I did not know that yesterday!

It was a slow day at the detective agency. We were about to catch some Z's when a question glided across our desks like an angel on cloud nine. A client wanted us to find the oldest cold case ever solved. He said it was dangerous work. "Dead links everywhere," he whispered. "What else is new?" we grumbled. Then, quicker than a
Brooklyn bookie collecting a debt, we donned our trench coats and began our investigation.

Google, our most reliable source, gave us results. All the cases were mustier than a grandmother's attic, but two stood out. The first involved a boy who police believed was murdered in 1933. Not so. According to current forensic investigators, the boy drowned. The original autopsy missed the mark -- and badly.

The second case took us back to 1930. Judge Joseph Crater went missing in the Big Apple and was never seen again. Investigators now believe they may have finally tracked him down -- buried at Coney Island, murdered by a corrupt cop and his cabbie brother.

So, are these the absolute oldest cases ever solved? Maybe, maybe not. In this business, nothing's a sure thing except danger, dames, and doubt.