I is for Investigation

I'm sure the police have procedures in place for investigation serious crimes. I'm also sure their success rate is much higher than some commentators (particularly politicians with axes to grind) would have us believe. End of rant against politicians… for this post at least.

My experience of investigations is limited to engines, gas boilers (a long time ago) and other machinery which breaks down with alarming frequency in this cheap and nasty world we live in. End of rant against modern life… for this post at least.

I have absolutely no clue how to go about investigating a murder, so as usual, I have to make it up as I go along.

The start point for Joe's investigations is never 'whodunit' but 'who was it done to': the victim. Forensic science tells the police a lot about the victim; when did he last eat, and what did he have, what time did he die, did he have sex before he was killed, had he washed, showered, shaved. What it can't tell them is why the killer struck. The victim alone probably knows why, but he can to longer speak, so it's vital to learn as much as you can about him, and you do that by speaking to the people who knew him.

Is this the way the police work, too? Probably. From it, Joe can then work out the likely motive and the likely killer.

So where do Joe's inquiries differ from those of the police? Joe relies not on science but his ability to spot tiny inconsistencies in the facts. How long would it take the police to work out that Eddie's fishing basket made no sense? (The Filey Connection) Joe, who has spent all his life in catering, noticed it in seconds. Most bosses would have rapped Stephen Atherton's knuckles for putting his arm around Carla (The Tanzanite Manoeuvre, one of the Tales from the STAC Casebook). To Joe it signified something totally different. Who but Joe could have worked out Jennifer's password from a necklace? (A Murder for Christmas).

These then are the hallmarks of Joe's special investigative style. He gets it wrong as often as he gets it right, but somewhere along the line, he makes all the right connections and gets his man… or woman… or both.

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The Filey Connection, first of the Sanford 3rd Age Club Mysteries, from Crooked {Cat} Books is available for the Kindle from Amazon UK and Amazon Worldwide and in all other formats from Smashwords