Sunday, December 4, 2016

"He Seemed Gifted with the Instincts of a Born Criminal"

ANIMAL SLEUTHS, especially cats, have been popular for years (TV Tropes). Here, possibly ahead of its time, is a story about a detective of the avian persuasion.

"Jim Crow—Detective."
By Stanley Edwards Johnson (?-?).
First appearance: The Black Cat, October 1898.
Short short story (6 pages).
Online at SFFAudio (HERE) (PDF).
"It's just for form's sake. I can't serve a process of law on a bird."
Our narrator learns just how true that old saying is about it taking a thief to catch a thief, even if in this case one of those thieves isn't human . . .
Resources:
- Apart from having authored seven short stories in ten years (FictionMags), Stanley Edwards Johnson must remain an enigma.
- Our "detective" in the story is most likely a paid up member in good standing of the species Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos (Wikipedia).

The bottom line: "The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it."
The Bible

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