Prologue: Detective W and the Diamond Ring
Welcome to Owlsburgh- a bustling, hectic city with something interesting happening everyday. It lies in the middle of Pennsylvania, and 160 miles away is Pittsburgh. On 16th Street and Hunter Street are row houses, and the center one is a newly furnished red building, with a huge hanging yellow sign from the wall. The signs reads: W'S DETECTIVE SERVICES. Below that, in smaller font, was the phone number: 3-141-MYSTERY. The glass door, attached with a few wind chimes, was ajar. You slowly walked in, and whispered, "Excuse me."
A man with a black hat covering his face laid on his revolving purple chair, with his feet propped on the table. He removed his hat lazily with his left hand, and grunted, "Hello. Who are you, kid?" He rubbed his eyes and sat up straight. He had thick eyebrows and a rather bulky build. His indifferent black eyes scanned you from head to toes. "You... walked here?" he asked.
You wiped the sweat from your forehead. "Yep," you said, smiling, "I'm here to do the assistant interview. I saw the online ad." The man smiled, stood up, and offered you a seat. He then poured out some iced tea from a glass container, and offered it to you. You thirstily gulped it down, and asked for more.
The man introduced himself. "I'm Detective W, the local detective. Usually, I found it easy to solve cases by myself, but lately, these cases had been getting more difficult. I wish to use your assistance. However, before all of this, I will ask you a few questions. Any questions before I start?"
The cool, bitter iced tea helped cool your mind, and you shook your head. "Okay, then. Let's begin," he stated. "Do you have a strong aversion to dead bodies?"
You shook your head.
"Some cases are very confidential. Will you swear that you will not spill anything about those cases?"
You nodded.
"Can you come even in the middle of the night?"
You nodded.
"How willing are you to put yourself in danger?"
You took a while pondering about this, and uttered, "Whatever it takes to catch the criminal."
Detective W looked at you with a quizzical smile, and asked the final question. "How well can you solve puzzles?"
You shook your head in denial. "I can't solve puzzles at all," you stated a bit dejectedly, "But, I'm willing to learn."
Detective W grinned and patted your shoulder. "Don't worry! Solving puzzles takes time and practice. Now, ready for some paperwork?"
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As you filled out the remaining paperwork, you looked around the office. There was a mahogany bookshelf behind him, and it had a lot of books-ranging from non-fiction to comic books. Newspapers and printed online articles were tacked to the wall. A laminated political map of the U.S. was taped to the wall near the windows. On the opposite side was an Asia-centric map of the world. The room was cooled with central heating, and several thick law books were stacked on the white tiled floor near his desk. The other desk contained a diorama of the city of Owlsburgh.
"Usually, cases tend to come sporadically. I'm glad that is the case because it means there are not a lot of crimes in Owlsburgh. But, when the cases come, they are indeed interesting." Detective W explained cheerily as he watered the flowers. "So, today, there might not be any cases at all. But, today, I will need you to walk to the hospital with me. I have a friend there who has a broken leg. She will be quite glad to see you."
You raised a quizzical eyebrow. Detective W stated, "No worries. You will get paid today. With no taxes, too. Plus, there's a magic show happening at night in the hospital today. Seeing magic tricks and trying to expose the secrets will be a good exercise for you."
You finished the paperworks and handed it to him. You grabbed your gray bookbag. You thought, Wow, this man is weirder... than I thought...
You two took a power walk to the local hospital. The local hospital was also lauded as one of the top hospitals in the U.S. You are glad to feel the cool breeze once you entered the hospital. The relentless summer heat was roasting you from the inside out, and you kept on wondering, How does Detective W stay cool on such a day?! I've never seen him sweat! And damn, does he walk fast!
After the procedures at the front desk, you two walked to the second floor to see Detective W's friend-Lyn. She was a short, pretty Asian girl with short brown hair, brown eyes, and delicate features. Her face lit up when she saw Detective W. "W!" she exclaimed, grinning. Detective W smiled back and waved at her. "Any progress on that leg yet, Lyn?"
Lyn chuckled. "Nothing much yet. But, I should be up and ready to go within the next few days. Hey, who is this androgynous person behind you?" Lyn sat up on the hospital bed, and pointed at you. Detective W beamed. "This is my new assistant! From what I've got from the resume, my assistant can fight and gather information. A godsend, basically."
