Mini Mysteries

by Acologic

The Dead Lawyer

Slipstar was passing through Canterlot’s Tops District when, all of a sudden, he heard a bang. Seconds later, a young stallion hurtled out of one of the offices, panting.

‘Quick!’ he shouted. ‘The boss just killed himself!’

Slipstar ran after him into the flat and up the stairs. On the desk in the study lay a pony face downwards, bleeding from a wound in his head. Beside him were a gun and scrap of paper. Slipstar telephoned the police at once.

I regret to announce this is the end, my dear Nathan. Such slanderous remarks as those published in the Journal leave a pony of my age little choice. It pains me to so suddenly abandon one who I care about. Please forgive an old coward.

Slipstar read the note again and, as Inspector Wormstead and his men established the crime scene, turned with questions to the young stallion.

‘You are Nathan?’

‘Nathan Coote, yes,’ he replied. ‘I am – was – Mr Brown’s secretary. It was that bloody paper! The bloody Canterlot Journal and their witch hunts! Last month they published an article claiming the Tops branch was corrupt and took bribes from the Workers’ Union. The boss became a target of death threats, but I guess that doesn’t matter now.’

He blew his nose.

‘Was Mr Brown a good lawyer?’ asked Slipstar.

‘The best. He loved his work, wrote documents so sound you couldn’t find a loophole if you tried.’

Slipstar nodded. ‘I see.’

‘Well, it’s clear as day, this one,’ said Wormstead an hour later, once the body had been removed. ‘Poor devil. Still, life goes on.’

‘You think it was suicide?’

Wormstead frowned. ‘Am I missing something?’

‘Yes,’ said Slipstar, ‘you are.’

What did Slipstar mean?

Slipstar knew Nathan Coote was involved somehow – he claimed Mr Brown was a lawyer of considerable ability, yet his suicide note contained several errors one such pony would never make: a) slander/libel confusion, b) a split infinitive and c) incorrect usage of ‘who’, implying heavily it was forged.

Comments

[mtnetsurfer]

I must admit I suspected Nathan the second the mistake between slander and libel was spotted.

[Acologic]

9308064
You're good at these.

[mtnetsurfer]

9308071
Some of the solutions are ones I've seen in mini mystery books before, real Encyclopedia Brown-type stuff. Doesn't make them any less clever, though.

[Acologic]

9308310
Yeah, some of these solutions are 'classic', others are based on/inspired by mystery compilations I've read and the rest are my own. Still, you've a keen eye for this sort of thing. Guess it comes with the territory of being an Encyclopedia Brown fan, heh.