An advanture park

"Oh, you're here! Didn't expect you. Well, this is the lady's. You know..."

Her smile froze as her eyes met a glint of madness. A dark shadow advanced fast, barely giving her time to scream: a couple of thuds and a splatter on the tile wall. A long raincoat strode away, leaving the lifeless victim whose face was etched with fear.

15 minutes later, Kalinda Bale was on her way to the toilet C. She had a long day ahead; she had to perform four times today. A drummer of the three-member band plus odd-job. Scowling, she racked her brain to remember where she could possibly put her new drumsticks. She had lost one so she had to use her old pair. Today she was running late for everything. She had to see her friend before the day's first performance. Turning around the corner, something caught her eye. "Oh my god,no..." Soon her hysteric screams echoed through the park.

221B Baker Street

"Sherlock. Your call."

"I can't move. Get it for me."

"It is right next to your bed, Sherlock. Side table next to the glass of water. "

John made tea to wake up from the early morning stupor. He tossed and turned on the sofa of the sitting room as Sherlock kept calling him, asking for help. For this once, John complied as his flatmate had broken his ankle the previous week. Sherlock was told to stay indoors, to move as least as possible, and to drink a lot of milk. After tea, John kept yawning. He made strong coffee and poured it into two cups. To his surprise, Sherlock used the clutch and managed to get out of his bedroom.

"Can you walk?"

Sherlock glared at his flatmate.

"I had told you not to take the short cut."

"If it hadn't been the freshly mopped floor, I would've been fine!"

The usual petulance. He sounded like a child.

"They don't display "wet floor" signs for no reason, Sherlock."

"Ugh…"

The detective sat on his armchair. John asked,

"I'll get you coffee. Who was it? The phone call? Was it Greg?"

"Dimmock just called. He wants my help, but as you see I'm not exactly in a right condition to visit his district."

John was about to open his mouth but Sherlock cut in,

"So I promised to send my best man."

With a deep sigh of resignation, the doctor asked,

"Where is it?

"Cardiff. He'll text you. Take your laptop."

Sherlock read the preliminary report thoroughly. Dimmock had just e-mailed it.

Officials responded to a 999 call May 2 at 9:15 a.m. at the Fantasy World Park, at 45 Bridge Road, Cardiff. The police arrived at the scene around 9:24.

At the scene, police found the body of Angelina Mason, 42 in the toilet C(A-D Toilets; A&C for females, B&D for males)

Angelina Mason worked in the gift shop and Fantacoin center. No one heard the victim's screams. No eye witnesses.

The person who found the body was Kalinda Bale, 45, Angelina's friend. No murder weapon was found but blood splatter on the wall of the toilet.

A drumstick (owned by Kalinda Bale) was near the victim but the stick is not deemed to be a murder weapon. A bloody towel was found.

Kalinda Bale, who works as a drummer for the park band, alleged that she had lost her drumstick.

She alleged that she and the victim were to meet there to talk about Kalinda's daughter, Marge.

Marge Bale lives separately from her mother, a teen mother who had just had her second child. Confirmed.

The COD is a head trauma from a long hard object like a metal rod. (Two dents of the top of the skull. Right side of the face bashed)

No such metal rod was found yet.(About a 4cm-thick, 30cm-long) A couple of sticks were found in the premise with negative luminol reaction.

TOD is from 8:40 - 9: 15

(At 8:40, Brad Mason saw the victim get ready for her work at their trailer. At 9:15, the body was found by Kalinda Bale)

Brad Mason, 46, victim's husband was notified around 9:20.

Angelina Mason works at the park's gift shop.

Brad Mason works as a handyman of the park.

They have worked for 5 years since Brad lost his job five years ago. The Masons have been married for 8 years, happily, according to the husband, no kids.

Brad Mason alleged that he had fixed pipes of the toilet B and then left for the vic's gift shop to get her coffee.

For 15 minutes from opening, 16 customers had entered and no one had left.

Customer 1-4: The Smith family(parents, two kindergarteners)

Customer 5-6: Mike Tann and Angelina Spenser(college friends)

Customer 7-8: Josh and Raymond Tyler (Gay couple, in the middle of honeymoon)

Customer 9-16: Wellington High School kids(Skipped the school. 8 teenagers)

Park employees and customers are to be questioned.

Sherlock spent about thirty minutes, searching the Internet to find more about Fantasy World Adventure Park. He needed photos of the toilet C, B and the gift shop along with the photos of the park employees including the victim. The victim's job, Mason marriage, Kalinda Bale, Customers, Mr. Mason... His mouth twisted into a small smile. He knew who did it. But he had to locate the murder weapon. He had to make John find it.

