Brain Teasers
Sunday Morning Breakfast Table
Mystery
Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.Mystery
Detective Bob Smith was out late one night looking for a murder suspect. He had received several tips from witnesses which led him into a vast untamed meadow. After hours of searching for any trace of the suspect, he decided to pack up, and go home.
Detective Smith had been off in search of this particular suspect for two days during which time he did not return home. He knew his wife, who was waiting at home, missed him, so he decided to take a little gift back to her. He just needed to decide what to get her.
While walking back to his truck, he noticed a patch of strikingly beautiful wild flowers in lovely shades of blue and pink. Knowing his wife's passion for fresh cut flowers, he reached into his detective's evidence kit and got out a pair of scissors. He noticed a couple of thorns on a bush next to the flowers, and decided to keep his gloves on to avoid getting pricked by the thorns.
He cut off enough flowers from the patch to enable his wife to make a nice arrangement. He then wrapped several large evidence bags around the flowers so they wouldn't fall apart and walked back to his truck. He placed the wrapped flowers on the seat next to him, and started the long drive home.
Two hours later, he finally arrived home. He laid the flowers on the kitchen table for his wife to find when she got up the next morning. Since the next day was Sunday, he knew that she always prepared a nice breakfast for the two of them and would find the flowers when she went to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.
Early the next morning, his wife got up and followed her normal Sunday morning routine of briefly tidying up and then she headed for the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed the flowers, still wrapped in the large evidence bags laying on the table. She went to the cupboard and chose a nice glass vase to arrange the flowers in.
After unwrapping the flowers, she began to cut the ends of the stems on a diagonal slant which would help them to absorb more water, and therefore live longer. She accidentally poked her finger with the tip of the knife resulting in a small cut. She then continued to cut each stem as she wanted to place the finished arrangement on the table as a centerpiece for breakfast.
Since Detective Smith had gotten home at such a late hour and had been working many long hours in his search for the murder suspect, he had decided to sleep in late and had not bothered to set his alarm clock as was his usual practice on Sunday mornings. He awoke to the aroma of frying bacon and fresh coffee and decided to get up and join his wife in the kitchen for breakfast.
Upon entering the kitchen, he glanced toward the table to see if his wife had found and arranged the flowers he had so thoughtfully picked for her. Then he saw her. She was lying on the floor surrounded by water and broken glass from the vase. The flowers were scattered on the table and on the floor. He quickly ran to his wife and felt for a pulse. There was none. She was dead. He noticed that she had opened the kitchen door leading out to the back yard in order to let the fresh air drift through the screen door.
Since their house was located at the end of a dead end street, they had only one close neighbor. His name was Bill Walowhitz. They had recently gotten into an argument when Mr. Walowhitz's dog had gotten into their back yard and destroyed his wife's prized rose garden. The Detective began to wonder if Mr. Walowhitz had still been angry over the rose garden incident and had entered the kitchen through the back door, broken the glass vase over his wife's head resulting in her death. The Detective surveyed the kitchen, the screen door and the back yard and could find nothing out of place except for the broken glass vase, spilled water, and the scattered flowers.
How did Mrs. Smith die?
Detective Smith had been off in search of this particular suspect for two days during which time he did not return home. He knew his wife, who was waiting at home, missed him, so he decided to take a little gift back to her. He just needed to decide what to get her.
While walking back to his truck, he noticed a patch of strikingly beautiful wild flowers in lovely shades of blue and pink. Knowing his wife's passion for fresh cut flowers, he reached into his detective's evidence kit and got out a pair of scissors. He noticed a couple of thorns on a bush next to the flowers, and decided to keep his gloves on to avoid getting pricked by the thorns.
He cut off enough flowers from the patch to enable his wife to make a nice arrangement. He then wrapped several large evidence bags around the flowers so they wouldn't fall apart and walked back to his truck. He placed the wrapped flowers on the seat next to him, and started the long drive home.
Two hours later, he finally arrived home. He laid the flowers on the kitchen table for his wife to find when she got up the next morning. Since the next day was Sunday, he knew that she always prepared a nice breakfast for the two of them and would find the flowers when she went to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.
Early the next morning, his wife got up and followed her normal Sunday morning routine of briefly tidying up and then she headed for the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed the flowers, still wrapped in the large evidence bags laying on the table. She went to the cupboard and chose a nice glass vase to arrange the flowers in.
After unwrapping the flowers, she began to cut the ends of the stems on a diagonal slant which would help them to absorb more water, and therefore live longer. She accidentally poked her finger with the tip of the knife resulting in a small cut. She then continued to cut each stem as she wanted to place the finished arrangement on the table as a centerpiece for breakfast.
