TCoT+Sniffing-Sans-Snuffing+Sniper

The Case of The Sniffing-//Sans//-Snuffing Sniper by Mr. J.

“Win and you’re in.”

For both the Boston Bruins and the Montréal Canadiens, it was the night of game #82. This time, the stakes were as high as they could be during the regular season: the team that won would begin the Stanley Cup Playoffs within the week, and the team that lost wouldn’t play for months.

“Win and you’re in”, Patrice Bergeron repeated to himself as he entered the visitors’ locker room in the Canadiens’ home arena, //Centre Bell//. The Bruins’ assistant captain, and Québec native, went to the washroom to refresh his face after the bus ride from the hotel. Looking at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t help but notice the bizarre wallpaper behind him: it reminded him of breakfast when he was growing up, the scents of cinnamon and butter filling his childhood home.

It was then that Patrice noticed the single English word written on the wallpaper, which drove his glance to the flowers near the sink. He took one whiff of the //bleu, blanc, et rouge// assortment, then promptly collapsed onto the floor.

How can this story be told? It was none other than Inspector Winters and Dr. Haledjian whom the Bruins called to solve the mystery. While the medical staff tended to Bergy – he would be okay in time to play, in fact, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime – Dr. Haledjian paced about the room, inspecting the wallpaper, its writing, and the sink area.

“Maybe he just stopped to smell the flowers”, Winters joked, indicating the //fleures// //tricolores// that seemed so out-of-place in the bathroom of a hockey locker room.

Haledjian wasn’t joking when he agreed, “He sniffed ’em, alright; I can read the writing on the wall.”

//What was written on the wall, and how did it help Dr. Haledjian solve the crime?//