Urban Dreams | Lesson Plans

Fiddle Sticks! He dodged every question I asked! Smarter then I would have thought for such an unsavory character. He was hiding something from me, I sensed. But not well enough. He hid, and I sought out the evidence. The sister in law!

Ingrid Peacock's veterinarian office was just around the comer from the crime scene. The country style pet hospital, with the over‑rated white picket fence and gardenia shrubs surrounding the building, stood in‑between an apartment complex off to the left, and a vacuum appliance store, how convenient, off to the right. A big blue sign with the words "Peacock's Pet Hospital" printed in white letters was placed in the middle of a ring of tulips planted in the front yard. The neatly polished wooden door made tiny squeaks when entering the main office where a young receptionist sat filing her nails and loudly smacking her chewing gum. Dear God, was that irritating! I gave her my whole "Kay's the name" testimony, and asked to speak with Ingrid, the twice‑divorced sister in law of the late Margaret Peacock.

"Kay. Dr. Finds'em." Ingrid politely seated me on a tacky yellow and brown plaid couch directly in front of a large desk where she sat gracefully in a recliner. Pictures and framed painting's of animals that ranged from dogs to octopuses cluttered the cozy doctor's office. The stench of wet dog curiously filled the air. Almost enough to make me gag.

"Well, us Peacocks do try our hardest to meet everyone's needs," she modestly stated.

"Isn't that sweet? But, you see Ingrid, what I don't find too peachy is that the day of your sister in law's death, you were here. On your day off!"

"Well I am a veterinarian, and I care very much about my profession. I love animals."

"Listen up Peacock! I'm not here to play games! I asked you a question! You care more about animals then you do your own family! Isn't that right?"

"But what? But what Peacock? Nothing! That's what, and you know it! You know it's true! Your love for animals kept you from saving your dear sister!"

"Confused?!?! I am NOT confused!" MADDENING! "You watch your back, Peacock, cause I'll be all over your business until I get to the bottom of this!"

BLAST! Spotless, from the moment I walked into her office. She knew I had nothing on her, which made me nervous. Everything was so clear to me. I had very few suspects to question now, and the list seemed to be narrowing down to one. But I had to be sure, absolutely positive, and there was only one way to get there; the creepiest man I've ever laid eyes on. The one I hoped this would never come to. He was the only one with the real evidence, someone who had studied the corpse. The coroner.

"Well Detective, the body seems to be in good shape, considering it's dead," he chuckled. "Nothing but a couple bruises on the back of the head and legs. Doesn't look like a homicide to me ... ha! Aside from a few dog hairs under the fingernails, and mud matted in her hair, I'd say she's clean. HAHA, hey look at that! Her toenails are twitching! I think she's trying to tell us something! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Revolting, I know. But good information. I knew the murderer could only be one. The one it all laid on. The one who stuck out like a sore thumb. Now it was time to reveal the bastard! Yes! I will unleash my clever, ingenious wrath upon the devil!

"Here ye, here ye!" I belted out as I stood in the middle of the dining room in Margaret Peacock's home. Casually positioned around the room were Pinky, her dust mop in hand, Rick, still disgustingly greasy, Ingrid, paying all of her attention towards spot who sat on her lap, the tailor, the cook and last but, in my book, least, the coroner.

"Its no secret as why I have asked you all to join me here this afternoon. Most of you I have already met and questioned. The others are of no importance to me. For you see, ladies and gentlemen, I have, unquestionably, gotten to the bottom of this case. I have discovered which one of you KILLED, yes killed, Margaret Peacock!" dun, dun, DUN! Gasps and hushes echoed the room. "Lets began shall we?"

I walked in circles, eyeing each of the people in the room before speaking, causing goose bumps and butterflies to develop for those with guilty minds.

"Lets began with ... you!" I pointed towards Rick, being sure not to come within an inch of him. "On the day Peacock died, you admitted to hearing a ruckus, a glass dropping you assumed."

"But, Rick, it wasn't a glass you heared break. It was a flowerpot being knocked over." I took a long pause, and then... "By you, Pinky!"

"Because you saw the murder! And you saw the murderer deliberately push Peacock to her death! You were startled, therefore you backed into the wall near the staircase, causing the flowerpot, which Rick heard break, to fall!"

"Oh, you do! Because everyone here knows that you secretly hated ___Peacock, and didn't care whether she was dead or alive, isn't that true?"

"You used to live in Margaret's basement. That's were you and Rick met, which I might add, and have been having an affair ever since!" The two looked at each other, unlocked their arms from the half embrace, and began mumbling in denial. "But wait, there's more. You, being the loving character that you are, felt bad for the murder which is obvious because of your profession, and decided to cover up any evidence of manslaughter! In doing so, you hid Peacock's body under that Japanese futon that you once slept in, and cleaned up the mud stains on the Oriental rug at the top of the staircase."

"How did you know?"

"Because, you just told me." Idiot. "And as for you," I said, pointing at the cook the tailor, and the coroner, "You...did nothing. Thanks for being great sports. Call me sometime."

"But wait! Who, then, was this so‑called murder?" asked Rick.

"Oh. That. Why, none other than the ... (dramatic sound effects)...DOG!"

Yep. You guessed it. The dog, Spot. Sloppy job, leaving obvious traces of mud and dog hairs everywhere. Turns out the dog was angry with Peacock for feeding him Pedigree instead of Kibbles'n'Bit's. Temperamental dogs? Go figure.

But, with a genius such as myself, this case was bound to be solved. Just remember one thing. If you ever have a problem, a case to be solved, there's only one person for the job. And that person is me. Dr. Kay Finds'em. Why? Because I finds'em!