Sir Levikus, one evening, rather unwisely, announced at dinner that he was cutting someone out of his will. Sure enough, the next morning,
Sir Levikus was found slumped over the desk in his study, having been fatally stabbed with a paper-knife.
Herlock Sholmes, renowned private investigator, immediately began questioning all the suspects to discover who had seen the victim last.
Here are their statements, all of which are true:
a) His long-time friend, Martin, said : "I went to the study to show Sir Levikus a first edition I bought yesterday. He kept it to examine more closely."
b) Lady Jane (my sweet Lady Jane...), Sir Levikus´s wife (now widow), said : "I borrowed the evening newspaper from my husband. There was no paper-knife present at that time; I would have remembered it."
c) Nathan, the son of the deceased, said: "I did not have coffee with my father. When I went to the study he was reading the newspaper and smoking a cigar. He showed me Martin´s first edition."
d) Lisa, Sir Levikus´s daughter, said : "I went to return the newspaper mother had borrowed."
e) Tom, the butler, said: "As was usual after dinner, I brought the coffee service to the study. Sir Levikus was at his desk reading the evening newspaper."
f) Reny, the maid, said: "I only went in to clear the coffee service. I did see that four cups had been used."
g) Cristian, the brother of the murdered man, said: "Since there was no coffee when I went to the study, we had brandy together. I wanted to look at the newspaper, but it was not in the room."
h) Simone, Sir Levikus´s niece, said: "Certainly I recognize the paper-knife. My uncle brought it out when we were having coffee together. I noticed that one other cup had been used."
Herlock Sholmes´s incisive brain immediately determined who was the last person to visit Sir Levikus and thus, was his murderer.
Who was the killer? Can you list Sir Levikus´s eight visitors in order? Show your reasoning!
My first solution to post! I know I've been redundant here and there, but it was mostly to help myself with the solving.
Notations: +, - for items added and subtracted; * for items present.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
MARTIN must visit before NATHAN, because of the presence of Martin’s book.<o:p></o:p>
JANE must visit before LISA, because of the newspaper.<o:p></o:p>
JANE must visit before SIMONE because of the knife.<o:p></o:p>
TOM comes in and brings coffee service; RENY removes coffee service and 4 used cups.<o:p></o:p>
LEVIKUS uses Cup 1; SIMONE uses Cup 3 (“one other cup had been used”). <o:p></o:p>
We have, to start:
TOM + coffee <o:p></o:p>
* newspaper<o:p></o:p>
(assign LEVIKUS Cup 1)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
SIMONE + knife<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 3) <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
RENY - coffee<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 1: (LEVIKUS)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 2:<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 3 :(SIMONE)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 4:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Who can use Cups 2 & 4? <o:p></o:p>
LEVIKUS no<o:p></o:p>
MARTIN possibly<o:p></o:p>
JANE possibly<o:p></o:p>
NATHAN no<o:p></o:p>
LISA possibly<o:p></o:p>
TOM no (at least, highly unlikely so assume not)<o:p></o:p>
RENY no<o:p></o:p>
CRISTIAN no<o:p></o:p>
SIMONE no<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Let us assume JANE & LISA, in that order since they borrowed and returned the newspaper, respectively.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
TOM + coffee <o:p></o:p>
* newspaper<o:p></o:p>
(LEVIKUS Cup 1)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
JANE - newspaper<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 2) No knife present<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
SIMONE + knife<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 3)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
LISA + newspaper <o:p></o:p>
(Cup 4) * knife<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
RENY - coffee<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 1: (LEVIKUS)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 2: (JANE)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 3 :(SIMONE)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 4: (LISA)<o:p></o:p>
* knife<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
This leaves MARTIN, NATHAN, and CRISTIAN unplaced. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
CRISTIAN saw no newspaper, so he visited between JANE & LISA. However, since Lisa and Jane both drank a cup of coffee, during Cristian’s visit there would have to have been coffee available, contradicting the “there was no coffee” clue. Therefore, JANE & LISA cannot be the users of Cups 2 & 4.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
MARTIN must be one of the users of Cups 2 & 4, and either JANE or LISA must be the other. That means that it is not possible for Levikus to have the newspaper when Tom arrived because both Jane and Lisa had come and gone; so<o:p></o:p>
Tom brings the coffee before Jane borrows the newspaper. Using all combinations of Martin, Jane, and Lisa we now have:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
TOM + coffee service <o:p></o:p>
* newspaper<o:p></o:p>
(LEVIKUS Cup 1)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
[a: MARTIN, b: MARTIN, c: JANE, or d: LISA]<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 2)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
SIMONE + knife<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 3) <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
[a: JANE, b: LISA, c: MARTIN, or d: MARTIN]<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 4)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
RENY - coffee service<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 1: (LEVIKUS)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 2:<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 3 :(SIMONE)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 4:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
We know CRISTIAN has to visit the study after JANE & before LISA, at a time when no coffee is available. Note that the coffee service might still be present, but empty. The only time no coffee is available is either before Tom or after Cup 4 is used. Since we know Jane cannot visit before Tom, and Cristian cannot visit before Jane we have: <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Tom, Jane, Cristian, then Lisa, with Cup 4 being used before Cristian and Lisa. Therefore, Lisa cannot be the user of Cup 4 or of Cup 2. This makes choices b: and d: invalid. Choice a: is not valid because Jane has to visit before Simone, leaving only c:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
TOM + coffee service <o:p></o:p>
* newspaper<o:p></o:p>
(LEVIKUS Cup 1)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
JANE - newspaper<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 2)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
SIMONE + knife<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 3) <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
MARTIN + book<o:p></o:p>
(Cup 4)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
RENY - coffee service<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 1: (LEVIKUS)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 2: (JANE)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 3 :(SIMONE)<o:p></o:p>
-Cup 4: (MARTIN)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
We know that Cristian then Lisa come after Martin (Cup 4); also Nathan comes after Martin. Nathan must also come after Lisa in order for the newspaper to have been returned to Levikus. So we have in order: Cristian, Lisa, Nathan. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Where in this lineup does Reny fall? Since she commented on the four used coffee cups, I am going to assume that she also would have commented on the brandy snifters used by Cristian and Levikus if she had seen them. Therefore, she must have cleared up the coffee service before Cristian arrived. That makes the final lineup:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Tom<o:p></o:p>
Jane<o:p></o:p>
Simone<o:p></o:p>
Martin<o:p></o:p>
Reny<o:p></o:p>
Cristian<o:p></o:p>
Lisa<o:p></o:p>
Nathan, the culprit!<o:p></o:p>
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Posted by gail
on 2005-07-18 07:54:39 |
Long detailed solution
