Suicide that was what the crime was. A young girl at the age of seventeen was sitting there in the pictures, dead with a nail in her hands and a mark on her neck. Although I was intrigued by the pictures, there came to me a sense of uneasiness. Here I was, a girl of the age of seventeen, sitting in my good old friend’s apartment penthouse, looking at crime scene photographs. Shaking a thought from my head, I closely examined the photos again. The young girl wore a pink dress with white slippers on her feet. Her eyes stared eternally upwards, scared and yet curious about death which had come upon her. Her blue hair fell all over the floor like a pond in the middle of summer.
“How long has she been dead?” I asked out loud in my British accent.
“Three days” Came the reply.
Looking up, I saw Edward approach the small table where I stood. He was a rather short man, standing at only five feet eight inches but what he could not make up in height, he could make up in IQ and muscle scores. Often, he wore white collared shirts, black pants, vests, and ties with his long flowing brown trench coat but today, he only had a white collared shirt and black trousers.
“Sad is the state of my mind” He said out loud, “I still do not under stand the cognition behind the fact of this murder.”
I looked at him.
“This isn’t murder” I insisted, “It is suicide.”
He nodded and stepped back to his window. Overlooking the street of Buckingham Gate, he peered out into the ever lasting rain that pounded on the window like a clock. DRIP! DROP! DRIP! DROP!
“What does the police say?” He asked.
“They said it was suicide.”
“Of course!”
“What?”
He did not respond, instead he jumped over to the table and looked at the pictures.
“Look” I pointed, “There is a fact that this could have been a suicide.”
He picked up on of the pictures and looked at it.
“Have you ever seen a girl without her necklace?” He asked.
“Yes! Look!”
Thrusting out my neck, I showed him that I had left my necklace at home. Approaching me, he peered at my neck then at the picture.
“This is very odd” He spoke, “apparently there must have been a third fact with these two facts. “
“What do you mean?”
“Have you ever taken your necklace off due to a rash?”
“Yes.”
“hmm.”

Walking over to his living room, Edward picked up a book and turned to a certain page.
“Did the girl have a boyfriend?” He asked.
“Why of course, he would not stop crying about her SUICIDE until the police allowed him to leave.”
Nodding, Edward put his book down and picked up his brown trench coat.
“The game is afoot!” He quoted from Sherlock Holmes.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To the zoo!” He proclaimed.

ZSL London Zoo

The animals did not seem to comprehend the wet weather very well as we marched on and on through the zoo. A handful of tourists were there as he and I walked on and on through the nearly deserted zoo. Pausing for only a second, Dr. Edward Wilson looked at the large map that lay ahead of him. Starting up once more, he walked directly to a building marked REPTILE HOUSE. Opening the door, I was instantly hit with the smell of animal dung and rotten food. Coughing I went inwards and looked around. Lizards and alligators smiled and licked at us as we proceeded towards a large glass case. Stopping he looked at the case.
“This, my dear” He spoke, “Is a black mamba. It is very poisonous and could take down an elephant in a matter of minutes.”
I looked into the face of death. The thin menace stared back at me, its tongue reaching out, trying to touch me, trying to taste me.
“May I help you?” A voice asked.
Turning around, I saw a rather handsome man standing behind us. His blonde hair was long and fell over his blue eyes. Wearing a blue and black zoo uniform, the man smiled slightly at me and frowned at Dr. Wilson.
“Yes” Dr. Wilson spoke, “Perhaps you can tell us what…”
“Black mamba.” The boy spoke, coldly.
Edward nodded and looked back at the snake.
“Is it poisonous?” Edward asked.
“Yes it is, Edward Wilson.” The Boy said, “It has enough venom that we have to drain it every day and store it in our fridges.”
Dr. Wilson nodded and turned to the boy.
“I take it you are Sally’s boyfriend, are you not?”
“I am or I was.”
“I am very sorry for your lost.”
“Thank you.”
Silence filled the reptile house as the two stared at each other.
“Do you by chance have a pen?” Dr. Wilson asked.
Rolling his eyes, the boy reached into a pocket and pulled out a pen. Nodding, Edward Wilson turned around and walked out.
“Let’s go.” He said to me.
Then, we left the zoo.

