Investigation Report

Client: Sullivan King

Case: 024 – Framed

Objective: Identify The Real Murderer 

 The Situation

I’m in trouble – and I need your help. The police think I murdered someone. If they find me, I’m going to prison.

Everything started when my friend, Detective Cam Jones, frantically called me yesterday and asked if I knew a man by the name of Reid Silver. I told him that I didn’t, and I asked what the guy had done. He said that Reid had died, and some of Cam’s fellow officers were on their way to my office to arrest me.

Apparently, the police found Sleuth Kings’ door hanger ad with a message that they believe I wrote to Reid in order to lure him somewhere to kill him. According to Cam, things really look bad for me because Reid’s body was found in a dumpster behind a restaurant near my office.

There’s video evidence that shows Celest and I having dinner in the restaurant Reid’s body was found outside of on the night he died. Worse, the video also shows that I stepped outside – to where the dumpster was – part way through our dinner in order to take a phone call. Unfortunately for me, there aren’t any security cameras around the back that can prove I didn’t kill anyone.

All of that isn’t even the worst of it. The police found a steak knife stuck in Reid’s chest. It had my fingerprints on it – probably because it’s the one I used at the restaurant.

I told Cam that I didn’t do it, and he said that he believed me, which is why he called. He knows that I’ve dealt with some dangerous people in the past, so he thinks it’s likely that one of them is trying to set me up in order to get revenge. The problem is, with my fingerprints on what appears to be the murder weapon, as well as evidence that puts me at the crime scene, the case seems pretty cut-and-dry to everyone else.

That’s why I took off before the police made it to my office. I know that running makes me look guilty but, to be fair, I already look guilty, anyway. The only way that I’m going to make it out of this is if we can prove my innocence and find the real murderer.

Since the police are looking for me, I haven’t been able to investigate like I normally would. Instead, I’ve had to call in several favors in order to ask people I know – and trust – to help me. Now that they’ve been able to gather what evidence they could find, I’m counting on you to help me piece it all together and find the real killer.

The Investigation

The first person I called was my brother, Eric – a criminal defense attorney. We typically don’t get along – at all – but I needed a lawyer’s advice on what evidence I needed in order to prove my innocence.

Eric, of course, said that running from the police was a bad idea, but I told him that letting someone frame me for murder was an even worse idea. Thankfully, he did some asking around and learned something helpful. No witnesses have come forward to say that they heard a struggle outside of the restaurant, and some medical evidence suggests it’s possible that Reid’s body may have been moved after he was killed.

In other words, Reid was murdered somewhere else and then brought to the restaurant’s dumpster. If we can figure out where he was killed, not only will it help prove my alibi, but we might be able to find some additional evidence, too. That being the case, finding the location of Reid’s murder should be one of our top priorities.

Once you think you know where Reid was murdered, follow the instructions in the Final Thoughts section to email me the location. When you send the email, include the word Location in the body of your email so I know what you’re talking about.

Since I was having dinner with her the night all of this happened, the next person I called was Celest. Before I could even ask her to check things out, she said she was going to find Reid’s house and search it for anything that might help. Sure enough, a few hours later, I got a call from her saying that she’d managed to find a few things.

Apparently, Reid owned a movie theater in town called “Silver Screen Cinemas.” Celest had found a strange list of supplies for the theater at Reid’s house that calls for small quantities of things to be bought each day. To be honest, I’m not sure that it really qualifies as a clue, but Celest insists that it’s important, so I’ve included it as Clue 1.

The other thing that Celest found in Reid’s house is what looks like a small advertisement for Silver Screen Cinemas. Normally, it wouldn’t have caught her interest, but she found it hidden in a popsicle box inside of Reid’s freezer. Given that Reid wanted to hide it, she thinks it’s worth looking at, and I agree. I’ve marked it as Clue 2.

While Celest was at Reid’s house, I called Samuel, my grandfather. Before I could say anything, he snapped at me for not calling him sooner – apparently, he heard about the situation from Eric, my brother. Even though Samuel and I don’t get along well, he does have my back whenever push comes to shove. In fact, by the time I had called him, he’d already worked with a police friend of his to get a copy of the door hanger I supposedly had sent Reid. He’s still following other leads, but I’ve labeled the message as Clue 3.