You stepped out of the room, and looked outside. There seemed to be preparations for an event. You asked Lyn, "So, the magic show will take place in the hospital atrium tonight?" Lyn agreed. "Apparently, there's a famous magician coming here tonight to perform! I can't wait!" Detective W grinned, and muttered to you, "Nice. You could learn to discover and expose some magic tricks. Good learning experience."
"You don't have to tell me twice," you muttered back.
The performance took place during 9:00 p.m. Even the patients' relatives and friends joined the audience to watch the show. You, Detective W, and Lyn took the front row seats. The bearded magician took off his top hat, and bowed to everyone. "Good evening, everyone!" he roared.
" Good evening!" everyone roared back. The magician continued in fiery spirits, "I am Keith Hollandale! And I will show you.... a magical night!" The audience erupted in excitement.
"Here we go!" Keith announced.
He dragged a heavy, long box onto the makeshift stage. "First, a little warm up." He had a white rag on his left hand, crumpled it, and clenched his left fist. He then blew on it and opened his hand. The rag mysteriously disappeared. The crowd went, "Ooh!"
Detective W smiled and looked at you, expecting you to know the trick already. You shook your head, and stuttered, "I-I don't know yet."
The young lady besides you answered, "It's simple, young one. Keith could have hidden the rag ball in his sleeve, behind his hands, in his mouth, or some other place." You looked at her, and muttered, "Thanks." You then observed her. She wore black, smooth, lustrous leather shoes. "Nice shoes," you noticed.
She smiled. "My dear husband gave this pair to me on my birthday. I was always on a wheelchair, so those shoes are more of a gift, and less of a necessity." You nodded, and continued to watch the show. The magician then pulled a pigeon from his hat, exclaiming, "That's not the trick!" He then pulled out a box. There was an albino rabbit in the box. He then put the pigeon in the box.
He put a black tablecloth over the box. He snapped his fingers, and removed the tablecloth. The box was still there, but the rabbit and the pigeon disappeared. Everyone except Detective W gasped in surprise.
An African American man who sat next to Detective W surmised, "There's probably a mechanism or some secret compartment that's under the table." Detective W nodded, and noticed that the man was wearing a golden watch. "Nice watch there, my friend," Detective W commented.
The man agreed. "That's a hard earned purchase. What's your name, brother?"
Detective W instantly replied, "Just call me W. Yours?"
"Malik Myers," he answered.
The magician decided to surprise everyone by pulling a green python out from his arm.The audience "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed at the python. Lyn gripped Detective W's arm in fear. A wiry-framed woman wearing glasses explained, "No need to worry, kid. Pythons are generally harmless, and will only attack if provoked. By the way, I'm Maria, local Owlsburgh zoologist."
Lyn quickly told her name. Keith then offered people a chance to touch the python, and observe the security box he's going to put the python in. The three people who you three just met walked up to the stage and touched the python and the security box.
Afterwards, the magician put the python in the box, locked the box, and shook it. He snapped his fingers. "3... 2... 1!" he unlocked the box, and the python vanished. An astonished "WOW" could be heard all over the atrium.
Keith then pulled a diamond ring from his pocket. "My wife's diamond ring!" he exclaimed jubilantly. Suddenly, the lights went off. The audience was thrown into temporary darkness, and chaos ensued. You couldn't see anything. All you heard was Keith's loud grunts. It sounded like he was fighting something. Something then crashed to the floor. The pigeon squawked loudly.
You thrust your hand in your pockets, scrambling for your phone. But, by then, it was too late. Once you turned on your phone's flashlight, you found Keith sprawled on the ground, searching for something. There was no one else on the stage.
Thankfully, the lights came back on, and that was when Keith revealed the bad news. "My diamond ring is missing! What should I do?!! Can someone find it for me?" he bemoaned the situation. Detective W volunteered, and ordered you to watch the front row people. He, along with a few other people from the back, searched the stage and the audiences. It was nowhere to be found.
Keith's worst fears came true. "Someone must have stolen the ring!" he cried out in despair. "Oh, what should I do?! My wife's gonna kill me..."
Detective W coughed, and introduced himself. "I'm Detective W, a local detective. Good evening, Mr. Hollandale. I will do all that I can to help you find your diamond ring!" The magician, hearing that, gratefully bowed to Detective W. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, almost bursting into tears.
Detective W got off the stage, and looked at you. "You followed my instructions in the email, right? Brought a pen/pencil and a notebook/notepad?" he asked. You nodded, and took them out, ready to take notes. Detective W then began his questions.
