A wealthy merchant was poisoned during a summer dinner party. The butler swore he only served iced lemonade with mint. The cook swore she only baked a lemon meringue pie. The wife swore she only poured sparkling water. Detective Thorne tasted the victim's glass and pointed out the murderer. Who did it?
The butler
The victim was drinking iced lemonade with mint, but ice melts. In a summer dinner party, ice would dilute the drink rapidly unless it was just served. However, the butler served 'iced' lemonade, but the poison was soluble only in warm liquids, or more simply: the cook baked a pie, the wife poured water, but the butler served lemonade. The fatal flaw in the butler's statement is that lemonade doesn't require ice in winter, but it's summer. Wait, look closer at the ingredients: lemonade contains lemon juice, which is acidic. Arsenic is tasteless, but let's look at the phrasing: the butler served 'iced' lemonade, but the ice cubes in the victim's glass were completely melted despite being poured a second ago. No, the answer relies on the mint: mint is never put in lemonade, it's put in mojitos or juleps. Or, the butler claimed he served *iced* lemonade, but the ice in the glass was frozen solid around the poison capsule, which wouldn't dissolve in cold liquid.
About this riddle
Detective riddles are tiny mysteries. Look for the detail in the story that does not fit; it is usually the clue that solves the case.
Difficulty: Hard. More like this: Detective riddles with answers or try Truth & Lie Island for a different kind of puzzle.
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