The Mystery of Summer Street

          Summer Street is a dead end street with six houses. There are
three houses on each side of the street. Every house has two floors
and an outdoor porch in the back. Most of the houses have a secret
room. Summer Street is connected to Main Street.
          On the right side of Summer Street, there is a blue house, which
is the closest house to Main Street. There is an orange house next to
the blue house. There is a green house next to the orange house, and
the green house is at the end of the street.
          On the left side of Summer Street, there is a pink house, and it is
directly across the street from the blue house. There is a red house next
to the pink house, and it is directly across the street from the orange
house. There is a yellow house next to the red house, and it is directly
across the street from the green house. The yellow house is at the end of
the street.
          The houses on the right side of Summer Street have odd numbers, and
the houses on the left side of Summer Street have even numbers. The blue
house is number five, the orange house is number nine, and the green house
is number thirteen. The pink house is number six, the red house is number ten,
and the yellow house is number fourteen.
          Fifty years ago, there was a young woman who lived alone in one of
the six houses on Summer Street who was murdered. Her name was Laura.
The murder happened on a Friday night between 9:30 and 10:00 on July 31st.
It was a foggy night. Laura was stabbed to death in her living room. She was
murdered by two young people who were married, and they lived in the house
that was directly across the street from Laura's house. Laura was murdered
by John, and his wife Mary was his accomplice.
          John and Mary went to Laura's house on the night of the murder. Two
living room windows were open all the way, and the small bedroom window
in the front of the house was open all the way. John stabbed Laura to death
in the living room, and Mary was playing an instrument to make it difficult for
anyone to hear Laura screaming. John and Mary did not bring an instrument
to Laura's house. They went to her house a few other times, and they knew
where to find the instrument.
          The motive was robbery. John and Mary stole money from Laura's
house, and then they stole Laura's pocketbook.
          There was a young man walking around outside on the night of the
murder. He saw John and Mary walk into Laura's house, and he also heard
music coming from Laura's house.
          The murder was discovered the next day at 4:30 in the afternoon.
Laura was found dead on the living room floor.
          Five days after the murder was discovered, on a Thursday at 2:00,
John and Mary were arrested at their house. They were convicted about
a year later.
          The murder happened in a house that has a perfect square. One of the
six houses on Summer Street has a perfect square. There is one house, and
only one house that has a perfect square.
          Laura lived in the house that has a perfect square. The house may have
had a perfect square for the last 50 years, or it may have gotten a perfect square
within the last 20 years. The perfect square is either on the outside of the house,
or it's on the land surrounding the house.
          Laura was stabbed multiple times. If the perfect square is in the front
of the house, then she was stabbed five times. If the perfect square is on
the side of the house, then she was stabbed six times. If the perfect square
is in the back of the house, then she was stabbed seven times.
          The blue house has a square sign in the front yard. The sign is about
15 inches wide. The blue house also has a square air conditioner sticking out
of a side window. The other five houses have a rectangular air conditioner.
          The orange house has a square shed in the back yard. The red house
has a rectangular shed in the back yard. The other four houses do not have
a shed.
          The green house has a square barrel on the driveway, and it's next to the
side of the house. There is no other square barrel on the land surrounding
the green house. The other five houses have round barrels. The green house
also has a square outdoor porch in the back. The other five houses have a
rectangular outdoor porch in the back.
          The pink house has a square mailbox next to the front door. The other
five houses have a rectangular mailbox. The pink house also has a square
board under the porch in the back yard. The board is about 20 inches long.
          The red house has a white flower pot on the ground with flowers
inside of it on the right side of the front steps. The top of the flower pot is
in the shape of a square. The flower pot is about five inches high and three
inches long at the top. The red house also has an empty gold jewelry box
inside of the shed in the back yard. The jewelry box is in the shape of a
square. The jewelry box is about three inches high and four inches long.
          The yellow house has a built in pool in the back yard. The pool is in
the shape of a square. The other five houses do not have a pool.
          All six houses on Summer Street had two or three instruments inside of
them on the night of the murder. All six houses now have a new owner, and
all six houses look the same as they were 50 years ago. All the instruments
that were inside of all six houses on the night of the murder were removed
from each house when each house was sold except the instrument that Mary
was playing in Laura's house on the night of the murder. The instrument
that was used in the murder was either sold or given to the new owner of
Laura's house.
          Here is a list of the instruments that were in each house on the night
of the murder. The instrument that Mary was playing in Laura's house on the
night of the murder is on this list.


          blue house:         banjo, cornet, tambourine

          orange house:     drum, flute

          green house:       bagpipe, guitar, xylophone

          pink house:          French horn, harp

          red house:            harmonica, trumpet, violin

          yellow house:       accordion, saxophone, viola


          The instrument that Mary was playing in Laura's house on the night of
the murder is hidden in the front half of the house that used to be Laura's
house. The name of the instrument that was used in the murder has a double
meaning.
          All the houses that had three instruments inside of them on the night of
the murder had a secret room, and all of them still have a secret room. All the
houses that had two instruments inside of them on the night of the murder did
not have a secret room, and all of them still do not have a secret room.
          If Laura's house had a secret room, then John and Mary knew about it,
and they knew where it was. They also knew that she kept money in the secret
room. If Laura's house did not have a secret room, then John and Mary knew it
didn't have a secret room, but they knew that she kept a large amount of money
in her house.



          1. In which house was the murder committed?

               A) the blue house              B) the orange house

               C) the green house            D) the pink house

               E) the red house                F) the yellow house


          2. How many times was Laura stabbed?

               A) Five

               B) Six

               C) Seven


          3. Which instrument was Mary playing in Laura's house
              on the night of the murder?


          4. Does the murder house have a secret room?

               A) Yes

               B) No