Super Quick Mysteries, Volume 6: Super Quick Mysteries, #6

By Andrew Stanek

30 Super Quick, cozy mysteries that you can solve yourself! Each episode is a simple stand-alone mystery a few pages long, plus the solution, that fits into a larger narrative. Chuck and Andy are back for Volume 6 with more cases and more problems! Chuck's battle with his newest arch-nemesis for life, a rival food truck proprietor, takes an unexpected turn, and Andy receives a rare opportunity for promotion at work, as an assistant editorship opens at the Herald. Will Chuck even be able to keep Chuck Wagon open? Will Andy finally be rid of Ernest Dunn forever? Read to find out! The sixth installment in the long-running Super Quick Mysteries series. Written by author Andrew Stanek, who has yet to solve the case of how to make a good sandwich.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Stanek
• Release date: Mar 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215915400

Book preview

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Standalone

Solomon's Eagle

Super Quick Mysteries, Volume 6

By Andrew Stanek

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–Andrew Stanek

Case 1: Like Clockwork

Chuck Waters was not an especially remarkable man. He had droopy eyes and a permanently sleepy expression on his plain face, and when people asked him a question, he blinked a lot and took a few moments too many to respond. He dozed off and lazed around and often tried to skip work. Professionally, Chuck ran a sandwich truck, Chuck Wagon, and even though it was a pretty good sandwich truck, most of the people who had ever met Chuck probably thought that Chuck wasn’t likely to do much of anything or go anywhere, and that was the way Chuck liked it. He preferred sleepy, lazy days and peaceful times in the city of Lesser Redmond that wouldn’t interrupt any of the restful naps that he took with escalating gusto and frequency. But very few people who came and went from Chuck Wagon knew that Chuck had one special quality, something that they would never expect in a humble sandwich vendor. Chuck could solve mysteries! In fact, he was so good at solving mysteries that the chief of police of Lesser Redmond often brought him cases and riddles to solve, and so did his friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers. People who came to buy a sandwich from Chuck Waters often walked away with more than just a tasty treat. They walked away with a solution to whatever problem had been bothering them, and that was what made Chuck the best sandwich truck proprietor in all of Lesser Redmond. Here's an example.

It was a gusty spring day in Lesser Redmond. The weather was neither too warm nor too cold, and after the end of Lesser Redmond’s biting winter, Chuck finally found that he had the latitude to take a restful nap on the counter using the cushion that Sarah had given him for Christmas. Chuck was just about to doze off when a woman in a tracksuit approached his sandwich truck. Chuck blinked at her as she approached the order window.

Hello, she said.

Hello, Chuck said. I’ll give you five dollars if you make me a sandwich.

What? the woman exclaimed in astonishment.

I’ll give you five dollars if you make me a sandwich, Chuck said weakly. I want a sandwich and I’m hungry.

But you run the sandwich truck, the customer objected in total confusion.

Yes, I do, and that’s why I’ve come up with an idea, Chuck said. You can let yourself in through the back of the truck. The bread is behind me. Meat and vegetables are to my right, and all of the condiments are to my left. You can come in the back, make me a sandwich, and I’ll give you five dollars, Chuck said. Then, I’ll have a sandwich.

I’m not going to make you a sandwich, the woman said.

Not even for five dollars? Chuck asked hopefully.

No, the woman said, unimpressed.

Okay, what about six dollars? Chuck said, but by this point the woman was already walking away.

Awwww, Chuck said in great disappointment, and slumped his head back down onto the counter.

Shortly thereafter, police chief Randall Logan, the head of the Lesser Redmond police force, approached Chuck’s little sandwich truck, which was parked by the side of the road in a busy shopping district.

What was that all about, Chuck? Chief Logan said. Did I hear you asking that woman to make you a sandwich for five dollars?

Yes, Chuck said. I have a great idea! I don't like making the sandwiches very much, but, what if instead of making the sandwiches, I paid customers five dollars to make me a sandwich that I could sell to the next customer for $10? Then I wouldn't have to do anything.

