Super Quick Mysteries, Volume 3: Super Quick Mysteries, #3

By Andrew Stanek

Chuck and Andy are back for the third installment of the Super Quick Mysteries series! From the sandwich shop to the news stand, Lesser Redmond is stuffed full of new mysteries to solve. Chuck battles his new arch-nemesis, Damon Nagel, while dashing stranger Russell Siebert tries to steal Sarah away. Will Chuck save his business and keep the love of his life? Meanwhile, notorious con man Ernest Dunn starts a newspaper to compete with the Redmond Herald. Can Andy put Dunn out of business for good? Thirty super quick mysteries that you can solve yourself!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Stanek
• Release date: Oct 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9798215574096

Book preview

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Standalone

Solomon's Eagle

Super Quick Mysteries (Vol. 3)

by Andrew Stanek

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This is the third book in the Super Quick Mysteries series. If you enjoy it, why not read Volumes 1 and 2?

--Andrew Stanek

Case 1: Where There’s Smoke

In the quiet city of Lesser Redmond lived a man who sold sandwiches. His name was Chuck Waters. Chuck was a pretty average guy. He had brown hair and brown eyes and a medium build, not to mention a permanent dopey, tired expression that made everyone around Chuck think he was about to collapse. They were half-right, because Chuck was extremely lazy. He overslept and lounged around at home and missed his busses. In fact, Chuck was completely unable to apply himself in any way whatsoever. Chuck owned a food truck which he had named Chuck Wagon and sold sandwiches, or tried to. Chuck was so lazy that he could hardly ever get all the way through the process of selling sandwiches. More often than not, Chuck moaned and groaned and grumbled about all the orders he received until his would-be customers were left to walk away shaking their heads.

Two things kept Chuck in business. One was his sandwiches, because although Chuck was very lazy and hated work, he loved sandwiches and when he could be moved to make them, they were very, very tasty. The second was Chuck’s special hidden talent.

Chuck was extraordinarily good at solving mysteries. For months, people had come from all over Lesser Redmond to ask for his help solving their problems, help that Chuck gladly gave, because he hated working, and was happy to put his chin down on the counter of the Chuck Wagon serving window and solve mysteries instead, which didn’t require nearly so much effort. In fact, Chuck was so good at solving mysteries that people had started to call him the Sandwich Shop Detective.

Here’s an example:

One summer day in Lesser Redmond, when it was so hot that you could have cracked an egg on the pavement, Chuck drove his sandwich truck downtown to sit and wait for the afternoon lunch rush. Sadly, though, Chuck had a big problem. The air conditioning inside Chuck Wagon was broken. It was so hot that Chuck was feeling even lazier than usual. The thermometer-bursting heat wave sapped all of Chuck’s limited energy and made him rest his chin on the counter, and he rocked his head from side to side. The scorching weather put Chuck in a very bad, lazy mood indeed as he waited for a customer.

A man in a black suit and hat approached the serving window.

I’d like a ham and Swiss sandwich on rye bread, the man said, peering at the menu on the side of the truck.

Okay, Chuck agreed. Follow my instructions. Go around to the back of the truck. The door’s unlocked. The rye bread is in the cabinet on the left, and the ham and Swiss are on the right, plus any condiments you want. Put the ham and Swiss on the rye bread.

How is that any different from me making the sandwich myself? the man demanded.

You could pay me when you’re finished, Chuck said hopefully.

The man turned on his heel and marched away, muttering darkly about Chuck and his food truck. Chuck watched him go sadly.

Another satisfied customer, eh, Chuck? came a familiar voice.

Chuck jumped and turned to see none other than Randall Logan standing just outside the window of the sandwich truck. Randall Logan was the Chief of the Lesser Redmond police. He was also a very fat man who absolutely loved sandwiches, and he was one of Chuck’s best customers.

Chortling, Chief Logan looped around to the front of Chuck Wagon.

Hot enough for you? Logan asked, peering up at the cloudless sky and the blazing sun.

Yes, Chuck said sullenly. My air conditioner is broken, and now I’m in a bad mood.

Pity. How’s business?

Bad, Chuck complained. People won’t give me money.

