1)

The dinner table was a sight to behold. The gleaming white tablecloth with its dark green holly border was covered with red plates and napkins, shining silverware, and sparkling crystal. The enormous turkey had been carved and portions meted out. Mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, butter, cranberry sauce, vegetables, everything a holiday feast should have, was there and being enjoyed.

At the head of the table sat Stanley Majors, head of Majors Chemical Company. To his left was his daughter, Linda; to his right, his son, Michael. Directly across from him sat his wife of forty-five years, Ellen.

"I was going to wait till we finished eating," Majors told his children, "but there's no sense delaying the bad news. I've begun divorce proceedings against your mother." Michael's fork fell with a clank to his plate. Linda's jaw dropped open, revealing a mouthful of potatoes.

"I'm marrying my secretary as soon as I legally can. And I'll be changing my will, of course. There'll be some small bequests for each of you, but nothing on the order of what you've expected."

"You're not serious," Linda managed to gasp.

"Oh, but I am," Majors waggled a fork. "Janet makes me feel young again. And all of you," he glanced around the table, "only make me feel lighter in the wallet. My New Year's resolution is to begin a new life for myself, and nothing is going to stop me."

Michael Majors continued his story. "About ten minutes later he started gasping and choking, and then he fell face-first into his stuffing. We thought he had a heart attack." "Well, he didn't," Lieutenant Briggs said. "The coroner says he was poisoned by dimethyl-something-something. Some colorless, odorless, tasteless poison with a name about fifteen syllables long. It must have been in his food."

"Impossible," Ellen Majors said. "I prepared that food myself, and except for the turkey, I sampled it all the while it was cooking. And I didn't get poisoned."

"Besides," Linda Majors put in, "all the food was in bowls on the table. We all helped ourselves to whatever we wanted."

"And we all drank the same wine from the same bottle," Michael said. "But none of us even got sick."

"I just wish the coroner hadn't taken three days to perform the autopsy," Briggs grumbled, "but what with the holidays and all..."

"We ate most of the leftovers," Ellen said, "but there may still be some in the refrigerator."

"We'll check them," Briggs said, "but if none of you have gotten sick yet, I don't have much hope of finding anything. I might ask, though, if any of you has access to this poison." He showed the family a piece of paper with a long chemical name on it.

"I think we manufacture that at the plant," Michael said. "It's used in industry to produce certain kinds of plastics."

"And you work there," Linda said, pointing to her brother.

"And you wish you were smart enough to," Michael shot back. "Since you're not, you only visit the plant every other day or so to hit up Dad for money so you can go shopping."

"Stop arguing," Ellen interrupted. "We all spend time at the plant, either working or visiting, but none of us would poison your father. Maybe he swallowed that stuff some other time and it took a long time to kill him."

"Nope," Briggs shook his head. "The coroner says this poison acts in about a half hour. Your husband was definitely poisoned by something he ate."

"But we all ate the same thing," Linda reminded Briggs.

"So you did," the lieutenant mumbled. "And I appreciate your honesty about your description of your father's dinner announcement. You realize, of course, it provides you all with motive."

"Not me," Michael said. "I really don't need Father's money. I'm vice president of the company. I make a good living."

"As long as Father didn't fire you," Linda said. "The only reason you're there is because you're his son. As a chemist, you make a great street sweeper."

"I have a college degree," Michael said. "You couldn't even get into college. And with your looks, you couldn't even find a husband to support you."

"Like your marriage was so hot. How long did it last? Three months?"

"Stop it, both of you," Ellen shouted. "Your father's body is barely cold and you're carrying on like this."

"Your mother is right," Briggs said. "There's no need to accuse each other. Besides, I think I know who killed your father. Only one of you had a motive at the time of the poisoning."

"But how could that be, Lieutenant? We were all going to be cut out of the will."

Who does briggs suspect killed stanley majors?

Ellen Majors

Michael Majors

Linda Majors

Not sure

Who does briggs suspect killed stanley majors?

Ellen Majors

The Explanation

What made briggs suspect this person?

From the way Stanley worded his dinnertime announcement, it appeared he had already told Ellen of his intentions, since he spoke specifically to his children.

It dawned on Briggs that Stanley's announcement took his children by surprise. It was hardly likely one of them would just happen to have poison handy at the holiday dinner to use in case something like this occurred. The probability of one of them being the killer was very low.

Ellen, after being told of Stanley's plans, had visited the chemical plant, got the poison, and put a few drops into Stanley's crystal drinking glass. That way Stanley, and only Stanley, would be poisoned as the entire family helped themselves to food and drink.

2)

The four ghosts took a look around the East Room before beginning their

monthly card game. Invisible to all but themselves, they left no trace on the

White House motion detectors. It was complete privacy, of a sort that each

might have wished for when president.

“I never cease to marvel at how this room has changed,” John Adams

said. “Abigail and I used to come here to supervise matters when they were

building the White House. Somehow, I never pictured this room quite so grand

as it has become.”

Andrew Jackson scoffed. “Well, John, that shouldn’t surprise you. I suspect that

you wanted a grand setting all the time. I was never sure that you liked the

people very much.”