Chief Logan laughed and patted his belly.

Afraid that's not gonna work, Chuck, he said. You have to make the sandwiches yourself if you want to be a sandwich man.

Chuck had known this all along, but had been in denial, and with a great sigh, he picked his chin up off of the counter where he had been nesting it restfully on top of the special pillow that Sarah had given him for Christmas. He stood, dopily swaying slightly like a majestic oak tree in the wind, as Chief Logan placed his order.

I'd like my regular, please, Chief Logan said. One 24-inch super-tuna-mega-meatball and mayo sandwich. Chuck repeated this with some measure of despondency, and then with great physical and mental effort, Chuck reluctantly hauled a solid 61 cm of bread out of the back of the cupboard that he had been trying to get the previous customer to open, and started to lather mayo across it.

Chief Logan, meanwhile, looked perturbed. Randall Logan had been the head of the Lesser Redmond police force for years, and everyone said that he was responsible and very good at catching crooks who periodically troubled the sleepy city of Lesser Redmond. A few months ago, Police Chief Logan and his little force dealt with a big crime wave that had been a substantial problem for the people of Lesser Redmond and small business owners like Chuck. Much to Chuck’s relief, the big crime wave seemed like it finally fizzled out and everyone was back to their usual, sleepy selves. Even so, Chief Logan still had lots of crooks to chase. Today, he looked like he had a big case that was puzzling him.

What's on your mind, Chief? Chuck asked, and only partially to distract the Chief so he wouldn't have to work as hard at making a sandwich.

There was a robbery at the Bowman Savings payday lender, Chief Logan said with a heavy sigh. I'm pretty sure I know who the perpetrator is, but I just can't figure out how he did it. Maybe I could use your help, Chuck? I just really wish I knew how this crime was committed.

Okay, Chuck agreed. What happened?

Chief Logan gestured across the street to a small building, wedged between two much larger department stores. It had an icon of an archer pasted across the front, and signage identified it as the Bowman payday lenders.

The safe in Mr. Bowman's payday lenders was robbed earlier today, Chief Logan said. There can really only have been one perpetrator, according to Mr. Bowman. As seen on the security cameras across the street, only one person went into the Bowman Lenders all day: a woman known to us named Jacqueline Webb. I'm suspicious of Jacqueline because she has a history of grand larceny and a lot of experience as a safe cracker, and it was the safe in the Bowman payday lender that was robbed.

That sounds pretty straightforward, Chuck said as he swayed dopily on the spot.

When Mr. Bowman opened the safe today, all the money in the safe was gone, Chief Logan explained. The safe can only be opened at one time on any given day, so no one could have possibly opened the safe between yesterday at 5 PM and today at 5, yet someone must’ve done so.

So what does Mr. Bowman say that Jacqueline did? Chuck asked as he quietly swayed there.

Mr. Bowman says that, today, he was having a pretty slow day and no one came into the shop until around 2 PM. At around 2 PM, Jacqueline entered the shop, but that wasn't itself unusual because he had previously given Jacqueline a payday loan. She said she was here because she needed some documents for tax reasons. Mr. Bowman went into the back to print them out, and Jacqueline accepted them, and that was the end of it. The only thing he found suspicious was that Jacqueline was standing by the clock next to the safe; that clock is synchronized to the time when the safe opens.

Chuck considered.

But you said that she was a safe cracker?

Yes, Chuck, but I don’t think she could have possibly cracked the safe. Mr. Bowman said he was only out of the room for a minute or two and Jacqueline didn’t look like she had any specialized safe cracking tools with her, nor could she have tampered with the timer in the safe just by adjusting the clock outside; the timing mechanism is inside the safe. The outside clock was just an office clock that was synchronized to the clock in the safe, so Mr. Bowman would know when he could open the safe.

I see, Chuck said dopily. Then what happened?

