So the hair was from the victim, too. The evidence so far placed Drudge and Strine at the scene of the crime, but didn't advance the case any. I already knew that they were present in Conwell's kitchen the day before his murder. Still, there was something fishy about one of the results, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
Then I had it - the hair didn't match Sidney Strine, but it should have! Strine was Conwell's nephew, his sister Agnes' son. So Sidney should have the same mitochondrial DNA as his mother and his Uncle Morrie. But Sidney Strine's mitochondrial DNA was different.
First thing this gumshoe did was put in a call to Australia. I dug up some of Strine's records and found out that Sidney Strine was not adopted. Furthermore, I learned that the real Strine had disappeared from his home three months prior to Conwell's death. Our man here who, it turns out, is really named Feldman Plumb, had shown up on Conwell's doorstep planning to claim kinship with him and get in on the lucrative sponge business. But his plans had gone awry when Conwell unmasked him as an imposter and threatened to go to the authorities. Plumb had attacked Conwell to cover up Strine's murder, then coolly claimed his inheritance. Though Conwell had left no will, Plumb won't get a penny of his fortune, since he is currently sitting in a jail cell.
Another crime solved, another slime bag put away with DNA, that's what I'm here for. Jake Nibbler, bidding you fairwell.
