Puzzle 4: The Blank Suicide Note
A man writes a letter, seals it, and dies. The letter is blank. Why?
Scenario:
A man spends hours hunched over his desk, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. He seals the letter in an envelope, writes “I’m sorry” on the front, and jumps from his apartment window. When police retrieve the note, they find it completely blank. No fingerprints except his own. Why would he leave an empty confession?
Answer:
The man was illiterate, a secret he’d guarded fiercely his entire life. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he tried to draft a will using a children’s dictionary—but gave up in shame. The “suicide note” was a decoy. Earlier that day, he’d secretly altered his medical records to list his condition as cured, hoping his family would think his death an accident. Investigators later found burn marks on his fingers from repeatedly erasing failed attempts to write. His sister revealed he’d memorized the alphabet but never learned to form sentences.
