Detective Tinsel arrived at 3am on a red-nosed-red-eye reindeer flight on the rooftop of a mall in central Ohio. He walked into the mall security office to see a fellow elf named Trinket pacing back and forth, his face burning red, matching his handlebar mustache and long beard.
“I assume this is rather important to call me from my North Pole Office at this time in the morning,” said Detective Tinsel.
“Detective, thank you for coming all this way,” said Trinket. “As you know, I was recently promoted to oversee this season’s Mall Santa Selection Team. Hiring reliable mall Santas who can keep the Christmas spirit thriving until the boss makes his deliveries on Christmas Eve isn’t what it used to be. I had to approve a few questionable applicants just to fill slots, and now I have a real problem.”
“How can I help you, Trinket?”
“A few hours ago, I got a call from mall security saying that one of the officers witnessed one of my three Santas breaking into the back office and stealing the Children’s Christmas Charity funds.”
“He saw it all happen on the security cameras, but by the time he got out to the parking lot to apprehend the thief he had already escaped.”
“Can you believe it? A Santa stealing from kids. It really makes my hot cocoa boil!”
Trinket looked at the clock on the office wall. “The police went to round up all three of my mall Santas to see if the security guard could positively id the one that stole the money. They should be back any minute. I called you because I don’t trust these guys to catch the culprit on their own, and the boss will be really mad if one of these Santas gets away with stealing the funds raised to help kids on Christmas. I can’t afford to let all three of them go this close to the holiday, so we have to figure out which one did it!”
Detective Tinsel and Trinket met the security guard and police officer in a room with a two-way mirror. Trinket introduced him, “Officers, this is the consultant I told you I was bringing.” Tinsel tipped his green felt hat and greeted them.
The police officer pointed to the mirror. “I rounded up all three suspects. They’re putting on their Santa suits now since that is what the mall guard saw the culprit wearing. I don’t have much hope of him making a positive ID this way, but it is worth a shot.”
Three Santas stumbled into the room adjacent to them for the line-up. Santa Number One complained as he entered, “Couldn’t this have waited until morning?”
“I know. They should at least serve coffee to a Santa when they wake him up at 3 am and make him leave immediately! Santa needs his rest too, said Santa Number Two.
Santa Number Three just rubbed his eyes and blinked at the bright lights. All three stood with their backs against the wall. The officer, Tinsel, and Trinket watched the confused guard stud the three men in identical suits.
“I can’t tell which one I saw. The video footage wasn’t very clear and all their suits look exactly alike,” said the mall security guard.
Detective Tinsel offered a suggestion, “Maybe they should remove the Santa beards so he can get a good look at their faces.”
The police officer frowned. “I don’t know what good that will do, since the thief was wearing the full suit and beard when he stole the money, but I guess it can’t hurt.”
He spoke into the intercom, “All Santas, please remove your wigs and beards.”
The first Santa removed his wig and beard combo to reveal black curly hair. His jaw and deeply cleft chin were covered in a dark stubble.
The second Santa removed his wig and beard that covered his short dark brown hair and a prominent scar on the side of his smooth, clean shaven face.
The third Santa was much older and removing his wig and beard showed that he had thinning gray hair with long side burns and a matching gray stubble across his chin.
The security guard shook his head, “I’m sorry guys. This doesn’t help at all. I never saw his face without the beard.”
“That’s okay,” said Detective Tinsel. “I think it’s obvious which Santa is your thief!”
Who does Detective Tinsel suspect, and why?
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ANSWER
All three Santas acted tired from being woken up at 3 am for the line up. Detective Tinsel knew that the one who had already been awake was the thief. When all three removed their beards, Santa One and Santa Three had stubble on their faces, but Santa Two had a smooth, clean shaven face in the middle of the night which wasn’t likely for someone with dark hair who was supposedly woken up without any warning for the line up.
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