The last person I called was John Malvone – a private detective who owed me a favor. I wasn’t sure if he’d be willing to help or not but, after explaining the situation to him, he said he’d take a look over at Silver Screen Cinema and see what he could find. A little while later, he got back in touch and said that the place was mostly clean. The only thing that caught his attention was a folded-up movie poster with some symbols scribbled on it that had been thrown in the trash. I’ve marked the poster as Clue 4.

In addition to the poster, John also grabbed a pair of red glasses from the theater, too. He said that, if the investigation doesn’t work out, maybe they’ll help me watch 3D movies in prison. I can’t say I exactly appreciate the gesture, given my current situation, but throwing the glasses away seems like a waste, so I’ve included them for you. I don’t know that they’ll help with the case, but maybe you can enjoy them, anyway.

As I was finishing putting the case file together for you, I noticed a few things that had been slipped under the door of the place I’m staying at right now. It was all stuff from Silver Screen Cinema. There’s an employee schedule, a movie ticket, and a small “turn off your cell phone” sign.

To be honest, I have no idea where this stuff came from. No one that’s helping me with the case knows anything about it, and no one else knows where I’m staying. The only person I can think of who could have left the stuff is my dad, but he’s been missing for a long time. Regardless of who left it, if it can help us clear my name, I want to use it.

Final Thoughts

Although I’m hiding right now, it’s only a matter of time until the police find me. We’ve got to figure out who really killed Reid Silver and clear my name before I’m arrested.

When you’re ready to get started, visit www.sleuthkings.com/case-024 to send me an email. Once you do, you can reply to my emails as needed.

You’re free to work through the clues in any order you like, but I’d recommend starting with Clue 1 and working sequentially. You aren’t required to send me what you learn from each clue but, if you want to, you certainly can. 

If you need help solving any of the clues, email me which clue you’re working on, (example: Clue 1) and I’ll send you my thoughts.

For this case, all I need to know is the location where Reid was killed and the identity of Reid’s murderer.

When you know where Reid was murdered and you want to send me the location, include the word Location in the body of your email.

When you want to send me your thoughts on who murdered Reid, include the word solution in the body of your email.

Clue Analysis

Remember, once you’ve emailed me to begin the investigation, if you need help, send me an email. When you do, let me know which clue you’re having trouble with and I’ll send you my thoughts. If you want an extra challenge, feel free to skip this page and draw your own conclusions about how to work through each clue.

Clue 1 – Supplies List:

Celest thinks there’s a hidden message in this list, but neither of us have been able to find it. If there is a message, I don’t think we’ll need to use each word on the list. In fact, I won’t be surprised if we only need to look at the first letter of each item.

If you need help with this one, let me know you’re working on Clue 1 in your email.

Clue 2 – Mystery Mondays Ad:

After writing the rest of the Investigation Report, I put the 3D glasses on and noticed something funny about this clue. When you’re wearing the glasses, you can see hidden letters in each of the film frames around the border. Do you think decoding the words will give us some kind of message?

If you need help with this one, let me know you’re working on Clue 2 in your email.

Clue 3 – Sleuth Kings Door Hanger:

The words all over this door hanger seem so random to me. I wonder if we need to rearrange them somehow. If we do, it’s possible that we’ll only use select letters and arrange them according to some kind of keyword. No matter what letters we use (or don’t use), I think everything on the front and the back will be used to give us a single message. If we’re lucky, maybe Clue 2 will be able to shed a little more light on what we need to do.

If you need help with this one, let me know you’re working on Clue 3 in your email.

Clue 4 – Movie Poster:

As you’ve probably noticed, several of the symbols on the poster appear on other documents in your case file beside seemingly-random words or letters. Unfortunately, two of the symbols are also missing. I don’t think we’re going to be able to read this until we find the missing symbols.

If you need help with this one, let me know you’re working on Clue 4 in your email.

When you know where Reid was murdered and you want to send me the location, include the word Location in the body of your email.