When John Fischer found Hans Krupp, the old man was lying down in an alley. He felt that something was wrong, so he call 911. An ambulance soon arrived and Krupp was taken away to a hospital. Detectives Davis and Moreno were also in the area and asked Fischer some questions about the incident.
“I was on my way to the store when suddenly I heard this moaning sound,” Fischer explained. “I looked into the alley here and there I found this old guy on the ground. At first, I didn’t know if he was having a heart attack or what. Then I saw that he had this big gash on his forehead. I got suspicious, so then I got help.”
“Did he say anything to you?” Moreno asked.
“He didn’t say much. Mostly all he did was moan,” Fischer replied. “But he did say one word, “hune,” yes, that’s what it was. He said “hune,” and then he stopped speaking completely.”
“Did you see anyone else around?” Davis asked.
“No,” Fischer said.
Later, Moreno called the hospital in order to get more information on Krupp’s condition. He reported his findings to his partner.
“Krupp’s in a coma now. His doctor isn’t certain that he’ll be able to recover. I did learn one thing, though. His wife told me that he was an immigrant for Germany. She said that sometimes when he got excited or talked in his sleep, he would speak in German. Maybe he left us some kind of clue as to who attacked him,” he said.
“Maybe we can find out more by talking to a few people in the area,” Davis replied.
The first person the detectives questioned was Nick Hightower. At 6 feet, 10 inches tall, he looked very intimidating.
“You say someone got mugged?” He asked. “No, I don’t know anything about it. I’ve been playing basketball all day.”
Randy Walmar was one of the biggest men they had ever seen. He must have weighed 400 pounds.
“Someone got beat up? Where’s the neighborhood going these days? I just got back from the store. This is first I’ve heard of it,” he said.
Charles Zelman regularly rummaged through people’s trash in the alleys.
“I haven’t seen anything. I tend to stay out of everyone’s way. I’m not looking for any trouble, you know,” he said.
Zack Richards seemed really interested in the case when the detectives talked to him.
“Who got mugged? Old man Krupp, you say? Yeah, I know him. Is he all right? No, I just wanted to know,” he replied as he took off on his skateboard.
“Do you have any clues?” Moreno asked.
“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Davis said.
WHO DID DAVIS SUSPECT?
THE ANSWER
He suspected Nick Hightower. Krupp’s clue was the word, “hune,” which means “giant” in German. Fortunately, Krupp recovered and identified the basketball player in the attack on him.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Case of the Smuggled Contraband
Detectives Davis and Moreno were called to the scene of a nearby warehouse. When they arrived, Sergeant Ziegler of the narcotics division filled them in on the situation.
“We received a tip from an informant that illegal drugs were being stored in this building,” the sergeant told them. “We secured a search warrant and now we are making a thorough sweep of the area.”
The detectives noticed that several dogs from the K-9 unit were sniffing around all of the loads of boxes on pallets.
“Our dogs are specially trained to locate the scent of any narcotics in this area,” Zeigler said. “If they smell any, they will alert us at once.”
Davis and Moreno spent the next two hours looking over the thousands of boxes in the area. They were looking for any suspicious shipments which might be among the lots.
After two hours, Officer Zeigler shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s no use,” he said. “The dogs just haven’t been able to find any drugs. There may be contraband here, but there are just too many boxes to open in order to find it. We may have to end the search and try some other way.”
At that moment, Davis was passing several large boxes with pictures of televisions on the covers. He noticed something suspicious on the side of one of the boxes. He then smelled something which caught his interest.
“I think that you should open this box,” he told Zeigler. “I believe that you might find the contents very interesting.”
“Well, if you say so,” the narcotics officer replied with a tone of resignation. “We’re running out of time anyway. I guess that your guess is as good as anyone else’s.”
The policemen took out some knives and a crowbar and opened the box. To their surprise, they found several kilos of cocaine inside!
“This is incredible,” Moreno exclaimed. “But how did you find it if the dogs couldn’t?”
“It wasn’t too hard,” Davis said. “I simply looked for something that they weren’t looking for.”
HOW DID DAVIS SOLVE THE CASE?
