Brain Teasers
Who Kidnapped John?
Mystery
Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.Mystery
"I know we should have called the police," Eric Wembly admitted as he nursed a bump on the back of his head. "But the kidnapper said he'd kill my brother if we did. And it's not like we couldn't afford the ransom."
John Wembly, the elder son of Jonas Wembly, had been missing since Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, a lone kidnapper telephoned the mansion and made his demands. The younger Wembly son, Eric, was to bring the money in unmarked bills in a duffel bag. He was to take a specific route from the mansion, parking in a downtown lot and carrying the bag through an alley to a drop site in a nearby park.
The normally cheap Jonas Wembly was frantic and willingly agreed to the terms. A midnight pay-off. Half a million dollars. And no police.
"I was halfway through the alley," Eric testified, "when I heard footsteps. Before I could turn around I was hit on the head. I fell down. But it didn't quite knock me out. I could see his back by the light of a street lamp. Never got to see his front. He was running away with the duffel bag. A tall guy with white sneakers. He was wearing blue jeans and a dark cardigan. Sorry I can't be more specific."
In the case's one lucky break, a police officer came across Eric shortly after the attack. He called in the crime and a patrol car responded immediately. Two suspicious-looking characters were apprehended in the vicinity, both resembling Eric's description.
"So, I was running," Petey Bordon said angrily. He had been found two blocks from the attack and started running as soon as he saw the patrol car. Petey had a string of priors, all misdemeanors. "I'm on parole," he admitted, "And I was carrying a knife -- for my own protection at night. That's a violation. Can you wonder why I ran away?"
The second suspect was Arnie Acker, a homeless drifter. "I wasn't even wearing this sweater," he protested as he unbuttoned his moth-eaten cardigan. "I picked it out of the garbage just before you guys pulled me in."
"We didn't find money on either one of 'em," the chief of police told Jonas Wembly. "And we didn't find the duffel bag. But I got a pretty good idea what happened. Don't worry. We'll get your son back."
Who kidnapped John Wembly?
John Wembly, the elder son of Jonas Wembly, had been missing since Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, a lone kidnapper telephoned the mansion and made his demands. The younger Wembly son, Eric, was to bring the money in unmarked bills in a duffel bag. He was to take a specific route from the mansion, parking in a downtown lot and carrying the bag through an alley to a drop site in a nearby park.
The normally cheap Jonas Wembly was frantic and willingly agreed to the terms. A midnight pay-off. Half a million dollars. And no police.
"I was halfway through the alley," Eric testified, "when I heard footsteps. Before I could turn around I was hit on the head. I fell down. But it didn't quite knock me out. I could see his back by the light of a street lamp. Never got to see his front. He was running away with the duffel bag. A tall guy with white sneakers. He was wearing blue jeans and a dark cardigan. Sorry I can't be more specific."
In the case's one lucky break, a police officer came across Eric shortly after the attack. He called in the crime and a patrol car responded immediately. Two suspicious-looking characters were apprehended in the vicinity, both resembling Eric's description.
"So, I was running," Petey Bordon said angrily. He had been found two blocks from the attack and started running as soon as he saw the patrol car. Petey had a string of priors, all misdemeanors. "I'm on parole," he admitted, "And I was carrying a knife -- for my own protection at night. That's a violation. Can you wonder why I ran away?"
The second suspect was Arnie Acker, a homeless drifter. "I wasn't even wearing this sweater," he protested as he unbuttoned his moth-eaten cardigan. "I picked it out of the garbage just before you guys pulled me in."
"We didn't find money on either one of 'em," the chief of police told Jonas Wembly. "And we didn't find the duffel bag. But I got a pretty good idea what happened. Don't worry. We'll get your son back."
Who kidnapped John Wembly?
Hint
Read each testimony carefully.Answer
Eric Wembly.Eric's testimony about the cardigan sweater gave him away. If Eric saw his attacker only from the rear, as he claimed, then it would have been impossible to tell if he was wearing a cardigan or a pullover. Eric was obviously lying.
