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Title: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Jul 25th, 2006, 8:52am The riddle is a bit long. My apologies! A woman's body was found in the garbage dump a few days ago, and inspector Dobson, interpreting clues, had reason to believe that the next murder was going to happen in a place called Double Twist. The usual theme of late for Double Twist's residents, was about the above murder, particularly, how now and then the police checked the garbage carriage, as ordered by inspector Dobson. This procedure was unusual for the police, but the victim was someone whose father once saved inspector's life, so he ordered such inspections. Cyril Morton, a wealthy man, was found dead this Sunday night about 9PM in his mansion, called Haunted Mansion. It was called that way because it looked rather creepy. Early morning Cyril went on a hunt, and shot a cony with his hunting rifle. Being a good shot, he almost always caught something, like today. He never used to say to anybody that he was going for a hunt, so he just disappeared from the house with the rifle. But even so, those who knew him knew that he always went hunting the day when Sir Donald Jarvis had his birthday, and the reasons for that will be mentioned later. He returned about 2PM, showing the cony to his wife Shelly and his daughter Kelly. He then took his boots off, put his slippers on, and went to the room where he kept all his guns, and there he was later found dead. He put the rifle back in the closet, and went to kitchen to disembowel the cony. After this, he returned to the room and made a hole in cony's ear, and hung it so on a nail nailed in the windowsill. He always did that with a new trophy, and use to left it hanging there for about two days. Every Sunday he used to enter this room 7PM sharp. That Sunday was no exception, and upon entering the room precisely at the usual time, he lit the lantern, since it got dark about 6 at that time of a year. Cleaning the guns was like a ritual to him, as he never missed a Sunday doing this. The room had a double glazed window, that opened inwards, and only one half of it had hinges and could be manipulated. There was a minor problem with that window that couldn't be closed, which wasn't unusual though, and can be easily repaired, but Cyril wasn't much of a handyman. Cold didn't bothered him, and he preferred opened windows even in winter, particularly in the above room, where he rarely allowed maids to enter and clean it. That Sunday, about 3PM, his wife and daughter, together with their attendants, went to a local, expensive celebration, hosted by another wealthy person, sir Donald Jarvis. It was celebration of his birthday, organized every year on his estate. Sir Jarvis had French background, as he arrived in England 10 years ago. Soon after, he acquired the title 'Sir', and changed his birth name, Jacques Claude. He didn't lose his French accent, so out of affection, but also because of a healthy dose of British humor, his neighbors nicknamed him Frenlish, even though he has gotten British citizenship 6 years ago. There were all sorts of diversions at that party, from Swedish tables to hired dancers, and stands with things to buy in nylon bags, with sir Jarvis's initials, but most striking was the final firework, as the peak of the treat. Mr. Morton did not attend to this party, because Sir Jarvis, being richer than Cyril, bought at the auction a lost artifact of Morton's heirloom. Because of this, their relationship deteriorated, as Jarvis didn't want to part with this artifact, being collector of rare and expensive things. When they returned from the party, and it was a bit earlier than before, because Kelly had a headache, she found her father in his favorite room, lying dead on the floor. The floor was clean except, of course, for his blood, as he was shot once in the head with one of his guns, which was in his hand. Kelly screamed, so her mother rushed to the room. Mrs. Shelly then called the police, which arrived quickly. The detective Whiff was conducting the investigation. There was an opened letter from his wife on the desk in that room, with hers' and Cyril's fingerprints, in which she conveyed to Cyril that she was leaving him. She left it there, before going to that party. Although stingy, it was no secret that Cyril was emotional and he loved his wife very much, so it looked like a suicide, as the bullet was fired from close range, and powder burns revealed this. The sole beneficiary is his wife, and all was pointing to a suicide, since there was no evidence that would say otherwise. When detective Whiff asked mansion's inmates about their whereabouts in recent days, and especially on the day of the tragic event, there was nothing suspicious about the answers, because a lot folks saw them at that birthday party. Ten days ago his wife and the young daughter went to a circus, which is of recent in town. Circus is between Jarvis's estate and Whineingstone brook to the west. The brook got the name after former local authority figure, John T. Whineingstone, who gave name to Double Twist about two centuries ago. Pebbles cover the bed of the brook, so locals call it Whining Pebbles. Passing the brook going west a couple of miles, there is an