IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! Three quick, classic cases.

UNCONNECTED COINCIDENCES, PART TWO

QUESTIONING MR FLETCHER

At last, the man turned back to Alice, who was still displaying a mean look. "Let's see... this happened an hour ago, give or take. I was walking on the other side of the road, when I heard two men arguing. Then, all of a sudden, one hit the other on the head with some object I couldn't see. The culprit had already escaped as I ran over here. A minute later a passer-by saw the scene and stopped to help. Of course, the young lady in the house over here," he said, pointing to the door near there." Came out, since her mother got quite the fright, to see what was going on. A neighbour eventually came too, so I sent her son to get John."

His cordial expression revealed by the streetlight rays, his icy eyes caged under those stern brows, hid a deeper feeling, one not of mere seriousness, more of burdened kind. Or maybe, she was just falling into a cheap imitation of Alderton's impressively specific detection feats. He had suggested she try to give explanations to her intuitions, because it could unveil much useful information, that was why she was giving it a timid try. "Mr. Fletcher, why were you walking around here at this time of night? Do you live nearby?"

"That, Miss Camden, is an excellent question," the detective commented. "And while you think about how to answer, I would also like to know in which direction the perpetrator ran."

"Over there," he answered, now pointing to Alice's right. "Regarding what I was doing here, it's my own private business, if you'll allow it. I will concede that I do not live in the area, though."

"Well, you're implicated in a murder case, so that makes it kind of our business too, since we're investigating. From where did the passer-by come?"

"He came from the same direction. Are you implying I could be the murderer, John?"

"From the closed road?"

Mr Fletcher paused for a moment to sigh loudly. "It's closed uh?"

"Indeed. A gigantic tree fell, making part of a building collapse. It is inaccessible to everyone, including pedestrians, except for those daring enough to try to climb an unstable hill of rubble. And yes, why not? I think anyone could be capable of killing under the right, or better yet, wrong conditions."

The man turned back to Alderton, who was still hunched over the victim. "Your little tricks never get easier to digest, Johnny."

The other chuckled. "I do that on purposed. The worse the digestion, the better the results. Now, please, look Miss Camden in the eye and tell her that it wasn't you."

Alice went wide eyed. "Well, now, I don't-"

"Nonsense!" interrupted he, getting up. "I want you to look right in his pupils when he speaks, and tell me if it's the truth."

"But... how could I know?"

"Just do it, trust me. Proceed, Arty."

He sighed once more, yet did not object out loud to the request. "I did not kill this man. I did not know him prior to tonight, I could not have reason, I could not have motive, to want to do this," he said in a calm tone, not an ounce less collected than before.

"So, what's the verdict?"

The woman took a deep breath to calm the nerves. She could not complain that work was too boring, that's for sure. "I think he's telling the truth..."

"But?"

Mr Fletcher raised his eyebrow ever so slightly.

"But, there is something important to the case he's hiding, different from the reason why he was here. I think." She spoke as fast as she could, as if it could make the action less scary. This was trespassing territories she'd never explored a bit too much for her liking.