Le Cirque d'Morte

This case had all the flair of an Agatha Christie. The third murder was a forgone conclusion.

The victim told me little I didn't know but confirmed all by suspicions. Emma Saunders, burnt alive, tied at a stake in plain sight with no witnesses. The fire would had to have burnt fast and hot to do that amount of damage to a corpse therefore an accelerant had been used. Traces were still detectable on the concrete, the same accelerant used by fire performers, most commonly, fire battons. Also the cord once again used to bind the victim was light fibres, silk most probably that perished in the fire. The locket found on the body immedaitly indicated the personal connection with the crime. Emma Saunders's ex-husband.

The method of the murder also answered motive. It was personal. Obviously revenge. Only that would be satisfied by such a violent and voyeristic death. Correlating the differing skills of the killers wasn't difficult.

• Simon Brown was killed by two knife throwers. (The marks left on the tiles)


• Lance Peterson was killed by the strong man an a trapeeze artist. (The strength required and the bindings.)


• Emma Saunders was killed by the Fire Performer. (The type of accelerant use on fire batons.)

It then became a matter of which travelling circus it was. Unsolved police reports follow Augustine's Greatest Circus and their movements for almost ten years.

Conclusion. The travelling circus troop that used each other for alibis while systematically murdering those that had wronged them.

The only loose end is the flower.

Act 2, Scene 1.

I am constantly intrigued by the delicate intricateness of this case. Nothing is random, each deduction is an element of the puzzle that I can't quite place together. He hasn't given me all the pieces yet.

The criminal ineptitude demonstrated by Scotland Yard forensic Officers had this case first laelled 'suicide'. It is in face cold, planned and perfectly executed murder. Lance Peterson, 56 year old, violent alcoholic. Discovered hanged inside his own house. Evidence suggests he was taken by suprise and couldn't put up a fight, as demonstrated by the light bruising aroudn his wrists from cloth restraints. Upon examining the rope used to hang him I discovered traces of silk fibre, also that the rope was powdered and it smelt of our illustrious alyssum flower.

So far I've uncovered at least three distinct individuals party to the murder. The lithe man who stalked Simon Brown, as its likely there were more than one involved in the actually stabbing. Impossible to single out individuals at this stage. The strong man that hoisted Lance Peterson and left his footprint behind. And the woman with a silk scarf who tied the knot around his neck. There is of course the fourth party that I know is involved, but I shan't go into him here.

These two cases are linked. I ask myself what motive would bring together two crimes that are different in every aspect: victim, murder weapon, killers etc. There is no apparent reason or motive as to why both men were killed in these ways. The only thing in common is the small alyssum flower. It is my belief that there is an element hidden in the past of the two victims that will justify such violent retribution.

I can but await the next piece of the puzzle.

-SH

Red Rose

No longer bored, a new case at last. With the unmistakable flair of M.
Blood splatter in the shape of a rose. I'd be flattered, if I wasn't married to my work.
A 29 year old, recently engaged electrician. Engaged by the pressed state of his collar and hemmed trousers and electrican by the callouses on his hands.
A professional killer judging by the masterful strokes and stabs that severed the major arteries. No defensive wounds, so he knew his killer.
The body carries the smell of Alyssum.
I look forward to pursuing this case.

-Sherlock