Brain Teasers
Case of the Mysterious Death
Mystery
Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.Mystery
James Harris had been discovered dead in his house one day in April. An autopsy revealed he had been dead for about three days, but an examination for the cause of death was yet to be conducted. James had lived alone, and his body showed no signs of injury.
Thomas Harris, James's older brother, a chemist, was a suspect. "The only time I had anything to do with James recently was actually a month or two ago, when I ordered a new vintage room design for his house as a birthday gift. It was the green wallpaper over there, and those antique chairs and tables. I didn't come to the house myself."
Sarah Morrison, a worker in a shop nearby and an associate of James, was also suspected. "I did visit James's house last week, but he was alive then. I didn't do anything to him. The only reason I visited the house was to collect some papers I accidentally left over at his house a week before that."
Sam White, the delivery man, was also suspected. "I was delivering the weekly newspapers around the neighbourhood a few days ago. It's been really cold and damp recently. Fortunately the weather is a little better now. All I did at his house was putting a newspaper through his letterbox. There should be the weekly newspaper in the house." The newspaper was found in the house.
After some thought, Detective Ultimatecub had an idea what could have happened to James. After a brief investigation, he could prove it. What had happened to James, and were any of the suspects involved?
Thomas Harris, James's older brother, a chemist, was a suspect. "The only time I had anything to do with James recently was actually a month or two ago, when I ordered a new vintage room design for his house as a birthday gift. It was the green wallpaper over there, and those antique chairs and tables. I didn't come to the house myself."
Sarah Morrison, a worker in a shop nearby and an associate of James, was also suspected. "I did visit James's house last week, but he was alive then. I didn't do anything to him. The only reason I visited the house was to collect some papers I accidentally left over at his house a week before that."
Sam White, the delivery man, was also suspected. "I was delivering the weekly newspapers around the neighbourhood a few days ago. It's been really cold and damp recently. Fortunately the weather is a little better now. All I did at his house was putting a newspaper through his letterbox. There should be the weekly newspaper in the house." The newspaper was found in the house.
After some thought, Detective Ultimatecub had an idea what could have happened to James. After a brief investigation, he could prove it. What had happened to James, and were any of the suspects involved?
Hint
Read the statements very carefully.Answer
The green wallpaper had killed James. This particular wallpaper's pigment was made from a toxic compound of arsenic, which was difficult to get hold of. In cold and damp conditions, the arsenic could be converted to gaseous form, which sickened and killed people after they had lived in the room for some time. Because Thomas was a chemist, who would know about the poison, and had given him the green wallpaper, it was likely that Thomas wanted to kill James on purpose. After examining the wallpaper, it was concluded that Thomas had killed James.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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