received that a body had been found in a house in York.Then the inspector took his car keys and went to the scene.

The path was calm…

Geralt left his car and saw his assistant : « Chang »

« Hello Chang, How are you today ? » Geralt said.

« Great thanks, and you inspector ? » She asked.

« Fine, so what do we have ? » He wondered.

« A woman found her husband’s body on the sofa, dead. His name is Karl Jim. » She explained.

Geralt entered the house and went to the living room, where the body was and he saw it and smelt a strange smell .

« What is the cause of the death ? » He questioned

« We don’t know exactly but we think he had a heart attack » She told Geralt

« Well, let’s examine the body » Geralt said

Geralt looked for clues to know if itwas a murder or an accidental death. The man was wearing casual work clothes, he had a mug with coffee in his hand. No traces of a struggle. Therefore he wasn’t killed with a gun or a bladed weapon. Geralt smelt the coffee and found that the smell was very very weird.

« Chang ! Could you send the coffee to the lab please ? It doesn’ t seem normal, it may be nothing but I want to be sure. And send the body to the forensic scientist for the autopsy.» He ordered.

« Copy boss, I’ll do it » She answered.

« I gonna interogate the dead’s wife. » He said.

« Hello madam, Could we ask you some questions ? » He wondered.

« Yes, you can if it helps you » She replied.

« Thanks, have your husbund already have problems with his heart or any health problems ? » He questioned.

« Not that I may Know » She said.

« Was he a good husbund ? He never hit you before, did he ? Or was he strange those last weeks ? He questioned.

« Yes he was always good with me and he never hit me, he took care of me. » She answered.

Geralt saw a train ticket on the dead wife’s bag.

Geralt Deriv went back to his office…

Geralt went to the meeting room and gathered his squad to deliberate about the death of this man, to guess if it was a murder, an accidental death or a natural one.

« Hey guys so what do we have ? Any suggestions ? » Geralt said to his squad.

« Boss, I found some problem in husband’s bank account, every month 300£ were sent to another account. » the Policeman answered.

« Ahh… Hmm well, strange, very strange. »Geralt answered.

« And me, boss, I ‘ve checked the telephone survey and every Wedesday and Friday, the victim called a number and spent a lot of time with this person. » Chang said.

« And have you found who is the mysterious number and the mysterious bank account ? »Geralt asked.

« Yes boss, it’s the same person, a woman in York, at two city blocks of the dead’s house. » Chang answered.

« We found an estate agent’s visit card » Another policeman Said

« And so… You think they wanted to move in a new house, but where ? »Geralt asked.

« In Edinburgh and his wife said to us that they would like to change their life. » Chang replied.

« Ok, Firstly Chang and I will go to this house. » Geralt said.

Geralt and Chang went to the mysterious house…

Geralt knocked at the door. A young woman opened it.

« Hello madam, York Regional Police, I’ve some questions for you if you have time ? » Geralt questioned.

« No problem, come in. » She replied.

« Do you know Karl Jim ? » He asked

« Yes ? He’s my boyfriend and he’s the father of my son, Tim. » She said.

Geralt was a little bit surprised, Karl had two wiwes ? And a boy with his paramour.

« Do you know he had a wife ? » Geralt wondered.

« Yes, I didand I accepted it because he swore he was going to leave his wife for me and our son. » She answered.

« did he send you money every month ? Was it for the child ? »Geralt questioned.

« Yes he’s a careful father and he loves so much our son » She answered.

« We are sorry madam but Karl had been found dead in his house »Geralt said.

« I can’t believe it, How and when did he die ? » She questioned.

« Last morning ,just before he went to work. His wife found him last night and called us. We don’t know exactly how he died, we went to see the forensic scientist. Do you know if he had any health problems ? » He explained.

« He doesn’t have any problems » She replied.

« If you remember anything please, call us. » He stated.

« Okay, thank you » She told Geralt.

Geralt and Chang left the house and go to the forensic scientist. He asked if the scientist had something new. The victim had been poisoned. In the autopsy, the doctor had found some traces of rats poison on his coffee and in his stomach.

