Detective Richard Herman

Three Motives, Three Suspects, One Murder

I always think everyday is a good day. It's always a good day because I was happy there was never any trouble I couldn't handle.

Then came a knock on my door. I opened the door and saw Officer Mark.

I greeted, "Greetings, Officer Mark. What brings you here today?"

I don't know why I even asked that question. That question has got to be the most pointless questions I have ever said. If not the most, it has to be one of the most.

Officer Mark replied, "Greetings, detective. Well, there is another case for you to solve."

I should have expected that. Of course the police would come find me when there is a case. My question was really pointless.

I asked, "What happened this time?"

Officer Mark replied, "A death. A murder. We tried to solve it ourselves."

I asked, "And failed miserably?"

Officer Mark answered, "A failure indeed. But it's not miserable. Come on, detective. It would be better if you come to the crime scene yourself."

I agreed. I grabbed my coat and walked with Officer Mark to the crime scene.

While walking, we had a conversation.

I asked, "Who's the victim today?"

Officer Mark answered, "Gilbert Ellik. The manager of a successful company. He was murdered last night, and found dead yesterday as well."

I asked, "Who are the suspects?"

He answered, "There are three suspects. All three of them had motives to kill him."

I replied, "My goodness. Three people having motives to kill him!?"

He replied, "Don't worry. It's not that bad."

I asked, "Why would three people have motives to kill him?"

He answered, "Kinda complicated. Circumstances caused it."

I replied, "Is that so?"

Officer Mark said, "It is."

I asked, "So, how did this murder happen? Where was he killed? How was he killed?"

Officer Mark answered, "Our investigations shows that he was poisoned. He was killed in his own home."

I asked, "What was used to poison him?"

Officer Mark answered, "We called a doctor in. He said that it was a large dose of arsenic, a dangerous substance for humans. It killed him in several hours."

I asked, "How was the poison used to kill? Was the poison swallowed?"

He answered, "Most likely. We don't see any other possibilities."

I asked, "Who are the suspects?"

He answered, "The maid, his underling, and his old friend."

I asked, "All of them have motives to kill him?"

He answered, "Yes. All of them had reasonable motives to kill him. That is one reason why we are confused who the killer is."

I asked, "If the poison was swallowed, wouldn't the maid be the murderer?"

Officer Mark asked, "Don't you think it's possible that the maid is being framed?"

I answered, "I suppose it's not impossible."

Officer Mark said, "Since the cause of death was food poisoning, someone must have entered the house and poisoned the victim's food. However, the victim would never let random strangers enter the house, so the murderer must be someone he recognizes. Coincidentally, all suspects with motives to kill him came to the victim's house and are acquaintances of the victim. The maid could have been framed by either one of the other two suspects, but it is also possible that she really killed him."