As Nose reached the front door, Jason Ross introduced himself and motioned for the detective to come inside. The interior of the cabin consisted of one very large, but cozy room. In the right-hand corner, all the camping supplies were piled including an axe, one five-liter jug of water, some canned food, a lantern and other various pieces of camping equipment. To the back of the room was a small fireplace, and a wooden table with a couple mismatched chairs.

The most notable item in the cabin could be seen in the middle of the floor; a body, evidently lifeless, sprawled on top of two sleeping bags that were casually laid there. The cause of death was not obvious.

“Can you tell me what happened?” said Detective Nose.

“I wish I knew,” Jason said quietly. “I run a desert camping expedition business, providing tours to a variety of people. I have been trying for years to get my brother to come and join me, but being the city person that he was, he would always scoff at the idea. He used to joke that if he wanted to be without the convenience of phones, running water, or electricity, he’d simply skip paying his bills. Anyways, last week we were having a few drinks together, and we made a silly bet in which if he lost, he would have to spend a week out here with me. As you can see, he lost.”

Jason then paused for moment and took a long deep breath before continuing.

“I woke up early this morning and since my brother was still sleeping, I decided to do a little dirt biking. I was gone for about two hours. When I returned, I found my brother dead in the middle of the floor. I really do not know what happened. Other than his wallet that was on the table, nothing seems to be missing.”

“I think you may know more than you’re telling me!”

Why did Detective Nose suspect that Jason was not being completely honest?

ANSWER: Had Jason really intended on camping out in the desert for the week, he would have brought more than five liters of water. Remember, Jason ran an expert camping business in the desert, and he would have known that five liters of water was not nearly adequate for the week.

“You haven’t touched anything in the living room at all?” the detective asked Mrs. Johnson. She shook her head firmly.

“I knew that if I touched anything, I might disturb clues, and I really want you to catch the scum that killed my husband!” she said fervently.

“I’m sure we will,” Detective Nose assured her. He started into the living room to look over the scene of the crime. As he entered, he noticed the victim’s feet sticking out from the other side of the couch, and noted that he was in his stocking feet. It wasn’t until he walked around the end of the couch that he could see Mr. Johnson, lying on his stomach on the floor. Two uniformed officers stood by, waiting for him to arrive.

“Help me turn him over,” Detective Nose told one of them. The man was definitely dead. The bloodstain had seeped into the carpet, and soaked the kitchen knife that was hidden under his body. Without a word, he turned and headed back into the kitchen.

“Mrs. Johnson,” he said, “I’m ready to arrest the scum that murdered your husband. Please stand up and turn around,” he added, unhooking the handcuffs from his belt.

How did Detective Nose know that Mrs. Johnson had killed her husband?

More Two Minute Mysteries

The reason for the late night call soon became apparent, however. It turns out Sarah was the daughter of a friend of the Captain.

Detective Nose sighed. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long.

“So, can you tell me what happened?” Nose started off.

The petite girl was visibly upset. “Y-y-yes. I had just finished making my last stop, a delivery of 30 pizzas to a late night party. I was getting into my car and was starting to drive away when a man knocked on my car door. I thought he was from the party, but when I rolled down my window, he stuck a gun in my face and asked me for all my money. I was so upset I couldn’t even drive back to the store.”

Sure enough, the party across the street was still going full blast from what Detective Nose could tell. As he was surveying the scene, another car drove up and a handsome young man jumped out and ran over to the little group.

“Hi, my name’s Jon Hastel, I’m Sarah’s boyfriend. She called me on my cell phone as soon as it happened and I came right over.”

Detective Nose shook his hand and introduced himself. The young man looked him squarely in the eyes and gave a firm handshake before going over to comfort his girlfriend.

“Hmm,” Detective Nose thought to himself, “quite a polite young man.”

“Well, I better get down to it,” Nose said as he opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat. He looked through the glove box, under the seats and inspected the rest of the interior carefully. After a few moments, as the others looked on anxiously, he put his hands on the steering wheel as if he were driving.

When he finally emerged from the car, he slammed the door shut and turned to face the expectant group.

“Captain,” he declared, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to give your friend some bad news. His daughter is a thief. And so is her boyfriend. I think you’ll find if you search the young man, you will find the $800!”

How did Detective Nose know that Sarah hadn’t been robbed, but had committed the crime herself with the help of Jon?

More Two Minute Mysteries

The little store was warm and cozy despite the driving rain outside, and I was pleased to note that Robbie was obviously doing a good job of keeping the place neat and tidy. The floor was spotless, and all the shelves were neatly arranged.

“What’s wrong, Robbie?” I asked.

“You just missed them!” the young boy told me. “Two men just burst into here, held a gun on me and demanded all the money in the register. Mr. Loan says if that happens, we should just give it over, so I did, but as soon as they were gone, I ran outside to see if I could get their license number, or at least see the car they were driving.”

“What did you see?” I asked him, frowning at the thought of my niece’s friend in such a dangerous situation.

“Well, I had to run halfway out into the parking lot, but as they passed under the light at the end of the road, I realized that it was Bart Petersen’s car! I can’t believe that Bart Petersen just robbed the
Store!”

“I don’t believe it either, Robbie. You’d better put the money back because if you tell the police that story, you’re going to be arrested.”

How did Detective Nose know that Robbie was lying?

More Two Minute Mysteries

When Nose arrived at his friend’s office, he saw that he was in the middle of looking over some résumés.

“I’m looking to hire a new tour guide to help with a new ancient Chinese exhibit that’s due to arrive next week” said Dr. Dean. “I expect that this exhibit will attract hundreds of visitors and to tell you the truth, I’m a little worried that I may not be able to find a suitable guide to help with the attraction.”

Detective Nose decided to sit down and assist his comrade sort through the large stack of resumes. They were near the end of the pile when Dr. Dean pointed out a resume to Nose that he felt might be from a suitable candidate.

Typed on a plain sheet of white paper was the resume of a man whose name was Geoffrey Montgomery. Under his qualifications he had a few relevant jobs listed with all the required references but it wasn’t the job history that caught Dr. Dean’s attention. Rather, under the heading of hobbies and interests, Geoff had listed that he was very much interested in the Chinese culture and had been studying their language, alphabet, geography, religions, history, and customs for close to ten years. The resume then went on to list other desirable traits and details that would be of some benefit to the position.

“I think we may have found our candidate,” said Dr. Dean. “With his previous job experience and his extensive background knowledge of the Chinese culture, I doubt I will be able to find anyone else that is more suited for the task. I think I’ll give him a call and see if we can meet this afternoon.”

“I’d hold off on phoning him just yet if I were you. There’s something off about his resume that leads me to believe that he is not being totally honest about his qualifications.”

What mistake did Geoffrey make in his resume?