english,
I received a peculiar invitation to a party to be hosted by a Mr. Snyder. This was written inside along with the address: “When all the facts are lined up, one truth will prevail.” Other than that, it was all blank. I nearly missed the date and time, which was today, four hours from now.
I hurriedly made my way towards the venue, which was located at an isolated plot of land at the edge of a nearby forest. ‘A mansion. Why am I even surprised?’ I thought to myself. It was a typical mansion in terms of size and structure. However, what struck me as odd was the lack of windows on the first floor. I knocked at the door and I was greeted by a young woman in a purple coat.
“You must be the ace detective. I’m Mia Fey. Nice to meet you.”
I was shown to the mansion’s mezzanine where other guests welcomed me.
After a bit of chatting, I observed the great diversity of people invited to the event. Tenjin-sama was an elderly Japanese man who was adorned with garments of a temple priest. The woman with golden hair and dressed in corporate attire was Ms. Schade, an aspiring lawyer. A slender man named Mouri sported a black trench coat and smoked near the entrance, and was an esteemed medical doctor. Lastly, Ms. Fey was a powerful spirit medium, or so she said.
A loud noise akin to that of a gunshot rattled the entire mansion. I found myself at the scene of a crime, where a young man in his early 20s lay dead in the master’s bedroom with a gun in his hand and a bullet wound on his right temple. As I scanned the area, I knew exactly that it was not what it seemed. The other guests arrived a few minutes later. Ms. Schade was the first to react to the sight of our dead host.
“Oh my god! That isn’t really…” she exclaimed whilst gasping for breath.
“Calm down. We have to contact the police right away,” I told my fellow guests.
Dr. Mouri Scoffed. “Good luck with that. It’ll take them at least half a day to get here,” he said. “Besides, why bother them over a suicide?”
“Suicide you say?” Tenjin-sama asked inquisitively. “You sound awfully sure of yourself, Mouri-san, when you haven’t yet to go anywhere near the body,” he continued.
The doctor raised his arms in defense. “I thought I was simply pointing out the obvious. A dead man with a gun, inside a locked room devoid of any signs of a struggle. It doesn’t take a lot to put two and two together.”
Ms. Fey seemed amazed by Dr. Mouri’s deduction. She turned to me and asked, “What do you think, mister detective?
“Well…” I say with a faint smile, “The man is half-right, to say the least.” Dr. Mouri shot me an irritated look, but I continued anyway. “You’ve indeed done a good job in stating the obvious: dead man with a gun, no struggle, et cetera. However, you missed a crucial piece of evidence that was right under your nose. Mr. Snyder was left-handed.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” the doctor interjected.
“Everything,” I said calmly. “Notice how he’s holding the gun. Now, I don’t think a man who is about to die would make such an effort. Ergo, this is no suicide, this is a murder!”
A collection of gasps and murmurs followed my announcement. The guests were even more uneasy than before. “It’s going to be okay.” I said, urging the guests to return to their rooms and keep their doors and windows locked. I heard a few complaints, but I didn’t think anyone would be willing to stay up and keep watch.
Midnight struck, and so did the murderer. This time, it was Ms. Fey, who was struck on the head by a miniature statue. My heart nearly stopped as she gestured towards me. She spoke as I held her in my arms.
“It all happened in a flash,” she said weakly. “I’m sorry…” she whispered as she passed away.
Soon after, the commotion gathered the guests back at the mezzanine. Everyone had grim looks on their faces, losing hope and worried if they’ll be able to get out of here alive. Dr. Mouri spoke first.
“Well? Are you going to do your job or what?” he asked angrily. “If you were any good, then no one should have died in the first place!” he exclaimed.
“Now, now, I know you’re doing everything you can,” Ms. Schade said. “But it wouldn’t hurt to finally catch this killer,” she continued.
Tenjin-sama stood up, much to everyone’s shock. “I may have an idea on how the killer did it.” Everyone’s eyes widened at his statement.
