CID: Top Detective Contest

Posted: 16 years ago

I have a new, unique contest for all you CID fanatics!  It's inspired from "Clue" books that I used to read years ago.  I have posted a story of a murder below and your goal is to determine who committed the murder and what the weapon was.  All the clues are there…all you have to do is read carefully and think logically.  There are no tricks.  If something seems too obvious, it's probably because it's meant to be that way.  For example, if I mention someone sneezing, you can deduce that it's the suspect with allergies. 

Hope you enjoy the contest!  Contestants with the correct answers will be recognized as "Top Detectives" and will win a siggy prize.  So what are you waiting for!  The clues are right in front of you.  Get cracking!

Please PM answers to SuhanaSafar with the subject heading "Top Detective".  The last date to submit is April 16th.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

CID Officer Abhijeet is organizing a birthday party for his younger sister Maya.  Of the invited guests, five are coming in from out of state to attend the party and thus will need accommodations for the night.  Abhijeet has talked to each of them and requested them to stay at his home.  Along with Abhijeet, Maya and the five guests, the maid will also be spending the night at the house.  Although these six people (five guests and the maid) are friends of Abhijeet, he doesn't trust them when it comes to money.  Each of them is greedy and would do go any length to obtain some extra cash or valuables – even commit murder.  Here is a short description of each of these suspicious characters:

 

Dr. Anand: A snobby woman who lives in Delhi with her husband and two children.  She and her husband are both surgeons, and they take pride in their gigantic mansion and lavish lifestyle.  Her family was too busy to attend the party, but she needed a vacation so she took the time to come.

Miss Bhatia: A college student studying Hindi in Agra.  She gives the impression of being a quiet, thoughtful woman, but the thoughts running through her mind would shock even the boldest of people.  She suffers from terrible allergies from just about everything, and barely a minute goes by when she's not sneezing.

Mrs. Chatterji: Abhijeet's maid who came to Mumbai from Calcutta two years ago.  Although she's very good with completing the household chores, her intentions are unpredictable.  She's a nosy woman who closely watches everything going on in the house.  Small valuables often go missing, and Abhijeet suspects Mrs. Chatterji, but he's waiting for solid proof before dismissing her from her position.

Professor Jaitley: He used to be a professor at Madras University until his retirement two years ago.  He's a widower who has an awful short term memory and often forgets where he put his glasses and other possessions.  However, one thing he never forgets is where he has hidden the hordes of money that he obtained through corrupt means.

Mr. Khan: A shrewd businessman from Ahmedabad who would anything to outcompete his competitors.   The employees of his company respect and fear him.  He is clearly a formidable man, but if rumors are true, there is someone who he fears and takes order from: his wife.

Mr. Lakhani: A man from Bhopal, who earns his living by working as a clerk at a bank.  Although his life is ordinary, he has big dreams of becoming a stuntman for films.  To satisfy his daredevil tendencies, he races motorcyles and dresses like a gangster.  Whenever he's not at work, he can be seen wearing a red bandana on his head.

 

Abhijeet knows that there are exactly four items in his house that can be used as weapons.  He is trying to keep them all hidden, but still fears that his guests might find them and use them if they have a motive.  These weapons are: his revolver, a kitchen knife, a rope, and a lead pipe.

 

STORY

 

After the party, Abhijeet, Maya, and the five suspicious guests were resting in the family room while Mrs. Chatterji cleared the dishes from the dining table. 

"Maya dear," Miss Bhatia began, "where did you get the exquisite necklace?"

Maya smiled as she gently touched her neckline.  "It's a birthday present from Bhaiyya."

"Those crystals are beautiful," Mr. Khan added, putting on his glasses to get a closer look.

"Oh they're not crystals," Maya explained.  "They're diamonds."

Mrs. Chatterji abruptly stopped her work.  All the guests stared at the necklace with large, covetous eyes.  Abhijeet sighed.  He wished his sister hadn't given away the necklace's worth.  Now he would have to be extra cautious about keeping her safe.

"I think we should all head to bed now," Abhijeet said.  "It's late and it has been a long day."

Professor Jaitley shook his head sadly.  "I've had insomnia for two days now.  I hope I'll be able to sleep tonight."

Dr. Anand turned to him.  "I have a medication that might help you."  She stuck her hand into her purse and pulled out a bottle of pills. 

Professor Jaitley eagerly accepted the medication and within minutes began to feel drowsy.  Mr. Khan and Mr. Lakhani had to help him to his room. 

After Professor Jaitley was fast asleep in the room, Mr. Lakhani looked at the medication bottle.  "This is strong stuff!  It says that it typically keeps the patient asleep for 12 hours."

Dr. Anand shrugged.  "He said he needed sleep."

Mr. Lakhani took Dr. Anand's left hand and examined the ruby ring on her middle finger.  "That's quite a stone you have."

"Don't even think about it," she replied slyly.  "My fingers have swollen over the past few months, and it's stuck tight.  You wouldn't even be able to pry it off with a crowbar."