Hours later, DI Dimmock answered his mobile.

"Hello."

"Get me John. Inspector"

"He's just arrived and been briefed. I'll pass him over."

DI Dimmock wasn't surprised at Sherlock's blunt demand. This was the fifth case that he had worked with, and the detective had never failed. The DI rather liked Sherlock's style, straightforward and fact-based approach. In addition, Sherlock usually slipped out of the scene as an anonymous tipper.

"Hello, Sherlock? Sorry. I can't use my notebook for now. No battery and I forgot the cable."

Dimmock hurriedly mouthed, "Please tell him we are gonna find and get you a cable soon." He was determined to cater to the Holmes' as much as possible.

"Mobiles will do. John, tell me what you've found."

"Sherlock, Fantasy World is a name of an adventure park. Not Disneyland scale. A small movable amusement park. About a dozen rides: movable, a gift shop, and some music playing. The owner is Mr. Newton. He owns a couple more and wasn't here in Cardiff. He's on his way."

"We don't need Newton. I've read a preliminary report already. Let me hear what you've found out so far. Who's the victim?"

" A female. Angelina Mason. 42. The cause of death is a head trauma from a blunt object. The medical examiner, Kelly Armstrong, said that the body had just started rigor mortis when she checked on the body. Based on the body's temperature, she thinks the time of death would be almost right before or immediately after the opening. The Park opens at 9:00. The last time the vic's husband saw her was 8:40 when he left their trailer. Ellie Hutchison saw the husband and then went to the Mason trailer to get the victim some soup. So the victim said she didn't need the soup and turned her away. It was 8:43."

"Wait, the report didn't say anything about Ellie Hutchison."

"That was a preliminary one. The police hasn't been idle so far. Ellie and Paul Hutchison are friends of Mason's. Anyway, the body was found at 9:15. It would've taken for the victim to walk to the Toilet C from their trailer about five minutes. The park opens at nine. There were 16 customers inside the park when the body was found, and no customer had left the park. The police are interrogating employees and customers now. There are about twenty staff. 13 working to operate the rides, 7 odd-jobs like snack car, gift shop, ticket counter... "

"Forget the customers. They have nothing to do with the murder. Have they found the murder weapon?"

"The police is searching the perimeter, yet haven't found the murder weapon yet. According to Ms. Armstrong, the murder weapon was possibly a stick or rod, a foot-long and two-inch-thick. The victim's skull had two dents, which means she was hit twice. No, wait. The victim was hit on her face and then the top of the head twice."

"I need the close-up photo of the wound on the face. Someone hated her enough or the first hit was to immobilize her. Little resistance. Three hits must have been very quick. No body heard the victim screaming. Tell me about the victim's marriage."

"Angelina Mason is married to Brad Mason, 45. 8-year-marriage. They got along well, but over the past month, people noticed they argued more often. She worked at a Fantacoin counter and gift shop. Her husband is a handyman of the park, fixing the rides and doing odd-jobs. Last night, Angelina left her shop early because she was coming down with a cold. Her husband took care of the shop until it was closed. He must have been worried about his wife. He asked Elli Hutchison to bring some soup to his wife. According to Elli, she didn't have time the previous night. That's why she did it this morning and saw the husband leave the trailer. Brad Mason was fixing the Toilet B: there was a water leak and he had to fix it before open hour. He didn't know about his wife until they found her body. Hold on."

John's mumbling was faint. Soon he was back.

"Brad Mason was seen near the Toilet B around 8:50 by his colleague, Paul Hutchison."

"Ellie's husband. How far is it between toilets B and C?"

"Ten-minute-by-walking. Toilet A/B and C/D are at the far ends of the park."

Sherlock's eyes narrowed at this. He read the report again.

"Yes, usually the spouse is the key suspect. But there's nothing suspicious about him. Ellie Hutchison saw the victim alive after Brad had left the trailer."

"But no one saw the husband between 8:50 and 9:15."

"The same as Kalinda Bale."

"The finder?"

"Yes. She also doesn't have any alibi. Anyway the husband got so emotional that Inspector Dimmock had to stop his questioning for ten minutes. Poor guy."

"Where was the husband when he learned of his wife's death? Toilet B?"

