Does this chimney have a flue?

Things aren't always what they appear to be. At a recent home inspection in the Fergus area the chimney looked to be in good shape.  The crown and the bricks looked fine and there was obviously a clay flue.  It could have used a rain cap but that is an easy fix.  Nothing too scary. 
What did I see when I looked into the top of the chimney? The picture on the left shows that I saw only this one flue section because there was only one.  This section was supported on top of 4 nails in the mortar joint of the bricks.  Below that there was nothing but the brick chimney walls.   I have seen a flue section supported on nails before.  I have a picture in my image gallery showing this.  http://www.kitchenerwaterloohomeinspector.ca/gap-between-chimney-flue-sections-found-during-kitchener-home-inspection.html
In that case it left a few inches of brick unprotected but this chimney doesn't have any protection at all.  Something that makes this find a bit more interesting is that as I was inspecting the rest of the home, a fire place inspector came in to do his inspection.  He recommended installing a metal liner to improve on the chimney but without it this chimney would be fine as well.  This inspector most definitely was more knowledgeable in the area of chimneys and fireplaces than I was but if you don't look, you won't see.  Here the "general practitioner" saw more than the "specialist" because the generalist inspected where the specialist just looked at the chimney.
Submitted by Bert, for Benchmark Home Inspection Services.  Your Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph and Orangeville area home inspector.