sstimson wrote:
@lucky - Bag and ashes, put all (wheelchair and victim) in fire proof bag, attached to the victims wrapping is a small remote control device to start a fire, all that is needed now is a vacuum filter to make sure the ashes stay in the bag, and a way for air to escape, and a fan to bring air in to the bag. The filter and the fan are needed to have a fire, since without air a fire can not burn and an completely enclosed system would have no air.
By the way another minor problem with your answer. first a quote from the riddle.
We also checked the security footage on the hallway outside.
Why would not your magnetic field not show up as a distortion on that camera. Yet you gave no mention of it in either part.
And yet another question. There is a way to remove a item in a magnetic field. you push it to the side. While he might not be able to move his lower body, he could move his top half. He might be able to slide his legs.
Ok we have a week before he dead. No visits in that time? He still alive ever though he has had no water for seven days?
If you wish, please explain some if not all of these questions.
Sure I would love to discuss possible problems, nothing like a discussion that keeps your story as sharp as possible.
First your trick with the wrapping ashes, while it would work and produce burns on the wheelchair, the problem is will it create the 4 square patches on the underside. I guess you can put something like duct tape to create it but that could leave the sticky residue behind once its burned away. Also because the person died of dehydration the person is more susceptible to being caught on fire since the victim cells have dried up, since the (I assume it's slow burning since it caused all the burn marks on the underside of the wheelchair) wrapping is burning slowly it would ignite the body after a while (humans still need a high amount of temperature to burn). Since when the person just quickly burned the victim with the blowtorch, it didn't have enough time for the human flesh to ignite into a flame in my own version of the murder.
I'm not also sure your method will not leave any marks as well since you are wrapping him and each turn all the bandage will need some degree of tightness to keep him from moving and to stay like that for a week, I'm not completely convinced that there won't be any marks. Does the wrapping go over the arms as well? I mean if he could move his arms he could undo the wrapping with his spare hands and if they did go over the arms then there would also be burn marks on there as well. There's also the problem with size, at the second visit he only brought a a4 sized metal box, is that really sufficient room for a filter, fan nails, hammer and whatever else. I suppose he could have brought them during the first visit and left it there to use during the next visit but he would still need to take it back and carrying all that stuff through the hallway the camera would have recorded him collecting the things.
Also even if you got through that there's still the matter with the clothing not being burned and the cassette tape not having any damage like melted plastic. I guess the culprit could have burned him then put on the clothes, watch that's 5 hours fast, cassette tape with no recording and other nails but to me that would seem a little illogical if you left it as it is then you already made an man who has died of dehydration who most likely the police would assume die of an accident (if the nails were removed from the buttocks it would look like an accident), also with your trick there would be no point in hammer nails into the victim's buttocks. It could be used to cut the wrapping if one managed to be freed and I don't think the culprit would take the chance.
For your magnetic field question, while i was writing the riddle i just simply assumed the camera would be at the end of the corridor and too far away to be affected also the camera would be too small to be noticed by a person. But whatever here's an answer then. The average human height is around 180cm and carrying 5 plastic boxes carefully means you would naturally carry it lower to avoid damage should you drop the box so a fair height for this would be around 150cm. Normally cameras are around near the ceiling of a hallway so about 220cm so 70 cm difference in the magnet and camera. The person is holding the boxes at each hand and under the arm to keep them as far apart from each other and the distance between this is the size of the forearm 30cm. Since the 2 magnets didn't attract to each other from that distance then it's safe to assume that the camera would be too far away even if you stood directly under it.
True you can remove the iron nail by pushing it too the side , but in this case I think it's unlikely he would have been capable of it. Try pushing yourself of a chair without the use of the legs and buttocks, it is hard already and with the magnetic force it would have been harder. We're also talking about 4 neodymium magnets; the most powerful magnet in the world 1 two inch cube has the potential to lift 420 pounds. So with 4 bigger ones acting on you, it'll be like having a fully grown bear sitting on your legs and telling yourself to move.
To be honest, I didn't think about whether a person will visit during the 1 week period. I was mainly focusing on providing clues and making a story so readers can understand it. I suppose the killer could have been his caretaker and told the neighbours that he wanted to try life without help from other people and not to bother him no matter what sounds he makes. But for this I really don't have an explanation for because there are so many explanations it wouldn't be appropriate to suggest one.
And your last question "He still alive ever though he has had no water for seven days?", I'm not quite sure what you mean here. Anyone who hasn't had water for a week will be dead, did i mention he was still alive after a week? I think I already established he was dead when the culprit came the second time.
Well since I'm replying might as well take a crack at the riddle
He was a tramp working in the desert when some people came and robbed him of what little he has!! Nah just kidding here's what i think
