AnimeOtakuDrew

Flirt with Norman Bates.

Why do you think I need a reason?

Banned for not being a protagonist. =-P

Time shall tell, but I don't think you can do it, kid. I've had 41 years to learn patience.

Banned for whining about my posts.

CORE

I don't think they should bother, do you?

I doubt anyone will have the patience to wait for me to give up on it. I have no life, therefore I have nothing better to do.

No, I am not. I just got to the party. Alice would have been he before, so I'm not her. Unless Alice left and came back under another identity. Then you could be Alice.

What is hanging me up is the wording, "By the time they came back, Mycroft found Sherlock shot dead in his room." If this was referring to the walk, it makes things confusing. Mycroft obviously couldn't find Sherlock's body in his room while he is out on a walk, so there is clearly a mistake in the grammar. That leaves only conjecture as to what it should have been. The only possibilities that fit the context are, "by the time she came back" (referring to Irene returning from the restroom) or, "when they came back" (meaning Mycroft discovered the body upon their return rather than "by the time " of it). With this typo, the former is more likely than the latter because there I less change to the sentence structure (replacing only one word rather than three). That is why I made my deductions based on the idea that Mycroft found the body by the time Irene returned to join him. If the purpose of the text was different, then my deductions would be different. If the original poster wants to clarify/correct that, I will rethink my deductions. But with the the typo leaving two possible interpretations which lead along two very different lines of reasoning, I will stick to what I've got.

True, but all three suspects admitted to having a gun, even though it was Mycroft found in possession of the murder weapon. Perhaps he was counting on the fact that investigators would over think things in that regard. Also very true, unless he slipped something to her to ensure she would take a while in the bathroom. But even if he didn't give her something, it is still possible. Mycroft would only have to wait a moment after Irene' s departure before following and going to his and Sherlock's room. He would naturally have known exactly where he kept his own gun, so he wouldn't need time to search for it. Then he ran back to the entrance immediately after committing the crime, so he would get back before her. All of these things together create enough opportunity for him to have killed his brother. If my idea that she was given something during dinner is correct (perhaps a laxative or something similar), that would have been expected. Even if that is not the case, it is entirely possible that a bathroom break could take that long. A lady wouldn't go into detail about just what she needed to do in the bathroom, but she may have wanted to touch up her makeup or any number of other things while she was gone. And that is looking beyond the obvious idea, that whatever upset Sherlock's stomach at dinner might have had some effect on Irene as well and given her "the runs." Since Sherlock was found in a bathroom, it could theoretically be the toilet in Sherlock's bathroom that she flushed for Mycroft to hear, but I don't believe this. If Irene had killed Sherlock, depending on when the call from Mycroft was, he might have heard something over the phone. She would naturally have fled immediately after committing the crime, so the question then becomes, where could she go? Not the entrance, because she didn't rejoin Mycroft until after the body was discovered. Not her room, because her footsteps would not have been heard from John's room. The information given doesn't propose any other alternatives, like a service closet or side entrance. For those reasons, it just doesn't seem to fit that it was Irene. If it was Mycroft, however, he initiated the call to Irene, so he was able to make sure it was at a time when she would hear nothing suspicious. The fact that the fleeing footsteps were heard in both Irene and John's rooms then makes sense. I also find it suspicious that Mycroft found the body before Irene returned if he's not the killer. Why would he go back to his room if he's waiting for her? It clearly had to be after he talked to her on the phone, otherwise he would have mentioned then that he found his brother dead. But, when he was on the phone with her, Irene said she would be out in a minute and he heard a toilet flush, indicating she would be there momentarily. Likewise, if he suddenly needed to use the restroom, he would have mentioned that to her on the phone so she wouldn't be surprised by his absence when she returned. It just makes no sense for him to randomly decide at that point to revisit his room when he knew she was coming soon, unless he is the killer. Maybe he got nervous that he left some damning piece of evidence and wanted to go hide or destroy it. Who knows. But Mycroft as the killer is the only way I see ALL of the pieces fitting together. The only other possibility I see is that Mycroft and Irene were working together, but even that doesn't completely fit because they would then acted as each other's alibis rather than leaving glaring holes in their timelines when either had the opportunity to commit the crime. Well, I started to think that way at first as well, so it is understandable. And while there is enough information there to ultimately figure it out, the information is incomplete. Real police reports would contain times. What was the TOD? What time did John's call start and end? What time did Sherlock leave Irene and Mycroft? What time did Irene leave? What time did Irene and John hear the shot? What time did Irene and the person to whom John was speaking hear the footsteps? What time did Mycroft call Irene? And finally, what time did Mycroft find the body? That information would all have been in the reports, but we didn't get it. I can only guess such pertinent information was left out because it would then make the solution TOO obvious. That was my deductive process. I still admit I could be wrong, but that is the only way it makes sense to me. We will have to wait for the the original poster to confirm or deny my reasoning to know for sure, and since the post says solutions will be accepted until the 31st, I'm guessing confirmation won't come until then.

Point #1. John) John left before Sherlock decided not to to go for the walk, so even though he had motive and means, he was unaware of the opportunity. Additionally, his phone call is confirmed and the person to whom he was speaking (presumably) said nothing of hearing the gunshot but acknowledged hearing footsteps. This means John was far enough away that he could hear the shot but the other party couldn't. From this, it can be deduced that John was in his room two doors down from Sherlock and on the phone as he claimed and the footsteps heard were those of the killer fleeing past John's room. Point #2. Irene) Irene was staying in the room between Sherlock and John, meaning she would not have passed John's room as she fled to her own. She also could not have fled to the hotel entrance because Mycroft had already discovered the body by the time she returned. Point #3. Mycroft) Mycroft shared the room with Sherlock, so he would have had the key to slip in and murder his brother. He was in possession of the murder weapon. Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. It is impossible for John to be the killer because the person to whom he was speaking would have heard the gunshot. It is impossible for Irene to be the killer because her fleeing footsteps would not have been heard passing John's room. Therefore, the killer is Mycroft. Likely scenario: After Irene excused herself, Mycroft went to the room he and Sherlock shared and shot his brother. Fearing someone might come investigate the sound of the gunshot, he immediately fled, rushing past both Irene and John's rooms, returning to the entrance to await Irene. When Irene did not return quickly, he grew nervous (perhaps fearing she had seen him) and called her mobile to see what her reaction would be. When he got off the phone with her, he presumably decided that it would be best for him to "discover" the body as soon as possible, so he returned to the room and "found" Sherlock. (A side note, it is entirely possible that Mycroft slipped something to Sherlock during dinner to make sure he would be to ill to go for their regular walk, and possibly even to Irene to make sure she would have to excuse herself long enough for him to commit the crime. This is not definite, but it is possible.) So, how did I do?

How about some Ranma 1/2? Tie up Saotome Ranma so he is unable to move , then let a pack of hungry lions loose on him.

Ryuk (Death Note) Shelby Cobra

I think the original poster is Alive and started this whole thing to see how long it would take us to figure it out.

Kick, because I don't know you well enough to kiss you

Hattori Heiji

Because they've made some really interesting posts.

2? 1.) I want to start my own business. 2.) I am going to Star Wars Celebration in April. 3.) I am writing a novel.

Mountain peak (less chance people will bother me there). Star Wars or Star Trek?

*Ranma comes running out* *inserts broken laptop*

...they act like idiots?" "With great power comes...

*catches them and puts them on display shelf* *throws empty soda can*

Hickory smoked bubblegum

Electrocution, it's faster. Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy?