A murder, a mister and a mind reader
It was a bright, sunny day and people were enjoying the good weather. Swimming pools and beaches were overflowing with people, and by one pool near the centre of the city lounged a boy whose name was Sam. All of a sudden, a scream rent the air, and then a massive bang was heard. Sam jumped up and wove his way through the throng of people, heading towards the crime scene. A man ran through the crowd, shoving people aside and screaming at the top of his voice, shaking his head like a wild animal. He was detained by two policemen before he got away. Sam arrived at the perimeter set up by the police, and saw the bank. Or rather, what was left of it. A gaping hole had been blown in the side of the building, and half-burnt banknotes were still fluttering down from the explosion. He could see the police carrying several body bags to their truck, and he walked up to one of his (many) acquaintances, Inspector David Briggs. "What's going on?" Sam asked. The Inspector seemed to be thinking hard, but when Sam came he shook himself. "Someone has robbed the bank, ruining it in the process, and killing several others in the blast. But why in plain daylight, with crowds of people about?" the Inspector mused. "Perhaps you can help me with this one, Sam?" (For Sam had already solved a good many mysteries in his hometown, and was quite famous in his own way). Sam thought for a moment, then said:" Well, I'd say greed is the motive, wouldn't you? Then, as to the perpetrator of the crime, I'd say he did it in plain daylight because, in daylight he can mingle with the crowd really easily, just by slipping out a side door. In fact, " here Sam paused, thinking hard, "I'd say he's still in the crowd somewhere, as he wouldn't want to leave right away, so as not to seem suspicious." The Inspector started. "By Jove, you're right!" he exclaimed. "Here-do you think that he might have left his bag of loot somewhere nearby?" he asked, excited by the prospect of being so close to catching the criminal. He called his men, and they started searching through the empty houses near the bank. A few minutes later, the Inspector and Sam heard a shout. "Sir! We've got it!" It was one of the police officers, and Sam ran there and looked in. There it was – a large duffle bag, stuffed with 100€ notes. Sam looked out of the window and noticed a suspicious-looking man loitering about near the empty house they were in. He took a good long look, and then turned back to the contents of the bag. He soon found what he had been looking for, and he tore it off and put it in his pocket. He stood up and went out to meet the Inspector. "It appears we have found-"here he was interrupted by a groan and a thud. He raced upstairs, the Inspector close on his heels. He burst into the room, just in time to see the man he had been looking at earlier jump into a car with the duffle bag and drive away. Inspector Briggs knelt down by the officer sprawled on the floor, and looked up. "We nearly had him." He said soberly. Sam nodded, but then grinned. "He hasn't got away properly yet. I have his address, number plate and name." The Inspector stared, dumbstruck, then he laughed out loud. He immediately ran outside and got in his car, and Sam followed his example. While the Inspector called for backup, Sam looked up the address of the criminal. It was only a few streets away from their current location, so Sam, the Inspector and a couple of other police-officers set off immediately. They pulled up a couple of houses away, so as not to warn the thief that they were there. Then they crept up stealthily, the two police-men from the back and Sam and the Inspector from the front. Suddenly they noticed that number 16 was a huge, empty block of flats, and they had been mistakenly supposing number 15 to be the thief's home. All of a sudden, gunfire erupted from one of the windows, from probably the third floor. Everyone dropped to the ground and wormed their way towards the doors. Just then two more police cars pulled up beside number 16, and four more policemen jumped out of each car. They rushed the door and got in safely, and so Inspector Briggs decided to risk it, and succeeded. He sprinted up the flight of stairs to the third floor, and charged in to the first open door he saw and found...nothing. Just a machine-gun on the windowsill, and an envelope addressed to: Police. He took it down and called everyone else. When everyone was there, he opened the envelope and took out a letter.
Dear Sir,(it began)
It has been my pleasure to be a part of this "good and bad" chase, but I must take my leave of you now. You must have known you could never catch me; In fact, by the time you read this letter, I shall most likely be somewhere like Cairo or the Yellow river in China, under a new name. I robbed the bank yesterday in the night, when I also planted the bag with a fake address and name, and, most importantly, false bank notes. I paid a man to try and get it here, where I also planted the automated machinegun, which I control using a camera, which you will find if you look around. I suppose you are asking yourselves how I managed to blow up the bank. (which they were indeed) It was rather easy actually. All I needed were some timed explosives. Well, anyway, I really must take my leave of you now, because I have a flight to catch.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Mister
Everyone looked at each other incredulously, and then the Inspector said:" We didn't really have a chance, did we?" No-one answered, and so they slowly went back, with empty hands except the letter.
They did eventually catch the criminal, but that is a story for another time.