“That’s unfair, Andrew. We made the revolution for everyone. And as for a

‘grand setting,’ your inauguration certainly trashed the White House. Why, the

only way they got rid of all of the drunks who invited themselves into the

reception in this very room was to say that the drinks were being moved to the

lawn. Then as the mob left, the White House staff shut the doors after them!”

“Hardly my fault, John. Anyway, you talk about preserving the property, but I

was the first to order spittoons for the East Room! I got into trouble for that,

too, because of the expense. Well, OK, enough of that. Deal the cards, please.”

Calvin Coolidge asked, “Is it true, Andrew, that ‘OK’ was what you initialled on

state papers when you approved them? The rumor is that you thought that OK

stood for ‘All Correct’!”

“Too late now to stop that rumor, Calvin. If I didn’t do that, I should

have. Besides, you’re the one with the reputation for not saying much.”

Calvin Coolidge grinned. “Yes.” He looked at his cards. “One heart.”

William Howard Taft shifted his weight as though he could still feel discomfort

in his ghostly state. (Even as a ghost, he remained large.)“I still don’t see why

the White House uses these little spindly chairs.”

“William, did you really once get stuck in the bathtub?”

William Howard Taft looked annoyed for a moment, then broke into a large

smile. “Well yes, John. The White House ushers had quite a time getting me

out! At least I was taking my bath in private. Unlike you, John. One spade.”

“Hasn’t everyone heard that story by now? Well, I admit it: Washington was

almost uninhabited then, very few visitors on horseback to be bothered with. I

used to like to go swimming—skinny dipping I think they call it now—in the

Potomac. And once some miscreant stole my clothes from the bank, so I had to

send back to the White House for more. Two diamonds.”

Andrew Jackson looked at his cards, folded them, and tossed them onto the

table. “This isn’t a real game, not like poker. I don’t see why I let you fellows

talk me into this. Let’s do something different this month.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, you know, there is a new family residing in the White House. The

election has been held, and the results tallied, and they have just moved

in. You remember, eight years ago, the same thing happened. And surely you

remember what we did then?”

“Yes,” John Adams replied. “We left something for the children. When you put

the idea forward then, you mentioned your adopted son, what a comfort he

had been. It’s a wonderful tribute to him. I wonder if the last White House

children ever figured out who our little mystery.”

“Probably not,” said Calvin Coolidge. “But it’s a good idea, General. I remember

how wonderful it was to have children in the White House. And animals—like

my pet raccoon, Rebecca. The least we can do is make these new children feel

welcome.”

“What shall we leave?” William Howard Taft asked.

“A mystery, like last time, that’ll be fun. Let’s leave a little something that is

specific to one of our terms as president, and see if the girls know their

history.”

“OK,” said Andrew Jackson. “But what?”

“Well,” replied William Howard Taft, “it shouldn’t be to hard to figure out. We

each did other things besides serving as president. I mean, you, Andrew, were

General Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. John was vice president, and an

ambassador to France before that. I became Chief Justice of the United States

after I left this miserable job, and Calvin was governor of

Massachusetts. Together, we should figure out something!”

“Yes,” Calvin Coolidge agreed. “And it should be something like the last time;

that is, a symbol for peace. Begging your pardon, General, but after all the

great wars we have seen, peace remains a great virtue. And it costs less,

too! We were each lucky to have avoided great wars while we were in office.”

“Not ‘lucky,’” grumbled John Adams. “It takes a lot of effort. Why, there were

those who wanted war with France throughout my term. I wouldn’t give

in. That’s surely why I was the first one term president!”

“I just missed it. War during my presidency, I mean.” William Howard Taft

reflected for a moment. “Now, Theodore Roosevelt might have enjoyed

himself. He probably thought he was president at the wrong time anyway. But

I’m sure that Woodrow Wilson, who came after me, had his hands full with the

Great War. But we’re getting carried away here. Let’s get back to our mystery

for the new White House children.”

The ghosts put their heads together and discussed their game well into the

night … ****

The next morning, two excited little girls were awakened for breakfast. At their

places at the breakfast table were a piece of paper and a small box. Their

mother smiled indulgently, for surely her husband had left the note and box as

a surprise for the children.

The younger girl read the paper. It was in a clear script, bold and easy to read:

“To the White House children—may your stay be filled with joy. Can you guess

which one of us left this gift for you?” It was signed “Your friends, John Adams,

Andrew Jackson, William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge.”

The girls’ mother smiled at her husband, who returned the smile.

The older girl opened the box. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Inside was a

large Christmas tree ornament, in the shape of the White House. On its side

was a delicately painted scene, a view of the nation’s capital. A full eight inches

across, the ornament would fit nicely on a large branch of a sturdy Christmas

tree.

“Look, here is where we stayed, before moving into the White House,” she

said. “This little painting shows the view from our picture window at the Hay-

Adams Hotel.”

It was indeed, her mother noticed, except that there was a horse-drawn

carriage painted into the scene. She wondered where her husband had found

it. “I see a hinge on the side of that beautiful ornament—it might open up. Try

it and see.”