urban part of Double Twist. Mrs. Shelly also visited a few times this week her cousin David, who lives alone, pretty close by Morton mansion, and that was all regarding their absence from the Haunted Mansion. The attendants confirmed that the rest of the time they were at home. When asked if they saw new and suspicious faces at that party, Kelly said that she saw some people she didn't saw before, also recognized some circus people there, but this was not unusual. It is known that at Sir Jarvis's party everyone is welcome, and not exclusively neighbors who got the engraved invitations. After hearing statements of the widow, her daughter and attendants, the detective Whiff, being thorough, checked the entire house, and also around the house with the lantern. When stepping outside, first thing he was looking for were footprints on the gateway to front doors of the mansion, since barren soil surrounds the house. This circular part of the barren sol is called Cyril's Corona, as Cyril didn't allowed grass to be planted here. Cyril's old friend named it so once, when he visited him a couple of years ago, and it remained called this way since. As for the rest of Morton estate, there are some trees, some other plants, and grass is abundant, but now it was getting dry, because of the recent drought. Morton and Jarvis's estate have the same fertile soil, but that soil is, actually, a thin upper layer about one foot deep, lying on the dominant layer below, which is leveled flat rock. |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Jul 25th, 2006, 8:54am Locals call this rock Buried Rock, and it is on both estates. But to get back to the footsteps, there was nothing unusual there, as no unidentified footprints popped out. The only footprints that strayed from the gateway were Cyril's, leading to the far south side on a path without grass, where the estate ends and his hunting ground begins. The footprints were older track, next to a few hours fresher track, when Cyril was returning from the hunt. So Cyril's footprints looked authentic to the detective's keen eye, that is, they were made in early morning, likewise early afternoon, and he also confirmed this by pressing his fist into the dirt. The detective Whiff is skilful, and some residents of Double Twist call him Mimir, as he is not unfamiliar around here being born in Double Twist. Also, it takes about an hour and a half to get to the hunting ground by foot. Mr. Morton hunted mostly there, and today too, when he caught the cony. Circling around the house, the detective found just fresh footprints of a bear, under the window of the room where Cyril was found dead. Now, one might argue since detective didn't actually saw footprints of a bear before, how could he have know what bear's footprints look like. But the detective saw sketches of bear's paws, in a book about hunting. The bears where seen before wondering around these parts, as well as a few other wild animals. This is why most of the residents have guns. Judging from the footprints, it looked to the detective that the bear suffers from malnutrition, weighing about 110-140 kilos. Under the window he found another print, having a shape of a cony lying on his flank. So the cony must have fallen from the nail in the windowsill, and the bear smelled the blood and devoured it. The detective looked at the window, which was about 5.5 meters high. Also, there are no water pipes or anything else on the smooth wall with only one window we are talking about. Nevertheless, always considering all the possibilities regardless how improbable they may be, the detective went for a stroll up north, since walking helps him to clear his mind. So after a few minutes he arrived at the only road in this part of Double Twist, made out of stones. This road starts about a mile west, near David's house. David's smaller house and the Haunted Mansion are secluded from the rest of Double Twist, and also James's who will be mentioned later. The road, which ends up north, about a mile before Jarvis's house, is rather deserted. Detective glanced at bear's footprints near the road, as they ended there. The footprints were clear, made in barren soil, as a few meters near the road, the grass ends. After a few meters walk towards East, approaching curve after which road goes straight North, he found footprints of the same bear near the road, and deduced that right there the bear started walking towards the Morton's mansion, picking up the scent of blood. The road was now surrounded by dry, hard soil, which dominates this place, unlike the soil on Jarvis's and Morton estate. This soil is called 'Ice' in these parts. Locals call it that way because it dries out real fast during dry season, becoming hard like ice, and it was exactly like this now. Because of these specifics, concerning two different types of soil, John T. Whineingstone gave name to the place Double Twist. Later on the whole county took this name. Regardless, the soil surrounding Pomab's End about somewhat less than 20 miles East is the most fertile and softest in these parts. As for Cyril's hunting ground in south, the soil is yet another type, but in Whineingstone's time, that part did not belong to Double Twist, and was annexed later. Also, regarding the hunting ground, there are