CHAPTER IV - WRITTEN BY THE STUDENTS

It was an April afternoon when the inspectors of the IES group met to analyze the clues that they had obtained about the murder of Mr. Smith. There were different versions about the motive of the crime, some detectives agreed with others about the motive and others disagreed. These are the things that they investigated:

Who could be the murderer?

How Mr. Smith was killed?

Which was the reason to kill Mr. Smith?

Who could be the murderer?

• Inspector Gray: The murderer could be a person who hated Mr. Smith or someone who was jealous of him.

• Inspector Fatty: If Mrs. Smith was dirty she could go out through the chimney. She was arguing with Mr. Smith and she decided to kill him.

• Inspector Croquettes: Mrs. Croft, the deaf-mute, should not be dismissed because deaf-mute people sometimes, unconsciously, do sounds. I think that there wasn’t a French accent, but it was the voice of this woman.

• Inspector Gray: I disagree with you because the witnesses said that they heard a foreign voice and analyzing the clues I’ve realized that Mr. Dupon is French. I think that Dupon helped Mrs. Smith.

• Inspectors 003: The testimony of the newspaper seller is very important because he talked with Mrs. Smith and he said that she was nervous when she came to the news-stand. She had a motive to be nervous, maybe she killed her husband.

• Inspector Panchi: The murderers could go to the attic, where the drunk lived and they entered the house through the chimney and killed Mr. Smith. That’s why the drunk said that he saw two shadows, a woman’s shadow and a man’s shadow.

• Inspectors Bob: Mrs. Smith and Mr. Dupon lied. Mrs. Smith lies because she said that Mr. Carter hated her husband but, where is the evidence? On the other hand, Mr. Dupon lied when he said that Mr. Carter was alone because his wife was with him and I trust what she said. Dupon had an important role in the murder of Mr. Smith. Maybe he was the murderer because he said that Mr. Carter was guilty and Mr. Carter seems to be a good man.

The inspectors decided that they have to conclude who the murderer was together. They all agreed that the deaf-mute person was innocent and Mr. Carter too, because they trusted the testimony of Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Croft. They trusted what the drunk said too. Then, Mrs. Smith and Mr. Dupon were the murderers or the accomplices.

How Mr. Smith was killed?

• Inspectors 003: The murderer could use a pillow because the corpse was near the bed

• Panchi: I disagree with you because he is bleeding

• Gray: I agree with Panchi, the corpse was bleeding. There was a weapon.

• Inspector Panchi: the murderer could hide the weapon on a drawer inside the house.

• Inspector 003: I think that the weapon is not in the house. The murderer could hide a razor in the attic.

• Inspector Gray: I also think that the murderer used a razor to kill Mr. Smith.

• Inspector Panchi: Maybe it was an accident because Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith were arguing and she killed him by accident.

• Inspectors Croquettes: I think that the drunk could throw bottles through the chimney and Mrs. Smith picked up a glass to kill her husband.

• Inspector Bob: I disagree with you because there aren’t glasses on the fireplace.

• Inspector Fatty: There were steps on the fireplace. The murderer had a 39 size. It was Mrs. Smith. I’m sure.

• Inspector Moon: The murderer used a razor to kill Mr. Smith.

• All: The murderer used a razor that he/she hid somewhere, but not inside the house or the attic.

Which was the reason to kill Mr. Smith?

• Inspector Croquettes: The motive could be that the murderer hated Mr. Smith.

• Inspector Panchi: In the first chapter Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith were arguing and she said that she didn’t like a man. The man could be Mr. Carter and she hated him, but Mr. Smith was his friend. They talked about money and being rich and Mr. Carter could be a rich man and they were jealous.

• Inspector 003: Yes, they killed Mr. Smith because he was Mr. Carter’s friend and they wanted to send Mr. Carter to jail. They wanted to kill two birds with one stone.

• The rest of inspectors agreed with these conclusions. 

The detectives decided to hurry because Mrs. Smith and Mr. Dupon could escape. They went to the neighbourhood and they arrested Mrs. Smith in the news-stand. Then, they went to Mr. Dupon's home, but he wasn't there. They were worried because they thought that Mr. Dupon could have gone to France. They decided to go to the airport and Mr. Dupon was in the gate.