The Locked Room Trick

Detective Sam Walters hated locked-room mysteries.

A man was shot in the chest inside a vault, locked from the inside. No gun was found. No way in. No way out.

Except for one thing.

Sam leaned over the body. The blood spatter was off. The angle was too steep.

He turned to the security guard. “You said he was alone?”

“Yes,” the guard stammered. “No one left the vault.”

Sam smirked. “Exactly. Because the killer never entered.”

He grabbed a chair, climbed it, and pried open the air vent.

A gun sat inside. Still warm.

Sam exhaled. A perfect crime—almost.