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After the success of the first case you've had as a detective, Interpol has given you another strange mystery. The Loch Ness of Scotland is becoming a site of interest for many recent disappearances. Many people are thinking that the famed plesiosaur Nessie has something to do with the disappearance. You take the case and head over to Scotland the day after the latest disappearance.

The Scottish police that are now investigating the area have given you the address of their station. You head there first before going to the lake. You ask the lieutenant if anything happens each time a disappearance occurs. The lieutenant does mention that each one occurs on a foggy day. It also seems like the fog is a bit whiter and denser than normal fog. With this in mind, you head over to the famed lake.

The first thing you notice are the messes of footprints near the lake. It seems like they sort of enter the lake, but the shoe prints don't seem to signify that the people that left them went into the lake. This means something or someone must have washed parts of them away.

As you walk along the edge of the lake, you come across a local reading a newspaper, and luckily, they're willing to talk since your first case made headlines. You ask them about the missing people and they give you a vague thing that they kind of remember. All of the missing people blended in with the fog. This means that if you could look at them in fog, they would still be hard to see.

As you walk along the lake you notice a patch of grass that doesn't seem to be like the others. Closer examination reveals that it is a door underground. As you ponder everything you've learned, you realize how simple everything comes together. Here are the suspects

Suspect 1
Nathaniel Preston
Age: 19 years old
Profession: None, university student

Suspect 2
Thomas Vain
Age: 35 years old
Profession: Oceanographer

Suspect 3
Aaron Moore
Age: 27 years old
Profession: Scientist and Nursery Assistant

What was the trapdoor hiding and where is everyone?

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2 Answers 2

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High chance I am wrong or my thinking is too simple but...

The trapdoor may be hiding the bodies of the victims. If it's especially foggy then the trapdoor may be open and the wouldn't have noticed. That way they could have fallen to their untimely death.

As for the suspects.

I feel it's the scientist aka Aaron Moore. Nursery assistant and a scientist? I don't think it's a kid's nursery. Rather a fish nursery if it makes sense. Something they could study and grow at the same time. Loch Ness is more or less a closed Loch so it wouldn't be a bad idea to breed rare fish there. Also his scientific background could allow him to use chemicals to create an artificial fog. Note that the fog is whiter and denser when the disappearances happen. Seems artificial. As to what can make such a fog, I have no idea. Dry ice? Some other exothermic reaction? I'm not sure.

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  • $\begingroup$ You've got the suspect down pat! But think about a powdery substance you can use to associate with him $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 3:03
  • $\begingroup$ Hmm no idea at all. $\endgroup$
    – R.D
    Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 8:41
  • $\begingroup$ The name Moore could be associated with Moor lake based on Enid Blyton's book The Famous Five $\endgroup$
    – user71418
    Commented Sep 17, 2020 at 2:20
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Is it possible that the one responsible is not one of the suspects but is the local?

because

The local mentioned how all the missing people blended in with the fog...which seems to imply that the local personally saw all the people right before they disappeared. Since there was dense fog on each of the disappearance days, the local would have had to be practically right next to the victims to see them disappear. Also it's kind of strange to see a person by him/herself reading a newspaper nonchalantly even though it is an unsafe area.

as for the trapdoor

not really sure. There are a lot of footprints leading into the lake, so maybe the bodies were dumped there, and the tide washed away some of the prints. In that case, the trapdoor could contain rope/heavy boulders used to hide the bodies in the lake.

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  • $\begingroup$ Very clever guess, but no. I'm not good enough at writing these as to where I can make such a twist. Sorry. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 25, 2018 at 3:04

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