bout de papier, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1987) — Spring 1987 // Printemps 1987, p. 54
Chief Inspector de Toombs was discussing his latest case with ace logician LDC Liebnitz. “Terrible mess, Liebnitz. Head of the University biochemistry department, name of Fynkk, killed with one of his own chemicals — some new wonder drug to which he (and only he) was deathly allergic. Suicide ruled out. Someone slipped the drug into his campari-soda as it sat on a little table outside the phone booth he was using. Funny thing was, there was another drink there and it had the drug in it as well — which makes no sense at all, since it was only poison to Fynkk. The second drink belonged to a man named Borox. We checked both glasses for fingerprints and typed the saliva on the rims, but everything linked to the rightful drinkers. Only five suspects, all fellow-professors. Each was sitting in the bar outside the vestibule (look at this map, Liebnitz). Each entered the vestibule once while Fynkk was on the phone. No more than one of the suspects was in the vestibule area (including the washroom or the booths) at any given time, except when two met briefly by the door. No-one else went in. All of them had access to the new drug and knew about Fynkk’s allergy. We put them all through a lie detector test the same night and got these twenty-five statements:
Art Arthurs: (1) I didn’t kill him. (2) Just before I went into the vestibule, a short man came out. (3) Dawson is up for President of Harvard and desperate to get the job. (4) I had no reason to dislike Fynkk; we certainly never fought. (5) All my statements are true. Wes Borox: (6) I didn’t kill him. (7) Caswell came into the vestibule as I was leaving and we spoke; that’s why I forgot my drink. (8) Caswell’s wife was having an affair with Fynkk; Caswell only found out this morning. (9) Fynkk told me earlier today he had discovered that one of us five had faked important research results — he crowed that he would soon expose his “Piltdown man”. (10) Arthurs had hated Fynkk ever since Fynkk published a savage critique on Arthurs’ landscapes.
Leon Caswell: (11) I didn’t kill him. (12) Yes, my vision is poor these days, but my other senses are enhanced — I can smell the rose in your lapel from here. (13) Arthurs went into the vestibule some time after I came out. (14) No, Fynkk wasn’t my wife’s lover; he was Mrs. Borox’s lover. (15) Borox has a nasty temper — nearly killed a man in a brawl last year.
Charles Dawson: (16) I didn’t kill him.
(17) I was first into the vestibule after Fynkk;
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I went in to get some tissue for this bloody cold in my nose. (18) Everyone knew the Campari was Fynkk’s — he’s the only one on faculty who drinks it. (19) Exmund hated Fynkk because Fynkk stole Exmund’s formula for the new drug, published first and made a lot of money from the patent. (20) Exmund was the last of us to enter the vestibule.
Roger Exmund: (21) I didn’t kill him. (22) Mrs. Borox is utterly faithful to her husband. (23) Arthurs and Fynkk had a big shouting match this morning. (24) I’ve noticed mucho eye trouble among your suspects – Caswell has advanced glaucoma, Dawson has protanapia and Borox severe hyperpopia. (25) I went into the vestibule right after Arthurs came out.
“Our lie detector operator unfortunately got the print-outs mixed up the first time through. At that stage all we could tell was that twenty of these statements were true while five were false in whole or in part (we verified later that there were no “honest mistakes”). Only two of the suspects were fully honest with us, but no-one made more false statements than the murderer. We ran the tests again of course and found that the killer (there’s only one involved) was…”
“Wait a tick,” interrupted the logician. I think I can tell you who it was, just from the information you have given me, plus a little browsing in the encyclopedia. Hmmm. And three other questions — how tall was each suspect, what was each’s Department, and what was each drinking – I assume that all the glasses were the same?? “Yes on the last point,” replied his friend. “As to the rest, Arthurs, who is an artist, drank Cuba Libres (rum and coke); Borox the chemist drank something called a Starboard Light (crème de menthe, lemon juice and soda); Caswell the archaeologist drank Singapore Slings (mostly gin and orange juice); Dawson the biologist (used to work for our lab) drank gin and tonic; and Exmund the biochemist drank Harvey Wallbangers (mostly galliano and vodka). Borox and Caswell are over six feet, Athurs is five-eleven, Dawson and Exmund are about five-seven.
After a few minutes, LDC Leibnitz threw down his pencil and told de Toombs, “Although the case is not completely airtight, I can give you the simplest solution that fits all the facts.” Can you duplicate LDC’s feat by naming the murderer, the motive and the five lies?? Please send your answers to bout de papier, which is still trying to cheer up the Chief Inspector.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1987) — Spring 1987 // Printemps 1987, p. 54. Read the rest of this issue →
