Great news! Because of your help I was able to prove that the document that was originally attributed to Maureen had to have been altered, and in doing so I was able to devise a method in which it might have been done. It would be less obvious if inconsistencies lay in the specific financial information of a document, but even in the general information section, the background information about the country of Ireland, the information was blatantly false. It suggested that the document was almost blindly altered so that every instance in which a particular country’s name was provided it was changed to Ireland, and every time a particular name was provided it was changed to Maureen O’Shea. And though it seems strange it informed how such an alteration could have taken place.
The culprit here was none other than her rival Edmund Strauss, who showed Pierre the report in the folder as it was, unaltered since the day it was placed in the back up folder. However, Pierre saw the document before it was opened. Pierre turned away for but a minute or so, having been prompted to do so by Edmund, giving him the seconds he needed to change the subject of the document using this function called ‘find and replace.’ This way he replaced every instance of the word “Germany” to the word “Ireland” and every instance of the word “German” to the word “Irish” (I know it is Germany because I was informed only Germany was consistent with the general information). Finally he replaced his own name, Edmund Strauss, to the name of Maureen O’Shea.
Why did he do so? Simple – because it was his project that they were funding in Germany. Only he was not planning on investing; he was planning on embezzlement. And moreover in the process of covering his own crimes he also would get his business rival out of the way. So he altered information to imply that it was Maureen who misused the funds on a project in Ireland, not his own.
This was the information that I told her boss Pierre, and which was confirmed upon further investigation of the report. Maureen was quickly reinstated to her position (as long as she did not file for wrongful termination) and Edmund was promptly fired. When the boss asked me who I was, I replied, “Just a layman.” And I told him to tell Maureen that it was just a layman who came to her rescue; I thought she would appreciate that.
Sherlock Holmes
P.S. My next order of business is to come into contact with this Poirot. Any location suggestions on your part would be greatly appreciated.
Mr. Holmes, I know you want to meet Poirot, and we’ve found a perfect meeting place for you: Le Jules Verne. It is inside the Eiffel Tower, you can’t miss it. Now we should arrange the meeting with Poirot as well.
He has agreed to meet you on the following conditions: “we must agree on a single, public location, without weapons and dressed in clothing described prior to our meeting so that there is no chance that one of us may don a disguise and assault the other.” Seems reasonable to me. So, if you agree, please describe your attire.
And congratulations on your success! :)
Le Jules Verne seems reasonable; I have since been in contact with Maureen and she says that she has enjoyed her stays and is willing to give me some share of her compensation settlement to pay for the high priced ‘gastronomic’ dishes.
Tell Poirot that he can find me in a burgundy smoking jacket with dark pants, white shirt and black bow tie. If that is unsatisfactory, he may also recognize me by my newly purchased white meerschaum tobacco pipe.
I am very thankful that you are willing to do this. It simplifies our job immensely, and it comes at an opportune time; I’m afraid there are many other Persons of Interest that my compatriots are dealing with, and many of them are far less well-intentioned than you.
Here is a copy of Poirot’s message that he wishes sent to you:
“Let this Holmes as he calls himself know that I will meet him, if he agrees, at Le Jules Verne, and I will be wearing an offwhite suit jacket and pant with a light blue bowtie and a panama hat with the color matching the suit and the ribbon matching the bowtie. At my 5’4″ stature, plump frame and well groomed moustache I will be hard for him to miss!”
Good luck, and good day. I hope to be able to provide the good news that we have discovered a way to return you to your home very soon.
~Sicon112
I’ve noticed that I forgot an important detail – the meeting time! Silly me. Let’s set it to October 10th, 15:00, local time. Would that be OK?
Alright; I will make the reservation.
Well done on the case, Mr. Holmes! Another intriguing case finally solved!
I am incredibly overjoyed that you are on good terms with Poirot now- I hope you two will cooperate.
While you and Poirot are dining, I suggest you two talk about your recent cases. explain how you came into this world, and, I know that you may be relutcant to talk about this, but discuss about the Pieter Van Haeran case.
Good luck, and I hope you get home, and will work with Poirot in the future.
The Wild West Pyro
Congratulations on your case, sir.
I hope you won’t think me incredibly rude for asking this, and by all means feel free to ignore this comment entirely, but I was wondering if you might have more information regarding your arrival in this world?
We are curious to understand precisely how individuals such as yourself and Mister Poirot suddenly found yourself in this place, and precisely what the causes may have been, so we can predict further such events. Forgive me if you’ve been asked this, or explained as such before, but might you tell us the exact circumstances under which you arrived here?