Free Crown's Law by Wolf Wootan Page A

knee.
    “Hmm,” she mused. Then she continued, “Do you
know Boolean algebra, Sam? You know, the math of logic? It’s used
to design computers.”
    “No,” shrugged Sam. “Why? Do I need to know
it?”
    “No, but by now you know that I’m pretty good
at logic and I use it all the time. I’m going to give you a simple
example. Suppose you have a set that consists of only items A, B,
and C.”
    “What?” exclaimed Sam, mystified.
    “Strike that,” said Becky. “I don’t have time
to explain set theory to you. Let’s simplify it. Suppose your real
estate office has only three people: Mary, Helen, and John. Logic
says that if it’s not Mary and not John, then it must be Helen. If
not A and not B then C. Got it?”
    “Sure. I’m not an idiot! You’re just saying
that if Mary and John are innocent, then Helen is guilty. I don’t
buy it though. Something’s wrong with your math.”
    “My math is never wrong! But you’re missing
the point. Whenever you start with a premise, do the math, and then
get an impossible answer, then the premise is suspect. Maybe Mary
or John did it after all. Did you see Mary put the money in the
box? Maybe the fox is watching the henhouse.”
    “Yes. I watched Mary put the money in the
box. Then I turned on the surveillance camera and we both left,”
explained Sam.
    Becky pondered a moment, then said, “And the
tape didn’t show anyone taking the money?”
    “No.”
    “Can you see the office door on the
tape?”
    “No, just the desk area.”
    “Where are the camera controls?”
    “In a closet in the office,” replied Sam.
“Nobody knows about the camera and its controls except me and
Mary.”
    “Aha, Holmes! Something’s afoot!” exclaimed
Becky.
    “When did you find time to read Sherlock
Holmes?” laughed Sam.
    “I read the Complete Sherlock Holmes when I was 12,” she
responded with a shrug. “Do you have the tape here?”
    “Yes, but I assure you there’s nothing on it.
Just hours of a desk. What do you think is ‘afoot’?”
    “I’m not sure. I’m just readjusting the
premise. Is there any bad blood between Mary and Helen?”
    “I didn’t detect any—except the fact that
Mary is accusing Helen of this. Of course, I had a lot of
interviews to do and I might have missed something. Where is this
leading?”
    “If you are so sure that Helen is innocent,
then I’m going to propose that Mary did it and wants to fix the
blame on Helen. Mary thinks that since she hired you to find the
thief that she will be above suspicion. The problem is the tape. We
know the money was stolen, but the tape doesn’t show anything. The
tape is suspect. Do you have equipment here so I can look at it?”
mused Becky. “I have an idea.”
    “Sure. In the computer office. We can set it
up in there. But, I assure you, it’s a waste of time. Shouldn’t you
be studying?”
    “DUH! Sam, I study constantly. I need a
break. While you set it up, I’m gonna go get a another soda.”
    ***
    An hour later, Becky came back into Sam’s
office with a big grin on her face. He looked at her.
    “Well?” he asked. “Get bored looking at a
desk?”
    “No. I wasn’t looking at the desk. I know how
she did it, and when,” beamed Becky.
    “Stop messing with my mind, Becky!” exclaimed
Sam.
    “I’m not! Somebody took the money at about
1:16 A.M. this morning. I say it’s Mary, but we still have to prove
it.”
    “How do you know that?” asked an incredulous
Sam.
    “The time stamp on the tape. It took a while
to find it. I used fast forward and stared intently. There is a
time skip at 01:16:02 A.M. to 01:18:22. That means the camera was
turned off, then back on. Get the picture?”
    “Why, you little devil! I think I’ll put you
on the payroll! Now we need a way to catch her.”
    “That’s easy. Do what you do best.
Surveillance. Put in another camera that Mary doesn’t know about,
and put more money in the box. She’ll show up in living color!”
    ***
    Sam did as Becky