The "Black Stories" crime riddles thread

[Mandle]

Did he burn his daughter's medical records?
Did he burn the bloody bandages he had applied to his wound?

[Cassiebsg]

ooohhhh that second one seems right Mandle

[Snarky]

Did he burn the bloody bandages he had applied to his wound?

Bingo!

Mandle of the Yard cracks another case!

And as for the bearer bonds, they were long gone: he'd taken money from his clients to cover his losses, and there was nothing left. Staging the robbery was meant to cover up his embezzlement, while his life insurance policy would provide for his wife and daughter, particularly so she could get the treatment and care she needed.

The case was very loosely based on the short-story Le pavillon de la Croix-Rousse ("The Little House at Croix-Rousse") by Georges Simenon. I had to rush off to an appointment when I was writing it, and I didn't have time to think everything through properly. So there are some plot holes:

Spoiler

The scheme doesn't entirely make sense, because if he was trying to make it look like a robbery gone wrong, where does the threatening letter fit in? So let's say it threatened to kill him if he didn't pay some large sum. Also, with police stationed all around the house, the cover story doesn't really work, so let's assume that he didn't actually want the protection, but the police insisted and he just had to go along with it now that the plan was in motion. Finally, bribing a drunk to stab him in the back (I had a whole thing about how the drunk was a WWI medic fallen on hard times, to explain how he could guarantee that the stabbing wouldn't be immediately fatal) seems a bit of a stretch â€" like, what story did he tell him to make him do that? â€" it would probably have been better if they did have some established relationship, but I didn't think it through ahead of time.

Also, it's not exactly a plot hole, but I had it planned out as a "locked room mystery" with an impossible murder, and when I decided there would be other people in the house, I didn't think about how it would ruin that aspect of it.

BTW, the title was a hint, because it's a letter from someone who doesn't exist, a "ghost" (and also because he was himself the ghost from his daughter's dream).

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

Still, nice one

[Riaise]

Yeah, that was a good one! I did wonder at the beginning how the title fitted with the story, but I forgot about it after a while. I enjoyed the whole investigative feel of this case, too.

[Snarky]

Cool, glad you liked it! Yeah, I thought it might be fun to try something with a bit more classic investigation, just to mix it up a bit.

[Mandle]

Damn... I'm sad that case is over. I was so into it. Now what am I gonna do?!

Oh, that's right! Think up another case!

I was actually thinking for a while about an approach to designing a case like Snarky's latest, but couldn't get a handle on how the gameplay would work. Now, with this model, it is possible, but I'll see what I come up with. A more traditional one for now probably.

[Mandle]

Case #42

A man is shot and still alive but doctors do not operate. What is the situation?

YES


NO

[Gurok]

Does he have a bullet wound?

[Cassiebsg]

The bullet is lodged in a vital organ and if they to remove it, it might kill him?

[Gilbert]

Is he being shot by a camera instead of a weapon?
Are the doctors... ummm... medical doctors?

[Mandle]

Case #42

A man is shot and still alive but doctors do not operate. What is the situation?

YES
Are the doctors... ummm... medical doctors?


NO
Does he have a bullet wound?
The bullet is lodged in a vital organ and if they to remove it, it might kill him?
Is he being shot by a camera instead of a weapon?

[Cassiebsg]

Was the shot from a firearm?
Was the wound a flesh wound, and so they've only "patched" him up?
Did the shot hit the man?

[Snarky]

Is the man injured?

[Gurok]

Was he shot with an injection?

[Mandle]

Case #42

A man is shot and still alive but doctors do not operate. What is the situation?

YES
Are the doctors... ummm... medical doctors?
Was the shot from a firearm?
Did the shot hit the man?
Is the man injured?
Was he shot with an injection? (Yes, but not the "shot" the riddle mentions)


NO
Does he have a bullet wound?
The bullet is lodged in a vital organ and if they to remove it, it might kill him?
Is he being shot by a camera instead of a weapon?
Was the wound a flesh wound, and so they've only "patched" him up?

[CaptainD]

Was he shot intentionally?
Was he shot with his full consent?
Did shooting him have some kind of medical benefit to him?

[Cassiebsg]

Are the doctors surgeons? (as in they are medically trained to operate?)
Are we talking about a medical surgical operation?
Did the shot hit the man in his upper half?

[Mandle]

Case #42

A man is shot and still alive but doctors do not operate. What is the situation?

YES
Are the doctors... ummm... medical doctors?
Was the shot from a firearm?
Did the shot hit the man?
Is the man injured?
Was he shot with an injection? (Yes, but not the "shot" the riddle mentions)
Was he shot intentionally?
Are the doctors surgeons? (as in they are medically trained to operate?)
Are we talking about a medical surgical operation?


NO
Does he have a bullet wound?
The bullet is lodged in a vital organ and if they to remove it, it might kill him?
Is he being shot by a camera instead of a weapon?
Was the wound a flesh wound, and so they've only "patched" him up?
Was he shot with his full consent?
Did shooting him have some kind of medical benefit to him?
Did the shot hit the man in his upper half? (No, but close. It hit in his lower abdomen)

[Cassiebsg]

Did the shot hit his crotch?
Did he shot himself?