The Locked Room
Detective Jane Hartley stood in the dimly lit study, staring at the lifeless body of businessman Robert Farnsworth. He lay sprawled on the floor, a single gunshot wound to his temple. The room was locked from the inside, and the only window was sealed shut.
"It appears to be a suicide," said Officer Tom Banks, gesturing to the gun in Farnsworth's hand.
Jane shook her head. "Something doesn't add up. Why would a successful man like Farnsworth take his own life?"
She examined the scene, noting the scattered papers on the desk and the half-empty glass of whiskey. A crumpled note caught her eye. It read, "I can't live with the guilt any longer."
As Jane questioned the staff, she learned that Farnsworth's business partner, Mark Jameson, had left the house just minutes before the body was discovered. Jameson claimed he had no idea what had happened.
The next day, an autopsy revealed that Farnsworth had been drugged before being shot. Jane knew it couldn't have been a suicide. She dug deeper into Farnsworth's past and discovered that he and Jameson had been embezzling money from their company.
Confronting Jameson, Jane laid out her theory. "You drugged Farnsworth, shot him, and staged it as a suicide. You knew he was going to confess to the embezzlement, and you couldn't let that happen."
Jameson laughed. "You can't prove anything. The room was locked from the inside."
But Jane had one last piece of evidence. "You used a simple trick - a piece of string tied to the key and threaded through the crack under the door. After shooting Farnsworth, you locked the door, pulled the key out, and walked away."
Faced with the truth, Jameson confessed. Another mystery solved by Detective Jane Hartley.
