The Mona Lisa Caper – Two Minute Mystery

The Mona Lisa Caper – Two Minute Mystery
The Louvre’s director in charge, Théophile Homolle was pacing back and forth within his small disorganized office. With the setting where the Mona Lisa was once proudly displayed now empty, he wondered if the mystery of her disappearance would ever be solved. The whole country screamed with retribution and if the police didn’t start producing results soon, the whole of France would be screaming at him too!

Just as the director was about to pack up and leave for the day, the phone rang. He quickly slouched down in his chair, and picked up the receiver. [Read More ...]

Bonnie And Clyde – Infamous Criminals

Bonnie Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Barrow (March 24, 1909 – May 23, 1934) were notorious outlaws, robbers, and criminals who, with their gang, traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known nationwide. They captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is sometimes referred to as the “public enemy era” between 1931 and 1934. Though their gang was notorious for their bank robberies, Barrow preferred to rob small stores or gas stations. The gang was believed to have killed at least nine police officers, among several other murders.

Bonnie and Clyde were killed on May 23, 1934, on a desolate road near their Bienville Parish, Louisiana hideout. Below is a video that shows their death scene – Shot by an amateur photographer five minutes after the event.

After this film was taken, the bullet-riddled Ford containing the two bodies was towed to the Conger Furniture Store & Funeral Parlor. The firm was located on Railroad Avenue in downtown Arcadia, Louisiana across from the Illinois Central train station (which is now a historical museum containing Bonnie and Clyde artifacts.) Preliminary embalming was done by C.F. “Boots” Bailey in the small preparation room in back of the furniture store.[ It was estimated that the northwest Louisiana town swelled in population from 2,000 to 12,000 within hours, the curious throngs arriving by train, horseback, buggy, and plane. Beer which normally sold for 15 cents a bottle jumped to 25 cents; food quickly sold out.

Walkabout’s Bonnie and Clyde song with photos of Bonnie & Clyde

The Story of Bonnie And Clyde

You’ve read the story of Jesse James–
Of how he lived and died;
If you’re still in need
Of something to read
Here’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang.
I’m sure you all have read
How they rob and steal
And those who squeal
Are usually found dying or dead.

There’s lots of untruths to these write-ups;
They’re not so ruthless as that;
Their nature is raw;
They hate the law–
The stool pigeons, spotters, and rats.

They call them cold-blooded killers;
They say they are heartless and mean;
But I say this with pride,
That I once knew Clyde
When he was honest and upright and clean.

But the laws fooled around,
Kept taking him down
And locking him up in a cell,
Till he said to me,
“I’ll never be free,
So I’ll meet a few of them in hell.”

The road was so dimly lighted;
There were no highway signs to guide;
But they made up their minds
If all roads were blind,
They wouldn’t give up till they died.

The road gets dimmer and dimmer;
Sometimes you can hardly see;
But it’s fight, man to man,
And do all you can,
For they know they can never be free.

From heart-break some people have suffered;
From weariness some people have died;
But take it all in all,
Our troubles are small
Till we get like Bonnie and Clyde.

If a policeman is killed in Dallas,
And they have no clue or guide;
If they can’t find a fiend,
They just wipe their slate clean
And hang it on Bonnie and Clyde.

There’s two crimes committed in America
Not accredited to the Barrow mob;
They had no hand
In the kidnap demand,
Nor the Kansas City Depot job.

A newsboy once said to his buddy:
“I wish old Clyde would get jumped;
In these awful hard times
We’d make a few dimes
If five or six cops would get bumped.”

The police haven’t got the report yet,
But Clyde called me up today;
He said, “Don’t start any fights–
We aren’t working nights–
We’re joining the NRA.”

From Irving to West Dallas viaduct
Is known as the Great Divide,
Where the women are kin,
And the men are men,
And they won’t “stool” on Bonnie and Clyde.

If they try to act like citizens
And rent them a nice little flat,
About the third night
They’re invited to fight
By a sub-gun’s rat-tat-tat.

They don’t think they’re too smart or desperate,
They know that the law always wins;
They’ve been shot at before,
But they do not ignore
That death is the wages of sin.

Some day they’ll go down together;
They’ll bury them side by side;
To few it’ll be grief–
To the law a relief–
But it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.

Written by Bonnie Parker

The Case of It’s a Dog’s Life

So how are you finding our British weather?” inquired Constable Howard.

Detective Nose searched for something positive to say but came up blank – there had been nothing but gray drizzle since he arrived! And now, although he was supposed to be on holiday, his friend was taking him on a work trip to the scene of a death – as if Detective Nose didn’t see enough of them back home.