THE ANSWER
Davis knew that the dogs were trained to find the scents of illegal drugs. He also knew that the dogs pretty much ignored the smells of anything else. When he passed the box, he noticed a small hole in the side. He smelled the hole and found that there was coffee inside. He wondered why anyone would pack coffee in a box which was meant for TV’s? The answer was that the smell of the coffee was meant to hide the smell of something else hidden deep within the box. His hunch proved to be correct.
THE CASE OF THE SMUGGLED CONTRABAND
Detectives Davis and Moreno were called to the scene of a nearby warehouse. When they arrived, Sergeant Ziegler of the narcotics division filled them in on the situation.
“We received a tip from an informant that illegal drugs were being stored in this building,” the sergeant told them. “We secured a search warrant and now we are making a thorough sweep of the area.”
The detectives noticed that several dogs from the K-9 unit were sniffing around all of the loads of boxes on pallets.
“Our dogs are specially trained to locate the scent of any narcotics in this area,” Zeigler said. “If they smell any, they will alert us at once.”
Davis and Moreno spent the next two hours looking over the thousands of boxes in the area. They were looking for any suspicious shipments which might be among the lots.
After two hours, Officer Zeigler shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s no use,” he said. “The dogs just haven’t been able to find any drugs. There may be contraband here, but there are just too many boxes to open in order to find it. We may have to end the search and try some other way.”
At that moment, Davis was passing several large boxes with pictures of televisions on the covers. He noticed something suspicious on the side of one of the boxes. He then smelled something which caught his interest.
“I think that you should open this box,” he told Zeigler. “I believe that you might find the contents very interesting.”
“Well, if you say so,” the narcotics officer replied with a tone of resignation. “We’re running out of time anyway. I guess that your guess is as good as anyone else’s.”
The policemen took out some knives and a crowbar and opened the box. To their surprise, they found several kilos of cocaine inside!
“This is incredible,” Moreno exclaimed. “But how did you find it if the dogs couldn’t?”
“It wasn’t too hard,” Davis said. “I simply looked for something that they weren’t looking for.”
HOW DID DAVIS SOLVE THE CASE?
THE ANSWER
Davis knew that the dogs were trained to find the scents of illegal drugs. He also knew that the dogs pretty much ignored the smells of anything else. When he passed the box, he noticed a small hole in the side. He smelled the hole and found that there was coffee inside. He wondered why anyone would pack coffee in a box which was meant for TV’s? The answer was that the smell of the coffee was meant to hide the smell of something else hidden deep within the box. His hunch proved to be correct.
“We received a tip from an informant that illegal drugs were being stored in this building,” the sergeant told them. “We secured a search warrant and now we are making a thorough sweep of the area.”
The detectives noticed that several dogs from the K-9 unit were sniffing around all of the loads of boxes on pallets.
“Our dogs are specially trained to locate the scent of any narcotics in this area,” Zeigler said. “If they smell any, they will alert us at once.”
Davis and Moreno spent the next two hours looking over the thousands of boxes in the area. They were looking for any suspicious shipments which might be among the lots.
After two hours, Officer Zeigler shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s no use,” he said. “The dogs just haven’t been able to find any drugs. There may be contraband here, but there are just too many boxes to open in order to find it. We may have to end the search and try some other way.”
At that moment, Davis was passing several large boxes with pictures of televisions on the covers. He noticed something suspicious on the side of one of the boxes. He then smelled something which caught his interest.
“I think that you should open this box,” he told Zeigler. “I believe that you might find the contents very interesting.”
“Well, if you say so,” the narcotics officer replied with a tone of resignation. “We’re running out of time anyway. I guess that your guess is as good as anyone else’s.”
The policemen took out some knives and a crowbar and opened the box. To their surprise, they found several kilos of cocaine inside!
“This is incredible,” Moreno exclaimed. “But how did you find it if the dogs couldn’t?”
“It wasn’t too hard,” Davis said. “I simply looked for something that they weren’t looking for.”
HOW DID DAVIS SOLVE THE CASE?
THE ANSWER
Davis knew that the dogs were trained to find the scents of illegal drugs. He also knew that the dogs pretty much ignored the smells of anything else. When he passed the box, he noticed a small hole in the side. He smelled the hole and found that there was coffee inside. He wondered why anyone would pack coffee in a box which was meant for TV’s? The answer was that the smell of the coffee was meant to hide the smell of something else hidden deep within the box. His hunch proved to be correct.