Since Detective Smith had gotten home at such a late hour and had been working many long hours in his search for the murder suspect, he had decided to sleep in late and had not bothered to set his alarm clock as was his usual practice on Sunday mornings. He awoke to the aroma of frying bacon and fresh coffee and decided to get up and join his wife in the kitchen for breakfast.
Upon entering the kitchen, he glanced toward the table to see if his wife had found and arranged the flowers he had so thoughtfully picked for her. Then he saw her. She was lying on the floor surrounded by water and broken glass from the vase. The flowers were scattered on the table and on the floor. He quickly ran to his wife and felt for a pulse. There was none. She was dead. He noticed that she had opened the kitchen door leading out to the back yard in order to let the fresh air drift through the screen door.
Since their house was located at the end of a dead end street, they had only one close neighbor. His name was Bill Walowhitz. They had recently gotten into an argument when Mr. Walowhitz's dog had gotten into their back yard and destroyed his wife's prized rose garden. The Detective began to wonder if Mr. Walowhitz had still been angry over the rose garden incident and had entered the kitchen through the back door, broken the glass vase over his wife's head resulting in her death. The Detective surveyed the kitchen, the screen door and the back yard and could find nothing out of place except for the broken glass vase, spilled water, and the scattered flowers.
How did Mrs. Smith die?
Hint
The title is a hint as it refers to the kitchen table.Answer
The flowers that Detective Smith had so lovingly picked for his wife were poisonous. He had unknowingly chanced upon a patch of Aconitum (more commonly called monkshood) and when his wife cut her finger the poison contained in the plant's juices entered into the open wound causing her death by suffocation.Aconitum is one of the oldest known toxins. The plant is extremely poisonous. The plant figures heavily into mythologies of many cultures, more commonly called monkshood. Aconitum is Greek for "without struggle". The entire plant is poisonous, but the roots and leaves contain the greatest concentration of aconitine and other alkaloids. Even touching the plant's juices to an open wound will cause pain, fainting sensations, and possibly suffocation. As with many poisonous plants, there is no specific antidote.
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Comments
IT GOT ACCEPTED IT GOT ACCEPTED IT GOT ACCEPTED
haha, i beat Froggy in commenting it....
haha, i beat Froggy in commenting it....
OH YEAH...Froggygg helped me out a lot on this teaser...fixing many mistakes, and getting all that boring info. on that flower thingy.....
Hey! It's finally here! I'm really proud of you SWAFF for the great teaser. Really a job well done. And thanks for the comments that I helped. I may have helped edit it, by you came up with the original concept. Now, let's see some more!
Yes you did beat me and you knew I wanted to be the first to comment on it! But guess what - your comment doesn't count because you wrote it - so I am the first comment from the site! ha ha ha!
Yeah right......
wait, somebody else needs to post a comment, because i know have 5 comments, by 2 people, who both contributed in writing it, so neither count...........
wait, somebody else needs to post a comment, because i know have 5 comments, by 2 people, who both contributed in writing it, so neither count...........
it's good.
I figured the flowers must be poison, but I also considered maybe something in those evidence bags, that threw me, so was not 100% sure till I read ur answer. Good one well written
I have developed an irrational fear of flowers..O_o;
Amazing! Very interesting and educational! Top marks! Keep up the good riddles SWAFF
I figured the flowers were poisonus, but I thought he had grabbed the wrong evidence bags, and they had something bad in them. I never heard of that flower. Are they always pink and blue? (gotta watch for them! )
WooHoo, this is the 6th best Mystery...wait...is that good?
Any way, thanks for all the swellorific comments!!!
Any way, thanks for all the swellorific comments!!!
I thought she dropped the vase, and she hit her head on the table therefore dieing. WOW that sounded smart.
I thought she dropped the vase, and she hit her head on the table therefore dieing. WOW that sounded smart.
i am so not reading that
good mistary
I really loved this mystery! All the details were perfect and made sence!
wonderful...perfect...except i think in the answer u should explain that she dropped the vase when she suffocated...i think everyone understood but u should say it for not so smart people lol GREAT JOB!
Thanks Everybody!
Babybabe1 (is that your name?) I do not care if you don't have a few minuts to read it, you do not have to make a comment stating it, If you did not read it, just go on to another, don't worry bout rating, or commenting, its not like your going to win a prise for the most comments
Babybabe1 (is that your name?) I do not care if you don't have a few minuts to read it, you do not have to make a comment stating it, If you did not read it, just go on to another, don't worry bout rating, or commenting, its not like your going to win a prise for the most comments
Very well written - and I actually got it.
Didn't know which flowers they were, which means I learned something, too.
Great Job! Keep 'em coming!!
Didn't know which flowers they were, which means I learned something, too.
Great Job! Keep 'em coming!!
I did think that the flowers had something to do with it but i thought that the answer would be more complex with the killer in the answer. Great one!
