Puzzle 6: The Lightning Chaser
A woman runs into a forest during a thunderstorm, smiling. She is found dead the next day. Why?
Scenario:
A woman sprints into a storm-lashed forest, laughing as thunder shakes the ground. She texts her colleague: “The Oak King will crown me tonight!” Her body is found next morning beneath a charred tree, face frozen in triumph. What killed her?
Answer:
As a rogue meteorologist, she’d planted a copper “lightning rod” necklace on an ancient oak to redirect strikes from a nearby village. The tree’s hollow trunk contained illegal weather modification equipment. Her smile came from seeing lightning hit the oak—until a secondary strike ricocheted off her metal necklace. Autopsy revealed she’d survived the initial bolt but choked on molten gold dental fillings. Villagers later reported the oak glowing blue for weeks.
