Murder of a Mathematician

The lifeless body of Desmond Clark, eminent professor of mathematics, lay sprawled across the floor of his office. The ornate hilt of a letter opener protruded from his back, his shirt stained bright crimson. Papers littered the floor around him.

“Strange case here, Ho,” said Sergeant Northrop as he eyed his friend carefully. “Seems the ol’ boffin was stabbed once right through the back – bad enough to be fatal. There were no signs of a struggle, no defense wounds.”

“Yet, the room is in turmoil,” uttered Sherlock Ho as he glanced at some documents on the large, oak desk.

“Could have been a robbery gone wrong,” suggested Northrop. “Killer is caught in the act ransacking the place, professor turns his back to reach for the phone, killer stabs him, and then runs.”

“So it would seem,” said Ho. “But what would be worth stealing from this office? Surely no valuables or money were kept here.”

Northrop shrugged his shoulders. “But here’s the real head scratcher,” smiled the sergeant, “The room was locked – from the inside. And the only key to the room was in the professor’s jacket pocket which he’s wearing.” Sherlock continued to peruse the documents, unstirred.

“Interesting,” he finally said.

“Is that all you have?” said Northrop curtly. He was not pleased by his friend’s apathetic response. “How could the killer stab the professor and leave the room through a locked door? It’s impossible.”

“Who was here at the time of the murder?” asked Sherlock. Northrop glanced briefly at his notebook.

“There were three people,” answered the sergeant, “Mrs Lee Jenkins – the secretary, Dr Stephen Hassim – a fellow professor, and Ms Geraldine Wong – a doctoral student. They’re waiting in the tearoom.”

Sergeant Northrop led the way out of the office, past the reception desk and down towards the tearoom, situated at the other end of the corridor. Sherlock followed closely, admiring the academic posters that lined the walls.

The three suspects were seated around a large dining table. Lee Jenkins was the first to speak. “It’s terrible,” cried the secretary, “utterly incomprehensible. Dear Professor Clark – who could do such a thing?” she looked earnestly at Northrop then at Sherlock.

“What exactly happened, Mrs Jenkins?” asked Sherlock calmly. Lee Jenkins sighed and recounted what had occurred. “I don’t usually come in on the weekends, but there were some urgent documents that needed photocopying for a meeting on Monday. I was just finishing up with the photocopier when I heard something like a loud groan and a dull thud and some other muffled noises coming from down the corridor where Professor Clark’s office, and my reception area, are situated. I hurried down towards the office and bumped into Stephen as he was coming out of his office. He had heard the same strange noises.”

“Yes,” confirmed Stephen, “I was in my office checking some emails when I heard those horrid noises coming from Desmond’s office.”

“We rushed past my desk and to the door of Professor Clark’s office,” continued Lee, “I knocked, but there was no response. I tried opening the door but it was locked. This surprised me as Professor Clark rarely locks his door. He’s the only one with a key. I was very concerned – something was wrong. Stephen also tried the door knob but it wouldn’t budge. Finally, he decided to try forcing the door open. It wasn’t a very sturdy door, so after a few attempts, he managed to ram it down with the weight of his body. That’s when we saw the body.”

Lee Jenkins then burst into uncontrollable sobs.

“Yes, Desmond was lying on the floor, face down, something sticking out of his back, blood everywhere,” continued Stephen, “I raced to him – Desmond – and tried to feel for a pulse. There was none. Mrs Jenkins was standing behind me, in the doorway, frozen. I asked her to call for the police. She managed to snap back and went to the reception desk to phone them. I was kind of just kneeling there, dazed, hoping for Desmond to wake up. That’s when Geraldine came into the room.”

Geraldine Wong looked up. “Yes,” she said, “I had been in the tea room, which is next to the photocopy room, making myself a cup of tea and a snack. I'm afraid I didn't hear anything as I had my headphones in when it happened. I only noticed something was wrong when I was taking my meal back to my room and saw the light was on in the reception area. Mrs Jenkins looked hysterical on the phone. I didn't even know she would be in today. I quickly made my way to the office to see what all the commotion was about.”

“Mrs Jenkins seemed to be taking a while on the phone so I decided to go check on her,” said Stephen Hassim. “I got up and made my way to the reception area. She was on the phone, but I noticed she was now speaking in a hushed tone. When she saw me she quickly hung up – something seemed odd.”

“Oh, dear,” sighed Lee Jenkins, “No, it was nothing. After I called the police, I decided to call my husband. I was just so upset and needed to hear his voice – for reassurance.”

“I thought you were having issues with Mr Jenkins,” said Geraldine slyly as she glanced at the secretary. Lee Jenkins flushed slightly. “What? Oh, my marital affairs having nothing to do with you, you insolent girl!”

“Ha! ‘Affairs’, indeed!” laughed Geraldine, “we all know you and Professor Clark were having one!”

“How dare you!” shrieked Lee defensively, “Desmond was right to cut your scholarship funding – your moral bearing is as weak as your research!”

“Ha!” grinned Geraldine again, “Morality does not seem to have much place in this department. Just take Professor Hassim here. Surely those allegations of plagiarism are not entirely unfounded. Right, Stephen?”

The professor glared at the smiling student. “My work on Pythagoras’ unknown theorem are entirely my own work!” retorted Stephen.

“Desmond would have said otherwise,” said Geraldine, “But I guess it’s too late now. He’s dead.”

“And I know who murdered him,” said Sherlock.

From the Author:

Guys! This is the rebirth of my murder mystery blog which started all those years ago when MSN Spaces was around and Facebook was non-existent. That blog has since (sadly) been deleted and I was unable to salvage the adventures of Archille Parrier and his charming companion Charlene Du. Nevertheless, I hope you will find equal entertainment in helping to solve the mini mysteries of Sherlock Ho and Sergeant Northrop. 

The Murder of a Mathematician is my first mini murder mystery! And it's a locked room mystery! Do you know whodunnit? Ask me for clues! Tell me where I messed up! Happy Sleuthing!

PS - kind of embarrassing, but I've forgotten the proper punctuation/grammar etc. for speech and paragraphs. Oh dear.