Question

Discuss the following elements of a detective or mystery story. 

• a mystery 
• strange happenings
• a smart detective who investigates the happenings
• a crime/possibility of a crime 
• preventing the crime and catching the criminal.
• characteristics of the victim 
• characteristics of the criminal 
• characteristics of the detective

Use the elements to prepare outlines of detective stories using your imagination. Write a story using any one of the outlines.

Answer 1

Outline:

• Disappearance of the 'Will'.
• Death of the head of the family.
• Wife and two sons left behind.
• 'Will' to be read before family members.
• The elder brother in charge of the 'Will' .
• He makes excuses of misplacing the 'Will' and shows the photocopy of the 'Will'.
• The family lawyer insists on the original 'Will'.
• The elder brother keeps insisting on having lost the 'Will'.
• Mr. Karamchand, a clever and intelligent detective called.
• The detective makes the necessary enquiries.
• The elder brother, a gambler, a revelation.
• The detective catches the elder brother in his own act.
• The elder brother owns up.
• The lawyer with the help of the detective prevents a big crime from being executed.

Caught in his own act

The disappearance of the 'Will' was a mystery in the Patwardhan family. The disappearance of the 'Will' came to light when it had to be read by the family members after the death of senior Mr. Patwardhan. Mr. Patwardhan had left behind a lot of property and wealth. Mr. Patwardhan had left behind his wife and two sons. When the family lawyer enquired about the 'Will', Mrs. Patwardhan said that she had given it to her elder son who had said that he would keep it safely. The younger son was unaware of the 'Will' made by his father. When the lawyer of the family asked him if he had read his father's 'Will', he understood about the 'Will'. When he asked his mother to show the 'Will', she said that it was with her elder son. When the elder son was asked about the 'Will', he started making excuses by telling he had misplaced the 'Will' and could not find it. The family lawyer insisted that the 'Will' be shown to the younger son. The elder son brought a photocopy of the 'Will'. The younger son and the family lawyer demanded for the original 'Will'. The elder son kept on making excuses and also said that the original 'Will' was lost. There was something in this situation which was a mystery. This is when the younger son hires a smart and intelligent detective, Mr Karamchand. Mr Karamchand makes a lot of enquiries and comes to know that the elder son was in the habit of gambling and was in a lot of debts. Mr Karamchand also came to know that the elder son was a very sweet talker and could twist and turn situations to his advantage. On the other hand, the younger brother was quite a simpleton who was happy with what he had, making it easier for the elder brother to manipulate him. Their mother being quite old, had bouts of memory loss. This was another good reason for the elder son to do as he pleased. Mr Karamchand very cleverly got the truth out from the elder son. Mr Karamchand informed the family lawyer, who in turn, demanded the original copy of the 'Will' from the elder son. The lawyer also told him that it was a crime not to show the 'Will' to the family members. The elder brother showed the 'Will' to the younger brother. The younger brother read the 'Will' and handed it to the family lawyer without suspecting anything. The family lawyer went through the 'Will' and found out that the 'Will' had been tampered with. The dates and certain words were changed for the benefit of the elder brother. After a lot of interrogation, the elder brother accepted the crime committed by him. The family lawyer rectified the changes made and now the younger brother got his share of property and wealth.