The Locked Room Murder
Detective Sarah Pearson arrived at the crime scene, a luxurious penthouse apartment on the top floor of a high-rise building. The victim, a wealthy businessman named Robert Montgomery, had been found dead in his study, locked from the inside. The only key to the room was in the victim's pocket.
As Sarah examined the scene, she noticed that the window was slightly ajar, despite being on the 30th floor. The room showed no signs of a struggle, and the only visible injury on the victim was a small puncture wound on his neck. The coroner estimated the time of death to be between 8 and 10 PM the previous evening.
Sarah interviewed the victim's wife, Julia, who claimed she had been at a charity event at the time of the murder. The building's security confirmed her alibi, as she had been seen leaving and returning during the specified timeframe. The couple's adult son, Michael, had been out of town on business.
As Sarah dug deeper, she discovered that Robert had recently changed his will, leaving the majority of his estate to his mistress, Olivia. Julia and Michael had been unaware of the affair and the change in the will.
Sarah searched the apartment and found a small, ornate blowgun hidden in Michael's room, along with a set of darts tipped with a rare South American poison. When confronted, Michael confessed to the murder, revealing that he had climbed from the balcony of his own apartment one floor below, entered through the study window, and shot his father with the blowgun before staging the locked room scene.
The motive? Michael couldn't bear the thought of his father's betrayal and the family losing their inheritance to the mistress. He had planned the murder meticulously, using his knowledge of the building's security and his father's habits to create the perfect crime. However, he had underestimated Sarah's keen eye for detail and her relentless pursuit of the truth.