Then, later, at around 4 PM, Jacqueline came back into Mr. Bowman's shop and told him that her accountant said that she needed more documents than that. He and she had a brief argument about documents and the high interest loan Mr. Bowman had previously given her and, after a while, Mr. Bowman went back into his office to get the documents again. He wasn't gone for more than a minute or two, and he didn't notice anything unusual about Jacqueline when he came back out. He gave her new documents and she left. Then, later at 5 o'clock, the armored car came by like usual, and Mr. Bowman opened the safe but all the money was gone. I'm sure Jacqueline must have taken the money, but, as I said, I can't see how she could have possibly done it. Neither when she was there at 2 o'clock or when she was there at 4 o'clock, was the right time for her to be able to open the timed safe. We've taken her down to the police station for questioning, but I can't arrest her unless I'm absolutely sure that she committed the crime.

Chuck considered.

Your sandwich is done, Chief Logan, and I also think you should arrest Jacqueline. I know exactly how she did it.

(How did Jacqueline steal the money? See the next page for the solution.)

Solution to Case #1: Like Clockwork

Chuck thinks that Jacqueline performed a simple trick in order to rob Mr. Bowman's safe. Mr. Bowman had a clock outside the safe which was synchronized to the timing mechanism inside the safe, and that was how he knew when to open the safe. Jacqueline robbed the safe in two steps; first, Jacqueline came in at 2 o'clock and asked for some papers when Mr. Bowman briefly turned his back. At that time, Jacqueline tampered with the office clock outside the safe, so it was running slow. That way, Mr. Bowman would think it was earlier than it really was.

Then, Jacqueline came back in at 5 o'clock, but Mr. Bowman's clock, which was now running slow, said it was only 4 o'clock, and Mr. Bowman wasn't suspicious of Jacqueline because it was the wrong time for her to be able to open the safe. Looking at his now incorrect clock and thinking it was 4 o'clock, Mr. Bowman agreed to turn his back for a few moments, giving Jacqueline all the time she needed to rob the safe. She must have stolen the safe combination on a previous visit to the payday lender. She opened the safe and took the money, then, while the safe was open, she adjusted the timing mechanism inside the safe to set the safe to open at 6 o'clock, instead of five; that way, when Mr. Bowman tried to open the safe at 6 o'clock, when his office clock was showing 5 o'clock, the safe would still open and Mr. Bowman would be none the wiser.

A big clue was that Mr. Bowman said that when the armored car came by, he opened the safe, but usually he would open the safe first and then the armored car would come by second. Because it was a timed safe, he would necessarily have to open the safe earlier than the armored car arriving, but today the armored car arrived first, which was a big red flag for Chuck. Jacqueline was arrested; she later admitted that she had robbed the safe, not really for the money, but because she was mad at Mr. Bowman over the high interest rate payday loan that he had given her and wanted to get back at him. Fortunately for Mr. Bowman, it turned out Jacqueline hadn't gotten away with very much money, because he'd been having a slow day and he had only really opened the safe as a matter of routine. If he hadn't opened the safe that day, then he wouldn’t have discovered the theft until the next day, by which time Jacqueline would have been long gone.

Most of the money was recovered and Jacqueline went to jail.

Chuck felt very proud of himself and had a celebratory nap.

Case 2: Broken Windows

It was a lovely morning, and Spring had definitely sprung in the city of Lesser Redmond. Flowers were blooming, and a cool breeze tickled Chuck’s cheeks as he struggled in vain to nap in the pleasant Spring weather. It was breezy but sunny, and Chuck had given up on his scheme to try to get customers to make him sandwiches for five dollars. He was just moping and mourning the collapse of his brilliant idea when Sarah came by to see him.

Sarah was Chuck’s girlfriend. She was a student at Lesser Redmond University and as always, she was pretty and intelligent and nice to people, and much too good for Chuck. Unfortunately, this disparity had led to Sarah dumping Chuck at one point. After much effort on Chuck’s part as well as many restful naps and sandwiches, Sarah had consented to take him back. Chuck, for his part, had learned very little from this experience and was still lazy and sleepy and napped on the job, but that didn’t stop him from being very happy to see Sarah. She pecked him on the cheek as she approached.

