Monday, January 12, 2009

Monday Mystery Theater


THE CASE:

Swami Morishi was on a hunger strike until his followers could raise two million dollars to pay off the mortgage on their cult compound.

Even into the third week of his fast, the Swami kept to his routine. He would meditate in the mornings, then meet privately with Michelle, his second-in-command, to work on any business. He would then teach in the afternoons and in the evenings tour the compound.

One night, right after his tour of the kitchen, the Swami collapsed. Michelle was called from her cabin and rushed to the scene. By the time the ambulance arrived, the Swami was already dead.

Michelle took over the cult leadership until a week later when she was arrested for murder. The Swami had been poisoned with cyanide.

THE MYSTERY:

How did Michelle poison a man who had sworn not to eat anything?

THE CLUES:

1. The Swami followed a deadly routine.
2. In some cases the cure is worse than the disease.

THE ANSWER:


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

4 comments:

Stormi said...

Michelle was tired of being second in command. It was her turn to lead the cult and she did not think the old fashioned techniques of a hunger strike would do anything for thier cause. So knowing that Swami Morishi had a dead set routine she drilled a small hole in the wall of his meditation room.

Michelle then got some cyanide gas and filtered into the room a little at a time while he was meditating.

One day as he was touring the kitchen he dropped dead. It did not look like foul play, so Michelle thought she had gotten away with murder.

Her dream of being the leader was short lived after the autopsy showed traces of cyanide poisoning.

Anonymous said...

Michelle knew that although Swami Morishi was not eating, he was being treated for an infection or another illness.

He ended his nightly tour of the compound in the kitchen because his antibiotic or other medication was stored in the refrigerator. Michelle placed cyanide in the medicine earlier that day, knowing that no one else would accidentally be poisoned. After all, this was a prescription medication with the patient's name clearly posted on it.

That night, Swami Morishi took his medicine as normal, not having a clue that he was administering poison to himself. Upon swallowing the lethal dose, he died quickly.

Michelle was no where near the crime scene at the time of death but when the cyanide was detected in his body and in the medication, the investigation revealed she had been in the kitchen earlier in the day.

In case I win, it's cathy (underscore) shouse (at) yahoo (dot) com

Anonymous said...

Although the Swami was on a hunger strike, Michelle encouraged the routine of drinking juices due to his cold as a “cure” in dealing with his that and the hunger. She made sure at his various locations during the day he had a bottle of juice. Knowing of his routine, she inserted potassium cyanide into his next bottle that he would drink when he toured the kitchen. Between the sweetness of the juice to help offset the bitterness of the cyanide and the Swami’s lack of taste with his cold, she knew he would not taste the new deadly addition. (She was an admirer of Jim Jones.). When she was called after the Swami’s initial collapse, she administered more of the juice attributing his collapse on hunger and the need of some nutrients (but in her mind to ensure a quick death). She replaced the lethal juice bottle and left at the scene when the ambulance arrived and carefully disposed of the lethal bottle. She also discreetly gathered up the other lethal one in the kitchen and replaced it with another empty with the Swami’s prints.

Elizabeth Ludwig said...

Ah...so close.

The real answer?

Driven by ambition, Michelle wanted to take over the cult. She knew that Rusty Morishi, otherwise known as the Swami, would sooner or later faint from hunger. When that finally happened, Michelle was ready.

When she heard of his collapse, Michelle took a vial of liquid smelling salts and dropped in a cyanide pellet. While she pretended to revive him, she was really sticking the vial under his nose and making him inhale the fatal gas!