The Locked Room Mystery
Detective Sarah Jones stood outside the locked room, her heart racing. Inside, the lifeless body of millionaire businessman, Robert Thompson, lay on the floor. The door was locked from the inside, and the windows were sealed shut. No one could have entered or exited the room.
Sarah examined the scene, noting the overturned chair and the shattered glass on the floor. She spotted a crumpled piece of paper in Robert's hand and carefully retrieved it. It read, "I can't live with the guilt any longer. I'm sorry."
The detective interviewed the family members present in the house. Robert's wife, Elizabeth, claimed she was in the garden when the incident occurred. Their son, Michael, said he was studying in his room, while the daughter, Lily, was out with friends.
Sarah searched the house and discovered a hidden safe in Robert's study. Inside, she found a diary detailing Robert's involvement in a fraudulent business deal that had ruined many lives. The last entry mentioned a confrontation with an unknown person who threatened to expose him.
Suspicion fell on the family members, but their alibis checked out. Sarah re-examined the crime scene and noticed something peculiar – the glass shards on the floor didn't match the window. She realized the glass was from a drinking glass, not the window.
Sarah confronted Elizabeth, who broke down and confessed. She had discovered Robert's diary and learned of his deceit. Furious, she had confronted him in the locked room. In a fit of rage, she had struck him with a drinking glass, causing him to fall and hit his head. Elizabeth had staged the scene to look like a suicide, planting the note in Robert's hand.
The case was solved, but Sarah couldn't help but feel a sense of tragedy. A family torn apart by secrets and lies, a life lost to greed and deception. She walked away, knowing that justice had been served, but at a terrible cost.
