Evidence of Absence - Five-Minute Reasoning Detective

Author: Wang Yansong, Zhang Peng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Colonel Rolo's inspection of this province was fraught with danger, and local military leaders took various measures to ensure his safety. Two assassination attempts on Colonel Rolo had already occurred this year, and he didn’t want a third. When Colonel Rolo’s train stopped at the Zogorula station, local officials were already waiting to greet him. But the colonel’s bulletproof carriage door was tightly shut. The town mayor approached and knocked, and then he heard the sound of something heavy falling inside. Soon after, the train door opened. Captain Croker stumbled out. Croker was the colonel’s aide, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and holding a handkerchief. The captain looked very weak. "It was an assassination," he said, coughing. The mayor peered into the carriage and saw the body of Colonel Rolo, dressed in pajamas and slippers. The dark purple mark on his neck indicated he had been strangled with a thin but sturdy rope. The colonel’s bodyguard lay unconscious on the ground. When roused, he recounted what had happened. "We were all inside the carriage. I was on guard at the door. Captain Croker was eating, and Colonel Rolo was dozing. Mrs. Rolo was in the bathroom, getting ready." The bodyguard kicked the wall with his boot in frustration, leaving a dent in the wall. "I don’t know how this happened. Suddenly, the carriage filled with smoke. In just a few seconds, we all lost consciousness." The train’s engine was functioning properly. The three survivors’ accounts were consistent: when the smoke bomb exploded, everyone was alone in the carriage. A thorough search of the scene yielded a clue: a gas mask. No weapon was found, and no evidence suggested how the killer had entered or left.
"It’s a ghost," Mrs. Rolo trembled. "Like divine retribution."
"No," said the clever mayor. "It was an assassination. Someone brought the weapon aboard the train, and I’ve already seen it."
Who killed the colonel? What was the weapon? P5-8