The Albert

Dr. Wilson and I ate and drank from our glasses very silently; the night hour was close at hand. Lost in thought, he stared at the drunken men across the pub very intently. Outside, the store’s outer lights began to flicker on, shining a way through the gathering fog.
“Are you certain now that her death was suicide?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“I still can’t put it together” He stated.
“It was suicide.” I persisted.
Suddenly, he stood up.
“Waiter!” He called, “A moment please.”
A large heavy stature man came over. Picking up the pepper, Dr. Wilson looked at the waiter.
“Will help me with an experiment?” Dr. Wilson asked.
The man shrugged and nodded.
“Sure” He spoke.
Dr. Wilson took the man’s hand and rubbed some pepper on his hand.
“Can you gently grip me by my throat for a few seconds?” Dr. Wilson asked.
The man obeyed. Taking out a cell phone, Dr. Wilson told the man to let go and took a picture of his throat. Tipping the man a fifty dollar bill, Dr. Wilson paid for his meal, wiped off his throat and exited the pub, I followed him.
“What was that all about?” I asked as soon as we got out.
He showed me the picture of his throat.
“This proves that…” He started.
Suddenly, the air was filled with the cry of a lady’s scream. Running down the street, we came upon a lady who lay on the ground, dead.
“Call the police!” He yelled to a nervous bystander, “Tell them to bring back up, come on!”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We’re going to catch a thief!” He yelled.
We ran for a grand total of…thirty seconds before stopping. Scooping down, he motioned for me to do the same. Looking at the ground, he picked up a discarded water bottle and picked up a cigar butt. Breaking the cigar butt open, he dumped a bit of the ashes into the water bottle.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“You’ll see” He spoke.
Standing up, he began to run. Running, we passed by old homes, abandoned warehouses, and even a pub (where they serve good fish n’ chips). Suddenly, he stopped and looked around.
“Well my dear” He said, sadly, “It looks as if the trail has ran cold from our running.”
He griped the water bottle and walked slowly down the lane. Panting, I followed him.
“Where do you think he went?” I asked.
“I cannot tell” Edward spoke, “But I think that we might as well go back to help the police out.”
Silence filled the road as we walked on, slow and funeral like. A light drizzle began to pour down as we approached the scene of the crime. Lights blared as we approached the police cars.
“Wilson!” The chief shouted, “We thought you would show up! Look at this! This is the almost same suicide solution as the blue haired girl a few days ago!”
“It wasn’t suicide” I persisted, “She was murdered.”
Receiving a glare from the police chief, I shat up.
“My dear” Wilson said to me, “I think that you ought to wait over by the pub over there.”
Angrily, I walked away and waited by the pub. After a few minutes, Edward came walking over.
“The game is at its climax!” He exclaimed.
“What do you mean?”
“We are going to the house of the boyfriend!”
I looked at him with a mystified look.
“Why?” I asked.
“To solve the crime!”
Taking out his phone, he looked at it and then looked up.
“We’re here” He said.
I looked up. Next to the pub, was an apartment building. Going up to the front door, he scanned the list of individuals who were present.
“Dexter LaCroie.” He exclaimed, “We, my dear, we are now going to find out the truth!”
Not bothering to press the CALL button, he tried the front door. Opening fairly easily, the door swung open and revealed the smell of stale coffee and bread. Walking in, I followed behind him as we approached the door marked 6. Knocking on the door, we heard the rustling of feet against wood and a THUD! Against a wall.
“Who is it?” A voice asked.
“It is Detective Wilson and friend!” Dr. Wilson shouted.
The door opened to reveal the boy whom we had seen at the zoo. Grunting the boy looked at me and Dr. Wilson.
