Episode 43: Still on Wall St

Philip was indeed surprised. Yes, Ulysses was a popular hanging spot for traders but as far as he recalled, none of the traders mentioned anything about Ulysses. A quick glance through his notes confirmed that. How on earth Blu knew that Bob Knoff used to hang out there? Blu noticed Philip’s puzzled face. He laughed out loud. ‘Kiddo, just go and talk to those traders. And I will explain all later, over a pint.’

Episode 42: Back on Wall St

Monday afternoon, just after the closing bell, found Blu and Philip outside the bank. ‘You go in, Phil’ Blu said. ‘Talk to those clowns and see what they have to say. I will grab a pint at Ulysses down on Stone St.’ Reading the disapproval on Phil’s face, he added ‘It is in the name of research, Phil. That was Bob Knoff’s local. Hit it for a drink or three every day after work.’

Episode 41: More corn syrup

‘Mother and father were killed in a freak accident 20 years ago. Apparently some truck carrying corn syrup crashed on the motorway and the Knoffs slipped on the spilt syrup, crashing into the river. Brake failure, it was. The boy was 8 or 9 then. Was brought up by his mother’s sister. Martha her name was. No last name, still looking for it.’

Episode 40: More deadends

‘That will be a tricky one, Philip. I am not sure if he was outted to his colleagues, but it never hurts asking. His neighbors might be able to shed some light into this. And have we made any progress on locating his family or relatives?’ Philip went through his notes in his little back notebook, the one he always kept in the inside pocket of his jacket. 

Episode 39: A mysterious boy

Blu stared at Philip for what seemed like hours. When he finally spoke, it was with a mocking tone: ‘What makes you think that Bob was in Magadascar with a girl, Philip? I never said anything about a girl’. ‘But Inspector, you said your friend met an American couple’. Philip paused for a bit, thinking. ‘Oh, I see! Now I get it!’ he finally said triumphantly. ‘So, how do we find Bob’s boyfriend?’

Episode 38: The girl

The Inspector looked puzzled. ‘The girl? What girl?’ Philip could not believe this. “The girl Inspector! Bob Knoff’s companion. You said he was with someone else there. Did your friend have any information on who she was? Her name? Where can we find her? We need to talk to her! There is no way to know what she might know about this nasty business…’

Episode 37: A picture is worth a thousand words

Suddenly Philip was excited. ‘You don’t say Inspector! How did you know?’ ‘I acted on a hunch, Philip. As you gain experience, you will be able to trust your instincts more. Showed Ted a picture of Bob Knoff and that was it. Same boy he was downing pints with in Madagascar.’ ‘And what about the girl, Inspector? How do we find her?’

Episode 36: The homerun

‘Buying vanilla pods, he was. Staying with some locals there, he was happy to run into an American couple at the neighborhood bar. Experiencing the local culture is all nice and dandy but you do need a couple of homeboys to cheer the Yankees on. Guess who he was watching last week's homerun with...’

Episode 35: Starbucks coffee. And banana cake.

‘I just had a quick coffee and banana cake with a buddy of mine turned pastry chef. My first partner, he was. He always had a sweet tooth. Makes the best darn cheesecake you have ever tasted. And an expert in this spices business. He can always tell you where to get the best cinnamon, the best saffron. The best vanilla pods. Why, he was in Madagascar a few weeks back.’

Episode 34: The Starbucks napkin

Philip decided to let the fact that Inspector Clouseau was not only a fictional detective, but also a bad one, go. Instead, he looked at Inspector Blu and said. ‘Point taken, sir. What next?’ Blue spent a few minutes digging into his beaten briefcase. He pulled out a stained Starbucks napkin and passed it on to Philip. On it, there were some scribblings, looking more than hieroglyphics than English.

Episode 33: Science schmience

Philip was mortified. ‘Sir, what if they mixed up the tests this time too?’ The Inspector did not seem too concerned. He just stared at the wall, past Philip, for what seemed like an eternity. He finally spoke: ‘Science schmience, Philip. You do not need tests to solve a murder. Did any of the great detectives have access to labs? Have you ever seen Inspector Clouseau hold a test tube?’

Episode 32: Economics

The Inspector gave Philip a stern look. ‘Come on, Philip, do not be a xenophobe. CFSL runs tests at a tenth of the cost of these fools here. Ok, sometimes mistakes happened. I remember a few cases back, we had this dude. Murdered, like a pig. So we sent his stuff over to India and what do you think they find? Pregnant, he was. Twins. Of course, we later found out that they mixed his tests up with this girl from Panama.’

Episode 31: Offshoring

The Inspector did not respond. Instead, look at Philip for what seemed like an eternity. He finally spoke ‘CFSL in India. Bright chaps but don’t try calling them. You are put on hold for at least an hour.’ ‘India? You must be kidding me! We are offshoring our forensic tests, Inspector? This is madness!’