The little girl’s younger sister said, “My turn!” She lifted the top of the

ornament and sure enough, it opened. Inside was painted another tiny scene,

this one of the Statue of Liberty, with American flags unfurled. “They look like

our flags, almost,” she said, “but the stars are too small to count.”

Suspect List

Andrew Jackson Calvin Coolidge John Adams William Howard Taft

Answer: Calvin Coolidge

Explanation:

There is a horse-drawn carriage painted on the ornament. There were so few people in Washington, let alone horseback or horse-drawn traffic, when John Adams was president, that he could go swimming in the Potomac River!

A horse-drawn carriage could be seen in Washington during the other three presidencies, if only as an attraction for tourists. However, Andrew Jackson is further excluded by the Statue of Liberty, which was erected in 1886, a half-

century after his presidency.

The ship with returning soldiers in New York Harbor could refer to either William Howard Taft (for the reference could be to the Spanish-American War, which ended a few years before his presidency), or to Calvin Coolidge, who would have remembered soldiers returning home from the Great War, now called the First World War, in 1919. The fact that a soldier is waving a souvenir French flag and is wearing a liberated German spiked helmet confirms the reference to Coolidge. That war was fought against Germany in France.

We do not know precisely what President Bush wrote to President Obama. As long as it remains a secret, we are quite sure that it refers to the White House Ghosts and their kindly tradition of leaving historical mysteries for White House children!

3)

It was a cold January night. School had just resumed and Mr. Michaels way

giving his students a present was a night trip up north. This trip had been

planned and finalized and only about half the class (15 students) would be

attending. Mr. Michaels also invited one of his colleagues and the assistant

teacher Mrs. Veronica. The students attending were thrilled and had been

waiting ever since the Christmas break.

It was a long drive and once everyone arrived they went to the dinning hall and

enjoyed a luxurious meal. The unpleasant part of the experience was that the

dining all was a half an hour walk to the cabins where they would all be

staying. Mr. Michaels had parked his car at the entrance, so the fifteen

students walked in the bitter cold night. When they arrived at the site there

were four cabins. The first one on the left was the three teacher’s cabin. The

second one would be for the juniors. There were seven of them. The last two

would hold the remaining seniors.

The seven juniors were Damon, Leo, Eric, Kristin, Anna, Aaron and

Beth. Despite their genders they would all sleep in the same cabin separated

by bunks. The juniors cabin was quiet as they all tried to stay warm under the

multiple blankets. The seniors however were partying in their cabin telling

jokes, scary stories and doing silly things to entertain themselves until the wee

hours of the morning. In the teacher’s cabin something rather interesting was

happening.

Mr. Michaels had brought a six pack of beer and all three of them were getting

drunk. In the juniors cabin Leo, who had been cold told his cabin mates that he

would head toward the Dinning hall square and take a hot shower. So he left

into the night. About twenty minutes later in the Teacher’s cabin Michaels

colleague Sophie needed to go. She had to pee, but unfortunately there were

no bathrooms in the cabins. So unwillingly she ventured off into the night to

find a place to relieve herself. Several minutes later she did and while she was

urinating, she felt a gloved hand grab her and she was dragged away into the

night.

Michael who was in a relationship with Sophia and was madly drunk, he tried

to seduce Veronica. Veronica was a few years younger than him and she was

married. He tried to kiss her but she backed away. She didn’t feel so well and

left into the woods and was sick.She ended up getting lost and was wandering

around in circles until she had to pee. She squatted by a snow bank and

urinated, but before she could pull her pants up she was grabbed and

helplessly pulled away into the night.

An hour had passed. Nobody was asleep yet. Michael worried about the girls

was afraid to leave the cabin. So he whizzed in the empty beer bottles. Leo had

returned half an hour ago and was acting strangely. Kristin however had her

period and had used up her last tampon and was embarrassed to ask for

one. But she asked the oldest girl Beth, but she laughed at her and

refused. Aaron and Damon were teasing her and giving her a hard time about

it. Kristin burst into tears and ran away. Leo pissed at the two boys ran after

her.

It was one of the season worst nights. Black ice filled the forest and it was dead

silent. Kristin was cold and lost and was crying. She sat against a tree for

several moments before she needed to pee. She urinated and after she had

finished she was unwillingly pulled away into the night. Leo however strolled

the forest and couldn’t find her. Unluckily he slipped on ice and smashed his

head against a tree. He was unconscious in the snow.

Meanwhile the Seniors were a having a great time but the juniors were

fearful. Two of them had gone missing. Anna had been holding her pee for so

long she couldn’t do it anymore. She had been afraid to leave the cabin. So she

went to the closest spot she could find and relieved herself. When she had

finished she returned to the cabin. Michael had fallen unconscious due to the

booze. The remaining juniors decided that the seniors were pulling their legs

and went to their cabin.

The lights were out and they knocked on the door. Once, twice and three

times. No one answered the door. The went to Mr. Michaels cabin but the

found him lying on the floor. They knew what they had to do and got over their

fears and went into the wood. They searched for what felt like hours, until they

came across Leo knocked out. The carried him back to the cabin and wrapped

him up in many blankets to warm him up. They found him with his back to the

ground but the rest of his jacket was dry in some spots, and wet in others. It

was strange but they assumed it was from turning.

