Planting Clues
When writers start planning their stories, they plant clues or items that the police and readers are searching for in different places. Sometimes, these clues are hidden inside something like bedposts, walls, loose bricks, etc. On the other hand, these clues are placed in the most obvious place to throw readers and the police off guard. The most obvious place is in plain sight.
The Purloined Letter
In the story, "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe, C. Auguste Dupin investigates a crime. The narrator and C. Auguste Dupin were sitting in the dark when Monsieur G --, the Prefect of the Parisian police, opened the door and entered. The Monsieur told them about the purloined letter that the minister stole and how they searched every place in the apartment but couldn't find it. He also mentioned how they took the tables and the bed apart to see if anything was hidden inside the posts or the legs.
This is an example of how the police were trying to think the way criminals think and where they might hide things. As a result, they couldn't locate the purloined letter. They didn't look in the obvious place, which was in plain sight.
Sometimes searching for things in places that are well hidden like bed posts or table legs might lead to the hidden item, but sometimes the documents or other items might not be there. Police investigators have to search all of the places they think a suspect would hide something as well as the most obvious places. That's usually where clues are planted.
When Dupin and the narrator searched the apartment, Dupin started using his way of thinking. He was trying to look in the obvious places - in plain sight. As a result, he didn't have to tear the place apart to find it. He found the letter in an obvious place.
Now, you'll have to read the story to find out what happened. I enjoyed reading this story and finding out how Dupin solved the crime. I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys reading stories by Edgar Allan Poe.
My View of the Story
What I liked about the story is the fact that it showed two different ways how investigations are conducted - by searching the whole apartment and by thinking things through and looking in the obvious places first. When Dupin started his investigation, he didn't have to tear the place up. He looked in the most obvious place first.
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