The Mystery, Part 3

Alec frowned. "You suspect the Inspector and the Police Chief?"
"I'd like them here as witnesses, Alec." J.R. looked sternly at him. "You should know I don't really suspect them." Alec nodded.

Ms. Twurthy tilted her head. "Who else are you inviting after the Police Chief and the Inspector?"

JR lifted her head. "One of them is Ms. Deggur."

The doctor rolled her eyes. "She should stop claiming to be your daughter--it wouldn't ever stand up in court! Why on earth are you inviting her?"

JR looked at the doctor steadily. "Although--as you most astutely observed, Doctor--her case would never stand up in court, she seems determined to prove otherwise. I need her here to rule her out as a witness."

Ms. Twurthy nodded in agreement. "That is a very good reason, indeed. Who are you inviting next?"

As the night wore on, it was revealed that those who were going to be invited were a rival author, Ms Tacee, who insisted that JR had stolen one of her manuscripts, Mr. Green, a former gardener who had been let go under suspicious circumstances, and Ms Paukett, who had been JR's former assistant, but had lied in order to get money from JR. They were all invited to the dinner on Friday night.

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That day, the police chief called me into the office. "Inspector Combs, we have recieved an invitation to a dinner on Friday from the writer JR Peters. What do you think? Do you know anything about him?"

 

I nodded, but I didn't reveal that JR was a woman. "I know JR, and can assure you that he is completely trustworthy. I suppose he probably has a good reason for inviting us."

 

The chief smiled, slapping an envelope down on the table. "Well, it's settled then. We're going to a dinner on Friday."

 

As I left I frowned. What was this all about? Anyway, it was my chance.

 

 

Did this confuse you? Would you like to read more about it? You can read the beginning of this series by clicking the label "mystery" and the whole story by clicking the label "detectives" I hope you enjoy it!--PB

The Burglar, part 9

That Saturday was my day off, and I had a job in a town a few miles away planned for that evening. I ate supper quickly, gathered my tools, and got in the car.

I drove like I was just going for a trip...I had done this so many time it was instinct by now. I would shop at a store for a little while, then, after it was dark, I would go to the planned target. All seemed to be fine as I drove up to the store, but I couldn't shake an uneasy feeling I had. I looked around--nobody was following me. Believe me, I know what people who are following look like. I snorted. Nobody had ever found me out. Nobody ever would. I had too much experience with the other side. All this worrying was just nonsense.

At seven I drove to the park. I would stay here until it was totally dark, and most of the house lights were off.

At nine I closed my book and turned on the car. Mortia was on the prowl. My car was a silent type, but even so, I parked a block away. Pulling on my mask and gloves and grabbing my handy tool kit, I stealthily walked to the targeted house. I quickly picked the lock, then looked around. Seeing nobody, I slipped inside.

In half an hour I was walking back to the car. Suddenly I had the strong sensation that someone was watching me. I whirled around, tightening my grip on the things I was carrying. A figure stepped out of the shadows.

"So, Combs. It was you. I had hoped this wouldn't happen."

I knew I was holding my breath. My mouth went dry. This wasn't possible. No one could catch me. Hah! She couldn't see my face. I spoke in a feigned voice.

"What did you say?"

Officer Peters stepped forward. "Shirley, you can't fool me. I put a tracking device on your car."

I spoke through clenched teeth. "You better be careful, ma'am. I don't want to hurt you, but..." I fumbled in my pocket.

Detective Peters looked at me. "No, Shirley Combs. No. If you shoot me, all will be told. You will be recognized for the criminal you are." She paused for a minute. "If you will talk to me, that is not neccesarily the case."

Did you like this story? Read the earlier parts by clicking the label 'burglar'

The Burglar, part 8

I pulled away from the stolen goods dealer and drove home. Little did I know that a chain of events had been set off that would lead to a difficult choice.
The next morning I was back on duty at the police station. Ms. Peters called me into her office once more.

"Ms. Combs," she said, "I need you to investigate a robbery that happened last night."

I nodded. No need to tell her I wouldn't be able to figure it out. "Yes ma'am. Is that all?"

She was silent a moment, then firmly nodded her head. "Yes, detective Combs, that is all. You are one of our best detectives and I expect the best from you."

I nodded slowly. "Yes ma'am, I'll do my best."

Looking at me piercingly she stared directly into my eyes. "See to it."

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A week later a lower detective stood in Detective Peters' office. He was shaking his head ruefully.

 

"I don't know how this robber is doing this," he said gruffly. "There's been a string of robberies in the whole tri-state area, and we can't get a clue on whoever is doing it. I don't even have a guess."

 

J. R. Peters sighed. "So you can't figure out this last one either."

 

He shook his head again. "I just don't see....he even has Detective Combs baffled."

 

Detective Peters shook her head gravely. "Thank you for telling me this."

 

The man tipped his cap and strode out.

 

When he was gone, Jamie Peters put her head in her hands. the evidence was growing against Shirley Combs. She would catch Shirley in the act...alone.

 

 

Did you like this? You can read the rest of the story by clicking the label 'Burglar'

The Burglar, part 7

Now we have to go to another person's side of the story.....
Detective J R Peters sat in her office, undecided. Earlier that evening, she had seen what appeared to be Shirley Combs driving into a stolen goods shop with stolen goods. Should she follow up this lead, or ignore it and allow such a bright and coming detective to rise in the police world?

