{"id":1044,"date":"2016-10-21T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T14:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/?p=1044"},"modified":"2017-01-26T22:25:48","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T03:25:48","slug":"tmm2-dark-accusations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/2016\/10\/21\/tmm2-dark-accusations\/","title":{"rendered":"TMM #2: Dark Accusations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A series of puzzlers starring a classic pulp figure<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is another in my rotating series of Shadow Two-Minute Mysteries<\/em>. Two minutes? Yeah, that’s about how much time you’ll invest in reading it. But can you solve the mystery along with The Shadow<\/strong>? That may take more than two minutes. Just look at the clews, and test your sleuthing skills.<\/p>\n

This mini-mystery originally appeared on my old Shadow in Review<\/em> website. Perhaps you’ll remember this mystery, and remember the solution, as well. Perhaps…<\/p>\n

This mystery is based upon the original 1930s pulp character, The Shadow<\/strong>. Not the radio version. No clouding men’s minds, here. Just a black cloak and slouch hat.<\/p>\n

The solution, not necessarily the only solution, but the one the author had in mind, will appear (below) next Friday. That gives you time to mull over the crime.<\/p>\n

Feel free to leave your solution in the comments section below. It may be better than mine!<\/p>\n

Finally, there are some background notes at the end of the story. They’ll explain a bit more about the characters and situations in this mini-mystery, and their part in the larger universe of the pulp Shadow.<\/p>\n

You are about to enter the pulp world of the 1930s. Join The Shadow as he dons his black cloak, slouch hat, and gloves, and prepares to battle crime. It\u2019s time for action and mystery. The Shadow knows!<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/thepulp.net\/media\/the-weed-of-crime.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/strong><\/div>\n

Dark Accusations<\/h3>\n
\"Doctor<\/a>
Doctor Rupert Sayre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A large black shadow on the carpet flitted silently after Dr. Rupert Sayre as he walked down the sixth-floor hallway of the Hotel Metrolite. Dr. Sayre was accompanied by old Junius Groves. Groves was saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard you were in the hotel, Doctor, I called for you immediately. My nephew hasn\u2019t been well, and just now he didn\u2019t answer his door. He told me earlier that he was staying in for the night, which gives me cause for worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two stopped outside room 615; the bizarre shadow stopped several paces behind. Dr. Sayre knocked at the door, then used the manager\u2019s passkey to open the door.<\/p>\n

The sound of a ticking clock could be heard from the pitch-black room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a moment. I\u2019ll go turn on the lamp,\u201d prompted Junius Groves.<\/p>\n

A light flared from the far side of the room as Groves turned on a floor lamp. The light cast a bright circle on the floor, leaving the corners of the room in shadow. In the center of the light lay the body of young Carl Groves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he dead?\u201d gasped old Groves, his eyes glued on the stilled form.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid so,\u201d Dr. Sayre admitted somberly as he bent over the body.<\/p>\n

Dr. Rupert Sayre surveyed the small hotel room. The dead body of young Carl lay before him stretched out in the center of the room, his head at the base of a large desk on the right side of the room, his arm flung out beneath the desk.<\/p>\n

\"Junius<\/a>
Junius Groves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His left foot was caught beneath a large overstuffed chair, positioned directly below a wooden clock on the wall. Dr. Sayre\u2019s gaze moved to the lamp in the center of the far wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you know the lamp was there, when the room was in total darkness?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in Carl\u2019s room many times,\u201d responded Junius Groves glancing at the ticking clock. \u201cIt looks to me as though he caught his foot on the chair and tripped, hitting his head on the edge of the desk. Do you concur, Doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n

From a darkened corner of the room stepped the black-cloaked figure of The Shadow. His sharp eyes peered from beneath his slouch hat, piercing old Junius Groves with their unwavering glare.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Sayre knows this was no accident,\u201d came his sibilant whisper. \u201cYou know more about this crime that you let on, Mr. Groves.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOW DID JUNIUS GROVES GIVE HIMSELF AWAY?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/strong><\/div>\n[learn_more caption=”Click here for the solution.”]\nOld Junius Groves walked to the far side of the room in total darkness to turn on the floor lamp, but didn\u2019t trip over the body of young Carl. Old Groves must have known the body was there and stepped safely over it.<\/p>\n[\/learn_more]\n
\u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0<\/strong><\/div>\n

Background notes<\/h3>\n

This story takes place in the Hotel Metrolite. It\u2019s a famous location used often in The Shadow pulps. It\u2019s most notable as being the residence of Harry Vincent<\/strong>, one of the oldest agents of The Shadow, in terms of years of service. Throughout the 19-year series, Harry always resided at the Metrolite, being so described in 53 of the stories.<\/p>\n

It is mentioned, in this mini-mystery, that The Shadow blends into the darkness so completely that he can stand within an arm\u2019s reach of the person he is trailing, and still be undetected. That was typical of the pulp character of The Shadow. Often he would closely trail suspects without their knowledge. He moved so silently that he could literally stand at their side and still remain unnoticed. And so it is in this story, as well.<\/p>\n

Dr. Rupert Sayre<\/strong>, who appears in this story and whom readers know as personal physician to The Shadow, had his own private practice in Manhattan. However, in this story, he is temporarily assigned as house physician for the Metrolite. It can be assumed the position was one assigned by The Shadow, since the master of the night is following Sayre and Groves as our story opens.<\/p>\n

The Shadow needed a personal physician. In his multiple skirmishes with the underworld element, The Shadow suffered many injuries. Upon those occasions, it was Dr. Sayre to whom he turned. Sayre first appeared in the 1933 story Master of Death.<\/em> He continued for another 43 appearances until his final outing in the 1948 story Dead Man\u2019s Chest.<\/em> He was one of the few people who knew that beneath the apparent visage of Lamont Cranston lay another man \u2014 The Shadow!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is another in my rotating series of Shadow Two-Minute Mysteries. Two minutes? Yeah, that’s about how much time you’ll invest in reading it. But can you solve the mystery along with The Shadow? That may take more than two minutes. Just look at the clews, and test your sleuthing skills. This mini-mystery originally appeared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_has_post_settings":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"That's Pulp! It's Two Minute Mystery #2: Dark Accusations. #pulpmags","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[1,62,166],"tags":[187,33,27,181],"hashtags":[],"class_list":["post-1044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pulp","category-the-shadow","category-two-minute-mystery","tag-dr-rupert-sayre","tag-lamont-cranston","tag-the-shadow","tag-two-minute-mysteries"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6SOGR-gQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1248,"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions\/1248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1044"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/thatspulp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=1044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}