Did you offer them sandwiches? asked Logan.

Sometimes, Chuck replied evasively.

Logan sighed.

Come on now, Chuck, we’ve been over this. You have to offer the nice people sandwiches if you wanted them to give you money.

I know, Chuck muttered. It’s just too much effort. I have to reach over and get the bread, then the toppings, then the cheese, and the lettuce. Then I have to put them all together! Then, there’s the part where I wrap them in paper, and offer the customers other stuff. It’s the worst.

Now that’s no attitude to have while running a business! exclaimed Logan. What’s gotten into you, Chuck?

Sorry, Chuck said apologetically. It’s this heat.

Maybe you could make me a sandwich, Logan suggested. That would take your mind off of the heat.

Chuck shuddered. The only sandwich that Chief Logan ever ate was a 24-inch mega-tuna-meatball-and-mayonnaise sub. Just thinking about it made Chuck tremble in terror, but Chief Logan was one of Chuck’s best customers and Chuck knew he couldn’t disappoint him. With great effort, Chuck heaved two solid feet of bread onto the counter and started to slather mayo onto it. He did this very, very slowly.

To cover the awkward pause while he stutteringly poured unhealthy quantities of toppings onto the mayo, Chuck engaged Chief Logan in conversation.

How are things with you? Chuck asked.

The truth is that things aren’t going so well with me either, Logan admitted. He looked a little down, and something in his tone caught Chuck’s attention.

You aren’t going on a diet, are you? Chuck asked apprehensively.

What? No, no. Nothing like that. My doctor gave up trying to make me diet. He said it was pointless. Logan patted his huge belly. I’m worried about crime.

Chief Logan sighed. Logan had been the Chief of the Lesser Redmond Police for more than ten years, and he was one of the city’s most veteran crime fighters, working tirelessly to keep the town safe. Everyone in Lesser Redmond was very grateful for Logan’s efforts and agreed he was good at his job, but crime was still a big problem in Lesser Redmond.

A crime wave started recently, said Logan. Robberies have been a big part of it. The latest robbery was at Mr. Lloyd’s Pawn Shop. You know Mr. Lloyd, don’t you?

Chuck nodded. Mr. Lloyd was a thin, wiry man with large glasses who ran the downtown pawn shop. He was a stickler when it came to business but very good-natured otherwise. Mr. Lloyd had a reputation for jokes. Once he had asked Chuck if Chuck would pawn a sandwich.

His pawn shop was robbed just yesterday afternoon, said Chief Logan. A very valuable golden clock, worth thousands of dollars, was taken from the pawn shop. I think I know who did it, but I can’t prove it. Will you help me with the case?

Sure, said Chuck, who was glad for a reprieve from the monstrous twenty-four inch sandwich. Who do you think stole the clock?

Archie Tate, Logan declared. You probably don’t know him. He’s a young man in his mid-twenties. Tall. He doesn’t have a criminal record, but I think he’s behind this recent wave of robberies. Every time, he’s been somewhere near or around the scene of the crime, and he was in the pawn shop when it was robbed. He says it’s a big coincidence, but I think there’s something wrong with his statement. Let me tell you what happened.

Chief Logan reached into his police jacket and produced a lot of notes.

"Mr. Lloyd, the pawn shop owner, says that Mr. Harris came in last month to pawn a golden clock. Mr. Harris gambles a lot at the race track and had a run of bad luck on some horses and racked up debt. He pawned the clock, which was a family heirloom, to pay the debts. Mr. Lloyd says he happily paid Mr. Harris for the golden clock, but no one has expressed any interest in buying it ever since he got it, and Mr. Harris hasn’t come back to claim it. Last week, Mr. Lloyd moved the golden clock to his front display window.

According to Mr. Lloyd’s statement, five days ago, just a few hours after he put the golden clock in his front display window, Archie Tate walked into the pawn shop carrying a cheap vase. Tate says he needed some money for grocery shopping and tried to pawn the vase. Mr. Lloyd was very suspicious of Archie’s story because the vase was tacky and cheap and looked like it had been bought recently, maybe from one of the big department stores, and Archie kept looking sidelong at the golden clock while he was in the store. In spite of all that, Mr. Lloyd agreed to take the vase. He gave Archie a few dollars for it."