"Audience in the left or right edge, have you felt anyone trying to go over you when the lights shut off? Felt anyone stepping on your toes, going over your legs, for example? Raise your hands if you did. Otherwise, keep them down."
No one rose their hands.
That's obvious, you reflected as you wrote your thoughts down. The ones in the middle columns are the least suspicious-especially the center audiences. For the ones that aren't in wheelchairs, the rest have to move over a lot of people. The blackout only lasted for about 2 minutes.
The back is also not likely, you continued thinking. Getting back and forth, with all this obstacles, and in the total darkness, would take quite a while to get used to. Plus, it sounded like Keith was struggling with someone. This whole ordeal took place under 2 minutes. Getting to the stage and correctly finding Mr. Keith in the darkness, and steal his ring from his hand... that's pretty much impossible! Looks like the most suspicious ones are in the first row! They're the closest to stage, and they had enough time!
Detective W took a look at what you're writing. "Nice logic," he stated. "However, we can take out the front row kids. They don't have enough strength to make adults struggle." You continued writing. So, it's only the adults and teenagers that are suspects, and that's Lyn, Maria, Malik, and that young lady!
But, wait... she's on a wheelchair...
You presented your paper to Detective W, and he said this one thing, "Sometimes the least likely one could be the answer."
Detective W called the front rows suspects on to the stage. Lyn walked with crutches, and you pushed the old lady's wheelchair. Detective W bowed, and solemnly uttered, "Thanks, everyone, for being up here today." he walked to the young lady. "Ma'am, your name, please."
The young lady sweetly introduced herself, "Janice. Janice Fan."
He told you to take down notes you observed. You looked at the four, and wrote:
Janice: In a wheelchair. Nice leather shoes. Signs of wrinkles and creases.
Malik: Nice watch. OK clothes. White shirts looks a bit disheveled, dirty.
Maria: Sat next to Lyn. Designer glasses. Has a pink purse.
Lyn: Broken leg. Nice necklace. Nothing outstanding.
Detective W then asked Keith, "Where was the diamond ring before it was stolen?"
Keith lamented, "It was right in my right hand before the lights went out. I felt someone prying my hand open. So, I fought back. I kicked the thief, and heard a grunt. The thief probably crashed into my tricks box. That explains all of my scattered wands, cards and things. When the lights came back on, my ring was out of my hand!
You wrote that down. "Okay," Detective W continued, "Now, I want you all to answer truthfully. Do you have any monetary problems currently?"
Lyn wondered, "Um... W, why am I a suspect?" Detective W chuckled, "That's right. I saw you taking your X-rays 3 days ago. You had a fracture. My bad, Lyn."
Some of the audience began to leave. Detective W didn't mind, and resumed, "Let's begin with you, Janice."
Janice explained, "My... my husband died. I wanted to hold a funeral for him. But... but... I don't have the money..." Tears dropped from her face.
"How about Malik?"
Malik responded with a light chuckle, "I used up quite a bit of my savings to buy this golden watch. So, yeah, my rent's in trouble..."
"Maria?"
Maria "ehm"ed and "ahh"ed for a while, and looked at the floor for a bit, and said in a meek voice, "Zoology is my passion... but it doesn't pay the bills..."
You gave Detective W a thumbs up, signaling that you have wrote all of that down. You realized they all have their own motives. You could see Detective W pondering, and you heard him mutter, "I'm getting close... but I'm still stuck somewhere... how about two more questions...?"
After a minute, Detective W confidently went with this. "Why are you all in the hospital?"
You facepalmed yourself, thinking that it was a silly question. But, they all answered. Janice responded, "I was always paralyzed hip down when I was young. So, I've always went to this hospital for checkups and other good things."
Maria and Malik both answered that they are going to see their relatives. Detective W pulled out a pen, and twirled it around. He was staring at the ceiling, pondering for the final question.
By then, many people have left. Only the few who are interested in this case stayed. Detective W snapped his fingers, and declared, "Aha!" You were observing Mr. Keith at the same time, and found something interesting.
"Hey," you whispered to Keith, "What's that near the cuffs of your pants?" You both smelled it. It smelled like gasoline, and it left a black stain on Mr. Hollandale's pants.
You told this new discovery to Detective W. He instantly exclaimed, "Thanks! No need for the final question, then! I'm 90% sure who the thief is!"
You looked at what you wrote, and blinked. Really? you wondered. Who is the thief?