some mostly young trees, grass is abundant, also some other plants, and numerous brooks. Another curiosity is, that on what is now the above hunting ground, the fore mentioned leveled rock continues, below a thin layer of soil. Going south to the end of the hunting ground, there is no more earth, just rock, which ends at a 300 meters high cliff, and cliff's foot is also rocky. It is such an inaccessible location, that it is almost impossible to get to the cliff's foot. So, the detective noticed that most of Double Twist is rather barren, regarding the trees in these parts that are quite rare and mostly stunted, unlike Pomab's End. Pomab's End is dirty water, looking like a big lake, and there is the mouth of the river Snail. It is hard to get to Pomab's End, since no roads were made, particularly because Pomab's End is surrounded by dense forest. Pomab's End got that name from Pomab, the tall and strong owner of a pub Pomab's. A century ago, Pomab went swimming there and drowned, because he drank to much cognac. The detective turned of the lantern and continued walking North on the road in the night of full moon, deep in his thoughts. He arrived at GSB, acronym for the low Giant's Step Bridge. He stood there for a moment, near small fence, looking at the Snail River below, a long and the only river around here with a not strong, but stable, continuous stream. The river flows from the West to the East. On the bottom of mostly white with some brownish and gray colored stones ravine is riverbed. So this ravine is called Little Canyon, and it is rising about 3 and at some spots 5 meters above the river. Little Canyon, being really smooth rock all the way, looked almost as if human hands made it. Locals call it also Aphrodite's Hips. The locals gave another name to the river, Drowned Rock, because there is not one rock sticking out of a deep river. The detective started walking again, and almost tripped on one of a couple of stones on the bridge, as probably some child put it there, using stones near the road. Being a conscious citizen, he removed the stones from the bridge. The detective, who was led by the thought that there is no time like present, rather than tomorrow is another day, continued walking North all the way to Jarvis's estate, where yesterday's celebration was held. He found nothing unusual there, so he started walking back to the house of Shelly's cousin, David. First thing he noticed, was a small swimming pool near the house. After the detective apologized for the late hour, David invited him in. |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Jul 25th, 2006, 8:56am There were lots of plants in his home, and the detective noticed an inscription on two bags, saying: 'POTTING SOIL for all-round versatility with clay granules.' In Double Twist there is no plants to sell, no such shops, so David got his plants and the above bags thanks to his half brother, Tom, who seldom visits him. David said that he was a bit tired and was just preparing to go to bed. He said he arrived home when it darkened, since it was a busy day in his office, and he forgot to lend his peculiar table to his ex-wife, Jessica, who will have important guests tomorrow. The plastic table, with an edge made out of metal, was shaped like a heart. It also had just one drawer with a keyhole and one key only, which signified that there was just one way to a woman's heart. Anyway, she wanted that table ASAP, being nervous because one of the guests would be the editor of the magazine 'Heart', and she wanted to impress her, as she was having a job interview there in a week. His ex was so exited about this opportunity, so she called David concerning the table 9 days ago, the same day she find out that one of the guests she invited was actually, the editor's husband, and that he would bring his wife. David then said to her to take it easy, and that he will bring her the table the day before this event. David was known as relaxed man, not just at jogging, but also with other things in his life, unlike his ex wife, what was one of the reasons they divorced. So, since the table was not heavy, and even though he had a prosthetic left hand (but because of this his right hand was very strong), he folded the retractable legs of the table and carried it himself to her house, sometime between 6.30PM and 7.30PM (he didn't remember the exact time). Her house was the closest one to Jarvis's estate, but she didn't go to the festivity, because she was preparing herself for tomorrow's important day. David didn't see anybody on the way to the house. Once on the bridge, he tripped on one of mentioned stones, and dropped the table in the river. When apologizing over the phone, Jessica almost took his head off through the receiver, figuratively speaking. The detective, utilizing his keen eye, said the he didn't notice the drawer in the living room, and suggested that David must have locked it before he started carrying the table, so that the drawer shouldn't slide out. David confirmed this by showing him the drawer's key, which was still in his trousers' pocket. There were two engravings on the key: one engraving was 'happy', and the other was on the other side of the key, saying, 'sad.' David didn't have a carriage so he walked to work, and he was expecting