Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. It had been three whole days since Lord Florentine was murdered. Three days of persistent rain. Sunnyside Downs's finest had failed to find the culprit. The call I'd been waiting for finally came. I was to go to the Florentine's mansion, Bohemia as it was commonly known, and investigate.
I arrived at Bohemia in my Egg & Egli Excelsior, and was acknowledged by the gatekeeper. In one smooth movement of his left hand, he produced a key from his pocket, inserted it into the lock on the gate, turned it clockwise and returned it to his pocket. He swung the gate open and I drove in. No introduction was necessary, I was expected. I asked the gatekeeper about the stonewall that ran the entire perimeter of the property and the possibility of somebody scaling it.
"Impossible Detective Benedict," he said, "as you can see it is ten feet high and the razor wire that runs along the top is electrified. Anybody coming into contact with it would be sliced up and fried like bacon. Also Detective, notice the dry moats at both the front and rear of the wall, five feet deep and five feet wide. The only way in or out is through that very gate you just entered and I guard it with my life. This wall is so impenetrable that I like to refer to it by the name of the wall built by the fourteenth Roman Emperor in the second century. You do know the wall I'm talking about, don't you?"
2. The butler was waiting for me when I drove to the front of the mansion. His right arm was plastered and supported by a sling. I knew I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist some fun at his expense.
"Welcome to Bohemia Detective Benedict," he greeted me with.
"Splendid Jeeves, been in the wars I see, old chap?" I returned.
"A minor mishap on the morning of the murder, nothing that won't heal."
"That's the spirit Jeeves, stiff upper lip hey what?"
"If you say so sir," evidently annoyed. "Now, Detective Benedict, you are at liberty to investigate any room of the mansion you care to, travel freely and unhindered upon the grounds and ask any question of any person. First off though, Lady Florentine awaits you in the library."
"Lead on then Jeeves, tally-ho."
"Just one last thing; my name is not Jeeves. I was born on the very same day that a certain Mr. Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes. My parents named me after this man, so if you don't mind please refer to me as ___ ."
3. "Detective Eggbert Benedict, m'am". I'd never been introduced before when entering a room. The butler turned and left us.
"Come closer Detective," requested Lady Florentine, "I make this five consecutive days of ceaseless rain."
As I got nearer I noticed the old dame was in a wheelchair. She noticed I noticed.
"To sate your curiosity Detective, I was thrown from a horse twenty years ago and left paralysed from the waist down. No more horses for me now, these books are my only pleasure. I've always loved my books, and my husband too of course, but his love for me eventually wilted away after my accident. As for his murder, Detective I have nothing to offer that may be of any use to you, my days are spent here in the library where nobody else ventures. Be certain you speak to the housemaid Maria, though. If my husband had any inclination that his life was in danger he would have confided in her. They had been lovers this past ten years, all with my knowledge and blessing. Our situation was just like that novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' except the roles were reversed. Please be a dear and take it down from the shelf for me, you do know the name of the author who wrote it, don't you?"
4. I took Lady Florentine's advice. I spoke to Maria the housemaid first. I found her in the dining room with a glass vase in her right hand. She was lovingly dusting it with a cloth she held in her left hand.
"I am aware of the arrangement between you and Mister Florentine," I thought it best to be upfront from the beginning.
"That we are lovers?" she gasped. "Please, you must not tell a soul."
I left it at that. No more needed to be said.
"Did he ever mention to you that his life was in danger?" I asked.
"Oh, Lord Florentine, no, not that I can recall."
"Never mentioned any enemies, people he'd wronged?"
"Never to me, Detective; he was a good man."
"Where were you when he was shot?"
"I was in the laundry preparing a load of washing."
"Your accent, where is that from?"
"I am from a small island located in the Venetian Lagoon that is renowned for the glassware that is produced there. Both the glassware and the island share the same name. This vase I was just dusting actually comes from that very place Detective, it is called ___?"
5. From the moment I arrived at Bohemia, and everywhere I went within the mansion, I could hear a violin being played. I followed the sound and came to a bedroom with a man in a pink shirt, black pants and sneakers. When he saw me he relieved his right hand of the bow and offered it to me.
"Frederick Florentine, son of the deceased" he said as I shook his hand. "My band uniform, not my usual attire." He must have read my thoughts. "Oliver Inglebottom's Handpicked Orchestra," he said whilst turning to show me the exact same embroidered on the back "available for weddings, parties, anything".
"I'll keep that in mind," I said, "but for now, any idea who killed your father?"
"None Detective, the only person here with a firearm is Gavin the gamekeeper. Perhaps you should be questioning him."
"And your whereabouts at the time of the murder?"
"Right here practicing. We are currently performing Giuseppe Verdi's opera based on the Shakespearean play whose name should not be mentioned inside a theatre. Well, we are hardly in a theatre now, so can you tell me its name Detective?"
