The Old Man in the Corner

"There is no such thing as a mystery in connection with any crime, provided intelligence is brought to bear upon its investigation."An old man sits down at a table beside news reporter Polly and makes this startling observation at the beginning of this collection of twelve short stories. Throughout one may wonder what kind of background or education the nameless old man in the corner might have that contributes to his extraordinary abilities to solve such varied crimes. And more intriguingly what is the man's obsession with tying and untying knots?