Thirty minutes passed before he came to his senses. He couldn’t remember

anything but seemed okay. He had a huge bruise on his head and didn’t

remember anything except leaving for a shower. Although he didn’t remember

actually taking a shower. They took notice of how long it took to find one

person, they needed help. Damon ran as fats as he could considering the heavy

ice. In record time he made it to the square and demanded a search party and

a medical team to search the wood.

Mr. Michael’s was okay but the students weren’t impressed when they found

out that he was drinking. When he regained consciousness he couldn’t

remember anything either. They found the seniors in perfect health in their

cabin. They searched for hours until the found all of the missing people in a

cave near the end of the wood. They had been knocked out and all had

hypothermia. They were placed under electric blankets and when they came to

their minds were blank but they would all be okay. The trip was ended and

they would all be returning in less than an hour. Mr. Michaels apologized for

his faults and they were excused.

All the girls who went missing all described a lone stalker, but they were the

only group of people there. It was one of the students.That one student would

be punished. However Damon told the staff that he figured out who he was

and that he was innocent. Who was it? How did he know?

Suspect List

Beth Damon Leo Mr. Michael's The Seniors

Answer:

The Seniors

Explanation:

It was Leo. Damon knew because he went to take a shower but returned in half an hour. Really if he would of taken a shower it would have taken at least an hour before he returned since it was a half an hour walk to go and return. Also the random wet spots were urine. Leo was acting strangely and the reason why he came back short was because he slipped and hit his head on his way to the shower. This made him become a stalker and wanting to harm the girls. When he smashed his head again, he became his old self. He had done it unintentionally.

The came admin offered to pay for his dry cleaning bill and they all had hot chocolate as they awaited the school bus to take them home. The seniors were playing a prank on them the time they knocked on the door but otherwise they were innocent.

4)

New Year’s Eve, 2009, was a night that Blake Sloan had looked forward to for a

long time. Tonight, he and his wife Mary Beth would host a New Year’s mystery

party.

Mary Beth had first thought of this back in the summer, but it was Blake that

had gotten excited about the idea. He had planned and prepared for this night

since before Labor Day. The format was simple. There would be six in

attendance at the party and one of them would be “murdered. There would be

five clues, one pointing to each of the five “suspects”. Four of the clues would

be false. The fifth one would be true and tag the “murderer.”

All of their guests, which consisted of the Kings and the Wades, had arrived at

the Sloan home by 7:00 p.m. The party started out innocently enough, with

dinner and cocktails. Since it was New Year’s Eve, there was ample liquid

refreshment but the guests had been cautioned about drinking too much

because Blake wanted everyone to be able to participate fully in the murder

mystery. It was understood that the mystery would begin after dinner. Blake

offered an admonition, saying, “Pay close attention to everything that happens

when we leave the dining room.”

Mary Beth hosted an excellent meal and then invited everyone to the den,

carrying a tray of various beverages. The Sloan home was a spacious two-story

house with large rooms and high ceilings. She and Blake agreed that the floor

plan of their home was perfect for a murder mystery party.

As the guests settled into the comfortable seating in the den, the party

appeared to proceed as normal. Hot coffee and brandy were served by Mary

Beth, who made it a point to keep the cap on the brandy decanter, and soon

everyone was in animated conversation.After about 15 minutes, the doorbell

rang. Blake excused himself to answer and see whom it was, leaving his

tumbler of brandy on a lamp table by where he was sitting. It was their next-

door neighbors, the Perkins, wishing them a Happy New Year. Blake yelled to

the others that he would return to the den in a few minutes.

Just as he said this, the telephone rang. Mary Beth said, “Oh! That may be my

sister Jo! She lives out of state and her husband has been ill. I had better

answer in the kitchen.” In her haste, she tripped on the leg of the table where

Blake’s drink sat, spilling a small amount of it on the cherry wood finish.

Very quickly, The Wades and Kings were left alone in the den. They smiled in

amusement, for they realized the game was underway.But, before they had an

opportunity to discuss it, a loud noise came from upstairs. Mary Beth poked

her head out of the kitchen and said, “That’s got to be the new mirror we

installed in the game room. I hope it’s not broken! Roy, can you go check on

it?”

Roy, sitting right by the den door to the hallway, quickly ran upstairs, knowing

it was part of the setup but still excited about what he may find in the game

room. All he found was a tape recorder set to loud volume which been

activated by a timing device.

While Roy was upstairs pondering the tape recording and timing device, Blake

returned from the front door just long enough to ask Juanita to join her

husband upstairs. Juanita, excited by the game, which was now in full swing,

clasped both hands tightly to her mouth as she ran out of the den to join Roy in

the upper level game room.

At this moment, they heard a scream coming from the kitchen. First Noel and

then Theresa King ran to see what had happened. Mary Beth had fainted and

fallen on the floor. The telephone was still in her hand. After a moment, she

was revived and said to Theresa, weakly, “Theresa, please get me a cold wash

cloth. They are in the bathroom, on the other side of the house, opposite from

the den.”

