Agatha Christie: The Case of the Missing Lightbulb

A curious thing has happened. A lightbulb has gone missing. Not the most dramatic of crimes I agree, but still confusing enough to have my little grey cells working overtime trying to figure it out. It all started on Wednesday when I returned from the cricket...

...now I admit I was a little worse for wear. Memory from the moment I stepped onto the bus home to the moment my pizza turned up is a little hazy, but I was still at a loss to explain where the hall lightbulb had vanished to.

Ok, the full story. I returned from the cricket just after 9pm and entered my flat. I do remember a lightbulb 'blowing' when I flicked on the switch sometime that night, but for the life of me I can't remember which one. The rest of the evening was just taken up with ordering pizza, eating pizza, watching TV and sleep.

Ok, jump forward to today, Sunday. I get up very early this morning to visit the bathroom and turn on the hall light. Nothing. Ah ha! I've found the blown bulb. It must have been the hall light that expired and now I can buy a replacement one. That would make sense too. I wouldn't have needed to turn on the hall light between Wednesday and today, so all is explained. All I need to do now is take out the old one, check if it's a bayonnette or screw fitting and I can buy a replacement....

....but the bulb isn't there. The hall light didn't come on because there is no bulb in the socket. Nothing. That really knocked me for 6. (sorry for the cricket pun!) Where had the bulb gone?

First thought. Maybe I took it out in my hazy state on Wednesday when it blew. That would mean the old bulb is sat on the dining table or is in the kitchen bin...... nope. The old bulb is nowhere to be found.

Second thought. The landlord has been round uninvited. No, too far fetched. He would phone first, and even if it was him, why remove a single lightbulb?

Third thought. Burglars. I have been worried about the lack of post recently. Has someone got unauthorised access to my flat and is stealing my mail? Surely not. Why steal a single lightbulb too?

Final thought (and the real answer). Last Wednesday it wasn't the hall light that broke, it was somewhere more vital. My bedroom. With the curtains drawn it can be pitch black in there, and my floor is a death trap of video cases and dirty laundry at the moment. Having no spares I 'borrowed' the hall light to replace the broken one knowing the hall one was less vital. My intention must have been to replace the hall bulb the next day - but by the time I woke the next morning all memory of the bulb swapping had been erased. It was only finding an empty socket this morning that set my brain in motion. Want to know how I knew this was the solution to the puzzle? Well I'll tell you anyway...

......The bulb in my bedroom had finger marks made from tomato and herb sauce on it which can only have come from my Wednesday night pizza. I knew I must have handled it shortly after handling my pizza. For the Poirot's or Marple's amongst you, you may be wondering what I did with the old bedroom bulb....

.....it was inside the old pizza box waiting to go out with the rubbish :o)