THE CASE OF THE SMUGGLED CONTRABAND
Detectives Davis and Moreno were called to the scene of a nearby warehouse. When they arrived, Sergeant Ziegler of the narcotics division filled them in on the situation.
“We received a tip from an informant that illegal drugs were being stored in this building,” the sergeant told them. “We secured a search warrant and now we are making a thorough sweep of the area.”
The detectives noticed that several dogs from the K-9 unit were sniffing around all of the loads of boxes on pallets.
“Our dogs are specially trained to locate the scent of any narcotics in this area,” Zeigler said. “If they smell any, they will alert us at once.”
Davis and Moreno spent the next two hours looking over the thousands of boxes in the area. They were looking for any suspicious shipments which might be among the lots.
After two hours, Officer Zeigler shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s no use,” he said. “The dogs just haven’t been able to find any drugs. There may be contraband here, but there are just too many boxes to open in order to find it. We may have to end the search and try some other way.”
At that moment, Davis was passing several large boxes with pictures of televisions on the covers. He noticed something suspicious on the side of one of the boxes. He then smelled something which caught his interest.
“I think that you should open this box,” he told Zeigler. “I believe that you might find the contents very interesting.”
“Well, if you say so,” the narcotics officer replied with a tone of resignation. “We’re running out of time anyway. I guess that your guess is as good as anyone else’s.”
The policemen took out some knives and a crowbar and opened the box. To their surprise, they found several kilos of cocaine inside!
“This is incredible,” Moreno exclaimed. “But how did you find it if the dogs couldn’t?”
“It wasn’t too hard,” Davis said. “I simply looked for something that they weren’t looking for.”
HOW DID DAVIS SOLVE THE CASE?
THE ANSWER
Davis knew that the dogs were trained to find the scents of illegal drugs. He also knew that the dogs pretty much ignored the smells of anything else. When he passed the box, he noticed a small hole in the side. He smelled the hole and found that there was coffee inside. He wondered why anyone would pack coffee in a box which was meant for TV’s? The answer was that the smell of the coffee was meant to hide the smell of something else hidden deep within the box. His hunch proved to be correct.
The Case of the Murdered Contractor
When the body of Eric Anderson was found in an abandoned house, detectives Davis and Moreno were called to the scene. As photographers took pictures of the area, the policemen looked for clues and talked about the case.
“There are some things which don’t make sense about this situation,” Moreno said. “Anderson was declared missing five weeks ago. At that time, no one knew if he had been kidnapped, murdered, or had take off on his own free will. Now that we’ve found him, we can be pretty certain that he didn’t end up here himself. But why would the perpetrators bring him here?”
“There are some reasons I can think of,” his partner replied. “This house was boarded up and it may have looked like a good place to dump a body. Anderson could have been here for years without anyone ever finding him. It was only by luck that two kids broke in and found him here.”
Davis examined the body closely. Anderson’s clothes were slightly wet, but the detective didn’t see any sign of a leak on the ceiling. The crystal on his watch was fogged up. There were no marks on the body.
A few days later, the detectives received a report on the autopsy. However, it didn’t answer all of their questions about the case.
“The coroner was unable to pinpoint any specific time of death,” Moreno said. “The cause of death was arsenic poisoning , but we still have no idea how long he was there before he was found.”
“I guess we’ll have to question anyone who might have had a motive for causing his death,” Davis replied. “That won’t be easy because as I found out, he had frequent disputes with other contractors over bids.”
As their investigation continued, the detectives interviewed several possible suspects in the case.
Rick Carter, the owner of a HVAC company, denied knowing anything.
“It’s true that we didn’t get along sometimes but I would never think of doing anything bad to him,” he said.
John Colvin, Anderson’s business partner, also denied being involved.
“I would have no motive at all for hurting Eric,” he told them. “His wife inherits his share of the company now and I’m not any better off now than I was before.”
Jeff Leal, the owner of a lumber company, couldn’t provide much new information, either. “Anderson did owe me a lot of money,” he said. “But I knew that he was going to pay me back. I certainly wouldn’t have killed him over it.”
Rachel Bales, an electrician, expressed grief upon hearing of Anderson’s death.
“He was such a good man. It’s such a terrible shame. I admit that I did owe him some money, but I was going to pay him back.”
“Do you have any ideas on who might have done this?” Moreno asked his partner.