Now, it was only Mary Beth and Noel King in the kitchen. Noel stood by her,

not knowing what to do. Mary Beth handed him the phone and said, “Please

redial the number and tell Jo I’m OK.”

As Noel did as Mary Beth asked, Blake said goodbye to the neighbors, returned

to the den and was now alone. Seeing the splash on the table, he refreshed his

drink from the refreshment table decanter and took a sip. After a short

moment, he choked and lost consciousness. He was dead by poison from the

brandy. The cap had not been removed from the brandy decanter since before

Blake answered the doorbell.

Scarcely ten minutes had passed. Blake lay “dead” on the floor of the

den. Mary Beth had been “revived” in the kitchen by the Kings.They returned

to the den and found the Wades just coming down from the upstairs. Once

they had gathered in the den, they examined the “body”. The brandy snifter

was still firmly in his grasp.

At this point, Blake arose and told his guests, “I drank poisoned brandy. Who

poisoned it? The murder is solved when it is determined who did it, but if you

can tell me how it was done, you will be a super sleuth.” Smiling, he added,

“Everyone, please take a seat and rest assured the drinks are safe. Let’s discuss

who murdered me. The person who solves the mystery will receive a nice door

prize.”

Mary Beth and Blake’s guests were savoring every moment of the New Year’s

Eve mystery and seemed in no hurry to bring it to conclusion. When Blake

poured a second stiff whisky and soda for Noel, he decided they had better

solve the case before further partying. He nodded at Mary Beth and she picked

up on his cue, asking for silence and saying, “OK, who killed my husband?”

Suspect List

Juanita Wade Mary Beth Sloan Noel King Roy Wade Theresa King

Answer:

Mary Beth Sloan

Explanation:

Laughter ensued but Noel said, “Blake was alone in the den. Who’s to say?”

His wife Theresa answered, “Ah – but the brandy was poisoned.”

“And he was alone in the den for only a short minute or two,” offered Juanita.

Roy said, “I was the first to leave the den.”

“No, I was, corrected Mary Beth.”

“No, I was,” said Blake to his wife, “but since I did not poison myself, that is an acceptable claim.”

For a moment, everyone sat in silence, the leftover Christmas mistletoe over the den door looking forlorn as if a real murder had occurred. Finally, Theresa said, “I was the last person out of the den. I believe I can resolve this and then we can wait to usher in 2010.”

Blake’s brown eyes twinkled, matching closely the amber colored liquid in his snifter. Grinning at Theresa, he asked, “Can you be a super sleuth?”

“I think so,” she replied. Theresa had assumed a very serious demeanor. At least for the time being she was taking her role as detective seriously. She felt like one of the old-fashioned movie detectives as she began explaining.

“I can begin by telling you who didn’t murder you, Blake. First of all, the poison was placed in your snifter. I noticed the decanter cap was in place before you answered the door and stayed put until I ran into the kitchen behind Noel. But, that’s not really how I know who the murderer is.”

Blake’s eyes continued to twinkle and a sly smile crossed Mary Beth’s face as Theresa continued, “Well, it wasn’t me. Noel was in the den with me right up until we heard Mary Beth scream. When I left her to get the washcloth, I went to the bathroom opposite the den. I never had opportunity to poison your drink. The same is true for Noel. He was busy making a call to Mary Beth’s sister during that short time that the den was empty before Blake returned.”

“Now, as we work backwards, recall that you asked Juanita to join Roy upstairs to investigate the noise. Juanita ran from the room with her hands in front of her face, just like this was a real murder. Certainly, she could not have poisoned your drink. The same is true of Roy. He sat right by the den door and was never anywhere near you or your brandy snifter.”

Smiling broadly now, Theresa looked at Mary Beth and gently chided her, saying, “shame on you for killing your husband! You ran out of the room and pretended to stumble on the table leg. The liquid splashed was not brandy from Blake’s snifter, but a small amount of the ‘poison’ you hurriedly slipped into it. I realize as I think this through that you are the only one who could have poisoned the drink.”

Blake and Mary Beth laughed, saying, “Congratulations, Super Sleuth!” Playfully grabbing her husband and leading him to the mistletoe under the door, she tenderly kissed him. Softly, she added, “I’ve been mad enough to kill him a time or two!

An appreciative Blake returned his wife’s affection and added, “If this is the kiss of death, I’m more than ready for 2010!

Theresa asked, “So, what’s the door prize?”

Mary Beth retrieved a thick leather bound volume of “The Complete Works of Miss Mary Jane Marple,” the female amateur detective that Agatha Christie had made famous. Handing it to Theresa, she said, “I’m glad one of you girls solved the murder. Miss Marple could not have done better!”

5)

Crusher Davis finished his milkshake in one long slurping gulp. Since at 6 foot 6

and 265 pounds he was still growing, he had taken the habit of leaving the

Chronicle office for his morning snack at the Temptee Diner. Sometimes, he

thought, these milkshakes were the highight of the whole morning.