“There’s an old trick that creates the illusion of a locked room. Mr. Snyder unwittingly let his killer inside the room, who probably asked to talk. The killer then murders him with the gun and placed it in his hand to make the murder appear as a suicide.” Tenjin-sama pauses, and then continues. “The killer ties a long line of fishing string to Mr. Snyder’s keys and creates a line towards his pocket. After he goes outside and locks the door, he then pulls the string until the key is placed properly in Mr. Snyder’s pocket. “
Ms. Schade and Dr. Mouri were clearly amazed by Tenjin-sama, who just sat down to catch his breath.
“So, who did it Tenjin-sama?” Ms. Schade asked.
He hesitated and was unable to answer, turning slightly red.
“Sorry, Tenjin-sama, but that would’ve been impossible,” I start to say. “Mr. Snyder was lying on his back, and his keys were at his back pocket. Therefore, it would be impossible to use the fishing line trick. In addition to that, we must also look at the second murder, which was a direct attack on Ms. Fey. From this, we can see that the killer is the type to go at things head on.” I stop for a bit, as everyone’s eyes were now focused on me. “Here’s my theory: The killer enters Mr. Snyder’s room and shoots him on the head, just as he did with Ms. Fey.”
“But that doesn’t explain the locked room!” Dr. Mouri finally snaps. “I’m sick of listening to your nonsense theories! I had high hopes from your observations yesterday about the gun being on the wrong hand, but enough is enough!”
“Wait… that doesn’t add up. How did you know that Mr. Snyder was left-handed when none of us had seen him before?” Tenjin-sama realizes.
I let out a dark smile “That’s the point,” I say slyly. “There was never any locked room. You only assumed that I’d broken down the door to the master bedroom. And the dead man with the gun, he’s actually the detective, Mr. McArthur.” I could feel the tension rising as the guest’s hearts start pounding faster. “It was exactly as I said, I went into the room and killed the man, put a bullet in his head.” I paused just to see their faces, beaded with sweat and full of fear before I give one final confession:
“I am Snyder.”
Literary: Case Closed
I received a peculiar invitation to a party to be hosted by a Mr. Snyder. This was written inside along with the address: “When all the facts are lined up, one truth will prevail.” Other than that, it was all blank. I nearly missed the date and time, which was today, four hours from now.
I hurriedly made my way towards the venue, which was located at an isolated plot of land at the edge of a nearby forest. ‘A mansion. Why am I even surprised?’ I thought to myself. It was a typical mansion in terms of size and structure. However, what struck me as odd was the lack of windows on the first floor. I knocked at the door and I was greeted by a young woman in a purple coat.
“You must be the ace detective. I’m Mia Fey. Nice to meet you.”
I was shown to the mansion’s mezzanine where other guests welcomed me.
After a bit of chatting, I observed the great diversity of people invited to the event. Tenjin-sama was an elderly Japanese man who was adorned with garments of a temple priest. The woman with golden hair and dressed in corporate attire was Ms. Schade, an aspiring lawyer. A slender man named Mouri sported a black trench coat and smoked near the entrance, and was an esteemed medical doctor. Lastly, Ms. Fey was a powerful spirit medium, or so she said.
A loud noise akin to that of a gunshot rattled the entire mansion. I found myself at the scene of a crime, where a young man in his early 20s lay dead in the master’s bedroom with a gun in his hand and a bullet wound on his right temple. As I scanned the area, I knew exactly that it was not what it seemed. The other guests arrived a few minutes later. Ms. Schade was the first to react to the sight of our dead host.
“Oh my god! That isn’t really…” she exclaimed whilst gasping for breath.
“Calm down. We have to contact the police right away,” I told my fellow guests.
Dr. Mouri Scoffed. “Good luck with that. It’ll take them at least half a day to get here,” he said. “Besides, why bother them over a suicide?”
“Suicide you say?” Tenjin-sama asked inquisitively. “You sound awfully sure of yourself, Mouri-san, when you haven’t yet to go anywhere near the body,” he continued.