“Yes,” Davis replied.
WHO DID DAVIS SUSPECT?
THE ANSWER
He suspected Rick Carter. Davis found that Anderson’s body had been wet at one time, yet it had been found in a dry place. The detective thought that the murder had killed Anderson several weeks before and frozen the body in order to confuse police about the time of the death. He believed that the only person who would have had access to the facilities for doing this would have been the owner of a heating , ventilation, and air conditioning company. The investigation soon concentrated on Carter and a search of his company grounds soon yielded fiber evidence against him.
“There are some things which don’t make sense about this situation,” Moreno said. “Anderson was declared missing five weeks ago. At that time, no one knew if he had been kidnapped, murdered, or had take off on his own free will. Now that we’ve found him, we can be pretty certain that he didn’t end up here himself. But why would the perpetrators bring him here?”
“There are some reasons I can think of,” his partner replied. “This house was boarded up and it may have looked like a good place to dump a body. Anderson could have been here for years without anyone ever finding him. It was only by luck that two kids broke in and found him here.”
Davis examined the body closely. Anderson’s clothes were slightly wet, but the detective didn’t see any sign of a leak on the ceiling. The crystal on his watch was fogged up. There were no marks on the body.
A few days later, the detectives received a report on the autopsy. However, it didn’t answer all of their questions about the case.
“The coroner was unable to pinpoint any specific time of death,” Moreno said. “The cause of death was arsenic poisoning , but we still have no idea how long he was there before he was found.”
“I guess we’ll have to question anyone who might have had a motive for causing his death,” Davis replied. “That won’t be easy because as I found out, he had frequent disputes with other contractors over bids.”
As their investigation continued, the detectives interviewed several possible suspects in the case.
Rick Carter, the owner of a HVAC company, denied knowing anything.
“It’s true that we didn’t get along sometimes but I would never think of doing anything bad to him,” he said.
John Colvin, Anderson’s business partner, also denied being involved.
“I would have no motive at all for hurting Eric,” he told them. “His wife inherits his share of the company now and I’m not any better off now than I was before.”
Jeff Leal, the owner of a lumber company, couldn’t provide much new information, either. “Anderson did owe me a lot of money,” he said. “But I knew that he was going to pay me back. I certainly wouldn’t have killed him over it.”
Rachel Bales, an electrician, expressed grief upon hearing of Anderson’s death.
“He was such a good man. It’s such a terrible shame. I admit that I did owe him some money, but I was going to pay him back.”
“Do you have any ideas on who might have done this?” Moreno asked his partner.
“Yes,” Davis replied.
WHO DID DAVIS SUSPECT?
THE ANSWER
He suspected Rick Carter. Davis found that Anderson’s body had been wet at one time, yet it had been found in a dry place. The detective thought that the murder had killed Anderson several weeks before and frozen the body in order to confuse police about the time of the death. He believed that the only person who would have had access to the facilities for doing this would have been the owner of a heating , ventilation, and air conditioning company. The investigation soon concentrated on Carter and a search of his company grounds soon yielded fiber evidence against him.
The Case of the Murder at the Butler's Convention
A tragedy occurred at the 47th Annual Convention of Butlers at the Highland Hotel. Al Weicker, president of the butler’s association, was found shot to death in his room. Detectives Davis and Moreno soon arrived at the scene.
“This might not be easy to solve,” Moreno said. “Since most of the possible suspects are butlers. We don’t even know for sure if a butler did it.”
“We’ll just have to do the best that we can with the facts in this case,” his partner replied.
Davis surveyed the scene of the crime. The body of Weicker lay near his bed. He was in his pajamas. His clothes were neatly folded up on a nearby table. There was a large pool of blood on the floor.
“Did you see or hear anything suspicious?” Davis asked Cliff Epple, the director of security at the hotel.
“No, unfortunately this was the only floor where our security cameras weren’t working,” he replied. “However, we reviewed the tapes of the other cameras and found that no one left this floor after the murder. We strongly suspect that the culprit is a guest on this very floor!”
“That may help narrow our list of suspects,” Moreno said. “We shall begin our investigation immediately.”
Davis asked each person on the floor, “Do you have any information about the murder of Al Weicker?”
Ben Lagenvist shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about it. I was shocked to hear of it. It’s a terrible tragedy.”
