A SAVAGE GAME
A. A. Milne
“Forget the detective story. I’m not saying that because I have written one detective story I am a good detective. What I do say is that any writer who makes his living by creative fiction is well fortified to do what your policeman have to do.”
“And what’s that?”
“Invent a story which accounts for all the facts and suspicions and discrepancies which the case presents. That’s our daily job, inventing stories; making a definite pattern of a number of incidents. Dammit, I could contrive some sort of story out of any assortment of facts: a spot of candlegrease, a badly sharpened pencil, a canary which wouldn’t sing any more and a man who went to bed one night in his wooden leg.” Even as he said this, Coleby began to wonder what the story would be. Better start with the canary …
. . .
