Crime and Shoes
This was the Patron reward for September 2018 which means that this post is supported by my Patreon. It is also a reference to my Edwardian crime novel which features shoes, The Inexplicable Affair of the Mesmerising Russian Nobleman, available in paperback and for kindle, and also for other e-readers and formats.
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Never talk to the police they say. Though that makes for undramatic scenes. Unless, of course, the situation is set up so the tension is increased by the silence, and the questions asked are even more interesting than the answers.
That’s from a fictional point of view, seeing it through my crime-writer lens. There’s a more practical sense to it. You might not know you’ve done something illegal. Did the lift you give to a friend contribute to a crime? Does your garage they use for storage contain contraband? The tools you lent them to fix up their flat, the only one they could find in a hurry after the big bust up, were they actually used to break into a safety deposit box? So you should never talk to the police.
“Mr Willcox, would you care to explain this?”
I look at the first pile of books, detailing heists and robberies. I look at the second, the one with a variety of floor plans for old buildings and houses. The third with the catalogues of clothing from the very start of the twentieth century.
“I’m a crime-writer,” I say.
The Inspector shakes his head. “That won’t do. Not when the largest collection of Edwardian footwear in the country has vanished from your local museum, a collection that you have been to see no less than thirty one times. So I’m going to ask again.
“Where are the shoes?”
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Never talk to the police they say. Though that makes for undramatic scenes. Unless, of course, the situation is set up so the tension is increased by the silence, and the questions asked are even more interesting than the answers.
That’s from a fictional point of view, seeing it through my crime-writer lens. There’s a more practical sense to it. You might not know you’ve done something illegal. Did the lift you give to a friend contribute to a crime? Does your garage they use for storage contain contraband? The tools you lent them to fix up their flat, the only one they could find in a hurry after the big bust up, were they actually used to break into a safety deposit box? So you should never talk to the police.
“Mr Willcox, would you care to explain this?”
I look at the first pile of books, detailing heists and robberies. I look at the second, the one with a variety of floor plans for old buildings and houses. The third with the catalogues of clothing from the very start of the twentieth century.
“I’m a crime-writer,” I say.
The Inspector shakes his head. “That won’t do. Not when the largest collection of Edwardian footwear in the country has vanished from your local museum, a collection that you have been to see no less than thirty one times. So I’m going to ask again.
“Where are the shoes?”
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