Dad Holmes

Dad Holmes

“Dad!” Lilly yelled from the kitchen, “Do you have the peanut butter?”

“No, I don’t,” Dad yelled back from the living room, where he was having his breakfast and watching the news.

Minutes later, Lilly stood at the living room doorway. “Did you use the last of it yesterday? I can’t even find the jar.”

Dad looked up, then smiled, “We have a mystery to solve.”

“No, Dad,” Lilly said, knowing her father only too well, “I only want to know if you used the last of it, and I need to buy more today. There’s no mystery here. I can stop at Higglibee’s on the way home. And I can have something else for lunch.”

“I did not use the last of the peanut butter, and Ted doesn’t like peanut butter.”

“Don’t start Dad,” Lily said, “you think everything is a mystery...”

“How can this not be a mystery? Here are the facts: You made a sandwich yesterday. I did not have peanut butter yesterday, nor this morning, and Ted doesn’t like peanut butter. Where’s the peanut butter?”

“Fine,” Lily said, resigning to the conversation, “What do you think happened to it?”

“Did you notice the jar being almost empty yesterday?”

“No.”

“So there was still peanut butter in the jar after you used it, and you put the jar back in the cabinet?” Lily nodded, “And, I didn’t use it and you didn’t use it after yesterday’s breakfast. Correct?”

“Correct. So what does that tell us?”

“Ted took it.”

“Ted doesn’t like peanut butter...”

“Yes, but Ted may have had another use for it.”

“Ted used my peanut butter in his squirrel trap?! I’m going to kill him!!!” off she stormed.

“Ah,” said Dad, smiling, as he relaxed back into his chair. “Sherlock Homes has nothing on me!”