She sat several minutes, weighing the pros and cons of each situation. Finally, she came to a decision...

Yes, that's all for today. I will post more...eventually. If you haven't read the rest of the story, click the label "Burglar" on the side of my blog.

The Burglar, Part 6

I went in and looked at her. "Yes, ma'am, what did you call me for?"

Detective Peters looked at me approvingly. "You've been doing very well, Ms. Combs. Your record is nearly spotless. But I see that there were a few cases that you could not find the answers for. Do you have anything to say about these?"

I looked down. I just hadn't been able to solve any of those cases where I knew I was the culprit. Strange, isn't it? But I had to answer Detective Peters.

"Yes, I know I didn't do such a good job on those cases. The clues all seemed to lead to dead ends."

She nodded slowly, a strange look in her eye. I wondered what that meant. Had she found out my secret?

"Mmhmm, I understand, and I know you will try to do better in future."

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am, I will."

I went out of the office, half afraid that she suspected something. She hadn't been on any of those cases, had she? Strange.

And that leads me up to the point where I began this confession. By now I was the best of burglars. I could commit a house burglary and be gone within thirty minutes. Before I had been cautious, but now I began to be a little bit bolder. I would do another one every couple of weeks.

As I drove up to the stolen goods dealer's place, I saw a person just standing across the street. I vaugely thought that I recognized the face just before I went into the building.

 

Like this story? Confused? Read the rest of it by clicking the label "burglar" or looking it up in my archives. =D

The Burglar, Part 5

Angela, (my roommate) smiled slyly. "You'll need to prove to me that I can trust you before I tell you."

I frowned. What could Angela mean? I tilted my head to the side, and used my reasoning skills to analyse this problem. Ohhhh. When Angela had looked at the package, she'd probably picked up two packs, and only put one back. I narrowed my eyes. "I know what you did."

Angela glanced at me with steely eyes. "Mortia Combs, you'll deeply regret it if you tell."

I looked at her. "Oh, I'm not going to tell. I want you to teach me how to do that."

And thus began my life of crime. Soon I was learning how to commit bigger thefts, advancing through the levels of burglary quickly.

Through it all, I was a beginner on the police force, and my superiors thought I was a very promising dectective. I finally changed my name, so I was actually Shirley Combs. Shirley was a much better name than Mortia.

Then one day, the ranking detective called me into her office.

Like this? 'Read the rest of it by clicking the label Burglar.

The Burglar, part 4

That night I got in the car with my roommate.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

She smiled blankly. "We're going to the mall."

I frowned. That didn't seem to add up with what she had been saying about "having some fun." Well, I would see what was up.

We went into the mall and looked around. My roommate seemed especially interested in a few pieces of jewelery that were in a small package. After picking it up off of its hook, she sighed at the price and put it back.

We didn't buy anything. Driving back to the dorm, I wondered what that had all been about.

The next day I saw my friend wearing that same piece of jewelery that she had admired so.

I went up to her. "How did you get that?" I asked indignantly.

She smiled slyly.

Did you like this? Read the rest of it by clicking the labels "burglar"

The Burglar, Part 3

In college, I was studying to be a detective, of course. My roommate was the "perfect" person. She got all A's, she never went to parties, she did everything right. One time I asked her what she did for fun.

"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded. "Yeah, I want to know."

She shrugged. "Alright. You can come with me tonight; we'll have some fun."

So that night we went to her hangout. There were a bunch of people there, and some of them seemed a little strange. There was this one guy who wore completely black, and he had a bunch of tattoos. But I didn't really care. We played a few board games, which were fun, but not exactly what I had expected. Later, people began leaving, a few at a time. We left too, eventually.

Later I asked her about it. "Was that all?" I asked. "I had expected that you did something else."

She gave a mysterious smile. "You'll see, if you keep coming with me."

I went with her a lot after that, to a lot of places. To the mall, to the movies, places like that. Then one night, she came up to me and said: "Tonight's a big night. I trust you, and I think you're gonna like this."

I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen.


Missed out on what happened before? Read the beginning of the story on The Burglar, Parts 1 and 2.

The Burglar, Part 2

In my last post, I neglected to mention a few things. Among them, my name, (which I will reveal later for purposes of drama.) Actually, when I said no police officer has ever found my trail, that was not precicely true. Two police detectives have, but one of them doesn't count. That is because, although my profession is theft, my trade is dececting crime. Yes, you just read that right. I am a police detective and a burglar.

It all started when I was in school. My parents had named me Mortia Rea Combs, which I have no explanation for. I hated that name. My friends in school knew that, and when they learned that I read mystery books and nearly always had the crime figured out before the end of the book, they gave me the nickname Shirley. Say my nickname with my last name, and you'll figure it out. I liked figuring mysteries out, and I decided to become a dectective when I grew up.

Then... I went to college.

The Burglar, Part 1

I stood up. This would be an easy place. Swiftly putting on my gloves, I made sure that none of my skin was showing. I crept up to the front door of the house and turned the knob. Unlocked. Perfect. I crept inside. Soon I would be on my way to the stolen goods dealer.

As I had thought, the house was an easy deal. I was on my way in less than an hour, quicker than I had hoped for.

Did you just read that? Oh yes, you did. This is my personal confession. I am a burglar, by profession. Don't meddle with me. I have never been caught. I work alone. No police officer has ever found my trail yet. And this is my story.


*this is fictional. A real robber is not writing this blog.*