How did Archie say he got the vase? Chuck asked.

He said a friend from out-of-state gave it to him as a gift. I’m very skeptical of that, but I don’t think it’s important.

Okay, Chuck said. Sorry. Go on.

Yesterday, Archie walked back into the store and asked to buy the vase back, saying that he’d gotten paid for a small job he did a few days ago and could afford to repurchase the vase. Mr. Lloyd agreed to sell him the vase back. Mr. Lloyd says he’d been keeping the vase in his back room. He went into his back room to get the vase. He suspects that Archie did something while he was in the back room, but he doesn’t know for sure. Mr. Lloyd wheeled the vase out on a cart, leaving the cart in front of the door to the back room, then went to ring Archie up. Suddenly, the front room started to fill with smoke. Mr. Lloyd thought there was a fire and ran outside. He saw Archie cough and collapse to the ground. Worried, Mr. Lloyd went to the restaurant next door and used their phone to call the fire department. By the time the firefighters got there, the smoke had cleared. Archie was gone, along with the vase and the golden clock. Naturally, Mr. Lloyd thought that Archie had robbed the store and called the police.

Logan turned a page in his notes.

That’s all what Mr. Lloyd says happened, said Logan. When we went to question Archie, his story was a little different. He agrees that he went in to pawn the vase five days ago. Archie says that he’s a down on his luck contractor, and he hasn’t had much work recently, but a few days ago, he was paid to do a little work on a local house. He decided to use the windfall to buy back the vase, which he claims is of sentimental value to him. He went back to the pawn shop and agrees with everything Mr. Lloyd says until the pawn shop started to fill with smoke. Archie says that he’s asthmatic and fell to the ground, coughing and spluttering, while Mr. Lloyd ran out of the front door, failing to help him. Thick smoke filled the room. Then, suddenly, the door to Mr. Lloyd’s back room opened, and a shadowy figure ran out of the back room. Ignoring Archie, the shadowy figure went to the display, smashed open the display, stole the golden clock, and then ran back out through the back room.

Chuck was now putting the finishing touches on Chief Logan’s giant sandwich.

What does Archie say this shadowy figure looked like? asked Chuck.

He says he can’t describe the figure because it was too smoky to see, said Logan. After the figure stole the clock, Archie says that he took his vase, which he’d already paid for, and ran out through the front. He says he took the vase because it was very important and of great sentimental value to him.

Chuck made a humming noise.

What cause the fire?

There was no fire. The fire department says the smoke was caused by a smoke bomb, though they couldn’t find the smoke bomb itself.

Could a thief really have broken in through Mr. Lloyd’s back room?

It’s possible, Logan admitted. Mr. Lloyd says that his back room has a door which he usually keeps locked, but he’s absent-minded and sometimes forgets. The door was unlocked when we found it.

Does Mr. Lloyd have a security camera?

Yes, one inside the front room of the store. On the day of the robbery, the footage shows Mr. Lloyd and Archie in the front room. They speak for a while, then Mr. Lloyd goes into his back room and wheels out the cart, leaving it just inside the front room. Mr. Lloyd says he’s sure Archie must have set fire to something or done something sinister while he was gone, but the footage just shows Archie standing there innocently. Mr. Lloyd goes to the counter to ring up Archie, but then the room fills with smoke. After that, it becomes too smoky to see anything else on the video. When the smoke clears, the vase and the clock are gone.

Nothing else is gone? asked Chuck.

Nothing, Logan said adamantly. All the money was still in the register, and nothing else even looks like it’s been disturbed.

Chuck thought for a while as he wrapped the Chief’s sandwich in paper.

What’s the vase made out of?

Ceramic china, said Logan. It’s cheap and flimsy.

There was a pause as Logan looked back down at his copious notes.

I’m sure that Archie must have stolen the vase, Chuck, but I just can’t prove it. Mr. Lloyd says it will be awful for his business if we can’t recover that golden clock. Mr. Lloyd’s already been struggling, and he says he might have to close down the pawn shop if he’s forced to take the loss.

