Monday, November 10, 2008

Monday Mystery Theater


THE CASE:

A man lies dead on a track. Near his body is a shard of glass.

THE MYSTERY:

Who murdered the man, and how?

THE CLUES:

1. Tracks can be tricky, depending on how you look at them.
2. Upon reflection, the driver should have seen the problem.

THE ANSWER:

Think you know the answer? Fill in the comment box to submit your guess. Winner receives a free Heartsong Presents Mystery!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

The man’s death was an accident. The man and driver were crossing the tracks when the driver hit a shard of glass sending it through the air hitting the man; therefore, the glass that hit with such force killed the man instantly. The driver panicked and fled the scene making it a crime.

Mystery Mandy

Brenda said...

The man was killed, but the fault was his. The man was walking along a railroad track shaving. He was hit by the train and killed. He should have seen the train coming because he was looking into a mirror to shave.
Thus the shard of glass by him.
Brenda.Spiers@thyssenkrupp.com

tinabea said...

The man was a magician practicing his new illusion using mirrors to make an entire train disappear. Unforunately, while standing behind a mirror he was setting up, he didn't hear the train coming and was struck dead. The man's body flew over the train landing back on the track, leaving only a shard of the mirror lying next to his body. The rest of the mirror remained stuck to the front of the speeding train.

The driver of the train wasn't paying attention or he would have thrown on the brakes when he saw the reflection in the mirror and thought he was about to run head-on into another train.

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

Sorry, sleuths. Your answers are intriguing, but I'm afraid you're a little off track.

Pay particuler attention to clue number two.

Anonymous said...

The man was walking on one side of the tracks when a train came his way. The driver had thought he was on the other track, but turned out he was on the same track as the man. The driver should have seen in the mirror’s reflection that he was indeed on the wrong track, but it was too late. He hit the man. He had also forgotten that objects in mirrors are closer than appear. He drove over a shard of glass sending it through air hitting and thus killing the man.

Mandy

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

Ah, Mandy...so close. But you're still not on the right track.

tinabea said...

The man was a racecar driver. While taking a practice run he noticed something shiny on the track and pulled over to check it out. A rival racer noticed him bending over in the middle of the track and took the opportunity to run him down, leaving his dead body next to the still untouched shard of glass.

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

NOW you're on the right track. Good sleuthing, Tina. But you're still missing one vital bit of information...

Try reflecting on some of the other answers. Perhaps the answer will become clear.

Anonymous said...

The man was a racecar driver. It was the day of the BIG race. The race was in his favor. Another racecar driver was jealous. He wasn’t about to lose. The day before the big race the driver changed the route of the tracks so the man would go the opposite way. During the race, the man stopped in the middle of the race when he saw a piece of glass lying in the middle of the track. Upon reflection on the glass, he noticed the problem. He was going the wrong way. As he was approaching his car the other driver, coming the other way, slammed into him where he landed beside the shard of glass and was killing him instantly.

My answer is a little far fetched. haha

Mandy

tinabea said...

A racecar driver was taking a practice run when he noticed something shiny in the middle of the track. He pulled over and got out to go investigate. What he found was a side mirror that must have fallen off another racecar during one of the many crashes on the track. The driver stood on the track inspecting the mirror to see if it could still be used when he noticed the reflection of his main rival's car bearing down on him. It was too late. He was struck and killed and the mirror lay next to him on the track.

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

Looks like I may have stumped this ring of slueths on one very important fact.

I'm feeling magnanimous...I'll give you one last clue.

3. Looking back, this death was no accident.

Anonymous said...

The man was a racecar driver. The day before the BIG race he decided to take a practice run, but he came upon what appeared to be a shiny object lying in the middle of the track. He got out of his car to investigate. During that time, a competitor quietly and quickly went to his car and cut the break line. The man should have seen the car’s reflection in the mirror, but it was too late. The car slammed into him, killing him instantly and that is how his body laid on the track beside the shard of glass.

Mandy

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

Tick, tick, tick...the clock is counting down to Friday. Looks like I'm going to win this round. (evil laugh) :-)

Stormi said...

I will try something different...lol

A driver at a race track bent over to pick up a piece of what looked like a mirror. While looking at the piece he sees the reflection of a scope, but it was to late. The man hired by the drivers wife hit his mark. The man now lays dead beside the piece of mirror.

Stormi :)

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

I like the way you think, Stormi. I might have even been tempted to give it to you since you contrived such an interesting scenario. Unfortunately, I'll have to put that idea asunder. Even if I wanted to obey, my love for cherishing the truth just would not allow it.

Hmmm...

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

AH...so you've all given up, have you?? All right then, I'll post the CORRECT answer:

Mario Condretti was a race car driver who loved fast cars and even faster wife. Unfortunately, his wife was the jealous type. When she discovered Mario's indiscretions, she enlisted the aid of one of his mechanics and changed his mirrors so that Mario couldn't tell how close objects were! Poor Mario crashed into the wall, ending his affairs...and his life.

Chalk one up for me! Better luck next week, slueths...

Stormi said...

aaaaaawwwwww man I was soooo close...lol. Can't wait for the next one.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I thought race cars didn't have side mirrors?! Are you sure you did your background research on this one? (I'm not positive, but that's what I recall from when I edited a Nascar themed novella collection.)

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

What! Anonymous questions my research?? (wink)

Here's a little tidbit for you from Formula 1:

(snip) That's why the world's most successful racing teams DEPEND on Multivex mirrors! Professional race car drivers physically cannot turn their heads inside the cockpit of a race car, so in order to see their blind spots at over 230 MPH, they must rely on quick glances into their Multivex mirrors to get a full and accurate picture of what is going on behind and beside their race car. (snip)

Anonymous said...

Wow...what a tricky mystery. lol I don't think I would have guess that answer. Hopefully next week’s mystery won't be so hard.

Also, I received my book today. It looks great, can't wait to start it. Thank you! :D

Mandy