But that was not the case this morning. For he had received a number of

emails to his Ask Martha personal column in the newspaper.He was getting

something of a fan club, it seemed. Or rather, Martha was. The readers liked

interaction, he had found. So he didn’t just wait for inquiries to come to him,

people asking for advice. Sometimes he wrote a column in which asked a

question, and his readers would unburden themselves to his email address.

That’s what he had done on Tuesday, and now on Thursday morning, there

was a series of replies. He had just said, in his column, that everyone has faults,

and we all have to deal with that. Maybe the experiences of some readers who

have wrestled with a personal problem would help others who were now also

going through a difficult time. Just tell your story, and what you did about it or

didn’t do, and that experience plus Martha’s comment might help other

readers in the same fix.

The first email was from Jimmy Bean. Crusher knew that the names given him

in these emails were not real. That was all right with him.He also disguised in

his column what he was told somewhat, in order not to embarrass

people. That was just playing the game. The important thing was the advice

and helping people.

Well, Jimmy’s girlfriend had returned a present that he had bought at Craft’s

Jewelry Store for her birthday. It was a nice broach, the first jewelry he had

ever bought, and it had cost him $20 on sale. Jimmy was really upset. The

broach that she had worn at their last date was a swan, actually very

nice. Jimmy had seen it at the same jewelry store and decided not to buy it. He

remembered it had cost $40 when he had gone birthday shopping for her. He

asked her what had happened and she got all red and then admitted that she

had returned the other broach and gotten a credit for it, which really was

almost as good as Jimmy buying this one in the first place.She even showed

him the receipt.

“My foot!” Davis said. “That’s so inconsiderate. If he sticks with her, some

divorce lawyer is going to collect some serious money in not too many years,

that’s for sure.” He made some notes for his column and then turned to the

second email.

This was from Linda, and she had a different problem. Her boyfriend forgot

about her birthday entirely. He had made it worse by pretending that he had

remembered it all the time. They had met for lunch and she was not a happy

camper. He figured out why she was sad before she blurted it out, Linda gave

him that. He then gave her this big line that she wanted to believe about his

leaving her present on the counter of Mason’s Department Store. Just excuse

him for a minute or two, and he’d make matters right. He could certainly talk

nicely when he wanted to, Linda wrote, which was usually when he was in

trouble. Maybe he was good at sweet-talking because he so often needed to

be! Anyway, it wasn’t ten minutes before he returned with a package in a bag

from Mason’s Department Store. And inside the bag was a very nice bathing

suit - the wrong size!

Crusher Davis grinned. “He’s hopeless, that’s for sure. She’ll have some hard

times with him. But maybe it’ll be worth it in the long run.He did after all try to

correct his blunder, even if he told her a white lie while doing so.”

The third email was from a fellow named Walt that Davis was sure he knew,

since he wrote that he worked as a ticket seller at the Acme Movie Complex. It

seems that when Walt came on duty, after the bargain late afternoon movie,

he had found a bag in the ticket seller’s booth. He asked Sam, ticket seller at

the bargain movie, about it. One of Sam’s duties was to clean up the theater

after each performance, a chore Sam hated. You were always getting a handful

of used chewing gum, for one thing. Sam told him that a pretty girl he knew

only slightly from high school had been so caught up in the movie that when

she left the theater, she had left a paper bag on her seat. Sam had put it in the

booth for safekeeping while he cleaned up the theater.

Well, Walt wrote that the bag contained eight DVDs - they were unmarked, but

probably came from the Jones Movie Rental Shop, since it was the only one in

town. He didn’t know if they had been stolen or not, and he didn’t want to get

this girl into trouble. Neither did he want to help a thief. What should he do?

“Well, Sam, you’re probably the one in trouble now,” Davis thought. ”You

should have returned them to her immediately. That is, if you saw her with the

package when she came into the theater. Or if you weren’t sure, you should

have returned them to the Jones Movie Rental Ship and let them handle it. Be

decisive, man!”

The fourth email was from Lester, and he also had problems. His girlfriend was

color-blind and wouldn’t admit it. Not that there was anything wrong in that,

but she had gotten him a sweater that was the most awful shade of deep

orange he had ever seen. She liked it and said that the salesgirl had assured

her that the present would make a big hit. But Lester hated it. He could just

imagine the kidding the other guys were going to give him when he wore the

sweater, if he had to do so. She said she had thrown away the receipt. Lester

thought she said this because she clearly didn’t want him to return the

sweater. What did Martha think - could he return it?

“Well, you either turn in the girl friend or the sweater, my friend,” Davis

thought. Then he began to think harder about the problems.Who was really

involved here? It was a small town, and he knew everybody. Part time

coaching at Centerville High made that a sure thing. Let’s take stock. Well, for

one thing, there was only one color-blind girl at Centerville High, and that was

Martha Hampden. The smooth talker that Linda was dating had to be Steve

Kravitz. Jimmy Bean was writing about Jane Croydon, for sure. She was always

looking over her shoulder for a better date. He could just picture her at the

jewelry store swapping the broach.

He thought of Walt’s email. Davis couldn’t imagine whom Sam had in mind, the

girl at the movie. But Sam was Johnny Martin. He was a loner, hard to

approach. In fact, Davis had been at the bargain late afternoon movie, which

was very lightly attended and had seen him on duty. In fact, Johnny Martin had

sold him his ticket.

