The police inspector arrived at the murder scene at 11:30pm, where one of the officers reported what had happened.
"The young man arrived to find his wife unconcious and dying on the floor there" he said pointing to where the young woman lay on her back with the police working around her " and says he heard a smash at the back window and caught sight of the attacker escaping. He immediately ran into the street for help, and luckily there was an officer passing by at the top of the street. As you can see" said the officer, motioning at the body of the woman "we're dealing with a murder now".
"I see," said the inspector "I'll need you to take a statement from the husband, find out if anything has been taken, and get the word out to the officers on patrol."
"Already done sir" said the officer, pleased at his own efficiency. "Some small items of value were taken. 3 gold necklaces, a pearl necklace, a gold letter opener, various jewelled rings, some gold and silver earings, and any jewellery the lady was wearing at the time has been removed. According to the husband she was rarely without. As to the decription, we're looking at a stocky fellow about 6' tall, dishevelled appearance, shabby dark green coat, possibly a beggar, and he don't smell none too good."
"Good wor-" began the inspector, who was interrupted by the arrival of a large constable gripping the neck of a man very much like the one just described. At this, the husband, who had all this time been sat desolate answering questions, launched up at the murderer, with his eyes full of fire. He swung at the man, having to be restrained by the officers.
"Murderer!" He screamed in a violent rage, kicking his feet out as he was held back "I'll kill you! He stabbed her!" he cried to the officers - "This is the animal that stabbed my dear S_____ five times in the back in our own home! He must hang for this!"
As the men were separated and taken away, the Inspector raised his eyebrow, and was heard to say: "Well, that sorts that one out!".
Three days after, I was sat at a cafe with the inspector, and a friend, Monseiur Dupin as the Inspector related the tale, as I have to you, adding only that the murder weapon (the letter opener) had been found on the vagabond with the jewellery, and despite the fact he denied any knowledge of the murder had been found guilty and was due to be hanged within a week for this atrocious crime.
"I see." said Dupin, in deep thought. "But if all you say is true it would appear to me that you have condemned an innocent man to death."
"What?!" Cried the inspector "You can't be serious monseiur - indeed it is nonsense! The fellow was caught red handed!"
"But consider, Inspector," continued Dupin "the many strange occurrences involved.
First we have the jewellery; While it is not a large amount, you say it is gold and pearls. Gold and pearls are expensive, so to afford the jewellery, we may assume they are, to some extent, wealthy, n'est pas? Indeed, you have seen their home, so you will judge. Why then, were there no items belonging to the gentleman stolen? Surely there must have been some?
Second, I find strange that any man would let himself be caught so easily. Even the simpleton knows when he has done wrong, and hides it. If this vagabond escaped from the house by breaking the window, we may assume he was in some urgency, in fear of being discovered. And yet such a man would be found nearby in the next 15 minutes, with the stolen jewels still on his person? I think this to be unlikely.
Thirdly, there is also the point that as you say, you arrived at 11:30. Even allowing for an hour and a half it would still be very dark outside. Too dark to tell for sure the difference between dark green and black. This was too specific, and the description was uncommonly detailed for someone in a state of shock."
"No," finished Dupin wiping his mouth with a napkin. "We must make haste, immediately to save the life of one man, and to arrest the husband for the muder of his own wife."
"But how on earth can you know he murdered her?!" spluttered the inspector, incredulously.
Spoiler for And the actual answer:
"But of course my dear inspector" replied Dupin "How could he have known that she was stabbed five times? She was on her back, no? And there she lay undisturbed until the police arrived. If the body had been moved, you would have seen from the pattern of blood. No, the only one who could have known at this time, was the murderer himself."
Later the husband confessed. He had killed his wife during a heated argument using the letter opener. After realisation had set in, he had placed the murder weapon and jewels in the pockets of a sleeping tramp, smashed his own window, then run into the street where our story began. The Inspector was the talk of Paris for his remarkable insight, and Dupin who was never much for the limelight turned his attention, for the time being, onto other things.
Hope you enjoyed it, sorry it's not quite as logical as it could be (a lot of assumtions) but it's my first go
Question
soop
Paris, November 1845.
The police inspector arrived at the murder scene at 11:30pm, where one of the officers reported what had happened.
"The young man arrived to find his wife unconcious and dying on the floor there" he said pointing to where the young woman lay on her back with the police working around her " and says he heard a smash at the back window and caught sight of the attacker escaping. He immediately ran into the street for help, and luckily there was an officer passing by at the top of the street. As you can see" said the officer, motioning at the body of the woman "we're dealing with a murder now".
"I see," said the inspector "I'll need you to take a statement from the husband, find out if anything has been taken, and get the word out to the officers on patrol."
"Already done sir" said the officer, pleased at his own efficiency. "Some small items of value were taken. 3 gold necklaces, a pearl necklace, a gold letter opener, various jewelled rings, some gold and silver earings, and any jewellery the lady was wearing at the time has been removed. According to the husband she was rarely without. As to the decription, we're looking at a stocky fellow about 6' tall, dishevelled appearance, shabby dark green coat, possibly a beggar, and he don't smell none too good."
"Good wor-" began the inspector, who was interrupted by the arrival of a large constable gripping the neck of a man very much like the one just described. At this, the husband, who had all this time been sat desolate answering questions, launched up at the murderer, with his eyes full of fire. He swung at the man, having to be restrained by the officers.
"Murderer!" He screamed in a violent rage, kicking his feet out as he was held back "I'll kill you! He stabbed her!" he cried to the officers - "This is the animal that stabbed my dear S_____ five times in the back in our own home! He must hang for this!"
As the men were separated and taken away, the Inspector raised his eyebrow, and was heard to say: "Well, that sorts that one out!".
Three days after, I was sat at a cafe with the inspector, and a friend, Monseiur Dupin as the Inspector related the tale, as I have to you, adding only that the murder weapon (the letter opener) had been found on the vagabond with the jewellery, and despite the fact he denied any knowledge of the murder had been found guilty and was due to be hanged within a week for this atrocious crime.
"I see." said Dupin, in deep thought. "But if all you say is true it would appear to me that you have condemned an innocent man to death."
"What?!" Cried the inspector "You can't be serious monseiur - indeed it is nonsense! The fellow was caught red handed!"
Edited by soopLink to comment
Share on other sites
11 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.