FILE No.87Unsolved
A man was found dead in his study. The door was locked, and the key was lying on the floor just inside the door. The lock works with a key from either side. The window is fixed and cannot open. The only spare key was in the dead man's pocket.
There is a gap of about 1 inch under the door. In the hallway outside lay one scrap of newspaper. Also, the tip of the key had a faint smear of ink.
It looks as if the man locked himself in. But the culprit left the room.
How did the culprit make it look that way?
If you get stuck, open the hints one at a time, in order.
What could the gap under the door be used for?
What was the paper in the hallway for?
What did the ink on the key tip touch?
How did the culprit make it look that way?
Choose the answer closest to the truth.
Locked the door from outside with the key taken from the room, then slid the key back under the door on a sheet of newspaper
The answer is: locked the door from outside with the key taken from the room, then slid the key back under the door on a sheet of newspaper.
The culprit took the key from inside the room, left, and locked the door from the hallway. Then the key was laid on the newspaper and pushed through the 1-inch gap, so it ended up on the floor inside. The room now looked locked from within, with the key lying beside the door.
The ink on the key tip came from the newspaper, and the scrap left in the hallway is the proof.
With the key lying inside the room, it seems the door could not have been locked from outside.
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