Brain Teasers
The Ghastly Call
Inspector Will was taking a look at the soaked cell phone of the victim, Mr. Johns, which he took from his belt. The old man's friends were all living in the same old house. They built it together, and they were going to spend their last days together in it. But today Mr. Johns was dead. This is the data Inspector Will collected:
1. Mr. Johns was lying on a couch, all his front shirt wet, and it was still bubbling water from his mouth. It seems that the death came when he was drinking a glass of water, and he drowned while swallowing.
2. Mr. Evans said Johns was epileptic, and that may be the reason for the drowning. He didn't hear anything, because he was outside doing the lawn.
3. A broken glass was found over the mat, near the couch. Also Mr. Johns' watch was broken, the time stopped at 1:34 p.m.
4. Mr. Soren had a very fresh look; he was about to catch a plane to Paris. He says he was the one that discovered Johns' death, because Johns didn't answer back when he talked to him to say goodbye. He was taking a shower when it all happened, so he didn't hear anything either.
5. Mr. Penn was in the room, looking at the garden. He is deaf so he was also unaware of the attack.
6. Mr. Man was the one who called the police. He called his old friend Johns on his cell phone at 1:40 and it seems Johns had answered. But, as Man said, it was a ghastly voice, like a voice in a torment fire, echoing cries of the doomed. It was a horrible call so he hung up.
Inspector Will closed his notes. He asked for Mr. Johns' number and dialed it on his cell phone. After a couple of rings the dead man's cell phone answered automatically. Inspector Will then said that it seemed someone was about to miss a plane, at least until the doctors had reviewed poor Mr. Johns' body for fight signs.
Why does the inspector think it is a murder, and how does he think it was committed?
1. Mr. Johns was lying on a couch, all his front shirt wet, and it was still bubbling water from his mouth. It seems that the death came when he was drinking a glass of water, and he drowned while swallowing.
2. Mr. Evans said Johns was epileptic, and that may be the reason for the drowning. He didn't hear anything, because he was outside doing the lawn.
3. A broken glass was found over the mat, near the couch. Also Mr. Johns' watch was broken, the time stopped at 1:34 p.m.
4. Mr. Soren had a very fresh look; he was about to catch a plane to Paris. He says he was the one that discovered Johns' death, because Johns didn't answer back when he talked to him to say goodbye. He was taking a shower when it all happened, so he didn't hear anything either.
5. Mr. Penn was in the room, looking at the garden. He is deaf so he was also unaware of the attack.
6. Mr. Man was the one who called the police. He called his old friend Johns on his cell phone at 1:40 and it seems Johns had answered. But, as Man said, it was a ghastly voice, like a voice in a torment fire, echoing cries of the doomed. It was a horrible call so he hung up.
Inspector Will closed his notes. He asked for Mr. Johns' number and dialed it on his cell phone. After a couple of rings the dead man's cell phone answered automatically. Inspector Will then said that it seemed someone was about to miss a plane, at least until the doctors had reviewed poor Mr. Johns' body for fight signs.
Why does the inspector think it is a murder, and how does he think it was committed?
Hint
Those echoing cries could be very real; where would the voices sound with echoes?Answer
Mr Johns could be murdered by asphyxia, drowned in the bathtub. Soren looked fresh, just bathed, he could be the one who killed Johns, and during the act, the call from Man came. The phone automatically answered, and the echoing of the bathroom plus the cries of Johns are all the assets needed to make a ghastly sound. Torment fire? Maybe it was the shower rain plus the splashing in the tub.If the body presented fight signs, then Soren would be the first suspect.
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