“What are you doing here?” The boy asked him.
“We were in the neighbor hood and we thought that we would, well, just drop in for a visit.”
“How thoughtful of you” The boy said, “Now get out!”
“Yes sir, murderer.” Edward said.
The boy grabbed Dr. Wilson’s arm.
“What did you say to me?” Dexter asked.
“I told you that you are the murderer of your girlfriends.”
“Girlfriends? I only had one.”
Dr. Wilson tried to relive the man’s grip on his arm but Dexter increased the strength of the grip.
“Perhaps we can talk inside?” Dr. Wilson asked.
Dexter nodded and dragged us both inside. The apartment was truly a sore sight to behold. There were only two contents inside the apartment, a bed and a dresser. No paint and no wallpaper filled the room. Standing in the middle of the room, Dexter blocked the door with his body and then told us to sit on the bed.
“You really are remarkable, Doctor” Dexter said, “Truly, a master of crime detection and solving. And even for a twenty year old, your reputation exceeds you. I know of your reputation rather well and I know your flaw.”
“What is my flaw.”
“Me.”
Dr. Wilson nodded his head and looked around.
“I’m really flawed” Dr. Wilson spoke, pulling out his water bottle, “A murderer who has nothing but a bed and a dresser in his room. He doesn’t even have the murder weapon.”
“I’m not a murderer!” Dexter shouted, his voice was very malicious.
“Then, who killed your girlfriends?”
Dexter laughed and looked around.
“You still think that I did it?” Dexter asked, “Oh, doctor, you are truly mistaken, I am not that stupid to kill off my girls.”
“Girls?”
Dexter grew angry and walked over to his dresser. Pulling out a vial and a pen, he placed them on the top of the dresser.
“You and that girl got into a fight” Dr. Wilson said, “You wanted something, she wanted something, then you two got into a fight. You gripped her by the throat and left a mark. But not wanting to see her die that way, you took a pen, stabbed her in the throat and inserted the venom of the black mamba into her; thus causing her to die.”
Dexter chuckled.
“And then” Dr. Wilson went on “You murdered that other girl because she found out and you thought that if you led us in a different direction, you would out run us but here we are…face to face…”
Dexter laughed and looked at Dr. Wilson.
“…Face to face with evil.”
“Brilliant Doctor!” Dexter said, “But you forgot the last part, how you and your friend are going to die here after attempting to kill me!”
Doctor Wilson unscrewed the water bottle and nodded.
“Let me guess, black mamba poisoning?”
Dexter nodded. Then, with one motion, Edward jumped up and threw the water into Dexter’s face. The brown murky water hit his surprised eyes; the toxins made him scream and drop the poison. Grabbing my hand, he led me to the door.
“Did you hear that, chief?” Edward asked, speaking into his phone.
“Yes” The chief responded, “We’re on our way.”
Opening the door, we saw five police officers standing there. Entering, they brushed passed us and dove for Dexter.
“Come” He spoke to me, “Let us go home!”
“Wait!” I persisted, “How did you know that he did it and not someone else?”
“It was all in plain sight” He told me, “When we were looking at the crime scene photographs, we saw a nail, correct?”
I nodded.
“Do you remember how the front door of this building didn’t have a lock, it just opened freely?”
Another nod.
“Come and look.”
Leading me outside, he pointed to a dangling chain.
“She tried to escape and grabbed the nail for a weapon (seeing that she was not thinking clearly) and then he caught her near the zoo, because he knew the place well enough to navigate it through the dark, and then he killed her and dipped her blood in the nail and replaced it in order to hide the fact that he did it. All in short, he wanted to make it look like murder.”
Nodding, I walked out into the open air.
“I wonder what my parents are thinking” I asked.
“I called them and told them that you and I were going out to dinner.” He said, “Come, I’ll walk you home.”