Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Sadder of Luck heirs^^

The double murder happened in the family home during Ma's birthday party on a beautiful June day. The suspects were their 3 teenage children - Tom 17, Cindy 18, and Frank 19. Ma and Pa were found dead in their upstairs room with bullet wounds. 


They had just announced that they had some new information that Tom was a voyeur. They were going to change their will. Now that is a perfect motive, if there ever was one. 

"Yes" said Cindy to the Inspector "it has to be Tom or perhaps Frank, who is on drugs. As for me, I was busy in the bathroom as I had a bout of vomiting after food and was showering" 

"I may be a peeping Tom, so to speak, but I am not a murderer. I was ... uh ... Ok ok watching Cindy bathing from the keyhole." Tom stuttered. "I can tell you exactly what she was doing when the shots were heard in Pa's room. Of course I was the first to enter their room but the murderer was gone."

"Yes inspector" added Frank "Tom is a good person in general. Very kind, smart and kinda good-looking too. Now Cindy is different. She is badly in debt and will do anything to get the loansharks off her back. As for my whereabouts, I was outside in the garden. Not even in the house! Cindy saw me come inside when she was on the top of the stairs. Tom was already in Pa's room, I think."

"Was there anyone else in the house at that time?" Asked the inspector.

"Not really" replied Cindy "the gardener had already left several hours earlier after pruning the tall branches of the oak trees outside. He locked the padlock on the gate on his way out. That is why when we called you, we had to unlock it to let you in" 

"So it has to be one of you three" mused the inspector, rubbing his chin. "Frank, i am arresting you for the murder" 

"But I was outside!" frank protested. 

"Exactly. Using the same ladder the gardener was using to shoot them from the open bedroom window."


The fingerprints on the ladder confirmed his guilt and Frank confessed.


Tom breathed a sigh of relief. "that was a brilliant piece of deduction, inspector"

"I knew it right away once he started to praise you in his statement. It has to be. You see, 



He Who Praise the Peeper, Culls the Two"
(he who pays the piper, calls the tune)
---------
One piece of hard evidence is better than 100 eye witnesses. 1 eye witness is better than 100 hearsay accounts.
Unfortunately, people will believe what they want to. Selecting snippets that support their view while ignoring the bulk of contrary evidence. Basing your beliefs on majority opinion, statements uttered by authority or what's written in books is not rational.

Title : Sadder of Luck heirs
          Ladder of Success