Dear Jo,

Great, you’re still interested.

There’s just the matter of a little test. Did I not mention that? It’s not a trick. I need to check out all my recruits’ abilities. You may think you’re up to the job but this is whole mind thinking; using logic and creativity.

Mrs Partridge left her house one January morning at 7 o’clock. There’d been a recent spell of snow and lower than usual cold temperatures of minus9. She left the house, dressed appropriately for the cold weather. She wore duck down boiler jacket, over layered clothing, thick woollen socks in Magnum boots, fleece glove liners under ski gloves and a woollen hat. She had a small rucksack stuffed with her personal items.

When she saw the black ice on the slight incline, she decided to leave her car where it was parked, outside her house, and walked the 2miles to work. The weather had improved, as predicted, and though still cold, midges were seen hovering over shrubbery.

For Mrs Partridge, the day was uneventful until she reached home. She was found laid on her back, on the paving, round the back of her house. Unfortunately, she wasn’t discovered till the next day when the postman dropped off a parcel. She was dead.

She’d received a penetrating orbital trauma from a foreign body resulting in temporal lobe seizure, arterial trauma and brain ischaemia. Apart from some bruising, from her fall and seizures, there were no other injuries.

Her rucksack was against the unlocked, closed door where the key was in situ. She wore glasses but these were found by the door.

There was slight ground frost overnight and no ice formed apart from a small area near her head.

It was concluded that Mrs Partridge’s death was an accident. The foreign body, which would have been heavy, with a sharp point and smooth edges, was never found.

Ponder if you will, the Case of the Fallen Bird, (as I like to call it). What conclusions do you make of this case?

Yours

Swan