Free Last Puzzle & Testament by Parnell Hall

protest from around the table. He merely sat silently and waited for all voices to subside.
    “Thank you,” he said. “If I may continue.”
    He stood, took the will from the envelope.
“ All the rest, remainder, and residue of my estate shall go absolutely, irrevocably, and without question to whichever of my heirs shall be the first to correctly solve the puzzle. I know you are all probably shouting ‘What puzzle?’ and giving Arthur a hard time. Please do not do so. The poor man has no more idea than you do. He did not draw this will. He does not know the contents. He has no idea what I have planned.
“ I will tell you now.
“ To begin with, the puzzle is not your ordinary kind. To solve it will take more than intelligence. It will take ingenuity, intuition, persistence, and perhaps a trace of luck. Solving it will indeed be an interesting challenge. I wish I were around to see it.
“ As to determining the winner. I would find it inappropriate, Arthur, to leave you sole arbiter and judge. Wouldn’t you agree? At any rate, I am taking you out of the loop. Your function shall not be as judge, but merely as observer and facilitator. For instance, the first clue can be found in the rolltop desk in my master bedroom. I charge you with granting access to the heirs. The keys to the estate are in the possession of my banker, Marcus Gelman. His instructions are to open the doors for no one but you, Arthur. It shall be your responsibility to make sure this clue is available. As you shall make available any subsequent clues.
“ But as for judging the solution, I leave that in other hands.
“ Why?
“ Don’t worry, Arthur. I’m not going to point out your shortcomings. But this is a puzzle for which I have not supplied the solution. It will be up to the judge to solve it first, ahead of the field, and then determine if any of their solutions are correct. It is an awesome responsibility. Few would be up to the task. Fortunately, we have such a person in our midst. If she could solve the riddle of the Bakerhaven murders, she should have no problem with my simple game. I have not asked her, but I am sure my proposition will appeal to her. And she shall be superbly compensated for her service.
    cblout p>
“ I therefore leave the sum of fifty thousand dollars, contingent on her solving my puzzle, validating the solution, and determining the winner, to the Puzzle Lady, Miss Cora Felton. ”

Cora Felton batted Sherry’s hands away. “Stop it!” she muttered.
    “Aunt Cora.”
    “Leave me alone.”
    “Aunt Cora. Wake up.”
    “No.”
    Sherry Carter had found Cora Felton passed out on the kitchen table. Shaking her wasn’t working. So far Cora hadn’t even opened her eyes.
    “Come on, Cora,” Sherry said. “You have to wake up.”
    “Go away.”
    “Okay,” Sherry said. She hurried to the sink, filled a glass, came back, poured it over Cora’s head.
    Cora Felton’s arms flailed the air. “Hey!” she shouted. “What’re you doing?”
    Sherry set down the glass, grabbed her by the shoulders, shook her. “Aunt Cora. Listen to me. A man is dead.”
    “Dead?”
    “Yes.”
    “You killed Aaron? Oh, poor Aaron …”
    “Aunt Cora!”
    Cora Felton’s left eye opened, peered up at Sherry. Her glasses had fallen off on the table, so all she saw was a blur. “Who are you?”
    “Cora, it’s me, Sherry. I need you to concentrate. Jeff Beasley is dead.”
    “Beasley?”
    “The drunk.”
    “Who’s drunk?”
    “Jeff Beasley. The town drunk. He was found dead. Chief Harper’s investigating.”
    Cora Felton’s other eye opened. “Murder investigation?” she murmured. At least that’s what she tried to say. It sounded more like marmalade.
    But Sherry got it. “That’s right, Cora. A murder investigation. And they need your help.”
    “My …?”
    “Right. Chief fbloutm" Harper needs your help. So you gotta pull together, you gotta sober up, and you gotta come with me. Right now.”
    “Right