Some of the most famous detectives in the world are descending on Victoria.
“We’ve got Columbo here and we’ve basically got every decade covered,” says a participant on the Mortuus Detectives Victoria team
And of course the most famous of all — Sherlock Holmes.
“I received a call from my detective sergeant saying, ‘Sherlock, we need you down at the Bay Centre’ and of course I’m here,” a man dressed up as Sherlock Holmes explained.
There’s even a ‘Sherlock Hound’ detective dog in this crime caper, taking place in downtown Victoria on Saturday.
All the amateur detectives-for-a-day are sniffing for clues and trying to figure out ‘who done it’.
“It’s about two brothers who were murdered, who were gangsters found in an alley,” explains a woman in a cat costume.
“We’re going around trying to find witnesses and interview them and get facts about who might of done the crime,” adds a participant sporting a fake mustache on the Stash Patrol team.
They’re narrowing down the list of suspects and following online clues.
“The pink are ones we need to go and see and find out and basically like the Clue game we’re deducting who the murders are and what the weapon was,” says Jeannie on the Blast of Adventure team.
But instead of Colonel Mustard in the drawing room or Mrs. Peacock in the study, all of the suspects and witnesses in this virtual who-dun-it are on a phone app.
“There’s pin-mapped witnesses around town so you have to go to that spot on the map and it will ring and say you found a witness,” another Stash Patrol participant explains.
Dozens of teams are taking on the challenge and some are taking it pretty seriously.
“We’re steaming along really good and most of the people we’re leaving in the dust and we don’t even have a crime dog,” laughs Mortuus Detectives Victoria team member Don Marshall, who is also dressed up as Sherlock.
But in in the end, all that matters is cracking the case.
Tess van Straaten