Geralt ordered his squad to go to the dead wife’s house and searched something which could be suspect. A policeman found a half full little bottle of rats poison . He called the inspector and said this new info. Geralt and Chang went to the train station to caught up the karl’s wife.

Gerlat was less than one hundred foot of karl’s wife. She ran away but the inspector caught the wife just before she took the train.

Geralt went back with the wife and questioned her. She confessed everything and explained why She had killed Karl :

« I killed him because he wanted to go with this B**** who had a son with him. I can’t bear that !!! » She cried out.

A simple crime for a simple reason. Geralt the inspector solved another investigation.

Aurélien et Antoine, 2nd Euro

36 HOURS

No one could have thought that something so eerie could have happened in this small and lovely town. The hardest to solve and the saddest famous bloody murders.

But let’s start from the beginning.

John Montgomery was a policeman, not the best but a good one. He had solved many abduction cases, fraud cases and once, a murder. But it was in another city. Since he married his wife, Kelly, they’ve been living in this peaceful town.

After a long and boring day at the office, John came back home when he suddenly heard a rustling from his living-room. He instinctively drew his gun, ran along the wall, checked both sides, saw nothing suspect so he continued… The closer he went to the noise, the louder the noise got… Finally, he decided to open his bedroom’s door and…

 Are you kidding me? What are you doing Kelly?!”, he cried out relieved

Why are you so mad? I’m just cleaning the room! Holster your gun ! And I thought you would come back home later !”, she told him

Yes, but I’ve finished sooner than expected. By the way, do you know what’s important this weekend ?”, he asked

Of course I know it, honey! Our anniversary !”, she answered

What do you want to do to celebrate it ?”, he wanted to know

I don’t know… I thought we could go to the restaurant and after maybe to the cinema ?”, she proposed

Why not? But which restaurant? French restaurant? You’ll be able to eat this fish you love !”,he replied

Hmm. I want to eat something new !”, she retorted

What about the new restaurant that opened last month. It is really famous for its cakes with real flowers in it. Or maybe Greek food? We’ve never tasted it !”, he asked

Humm… Maybe, we’ll see later !”, she answered

 The discussion finished, John and Kelly spent time together until John received a phone call.

 Oh, I’m sure that this is your boss. He’s the only one who calls you at this hour !”, she sighed.

 His lovely wife was right, his boss called him and do you know what? This call was the beginning of a long and stressful brain teaser.

 What happened darling ?”, she wondered

I don’t know, my boss wants me to come right now.”, he replied

 John kissed his wife goodbye and left her to join his boss at the funerary house.

When he arrived he couldn’t believe his eyes…

His boss told him what happened 3 hours ago: A couple was having a walk in a park when they found a woman liying in a bush. The woman was all dressed up, the specialists who were on the crime scene said that they could see finger marks on her neck and she showed signs of having been beaten but she hadn’t been examined more precisely by a doctor yet.

But a few hours later, a man’s corpse was found in the street and this crime was pretty much more interesting. He was a simple street musician. He was found with difficulty, that is to say, his body was torn off in thousand pieces. There was a lot of blood all around the crime scene… We could notice that the killer was really meticulous in every action he made on the dead body. Maybe was he a doctor?

You will never guess what did the doctor find on his stomach… A little message that said:

 In 36 hours another victim will be killed, it will be a more atrocious crime than this one.

 In the first place, John was really confused: how was it possible that not just one murder, but two could  happen in this town? He moved on there because he knew it was a quiet town without any problems. Was he wrong about it?

The second assassination was so horrific that the FBI came to work on it. Every single policeman was working on this case with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All the media were dealing with this crime. The inhabitants were frightened: no one wanted to go out in the streets anymore. Everyone was scared of everybody. This crime wreaked havoc on this town.

The FBI and the police department were helpless. Everything they knew was that the man was a Caucasian street performer in his mid thirties and that this man was killed 12 hours ago, so they just had twelve hours left to arrest the murderer before he could  kill again.