Mr. Lakhani laughed, as if the idea of him wanting to steal the ring were the most absurd thing he had heard in his life.  Then he turned and walked defeatedly up to his room on the third floor.

Ten minutes later all the guests and Mrs. Chatterji were settled in their individual rooms.  Abhijeet walked Maya to her room and told her to lock her door securely.  Then he retired to his own room.

Abhijeet was certain that someone would try to steal his sister's necklace, so he had tightened the security at the house.  The hallways had microphones installed so Abhijeet could hear all movements and conversations.  Maya's room not only had a microphone but also had a video camera overlooking her bed.  Abhijeet was taking no chances with his sister's security.  Unfortunately, the audio system had been slightly damaged and would change the frequency of all sounds.  So although Abhijeet could interpret any conversations he heard, he would not be able to distinguish whose voices they were. 

As he was washing his face, Abhijeet heard the first sounds of the night.  Someone was opening the door of a room and sneaking into the hallway.  Abhijeet put his ear to the speaker and listened carefully.  A few seconds later he heard a succession of sneezes from the guest in the hallway.  Then he heard another door open and a second guest entered the hallway.

"Oh, so you think you're brave enough to stab me?" one of the two guests said.  Then there was a scream and a thud as someone fell to the ground.

A laugh was heard.  "Of course I'm brave enough.  And I'm a lot smarter than you.  Maybe if you had taken your allergy medicines, you could have sneaked by without being noticed."

The guest continued to walk down the hallway.  Another door opened and a third guest entered the hallway.

"What are you doing leaving your room this late?" the second guest asked the third.

"I could ask you the same question.  You're the one who's wandering the halls.  What would your wife say if she knew were sneaking around like a thief at your friend's house?"

"Don't give me that!  I'm not afraid of my wife."

"Well, you better be afraid of me," the third guest challenged.  A gasp was heard followed by sounds of a choking and struggle.  Finally there was a silence.  A few seconds later, the third guest began to walk down the hallway. 

Another door opened and a fourth guest entered the hallway.  "I should have known it was you sneaking around," the new entrant said to the third guest.  "But I don't think you're as brave as you think."

"Try me," the third guest contented.

"Sure I will.  But first take off that ridiculous bandana.  I don't know why you insist on wearing it all the time."

Abhijeet heard a struggle and after a few seconds a gunshot rang out.  One of the two fighting guests fell to the floor, and the other rose slowly.  "I guess I'll take the bandana off for you," the surviving guest  said.

Abhijeet was shocked.  Gunshot sounds could mean only one thing.  Someone had stolen his revolver.  He stayed quiet and listened, certain that the thief would not be able to get into his sister's locked room. 

The sound of metal hitting the floor was heard and the thief cursed in frustration.  "Ugh, it went under the couch!  I can't believe I lost my weapon.  Oh well, I know where there's another one."

Three weapons had already been used, and the thief knew where the fourth one was!  Fearful, Abhijeet turned the surveillance television towards himself and saw Maya sleeping peacefully.  He watched her for a full minute.  Relieved, he was about to turn the other way, when a shadow on his sister's bed caught his eye.

Someone was in the room!  But how?!?!  Abhijeet rose out of his chair and ran towards the door to save his sister.  But before he reached the door, he heard a blood curdling scream and a thud.  As he turned towards the television, he saw his sister lying in a pool of blood on her bed with a hooded figure standing above her.  The hooded figure reached over to the side table and picked up the diamond necklace.

"It's all mine!" the murderer said, placing the necklace in a coat pocket.  "And while I'm at it, I'll take your lovely ring too."  Taking the ring from Maya's finger, the murderer placed it on the middle finger of his or her left hand.  "A perfect fit!"  And with those words, the murderer ran out of the room.

 

Who was the murderer, and what was the weapon?

 

Edited by SuhanaSafar - 16 years ago
Posted: 15 years ago
AMAZING!!!will take part for sure πŸ˜ƒ πŸ˜ƒ
luvv the write up suhana...good jobb
and the contest is definetely unique.. πŸ‘ πŸ‘
Posted: 15 years ago
wow!...
after reading that..i was confused!..nice work πŸ˜ƒ
Posted: 15 years ago
You know what, this contest is soo unique and interesting that I'm making this a GA.

Will definitely try to participate :) Thanks Suhana.
Posted: 15 years ago
Its an awesome contest will surely participate and try to figure out the culprit..πŸ˜ƒ
Posted: 15 years ago
hey awesome contest...even tough for CID yaar
Posted: 15 years ago
I will for sure participate..This is very very very unique 😳 πŸ˜ƒ
Posted: 15 years ago
I was so surprised to find three pms sent to my box within the last hour with answers to this contest. And now I know why. Thanks Anastacia for making this a GA! πŸ€—

I hope you all enjoy solving the puzzle!
Posted: 15 years ago
Interesting contest...I'd love to try! 😊
Posted: 15 years ago
Has anyone given the corect answer yet???

If not only then i'll try n read the whole story n give answer... πŸ˜† 😳

Just kidding...lemme try my hand out at this...😈

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