Dave Hastings said, “Sorry, old boy. I haven’t the foggiest idea. It’s been a most regrettable incident, I dare say. My good man, I do not think that any gentleman’s gentleman could have been involved in something like this.”
“Good Heavens! Someone was murdered, you say?” Lyndon Smythe-Jones exclaimed. “My word! What the devil is going on here? By jove! I dare say I shant sleep a wink this night.”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t even know the poor fellow,” Joseph English replied. “I must have slept through the entire incident. Well, I sure hope that you find the dreadful booger who plugged that poor Alton chap!”
“Blimey! Heavens to Betsy! Murder? How dreadfully unsporting, I must say. No, I haven’t heard a thing about it,” Percy London said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be tottering off. Cheerio!”
“I say, my good fellows, do have any clues?” Moreno asked his partner.
“Elementary, my dear chap,” Davis replied. “I do indeed. Right-O!”
WHO DID DAVIS SUSPECT?
THE ANSWER
He suspected Joseph English. Even though English said that he hadn’t known Al Weicker, he still referred to him as “Alton,” even though his name might have been Alfred, Albert, Allen, or just plain Al. A warrant was soon obtained and a search of English’s room soon turned up the murder weapon. A “jolly good show” for the detectives!
“This might not be easy to solve,” Moreno said. “Since most of the possible suspects are butlers. We don’t even know for sure if a butler did it.”
“We’ll just have to do the best that we can with the facts in this case,” his partner replied.
Davis surveyed the scene of the crime. The body of Weicker lay near his bed. He was in his pajamas. His clothes were neatly folded up on a nearby table. There was a large pool of blood on the floor.
“Did you see or hear anything suspicious?” Davis asked Cliff Epple, the director of security at the hotel.
“No, unfortunately this was the only floor where our security cameras weren’t working,” he replied. “However, we reviewed the tapes of the other cameras and found that no one left this floor after the murder. We strongly suspect that the culprit is a guest on this very floor!”
“That may help narrow our list of suspects,” Moreno said. “We shall begin our investigation immediately.”
Davis asked each person on the floor, “Do you have any information about the murder of Al Weicker?”
Ben Lagenvist shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about it. I was shocked to hear of it. It’s a terrible tragedy.”
Dave Hastings said, “Sorry, old boy. I haven’t the foggiest idea. It’s been a most regrettable incident, I dare say. My good man, I do not think that any gentleman’s gentleman could have been involved in something like this.”
“Good Heavens! Someone was murdered, you say?” Lyndon Smythe-Jones exclaimed. “My word! What the devil is going on here? By jove! I dare say I shant sleep a wink this night.”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t even know the poor fellow,” Joseph English replied. “I must have slept through the entire incident. Well, I sure hope that you find the dreadful booger who plugged that poor Alton chap!”
“Blimey! Heavens to Betsy! Murder? How dreadfully unsporting, I must say. No, I haven’t heard a thing about it,” Percy London said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be tottering off. Cheerio!”
“I say, my good fellows, do have any clues?” Moreno asked his partner.
“Elementary, my dear chap,” Davis replied. “I do indeed. Right-O!”
WHO DID DAVIS SUSPECT?
THE ANSWER
He suspected Joseph English. Even though English said that he hadn’t known Al Weicker, he still referred to him as “Alton,” even though his name might have been Alfred, Albert, Allen, or just plain Al. A warrant was soon obtained and a search of English’s room soon turned up the murder weapon. A “jolly good show” for the detectives!
The Case of the Hidden Loot
Detectives Davis and Moreno were discussing a case while they drove to the scene of a crime.
“Well, it looks like Jimmy Brinks won’t be enjoying all of that money he stole from all of those bank robberies,” Detective Moreno said.
“Yes, I heard that he was gunned down by the police in Lindenbergh cemetery,” Davis replied. “Somehow that seems fitting. He goes to a cemetery and then he ends up as a corpse.”
“There’s still the matter of the missing money.”
“You mean, they never recovered the loot?”
“No, before Brinks got in a shoot out with the law, he managed to hide it somewhere. I guess he thought that he could get away and come back for it later. But that won’t be happening now.”
The detectives pulled into the Lindenbergh cemetery parking lot. They walked over the graves and carefully surveyed the area. They noticed that several other policemen were also patrolling the grounds.