another busy day tomorrow, so the detective whished him a good night. The detective left to gather more information, regardless of the late hour, as some things are more important than a good night sleep. He found out that this morning about 9AM, local canoeist, James, went on a canoe trip down the Snail River. Detective went to his house that is located about 2 miles away by foot from David's, going West, and then a bit North. James's house is close to the river Snail, where Little Canyon begins. His wife said that, unlike her, James likes to travel. For instance, a week ago he went on a trip to Cornwall, and returned three days ago. She said that yesterday James took the canoe, his paddle he sleeps with, camping tent and string, that was all. The string was used to fasten the canoe on the carriage. Detective asked her about her witty statement concerning the paddle, and she replied that he has a special attachment to his unusual paddle, which he bought on one of his trips. The detective noticed in her goodhearted eyes that this had no hidden meaning, as she was just joking. To her paddle seamed like a manufacturers error, as it had a metal head and a wooden handle, which was a bit unusual in those days, but James liked it. Because of his paddle, locals, who like jokes, called him Rusty, even though this particular metal didn't rust easily. James used to go on a canoe trip several times a year, canoeing for about several hours, until the spot called Golden Corner. That is the first river's bend out of two, and the second bend is called the Silver Corner, about half a mile downstream. Within those bends' the river is rather shallow, and sides of the Little Canyon are almost leveled with the river's surface. There he takes the canoe out of the water, and camps for the night. The next day he continues the trip, and after several hours he arrives at the mouth of the river, into the Pomab's End. David pays the Mortimer brothers to drive his carriage to the lake, so he puts the canoe on the carriage and drives back home. This is his well-known routine. Mortimer brothers do not live close to James's house, but the pay is good. The detective made inquiries about the David's carriage. Talking to his wife he had the impression that the curiosity was part of her nature, so when the Mortimer brothers came to get her husband's carriage yesterday early morning, she glanced in James's but also in Mortimer's carriage, and both were empty. As for the Mortimer brothers, they take this extra fee jobs now and then, but she and everyone else around here know them to be the nice and decent people, wouldn't hurt a fly. The detective Whiff thanks the woman for her time, and continues walking in the moonlight, trying to connect bits of peaces of information he gathered. From the information that was given, can you deduce what prompted the detective to consider, rather strongly, the faint possibility of murder, instead of suicide? Who did he press up against the wall, one or more persons, who then had no choice but to confess it all, probably to reduce his/hers sentence? What was the evidence supporting the murder theory instead of suicide? Was there one or more evidence, and can you name it? How many people were involved in the murder, one or more, and can you name them? I suggest you think this through, and try to avoid incomplete answers, and snap ideas. 8) The riddle is a bit long. My apologies!! :-[ But then again, if you can read The Hound of the Baskervilles, five pages are nothing. ;) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by Roy on Jul 25th, 2006, 2:39pm Apoligies accepted |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by cchris on Jul 25th, 2006, 3:03pm Wow, I have ADD and I can't really read all of that/comprehend it. Any way to trim it down to the necessary info? |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Jul 25th, 2006, 4:10pm You know I respect you, but don't you be bashing on my best riddle. :P ::) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by cchris on Jul 25th, 2006, 5:55pm Haha, well I wasn't intending to bash it, in fact its so good I have no idea how to even go about answering it. |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Jul 26th, 2006, 3:33am I would like to please you, but if my memory serves me right, more than half of the riddle is important. So you see, this would not be easy. :-/ Regardless, maybe I will do that some day, but not today. ::) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by graphia on Jul 27th, 2006, 12:11am Ah man, waaaay too much information to process without sitting down and writing it all out (if only I could justify that amount of time spent on a riddle :\). My initial intuitions are that [hide]the killer was wearing some kind of shoe that made his tracks look like bear prints. He entered through the window, shot Cyril, and made his getaway. The remaining questions would then seem to be the exact detail of how that happened but most importantly the reason for doing so. Since there's so much I can only assume that there's a few red herrings there. |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by Puffster on Jul 27th, 2006, 12:44am I can't even pretend to have the patience necessary to attempt to solve this. I'm impressed by