"Wait a minute. I'll ask... His wife's gift shop. He just wanted to check on her: he forgot his usual morning kiss so... She wasn't there. He was thinking it odd and waiting for his wife. Then Paul Hutchison brought the bad news. The news must have been shocking. He tripped over something, knocking out the Fantacoin racks and gifts on the floor."

"I need the park map file, too. What's a Fantacoin? You kept talking about it."

"A Fantacoin. A round coin used for a ticket here in the park. You pay at the entrance, and then get a few coins with a small ring to string them. It is a creation of the owner's wife, Mrs. Newton. She is an eco-activist. A year ago, she replaced paper tickets with metal coins, I mean, a fake coin that the kids can use for rides. It has a small hole at the center so that it's easier for kids to carry around."

"Reusable?"

"Yes. It's made of metal. I don't know its kind. Bronze. You get ten to twenty coins when you pay for your ticket, depending on what ticket you buy. You use it to get a ride or buy a gift or snack/drink. You can't use cash inside the park, only coins. Mrs. Newton designed it rather big so that there would pose no choking hazard for toddlers. You know toddlers can swallow small coins."

"It sounds too-eco-friendly. Paper ticket rolls are cheaper. Why did they replace tickets with Fantacoins?"

"Actually, two years ago, someone stole cash box and ran away. Until then customers could use cash to buy things. Mr. Newton didn't report it but everybody knew that his son had stolen the box. Three times, they assume. After that, the Fantacoin system. You buy coins with cash or a credit card at the gate only. Once inside, customers can buy more coins in the gift shop but only with a credit card."

"So you can't use cash inside the park basically. Clever. Was the camera working at the gift shop?"

"Yes, but it focuses on the coin counter. There are two coin racks, which hold about 300 coins. The camera footage confirmed the husband's story. Mason got to the shop around 9:15: we can see his arms on the counter. Then we can see mayhem, flying small things, coins, pencils, erasers...all over around 9:20. Mason must have tripped over at the news."

"Send me the picture of the gift shop. Did the camera record the sound?"

"No sound."

"Did it show the floor?"

"No, mostly the counter. "

"I need a close-up photo of the Fantacoin and images of CCTV footage of the gift shop you just mentioned. Now, you're talking about Kalinda Bale?"

"Kalinda Bale. She had been a close friend with Angelina since they were children. Kalinda offered a job in the park about five years ago when the Masons both lost their jobs. Now she is in shock; she found her best friend's body. A first finder. A suspect. Tallest among female staff. Sturdy-looking. She lives alone so there's no alibi, yet. A guy working at the snack cart heard her arguing with Angelina Mason two nights ago. In addition, the report says that a note was found in the vic's pocket. It was Kalinda's handwriting."

"What did it say?"

"The usual place. Sorry. K."

"Well, send me the pictures of the coin, the gift shop, the note, the victim's photo, and the toilet B and C. If there's company photo, I mean, a photo that had all the employees of the park, the better."

"Wait for a few minutes. I'll ask the Inspector."

Soon his mobile vibrated alerting the arrival of photos. Sherlock intently stared into the pictures. Park staff smiling ear to ear, possibly last Christmas time. He found the victim and Kalinda standing side by side, holding hands and dressed in Santa's costumes; the Hutchison couple; Brad Mason. Then his eyes moved to the next picture, the gift shop. It was messy with coins, pencils, erasers, and stuffed animals littered on the floor. One 2-liter water bottle, empty. Two plant pots and water spray. Then the toilet C and B picture. Water leaked in the toilet B judged from the size of water pool on the floor. At the crime Scene there was nothing unusual. Everything was exactly as it was described in the report. He flipped back to the gift shop photo again. His eyes sparkled at something, and then he called John again.

"Did you get the pictures?"

"Yes."

"Uh, I have a police report on the customers. Do you want me to go through it?"

"I don't think it is necessary."

"What?"

"Obviously an inside job."

"But the victim had a row with the gay couple last night. Angelina Mason was a homophobia. And the Tylers were already inside the park when the victim was killed."

"Inside job."

"In that case, Inspector Dimmock and I were talking about the case. We think it is Kalinda Bale."

"Forget her."

"She is the tallest female, sturdily built.., she must be twice the size of the victim. Her relationship with the victim has strained recently, people say. Her things were found at the crime scene. No alibi. Everything seems to be clear, Sherlock."

The detective snorted at this and asked,

"Where is the murder weapon, then?"

"The police are searching the perimeter. They'll find it soon."