Logan looked at Chuck anxiously.

Your sandwich is done, Chuck said, and handed Logan the colossal twenty-four inch monstrosity. Also, tell Mr. Lloyd not to worry. I think I know what happened, and if you review the video tape, you can prove that Archie’s story is a lie!

(What happened and how can Chuck prove that Archie’s story is a lie? See the next page for the solution.)

Solution to Case #1: Where There’s Smoke

Chuck thinks it’s impossible that Archie’s shadowy figure could have stolen the golden clock because if a shadowy figure had run out of the back room, he would have broken the vase. Remember that Mr. Lloyd says he wheeled the vase out of his back room on a cart and left the cart in front of the door to the back room. Even if the door to the back room opened inwards (so it wouldn’t hit the cart), any shadowy figure who came running out of the back room, as in Archie’s story, would have collided with the cart and toppled it, breaking the vase. Since Chief Logan says the video tape shows nothing was disturbed once the smoke cleared, there must never have been a shadowy figure.

Moreover, if the smoke had been so dense that it was impossible to see, it seems unlikely that the shadowy figure could have navigated the pawn shop at all. Archie is asserting the figure was able to run out of the back room and, at high speed, without being able to see, dodge the cart, run up to the display window, smash it, take the clock, then turn around and run back into the back room, again dodging the cart, in an unfamiliar layout without the benefit of sight. Archie is lying!

Chuck believes the truth is very different. Archie hid a smoke bomb on a timer in the vase. Archie made sure he was in the pawn shop when the bomb went off, then used the cover of the smoke to grab the vase and the golden clock from the display. Putting the golden clock in the vase to hide it, he ran out the front door. Recovering the vase was important because it let Archie hide the golden clock and recover the smoke bomb, the evidence of the robbery.

After reviewing the video tape, Chief Logan realized that the door to Mr. Lloyd’s back room opened outwards and the cart obstructed the door. No one could have come out of the back room without knocking over the cart.

Archie’s apartment was searched by the police, and the golden clock and the remains of the smoke bomb were found. Archie went to jail. Mr. Lloyd was eventually able to sell the golden clock back to Mr. Harris, whose luck at the race track changed. When Mr. Lloyd heard Chuck had solved the mystery, he was so pleased that he ordered sandwiches every day for a month.

All in all, Chuck felt proud of himself for having solved the mystery and spent much of the rest of the day whistling with a smile on his face, his bad mood gone. However, the heat still made him feel very lazy, and he had difficulty getting himself up off the counter for the daily lunch rush.

Case 2: Picture Perfect

The next day, Chuck was still smiling and happy. He felt very proud of himself for helping put Archie Tate behind bars. Moreover, the heat wave had subsided a little and Chuck wasn’t feeling as lazy as before. He lifted his head up off the counter and spent most of the day drumming his fingers on the side of the truck, whistling, and smiling, and even going so far as to actually make sandwiches when customers ordered them.

A little after noon, Sarah Sullivan stopped by Chuck Wagon to order a vegetarian wrap. Sarah was a student at the university and also Chuck’s ex-girlfriend. She was beautiful and smart and full of life, ambition, and energy, and Chuck knew she was much too good for him. Sarah knew it too, which is why she had dumped him. However, he’d continued to pine after her because, in Chuck’s opinion, there was no prettier girl in the whole world, and also no one else would have him. Chuck had tried to win Sarah back over using the awesome power of sandwiches. This strategy hadn’t yet secured Sarah’s love, but she’d warmed to Chuck considerably ever since he opened Chuck Wagon, and Chuck was confident it was only a matter of time before she took him back.

Chuck hurriedly made a vegetarian sandwich wrap, just the way Sarah liked it, and handed it to her. Sarah sat down on a nearby bench and started to eat the sandwich. From the first bite, a warm smile spread over Sarah’s face.

Peering over his counter, Chuck covertly surveyed Sarah. All was going according to plan.

That’s it, Chuck cooed quietly, rubbing his hands together. Eat the sandwich.

After she finished the sandwich, Sarah approached the counter and smiled at Chuck.

How was it? Chuck asked apprehensively.

Delicious! she declared. Thank you very much.

