Detectological! Criminstinctual!

“One of these four guys is the burglar,” the detective said, “but they’re all tellin’ diff’rent stories.  We think three of ‘em are lyin’, so we’re stumped.  That’s why we called you.”

“What have they told you?” the professor asked.

“Anderson claims he’s not the burglar,” the detective replied.  “Bates says Denison is, but Carter points the finger at Bates.  An’ Denison insists it’s not him.”

“Why do you assume three of them are lying?”

“Well, it figures, right?  The guilty guy knows it’s him, but won’t admit that.  The innocent guy knows it’s not him, but can’t prove it.  An’ if the other two weren’t lyin’, they’d say they don’t know.  Problem is, we don’t know which is which.”

“Well, it seems simple to me,” the professor said.  “It’s purely detectological and criminstinctual.”

“Detecto…what?”

“Detectological!  Criminstinctual!  Because Bates and Denison are precisely contradicting each other, only one of them can be the lone truth-teller.”

“Okay, I get that,” the detective said, brow furrowed.

“Which means the other one, plus Anderson and Carter are the liars.”

“Okay, I get that, too.”

“Therefore, because we now know Anderson is lying, his claim that it’s not him is a falsehood,” the professor concluded.  “He is, by dint of logic and deduction, the burglar.  And that being so, it becomes clear that Denison is correct in claiming it’s not him.  He is your truthful, innocent man.”

“Amazin’!” the detective marvelled.

“Detectological!  Criminstinctual!” the professor smiled.

_{© J. Bradley Burt 2023}