They had to stop him fastly: no mistakes were conceivable.

John was exhausted, he needed a lot of caffeine to keep going so he decided to go to the cafeteria and to order a double espresso when he got an idea: what if the murderer didn’t know the victims? What if he was just a serial killer who liked to kill at random ?

John was just right about one point: the murderer didn’t know the street performer. He immediately alerted the FBI but they weren’t convinced at all.

Listen, Montgomery… I think you should go and sleep a little bit. We will solve this case, don’t worry.”,his colleague Peter said. Back home, John explained everything to Kelly when a thought suddenly rang a bell:

Everybody is working on this case… But why this guy? Why 36 hours?

A diversion! Of course! Nobody takes care of the other murders!

John took his keys and went back to the funeral house. He asked the doctor to examine the body and give  him the woman’s clothes and everything that could help him to find something.

A name tag was still on her shirt: “Hanna”… a convention! The last one in this town was a pharmaceutical convention! She was certainly a doctor! John made some research and found the list of the persons at this convention and found her name: “Hanna Di Lorentis, pharmacist”. He also found the security camera tapes. She had left the convention with someone else…a doctor, but he couldn’t see his face…

He tried everything but it was impossible to find the identity of this man… John was ready to give up when he received a phone call: it was the funerary house doctor. He had found some strange things in her stomach: flower petals… She had probably eaten them a few hours before being killed…

John could not believe what he had  just heard until he remembered his discussion with his wife…

The restaurant which served cakes with real flowers in it! He immediately went to this restaurant and requested the security camera tapes. He saw the doctor wearing the same clothes as at the convention… He was with Hanna! A waitress remembered the name written on the name tag of the doctor: “Anthony”. John searched in the convention list and found him: “Anthony Kayl, Doctor”.

Everything was making sense… Anthony had met Hanna at the convention and had invited her to dinner with him. Something had gone wrong after that, nobody would know why, but he had  killed her. The only thing that attached her murder to him was the restaurant. But after 36 hours, the flowers in her stomach would be digested: he had to make a diversion. He killed a  street performer. Because he was a doctor, he knew how to make the evidence disappear. He knew that the police and the FBI wouldn’t take care of Hanna but would want to solve the bloody case with the 36 hours reprieve.

Maely KAOUAH – Emilie BLANCO

GRUESOME HALLOWEEN

‘ring, ring’

The young Jimmy and his friends were knocking at

a house’s door.

« Trick or treat », they were crying out all together.

« Oh ! You’re so cute, I’ll give you all my candies and you’ll share them all » The old lady replied.

Jimmy had enough candies so he decided to go back home. He was crossing the tiny gloomy street he was living in. It was really dark even if the moon was bright and the cold wind was blowing under the child’s costume. He entered the block of flats and walked up the dilapidated stairs. He rang the doobell hoping his father would open fast. The father opened the creaky door.

« Your sweet hunt is already finished ? Alright, I kept you some sweets, here you are, go to sleep, it’s late ! »

Jimmy went to his grim room cheerfully to taste his huge loot. He sat on his mattress full of stains. He suddenly grabbed his throat, he couldn’t breath and his head hurt. The room was turning and he fell on the floor. He convulsed and a dozen seconds later he died.

The inspector Collins was in his car going to the murder scene.

« I hate halloween, it’s so freaky and childish »

« Are you scared of creepy stories ? » His colleague teased.

« There are always murders in halloween’s season. »

In Brownsville, there were always been many crimes , a lot more during the halloween season. That’s why Collins dreaded to discover the scene. They finally arrived in front of a gloomy building. They climbed up the stairs and went inside a small and unsanitary flat. Collins immediately noticed loads of empty bottles and a never-ending stack of bills. They headed towards to Jimmy’s room, then at last it was what they had been told. Nothing showed that a little boy lived here, there were no toys. Collins discovered the lifeless body of the child. This view turned his blood to ice. He rummaged the whole flat, looking for clues. Then he went to interview the neighbourhood, they might have known something. Everyone said the same thing : it was a nice family, always smiling, but the wife died of a cancer and the father became alcoholic. He was often coming back home very late. So inspector Collins went back to the apartement and picked up the clues, including the candies. He questionned the father, Mr. Wright, who was slovenly and seemed very tired. He also reeked of alcohol.