“This seems like a lot of ground to cover,” Davis remarked. “Are they sure that Brinks hid the loot here?”
“They seem pretty certain about it,” Moreno replied. “Brinks was seen entering this area with a suitcase and a shovel. The found Brinks. They found the shovel. But they never found that suitcase with the half million in it. It’s likely that it’s out there somewhere, but no one knows where exactly to look. We can’t exactly dig up all of the graves when trying to find it. We have to have a good idea on where to look.”
The detectives passed several family plots as they walked through the cemetery. Davis noticed the names on the tombstones. There were spots for the Adams, the Cartwrights, the Foxes, the Davisons, the Wrights, the Zapruders, the Engels, the Douglasss, the Millers, the Kurtzs, the Morenos, the Steins, the Quimbies, the Logans, and others.
“Didn’t Brinks leave any kind of clue to where the money was?” Davis asked. “Once he got shot, he might have known that he was dying and that he would never be able to come back to collect the loot.”
“Well, he did offer a few last words,” Moreno replied. “When an officer asked him where the money was, Brinks said “It’s with the trees,” and then he died. That clue hasn’t been much help so far. There must be hundreds of trees in this area and we’ve had dogs sniffing over every one without finding so much as a wooden nickel. Perhaps Brinks was just giving a false lead. Or perhaps he was trying to make himself into some kind of legend as a crook who kept the cops from getting his loot. Maybe his last words were some kind of clue for his friends so that they could come back here and find the loot, but who knows? I doubt that anyone could find it unless they knew exactly where to look.”
“You’re right!” Davis replied. “And I think that I have an idea.”
WHAT DID DAVIS THINK?
THE ANSWER
Davis believed that Brinks might have a difficult time finding the loot if he buried it next to a tree. Since trees are routinely cut down, the money might be discovered by someone else before he could get back to it. Davis then thought that Brinks might have buried it near a tombstone, since graves are rarely moved and the money would likely be there years later. But which grave? Nobody in the cemetery was named Tree, but Davis knew that “Douglas” was a type of fir tree. Sure enough, the detectives found a recently filled grave in the Douglas section. After getting permission to dig, the found the stolen money.
“Well, it looks like Jimmy Brinks won’t be enjoying all of that money he stole from all of those bank robberies,” Detective Moreno said.
“Yes, I heard that he was gunned down by the police in Lindenbergh cemetery,” Davis replied. “Somehow that seems fitting. He goes to a cemetery and then he ends up as a corpse.”
“There’s still the matter of the missing money.”
“You mean, they never recovered the loot?”
“No, before Brinks got in a shoot out with the law, he managed to hide it somewhere. I guess he thought that he could get away and come back for it later. But that won’t be happening now.”
The detectives pulled into the Lindenbergh cemetery parking lot. They walked over the graves and carefully surveyed the area. They noticed that several other policemen were also patrolling the grounds.
“This seems like a lot of ground to cover,” Davis remarked. “Are they sure that Brinks hid the loot here?”
“They seem pretty certain about it,” Moreno replied. “Brinks was seen entering this area with a suitcase and a shovel. The found Brinks. They found the shovel. But they never found that suitcase with the half million in it. It’s likely that it’s out there somewhere, but no one knows where exactly to look. We can’t exactly dig up all of the graves when trying to find it. We have to have a good idea on where to look.”
The detectives passed several family plots as they walked through the cemetery. Davis noticed the names on the tombstones. There were spots for the Adams, the Cartwrights, the Foxes, the Davisons, the Wrights, the Zapruders, the Engels, the Douglasss, the Millers, the Kurtzs, the Morenos, the Steins, the Quimbies, the Logans, and others.
“Didn’t Brinks leave any kind of clue to where the money was?” Davis asked. “Once he got shot, he might have known that he was dying and that he would never be able to come back to collect the loot.”
“Well, he did offer a few last words,” Moreno replied. “When an officer asked him where the money was, Brinks said “It’s with the trees,” and then he died. That clue hasn’t been much help so far. There must be hundreds of trees in this area and we’ve had dogs sniffing over every one without finding so much as a wooden nickel. Perhaps Brinks was just giving a false lead. Or perhaps he was trying to make himself into some kind of legend as a crook who kept the cops from getting his loot. Maybe his last words were some kind of clue for his friends so that they could come back here and find the loot, but who knows? I doubt that anyone could find it unless they knew exactly where to look.”
