Maserrat
31-08-2004, 13:42
Okay this one is slightly easier than the previous one, and the evidence might just hold in court this time Starblaydia ;). Same rules apply - anything goes.
Rest In Peace
It wasn’t everyday that Stan Collins got to visit a health spa. Then again, it wasn’t everyday that somebody died at a health spa either. Usually people left Guilsford Spa feeling refreshed and relaxed. This time, somebody would leave in a body bag. As Collins pulled up he could see that the area had been cordoned off, and that all the customers were standing outside in their bathrobes, trying in vain to see what was going on. He walked past them, ignoring all questions and comments, and followed the signs to the swimming pool, where he had been told the ‘suspicious death’ had taken place. When he got there he found his assistant Peter Clough already talking to one of the ever-present forensic scientists. The body had been laid on the tiled floor, a puddle of water surrounding it. A towel had been placed over its midriff, to conserve its dignity. Collins thought how funny it was that, even after you were dead, people worried about your feelings.
“Well Peter, what have we got this time?” Clough finished his conversation with the forensic before turning to address Collins.
“Brian Humis, age 47, an accountant just taking some time out. Looks like he got a bit more time than he was bargaining for. It seems that he was taking a dip when somebody decided to drown him. His head was held underwater for a period of about thirty seconds. Judging by the amount of water around the sides of the pool, there was a bit of a struggle in the water. He must have been taken by surprise.”
“Do we have any possible suspects?”
“Humis was here with his whole family – his wife, Eileen, and his two sons, Gus, age 21, and Paul, age 25. They were the only people here who knew Humis; it was their first time here apparently, so none of the staff knew them. They seem the only logical suspects.”
“But why would they want to kill a member of their own family? No, wait, let me guess…money.” It was always money when it came to in-the-family murders.
“Could it be anything else? Apparently Humis had recently made a will, splitting all he owned equally between the three of them. Looks like somebody just couldn’t wait to get their hands on their share.”
“Where are they all now?” The interview was Collins favourite part of an investigation. He just loved making them squirm.
“They’re being kept in the dining room, to be interviewed at your discretion. Do you want to see them?” Clough began walk out of the pool area, but Collins grabbed him by the arm.
“No, wait. I’m going to take a look around first. You stay here and make sure nobody leaves.” Collins walked into the foyer and looked around. The reception desk was not hard to find. There was a big blue sign with white letters that made it pretty clear. There was a young girl, probably in her early twenties, behind the desk.
“Excuse me, Miss? Detective Collins. Could you tell me about the booking made for the Humis family?”
“Right away, Detective.” She tapped away on her computer keyboard. “It seems they made a late booking, and had to get three rooms on three separate floors: a double on the first floor and two singles on the second and third floors. Anything else I can help you with?”
“No thank you.” Collins smiled and strolled over to the stairs. There stood a young black man, also in his early twenties. “Are you the porter?”
“Yes indeed, Sir. How may I help you?”
“Have you been standing here all day?”
“Yes, Sir, all day.”
“So everybody that’s come down these stairs, you’ve seen do so?”
“That’s right, Sir, although not many people have come down today, except for when they were told to leave ‘cause of the murder.”
“Did any of the Humis family come down these stairs?”
“No, Sir, none of them but Mr. Humis, who went for a swim.”
“Hmmm…is there any other way of getting down here from a different floor?”
“Well, there’s the emergency stairwell that runs from the top to the bottom of the building, but the door on each floor is usually locked. I can’t see from here if anybody uses it, ‘cause it leads right into the pool area.”
“Thank you, you’ve been a big help.” So, the killer came down the emergency stairwell, killed Humis, then went back up the same way and waited for the alert. This is one clever murderer. Collins made his way up the stairs to the first floor. He spotted the door to the stairwell immediately. It had ‘Emergency’ written on it in green letters. He tried the handle. Sure enough, it was locked. He did the same on the second floor, with the same result. However on the third floor the lock clicked, and the door swung open. The killer used the third floor door to get down to the pool area. Collins then went back to reception, got the key to the second floor Humis room, and went in to explore. Light from the window shone on the bed to Collins’ left, illuminating the white sheets further than the washing powder had. There was nothing too sinister about the room – everything was neat and tidy, and the amount of pink made Collins slightly worried, considering its current occupant was male. When he had learnt enough, he went to interview the Humises. They were sitting together in a tight group, seemingly consoling each other. Collins pulled up a chair and began his interrogation.
“Mrs. Humis, in which rooms were you all staying in?”
“Well, Brian and I were in the double room, on the first floor, Paul was on the second floor and Gus on the third. Why? You…don’t think it was one of us…do you?” Collins ignored her and moved on to his next question.
“Paul, it seems that whoever murdered your father used the emergency stairwell to get to him. As you were in the middle room, anybody going up or down to their room would have to have passed you. Did you hear or see anything?”
“As a matter of fact, I did see something – a shadow. I had my room door open because it was a little stuffy in there, and I saw a person’s shadow. They were trying to open a door, but it wouldn’t open. It must have been locked. I heard them mutter something under their breath, and then use the stairs. I couldn’t tell if they were going up or down. I thought it was one of the cleaners, trying to get into one of the rooms, so I didn’t think any more of it.”
“Okay, Gus. Now the only door to which the murderer could have gained access to the stairwell was on your floor. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“If you’re saying I did it, then you’re wrong. I was asleep the whole time. The only point at which I knew something was wrong was when I heard the manager over the tannoy, saying that we should all go outside.”
“Really? Well, thank you all. And don’t worry – I’ll catch the killer.” He gave Mrs. Humis a final glance before making his way back to the pool area. “Peter, I think I’ve found our murderer.”
