knees2you
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"Shear Murder" by Hy Conrad
Solve-it #283 - June 2005
Originally appeared March 1998
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Previous Solve-it
Shear Murder
Donna was having dinner at home when someone decided to murder her instead! What happened?
The homicide sergeant glanced around the victim's bedroom. It was a far cry from the obsessive neatness of the rest of the house. There were broken furniture, torn-down pictures, and a crunchy coating of shattered picture glass covering the carpet. "Quite a fight," he muttered.
On the bed lay the body of Donna DeAngelo, a clothing designer who had returned, just hours before, from a business trip. She had been stabbed several times with a pair of pinking shears. Her purse was missing, as was the jewelry from her dresser. But there was no sign of sexual assault.
The victim's sister, June, was contacted at work, halfway across town. As soon as she got over her initial shock and grief, June gave the police a statement.
"I picked up Donna at the airport and drove her home. As soon as we got there, Donna went right up to her bedroom and unpacked everything. We talked. You know, sister stuff. Then I had to get to work. My shift starts at seven. Donna's husband was supposed to come over. Calvin wanted her to sign the final divorce papers, but Donna kept refusing. I guess he doesn't have to worry about that now."
Calvin DeAngelo confirmed the appointment. "I got to Donna's around seven p.m." The sergeant noted that this was a half hour after June had left the house. "I knocked and knocked, but Donna didn't answer. I figured she was just being childish. Trying to avoid me."
The last person to actually speak to the victim was the owner of Grandview Restaurant. "At a few minutes before seven, Mrs. DeAngelo called in an order of pasta primavera to be delivered. Her voice sounded a bit nervous. My son Billy delivered it. Billy's not in any trouble, is he?"
It was Billy who discovered the body. "The front door was unlocked," the antagonistic delivery boy testified. "I wasn't about to be stood up, so I went inside. At first I didn't think anyone was home. And then I got to the bedroom."
The sergeant finished examining the crime scene. He opened the closet, saw the rows of neatly hung clothing, then removed the lone suitcase from a shelf. It was empty and immaculate except-- except for a tiny shard of glass caught in a side pouch.
He inspected the shard, then rubbed his chin. "I think we have our killer."
Whom does the Sergeant suspect?
June
Calvin
Billy
Not sure
The Solution
June
How other people responded:
35% said June
25% said Calvin
31% said Billy
9% said Not sure
The Explanation
Why?
The shard reminded the sergeant of the shattered picture glass in the bedroom. The suitcase must have been lying open during the deadly fight. This made him suspect June, who'd testified that Donna had finished unpacking while they were together. If that were true, then how could the glass fragment have gotten inside the suitcase?
June eventually confessed. That evening she took advantage of the car ride to tell Donna the reason Calvin wanted a divorce. He and June were in love. The sisters fought and Donna wound up getting sheared.
June finished unpacking Donna's suitcase. A half-hour later, when June arrived at work, she telephoned Grandview Restaurant, pretending to be her sister. This would push back the supposed time of death and implicate Billy in a robbery/murder.
Sincerely, Ant~
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