Brain Teasers
Trailer Murder
Mystery
Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.Mystery
"Rupert Brown's radio was blaring loud enough to wake the dead!" said Betty Beety. "Anyway, I went over to give him a piece of my mind. When I arrived there, I found his front door open, with his feet sticking out!"
"Must have been quite a shock," Lieutenant Georgeton said.
"Not as big a shock as when I walked in and saw that he had been plugged between the eyes!"
"Oh my," Georgeton agreed. "Now tell me Mrs. Beety, did you see or hear anything else?"
"Nope, I just flicked off the radio and hightailed it back here to call you folks."
Georgeton glowered. "You shouldn't have touched the radio, Mrs. Beety."
Georgeton returned to Rupert Brown's trailer and found Sergeant Sprott standing out front with two women. "Lieutenant, this is Allison and Maggie White. They live just across the way. Allison just got home a few moments ago but--"
"I saw the killer," Maggie blurted. "Plain as day."
"What?! You didn't tell me that!" exclaimed Allison.
"I didn't have a chance to tell you anything yet since you got home, with the police being here."
"What happened?!" Allison demanded.
"Well..." Maggie began. "That woman was running from Rupert's place. I had gone into the kitchen to get a snack, and I just happened to peek out the window to look across at Rupert's and there she was-- running out his door." She sobbed into a pink hanky.
Georgeton patted her shoulder. "If you mean Betty Beety, then I've already talked with her."
"Did she tell you about throwing the murder weapon in the trash can?"
"What?" Georgeton was stunned.
"I saw her. She stopped at Rupert's trash can and threw something in."
"You saw her throw in a gun?"
"She threw in something."
Sergeant Sprott crossed to the trash can and leaned all the way in. He did indeed find a recently fired gun right on top. He told Georgeton about his findings.
Georgeton turned to Maggie again. "You referred to Brown by his first name, were you two friends?"
She nodded. "We broke up last night. He just couldn't be faithful to one woman and--"
"He was a heel!" snapped Allison. "Gave you nothing but heartache."
"So the two of you broke up, eh?" Georgeton asked.
"Yes, but I'm not lying about what I saw. The woman threw something in his trash can!"
"How about the gunshot, ma'am, did you hear it?"
"No, I--" Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Now look what you've done!" Allison snapped. "Of course she didn't hear the gunshot, his radio was too loud! But she did see the killer."
Georgeton turned to Sprott. "You stay here with these two. I'm going to have another talk with Mrs. Beety."
* * * * * * *
"It was just a couple tissues!" Mrs. Beety sobbed. "That's all I threw in the can. When I saw him shot like that....I- I got queasy, and I saw a tissue dispenser. So I grabbed a couple to cover my mouth..."
* * * * * * *
"I'll check the can for tissues," Sprott said to Georgeton when he got back from Mrs. Beety's trailer.
"Go right ahead. But it's not gonna prove anything," Georgeton replied. "She could have thrown both the gun and the tissues in."
"But then we're at dead end!"
Georgeton smiled grimly. "Wrong. The killer slipped up. Killers usually do."
Whom does Lieutenant Georgeton suspect?
"Must have been quite a shock," Lieutenant Georgeton said.
"Not as big a shock as when I walked in and saw that he had been plugged between the eyes!"
"Oh my," Georgeton agreed. "Now tell me Mrs. Beety, did you see or hear anything else?"
"Nope, I just flicked off the radio and hightailed it back here to call you folks."
Georgeton glowered. "You shouldn't have touched the radio, Mrs. Beety."
Georgeton returned to Rupert Brown's trailer and found Sergeant Sprott standing out front with two women. "Lieutenant, this is Allison and Maggie White. They live just across the way. Allison just got home a few moments ago but--"
"I saw the killer," Maggie blurted. "Plain as day."
"What?! You didn't tell me that!" exclaimed Allison.
"I didn't have a chance to tell you anything yet since you got home, with the police being here."
"What happened?!" Allison demanded.
"Well..." Maggie began. "That woman was running from Rupert's place. I had gone into the kitchen to get a snack, and I just happened to peek out the window to look across at Rupert's and there she was-- running out his door." She sobbed into a pink hanky.
Georgeton patted her shoulder. "If you mean Betty Beety, then I've already talked with her."
"Did she tell you about throwing the murder weapon in the trash can?"
"What?" Georgeton was stunned.
"I saw her. She stopped at Rupert's trash can and threw something in."
"You saw her throw in a gun?"
"She threw in something."
Sergeant Sprott crossed to the trash can and leaned all the way in. He did indeed find a recently fired gun right on top. He told Georgeton about his findings.
Georgeton turned to Maggie again. "You referred to Brown by his first name, were you two friends?"
She nodded. "We broke up last night. He just couldn't be faithful to one woman and--"
"He was a heel!" snapped Allison. "Gave you nothing but heartache."
"So the two of you broke up, eh?" Georgeton asked.
"Yes, but I'm not lying about what I saw. The woman threw something in his trash can!"
"How about the gunshot, ma'am, did you hear it?"
"No, I--" Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Now look what you've done!" Allison snapped. "Of course she didn't hear the gunshot, his radio was too loud! But she did see the killer."
Georgeton turned to Sprott. "You stay here with these two. I'm going to have another talk with Mrs. Beety."
* * * * * * *
"It was just a couple tissues!" Mrs. Beety sobbed. "That's all I threw in the can. When I saw him shot like that....I- I got queasy, and I saw a tissue dispenser. So I grabbed a couple to cover my mouth..."
* * * * * * *
"I'll check the can for tissues," Sprott said to Georgeton when he got back from Mrs. Beety's trailer.
"Go right ahead. But it's not gonna prove anything," Georgeton replied. "She could have thrown both the gun and the tissues in."
"But then we're at dead end!"
Georgeton smiled grimly. "Wrong. The killer slipped up. Killers usually do."
Whom does Lieutenant Georgeton suspect?
Answer
Allison WhiteIf Allison White had "just got home" how could she know her sister didn't hear the gunshot because "the radio was too loud"? The only way she could have known the radio was on at the time of Brown's murder was to be on the scene. When confronted by this fact, Allison broke down.
"I visited him on the sly to have it out with him on how he'd treated Maggie. He was drunk. He turned the radio on real loud and grabbed me. I got free, but he came at me again. I saw a gun lying on the counter and-- It was self-defense."
The evidence supported Allison's story. Brown's blood-alcohol was found to be extremely high. Plus, the gunpowder residue around the bullet hole indicated he was shot at very close range.
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