It was placed
with the approval and assistance of the library staff. It may only
be found during the library’s open hours. Please be respectful of
library resources and organization when attempting to find the
cache. You will be ready to look in the library only when you know
exactly what you are looking for.
I received
this letter from an old friend:
My good friend Mr.
Rasmussen,
I write to you in a time of dire need;
my situation is of the most delicate nature. Several days past, I
borrowed a book from the St. James Square Library, as
is my habit, in order to help a
client with a case requiring some rather specialized
knowledge. As you know, I concern myself with the mental
retention of only those matters which pertain to my
profession. That specialized knowledge which becomes
necessary in any given case is better left to be consulted as
needed. Having clarified the matter at hand for my client,
the solution to which proved elementary, I was prepared to
return the book. In the place where I had left it on my
bookshelf, it was not to be found. Instead, I discovered the
letter which I have enclosed.
Of course you understand the results
should the Professor’s plans succeed. I have not yet been able to
solve the conundrum which he presents, and the time rapidly
approaches when my reputation will be forever tarnished. I ask you,
my friend, to help me. Involve any trustworthy persons as you see
fit.
Yours Most Indebtedly,
Sherlock Holmes
Holmes
enclosed the following document:
My dearest and most meddlesome Mr.
Holmes,
Do not bother searching about for your
precious book. One of my associates has taken the liberty of
borrowing it. How terribly inconvenient for
you. It is due to be returned to the library at St. James
Square pressingly soon, is it not? I am sure you are familiar with
the exorbitant fees that particular library charges for materials
returned late. And this tome is from their rare books
collection—irreplaceable, it seems.
I foresee it now. The Great Sherlock
Holmes reduced to abject poverty as his late fee debt mounts. Your
crime-solving days will be over, for who, I dare wonder, would ever bring a case to a
common criminal who steals rare library books? The public will only
be able to assume that, exposed to the unscrupulous elements of
London for so long, you succumbed to the
temptations of lawless abandon. Your powers of deduction will
languish, unused, while my criminal plots will proceed unopposed.
Allow me a moment to gloat and have a hearty evil laugh.
I return now to the matter at hand. In
the spirit of fair play, I will give you a chance to retrieve your
book. I have, in my criminal genius’s mind, created a theoretical
crime, more complicated than any that your feeble efforts have
unraveled. I have provided you with all the clues you need to
propound a solution. This solution, which you will never find,
would lead you to your book, which I have placed in a false dust
jacket and hidden somewhere in the collection of the Nelson
Memorial Library, halfway around the world.
This is, of course, a mere formality,
since you are no match for me in a direct battle of wits. I eagerly
anticipate never hearing from you again.
Yours Most Criminally,
Professor James Moriarty
Moriarty’s
enclosed puzzle:
A copy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost was returned to the
Moriarty Memorial Library with numerous passages carelessly and
disrespectfully highlighted in garish yellow. The head librarian
began an inquiry to determine who had committed this heinous crime.
A library worker recalled that the book was returned by a man with
unique headwear, though he could not recall specifics. Six suspects
were identified and interrogated. Each had read only one book in
the library that day. The head librarian is confident that they all
remembered events accurately and reported them truthfully, except
for the clever criminal, of course, who could be lying, telling the
truth, or making some evil admixture of the two in his
testimony.
Given the clues below, determine what each
suspect wore on his head, which writing utensil he brought to the
library, and what he read. In doing so you will also determine who
the highlighting criminal is. If a statement is not attributed to a
specific suspect, it is incontrovertible fact. Answer the
additional questions to demonstrate that you have thoroughly
deduced the solution. The answers to these questions may seem
important, initially. Trust such impressions. They should lead to
the area of the library catalog which you should subject to
search.
1.
Three suspects, the
reader of Beowulf, the
wearer of the green headband, and the user of the pencil, worked
only on the second floor.
2.
The patron wearing the
orange beanie did not use the yellow highlighter.
3.
Mr. Knight asserts he did
not read any Shakespeare that day.
4.
Library records show that
the patron who was wearing a baseball cap has had a library card
longer than any of the others—12 years—and he is immediately
followed by the patron using the fountain pen who has had one for
10 years.
5.
Mr. Laurens says he does
not own a bandana.
6.
Mr. Lestrade asserts that he went to school with the
patron who wore the baseball cap, who, he says, is allergic to
graphite and therefore does not use pencils.
7.
The wearer of the top hat
has had a library card longer than the reader of Les Miserables, who had to pay a hefty late fee two
years ago.
8.
Mr. Knight says that he
did not use a yellow highlighter, and that he can vouch for Lord
Pondicherry’s innocence as
well.
9.
Library security footage
shows that the patron wearing the orange beanie was reading neither
The Tempest nor
The Silmarillion.
10.
Mr. Philbit has had a library card longer than the user
of the ball-point pen, but in a list of the six suspects ordered by
the amount of time they have owned one, they would be next to one
another.
11.
Mr. Philbit’s sombrero knocked several books off a
shelf, according to Mr. Reichenbach.
12.
The patron who was
wearing a sombrero (who did not use the fountain pen) and the
reader of Les
Miserables got into an
argument in the library three years ago and had to be
escorted out.
13.
Neither the patron
wearing the top hat nor the one wearing the baseball cap used the
pink highlighter.
14.
Mr. Lestrade asserts that he did not wear a sombrero to
the library and that Mr. Philbit was not wearing one either when he
saw him in the parking lot.
15.
Mr. Knight
claims that he did not use the
crayon and would not be caught dead wearing a green
headband.
16.
Mr. Laurens, who got his
library card more recently than any of the other suspects—he only
moved to the area last week—testifies that he worked only on the
first floor, along with two others: the user of the pink
highlighter and the sombrero wearer.
17.
Mr. Reichenbach recalls seeing Mr. Knight reading
The Tempest.
18.
One suspect was reading
The Divine
Comedy.
What is the name of the library
patron who was reading Beowulf?
What is the name of the wearer of
the green headband?
What did the reader of The Divine Comedy wear on his
head?
What was the user of the fountain
pen reading?
What was the criminal wearing on
his head?