Davis was jotting a few notes when his friend Inspector Samuels came into the

Tastee Diner. “Thought I’d see you here, Crusher. I wonder if you could give me

a hand with this problem of shoplifting. There’s been a regular outbreak

recently, and I spent most of the morning talking with businessmen on Main

Street. Also it’s quite touchy, since nobody wants to make a false accusation,

and ruin some youngster’s reputation.”

“Sure, Inspector. What do they tell you?”

“Well, at Craft’s Jewelry Store, they are missing a nice broach, that had been

on sale. The last sales records show that Jane Croydon had brought in a broach

last week, a different one, but they remember that she had looked closely at

the missing one. It just seemed suspicious at the time. The trouble was that the

sales clerk is new and doesn’t always get the sales receipts done properly.

“Then at Mason’s Department Store, there has been a problem with their on

sale counter. It is close to the door, and not all of those for sale items have

security tags on them - you know, those devices that go off whenever someone

tries to sneak an item out the front door. The routine is for customers to take

their items across the aisle, where a clerk will bag the purchase and write up

the sale.But that doesn’t always happen as it should.

“And over at the Jones Movie Rental Shop, some employee has been ripping

off the company, stealing DVDs and removing the sleeve identification that

shows where they come from. They are pretty sure whom it is, but they don’t

know who has been taking the DVDs out of the store.

“All that sounds like quite a crime wave for Centerville, Inspector. But I can tell

you one thing. Once I tell you what I’ve learned as Ask Martha, one shoplifting

at least will be solved.”

Suspect List

Jane Croydon Johnny Martin

Martha Hampden Steve Kravitz

Answer:

Johnny Martin

Explanation:

Jane Croydon may have personality issues, but she is no thief. She had the receipt for her purchase of the broach, which would have showed a credit for the earlier, returned item. Steve Kravitz remembers things at the last minute, but he is also honest. He didn’t give the receipt to his girlfriend because the gift was a birthday present. The fact that it was in a Mason’s Department Store bag meant that he had to go to the counter with his purchase, to get the bag. Martha Hampden didn’t have a receipt for her purchase of the orange sweater, but the fact that she discussed it with a sales clerk can be easily verified.

That leaves Johnny Martin and the package of eight DVDs. That is a very large number of DVDs for a customer to check out at once. The fact that the store identification has been removed is also suspicious. Davis would probably have noticed a pretty girl sitting by herself in the last row of a lightly attended late afternoon movie. It sounds like “Sam’s” story is made up. It made his coworker Walt suspicious and Crusher Davis even more suspicious.

6)

Ed Pederson owned and operated the Village Clock Shop for over 40 years. And

when his wife passed away, Ed spent even more time in his shop. … Too much

time, some might say.

It was an unpleasant surprise when Ed found his store in disarray after 7:00

a.m. one bitterly cold morning in January. Upon inspection, Ed learned that a

thief had broken in the back door. The burglar’s plan would have been to steal

money from the brass plated, old-fashioned cash register in the middle of the

shop. However, the intruder did not realize that Ed emptied the contents of

the cash drawer every night. Ed took extra precaution to protect his business,

and hid the money for bank deposit in a floor safe underneath the antique roll

top desk in his small office.

The thief had done a fair amount of damage. Besides the damaged rear door,

there were table and mantle clocks strewn about on the shop floor. There was

also a broken display case. To make matters worse, a mouse had bitten into a

lamp cord in the front shop area and Ed had to reset the circuit breaker to get

the electricity back on.

Ed noticed that three of his clocks and two watches were no longer running. It

was a source of pride for Ed that the greatest majority of the clocks and

watches in his shop worked properly at all times. Of course, he would often

find one or two in need of winding or battery replacement, but this was a tiny

percentage of the more than 200 clocks and watches in the store. He was

careful to sell only the pieces that kept accurate time, regardless of the age

and skill level needed to maintain them.

Before calling the police, Ed noted the times on the clocks and watches that

had stopped working. One watch and one of the clocks not working were on

the floor, knocked over by the intruder in his nervous and angry haste. The

other two clocks and watch remained in their normal places, apparently

undamaged. However, Ed knew from previous experience that something as

mild as a door slamming in the small shop would often cause one of his old

clocks or watches to stop running.

Ed discovered that a grandfather clock manufactured in 1929 had stopped

running at 10:10 p.m., a little over an hour after he went home the previous

evening. An early 20th century mantle clock which he found on the floor was

stopped at 10:59 p.m., and an office clock mounted on the wall with a 1955

manufacturing stamp on the back of it was frozen at 2:01 a.m. A 1970s era

battery-operated wristwatch, which was on the floor, had quit running at 3:18

a.m., and a beautiful old silver pocket watch from the 1880s was stuck at 5:22

a.m.

Ed surveyed the damage. Numbly, by habit, he placed a new battery in the

wristwatch and it began ticking. He set it to the current time: 7:29 a.m.

