LITMIR.BIZ

      “You know, dear Mr Holmes, very strange, mystery murders take place sometimes,” said inspector Lestrade. His voice sounded seriously. It looked like he knew what he was talking about. Holmes and me altogether with Lestrade were sitting before the fireplace at our Baker Street apartment. There was raining outside, but inside we were having a nice “weather” of our cozy dark room along with sipping warm brandy.

      Holmes was smoking his pipe and looking at the fire asked:

      “As far as I understand you are talking about MYSTERY murders?”

      “Right,” answered Lestrade. “In my practice I have some cases which could not be explained by regular way. Only by mystery.”

      “Very interesting,” said Holmes. “And what cases do you mean?”

      “For example there is one strange case that took place over here at Baker Street long before you moved here. About 25 years ago.”

      Lestrade paused for awhile and then continued:

      “Just imagine, my dear friends, some gentleman got out of home at 13^th day of the month and a brick hit his head. Foolish death! Rare one! But in a month, back again at 13^th day, another man was killed by the same way! What do you think about such wonderful cases?”

      “It’s unbelievable!” said I. “This is a tragic coincidence, or…” I confused and did not finish my thought.

      “Or it is fantasy,” Holmes finished for me. “Isn’t it, my dear Inspector?”

      “Of course not! You may find the details of these cases in old papers in the library. Various papers wrote about that. And I researched both of these cases.”

      “Really?” Holmes turned to Lestrade. “And what was the final report?”

      “Actually… There was no any report. Every one took it as force major, coincidence. Tragedy cases without any human participation.”

      “If it is not so hard for you, my friend, could you tell us about that a bit more?” asked Holmes.

      “Well, for sure. Some Walter Thomson was first who died. He worked in the Geographic Society magazine. His body was found in some hours. And a brick near by. As we discovered there were construction works on the roof of the house No 169. By the night all the bricks were packed in the set, but it was raining and the water broke the set of bricks. One brick did slide to the edge of the roof, fell down and hit the head of this Thomson. As I said the date of the day was 13^th. They said the weird power was involved – the house is on the former place of executions.

      But the official report was taken as a tragic natural reason. In one month, at the 13^th day too, it was raining again. Retired colonel Chasey left the house for the club. His wife Rosa was seeing him off, she was right at the doorway when thunder and the lightning took place.

      As she said the lightning did strike the same bricks set on the roof and one brick flied up then down and hit Chasey. This hit was so strong that his end of glasses, a metal end, cut his skull over the ear. Like a knife into the butter.

      This case caused a real panic. They said it happened because of that damned house. The papers wrote something about mystery nature of the both cases. Even I thought about mystic source of that damn cases. The lightning can do like that. My aunty had seen lightning hit the pole, and a big piece of the pole was thrown out for hundred yards. So the lightning killed the colonel. But the lightning can’t be arrested.”

      Lestrade silenced. We all kept silence for a while. Fire light was dancing on the floor, rain was dropping to the window… I was thinking about all this mystic that had taken place over here. I pictured myself all these awful murders in such raining days… I shivered. It was Holmes’ cold voice that broke the silence.

      “You are right, Lestrade, the lightning cannot be arrested. But a real killer must be caught. Although he is free.”

      “I don’t understand,” the inspector lifted his brows. “You want to say…”

      “Yes, Mr. Lestrade. Colonel Chasey was murdered by a human. Without any mystic. This damned mystic spoiled all the deal. How can’t you see? There are three good items that one must not ignore. Think it over!”

      ANSWER:

      “First,” said Holmes coldly. “A young Chasey’s wife could not see from the doorway the lightning hit the roof. She didn’t see the moment of lightning struck the bricks. She could not and she did not see the brick falling down to the head of Chasey. This is a fiction.

      The lightning can’t hit the bricks on the roof at all. According to the law all houses of London have lightning rods. Ball lightning, you may say? Well, but how could the brick hit the glasses over the ear? So the struck was done not on the top of the head but at the back of it, near the ear! It is clear that Chasey was turning back – as he heard the noise behind him – at the moment some one hit his head by the brick. By the way, what about his wife?”

      “Nothing wrong,” Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. “She married back again, she had got a good legacy… H-m… I didn’t ever think of her…”

      “You are thick as a brick, my dear friend, cause you had ignored all of that! The young woman and her lover did it! They took as a good idea that previous mystic case and organized this murder!” Holmes looked at Lestrade ironically:

      “The most mystic case for me it is you, my dear Inspector, as our brave police which is so thick as a brick too! The brick, that had fallen down from the roof.”

      4. Major Brown’s Nightmare

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