Three Police Officers chapter 1

One day, three young men in police uniforms entered a bar abroad. One was thin, one was fat, and one was tall. They were quite eye – catching. As they sipped their drinks, they loudly shared their experiences of solving cases.

The thinnest young man, his face flushed from the alcohol, said proudly, “I’m Officer John. I just solved a strange case in the city center recently. Although it seemed simple, I’m sure an ordinary police officer couldn’t have cracked it.”

The charming bar – owner couldn’t hold back. “Hey, don’t be so cocky. What kind of case is it that others can’t solve? Tell us. If no one here can solve it, I’ll treat you to a free glass of whiskey. But if someone can, you’ll have to pay me for two glasses!”

John glanced at the bar – owner and agreed. Then he turned to the other customers and said, “Everyone, be our witnesses. No backing out later!” Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, John began his story with a smug look.

“One morning, I was on duty at the police station alone. Suddenly, I got an emergency call from a watch repair shop in the city. The caller said someone was trying to rob their most precious watch. Before the call ended, the line went dead. I quickly hopped on my motorcycle and rushed to the scene. As soon as I entered the shop, I saw several salespeople lying in pools of blood. The shop – owner was lying beside the counter, his head bleeding. He weakly raised his arm and pointed south, saying, ‘Officer, the robber ran that way. He stole my family – heirloom watch!’ Seeing how badly he was injured, I picked up my walkie – talkie and asked the captain to send an ambulance. But the captain said it would take half an hour to arrive. Instinctively, I asked the shop – owner what time it was. He looked at the watches on the wall and told me it was 10:10. As soon as he said that, I put away the walkie – talkie, drew my gun, and pointed it at him… It turned out that he was the robber. He had killed the real shop – owner and hidden the body under the counter. He rummaged around for a long time to find the precious watch. Before he could escape, I cornered him in the shop. So he hit his own head to pretend to be the injured shop – owner! Do you know how I figured out he was faking it?”

As soon as John finished, people started discussing. The bar – owner thought for a while and asked tentatively, “Did you notice the precious watch on his wrist when he raised his arm?” John smiled and shook his head. “He didn’t wear the watch on his hand. I found it on him later!” Others also offered some explanations, but they didn’t hold water. So the bar – owner said, “Tell us the answer. If it doesn’t convince us, you’ll be punished!”

John said confidently, “No problem. If I can’t convince you, I’ll admit defeat!” Then he continued, “The problem was when I asked him the time, and he said 10:10. That was his mistake. When I was a kid, there was a watch repair shop next to my house. All the watches there were always set at 10:10. You can go to a repair shop or a watch store to check. Watch – makers believe that 10:10 in the morning is the most beautiful time of the day. At this time, the hour hand and the minute hand form a ‘V’ shape, which watch – repairers think symbolizes victory. It’s a common practice in watch shops. This robber was clearly an amateur. He saw all the watches on the wall showing 10:10 and just blurted it out, which gave him away.”

After hearing John’s explanation, everyone nodded in agreement. The bar – owner had no choice but to pour a glass of whiskey for him for free.

At this time, the fat young man saw John enjoying his whiskey smugly and couldn’t sit still. He said to the bar – owner, “I’d also like a glass of whiskey. I’m Officer Henry from London. Now I’ll tell you about a case I solved. The rules are the same as before, okay?” Everyone was hooked, and the bar – owner readily agreed.

So Henry began his story slowly. “One night, I was on duty alone. I got an emergency call. A wealthy lady had died at home. The caller was her maid. I rushed to the scene immediately. When I arrived, I was shocked. A fat woman was lying dead on a big sofa. It was a gruesome sight. Her tongue was sticking out, and there were deep marks on her neck, as if she had been strangled with a rope. There was a cat meowing around the body. I searched everywhere for clues left by the killer, but the killer was very cunning. There were no fingerprints, only a faint footprint. But since it was in the cat’s urine, it was hard to make out the shape. The maid was crying and told me that she found the lady dead when she called her for dinner. The lady loved this cat and did everything with it. I asked the maid if the footprint was hers. She kept shaking her head, saying that she called the police right away after finding the body and didn’t step in the cat’s urine. As I walked around the room, I noticed a mosquito – killer lamp on the windowsill. Suddenly, I had an idea. I turned off the lights, picked up the mosquito – killer lamp, and shone it around the room. Then I grabbed the maid and accused her of lying. Later, with solid evidence, the maid admitted that she was the killer. Can you guess how I knew she was lying?”