"Well, detective, it looks like we have another murder on our hands. This time it is the manager in an apartment complex. The murder was clean--no finger prints, and no murder weapon found. All of the apartments, including the manager's downstairs, are connected by a central stairway. Because of the fresh snow this evening, we know that no one entered or exited the apartment between the time of the murder and the time that the police arrived. Since we know who was in the apartment then, we know that whoever committed this murder must be one of these people."
"Were there any eye-witnesses?"
"Unfortunately, no. When the tenants heard the scream and the shots, all of them locked their doors and stayed inside. A few phone calls were made after that, but no one dared to venture into the stairway to get a look at the murderer."
"I guess that stands to reason. Which of the tenants had a motive for murder?"
"Unfortunately, all of them. The manager was going to sell the building, which would either force all of the tenants out or cause their rent to double. Now, the building falls into the possession of the manager's parents, who have no desire to sell."
"It seems like all we need to do then is to find out who doesn't have an alibi."
"Either that, or catch someone in a lie. That would give us enough evidence to get a search warrant and find the weapon."
"You mentioned that there were some phone calls made. Have you checked with the phone company's records to verify who made these calls?"
"Unfortunately, we won't have that information until Monday morning. The murderer could dispose of the weapon by then, so we would like to make an arrest quickly. Why do these things always seem to happen on a Friday evening?"
William Paulsen / wpaulsen@mathstat.astate.edu Send me a comment.