« What happened the night of the murder Mr. Wright ? »

« Er… Jimmy just came back from his halloween hunt and he went to his bed. That’s all.. »

« Al-right… Could someone have wanted to kill him ? »

« No ! Jimmy was… kind, I think » Mr.Wright hesitated.

After a long night, Collins went to the police station to investigate.

« What are you doing guys ? »Collins asked the other policemen.

« We are trying to guess the flavor of each candy »

« Okay, keep having fun kids, I’ll work just like we are supposed to do. »

Collins received the results of the analysis. Jimmy had been poisoned with cyanide. He wondered how he could have eaten cyanide.

« Wow, this one smells like almond ! »The colleague claimed.

It suddenly clicked to Collins.

« The candies ! Guys ! Don’ eat them ! » He screamed

« What ?»

« There is poison in some candies ! »

Collins had the sweets analysed. There was indeed cyanide in them. Collins kept looking for the Wright family’s life.He discovered that they had some money matters. Mr. Wright was addicted to money games and more precisely poker. He found a threat letter from a poker adversary. He decided to go to the place where he spent money in poker

He arrived at night and the atmosphere was gloomy and a bit freeky. He talked with the players and they were all saying that Mr. Wright had moneys problems with an adversary who was not there : Pablo Rodrigez.

So Collins decided to went to his house. He was surprised to see that he lived close to Mr. Wright. He rang and a tall man, maybe with some Mexican origins who was wearing a suit opened the door.

« Good evening, Mr. Rodrigez, I have some question for you. »

« Who are you ? » Rodrigez asked.

« Inspector Collins, can you talk to me about Mr. Wright? He plays poker with you. »

« I know him very well, this tragona ! He has money to give me ! » Rodrigez cried out.

« Well… And, did you do anything to revenge ? »

« Come on ! You’re a policeman, I won’t tell you. »

« Did you kill Mr. Wright’s son ? » Collins insisted.

« What ? I’m a suspect ? »

« Of course you are ! »

« I don’t even know he had a son ! »

« I’ll call you later, thank you Mr. Rodirgez. »

Collins came back to the police station. He rummaged into the family’s papers. He learnt information about the death of the mother and found that all the inheritance went to Jimmy. They may have been very close, more than with his father. Actually it was a huge sum of money. Collins was puzzled, he couldn’t believe that a father would kill his son for money. But he wanted to be clear in his own mind. So he went to question Mr. Wright.

The inspector called him for an interview.

« So, Mr. Wright, how was your relationship with Jimmy ? »

« We were really close, I always took care of him », Mr. Wright said calmly.

« Also you were here for his birthday on the 1 st of January ? »

« Of course I was. I bought him a lot of toys, there even was a red firetruck. He was so happy! »

« Really ? It’s strange because we haven’t found any toys in his room and his birthday is on April », Collins replied sarcastically.

Mr. Wright became nervous, he started to sweat.

« Er…I knew it, it’s just that I’m stressed… And, the toys are at his friend’s house. »

« You’re stressed because of your money matters ? »The inspector stated ironically.

« I’m okay. It will be settled soon ».

« With the money of your son’s inheritance ? »Collins asked.

« What are you saying ? I love my son ! I haven’t killed him ! » Mr. Wright shouted.

« So why do you have a bottle of cyanide on you? »

« Ooh… »

« We searched you, what can you say about this ? »

« Listen…Try to understand me…It’s hard to live without money, moreover I have a son. I just needed help… »

« It’s not what I call help. Mr. Wright, you are under arrest for the murder of your own son, every thing you’ll say will be able to be used against you, follow me. I’ll recite you your rights. »

Ambre Lapaiche, Marie-Lou Bailliet et Pauline Bernier