Surely, I must say that even with me being so young, I find this crime to be the worse case of my career. You see, I had called upon my friend, Edward Wilson one day in the month of January right after my school let out. Having nothing much to do, I traveled to his new lodgings a few houses away from the infamous 221B Baker Street, the house of the fictional Sherlock Holmes. Being replaced with a real pub named The Sherlock Holmes pub, I often found it interesting that my friend would move here.
Upon my entrance of his apartment, I was surprised to see a red poppy sitting in a vase on his dining room table.
“Ah yes” Edward spoke, “The red poppy. Such a beautiful flower but if you sniff it, you could die.”
“Why do you have this, Edward?”
“Why, that’s the key to my next case. You see, I received a notice today stating that there was a burglary at the local museum the…National Gallery.”
“What?!” I gasped, “You can’t be serious?”
“I am, my dear. Three pictures were taken right underneath the security’s noses.”
“What pictures?”
“Let me see, the Scream by Edward Munch, Starry Night by Vincent von Gogh, and a copy of the Mona Lisa by…”
“…Leonardo Da Vinci” I finished.
He smiled at me and nodded.
“Now, I told them that my assistant is an art lover and I have arranged for us to go to the museum. Now, if you want to come…”
“I do!” I cried.
Nodding, he pointed to the door.
“Well then, my dear; let us go to the scene of the crime!”
Grabbing his gray overcoat, he walked out the door and soon, we were in the storm of snow and ice.

After a few minutes, we arrived at the museum by cab. Police tape surrounded the entrance as he and I proceeded through.
“Mr. Wilson?” A security guard asked.
Edward nodded and bowed.
“H’llo, sir” The guard asked, “How’re you?”
“I’m well, how are you?”
“I’m good.”
Suddenly, his eye caught mine. At first, he seemed to be checking me out then, he was shaking his hand and telling me that his name was Craig. Edward smiled sadly at me and walked in.
“Come” Edward called, “Let us go in before the weather takes us all in.”
The wind began to blow harder as Craig escorted me in to the museum. Police officers crawled around the museum; each one paused for a moment to gaze upon the great detective as he scurried to a wing of the museum. Following behind, Craig (who walked with a slight limp) and I watched as Edward approached a lady who had blonde flowing hair and a face that seemed too made by the angels, themselves. She wore a blood red dress that sparkled in the light. Every man’s eye was drawn to her with the thought of lust, except Edward’s.
“Hello, Adriane.” Edward spoke.
The girl looked at him, bewildered.
“How did you know my name?” She asked.
“Very simple” Edward responded, “You are wearing a name tag that has name Adriane written on it.”
Giggling, Adriane nodded.
“What is the matter?” I asked, “Why is the police tape up and everyone so quiet?”
Edward shook his head at me and whispered the word: MURDER.
“One of our security guards was murdered” Adriane spoke, “Shame to, he was cute.”
Edward nodded and looked down the hall.
“I take it that he was shot in the face?” Edward asked.
Adriane nodded.
“How did you know?” She asked.
“I saw the pattern of the blood splatter” Edward responded, “Had he been shot in the heart, the blood would be everywhere, not concentrated on one spot on the opposite side of the body.”
Craig nodded.
“Yep, poor sucker got his head blown off” He said.
Edward nodded and looked away. Walking away from the hall, Edward looked at the security cameras.
“Who controls the cameras?” Edward asked.
“I do” Craig said, “But sometimes Ted will come in and let me have a break.”
“Who is Ted?” I asked.
“He is another security guard” Came the reply, “He and the dead one always had a personal vendetta going.”
“What was the motive?” Edward asked.
“Huh?”
“The vendetta, what was the motive?”
“They loved me” Adriane smiled, seductively.
Edward nodded and looked around.
“Did he control the night shift?” I asked.
“Yes” Craig replied.
Suddenly, Edward smiled.
“You did not need my help” He informed the others, “The murder has already been solved. Ted killed the other guard and then he stole the art and went home. Who reported the murder?”
“I did.” Craig said.
“Good man, has Ted called in sick?”
“No, but he said that he might be going on vacation soon. This is his first one in years!” Adriane said, excitedly.
Edward smiled and turned towards the exit.
“Have him arrested!” I proclaimed, running towards my friend.
“Thank you!” Craig and Adriane shouted, smiling.

Later that evening, Edward and I sat in front of his crackling fire with my parents.
“I’m proud of you, dear.” My mother said.
“Hmph.” My stepfather grumbled, “I could’ve done better.”
Edward sat in his large armchair, staring at the fire.
“Hey, Eddie” My mother spoke, “Are you alright?”
Edward shook his head.
“We missed a piece of the puzzle” He informed us, “That murder was too easy to solve. Something’s irregular about this case…”
“Stop it!” My stepfather snapped, “Just enjoy your freakin’ victory, okay?”
Edward stood up and paced around the room.
“Why did I receive a red poppy?” He asked, “Why did call me for a case that they could have solved?”
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Going to the door, Edward opened it only to find the police standing in front of him, pale as a ghost.
“Chief.” Edward spoke, “what is the matter?”
The police chief looked at Edward.
“Ted’s been murdered” The police chief informed us, “He was popped one in the head and…”
He held out a red letter.
“…this is addressed to you.”
Snatching the letter, Edward tore it open and began to read.

Dear Mr. Wilson

Thank you so very much for solving the murder mystery. I take it that if you are reading this then, we have left the country. The murder was very easy to pull off, after all I am the head of security in the museum. A single bullet to the head, just as you said but you missed the facts. We took the paintings after shutting the system off and then, we hid them under the pant legs of Craig, who you did not look at twice. The, we took care of Ted, who would have told you that he was released early by me. After that, we took off. I’m even surprised that you didn’t pick up on the fact that Craig was not giving much respect towards the dead man but anyways, thank you very much for helping us get home early so that we could pack.
Sincerely,
The Blood diamond (Adriane)

“I knew that something was missing!” Edward shouted, tossing the paper aside.
The police chief nodded and left. Edward leaned up against the mantle and looked at the fire. Laughing, my stepfather looked at Edward.
“The great detective!” My stepfather laughed.

I’ve only seen Edward cry twice in all my years with him and this was one of them. Tears quietly slipped out of his eyes as he stared at the flames.
“I can’t believe that a man died because of me.” He whispered.
“So” My stepfather asked, standing up, “Who’s big now? Who’s clever now? Huh?”
Edward looked at my stepfather with anger in his eyes.
“Get out.” He seethed.
Grabbing my mom forcefully by the arm, my stepfather led her and me out, leaving Edward to mourn the lost of the dead man.