“You’re right!” Davis replied. “And I think that I have an idea.”
WHAT DID DAVIS THINK?
THE ANSWER
Davis believed that Brinks might have a difficult time finding the loot if he buried it next to a tree. Since trees are routinely cut down, the money might be discovered by someone else before he could get back to it. Davis then thought that Brinks might have buried it near a tombstone, since graves are rarely moved and the money would likely be there years later. But which grave? Nobody in the cemetery was named Tree, but Davis knew that “Douglas” was a type of fir tree. Sure enough, the detectives found a recently filled grave in the Douglas section. After getting permission to dig, the found the stolen money.
The Case of the Deadly Fall
Detectives Davis and Moreno watched as a couple of paramedics took away the body of Claire Looms. She was dressed in a red taffeta dress with black pumps. The outline of her body remained on the concrete driveway.
“It was a terrible accident,” her husband sobbed. “I knew I should have stopped her. Now it’s too late. I’ve lost her forever!”
“It’s always difficult to lose a loved one,” Moreno said. “But we need you to make a statement. We’d like to clarify a few details.”
“Oh, sure,” Mr. Looms replied as he wiped some tears from his eyes. “Claire insisted on cleaning out the gutters herself. I told her that we could get a professional to do it, but she didn’t want to spend the money. Well, anyway, I helped her with the ladder.”
Davis noticed the fallen ladder beside the house.
Mr. Looms continued with his story.
“She worked at it a while and seemed to be doing well, so I went into the house. A few minutes later, I heard this awful scream and a loud crash. I rushed out and found her… there on the pavement. Oh, it was awful!”
Davis talked with Moreno privately as Mr. Looms stared into space.
“It was an awful death, but his story is even more awful!”
WHAT DID DAVIS SUSPECT?
THE ANSWER
He suspected that Mr. Looms had pushed his wife out a window. No women would wear a red taffeta dress and black pumps when climbing a ladder to the clean the gutter!
“It was a terrible accident,” her husband sobbed. “I knew I should have stopped her. Now it’s too late. I’ve lost her forever!”
“It’s always difficult to lose a loved one,” Moreno said. “But we need you to make a statement. We’d like to clarify a few details.”
“Oh, sure,” Mr. Looms replied as he wiped some tears from his eyes. “Claire insisted on cleaning out the gutters herself. I told her that we could get a professional to do it, but she didn’t want to spend the money. Well, anyway, I helped her with the ladder.”
Davis noticed the fallen ladder beside the house.
Mr. Looms continued with his story.
“She worked at it a while and seemed to be doing well, so I went into the house. A few minutes later, I heard this awful scream and a loud crash. I rushed out and found her… there on the pavement. Oh, it was awful!”
Davis talked with Moreno privately as Mr. Looms stared into space.
“It was an awful death, but his story is even more awful!”
WHAT DID DAVIS SUSPECT?
THE ANSWER
He suspected that Mr. Looms had pushed his wife out a window. No women would wear a red taffeta dress and black pumps when climbing a ladder to the clean the gutter!
The Case of the Three Card Monte Game
Detective Davis walked down the sidewalk. It was a warm, summer day. Everyone seemed to be outside on their way to going somewhere. Three women passed by with their arms filled with packages. Children chased each other and moved in and out between the throngs of moving people. An old lady walked her tiny dog. Three men sipped their coffees as they hurried off down the street. Everything seemed normal as usual.
He noticed a stranger on the sidewalk that day. A dirty, unkempt man was playing a card game on a large crate by a fence. He only had three bent cards, but he was shuffling them again and again as he barked to the crowd.
“Find the lady…find the lady…it’s easy, folks, just find the lady. Left, right, middle. Just watch the cards and you can win! Find the lady…find the lady….anyone can play….anyone can win….it’s you lucky day…you can win…you can win…just find the lady…,” the dealer kept repeating.
Davis watched from a discrete distance as a disgruntled player stomped off without his money. In some ways, the detective thought that it was more fun to watch these games than to play them. There were fewer risks involved. You felt better about seeing someone else lose their money especially when you saw them pick up the same card that you would have picked up. He knew the game was fixed and it was fascinating just the same.
