Note: Last time Hugh chose a medium mystery.
The Case:
Inside the charred remains of an old, dilapidated boarding house is a grisly sight. The burned bodies of three elderly men and one middle-aged man are in the parlor. The middle-aged man has a bullet hole in his head, but none of the other bodies show any apparent sign of foul play.
The Mystery:
Who was the middle-aged man and why was he killed? And what role did the other three men play in the story?
The Solution:
Jake ran a boarding house. One day, his oldest tenant died just as he was signing his two retirement checks. After Jake cashed the man’s checks, a brilliant scheme popped into his head. He would put the old man’s body in his freezer and continue to pretend he was alive, forging his name to cash his checks every month. If investigated, Jake could thaw out the body and say the old man had recently died.
Before long, Jake was doing this for three deceased tenants, all of whom had died of natural causes and were preserved in the basement freezer. Then disaster struck. The son of one of the old men arrived on the scene. When the middle-aged man insisted on seeing his father, Jake panicked and shot him. His scam was over.
Hoping to hide his crime, Jake placed the three frozen corpses in the parlor with the man he had just shot. Then he set the whole place on fire, counting on the fire to thaw out the bodies.
Hint #1: The boarding house had a freezer in the basement.
Hint #2: 26.08.2020
Note:
You’re free to ask anything, (please keep it to one question a post for simplicity’s sake,) but Jurd can only answer your questions with:
- Yes
- No
- Yes and No
- Irrelevant
- I don’t know
- Rephrase your question
- Define what you mean by…
Disclaimer: Monday Mysteries are culled from the 1993 Milton Bradley game, Crack the Case – but don’t go peeking.
Skinner Co. makes no claim to the intellectual property presented here, we’re just a number of friends playing a board game in a digital living room.
Did the three elderly men die due to the fire?
No
Was Arson used to cover up a crime?
Yes
Was the middle-aged man in the parlor when he was shot?
Yes
Is it a funeral parlor?
No (good thought though)
Was the gun found?
No
Did the dead guy in the parlor start the fire before his death?
No
Was the dead guy in the parlor a zombie? It would explain the head shot….
Ha – someday, but not this time.
Were the old dudes murdered?
No
Did the old dudes die of natural causes?
Yes
Were the old dudes originally in the freezer in the basement?
Yes!
Was the middle aged man a resident of the the home?
No
Were the three older men residents of the home?
Yes!
Did the middle aged man shoot himself in the head?
No
Did the middle age man own the home?
No
Did the shot come from outside the house?
No
Did one of the old men have access to a secret treasure?
Nope
Did the old men live there before they died?
Yes
Was the middle aged man the proprietor of the boarding house?
No
Was the middle aged man related to any of the old dudes?
Yes!
Was the middle aged man killed by the proprietor of the boarding house?
He was indeed!
Aiming for the stands here…
The middle aged man was the son of one of the gentleman living in the boarding house. They had not had contact in a while, so he decided to check up on him. Arriving at the boarding house, he was told by the proprietor that his father no longer lived there and left no forwarding address.
The son didn’t buy this and returned while the proprietor was out. His search uncovered three dead bodies in the basement freezer and one was his father. He surmised the proprietor had hidden the men without reporting their deaths so he could spend their pension checks.
Unfortunately, he was caught when the proprietor came back and unwilling to have his scam uncovered, he killed the son and then staged the fire.
Wow, Joe – out of the park! You nailed it.
Solution posted shortly; easy, medium, or hard?
Thanks, JRD. Let’s try a… hard one!
Good job Joe!