Two Good Deeds

Walter was a creature of habit. Some would say he was obsessive-compulsive, He was certainly extremely orderly and a man of routine. He awakened at his usual time, 6:05 AM. In 17 hours and 5 minutes he will be killed- murdered in his sleep following s series of unfortunate chance events. It was a Monday and Walter exited the bank at 10:00 AM after depositing his weekly payroll check.

Walter walked out of the revolving door onto the sidewalk. As he exited the bank he spotted a folded piece of paper near the door. Very untidy, he thought. He picked it up and noted it was a car repair receipt. He placed it in his left pocket. He presumed the owner of the receipt could easily be found with all of the information on it. Walter would call the garage after work today. That would be his good deed for the day.

Holmes and Watson walked into the pristine apartment. Nothing was out of place except a small piece of paper placed in the center of the hallway table. They stood before the body laying face down on the bed. The pillow and linens were soaked in blood. Probably about 1.5 pints according to Watson. Watson proceeded to examine the body further while Holmes worked the room. Holmes examined a wallet and cell phone. He glanced over at the TV which was still on at a low volume. He thought “Poor fellow. He apparently fell asleep with the TV on and he was murdered shortly after retiring for the night”.

The TV newscaster was reviewing the major story of the day. A bank robbery took place yesterday morning at 10:05 AM. The video tape from a camera across the street showed the robber entering at 10:05 and exiting at 10:12. Holmes paused and replayed the broadcast twice, then listened to the bank teller relate that the robber was very polite and asked for a specific amount of money, $9,910. 

Holmes turned to Watson. “Well, what have you determined”. Watson related, “One shot to the base of the head, entering the occipital lobe and following a downward path to the upper spinal column where it is likely lodged. He died instantly”. He went on, “Probably this was a burglary gone wrong. He might have stirred when he heard the intruder and the burglar decided to flee without any loot. What say you, Holmes?”.

“I’m afraid yesterday’s bank robber just became a murderer, Watson. It appears from the video just broadcast that the robber dropped an auto repair slip from his pocket as he withdrew his pistol just before entering the revolving door. This was immediately followed by a customer- Walter, exiting. We know his name from the wallet of course. Walter saw the auto repair receipt and looked at it. Rather than tossing it into the trash can at the bank entrance, he refolded it and put it in his pocket. He presumed the owner of that receipt would want it for his records. Unfortunately for Walter he accidentally dropped his deposit slip as he picked up the receipt.

Ten minutes later, the robber exited, took his ski mask off and picked up the deposit slip. The robber re-folded it in half and put it in his pocket. He appeared to be doing a good deed. He likely was going to mail it to Walter later, for his records. It would be his good deed for the day. Our robber, soon to be a murderer, emptied his pocket later that day and he became aware of the dilemma he faced. The incriminating receipt would likely lead to his arrest. Since he didn’t notice the deposit slip on the way in, it was likely dropped by a customer just before the robbery. It didn’t take much effort to locate Walter.

Watson stood in awe. Holmes noted this scenario was obvious. The cell phone revealed the last call Walter made was to an auto repair shop at 6:15 PM, after closing. The call lasted 65 seconds- just enough time to leave a message regarding the receipt. The burglar entered Walter’s apartment about 11:00 PM with the evening news on. Having located Walter, our perpetrator left the deposit slip on the table for Walter’s records. He did retrieve the repair receipt from Walter’s pants pocket. You were right about Walter beginning to awaken. The rest is history. Our burglar-murderer will likely be in custody after I make a couple of calls.

Watson nodded in agreement but asked one more question. “Why did he take such a specific amount of money from the bank?” Holmes replied, “Both parties were a bit obsessive and rigid in their ways. The robber no doubt took only what he needed, exactly. They both were tidy and couldn’t stand a piece of paper out of place. This was an unfortunate set of coincidences for them”.

Walter was a creature of habit. Some would say he was obsessive-compulsive, He was certainly extremely orderly and a man of routine. He awakened at his usual time, 6:05 AM. In 17 hours and 5 minutes he will be killed- murdered in his sleep following s series of unfortunate chance events. It was a Monday and Walter exited the bank at 10:00 AM after depositing his weekly payroll check.

Walter walked out of the revolving door onto the sidewalk. As he exited the bank he spotted a folded piece of paper near the door. Very untidy, he thought. He picked it up and noted it was a car repair receipt. He placed it in his left pocket. He presumed the owner of the receipt could easily be found with all of the information on it. Walter would call the garage after work today. That would be his good deed for the day.

Holmes and Watson walked into the pristine apartment. Nothing was out of place except a small piece of paper placed in the center of the hallway table. They stood before the body laying face down on the bed. The pillow and linens were soaked in blood. Probably about 1.5 pints according to Watson. Watson proceeded to examine the body further while Holmes worked the room. Holmes examined a wallet and cell phone. He glanced over at the TV which was still on at a low volume. He thought “Poor fellow. He apparently fell asleep with the TV on and he was murdered shortly after retiring for the night”.

The TV newscaster was reviewing the major story of the day. A bank robbery took place yesterday morning at 10:05 AM. The video tape from a camera across the street showed the robber entering at 10:05 and exiting at 10:12. Holmes paused and replayed the broadcast twice, then listened to the bank teller relate that the robber was very polite and asked for a specific amount of money, $9,910. 

Holmes turned to Watson. “Well, what have you determined”. Watson related, “One shot to the base of the head, entering the occipital lobe and following a downward path to the upper spinal column where it is likely lodged. He died instantly”. He went on, “Probably this was a burglary gone wrong. He might have stirred when he heard the intruder and the burglar decided to flee without any loot. What say you, Holmes?”.

“I’m afraid yesterday’s bank robber just became a murderer, Watson. It appears from the video just broadcast that the robber dropped an auto repair slip from his pocket as he withdrew his pistol just before entering the revolving door. This was immediately followed by a customer- Walter, exiting. We know his name from the wallet of course. Walter saw the auto repair receipt and looked at it. Rather than tossing it into the trash can at the bank entrance, he refolded it and put it in his pocket. He presumed the owner of that receipt would want it for his records. Unfortunately for Walter he accidentally dropped his deposit slip as he picked up the receipt.

Ten minutes later, the robber exited, took his ski mask off and picked up the deposit slip. The robber re-folded it in half and put it in his pocket. He appeared to be doing a good deed. He likely was going to mail it to Walter later, for his records. It would be his good deed for the day. Our robber, soon to be a murderer, emptied his pocket later that day and he became aware of the dilemma he faced. The incriminating receipt would likely lead to his arrest. Since he didn’t notice the deposit slip on the way in, it was likely dropped by a customer just before the robbery. It didn’t take much effort to locate Walter.

Watson stood in awe. Holmes noted this scenario was obvious. The cell phone revealed the last call Walter made was to an auto repair shop at 6:15 PM, after closing. The call lasted 65 seconds- just enough time to leave a message regarding the receipt. The burglar entered Walter’s apartment about 11:00 PM with the evening news on. Having located Walter, our perpetrator left the deposit slip on the table for Walter’s records. He did retrieve the repair receipt from Walter’s pants pocket. You were right about Walter beginning to awaken. The rest is history. Our burglar-murderer will likely be in custody after I make a couple of calls.

Watson nodded in agreement but asked one more question. “Why did he take such a specific amount of money from the bank?” Holmes replied, “Both parties were a bit obsessive and rigid in their ways. The robber no doubt took only what he needed, exactly. They both were tidy and couldn’t stand a piece of paper out of place. This was an unfortunate set of coincidences for them”.

Watson concluded, “I guess the old adage is correct- no good deed does unpunished”.