Working hard to finish the first draft of my fourth Cold Case Novel so I can go to see the Greats who have been born in the last two months! The twins, Ryder and Callie, were born on Monday after Thanksgiving and Aliyah was born last Friday! I made Aliyah’s blanket and almost have Ryder’s finished. Then I’ll make Callie one!
So on to the Mystery Question this week.
The year was 1937 and the body of a young woman was found on a vacant lot in the Jamaica district of South Queens. Beside the body, a baby girl lay crying, but not harmed. A bloodstained piece of concrete was found some fifty feet away along with an electric iron and a man’s left black shoe. It had a hole in the sole. The medical examiner fixed the time of death at no later than 2:30 a.m. and up to seven hours earlier. A bundle of bloodstained papers tied together with a strip of blue cloth was discovered when the body was moved along with photos of a man.
The papers were linked to Ulysses Palm and when the detectives went to the address on one of the envelopes in the bundle, they discovered the murdered woman, Phennie Perry, had lived in an upstairs apartment with her husband, Arthur. The detectives searched the apartment building and in the owner’s apartment, they found a right shoe that matched the left one at the crime scene along with a blue shirt that had a strip torn off. Both the husband and the apartment owner were taken in for questioning. Which man is guilty? Base your answer, using the clues below.
- Palm, the owner, admitted the items found at the crime scene were his, but he insisted that the shoe found was part of a pair he’d given Arthur Perry which Perry denied.
- According to Perry, the day before the murder, Palm had tried to break into Phennie’s bedroom, and Perry produced an indecent letter signed by Palm that Phennie had given him. It also included a death threat to her. How much weight would the letter carry? And how would the police determine who wrote it?
- According to Perry, he confronted Palm who denied the claim and demanded that Perry bring his wife to make the allegation in person. When Perry couldn’t reach his wife, Palm left at 9:50 p.m. But Palm’s story was his boss had asked him to work until 10:10 that night–the first time ever.
- How did a dirty sock belonging to Perry figure in the case?
How would the police use the above clues to arrest the correct person? And who do you think did it and why?
Leave your answer in the comments, and I’ll enter you in a drawing for an ARC of Justice Betrayed when it releases–you’ll receive it before it goes on sale.
[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]Did the husband murder his wife or was it the landlord? What’s your guess? #bookgiveaway #Mysteryquestion[/tweet_box]
Discover more from Patricia Bradley
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Comments 22
Very complicated evidence, but this time it’s the dirty sock.
Author
Delores, very good. But which man wore the shoe with the hole in it? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Palm committed the murder, based on the evidence given in clue #2.
Author
Rosalyn, we’ll see. Of course, #2 is what Perry claimed…and he may be telling the truth. Thanks for stopping by!
Your new grands are too adorable and the blankets beautiful, have a wonderful time visiting
Perry’s dirty sock must have had either a bloodstain or something to implicate him as the murderer. I think Perry did it.
I think Clue #4 points to the husband as the guilty party.
Author
Hi, Michelle, and welcome to my blog! We’ll see Tuesday if that is correct.
Perry is guilty. Checking with Palm’s boss would verify his alibi. Pat, your Greats are so sweet! Congratulations!
Author
Caryl, I can’t wait to see them, but it’ll probably be sometime next month. And we’ll see if Perry is guilty next week. Thanks for dropping by.
I think the landlord was framed by the husband. The letters and the piece of blue fabric were planted and too obvious. Don’t know about the dirty sock.
Author
Hi Paula. Good deductions. We’ll see next week. Thanks for coming by.
Perry did it! Those grands are adorable. Enjoy them!
Author
So you think the husband did it, Jackie. We’ll see Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by!
I think the husband was the murderer and tried to frame the apartment owner. The dirty sock was found in the shoe in the owner’s apartment and had dirt from the vacant lot on it.
Author
Edward, good deductions. We’ll see next week if you’re correct. Thanks for stopping by!
Congrats on your new greats, Pat! I think that Arthur Perry did it.
Author
Thank you, Gloria! I can’t wait to see them. And we’ll see if Perry did it next week. 🙂
I think the husband did it. The letter’s value would depend on verifying the writer, which could be done with handwriting analysis. The sock would have trace evidence from the crime scene since the shoe had a hole in it.
Author
Great deductions, Diane! We’ll see Tuesday if you’re correct. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
I think the landlord did it. But he wants the police to think that Perry was trying to frame him for it. The sock has blood on it since the left shoe had a hole in it. If Palms gave shoes to Perry, he could have stole the shoes & socks back from Perry, since he would have keys to apartment. So who is the baby that was found near her for Palm or Perry? Is that the motive?
Author
I like the way you think, Diane. 🙂 We’ll see how it pans out Tuesday. Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment!