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I agree with virgil... to add on to that, it didn't take him any time it seems for abercombie to realized that the cop was talking about elwood.. plus, if his wife already knows that her brother is mentally depressed, then abercombie doesn't have to say much..
Abercrombie is selling antique jade figurines when he should be selling Oriental Curios, his 'specialty'. He is trying to get rid of them. Abercrombie has at least three brother-in-laws, and knew instantly which one had "commited suicide". Also, he assumed that Angeline, Elwood's sister, did not already know. But, being next of kin she would know before Abercrombie. He then says Elwood had been depressed for some time, but never had the time. But, he does not need time since Abercrombie's own brother-in-law is a shrink.
He killed ol' Elwood for the figurines and his wife called the police. Btw, his own sister and her Psychiatrist husband may be providing a coverup.
OK Jacky, lets settle here: You are correct on this line:Quote:
Originally Posted by jackyyyy
the only one really needed to solve the mystery. Jade figurines would BE Oriential Curios, Jade is usually carved into fantastic and intricate shapes in the Orient, where the stone is highly prized. Having been in Elwood's shoes, i.e., highly depressed, a person often goes into denial and will not seek out help even when friends and family urge them to do so. That part Abercrombie was correct about. Bravo, howhever, you solved the mystery! http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/sportlich/f015.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by jackyyy
Perhaps I missed something--where is this particular teaser located??
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showpost.php?p=178270&postcount=389Quote:
Originally Posted by RobinHood3000
Ahh, I get what happened now. I started reading this thread before those posts, and came back later, so when I kept flipping back and forth between the pages with the Back and Forward button, I never saw it. Weird.
hey pen... when're you putting up the next mystery???
Well, this is an old one, and not my best by a longshot. I really need to write some more. In this one, The Shadow is pretending to be Lamont Cranston and has his agent Margo Lane, who doesn't know the Shadow & Cranston are different people, along for the ride.
The Freak Show Fraud by Jonathan Blade
Margo Lane and Lamont Cranston were crossing the grounds of a large carnival.
“Where are we headed in such a rush, Lamont?” Margo asked.
“To Birkshire’s Seven in One Freak Show.”
“A freak show? Oh, Lamont, not after the bad experiences we both had in one of those places before!” [ Editor’s note: see The Freak Show Murders]
“We’re just looking this time, Margo.”
They paid their admission and were ushered into the dimly lit tent. Facing them were seven curtains. Birkshire appeared on the small stage in a spotlight.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Here you will see people that will astound you greatly. But I assure you that they are all as human as you or me regardless of their appearance. First, I give you Elasto, the Elastic Man!”
The first curtain rolled up, revealing a man in green trunks. At Birkshire’s signal, he reached up and pulled the skin on his face, stretching it like bubble gum.
“Ouch.” Margo whispered. “That’s got to hurt.”
“Not at all.” Replied Cranston. “The man suffers from a rare disease which leaves his skin in that condition.”
“Next,” Boomed Birkshire, “Croc, the Alligator Man!”
The man who appeared on stage had leathery skin like a lizard. His small eyes gleamed out of deep pits in his face.
“Now, that’s makeup, Lamont!”
“No. Another rare skin disease. Many of the poor people who suffer from it are also deformed in various ways. Mr. Croc is quite lucky.”
“Now, The Human Picture!”
The man who appeared was wearing only the briefest of trunks. From his bare feet to his shaven head, he was a rainbow of colorful tattoos.
“This man is a self-made freak, Margo. Although he must have endured great pain to achieve such totality under the needle.”
“Now, Princess Viper, Mistress of Snakes!”
The woman who appeared had two cobras entwined around her arms and a python around her neck. She played with her dangerous pets to the audience’s fear and delight.
“Well, those snake’s are defanged, Lamont!”
“Not so, Margo. You cannot defang a poisonous snake without killing it. They have been milked of their venom and are used to the lady. Yet they could spell death to others foolish enough to imitate her.”
“Amelia, the Bearded Lady!”
The woman who appeared might have been pretty, but for a luxurious black beard.
Lamont snorted. “Hardly a rare occurrence. Many women require some facial hair removal crème.”
“Bones, the Human Skeleton!”
The man who appeared also wore the briefest of trunks. His body seemed to consist of just skin stretched over a framework of bone.
“Lamont, they’re starving the poor man!”
“He’s as healthy as you are, Margo. He is simply one of those people whose metabolism works so fast that he is unable to gain weight.”
Birkshire was rubbing his hands. “And for our star attraction, from the dark continent of Africa, Kunta and Tabru, a set of African Siamese twins!”
The curtain rolled up. Kunta and Tabru sat on adjoining stools, since they were joined at the hip. They jabbered at the audience.
“Lamont, they look nothing alike!”
Cranston threw back his head and laughed. “So they don’t. Evidently Birkshire labors under the mistaken belief that to a white man all native men look alike. Congratulations, my dear. You have found the one fraud in Birkshire’s show!
WHY IS CRANSTON SO SURE THAT THIS IS A FRAUD, GIVEN THAT TWINS OFTEN LOOK NOTHING ALIKE AND INDEED, NEED NOT EVEN BE THE SAME SEX?
Isn't Siam in Southeast Asia? Or does the trick transcend semantics?
Could it be that to be joined at the hip is not a possible place for a siameese connection? Only guessing.
Siamese twins have to be genetically identical, meaning they have to originate from the same embryo, that split soon after conception. Is that it? Or do I miss the mark completely?
That's probably right. It's true that twins don't have to look alike, but SIAMESE twins are identical twins whose embryos didn't completely separate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AimusSage
My congragulations, gentlemen. That is the point, exactly. Siamese or Co-joined twins may be joined anywhere along the body. I know of one set where the girls have one body, (but three breasts), two heads, two arms, and two legs. One girl controls one half or the body and the other the opposite side. Strange, but true. But never would there be COMPLETE co-joined twins that were not identical. In the case of what is called a parasitical twin, not full formed, it may be deformed. BRAVO! http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/sportlich/f015.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by Robinhood3000
Very sick today, and probably will be for a couple days. But I wanted to post this riddle. Here's to you, DC! ;)
Anthony started on it.
Mary was required to keep it,
but Donald often lost it,
while Bridget wasted it.
It was decided that Albert had to do it,
yet Phil thought it changed too much—
and Mary began to complain that she couldn’t keep up with it—
reasoning that George was always behind it.
Now Rosemarie was definitely on it,
but Paul always ran out of it,
and absent-minded Alice simply forgot it.
Tyler seemed totally lost in it.
Finally, Marco finished on it,
but the next day Susan killed it—
and nobody knows where it goes.
The question is: What is it?
Time Pen?
:D