Three Cocktails. Two Alibis. One Corpse.
Three Cocktails. Two Alibis. One Corpse.
The Sunday Suspect — A 60-Second Whodunit
At 9:15 on a humid Sunday evening, wealthy real estate developer Victor Bellamy was found dead at his favorite table in the Flamingo Room, a waterfront cocktail lounge in Key West.
Three cocktails sat on the table. One corpse occupied the chair.
Enter Angie Braun and Donnie Lutz, the private-investigator duo featured in Darin E. Hartley's Braun & Lutz mystery thriller series. She's sharp, observant, and rarely impressed. He's equally capable, although considerably more inclined to make an inappropriate observation at precisely the wrong moment.
Donnie surveyed the scene.
"Well," he said, "at least somebody remembered happy hour."
The medical examiner estimated Bellamy had died around 9:00. A fatal dose of poison had been slipped into his drink.
Three people had shared the table that evening.
Suspect One: The Ex-Wife
Marianne Bellamy admitted she'd argued with Victor over money. She claimed she'd left at 8:45 to take a phone call outside. Her call log confirmed a twelve-minute conversation beginning at 8:46.
Suspect Two: The Business Partner
Eddie Crane stood to lose millions if Victor backed out of their latest development deal. He claimed he'd gone to the restroom at 8:50 and returned at 9:05. A bartender remembered seeing him leave the table.
Suspect Three: The Bartender
Ricky, who had served Victor for years, insisted he'd delivered all three cocktails at 8:40 and hadn't approached the table again.
Angie examined the glasses.
Two contained melted ice and traces of liquor.
Victor's glass was nearly full.
"Funny," Angie said. "A man who never left a drink unfinished."
Then she noticed something else.
The bartender had described Victor's drink as a gin and tonic with a lime wedge.
But the glass beside Victor's body contained a cherry and no lime.
Angie looked toward the bar.
"Somebody's telling us a story," she said.
"And not a particularly good one."
Your Turn, Detective
Who is your prime suspect, and what clue gives them away?
Is it the ex-wife, the business partner, or the bartender?
Share your theory on X. Can you solve the mystery before Angie and Donnie?
The solution arrives tomorrow.
The Sunday Suspect is an original fictional mystery featuring Angie Braun and Donnie Lutz, the private investigators from Darin E. Hartley's Braun & Lutz thriller series.
© Flamingo & Fog Press