The mobile rings, that annoying tune made famous by Trigger
happy TV. You reach for the phone the number displayed is not one
you recognise 50 51 225. You blink and try and read the digital
clock on your bedside cabinet 00:09 stares back at you. Super!.
“Hello?” you say.
Within minutes of the call finishing you are heading out the
door. A murder in a leafy suburb of Brighton – no forced
signs of entry when the first unit arrived. They needed someone
good, someone like Sherlock, but you were the only one available so
they called you.
You show your ID to the officer on the cordon who lets you past
without a word. Making your way up the steps to the red front door
you begin to write everything you see down. - Red front door -
Number 13 - No Broken windows in the front and the door seemed
intact Stepping through the door you are relieved to see your
partner Chris coming towards you.
“This is a weird one” he says.
You take a deep breath and make your way through to the kitchen.
A man is laying face down on the floor. You go to roll him over and
then you notice that the last digit on his right hand is missing.
You make a note of this and roll him onto his back expecting to
find a horrific wound. But there is nothing; in fact the only sign
of physical trauma is the missing finger.
You look up – above the head is a Blue Collins Dictionary
with a yellow sticker on the spine. On the sticker is the number
423. Above the Dictionary is a paperback book, another is placed to
the left, both are crime novels.
There is no sign of a struggle, no massive loss of blood and
Chris reports that there seems to be nothing missing at first
glance.
You take stock.
A man in his 50’s with one finger missing in a house that
doesn’t scream bungled robbery...very strange.
Toxicology turns up nothing and a few days later you’re
back at the house for another poke around. 2 hours later, exhausted
and seemingly at a dead end you sit in the kitchen running through
what you know with Chris.
“Let’s get a beer” you say
Chris reaches round to the fridge and opens it, inside is the
usual rubbish and two bottles of 16:66.
“He won’t be needing them anymore” he says
Chris slams the fridge door and the fridge rattles – you
look at it more closely. It’s a long way from the wall but
the wall looks dirty. Getting up you look behind the fridge. There
are still dent marks in the lino – the fridge must have been
moved recently. You let out a small expletive and within seconds
you and Chris are moving the fridge out of the way.
You look down at the lino and sigh, what the hell does this mean
you think.
Written in a red substance that later turns out to be the
victims blood is a list.
From "London" Far
A Darker Domain
The Lincoln Lawyer
Looking Good Dead
The Scarecrow
I'm Watching You
61 Hours
Long Time Coming
Faceless Killers
A Dedicated Man
Appleby's Other Story
A Killing Frost
Bloodline
Sleepyhead
Not Dead Enough
“It must be a message from the murder” Chris
says.
“Well done Sherlock” you reply “You’d
better get detective Amazon on this one”
That was a week ago and your sitting at your desk, a fine 25
year old single malt from the highlands in hand. The Phone rings
001 09 572 it says on the display.
“Hello?”.
“So you’re the lucky devil who got the case”
says a high pitched but almost certainly male voice.
“Who is this?” you say.
“The Hunted..or....the hunter. I guess it depends on how
long it takes you to catch me”.
Click
The phone goes dead...was that just the murderer?.
You can check your answers for the first part of this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.
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