Posted December 11, 2015
high rated
Greetings, folks. In various other places, I am often referred to as "the Puzzlemaster" because of my great affinity for puzzles. Since I love 'em so much, I figured I'd present you with one. The rules are rather simple.
1. Questions may be asked at your leisure, but if the answer to the question will potentially give away everything, I will refuse to answer it.
2. You may have 2 guesses (I may provide an extra if I'm nice, or if you seem to be trying hard), after which you will be disqualified.
3. You must provide the reasoning behind your guess. This and the previous rule are to prevent you smart alecks from just guessing at random.
4. Feel free to help other members, but (obviously) no giving away the answer if you already know it.
5. Answer through a private message.
6. This has been admittedly lifted from another source, but modified to fit my own cheesy style. If you've seen it before and know the answers, keep quiet about it.
7. If everybody seems to be stuck, I'll distribute hints every once in a while.
If it seems like there's not enough information to solve it, that's on purpose. The idea is to get you to ask questions.
Now, without further delay, here's the riddle:
After it was all over, the workmen outside Francis Durango's house could barely comprehend the irony of what had just taken place. The men had arrived promptly at 8:30 one summer morning to install a roadside fire hydrant some fifty feet or so from Durango's front walkway. Barely an hour into their job, well before the new hydrant was operational, they saw smoke billowing out of a first-floor window. They contacted their buddies at the fire department, who got down as quickly as they could. However, by the time the firefighters arrived, Durango's small but historic home had already sustained significant damage. And that wasn't all.
When the firemen on the scene trudged upstairs to Durango's bedroom, they found him lying in bed, quite dead. He was still dressed in his blue silk pajamas, so clearly he hadn't enjoyed much of this sultry summer morning. The fire itself hadn't reached the upstairs, but there was plenty of smoke all around. The firemen noticed that the window in his bedroom, which looked out onto the road, was firmly shut.
The blaze had apparently started near the back door, which was part of the "newer" section of the house. By the looks of things, the hardwood floors in that are, including the back staircase, had just been refinished, but they had been almost completely torched by the blaze. Officials couldn't be certain just what had been used to ignite the fire, but they doubted that it had started by accident.
The fire chief found that everything in the house seemed to be in compliance with local regulations. However, he couldn't help but notice that older houses were notoriously poor fire risks, and an alarm system directly wired into the fire department would have saved time and prevented some of the damage they were witnessing. Implicit in his remark was that a better system might have saved Durango's life.
The next step was to alert Durango's employees at Sniperoo, the hair salon he had owned and operated for just over six years. When the authorities got there, they could see that it was a busy morning, rendered all the busier by the boss's no-show. The three stylists on the job were Gigi LaFaux, Marcus Rice, and Mitch Lang, each of whom had worked for Durango since the salon opened. When told that their boss had died of asphyxia, all three were momentarily speechless. After this stunned silence was over, Lang said he would phone the boss's other appointments and officially cancel them. LaFaux had already placed a call to Durango's home, but had gotten only his answering machine. She asked if the house was damaged in the fire, and expressed relief that it could probably be rebuilt. As for Marcus rice, he had apparently been planning on visiting the boss's home himself to see what was wrong, but now he did not have to.
The inspectors took careful note of these three reactions, but it wasn't until 24 hour had elapsed that a possible motive appeared. Ivana Stealalot came forward to say that Durango had offered her a job as a stylist with his salon. He indicated to her that he was planning on letting one of his staff go, but she didn't know which one. Ivana seemed furious upon hearing that as of now, she couldn't get a job. While walking away, she seemed to be muttering under her breath about her plan not working. To make matters even more interesting, Uncle Louie showed up at the police station and gave the exact same story that Ivana did! These tidbits certainly changed the complexion of things, and, upon consultation with the medical examiner, the inspectors now concluded definitively that Durango had been murdered.
Upon returning to the salon, the authorities picked up some more information about what happened that morning. Mitch Lang testified that he had opened up the salon at 8:00 A.M. It was Sniperoo's policy to rotate the responsibility for the 8:00 shift; the rest of the staff would come later in the morning, well in time for the lunchtime rush. The salon stayed open until 8:30 at night, and the bulk of its business was conducted at lunchtime and during the evening hours.
As it happened, everyone had worked late the night before Durango's death. LaFaux and Rice had gone out for a drink and a bite to eat afterwards; they were joined by a couple from the massage studio located right next to Sniperoo. That little gathering didn't break up until about midnight, whereupon everybody went home. As for the next morning, LaFaux had come in about 9:30, while Rice had arrived at a couple of minutes past ten, something of an annoyance to his 10:00 appointment.
A revisiting of the crime scene offered a couple of important details. Ordinarily, the back door to Durango's home would have been locked with a dead bolt, which was of course activated from the inside. But whoever had done the floorwork had exited that way, and was unable to lock the door on the way out! So that explained how the killer could have entered the home without forced entry and without the workmen seeing him or her. Because of the layout of the house, it would have been quite easy for someone to have entered the back way without being spotted.