Luckily he was saved from having to answer as the Constable suddenly braked hard and swerved the police car into a gravel drive. “Jolly good, here we are,” he said happily. [Read More ...]

Case Of The Tough Break

Detective Nose once again arrived at the jewelery store, a route he has become rather familiar with for all the wrong reasons. The previous owner of the store, having being arrested for committing fraud, left the management of the store to his son. It was the store owner’s son that called Detective Nose into the store.

“Detective Nose”, said the young man, “I know that my father hasn’t been an honest person, but I assure you that I am trying to make amends for his tainted reputation.” Detective Nose examined the young man closely. Neatly and smartly dressed in a navy blue suit and matching striped tie, the young man was a stark contrast to his father, and looked every bit as refined and educated as a young person could hope to be. [Read More ...]

Case of the Missing Rings

Detective Nose entered the dark cottage and spied the distraught woman Ms. Lloyd sitting on her sofa by candle light. A uniformed Officer passed by and assured Nose that they would have the power on in an instant. Detective Nose then approached the woman and asked for her story.

“I was watching an old movie when the lights suddenly went out. Just then, I heard some strange noises coming from the bedroom. I got up to investigate when all of a sudden someone came flying out of the bedroom in such a rush that they knocked me down. Although I did not get a look at the offender, I did hear them open the front door and run out.. At this point, I crawled over to my desk and picked up my phone to call you people. When I got off the phone I lit some candles and checked the bedroom, that’s when I saw that my diamond rings were missing.” [Read More ...]

Pizza Shop Intruder – Dumb Criminals

This dumb criminal just can’t seem to get anything right!

The criminal tries to break in for an hour and then comes in through the roof only to leave with nothing all while on camera.

John Dillinger – Infamous Criminals

John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903–July 22, 1934) was a bank robber in the Midwestern United States during the 1930s. Some considered him a dangerous criminal, while others idolized him as a present-day Robin Hood. He gained this latter reputation (and the nickname “Jackrabbit”) for his graceful movements during heists, such as leaping over the counter (a movement he supposedly copied from the movies) and many narrow getaways from police. His exploits, along with those of other criminals of the Great Depression, such as Bonnie and Clyde and Ma Barker, dominated the attention of the American press and its readers during what is sometimes referred to as the public enemy era (1931-1935), a period which led to the further development of the modern and more sophisticated Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Robbery Career

Dillinger embraced the criminal lifestyle behind bars, learning the ropes from seasoned bank robbers like Harry Pierpont of Muncie, Indiana and Russell “Boobie” Clark of Terre Haute. The men planned heists that they would commit soon after they were released. Once Dillinger was released from Indiana State Prison at Michigan City, he helped conceive a plan for the escape of Pierpont, Clark and several others, most of whom worked in the prison laundry. The group known as the “first Dillinger gang” included Pierpont, Clark, Charles Makley, Edward W. Shouse, Jr., of Terre Haute, Harry Copeland, “Oklahoma Jack” Clark, Walter Dietrich and John “Red” Hamilton. Homer Van Meter and Lester Gillis (a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson) were among those who joined the “second Dillinger gang” after he escaped from the county jail at Crown Point, Indiana.

Among Dillinger’s more celebrated exploits was his pretending to be a sales representative for a company that sold bank alarm systems. He reportedly entered a number of Indiana and Ohio banks and used this ruse to assess security systems and bank vaults of prospective targets. Another time, the gang pretended to be part of a film company that was scouting locations for a “bank robbery” scene. Bystanders stood and smiled as a real robbery ensued and Dillinger and friends rode off with the loot. Stories such as this only served to increase Dillinger’s burgeoning legend.

Thong Robbery – Dumb Criminals

See what happens when two dumb criminals decide to try and rob a store using thongs as their masks! They also bring along a cute little pink backpack.

Commentry provided by some well-known comedians.

The Case of the Missing Paper

As I stood over Mr. Wentworth, lying on his desk, I asked the butler, Mr. Tanner what had happened.

“Well I was locking the front door when I first heard the voices from the library. I was surprised because I didn’t know that Mr. Wentworth had a visitor but just as I approached the library door …” [Read More...]

The Case Of The Convenience Store Robbery

Thank heavens you’re here!” exclaimed 17 year old Robbie, the clerk at the little corner convenience store where I often buy my morning coffee. I’d ducked in out of the rain to grab a coffee and muffin on my way to meet my niece Crystal before school. She always called on me to help when she had problems, and this one was a pretty small one – she needed to borrow $5 for a class trip.

The little store was warm and cozy despite the driving rain outside, and I was pleased to note that Robbie was obviously doing a good job of keeping the place neat and tidy. The floor was spotless, and all the shelves were neatly arranged. [Read More ...]

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