6. The rain had finally abated. I went out for some fresh air. I followed the path that led to the gamekeeper's lodging. He was cleaning his rifle when I came upon him.
"I'm told you're the only one here with firearms."
"Only this rifle Detective, but it's never been used against another man."
He loaded his rifle and stood up, raised it, closed his right eye and looked down the barrel with his left. BANG! A rabbit ceased hopping one hundred yards in the distance.
"Well, that's tonight's dinner taken care of," he said.
"Can you account for your movements at the time of the murder?" I asked.
"Aye, I remember it was almost midday. I'd just killed and plucked some chickens for Pierre, he's the cook here, and the chauffeur too, nobody else knows how to drive a motor vehicle. I entered the mansion through the laundry where the maid was putting what looked to me like new red bedsheets into the washing machine. I called out for Pierre when I found he wasn't in the kitchen but he didn't answer. Just as I was putting the chickens on his bench, that's when I heard the gunshot. I can't add much more but I can forewarn you about a little secret Pierre has. His real name is Peter and he comes from some place called Cincinnati. He likes to keep up the pretence of being French though for the sake of the Florentine's. They like to boast to their friends about having a French chef. Boy, can he cook though; guess what French dish he made with those chickens".
7. I walked back to the mansion and found Pierre in the kitchen. I placed the freshly skinned rabbit on his bench.
"Compliments of the gamekeeper." I said.
"Merci Monsieur, you must be zee great Detective, oui?"
"Oui Pierre, or should I say yes Peter?" he gave a startled look. "Your secret is safe with me, you're not harming anybody. One simple question is all I ask of you. Where were you when Lord Florentine was murdered?"
"I was at Sunnyside Downs Hospital" he said while cutting the rabbit into pieces with his left hand. "The butler had slipped on a wet patch in the paving during his morning rounds. Being the only person here who is able to drive an automobile, I took him to see a doctor. It turned out he had broken one of the two bones in his forearm. I can't remember what the doctor called it, perhaps you can Detective, oui?"
8. I knew the Florentines had a daughter named Felicity. She was a regular in the social pages of the local newspaper. A real beauty. I sought her out and found her in her bedroom. She was sitting at a dresser brushing her hair into the mirror. She spotted my reflection an turned around.
"Finally you've come to see me, I have much to tell you Detective Benedict. Please come in and sit beside me here," she said and turned back to face the mirror. What man couldn't obey? She began to tell me what she knew without being prompted.
"There was an eerie silence throughout the mansion that day. I was sitting in this very position when the murder happened. I saw it all reflected in this mirror." She pointed her finger at the reflection of a garden chair. "My father was seated right there. I think the murderer may be a foreigner Detective, he was wearing a white shirt with Ohio printed on it, that is in America I think. I never saw his face though, I only saw him from behind as his back was turned the entire time. It all happened so quickly but I remember quite vividly that the hand which held the gun was here on the left side of the mirror as we look at it. This has to mean that he was left handed, doesn't it? I hope this helps you Detective, it is all I can offer. You must think me vain to spend so much time in front of the mirror, just like that youth in Greek mythology who was always gazing at his own reflection. What was his name again?"
9. I'd put it off long enough. It was time to investigate the scene of the murder. I reached the garden chair that Felicity had pointed to in the mirror. I circled it in hope of finding some traces of evidence. Nothing.
"Hello there," I heard a voice call from behind me. "I'm Gerald the gardener."
I offered my right hand to him so as to shake his. He lifted his right arm to reveal a stump where his hand should have been.
"A bit of a run in with a lawnmower I'm afraid. Lord Florentine used to come and sit here for an hour everyday just before lunch. Rain or shine, it didn't matter, down he would come. I found something here this morning that you might be interested in. It was hidden in the grass."
He handed me a small, unmarked tin container. I took the lid off to see its contents. It looked like a solid piece of wax.
"Perhaps something for polishing furniture," I remarked.
"It could be" said Gerald "I did think it might have been that waxy stuff those young dandies use for styling their hair, but that doesn't come in a solid block. I can't think what it's called though, can you?"
10. I had everyone assemble in the drawing room. My investigation was complete. It was time to name the culprit.
"An unspeakable crime was committed here at Bohemia. The murder of a defenceless man. While speaking to you all I have learnt many things, some relevant to the case, others not so. Suffice it to say, there is a scandal in Bohemia that makes the Sherlock Holmes story of the same name look like a Sunday school picnic. It is the particular information supplied by one of you present here that has proved invaluable to me. It's an easy thing for us mere humans to speak untruths, but one thing that's certain is that a mirror never lies. The murderer of Lord Florentine is ___?"
Source: Author
Aussiedrongo
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Pagiedamon before going online.
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