Great, Chuck said. So, will you take me back?

No, Sarah said with a laugh. But I will take another veggie delight to go.

Blast, Chuck thought to himself. His sandwiches still weren’t tasty enough. He resolved to devise an even more amazingly mouth-watering sandwich so that Sarah would have no choice but to fall in love with him. Chuck retreated to the back of the truck to make another sandwich. Sarah was just paying for it, when, suddenly, Jessie Evans raced up to Sarah.

Jessie Evans was an old friend of Sarah’s from high school. Jessie was tall, lithe, and athletic. In high school, Jessie had been a sprinter and a hundred meter dash champion, and it was normal to see her running so fast that just thinking about her thoroughly exhausted Chuck. Jessie was also active in the Lesser Redmond Theater Troupe. She was normally quite cheerful, but just now she looked distressed.

Thank goodness! Jessie said, panting. Sarah, I’ve been looking everywhere for you! I need your help.

What’s wrong? Sarah asked, steering Jessie over to the bench. Jessie shook her head as she caught her breath. She seemed close to tears. Reaching into her pocket, she drew out a piece of paper. Her hand trembled as she passed it to Sarah. Sarah took one look at it and gasped.

Chuck, read this, Sarah insisted, and passed it over to Chuck.

Dopily, with his eyes drooping, Chuck read. The message said:

Bring $10,000 to the alleyway behind Arbor Street and leave it in a bag in the trash can there by tomorrow. Otherwise, I will show this picture to the police.

Below the words, taped to the paper, was a black-and-white photograph of Jessie entering someone’s house through an open front door. A date stamp below the picture indicated that the photo had been taken the previous night.

It’s a blackmail letter, Jessie cried. I can’t pay $10,000! Sarah, Chuck, you have to help me.

Calm down, Sarah told her soothingly. What are you doing in this picture? It doesn’t seem so awful to me.

Jessie took a deep breath and started to explain.

If the police see that photograph, they’ll think I committed a crime. Yesterday afternoon, there was a flier in my mailbox inviting me to a party at a particular address. It looked handwritten, but the flier didn’t say who the invitation was from. People invite me to parties a lot. I thought one of my friends might have sent it and forgot to sign it, so I decided to stop by the party and see what was going on.

Did you recognize the address on the flier?

Jessie shook her head.

No, I didn’t. It seems so obvious now that it was a trick! I never should have gone, but I wasn’t thinking properly. I’m sorry.

That’s okay, Sarah said reassuringly. Just tell us the rest of the story.

I went to the address on the flier yesterday evening at around 7:00 PM. It was a house, and it looked dark and empty. I knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, but no one answered. Eventually, I tried the door. It was unlocked. I went in and looked around for a minute or two, but there was nobody there, so I left. I didn’t think much about it at the time. I just figured that I must have gotten the wrong time or date and the party was some other day. I went back to my apartment.

Jessie quivered.

I found out later that the house I went to was burgled last night! If someone sends this picture to the police, the police will think I did it.

Now, now, I’m sure that’s not true, Sarah said reassuringly. Let’s go down to Chief Logan and explain things. He’ll be able to track down the blackmailer and the real thief.

But Jessie shook her head.

Sarah looked up at Chuck.

What should we do? she asked.

Chuck swayed dopily on the spot for a minute as he read the letter over a few more times.

I think the blackmailer and the real thief are probably the same person, Chuck guessed at last.

That makes sense, Sarah agreed. The real thief probably lured you to that house so you would take the fall for him, Jessie! Is there some way we could find the real thief and clear Jessie’s name?

Chuck thought about this for a while longer, then slowly shook his head.

This letter doesn’t say much except to put the cash in the trash can. There’s nothing we could use to trace the sender.

Sarah sighed and patted Jessie on the shoulder.

We should call the police, Sarah told Jessie. They can stake out the alleyway and catch the real thief.

After some coaxing from Sarah and many reassurances that she wouldn’t be blamed for the robbery, Jessie finally agreed. Chuck called Chief Logan, who arrived shortly, took the letter, and scratched his head as he read it.

Don’t worry, Jessie, Logan reassured her. "I believe you. The problem is that we