Do Not Lie to a Detective
On the way back to his office, detective Kronin's eye was caught by a crowd of onlookers, including representatives of the landlord, the police and a man who introduced himself as Victor Voronov, the director of a company employing an accountant Semenov who had been shot dead.
- “So, Victor, what can you tell us?”
- “You see, detective Kronin, about 25 minutes ago I returned from car tire fitting. I drove up to the parking lot, opened the gate with my key and entered the parking yard. Then, I took the repaired wheel from the car, put it on the shelf, drove the car into the garage and was about to check the oil level. At that moment there was a terrible cry followed by a shot. It happened at 12, I would argue, because only 10–15 seconds before my alarm clock rang, and it had been set for midday.”
- “What happened then?”
- “I suppressed the fear that swept over me and rushed to my office. There I found two employees from a nearby office. One of them called the police while I joined the second one and we ran to the guard.”
After inspecting the scene, the detective turned to Voronov: “Will you please show me the place where you heard the shot.”
- “Near my garage. Come along, detective,” Victor Voronov led the detective to the shell garage located 50 meters from the entrance to the office building. After seeing the parking lot near the garage, Kronin said:
“May I see the inside of your garage, Victor?”
- “You are welcome. And how does it tie into the murder?”
“Maybe it does not, but I’m an inquisitive type of person,” said the detective.
Voronov unlocked the garage and gave room for the detective. Peeping in and casting a quick glance at the car, the detective addressed the garage owner: “Probably there is some truth in your story, however, to figure out the cause that made you lie, I'll take you to the district police department.”
Question
What evidence allowed detective Kronin to arrive at this conclusion?