The Mystery of the Strawman

Horacio stepped around his desk and, from one of the drawers, retrieved a small, folded up scrap of dingy-tan papyrus. He unfolded the rumpled page and laid it out on the desk top. He leaned on his outstretched arms over the paper. “This is it. Read it and see if it makes any sense to you,” Horacio said to Jake. Jake stood up and also leaned over the desk scrutinizing the small scrap of papyrus. He read it out loud: Harbor. Fruit seller AA. Make contact. April 20. Strawman. Jake jolted straight up erect! “Strawman!” he exclaimed. Horacio jolted up straight, too. “Mister Jezreel! What does that name mean?” “Strawman is a criminal’s name out of my long ago past,” Jake exclaimed. “It’s a name that I thought had dropped out of sight! Now, here he is alive and apparently planning some action somewhere in this city. If Strawman is associated with this note, I’d bet my life he is up to no good.” “Who is this Strawman?” “I have never seen him or met him,” Jake said wagging his head. “He is a shadow man. My thought about him is that he is a pretend man. A decoy. He makes the police authorities suspicious of him through contrived evidence. Then he leads the authorities on a hide and seek chase, always insuring he is one step ahead but out of actual sight.” “But what is his purpose in acting this way?” a puzzled Horacio asked. “The best I can tell is that Strawman’s function is to be a diversion from the real crime. This seems to have been his function in a case long ago back in Jerusalem. He diverts the police by being very deceptive. While the police are sidetracked and distracted chasing this ghost, the rest of his gang pulls off their main criminal act. That may be Strawman’s function in this situation which is plotted out in this note. Since he has endorsed this cipher, he appears to be the boss. Mark my words, he is the cleaver master of diversion.” “So, if this Strawman person hides his evil deeds by subterfuge and diversion, maybe this note is a fake, meant only to lead us in the wrong direction,” Horacio stated. “That could be,” the detective mused. “He may be telling us to ‘look over here’ when his cohorts are really doing something over there,” the magistrate stated thoughtfully. “We might be chasing a shadow when the real crime is occurring elsewhere. That note could be a fake and it could have been dropped on purpose to lead us on a wild goose chase!” “Very good point, sir,” Jake said. “The only clue we have is this note. It may be a fake. But it’s all we have to go on. All I can do is play a hunch and say that the note is legit for now. The reason I say that is, the statements in the note are a disjointed riddle. Only the criminal, knowing the code, could understand the fragmented parts of the riddle. We should follow-up on the details of this note. I’ll keep in mind that we are dealing with the Strawman. Any of these tantalizing clues may be as bogus as a lead denarius.” “You are the detective, Mister Jezreel,” the magistrate stated. “I trust your judgment in this matter. So, what do you make of the contents of the note?” “They are like puzzle pieces. And an incoherent puzzle at that. Like this date. Any significance?” “The note mentions April 20. April 20 is today,” Horacio stated. “What is the significance of April 20?” Jake asked. “April 20 is today, the day before we celebrate the Roman holiday of Parilia on April 21, the greatest Roman holiday of the year!” Jake flinched, standing bolt upright. “What?” he exclaimed. “This note refers to today?” The detective anxiously began to pace the floor. “This changes everything! We don’t have a minute to lose!” Jake stated. “Why do you say that?” the magistrate exclaimed. “The note says to make contact on April 20,” Jake stated as he continued to pace the floor. “The note tells us that contact will be made today. Contact at the harbor? Contact with Fruit Seller AA? It’s hard to tell. And who is to make contact with whom? One thing is for sure, the fact that Strawman is involved shows there is some kind of nefarious action planned for some time after the contact has been made. My hunch is that the planned crime will occur during your Roman holiday Parilia tomorrow.” “What!” shouted the magistrate. “It can’t be! No, no, no! Tell me this is not happening!” “The note clearly says that the contact is to be made today, the 20th” Jake said looking Horacio straight in the eye. “This Roman holiday, Parilia, is the perfect diversion for criminals to cover their evil crimes.” “What can we do?” fretted the magistrate. “What can we do? We cannot cancel the holiday! The festival plans are already in motion and the city is totally geared up for this annual celebration. And we don’t even know what threat we are facing or where it might occur!” Jake leaned over the mysterious note one more time, propping himself on his arms outstretched on the desk. “Let me see. The note mentions the harbor and it also mentions making contact with a fruit seller on April 20, the day before the Parilia festival begins. With your permission, sir, I can start my investigation with these two clues and see what I can uncover.” “Yes! Yes! Please do,” the frantic magistrate pleaded. “Whatever your fee, I’ll pay it. Please help us! The celebration is too important to the city of Caesarea to have it destroyed by a tiny gang of evil men.” “It will be my pleasure,” the detective replied. “I want to meet this Strawman face-to-face. He is a criminal who got away from me years ago and I want to put an end to his evil ways.”