Upon hearing this piece of crucial information, Ivana lamented Durango's bad fortune. She had recently got an "honest" job as a scientist working at city hall (figuring out how to make impossible-to-identify counterfeit money from extremely rare wood) and revealed that he had evidently sought permission from the town clerk's office for several months to get the floors redone. (Because much of the house dated back to the early 18th century, it had attained landmark status, so he couldn't do much without the town's approval.) However, the "newer" wing, although still a century old, did not quite have the same restrictions, so the work was approved, as long as the wood was stained in a manner consistent with the rest of the woodwork. And just a day after the work was complete, Durango was dead.
Before the authorities could get around to identifying the murderer, they received more than they could have hoped for --- a confession. That's right, one of Durango's employees admitted to having killed the boss.
Ordinarily the investigation might have ended right then and there, but in this case police truly got too much of a good thing. Later that same day, another Sniperoo employee admitted to having killed Durango! Neither confession could be readily dismissed. In fact, both people took lie detector tests, and they each passed with flying colors. To make things even worse, Uncle Louie also admitted to having killed Durango, but as of yet he has not taken the lie detector test ("I ain't lettin' you put none of them newfangled bells and whistles on my hide!"). Nevertheless, the inspectors are 100% positive he's lying.
The news even worse than was that some important evidence had been destroyed. The good news was that the coroner's report turned out to invalidate one of the two confessions. Even without seeing the report, the Puzzlemaster knew who it was. But do you?
There are 4 questions you must answer:
1) Who killed Francis Durango?
2) Who wrongly confessed to the crime (outside of Uncle Louie)?
3) How did the coroner's report help identify the killer?
4) What was the "evidence" that was destroyed?
BONUS QUESTIONS (not necessary to solve the case, but I'm curious to see how good the sluething skills of the GOG community are):
1) What was Ivana's "plan"?
2) Why did Uncle Louie falsely confess to the murder?
3) Who told a lie, and what was it?
Also, you guys may find this handy: A description of each suspect.
GIGI LAFAUX
32 with red, green, and pink hair. She has been working as a stylist for her entire professional career, and always keeps up with the latest fashion trends.
MARCUS RICE
25 with a moderate build and brown hair. He aspires to be a football player someday, but for now does hair styling to make money.
MITCH LANG
43 with a short stature and light blonde hair. The self-professed "Baron of Hair", he's seen it all, from afros, to mullets, to mohawks.
IVANA STEALALOT
An 84-year-old burglar with a black belt in judo who recently turned over a new leaf.
UNCLE LOUIE
An old codger who never, ever leaves his rocking chair. Plays a pretty mean banjo and runs the only general store in town, which many people are not even aware of the existence of.
1. Questions may be asked at your leisure, but if the answer to the question will potentially give away everything, I will refuse to answer it.
2. You may have 2 guesses (I may provide an extra if I'm nice, or if you seem to be trying hard), after which you will be disqualified.
3. You must provide the reasoning behind your guess. This and the previous rule are to prevent you smart alecks from just guessing at random.
4. Feel free to help other members, but (obviously) no giving away the answer if you already know it.
5. Answer through a private message.
6. This has been admittedly lifted from another source, but modified to fit my own cheesy style. If you've seen it before and know the answers, keep quiet about it.
7. If everybody seems to be stuck, I'll distribute hints every once in a while.
If it seems like there's not enough information to solve it, that's on purpose. The idea is to get you to ask questions.
Now, without further delay, here's the riddle:
After it was all over, the workmen outside Francis Durango's house could barely comprehend the irony of what had just taken place. The men had arrived promptly at 8:30 one summer morning to install a roadside fire hydrant some fifty feet or so from Durango's front walkway. Barely an hour into their job, well before the new hydrant was operational, they saw smoke billowing out of a first-floor window. They contacted their buddies at the fire department, who got down as quickly as they could. However, by the time the firefighters arrived, Durango's small but historic home had already sustained significant damage. And that wasn't all.
When the firemen on the scene trudged upstairs to Durango's bedroom, they found him lying in bed, quite dead. He was still dressed in his blue silk pajamas, so clearly he hadn't enjoyed much of this sultry summer morning. The fire itself hadn't reached the upstairs, but there was plenty of smoke all around. The firemen noticed that the window in his bedroom, which looked out onto the road, was firmly shut.
The blaze had apparently started near the back door, which was part of the "newer" section of the house. By the looks of things, the hardwood floors in that are, including the back staircase, had just been refinished, but they had been almost completely torched by the blaze. Officials couldn't be certain just what had been used to ignite the fire, but they doubted that it had started by accident.
The fire chief found that everything in the house seemed to be in compliance with local regulations. However, he couldn't help but notice that older houses were notoriously poor fire risks, and an alarm system directly wired into the fire department would have saved time and prevented some of the damage they were witnessing. Implicit in his remark was that a better system might have saved Durango's life.