How are you, Chuck? she asked him.

Bad, Chuck said. The customers won’t make sandwiches for me, even if I asked really nicely.

Sarah giggled. She had known from the beginning that that would never work.

Why did you want the customers to make sandwiches for you?

Nigel isn’t here all the time, Chuck complained. And then I have to make the sandwiches and my arms get really tired.

Chuck illustratively rested his arms down on the countertop, and then his head slumped down onto the pillow Sarah had given him for Christmas.

So, I’m doing okay, Chuck said in summary. How are you, Sarah?

I still can't believe that I only have one term left in my junior year of college, Sarah said. In three months, I'll be a rising senior. I have to think more seriously about what I'm going to do once I graduate; I've been putting it off and putting it off!"

Chuck made Sarah a veggie delight sandwich, just the way she liked it, and they ate sandwiches together as Sarah talked about her prospective plans for her last months of her junior year. Chuck was just about to talk about his plans for the last few months until summer, which he intended to spend napping and resting, and then maybe, if he had some time, doing a little sleeping, when he got a call for delivery for a pulled pork sandwich from a man named Jonas Rowe. Sarah and Chuck exchanged surprised glances. Jonas Rowe was an old acquaintance of theirs from school. He lived up on a hill and was an insufferable busybody and gossip, and was constantly snooping on everyone. Jonas could often be seen desperately peering over the tops of window sills and around the edges of doors, trying to see what other people were doing. But, as far as Chuck knew, he didn't like sandwiches. Sarah decided to come with him when he delivered the sandwich just to see what Jonas was up to. When they arrived at Jonas' house, which was one of a string of houses positioned on top of the hill overlooking Lesser Redmond, they found Jonas pretty much as they expected to find him – peering down the street with a shrewd look on his face, while his fingers drummed on a pair of powerful binoculars that he constantly used to snoop and spy on everyone, and later post about everything that happened that day on his social media feeds.

Hello, Jonas, Chuck said, as he tried to offer him the pulled pork sandwich he had ordered. But Jonas shushed him and pulled him confidentially around the corner of his house, and next to a windowsill.

Sarah followed them, blinking and looking skeptically at Jonas.

What’s this all about, Jonas? she asked him curiously.

Shhh, Jonas said. My neighbors had a fight last night, but they say they didn't.

Okay, Chuck said.

But I'm sure they really had a fight last night, and I need your help to prove it, Jonas elaborated.

Why? Chuck said dopily.

Because look what they did! Jonah said.

Jonas gestured to a window of his house; it was broken, it had clearly been hit from the outside, and scattered nearby were fragments of a broken vase.

One or the other of them threw that vase and broke my window, and I want to get them to pay for it, Jonah said, although from the gleam in his eyes Chuck could tell that he was really just more interested in gossiping about the big fight that his neighbors had. They threw that vase from inside the kitchen, but the kitchen window was open and it hit my window instead, he said.

Chuck blinked and examined the property line fence; the separation between their houses was very, very small, and his neighbor's kitchen window was above Jonas's own. If a vase had been thrown from inside the neighbor's kitchen, as unlikely as that seemed, it could have hit Jonas's window.

Maybe you should back up and tell us what happened, Chuck said.

Okay, Jonas agreed. Last night, Matt, my neighbor who lives next door, got home very late, at about 10 o'clock, and when he got out of his car he was straightening his tie and looking around kind of shifty, like he was guilty.

And did he have this vase with him when you saw him? Sarah asked.

No, I didn't see him carrying anything, Jonas said. "Then he went inside the house, and a few minutes later there was a huge argument; the window was open, and I could hear him and his wife Becky screaming and shouting at each other, but my window was closed so I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. And then there