It was a devastating crime.  I have known the judge for twenty years, and I we have been good friends since I became a detective.  Judge Roberts was a great man, with fair and reasonable verdicts.  I don’t know why anyone would do it.
As I sat there thinking about this mystery, the new intern, James Smith, walked in.  This was only his fourth day working with me.  James is a former grocery store employee who still lives with his parents and wanted to do something better with his life.  He decided to become my intern after he watched his uncle turn to crime and go to jail.  He was so disgusted with his uncle’s actions that he wanted to become a detective as an attempt to make sure others don’t turn to crime as well.
“How are you today, Mr. Pierpoint?”
“I’m doing well, thanks.  What do you need?”
“I’m looking to get some real-world experience in the field.  I want to help you solve a case.”
“Hmm...I don’t know if you’re ready.”
“Please, sir, I would like to help.  I won’t get in your way.”
“Alright, you get one chance,” I said as we headed off to the judge’s house, the crime scene, in search of clues.
As we arrived at the judge’s house, I knocked on the door.  The judge’s wife, Mrs. Roberts, answered the door.  She welcomed us in, knowing our intentions.  The house was very clean and welcoming, in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.  The house reflected the judge’s humble personality that I knew.  Since the crime happened three days ago, the crime scene was still untouched.  The chair where the body was found was right in front of the television.  Next to the chair, there was an empty plate on the table.  The window next to the chair was broken, but the shards of glass were picked up. There seems to be no sign of forced entry anywhere in the house, except for the window. 
“This sure is a tough one,”  I said to James.  He nodded, looking attentively around the room.  The judge’s wife asked if we wanted any refreshments, but we politely declined.  She was a kind, older woman whom I have met before.  She didn’t seem too hurt by her husband’s death.
“I have a few questions for you, Mrs. Roberts,”  I told her.
“Ok, what are they?”
“Did the judge have any known enemies,  rivals, or people who hated him?”
“Well, he is a judge, and criminals aren’t known to be in their right mind.  He has sentenced people to prison for many years.  They might hold a grudge against him   Other than that, I am unsure that he had any enemies.”
“Ok, next question.  How did that window break?”
“Well, at the beginning of the summer, the neighbor kids were playing and a baseball came smashing through the window.   It has been so hot lately that we haven’t bothered to fix it.”
“What about that plate that was next to him when he died?”
“He came home from work and made himself a ham sandwich like he does every day.  After watching TV for a couple of hours, I came into the room and found him dead.”
“Interesting. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Roberts.”
Throughout the conversation, James seemed a little nervous.   We left the house and got into the car.  “Are you feeling alright?” I asked James.  “Yes” he responded,  “something just seemed a little off about his wife.”  “You’re right,” I told him, “Let’s go talk to the neighbors.”
James and I walked to the neighbor’s house and knocked on the door.  A young boy answered the door.   “Are your parents home?” I asked him.  The boy left and came back a few minutes later with his mother.
“Hello, my name is Garrett Pierpoint.  I am investigating a case about your neighbors.  Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions, as odd as they may seem?”
“Certainly.”
“How many children do you have?”
“I have three boys.”
“Do they play any sports?”
“Yes, they love baseball.  They actually threw one through the neighbor’s window earlier this year.  Is that what these questions are about?”
“No, but your answers are a big help.  Have you heard anything strange going on at the neighbor’s house?”
“Nothing strange, but they have been fighting a lot in the past month.”
“Thank you for your time.”
As I closed the door, James becomes very excited.  “I think we have our answer” he says.  “Maybe,”  I responded, “I’ll have to think this over a little longer.”  We headed back to the office.
In my office, I can’t help but think that this story doesn’t add up.  I know that Mrs. Roberts wouldn’t hurt a fly.  How could she live with herself if she killed her husband of many years?
Suddenly, James bursts in.  “Mr. Pierpoint, we have just received a call from the neighbors we talked to saying that Mrs. Roberts just put the house up for sale, packed her bags and disappeared!”
“Get in the car again, we are going back.”
By the time we got back to the house, Mrs. Roberts was long gone.  Nobody knew where she went.  There was a “for sale” sign in front of the house.  The front door was unlocked, so we went inside to take another look around.
Inside, I decided to search harder for clues.  Looking through all of the cupboards, I found no sign of any poison.  I did, however, find a mostly empty bottle of prescription drugs.
“Look what I found, this might have been the poison,”  I said to James.
“I told you!  It was Mrs. Roberts that killed him!”
“I’m going to keep looking around.”
I opened up the fridge.  There was nothing abnormal about its contents at all.  Then I remembered that Mrs. Roberts said the Judge died after eating a ham sandwich.  I grabbed some ham and cheese out of the fridge.  “What are you doing?!”,  James demanded, “You are wasting your time, we have our answer here!”  He held up the bottle of prescription drugs.  I ignored him and proceeded with my investigation.  The ham was from the local grocery store.  Then all of the clues started coming together.  I smelled the ham.  Somebody poisoned the ham!  My heart started pounding.  The killer was standing right behind me; it was an inside job.
“You’re right, I’m wasting my time here,” I calmly told James.  I secretly slipped the ham into my pocket.  We got into the car and headed to my office.
Back at the office, I told James to leave me alone so I could call the police and tell them what happened.  They were skeptical at first, but it all makes sense.  James wanted to get revenge on the judge for putting his uncle in prison for life.  After giving him the poisoned ham while working at the deli, James decided to try to throw me off.  The judge’s wife was so scared of being killed herself that she quickly left town, not telling anyone where she went.
Minutes later, the police arrived at the office.  They handcuffed James and put him in the back of the police car.  “That was a tough case, Garrett”  said one of the officers.  “I have been studying my Sherlock Holmes books,”  I said jokingly.
James was put in prison for many years, and I haven’t heard of him since.