Sherlock gritted his teeth and muttered out,

"As usual, you don't observe things. John. You and Dimmock are idiots. Get me Dimmock. I have some questions."

After a minute, Inspector Dimmock answered.

"Mr. Holmes."

"The gift shop floor was wet. Why? Someone spilled water?"

"Ah, it's Brad Mason's raincoat. His raincoat was all wet, dripping water on the floor."

"Raincoat. But it didn't rain in Cardiff last night."

"He was fixing leaky pipes and he didn't want to wet his clothes."

"What was he wearing this morning?"

"A raincoat, long boots with bootlaces, flannel shirt, a pair of jeans..."

"Where is Mason?"

"He is in his trailer."

"Inspector, I want you to spray luminol over the coins on the floor in the gift shop. Also confiscate Mason's boots, and spray luminol over the bootlaces. Ah, and the raincoat. Put Mason in custody right now."

Later, Sherlock was sitting in front of his laptop. Soon the screen showed John in the police station. John was staring into his laptop screen.

"Sherlock. We've got the damn cable now."

"Did you get Brad Mason?"

"Yes-and-no. He hanged himself inside his trailer. Inspector Dimmock wants you."

Dimmock's face appeared on the screen. Sherlock said,

"Okay, Inspector. Listen. Brad Mason is the killer. You said, the victim was homophobic. Actually she wasn't. Brad was. Angelina and Kalinda had a special relationship. They weren't lesbians, yet. But it was a matter of time. Brad got so mad because he thought his wife didn't respect his masculinity and prepared a plan to kill her. Angelina has been shunning contact with Kalinda, not sure of her emotions."

"As you said, we got positive on coins and his bootlace. But you can't kill a person with a few coins, Mr. Holmes."

"If you put a bootlace into the holes of, let's say, 200 coins and strung them, and then tie a knot at each end tight enough, you can make a short rod. In this case, it was a metal rod. Swing, you kill the victim. Then you wash off the blood from it, untie the knot, and then the murder weapon disappears."

Sherlock showed Dimmock a sketch of his drawing. The detective continued,

"Where do you hide a tree? In a forest."

Dimmock nodded, listening intently.

"No one paid any attention to the coins scattered on the floor of the gift shop. Brad had washed off the blood splatter on the raincoat and the rod with tap water. Used the towel to dry off them, threw away the towel at the crime scene, and hurried out. In the gift shop, he must have used a water spray on his raincoat to make him look like he had been working on leaky pipes."

"Where did Brad get the coins, then?"

"Yesterday he tended the gift shop for his wife for hours."

John cut in, shoving Dimmock a bit to the right.

"When did you notice that Brad was the killer?"

"He was the only one who had a motive and an access to the coins. He overdid it by planting the drumstick of Kalinda at the scene. Also a misfit of his clothes: a raincoat and long boots, not rain boots. He used the bootlace to construct the murder weapon. His bootlace must be black. A few blood stains won't be noticeable. Also it was easy to conceal, tied back to his boots."

"So this is it?"

"Yes. John. Ah, Inspector Dimmock, you don't need to put my name in the report. Just anonymous tip-off."

"Thank you, Mr. Holmes. Again I owe you one. If you visit Cardiff, call me."

"We'll see."

John was ready to go. DI Dimmock lingered around, "Doctor, you came down to here to help me. I can't say thank you enough..."

John smiled, and asked.

"Do you think I can get some Fantacoins? About 200?"

"Sure. But that many? What for? Want some rides?"

"No, actually Sherlock was driving me crazy. Since he broke his ankle last weekend, it has been hellish to live in the same flat."

A look of sympathy fleeted through Dimmock's face.

"Your case was my savior. For a couple of days, he will probably reconstruct the murder weapon with coins and test it on dummy heads with different angles, forces, and length of rod. It will distract him; I will bet he can't make the exact replica on 50 quids. Then next week, Lestrade would bring him a file of cold cases. Then I promise I'll return the coins."

Dimmock took out 25 quids from his wallet and said,

"Take your time. Hey, I'm in. Here, half of it."

John smiled and accepted it. DI Dimmock ordered his officer to give John ride to the station. John thanked the DI again and walked toward the police car with a box of Fantacoins and the laptop.

All characters, and names are fictional. The murder weapon idea is from Case Closed, though I think it's an old trick. Again, the ideas and characters do not belong to me. This was my first attempt to describe the detective tackle a murder case, a real crime story. Hope you enjoyed it. Since this is my first "detective" story, please any tips to make my story better and reviews are very very appreciated and welcome.