Brain Teasers
Disappearance of the Wife
Mystery
Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.Mystery
Detective Ultimatecub had been called to investigate the disappearance of a woman called Jane Smith.
He knocked on the door of the house she had been living in with her husband. Peter Smith answered.
'Thanks for coming, Detective. My wife went missing today. I noticed a few weird things around the house, but I left everything as it was for your arrival. Nobody else lives in the house.'
Ultimatecub was led to the dining room. 'Last time I saw Jane, she was having breakfast at 7am in this room today, before I left for work. When I came home at 5pm today, the breakfast was still on the table. There it is.' He gestured towards the table, which had breakfast on it.
'The suspicious thing is, she never goes out for more than 5 hours at a time and she always lets me know. I am suspicious.'
As Ultimatecub walked towards the table, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. It didn't have anything written on it.
He accidentally knocked over a coffee cup on the dining table, spilling it on his hand. Fortunately, it had only scalded his hand slightly. 'Sorry!' He walked to the sink to rinse it.
'What a shame,' said Peter. 'Jane doesn't get on very well without her coffee. It's a shame she didn't drink it. Personally, I hate coffee.'
In the sink was a Post-It with 'Go Inside' written on it. There was a long pink string tied between two cabinet handles at the very top of the kitchen. The window was open and a smashed bowl was on the windowsill.
'From this evidence, Peter, either you are faking the disappearance, or you are involved.'
How did he work it out?
He knocked on the door of the house she had been living in with her husband. Peter Smith answered.
'Thanks for coming, Detective. My wife went missing today. I noticed a few weird things around the house, but I left everything as it was for your arrival. Nobody else lives in the house.'
Ultimatecub was led to the dining room. 'Last time I saw Jane, she was having breakfast at 7am in this room today, before I left for work. When I came home at 5pm today, the breakfast was still on the table. There it is.' He gestured towards the table, which had breakfast on it.
'The suspicious thing is, she never goes out for more than 5 hours at a time and she always lets me know. I am suspicious.'
As Ultimatecub walked towards the table, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. It didn't have anything written on it.
He accidentally knocked over a coffee cup on the dining table, spilling it on his hand. Fortunately, it had only scalded his hand slightly. 'Sorry!' He walked to the sink to rinse it.
'What a shame,' said Peter. 'Jane doesn't get on very well without her coffee. It's a shame she didn't drink it. Personally, I hate coffee.'
In the sink was a Post-It with 'Go Inside' written on it. There was a long pink string tied between two cabinet handles at the very top of the kitchen. The window was open and a smashed bowl was on the windowsill.
'From this evidence, Peter, either you are faking the disappearance, or you are involved.'
How did he work it out?
Hint
There is a discrepancy between Peter's story and the evidence.Answer
When Ultimatecub spilled coffee on his hand, it had caused a scald. If the coffee had been there since morning, it would not have been hot enough to scald. What Peter said about the coffee indicates it was Jane's coffee and not his own. Because the coffee was hot, it meant Peter had set up the scene just before Ultimatecub arrived. This means all the other evidence must be a setup and either Peter was faking it, or he was involved.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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