[Vote] Patience or Greed - Detective Game

🖼 Patience, is the key to success. I'm sorry that you did not pass the test. 🖼

📕Story Background

Wealthy Mr. Simmons, overwhelmed by age and illness, ended his life four days ago by taking sleeping pills. Before his death, he left behind two letters: one to criminal expert Joseph, and another to his nephew Sonny.

Simmons's bedroom had only one key, kept exclusively by Sonny. In the letter addressed to his nephew, Simmons explicitly instructed Sonny not to enter his bedroom until four days after his death. Simmons explained that behind his portrait, Sonny would find a safe containing $100,000, half of which was to be donated to his alma mater, with the other half intended for Sonny himself.

Four sunny days later, following the instructions, Sonny invited Joseph to accompany him into his uncle’s room. Upon entering, Joseph noticed the portrait of Simmons prominently displayed above the fireplace. The frame of the portrait has some marks on it. Wonder if it is due to the passage of time or human intervention. On the mantle stood a potted plant with large green leaves leaning toward the wall, brushing against the portrait. Sonny moved the plant aside to access the safe.

Sonny then got the combination from Joseph, rushed to the safe behind the portrait and start his trying immediately like he cannot wait any longer. While Sonny began dialing the combination, Joseph walked toward the window directly opposite the portrait. Sunlight streamed clearly through the locked window, illuminating the location of portrait. Suddenly, Sonny cried out in shock, "The safe is empty!"

"Indeed, it is empty," Joseph replied calmly. "Your uncle had already sent the money to me days ago. He wanted to test your patience, to see if you would truly wait the required four days. Clearly, you failed his test."

How did Joseph know that Sonny had failed the test and entered the room prematurely? What clue exposed Sonny’s deception?

(This story is absolutely fictional. Any inconsistencies with common sense work for the plot)

🔍Known Clues

1. Nature has its own magic.
2. Sonny held the key to the room, Joseph has the combination to open the safe.

🕵️‍Questions and Discussions for YOU

1. WHICH crucial evidence gave Sonny away? WHY is that?
2. If you were Simmons, how would you distribute your inheritance? Given that you are a wealthy person. (Open-ended)

🎉Participation Rewards

The FIRST user to successfully deduce the identity of the "culprit" and their motive in the comment, will receive a reward of 2,000 GT points! Other participants will earn 200-500 GT points based on the completeness of their submissions. 💰

📅Submission Deadline

April 4, 2025

Reminder: This is the submission deadline if you want to claim the reward with your vote, but after this date the vote will still remain open for a period of time, so please feel free to participate at any time if you want to test your skills, detectives!

----- Previous answer (Final Whistle for Mr.Smith) -------

Coach C is the criminal who killed Mr. Smith.

A rugby match lasts for 90 minutes, not including halftime breaks. Considering the additional one-hour travel time, Coach B could not possibly have arrived at Mr. Smith’s home before 5:20 PM, thus ruling him out as a suspect. On the other hand, a soccer match lasts 90 minutes, plus a 15-minute halftime break. Therefore, the other two soccer coaches, Coach A and Coach C, both had enough time to reach Mr. Smith’s home before the crime occurred.

Now let's analyze further:

Coach A's soccer team participated in a tournament match. When such matches end in a tie, an additional 30 minutes of extra time is required, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary. Even ignoring the penalty shootout, the match would last at least 135 minutes (90 min regular time + 15 min halftime + 30 min extra time). With an additional 10-minute travel time, Coach A could not have arrived at Mr. Smith’s home by 5:05 PM, just before the shots were fired.

Therefore, only Coach C remains as the possible murderer. His match lasted exactly 90 minutes, plus a 15-minute halftime, and with a 20-minute travel time, he could have arrived at Mr. Smith’s home by approximately 5:05 PM—just one minute before witnesses reported hearing the gunshots.

Link to the post: [Vote] Final Whistle for Mr.Smith - Detective Game – Gtarcade Discussion Forum Official Forum

We will be rewarding 200 GT points to all players who voted correctly, and additional points to some outstanding responses.

Congratulations and enjoy your juicy GT points reward!!!

🎁 Additional Reward Rule

We greatly appreciate everyone's willingness and time to participate in our new community discussion event, the Detective Game.

While there is only one "correct" answer we've prepared, we will reward anyone who comes up with a genuine deduction process and actively engages in this event with a random amount of EXTRA GT Points based on the quality of their answer.

We will carefully review and select the best comments, so don't worry detectives, join in and earn your points!

Note: We have now reclassified the Detective Game back under the Votes category to enhance event navigation and streamline the reward claim process using the VOTE function. (Please note that this change is not permanent and may be subject to future adjustments)