The doctor raised his arms in defense. “I thought I was simply pointing out the obvious. A dead man with a gun, inside a locked room devoid of any signs of a struggle. It doesn’t take a lot to put two and two together.”
Ms. Fey seemed amazed by Dr. Mouri’s deduction. She turned to me and asked, “What do you think, mister detective?
“Well…” I say with a faint smile, “The man is half-right, to say the least.” Dr. Mouri shot me an irritated look, but I continued anyway. “You’ve indeed done a good job in stating the obvious: dead man with a gun, no struggle, et cetera. However, you missed a crucial piece of evidence that was right under your nose. Mr. Snyder was left-handed.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” the doctor interjected.
“Everything,” I said calmly. “Notice how he’s holding the gun. Now, I don’t think a man who is about to die would make such an effort. Ergo, this is no suicide, this is a murder!”
A collection of gasps and murmurs followed my announcement. The guests were even more uneasy than before. “It’s going to be okay.” I said, urging the guests to return to their rooms and keep their doors and windows locked. I heard a few complaints, but I didn’t think anyone would be willing to stay up and keep watch.
Midnight struck, and so did the murderer. This time, it was Ms. Fey, who was struck on the head by a miniature statue. My heart nearly stopped as she gestured towards me. She spoke as I held her in my arms.
“It all happened in a flash,” she said weakly. “I’m sorry…” she whispered as she passed away.
Soon after, the commotion gathered the guests back at the mezzanine. Everyone had grim looks on their faces, losing hope and worried if they’ll be able to get out of here alive. Dr. Mouri spoke first.
“Well? Are you going to do your job or what?” he asked angrily. “If you were any good, then no one should have died in the first place!” he exclaimed.
“Now, now, I know you’re doing everything you can,” Ms. Schade said. “But it wouldn’t hurt to finally catch this killer,” she continued.
Tenjin-sama stood up, much to everyone’s shock. “I may have an idea on how the killer did it.” Everyone’s eyes widened at his statement.
“There’s an old trick that creates the illusion of a locked room. Mr. Snyder unwittingly let his killer inside the room, who probably asked to talk. The killer then murders him with the gun and placed it in his hand to make the murder appear as a suicide.” Tenjin-sama pauses, and then continues. “The killer ties a long line of fishing string to Mr. Snyder’s keys and creates a line towards his pocket. After he goes outside and locks the door, he then pulls the string until the key is placed properly in Mr. Snyder’s pocket. “
Ms. Schade and Dr. Mouri were clearly amazed by Tenjin-sama, who just sat down to catch his breath.
“So, who did it Tenjin-sama?” Ms. Schade asked.
He hesitated and was unable to answer, turning slightly red.
“Sorry, Tenjin-sama, but that would’ve been impossible,” I start to say. “Mr. Snyder was lying on his back, and his keys were at his back pocket. Therefore, it would be impossible to use the fishing line trick. In addition to that, we must also look at the second murder, which was a direct attack on Ms. Fey. From this, we can see that the killer is the type to go at things head on.” I stop for a bit, as everyone’s eyes were now focused on me. “Here’s my theory: The killer enters Mr. Snyder’s room and shoots him on the head, just as he did with Ms. Fey.”
“But that doesn’t explain the locked room!” Dr. Mouri finally snaps. “I’m sick of listening to your nonsense theories! I had high hopes from your observations yesterday about the gun being on the wrong hand, but enough is enough!”
“Wait… that doesn’t add up. How did you know that Mr. Snyder was left-handed when none of us had seen him before?” Tenjin-sama realizes.
I let out a dark smile “That’s the point,” I say slyly. “There was never any locked room. You only assumed that I’d broken down the door to the master bedroom. And the dead man with the gun, he’s actually the detective, Mr. McArthur.” I could feel the tension rising as the guest’s hearts start pounding faster. “It was exactly as I said, I went into the room and killed the man, put a bullet in his head.” I paused just to see their faces, beaded with sweat and full of fear before I give one final confession:
“I am Snyder.”
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