The Locked Room Mystery
Detective Sarah Pearson stood outside the locked room, her brow furrowed in confusion. Inside, the body of millionaire businessman Robert Hartley lay lifeless on the floor. The room was completely sealed from the inside, with no windows and only one door, which had been locked from within. It appeared to be an impossible crime.
As Sarah examined the scene, she noticed a few peculiar details. A half-empty glass of whiskey sat on the desk, next to a pen and a piece of paper with a single word scrawled on it: "BETRAYED." The room was in disarray, with books and papers scattered across the floor.
Sarah interviewed the family members and staff present in the mansion. Robert's wife, Elizabeth, claimed to have been in the garden at the time of the murder. The butler, James, said he was in the kitchen preparing dinner. The maid, Anna, had been cleaning the upstairs bedrooms. Finally, Robert's business partner, Michael, stated he had been in the living room, going over some documents.
As Sarah dug deeper, she discovered that Robert had recently changed his will, leaving the majority of his estate to his charity rather than his family. This revelation cast suspicion on Elizabeth, who stood to lose a significant amount of money.
However, the locked room mystery still puzzled Sarah. She decided to examine the crime scene once more. As she studied the scattered papers on the floor, she noticed a small, almost imperceptible gap between the floorboards. Upon closer inspection, Sarah discovered a hidden compartment containing a key.
The key unlocked a secret passage leading from the living room to the locked room. Suddenly, the pieces fell into place. Michael, Robert's business partner, had used the hidden passage to enter the room, murder Robert, and then plant the key before returning to the living room.
When confronted with the evidence, Michael confessed to the crime. He had been embezzling money from the company and knew that Robert's change in the will would expose his misdeeds. The locked room mystery was solved, and justice was served.