your resolve to get it all written down, alien/iceman. |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Jul 27th, 2006, 4:18am Cheers Puffster. Well, like I said, I suggest you think this through, and try to avoid incomplete answers. For this reason, I will not say what is wrong or correct graphia, because if I did, that would not be rewording enough. Of course, after maybe two weeks, or maybe a month, I will provide clues and all. And use your imagination. And may the force be with you, because you will need it with this one. Also, there is no need to invent new things that simply are not there. So if it is not mentioned in the riddle, it is most probably not important. And if there are things, which are important for the riddle but were not mentioned, then they are most probably easy to get. ;) Gibberish you say, regarding my descriptions of brooks, bridges and other things? Heh, I guess Tolkien had influence on me. But at least my trees do not talk. :P |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by graphia on Jul 28th, 2006, 3:10am on 07/27/06 at 04:18:20, alien wrote:
Damn, there goes another line of enquiry :P |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Aug 8th, 2006, 6:35am A hint (let it be added to the original riddle, actually): David's father brought some earth about 90 years ago to plant a tree near what is now, David's house. A few days ago David visited the Circus, because his cat was stuck on the tree, and asked one of the acrobats for a favor of bringing it down. ;) So, does this help at all? ::) You know, the countryside specifics, the law you cannot bypass, and you definitely cannot bypass the law in this riddle.. All that could point you in the right direction. Or you want me to say the answer half a page long? ::) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by alien on Aug 15th, 2006, 10:52am on 07/27/06 at 00:11:38, graphia wrote:
Yes, you are right about that. This idea of yours is real good, and it is an important part of the riddle, but it has gaps. For instance, there is the weight issue: [hide]the detective said about 110-140 kilos, so we would have to be talking about a fat person here. Or two fat men, since bears don't have identical front and hind paws. And then there is the question how did two fat blokes manage to climb to the window? So you are right about one thing, about clogs made out of gypsum, probably acquired in a store in the urban part of Double Twist. So, perhaps now someone would like to shed light on this part of the riddle, and polish a bit graphia's answer?[/hide] I didn't mentioned that, judging from two footprints, it looked to the detective like the bear stood up on his hind legs below the window. The reason I didn't mention this before, is just to make it harder to you. ;) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by Sameer on Nov 14th, 2006, 2:43pm I think I know why I didn't try to solve it... its #$@#$@#$@ too long ... |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by Iceman on Nov 17th, 2006, 8:50am Really? I would've never guessed that. :-* |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by TheNumberScott on Nov 17th, 2006, 3:28pm How/why does David pay the Mortimer brothers to drive his carriage, when David doesn't have a carriage, and why would David help James get his canoe? Am I misreading something, did you get some names confused, or are these inconsistencies supposed to lead me to the answer? |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by Iceman on Nov 17th, 2006, 4:03pm You right. James pays the Mortimer brothers to drive his carriage, not David. No need to make an elephant out of a fly though, but good thing you noticed this. It means you were reading attentively. ;) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by TheNumberScott on Nov 18th, 2006, 5:44pm hmmm, was it because James did not see the heart shaped table in the river while he was canoeing? Or perhaps the table should have sunk and stayed put, but the detective did not see it in the clear water of the snail river when he threw the stones back in? |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by Iceman on Nov 19th, 2006, 4:23am on 11/18/06 at 17:44:52, TheNumberScott wrote:
No. on 11/18/06 at 17:44:52, TheNumberScott wrote:
It was dark so he could not see anything on the bottom of the river. But you touched an important subject, so here is a clue: [hide]this table floats[/hide]. ;) And remember when I mentioned [hide]fat persons? Fat men had nothing to do with it. I hope you knew this by now[/hide]. ;) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by ima1trkpny on May 27th, 2007, 3:28pm oh... this looks like fun! i love murder mysteries ;D i will let you know what i come up with after i have organized a timeline, etc. hehehe... i won't let you take this one to your grave! |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by Iceman on May 28th, 2007, 9:08am Must you solve all of my riddles? >:( Not bad! 8) |
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Title: Re: Feux d'artifice Post by ima1trkpny on May 28th, 2007, 11:15am :'( I have yet to solve any of your riddles... will you not allow me to have my fun with this one? something i am good at? |
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