A Treasure of a Featured Detective
The Dear Holmes “Featured Detective” Program honors one detective per mystery for their clever and well-thought-out solution to the case. To learn how to send in your own solution, visit Dearholmes.com/solve.
Dearest Detectives,
Captain Levinson’s Umbrella has been returned to its rightful new owner, and the case of his missing treasure has been laid to rest, no doubt, thanks to your collaborative efforts.
It isn’t every day that Inspector Lestrade reaches out to Holmes for a hand, so when Lestrade sent word of the burglary at Agnes Stokes’ house, it was clear a peculiar case was on the horizon. After reading of Miss Stokes’ recently acquired “lot” and the newly missing umbrella, many investigators started to formulate theories involving her window cleaner, as well as her brother, Simon. Yet, Lestrade’s letter seemed to raise more questions about this odd burglary than it answered— never mind who stole the umbrella, most sleuths were caught up questioning why steal it in the first place?
Thankfully, investigators soon received word from Miss Stokes herself, which brought some much needed light to the case. Given Miss Stokes’ account of the auction, and of the days ensuing it, it seemed plausible that her quirky neighbor, Mrs. Eveline, might have had something to do with the burglary. On the other hand, the angry bidder Miss Stokes encountered at the auction house seemed almost too interested in the Captain’s lot. Could either of these people have stolen the umbrella from Miss Stokes, and if so, might they have been working together with someone else? Our detectives were torn between suspects until Miss Stokes finally followed up with priceless information on the late Captain Levinson. With knowledge of the captain’s history, it became much more obvious why someone would target his lot, though this didn’t make it easy to deduce who might have made the move on his treasure (or at least tried to!)
While some investigators started turning their attention back towards Simon after learning of the writing slope “incident”, others began to hone in on the other threads of this mystery: Mr. George Thomas and the first edition sextant, and the truth behind Captain Levinson’s treasure and the S.S. Sucuri. Detective Ted A., of Golden Valley, MN, was the first detective to land on the scene with every answer needed to solve this case. This Featured Detective correctly identified Simon as our culprit, all the while noting the true location of Captain Levinson’s treasure (and the fact that Simon was mistaken about it.)
As icing on the cake, he also astutely dismissed not just Mr. George Thomas, but each of the case’s red herrings, using key details from the text. That said, a red herring can be tough to look past. A special shoutout goes to Detectives Corey P. and Patti F. for some wonderful theories involving Miss Stokes’ window cleaner and the feathers in her kitchen, respectively.
Congratulations from the Dear Holmes Team to Detective Ted A. — a special reward will soon be on its way!
Want to be next month’s Featured Detective? Mail your solution to 1101 14th St NW, Suite 910, Washington DC 20005, or submit online at Dearholmes.com/solve.