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.
Dear Detectives,
It is safe to say that your efforts were instrumental in ending The Calamity at Callamis.
From the moment Watson and Chief Constable MacPherson explained the circumstances, it was plain to see that something odd was going on at the estate. Of course, a haunting seemed highly unlikely, but beyond that, our network of detectives was split between a great number of theories.
Some speculated that Doyle and Harris were actually fooling everyone, merely hiding in the woods whilst their solicitor staged the scene of a crime; others immediately considered the possibility that Body #1 might have been incorrectly identified. Still, it was difficult to know who might have been double-crossing who! Harris could have been taking advantage of his friend and aiming to steal his treasures, but Lindsey could have turned on his friend all the same. And with the introduction of Mr. Brown, who would have profited from Lindsey's death, things seemed a bit too suspicious.
Once more evidence came to surface, and MacPherson offered his reports on the MacLeods, investigators started to converge on one overall hypothesis: Murder had occurred, and there was certainly a third party involved. The details were still murky though... Had Harris killed his friend, lured Brown to his own demise, and then paid off the MacLeods? Or had the MacLeods managed to murder both Harris and Lindsey, in hopes of absconding with Kidd's treasure? There was also still the possibility of Frasier's involvement, but with the final discovery of an empty treasure chest, it became easier to see what had occurred.
Detective Longo L., of West Chester, PA, is not only our newest Featured Detective, but also one of the first who suspected Lindsey and Harris's bodies had been swapped.
Like a master investigator, Detective Longo swiftly deduced the possibility of a third party being involved in the murders, and succinctly named the surprise culprits and their motives (greed, of course.)
Congratulations from the Dear Holmes Team to Detective Longo — a special sur(prize) will soon be on its way!
Honorable mention(s) to Detectives Jen C., who was one of very few to realize Simon's screams were in fact the "haunting," and Ronald M., who caught onto Cavanagh and Ferguson's own plot to haunt Callamis.
Want to be next month’s Featured Detective? Mail your solution to P.O. Box 70587, Washington, DC 20024, or submit online at DearHolmes.com/solve.