The next step was to alert Durango's employees at Sniperoo, the hair salon he had owned and operated for just over six years. When the authorities got there, they could see that it was a busy morning, rendered all the busier by the boss's no-show. The three stylists on the job were Gigi LaFaux, Marcus Rice, and Mitch Lang, each of whom had worked for Durango since the salon opened. When told that their boss had died of asphyxia, all three were momentarily speechless. After this stunned silence was over, Lang said he would phone the boss's other appointments and officially cancel them. LaFaux had already placed a call to Durango's home, but had gotten only his answering machine. She asked if the house was damaged in the fire, and expressed relief that it could probably be rebuilt. As for Marcus rice, he had apparently been planning on visiting the boss's home himself to see what was wrong, but now he did not have to.
The inspectors took careful note of these three reactions, but it wasn't until 24 hour had elapsed that a possible motive appeared. Ivana Stealalot came forward to say that Durango had offered her a job as a stylist with his salon. He indicated to her that he was planning on letting one of his staff go, but she didn't know which one. Ivana seemed furious upon hearing that as of now, she couldn't get a job. While walking away, she seemed to be muttering under her breath about her plan not working. To make matters even more interesting, Uncle Louie showed up at the police station and gave the exact same story that Ivana did! These tidbits certainly changed the complexion of things, and, upon consultation with the medical examiner, the inspectors now concluded definitively that Durango had been murdered.
Upon returning to the salon, the authorities picked up some more information about what happened that morning. Mitch Lang testified that he had opened up the salon at 8:00 A.M. It was Sniperoo's policy to rotate the responsibility for the 8:00 shift; the rest of the staff would come later in the morning, well in time for the lunchtime rush. The salon stayed open until 8:30 at night, and the bulk of its business was conducted at lunchtime and during the evening hours.
As it happened, everyone had worked late the night before Durango's death. LaFaux and Rice had gone out for a drink and a bite to eat afterwards; they were joined by a couple from the massage studio located right next to Sniperoo. That little gathering didn't break up until about midnight, whereupon everybody went home. As for the next morning, LaFaux had come in about 9:30, while Rice had arrived at a couple of minutes past ten, something of an annoyance to his 10:00 appointment.
A revisiting of the crime scene offered a couple of important details. Ordinarily, the back door to Durango's home would have been locked with a dead bolt, which was of course activated from the inside. But whoever had done the floorwork had exited that way, and was unable to lock the door on the way out! So that explained how the killer could have entered the home without forced entry and without the workmen seeing him or her. Because of the layout of the house, it would have been quite easy for someone to have entered the back way without being spotted.
Upon hearing this piece of crucial information, Ivana lamented Durango's bad fortune. She had recently got an "honest" job as a scientist working at city hall (figuring out how to make impossible-to-identify counterfeit money from extremely rare wood) and revealed that he had evidently sought permission from the town clerk's office for several months to get the floors redone. (Because much of the house dated back to the early 18th century, it had attained landmark status, so he couldn't do much without the town's approval.) However, the "newer" wing, although still a century old, did not quite have the same restrictions, so the work was approved, as long as the wood was stained in a manner consistent with the rest of the woodwork. And just a day after the work was complete, Durango was dead.
Before the authorities could get around to identifying the murderer, they received more than they could have hoped for --- a confession. That's right, one of Durango's employees admitted to having killed the boss.
Ordinarily the investigation might have ended right then and there, but in this case police truly got too much of a good thing. Later that same day, another Sniperoo employee admitted to having killed Durango! Neither confession could be readily dismissed. In fact, both people took lie detector tests, and they each passed with flying colors. To make things even worse, Uncle Louie also admitted to having killed Durango, but as of yet he has not taken the lie detector test ("I ain't lettin' you put none of them newfangled bells and whistles on my hide!"). Nevertheless, the inspectors are 100% positive he's lying.
The news even worse than was that some important evidence had been destroyed. The good news was that the coroner's report turned out to invalidate one of the two confessions. Even without seeing the report, the Puzzlemaster knew who it was. But do you?
There are 4 questions you must answer:
1) Who killed Francis Durango?
2) Who wrongly confessed to the crime (outside of Uncle Louie)?
3) How did the coroner's report help identify the killer?
4) What was the "evidence" that was destroyed?
BONUS QUESTIONS (not necessary to solve the case, but I'm curious to see how good the sluething skills of the GOG community are):
1) What was Ivana's "plan"?
2) Why did Uncle Louie falsely confess to the murder?
3) Who told a lie, and what was it?
Also, you guys may find this handy: A description of each suspect.
GIGI LAFAUX
32 with red, green, and pink hair. She has been working as a stylist for her entire professional career, and always keeps up with the latest fashion trends.
MARCUS RICE
25 with a moderate build and brown hair. He aspires to be a football player someday, but for now does hair styling to make money.
MITCH LANG
43 with a short stature and light blonde hair. The self-professed "Baron of Hair", he's seen it all, from afros, to mullets, to mohawks.
IVANA STEALALOT
An 84-year-old burglar with a black belt in judo who recently turned over a new leaf.
UNCLE LOUIE
An old codger who never, ever leaves his rocking chair. Plays a pretty mean banjo and runs the only general store in town, which many people are not even aware of the existence of.
Post edited December 15, 2015 by zeogold
