A shorter mystery from The Book of Clues (1984) from the excellent John Sladek, and pay attention to the picture this week…

Test your mental mettle against…

‘Three-Minute Story’

Security is understandably light in the office of diamond merchant Mortimer Brown. With a safe containing two to three million pounds’ worth of gems, Brown seldom takes risks. The office door is panelled in one-way glass protected by a grille, so he can see any visitor. The door has an electronic, lock that can only be operated from his desk. The window is naturally protected by bars and an alarm, and there is a police alarm button on the floor. Brown keeps a loaded gun in his desk drawer. Finally, there is a camera which snaps a view of the room every three minutes.

The two pictures are successive views of the room, taken at 9:00 and 9:03 a.m. In the meantime, something has gone wrong; Brown has been murdered. [Click the image below for a larger version]

The murder has been committed with one blow of the paperweight from Brown’s desk. Evidently the victim did not die instantly, because he managed to push the police alarm. The police arrived at 9:11.

There are two known suspects. Aristotle Georgiou, diamond buyer for a large jewellery chain, had an appointment with Brown for 9:00. In fact he arrived when the police were already there. Georgiou claimed to have been held up in traffic.

“Mort had a few small, poor-quality diamonds he wanted to get rid of. My company sent me over to have a look. But I wouldn’t murder him. We’re old friends.” His company confirmed the purpose of his visit, but no one could vouch for his being held up in traffic.

The other known suspect was the cleaning woman, Mrs. Dalloway. She has a key to the office and cleans it every morning. She claims to have finished her work this morning at 8:35, a few minutes after Brown arrived at the office.

“He was alive and well when I left him, that’s all I know. He was shouting on the phone at somebody. I think something was supposed to be delivered yesterday and it wasn’t, so he wanted it right away. That was the last I saw of him.”

1. Aside from Brown’s death, what other changes took place in the office between 9:00 and 9:03 a.m.?
2. Were any diamonds stolen?
3. Did Brown’s visitor sit down?
4. What clue or clues point to the probable identity of Mortimer Brown’s killer?

The answer can be found by clicking here.

~

One more go around for Sladek’s short mysteries next week…