So who was it this time: the missus or one of the sons? Then again, maybe it was the porter...
Rest In Peace
It wasn’t everyday that Stan Collins got to visit a health spa. Then again, it wasn’t everyday that somebody died at a health spa either. Usually people left Guilsford Spa feeling refreshed and relaxed. This time, somebody would leave in a body bag. As Collins pulled up he could see that the area had been cordoned off, and that all the customers were standing outside in their bathrobes, trying in vain to see what was going on. He walked past them, ignoring all questions and comments, and followed the signs to the swimming pool, where he had been told the ‘suspicious death’ had taken place. When he got there he found his assistant Peter Clough already talking to one of the ever-present forensic scientists. The body had been laid on the tiled floor, a puddle of water surrounding it. A towel had been placed over its midriff, to conserve its dignity. Collins thought how funny it was that, even after you were dead, people worried about your feelings.
“Well Peter, what have we got this time?” Clough finished his conversation with the forensic before turning to address Collins.
“Brian Humis, age 47, an accountant just taking some time out. Looks like he got a bit more time than he was bargaining for. It seems that he was taking a dip when somebody decided to drown him. His head was held underwater for a period of about thirty seconds. Judging by the amount of water around the sides of the pool, there was a bit of a struggle in the water. He must have been taken by surprise.”
“Do we have any possible suspects?”
“Humis was here with his whole family – his wife, Eileen, and his two sons, Gus, age 21, and Paul, age 25. They were the only people here who knew Humis; it was their first time here apparently, so none of the staff knew them. They seem the only logical suspects.”
“But why would they want to kill a member of their own family? No, wait, let me guess…money.” It was always money when it came to in-the-family murders.
“Could it be anything else? Apparently Humis had recently made a will, splitting all he owned equally between the three of them. Looks like somebody just couldn’t wait to get their hands on their share.”
“Where are they all now?” The interview was Collins favourite part of an investigation. He just loved making them squirm.
“They’re being kept in the dining room, to be interviewed at your discretion. Do you want to see them?” Clough began walk out of the pool area, but Collins grabbed him by the arm.
“No, wait. I’m going to take a look around first. You stay here and make sure nobody leaves.” Collins walked into the foyer and looked around. The reception desk was not hard to find. There was a big blue sign with white letters that made it pretty clear. There was a young girl, probably in her early twenties, behind the desk.
“Excuse me, Miss? Detective Collins. Could you tell me about the booking made for the Humis family?”
“Right away, Detective.” She tapped away on her computer keyboard. “It seems they made a late booking, and had to get three rooms on three separate floors: a double on the first floor and two singles on the second and third floors. Anything else I can help you with?”
“No thank you.” Collins smiled and strolled over to the stairs. There stood a young black man, also in his early twenties. “Are you the porter?”
“Yes indeed, Sir. How may I help you?”
“Have you been standing here all day?”
“Yes, Sir, all day.”
“So everybody that’s come down these stairs, you’ve seen do so?”
“That’s right, Sir, although not many people have come down today, except for when they were told to leave ‘cause of the murder.”
“Did any of the Humis family come down these stairs?”
“No, Sir, none of them but Mr. Humis, who went for a swim.”
“Hmmm…is there any other way of getting down here from a different floor?”
“Well, there’s the emergency stairwell that runs from the top to the bottom of the building, but the door on each floor is usually locked. I can’t see from here if anybody uses it, ‘cause it leads right into the pool area.”
“Thank you, you’ve been a big help.” So, the killer came down the emergency stairwell, killed Humis, then went back up the same way and waited for the alert. This is one clever murderer. Collins made his way up the stairs to the first floor. He spotted the door to the stairwell immediately. It had ‘Emergency’ written on it in green letters. He tried the handle. Sure enough, it was locked. He did the same on the second floor, with the same result. However on the third floor the lock clicked, and the door swung open. The killer used the third floor door to get down to the pool area. Collins then went back to reception, got the key to the second floor Humis room, and went in to explore. Light from the window shone on the bed to Collins’ left, illuminating the white sheets further than the washing powder had. There was nothing too sinister about the room – everything was neat and tidy, and the amount of pink made Collins slightly worried, considering its current occupant was male. When he had learnt enough, he went to interview the Humises. They were sitting together in a tight group, seemingly consoling each other. Collins pulled up a chair and began his interrogation.
“Mrs. Humis, in which rooms were you all staying in?”
“Well, Brian and I were in the double room, on the first floor, Paul was on the second floor and Gus on the third. Why? You…don’t think it was one of us…do you?” Collins ignored her and moved on to his next question.
“Paul, it seems that whoever murdered your father used the emergency stairwell to get to him. As you were in the middle room, anybody going up or down to their room would have to have passed you. Did you hear or see anything?”
“As a matter of fact, I did see something – a shadow. I had my room door open because it was a little stuffy in there, and I saw a person’s shadow. They were trying to open a door, but it wouldn’t open. It must have been locked. I heard them mutter something under their breath, and then use the stairs. I couldn’t tell if they were going up or down. I thought it was one of the cleaners, trying to get into one of the rooms, so I didn’t think any more of it.”
“Okay, Gus. Now the only door to which the murderer could have gained access to the stairwell was on your floor. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“If you’re saying I did it, then you’re wrong. I was asleep the whole time. The only point at which I knew something was wrong was when I heard the manager over the tannoy, saying that we should all go outside.”
“Really? Well, thank you all. And don’t worry – I’ll catch the killer.” He gave Mrs. Humis a final glance before making his way back to the pool area. “Peter, I think I’ve found our murderer.”
So who was it this time: the missus or one of the sons? Then again, maybe it was the porter...