INTERMEDIATE (B1) LEVEL STORY
The midnight intruder (part 3)
This is the third
instalment
of a mystery story (here are the links to The Midnight Intruder 1 and The Midnight Intruder 2). In each instalment there is one
puzzle.
All the information to
solve
the puzzle is in the story. Can you solve the puzzle?
"Wait!"
yelled
Andy suddenly, and he looked at his sister with a
grave
expression.
"The man who left us these cases,
whoever he may be,
is one
seriously
messed up
individual. You need to be prepared for whatever is in that case,
Sis.
When I opened the
previous
case I was absolutely
horrified
when I saw that picture of him with a knife on you. So
brace yourself."
"I know, Bro. But we are both in this together now, and I'm fine. I mean, I'm creeped out that someone was in my house watching me while I was sleeping, but I'm not hurt and you're not hurt, and I want to find out who's doing this to us and stop them. And anyway, why do you think it's a man? It could be a woman."
"I can't imagine a woman doing this with the knife and all, but you're right; it could be. To be honest, I really have no idea who would do such a twisted thing to us."
"Well, big brother, there's just one way to find out." And with that Kirsty opened the second briefcase and gasped at what she saw.
They sat in silence for a moment and then Andy exclaimed: "Money! Well, I must say that is the last thing I expected to find!"
"And it's a lot," Kirsy added, then grabbed a hand-full of ten pound notes. "There must be more than a thousand pounds in here, maybe two! Is it a present for us?"
"A present? Somebody threatened your life, Sis. That's a bit of an extreme way to give us a present."
Kirsty nodded "I know, but what's your explanation?"
"Beats me. The other case had a note inside. Is there a note in here too?"
Kirsty rumaged around under the ten pound notes and pulled out a yellow piece of paper with a message on.
"Bingo!" she said.
"Here, let me read it." Andy plucked the note from his sister's fingers and read it silently.
"Well? What does it say?"
Kirsty read the note in silence, then spoke to Andy:
"It is a riddle. Listen. I'll read it to you.
These four people are in a queue,
But who is standing in front of who?
Put their ages in the order they stand,
The number you find is your next clue.
People (not necessarily queuing in this order)
Linda
Tony
Alison
George
Clues:
The youngest is 16.
Linda had a child when she was 21.
The parents stand on either side of their daughter.
The men have a combined age of 89.
The stranger is first in line.
Tony is 5 years older than his wife.
The women are in the middle.
"I know, Bro. But we are both in this together now, and I'm fine. I mean, I'm creeped out that someone was in my house watching me while I was sleeping, but I'm not hurt and you're not hurt, and I want to find out who's doing this to us and stop them. And anyway, why do you think it's a man? It could be a woman."
"I can't imagine a woman doing this with the knife and all, but you're right; it could be. To be honest, I really have no idea who would do such a twisted thing to us."
"Well, big brother, there's just one way to find out." And with that Kirsty opened the second briefcase and gasped at what she saw.
They sat in silence for a moment and then Andy exclaimed: "Money! Well, I must say that is the last thing I expected to find!"
"And it's a lot," Kirsy added, then grabbed a hand-full of ten pound notes. "There must be more than a thousand pounds in here, maybe two! Is it a present for us?"
"A present? Somebody threatened your life, Sis. That's a bit of an extreme way to give us a present."
Kirsty nodded "I know, but what's your explanation?"
"Beats me. The other case had a note inside. Is there a note in here too?"
Kirsty rumaged around under the ten pound notes and pulled out a yellow piece of paper with a message on.
"Bingo!" she said.
"Here, let me read it." Andy plucked the note from his sister's fingers and read it silently.
"Well? What does it say?"
Kirsty read the note in silence, then spoke to Andy:
"It is a riddle. Listen. I'll read it to you.
These four people are in a queue,
But who is standing in front of who?
Put their ages in the order they stand,
The number you find is your next clue.
People (not necessarily queuing in this order)
Linda
Tony
Alison
George
Clues:
The youngest is 16.
Linda had a child when she was 21.
The parents stand on either side of their daughter.
The men have a combined age of 89.
The stranger is first in line.
Tony is 5 years older than his wife.
The women are in the middle.
Can you solve the puzzle?
Every person's age is a double digit number, so the answer will be an eight digit number, for example: 12345678.
When you think you have the solution, click the button below to check your answer and read the end of this instalment.