Ed knew the intruder was in the shop between the hours of 10:10 p.m. and

5:22 a.m. Cursing silently, (as he chastised himself for not having a burglar

alarm installed) he called the police department. It was a few minutes after 8

o’clock when his old friend, Detective Wesley Bingham, arrived at the shop. Ed

poured hot coffee for both of them.

Detective Bingham knew his friend well and realized that Ed would have a

detailed assessment of what happened. Wisely, he allowed the older man to

speak without interfering with questions.

Ed began, “Some time between 10:10 last night and 5:22 this morning,

somebody broke into the shop. Whoever it was broke down the back door and

entered the front area. Perhaps because he needed to leave the lights off, he

knocked several objects over and broke a display case. He must have been

nervous, in a hurry and very angry after he saw the cash register drawer open

and empty.”

Bingham sipped on his coffee and replied, “Please continue.”

“Nothing is missing,” Ed told him, “but three clocks and two watches were not

running this morning. They were all stopped at different times. I suspect one of

them quit running when the thief broke down the door or broke the display

case.” Ed relayed to the detective the timepieces and respective times they

had quit working.

Bingham thought for a moment, and then asked, “Tell me what you observed

about each timepiece.”

Ed warmed to his topic. He was coming down from the initial shock of finding

his beloved clock store vandalized. The hot coffee and comforting presence of

old friend helped him organize his thoughts. He began to think out loud. “The

grandfather clock sits in the corner, over there.” Ed pointed to the corner

farthest from the cash register and broken display case. “There are no signs of

visible damage, the clock appears normal. Obviously, it was not in thief’s path

of destruction. The burglar would have to really shake the place for the

grandfather clock to stop. Normally, the only time such a clock stops is if the

weights and chains are tangled.” Bingham asked, “What about the mantle

clock?”

Ed replied, “The mantle clock was on the floor. It took a pretty good

lick. There’s a dent in the wooden floor, but it’s made of heavy brass and only

has a slight scratch. I have to accept a little bit of blame for that one being on

the floor. I was looking at it last night just before going home and left it sitting

too close to the edge of the counter. I found that it needs a cleaning. I guess I

will do that today and look for damage.”

Ed poured a second cup of coffee for both of them before continuing, “The

pocket watch is in a display case by the front window.Nothing in that case was

affected by my visitor … it’s too far from the center of the room.” He smiled

and continued, “Pocket watches from the late 1800s are tough and were built

to withstand horse and wagon rides.” Pulling it from the case, he showed it to

the detective. “It’s made of silver, one of my favorites. I just rebuilt it last

week.”

Bingham smiled at his friend. It always pleased him that Ed had been blessed

with a passion that allowed him to earn a living. He knew that Ed’s love of

timepieces had sustained him since the death of his wife. Finally, he asked,

“What about the other watch?”

Ed said, “It does not appear to be damaged, even though it was on the floor. A

new battery has it running just fine now.”

Bingham asked, “How about the wall clock?”

“That’s one of those commercial electric wall clocks from the 1950s,” Ed

said. “The kind you used to see in offices everywhere. It still has its original

cord and plug. However, it didn’t appear that the thief was anywhere near it.”

Wesley Bingham answered, “Well, Ed, I have some news for you. A young man

named Aubrey Behrens was arrested early this morning.One of your neighbors

on the block saw him loitering on the sidewalk. He was arrested and brought

to the station before you called.He has cuts and bruises on his hands and

arms. His girlfriend was with him, and she swears they were together at her

place just before their arrest. I need to know when Behrens was in the shop. I

can tear their story apart and rattle him if I have a timeline on this breaking

and entering.”

Ed smiled and said, “Wesley, now that I have had time to think this through, I

can give you the exact time that he was here.”

Suspect List

The grandfather clock (stopped at 10:10 p.m.) The mantle clock (stopped at 10:59 p.m.) The pocket watch (stopped at 3:18 a.m.) The wall clock (stopped at 2:01 a.m.) The wristwatch (stopped at 5:22 p.m.)

Answer:

The mantle clock (stopped at 10:59 p.m.)

Explanation:

Wesley smiled back, “I’m not surprised. I’ve always known you would have made a great detective.”

“You know it has to do with the times on the clocks and watches when they stopped running. Often old clocks and watches just quit running. But, I knew right away it wasn’t the battery-operated watch. A new battery got it running again immediately. The old battery simply died. The grandfather clock had not been disturbed. It was too far away from the action to be shaken and the weight and chain mechanism was normal. Again, sometimes an old clock or watch just stops and that is what happened with the grandfather. The same is true with the pocket watch. It was undisturbed in the front case, far from the burglar’s sphere of influence. That type of watch was built to withstand shock. I probably goofed when rebuilding it last week.”

He continued, “The electric wall clock stopped when the mouse bit into the lamp cord, tripping the shop area circuit breaker.” Pausing, he looked Bingham in the eye and said, “That leaves the mantle clock. A heavy clock like that

would normally withstand a fall to a soft wood floor, but it needs a cleaning and it did not take much to make it quit running.”

With disgust and anger evident in his voice, he said to Wesley, “You may ask your suspect why he felt it necessary to illegally enter my shop around 10:59 p.m. last night.”