Whodunit: A Housewarming Theft

The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad.  These mysteries are from The Little Giant® Book of Whodunits by Hy Conrad and Matt LaFleur. Can you solve the mystery before you read the solution?

Miranda Rich could hardly wait to move into her new house. In fact, a trio of workmen were still making their final repairs and installations on that April morning when Miranda brought over her expensive entertainment system and stacked it in a corner of the living room.

The next day, Miranda arrived to find the electronic unit gone. The only thing left behind was a strip of black plastic tape the burglar had used to hold open the latch of the rear kitchen door.

"Looks like a crime of opportunity," the officer from the burglary unit told her. 'All three workmen were here and saw the system. All three of them heard you on the telephone, setting up a dinner date for last night. Knowing the house would be empty, one of them simply taped open the latch and came back later."

No fingerprints had been left behind, and the officer didn't hold out much hope. But he interviewed the suspects anyway, hoping two of them would have ironclad alibis.

"I was at Philharmonic Hall," Pete the plumber testified, and showed off a torn ticket stub. "None of my friends like the symphony so I always go alone. They were doing Beethoven's Ninth with a full chorus—a not-to-be-missed experience."

Ed the electrician had gone to the movies. He didn't have a stub, but the movie had just opened last night and he could repeat the entire plot and half of the jokes. "After the movie I went straight home. I'm an early riser and I need my sleep."

Max the painter had rented a video and bought take-out Chinese food. "I was going to spend a quiet evening with my girlfriend at home. But she canceled on me.

"You know," Max added. "I was working in Ms. Rich's kitchen most of yesterday, and I didn't see anything suspicious. Of course, I left before the other guys did."

The officer reviewed the evidence, then called in one of the workers for further questioning.

Whom does he suspect? And why?

Show Answer

The whodunit above was provided by American mystery fiction author Hy Conrad.

In addition to his work in mystery and crime puzzles, Hy was also one of the original writers for the groundbreaking TV series Monk.

Currently, Hy is working on mystery novel series "Abel Adventures" as well as the Monk series of novels, starting with Mr. Monk Helps Himself (published by Penguin, order from Amazon here)

Check out Hy's official website and Facebook page - and stay tuned for more whodunits puzzlers on Neatorama from the master of whodunit mysteries himself!