The stone of death

 US-Englisch:

The stone of death

By John Miller

Inspector Carter investigated the case of the murdered Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Michael Shark. After his retirement, the gnarled seventy-year-old had retired to his little house in the suburbs to dedicate himself to growing roses. He was also engaged in cataloguing his collection of pebbles and stones, which he had brought back from his missions from the coasts of the world.
Now Michael Shark was dead. Neighbors had last seen him in the garden on Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, when he didn't bring in his daily newspaper, they had now checked on Thursday. Neighbor Daniel Merriman had entered Shark's house with the key that Shark had left under a flowerpot next to the front door for emergencies. 

He was accompanied by Tony Winterbottom, Shark's neighbor on the other side. In the house, the two found Michael Shark in the living room, beaten to death with a pebble the size of a fist, which according to the sticker he had brought back from the Shetland Islands. The time of the crime was limited by the coroner to the Tuesday of the current week.
"When I met him Monday night at the garden fence, he said that his nephew Donald wanted to visit him," testified neighbor Merriman.
It was no secret that Shark had not gotten along with Donald. "He thought he was a failure," said neighbor Winterbottom. "And I remember seeing Donald outside Shark's house on Tuesday afternoon.
"I wanted to go to Uncle Michael, but I guess I wasn't there," said the nephew during the interview. "The curtains were drawn and the current daily newspaper was still on the doormat. So I left again."
"Did you know the hiding place of the house key?" Carter asked.
"The hiding place under the flowerpot?" said Donald. "Everybody knew about it. So any neighbor could have gotten into the house. And the stone from Uncle Michael's collection was the perfect murder weapon."
"Yes, Shark was proud of his stone collection," said Daniel Merriman. Tony Winterbottom nodded. "But he only ever talked about it, he never showed it to us. He kept it in an old cupboard in the living room."
This made it clear to Carter who had murdered Shark.

Solution:
Nephew Donald was the culprit. He knew that his uncle had been beaten to death with a stone from his collection, even though he had allegedly not even been in the house on Tuesday. 

Britisches Englisch

The stone of death

By John Miller

Inspector Carter investigated the case of the murdered Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Michael Shark. After his retirement, the gnarled seventy-year-old had retired to his little house in the suburbs to devote himself to growing roses. He was also engaged in cataloguing his collection of pebbles and stones, which he had brought back from his missions on the world's coasts.
Now Michael Shark was dead. Neighbours had last seen him in the garden on Monday. When he then failed to fetch his daily newspaper on Tuesday and Wednesday, they had now checked on Thursday. Neighbour Daniel Merriman had entered Shark's house with the key that Shark had left under a flower pot next to the front door for emergencies. He was accompanied by Tony Dearborn, Shark's neighbour on the other side. In the house, the two found Michael Shark in the living room, beaten to death with a pebble the size of a fist, which according to the sticker he had brought back from the Shetland Islands. The time of the crime was limited by the coroner to the Tuesday of the current week.
"When I met him at the garden fence on Monday evening, he said that his nephew Donald wanted to visit him," neighbour Merriman testified.
It was no secret that Shark had not gotten along with Donald. "He thought he was a failure," said neighbour Dearborn. "And I remember seeing Donald outside Shark's house on Tuesday afternoon."
"I went to see Uncle Michael, but I guess he wasn't there," said the nephew in the interview. "The curtains were drawn, and the current daily paper was still on the doormat. So I left again."
"Did you know where the house key was hidden?" asked Carter.
"The hiding place under the flowerpot?" said Donald. "Everyone knew that. Any neighbour could have got into the house with it. And the stone from Uncle Michael's collection was the perfect murder weapon."
"Yes, Shark was proud of his stone collection," said Daniel Merriman. Tony Dearborn nodded. "But he only ever talked about it, he never showed it to us. He kept it in an old cupboard in the living room."
This made it clear to Carter who killed Shark.

Solution:
Nephew Donald was the killer. He knew that his uncle had been beaten to death with a stone from his collection, even though he had allegedly not been in the house on Tuesday.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Deutsche Fassung

Der Stein des Todes

Von John Miller

Inspektor Carter ermittelte im Fall des ermordeten Kapitänleutnant der Royal Navy, Michael Shark. Der knorrige Siebzigjährige hatte sich nach seiner Pensionierung in seinem Häuschen im Vorort zur Ruhe gesetzt, um sich hier dem Züchten von Rosen zu widmen. Außerdem beschäftigte er sich mit der Katalogisierung seiner Sammlung von Kieseln und Steinen, die er von seinen Einsätzen an den Küsten der Welt mitgebracht hatte.
Jetzt war Michael Shark tot. Nachbarn hatten ihn zuletzt am Montag im Garten gesehen. Als er dann am Dienstag und am Mittwoch seine Tageszeitung nicht mehr hereinholte, hatte man jetzt am Donnerstag nachgesehen. Nachbar Daniel Merriman hatte Sharks Haus mit dem Schlüssel betreten, den Shark für Notfälle unter einem Blumentopf neben der Haustür deponiert hatte. Begleitet hatte ihn dabei Tony Dearborn, Sharks Nachbar zur anderen Seite. Im Haus fanden die beiden Michael Shark im Wohnzimmer, erschlagen mit einem faustgroßen Kieselstein, den er laut Aufkleber von den Shetland-Inseln mitgebracht hatte. Die Tatzeit schränkte der Rechtsmediziner auf den Dienstag der aktuellen Woche ein.
»Als ich ihn Montagabend am Gartenzaun traf, sagte er, dass sein Neffe Donald ihn besuchen wollte«, sagte Nachbar Merriman aus.
Dass Shark sich mit Donald nicht verstanden hatte, war kein Geheimnis. »Er hielt ihn für einen Versager«, sagte Nachbar Dearborn. »Und ich erinnere mich, dass ich Donald am Dienstagnachmittag vor Sharks Haus gesehen habe.«
»Ich wollte zu Onkel Michael, aber der war wohl nicht da«, sagte der Neffe in der Befragung. »Die Vorhänge waren zugezogen, und die aktuelle Tageszeitung lag noch auf der Fußmatte. Also bin ich wieder gegangen.«
»Kannten Sie das Versteck des Hausschlüssels?«, fragte Carter.
»Das Versteck unter dem Blumentopf?«, sagte Donald. »Das kannte jeder. Damit kann jeder Nachbar ins Haus gelangt sein. Und der Stein aus Onkel Michaels Sammlung bot sich dann ja geradezu als Mordwaffe an.«
»Ja, auf seine Steinsammlung war Shark stolz!«, sagte Daniel Merriman. Tony Dearborn nickte. »Aber er erzählte immer nur davon, gezeigt hat er sie uns nie. Aufbewahrt hat er sie in einem alten Schrank im Wohnzimmer.«
Damit war für Carter klar, wer Shark ermordet hatte.

Lösung:
Neffe Donald war der Täter. Er wusste, dass sein Onkel mit einem Stein aus seiner Sammlung erschlagen worden war, obwohl er doch am Dienstag angeblich gar nicht im Haus gewesen war.

John Miller:
The stone of death
© by author / R.Jahn
Translated be DeepL