Sherlock Holmes’s power of deductive reason enabled him to glance at the dirt on a man’s shoes and connect him to the crime scene hence solving the murder.
Unfortunately, there’s a bit more to the painstaking science of Forensic Geology than Sherlock let on.
In the real world, forensic geologists identify, analyze, and compare trace elements of soil, rocks and minerals to elaborate topographic and soil maps and scrutinize samples beneath microscopes in order to determine with some degree of probability that Sample A did or did not originate at particular location. Hardly the riveting revelations that catapult a pompous suspect into a quivering tell-all confession, still it works for prime-time CSI investigators.
So how do you spin a yarn around rocks and minerals? You think like a Forensic Geologist in reverse. You plant a few grains of sand here, a smudge of dirt there, and lodge pebble in a tire tread just for the heck of it, sit back, and let Sherlock do the rest.
It shimmers. It shines. It's the stuff of old Western shootouts, get rich quick schemes, and ironic plot twists. Not gold, but gold's poorer cousin pyrite.
This sort of thing is not as improbable as you might think. The prospect of finding gold makes even the sanest of people jump to conclusions. A few years back while having his back yard excavated for an in-ground pool, my uncle thought he was sitting on a gold mine in the middle of Somerville, MA. Amongst the watermelon sized rocks and chunks of granite he spotted a slab of slate with dozens of glimmering golden cubes embedded in it. He snatched it up, tucked it under his jacket, looked to his right, to his left and made a beeline for the back door. Within minutes he was on the phone to my father, swearing him to secrecy and letting him in on what was undoubtedly going to make him a millionaire.
Still bound by his oath of silence, my father got off the phone and relayed the information to the rest of the family. Hearing that the Lost Dutchman Mine was found in Somerville and not Arizona's Superstitions Mountains caused my brows to rise. When the sample was described as having gold cubes everywhere, I began to laugh. My uncle was sitting on a gold mine alright - fool's gold. Not that a pyrite mine would be anything to sniff at. Find few hundred tons of the stuff and you'd be turning a pretty penny.
When the average person thinks of earthquakes, they think of California and the San Andreas fault. Those living in Massachusetts might be surprised to find that they may actually be sitting on what some claim is the largest active fault line in the world. It's believed that the Clinton-Newbury fault might actually traverse the Atlantic Ocean and meet up with the Great Glen fault in Scotland.
The world's largest active fault line, right here in N.E. makes a person think, especially a mystery writer. A significant earthquake would be a godsend when it comes to getting away with murder. What with all that rumbling and shaking a cinder block or two is bound to come crashing to the ground. Or maybe that bowling ball sitting on the top shelf of the bookcase. Why not atop the skull of someone who was just bludgeoned in one of my stories? When you think about it, what's one more dent?
If I had to choose, I'd say Galena is my favorite mineral. It's metallic, very heavy, and yet fragile. Coincidentally, it's also the murder weapon in a mystery I've recently completed entitled MURDER POINTS NORTH. Actually, it's the perfect murder weapon. A piece the size of an apple will crush a man's skull and shatter upon impact. Now there's a bit of information your average Rock and Mineral Guide won't include. Not that I condone the use of rocks and minerals in crime sprees.
©2008 S. A. Daynard