The Locked Room
Detective Sarah Pearson stood outside the locked room, her heart racing. Inside, the lifeless body of millionaire Robert Thompson lay on the floor. The door was bolted from the inside, and the windows were securely locked. No one could have entered or exited the room.
As Sarah surveyed the scene, she noticed a strange odor lingering in the air. She also found a half-empty glass of whiskey on the desk, next to a crumpled piece of paper. The note read, "I can't live with the guilt any longer."
Sarah interviewed the family members, but they all had alibis. The housekeeper, Maria, claimed she heard a gunshot while cleaning downstairs. Sarah examined the body and found no signs of a struggle, only a single gunshot wound to the head.
The detective was puzzled. How could someone commit suicide in a locked room? She searched the room thoroughly and discovered a small hole in the wall behind a painting. Upon closer inspection, Sarah realized that the hole lined up perfectly with the bullet wound in Robert's head.
Suddenly, it all made sense. Sarah gathered everyone in the living room and revealed the truth. "Robert Thompson didn't commit suicide. He was murdered by someone who knew this house inside and out. Someone who had access to the room next door and drilled a hole through the wall."
She turned to face Maria, the housekeeper. "It was you, wasn't it? You killed him and staged it to look like a suicide."
Maria broke down in tears, confessing to the crime. She had been stealing from Robert for years, and when he discovered her theft, she feared he would turn her in. In a moment of desperation, she shot him through the wall and locked the door from the outside, using a spare key.
Sarah handcuffed Maria and called for backup. Another case closed, but the detective couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness for the lives ruined by greed and deception.
