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MineTime

Read your way to your best time

+++++++ Whodunnit +++++++

Flat tire from Unsplash

:new: The Great Inflate

Teresa sat in her car outside of her workplace, texting wildly and grinning like a lottery winner. Her Monday not only felt like a Friday, it felt like a holiday, despite the fact that she would go put in a days work in short order.

"Teresa?"

Her work friend, Ginnie, stood outside of her car with a goofy smile. That meant a joke was coming.

"Teresa, you are driving today?"

For the first time in weeks, she had done just that after finding her car tire repaired. Someone repaired Teresa's tire, ate the cost, and didn't tell her about it. Who did it?

She sent an inquiry to the neighborhood chat seeking information about the handy helper before climbing out of the car.

She'd grown close to her next-door neighbor, the Gibsons, in recent months. They often helped her out in little ways. But she'd also started seeing a new resident in their neighborhood, Andrew. He knew how to fix anything but his schedule was often packed. When could he have done it? Could her ex, Jim, have shown up out of the blue and done it?

Whodunnit?

(Send your answer below):

Gibsons(0) Andrew(0) Jim(0)

Sodas on ice from Unsplash

It's Chilling

The bodies lay out on the ground. One. Two. Three. Four. All unresponsive. The remaining cook-out attendees wait in horror for the police.

On the ground with the dead -- spilled soda bottles.

Susanna, the nurse, goes into med-mode. "Who else drank the soda? The bottles may be poisoned!"

"Poison?" Marlin guffaws. "That's ridiculous. They probably did something deadly before they got here."

Susanna gives him a look that says, "All four of them? Really?" But she remains silent.

Marlin's neighbor, Bethany, agrees with him. "Not everything has to be a medical mystery. The police will figure it out."

Whodunnit?

(Send your answer below):

Susanna(6) Marlin(11) Bethany(10)

Graduation balloon from Unsplash

Thank the Payer

Fay had to hold back tears. Her friends and family surrounded her, the event hall looked festive and elegant, the smell of her favorite foods called to her like sirens of the open seas.

It had all been a well-kept surprise. But who could have made it all happen?

Happy graduation, they sang out to her. Fay could not help but grin from ear to ear.

Later, as she scraped up fluffy cake along with sweet, creamy frosting from a pink paper plate, she asked around. Every person shrugged. Were they pulling her leg? No one knew?

They encouraged her to just enjoy her day but Fay could not let it go. She wanted to give a heartfelt thanks to the lovely person who had arranged and paid for it all.

Could it have been her father, Jameson, who had recently reentered her life? Perhaps Tina, her former foster mother? Or maybe her best friend's family, the Tuckers? They were well off.

Whodunnit?

(Send your answer below):

Jameson(12) Tina(8) Tuckers(15)

Moving bus from Unsplash

Under the Bus

Lauren returned to her suffocating cubicle and slammed her notebook on the desk. She struggled to breathe but she tried to calm down. If someone came to her space to ask about commotion, that would only make matters worse.

But someone had pushed Lauren under the bus and she would identify that snake.

Lauren snatched her notebook, opened it and started writing.

In the meeting, Carl looked at Lauren with an ugly face but never said a word. George interupted the typical flow of things to ask Lauren for stats unexpectedly. Jenni laughed when the mess started to hit the fan. KC offered some help during Lauren's embarassing fail but refused to look at her the whole time.

Whodunnit?

(Send your answer below):

Carl(6) George(5) Jenni(4) KC(5)

Suitable Suitors

Tulsi flopped onto the queen bed in her hotel room. Her short time in the most beautiful city on earth had been eventful.

Three suitors had made their interests known that weekend.

What's a girl to do?

There was Luka, the sweet-faced, down to earth guy with the heart of gold. Tulsi loved spending time with him.

Then there was Ken, the dashing entrepreneur with the adventurous, spontaneous spirit. He taught her more than she thought she could learn in so short a time.

And Sebastian, fun, funny, with a dazzling intellect. He challenged her to grow in ways that no one ever had.

Tulsi held her forehead. Three great guys, more than she could have asked, how would she ever choose?

Just then, Tulsi spotted an unfamiliar box on the hotel dresser. She did not hesitate. She ripped open the box and found candies wrapped in gold and silver foil, as well as a blue jewelry box and a card written in elegant script that said simply, "Be mine."

Whodunnit?

(Send your answer below):

Luka(14) Ken(12) Sebastian(16)

A Cold Cabin

Around a long, heavy, solid-oak table, each remaining team member wrote and signed their statements. Until they could leave the cabin, and authorities could arrive to investigate, they could do no better.

"You know someone here is a murderer right?"

Solara seemed unconcerned to say what no one else would. Her voice sounded matter-of-fact, her face looked perturbed.

Cam responded calmly.

"Lets try not to jump to conclusions. We don't really know how Mack got twisted up in that tree. But if it was murder, I'm sure no one has anything against the rest of us."

Gwen visibly shuddered.

"Did someone have something against Mack?" Pierre asked, and the room met his question with silence.

Minutes later, Reese muttered, "Mack's wife will be devastated."

Whodunnit?

(Send your answer below):

Solara(17) Cam(24) Gwen(16) Pierre(19) Reese(15)

+++++++ Puzzles +++++++