“Sorry, not today!” The dealer said to another sucker as he showed where the queen was hiding. “Find the lady…find the lady…it’s easy, you can win!”
The detective moved a little closer to get a better view of the next game. He wanted to get a good look at the cards, but he didn’t want to get so close that he would be mistaken for being another potential sucker. He continued to observe the dealer’s hands carefully as he quickly learned the moves of the game.
He had to admire the dealer’s ability for attracting attention. There was now a small crowd of about nine or ten guys watching the next game. Most people were walking by with very little interest, however. There were some people who wandered over just to see what was going on. Most of them turned away when they found out. Davis moved up to the front of the group.
“Find the lady…find the lady…,” the dealer kept repeating. There was almost a hypnotic quality to his voice as he continued to shuffle the three cards in front of his audience. He looked at his next mark and smiled. “It’s easy, just find her and win!”
The mark hesitated. The game had seemed so easy just a few minutes before. He had even found the queen a few times without any trouble. But this time, he had money on the line. This time, he wasn’t so sure. He looked at the three cards turned over in front of him nervously.
“I know where the lady is,” Davis spoke up.
“You see? He knows where she is,” he dealer said to the mark. It’s easy if you watch. Left, right, center. Just show me where she is and you win.”
“The lady is right here!” Davis replied as he pointed.
WHERE WAS THE QUEEN?
THE ANSWER
Davis pointed to where the queen was hidden. It was under the dealer’s right hand! That’s how Three Card Monte dealers win. They palm the lady so that their marks can’t possibly win! Then by a little slight-of-hand, they make appear another card that the mark didn’t choose. When this dealer’s cheating was exposed, he looked like he was going to hit Davis. However, the detective quickly flashed his badge and told him to beat it. The dealer snarled and took off.
He noticed a stranger on the sidewalk that day. A dirty, unkempt man was playing a card game on a large crate by a fence. He only had three bent cards, but he was shuffling them again and again as he barked to the crowd.
“Find the lady…find the lady…it’s easy, folks, just find the lady. Left, right, middle. Just watch the cards and you can win! Find the lady…find the lady….anyone can play….anyone can win….it’s you lucky day…you can win…you can win…just find the lady…,” the dealer kept repeating.
Davis watched from a discrete distance as a disgruntled player stomped off without his money. In some ways, the detective thought that it was more fun to watch these games than to play them. There were fewer risks involved. You felt better about seeing someone else lose their money especially when you saw them pick up the same card that you would have picked up. He knew the game was fixed and it was fascinating just the same.
“Sorry, not today!” The dealer said to another sucker as he showed where the queen was hiding. “Find the lady…find the lady…it’s easy, you can win!”
The detective moved a little closer to get a better view of the next game. He wanted to get a good look at the cards, but he didn’t want to get so close that he would be mistaken for being another potential sucker. He continued to observe the dealer’s hands carefully as he quickly learned the moves of the game.
He had to admire the dealer’s ability for attracting attention. There was now a small crowd of about nine or ten guys watching the next game. Most people were walking by with very little interest, however. There were some people who wandered over just to see what was going on. Most of them turned away when they found out. Davis moved up to the front of the group.
“Find the lady…find the lady…,” the dealer kept repeating. There was almost a hypnotic quality to his voice as he continued to shuffle the three cards in front of his audience. He looked at his next mark and smiled. “It’s easy, just find her and win!”
The mark hesitated. The game had seemed so easy just a few minutes before. He had even found the queen a few times without any trouble. But this time, he had money on the line. This time, he wasn’t so sure. He looked at the three cards turned over in front of him nervously.
“I know where the lady is,” Davis spoke up.
“You see? He knows where she is,” he dealer said to the mark. It’s easy if you watch. Left, right, center. Just show me where she is and you win.”
“The lady is right here!” Davis replied as he pointed.
WHERE WAS THE QUEEN?
THE ANSWER
Davis pointed to where the queen was hidden. It was under the dealer’s right hand! That’s how Three Card Monte dealers win. They palm the lady so that their marks can’t possibly win! Then by a little slight-of-hand, they make appear another card that the mark didn’t choose. When this dealer’s cheating was exposed, he looked like he was going to hit Davis. However, the detective quickly flashed his badge and told him to beat it. The dealer snarled and took off.
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