Thursday, August 5, 2010

Mag 26

"Drowned? Drowned, you say"

"Yes, inspector, we found 'im lyin' there dead. Blue as one of 'em Blue Men from Las Vegas, over in the colonies."

"And since it hasn't rained for a fortnight and the swimming pool is bone dry, how do you suppose he drowned?"

"Well, see, inspector, we figures he was held down on his back and water was poured into his mouth while his nose was held until . . well, until he drowned."

"And the water came from where? I don't see a hose anywhere."

"Inspector, we suspect they used that 'ere waterin' can."

"Ah, I see. And this happened when?"

"The fellow was seen at his pub last night at closin' time so it was after that."

"Yes, and the pub closed at an hour before midnight and it is now half past eight in the morning. So it was within the last 8 hours, correct?"

"That's right, inspector. Pretty smart of us to figger it out, wa'nt it?"

"Except for one thing, Dee-tect-ive."

"What's 'at, sir?"

"The plants growing through the handle of the watering can. And IT HASN'T RAINED FOR A FORTNIGHT!!! I think you'd better do some more investigating."

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Oh, that damned Poirot, he's always so smart. Or it could have been Holmes. Or Dalgliesh. Well, anyway, this was only an exercise, prompted by the fiendish Willow with her photo prompt (obviously from some place where it actually rains.) You can read more offerings at Magpie Tales. Meantime, the inspector will try to figure this one out.

30 comments:

  1. so these are like short shorts?

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  2. Hey, godsey! Long time, no hear. The Magpie Tales can be anything from stories - long or short, poems, haiku, or whatever you want to make it. You should check out the link to Magpie Tales and join us. It's a weekly thing and it's fun!

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  3. you're pretty good at this Catalyst
    loved this one

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  4. Or maybe, just maybe, the plant is from the Little Shop of Horrors! The vine did it!

    Fun story!

    Rick

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  5. inventive dialogues,
    loved your beautiful tale here.
    stay well!
    keep it up.

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  6. ooo so very cleverly thought out! Loved it!

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  7. What a clever idea! I loved the dialect too!

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  8. I know the solution is forthcoming! A delightful read!

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  9. Nice take on the prompt Mr C.

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  10. I really enjoyed this! Your dialogue is superb.

    www.angiemuresan.com

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  11. I was half way though this and some dasterly person pulled the plug, could it have been the same villan that caused death by drowning?? LOL

    Christine

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  12. Ooo, i do love a good mystery! You named three of my fave detectives. my dad and i often get a whole weekend load of the bbc and a&e videos and watch them together. I've also read every Poirot mystery by agatha out there. great job, i really liked this magpie a lot.

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  13. Hmmm...maybe the watering can snuck under the fast-growing vines to disguise itself. Curious! Nice Magpie.

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  14. Sounds a bit like that "water-boarding", but of course it never hurt anyone. Thank you sir.

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  15. With mystery and humor you can't go wrong! Love this one! :-)

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  16. As usual, this was a lot of fun - love your stories!

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  17. A real 'who done it' ....
    I thoroughly enjoyed this!

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  18. ha! such a great magpie and you have my wholehearted agreement...them there fellers are one fry short of a happy meal :)

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  19. dear catalyst, i had to stop by again because i swore i saw you tonight! i was watching the msnbc nightly news and they aired a segment showing an ice cream shop in prescott, sweet caesars was the name of it. and standing in line was a fella with this gorgeous gray beard and i knew it was you! just hope you didn't spoil your dinner that night ;)

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  20. Sheri - I'm sorry to disappoint you. It wasn't me. I was watching that newscast, too, and was surprised to see the report from Prescott. But . . . gorgeous though I am . . . the fellow in line was trimmer, had a much neater beard and (I hate to say) was probably younger. The ice cream looked good, though!

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  21. LOL! This was definitely worth the trip over here to visit. Loved it.

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  22. ah, brilliant...darn flowers growing int eh can...thanks for the chuckle this morning...

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  23. This was fun, Mr. C! Reminds me of the movie Charade, where they prop the guy they drowned in the bathtub in bed.

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  24. Aw shucks..I want to know how he drowned?! Loved this Magpie! :)

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  25. Great Magpie...love the dee-tec-tive - your writes are always filled with intrigue...bkm

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  26. Ach, a mystery! And a fun one, too. As long as you're not the dead guy...

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  27. You just can't put one over on Poirot. Love the "accent" the Dee-tect-ive has.

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  28. Excellent magpie Cat! Way to go with the 'accent' - that is hard to do. I just love the bloggers who pay more attention to the nuances of the photo, and grab inspiration out of them. :-)

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