Eric eventually confessed, admitting that he and John had staged the entire kidnapping scene in order to extract money from their cheap father.
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Comments
Fun & Easy! $ourDough loved this one, yes indeedly doo!
Three Thumbs Up!
$D
Three Thumbs Up!
$D
This was another good teaser from you grilledcheese! I loved it! it was medium difficulty, my sister didn't get it, haha
Can't wait for more!!!!!!
Can't wait for more!!!!!!
I guessed Petey Bordon - it said his "string of priors" were all misdemeanors, which (granted I don't know much about the law) means he was lying when he said he was on parole...do you get parole for misdemeanors??
that was fun...I love mysteries
That was very clevey and well written!! I always get confused with the cardigan and pullover and blouse terms ect, so that didn't help me
Great great great! Not as easy as some of the other mysteries I've seen here lately but still easy enough where I don't feel like a dummy! lol. keep up the great job.
Really Cool!!!!
Itwas alright well done
I got it by the hint because it said "read each TESTINOMONY" and you said Eric testified, and I thought testified was related to testinomony, so I thought it was Eric.
awesome
hehe very cool....
i enjoyed it and got it pretty quick
I blame it to my ignorance on cardigans (and pullovers).
):
):
Hehehe..I don't really know what candigan is. That's why I didn't realize it quickly.
yah i was right about john being a part of it...
really good mystery - nice job
Brilliant!
heh, that one was pretty easy
Really great teaser...But if John and Eric staged the kidnapping together, then no one really kidnapped John...
Finally, got one on the first attempt. Yea, I knew the only way Eric could tell the sweater was a C. he would have had to see the front, because that is the only way one knows if a sweater is a C is from the Front. Thief
Great Caper
I got it right!
This one was really fun.
This one was really fun.
I guess I got it half right since I thought John was the culprit... don't know the difference between cardigans and pullovers. Maybe Eric just said the name of the first one that came to his mind.
i think i got it because of the lack of motive/opportunity for anyone besides the brothers
also, it mentioned a street light. I haven't seen many street lights in alleys, but that might just be my town
also, it mentioned a street light. I haven't seen many street lights in alleys, but that might just be my town
Great teaser! The evidence was just vague enough to not be too easy! Enjoyed it
My grandma got it right, she told the exact answer. No fair! Hahaz... But I thought it was Arnie Acker. Dang!
I thought it was Arnie Acker, he stated that he had just found it outside before he had been pulled in but yet he was already unbuttoning it whilst talking at the police station.
I was wrong.
I was wrong.
I had a feeling it was eric, but I couldn't figure out why, lol
Doh! How did I miss that one?! Of course he would not have known the sweater had buttons if he only saw the back.
This was a great teaser. Well written and very fun.
This was a great teaser. Well written and very fun.
Well done!
Wow! that was hard!
It was a great teaser, I thought it was the homeless guy!
That was cool. I seriously didn't get the answer correctly (prolly since I'm living in a tropical country and rarely wears sweater or the like). Great job.
There are a lot of people named John in these puzzles
He could have simply not known the difference between a cardigan and a pullover. I sure didn't. Maybe he just calls all sweaters cardigans. This evidence would never hold up in court.
Had a hunch it was Eric...
but you can't arrest people on a hunch!
but you can't arrest people on a hunch!
Can't imagine a homeless guy wearing a cardigan.
Why didn't Eric just say he was knocked out? So weird. Did I miss something?
Why didn't Eric just say he was knocked out? So weird. Did I miss something?
I thought John had set it all up but hadn't even considered the cardigan, my assumption was based on a misinterpretation of detective's comment they found some men matching Eric's description - so my first thought was they all happened to look similar to Eric so I considered John could have been the man running away and the man finding the cardingan in the garbage (meaning the cash could have been put there) was just a red herring.
Good teaser. I thought it was Petey Bordon because if Arnie Acker was a homeless drifter he wouldn't be able to afford to own a telephone and if he used a public one they would be able to tell where he was.
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