Nice and simple... I kept waiting for something else to happen and ended up having to re-read it. I commend you for making up the neighbor's last name... I would never think of that.
I thought it was easy but I do know a little about plants. Very good mystery and well written.
It was good but easy
Poor hint, it threw us farther off instead of helping, otherwise, good teaser.
No, the hint actually would have helped, if you could understand it.......
The flower thingies were on the table, and that was what killed her.....it lead you away from the thought of Murder
The flower thingies were on the table, and that was what killed her.....it lead you away from the thought of Murder
This teaser was horrible
Glad you liked it
Great teaser. learned something. Got a headache though trying to figure out what kind of flowers would be poisonous to kill a person... But at least i got the flowers part Great job.
I got a fear of flowers now ,too
Great teaser.
Swaff, Great teaser and very well written. I figured out the answer right away, but I have been a mystery buff for years. Thanks for taking to time to present a well-written and well-researched teaser!
Great teaser...I got it right!!! Keep the mysteries comin! Pleeeaaaase!!!!
hey awesome mystery....this is the first one i read since i joined and i got it right away....awesome oh god whats the word....confidence booster...i luved it.....it was a tad bit long but i guess it would have to be to fit all the info in right
Nice! Have you written any more?
Good Mystery! And to quote my 13 month old," I like-like "
Your the man! Great Job! Keep writing
good one! interesting. educational. So did the detective go back to the field and find the poisoned body of the murder suspect full of thorn scratches and just beyond those flowers?
Congrats swaffy (and froggy ) for the wonderful mystery you managed to cowrite. Keep them coming!
Most excellent!!!!!!!!! It was sorta
hard to rate the 'fun-ness', 'cause it's not very fun that the lovely wife died, but the teaser was very well written and now I need to go take some Excedrin!
hard to rate the 'fun-ness', 'cause it's not very fun that the lovely wife died, but the teaser was very well written and now I need to go take some Excedrin!
...Then, to make it more fun
"His wife was very ugly"
there, now I got rid of an ugly person, is that good
"His wife was very ugly"
there, now I got rid of an ugly person, is that good
Thank you bigSWAFF, much better!! Highest 'fun' rating now!!
Life is too short to marry ugly women!
Life is too short to marry ugly women!
Aw... poor Bob. He killed his own wife. He must hate himself.
Loved it, I learn something new on almost every teaser I read.
I liked this, and I liked that it was long too! But, hey! that hint, that hint... threw me like totally totally off. Because, see, she had to make the coffee and cook the bacon after the flowers cause she didn't do it before, so, she wouldn't necessarily have been at the table, right? Anyway, it was fun and hard, thank you...
yeah, you knew it had to be the plant.
Hey Swaff: No one else noticed that because you say he smelled the coffee and bacon, she had to have started cooking AFTER putting the flowers on the table? I'm like, so proud of myself for noticing that!
Ah, the old poisonous monkshood trick. But could so little due so much?
Very enjoyable!
its kinda sad........
Nice one, but you forgot something. Nowhere in the teaser is the word SWAFF!
that poor mans wife died but it was a good mystery
I got it and I loved the teaser!
freaky! good! i loved it!
How were we supposed to know they were poisonous? It never said. *pouting* Anyway, what an awful way to die! He will be devastated when he finds out he killed his wife!
That was a pretty good one.... I never would have guessed that she would have died like that...It's sorta depressing. I like it....
SourDough knew they were poison flowers, but once again, the answer contained TMI! $ourDough dislikes TMI!
$D
$D
sooo saaddd!!!
teensy bit sadistic..lol. silly bob
not bad though; it was well written--one question: what happened to the suspect?
not bad though; it was well written--one question: what happened to the suspect?
Sweet teaser! It had many choices of what could of happened and provided info and actaully makes one think outside the box.
CREEPY!!! I've been a little paranoia since I first read it... now I'm a little embarrassed.
It was kinda hard for me coz I don't know mch bwt plants so I. Figured that when the wife was pouring the water she spilt some on the floor and when she pricked herself she got a little shock and slipped,hit her head resulting in her unfortunate death but it was awesome but DULL so rating the fun level was hard but difficulty... Take a guess LOL nice teaser you and frogy make a roCkin' good team
I know it has been a while , but thanks for posting this! I had fun reading it and thought it was a good (if rather sad) mystery.
World's worst detective.
I actually initially thought Nightshade. Good teaser
Pretty good teaser! And unusually chilling!
Unfortunately, the hint is counterproductive. The reader is likely already aware that the title refers to the kitchen table, and even if they aren't, knowing that isn't going to help them. Making them think it will help them is just going to put them on the wrong path.
Unfortunately, the hint is counterproductive. The reader is likely already aware that the title refers to the kitchen table, and even if they aren't, knowing that isn't going to help them. Making them think it will help them is just going to put them on the wrong path.
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