Was the poisonous chemical in a liquid?
in a solid?
in a gel?
in a powder?
Did Alice and Benjamin know the diplomat?
Did they know each other?
Were they married?
Is the time period this takes place particularly relevant?
reply to Folly:
Was the poisonous chemical in a liquid? No
in a solid? yes
in a gel? No
in a powder? Yes
Did Alice and Benjamin know the diplomat? Probably, but not sure.
Did they know each other? Yes
Were they married? Don’t know. Their relationship is unimportant. They are just the launderers.
Is the time period this takes place particularly relevant?
Cold War post WWII
Was the poisonous chemical the laundry detergent?
Was the diplomat actually harmed or sickened by the poisonous powder?
Was the powder a commonly available substance in the country where the attempted murder happened?
Did this happen in the US? Does the location matter?
No
reply to Cheesesteak:
Was the diplomat actually harmed or sickened by the poisonous powder? Yes
Was the powder a commonly available substance in the country where the attempted murder happened? Not sure. I wouldn’t think so.
Did this happen in the US? Does the location matter?
Not US, but location is only important historically, not really helpful in solving the riddle.
Was there actually an attempted murder?
Did A and B do something that actually is attempted murder?
Did A and B do something that could be mistaken for attempted murder?
reply to Folly:
Was there actually an attempted murder?
Did A and B do something that actually is attempted murder?
Did A and B do something that could be mistaken for attempted murder?
No to the first two. But A and B did the laundry, and the result was mistaken for attempted murder. All I am asking is… how?
When A and B did the laundry:
did they use drycleaning chemicals?
use any non-standard washing chemicals?
use any non-standard method of drying or pressing the clothes?
apply something to the clothing that would not have been used by a typical someone else doing the laundry?
Do A and B own a laundry based business not connected to the embassy (other than an arms length business relationship)?
reply to Cheesesteak:
When A and B did the laundry:
did they use drycleaning chemicals? Don’t know. Not relevant
use any non-standard washing chemicals? Probably not
use any non-standard method of drying or pressing the clothes? Not that I know of. Probably not.
apply something to the clothing that would not have been used by a typical someone else doing the laundry? Probably not.
Do A and B own a laundry based business not connected to the embassy (other than an arms length business relationship)?
No.
Did A and B both work at a laundry business?
Did the diplomat visit this business for laundry services?
Was the diplomat working in the same building as or a building connected to the laundry business?
Were vents or ducts involved?
Did A and B know they did something that could be construed as attempted murder of the diplomat?
Did A and B do something that exposed the diplomat to a poisonous powder?
Did A and B have any awareness of the poisonous powder?
Did A and B think the poisonous powder was something else?
reply to Folly:
Did A and B both work at a laundry business? No
Did the diplomat visit this business for laundry services? No
Was the diplomat working in the same building as or a building connected to the laundry business? Yes. A and B did housekeeping work at the Embassy.
Were vents or ducts involved? No
Did A and B know they did something that could be construed as attempted murder of the diplomat? No
Did A and B do something that exposed the diplomat to a poisonous powder? Yes. They did the laundry.
Did A and B have any awareness of the poisonous powder? No
Did A and B think the poisonous powder was something else? No
So A and B doing the laundry at the Embassy exposed the diplomat to a poisonous powder although A and B were not aware that this happened?
Did the poisonous powder end up on clothing that the diplomat was wearing?
towels?
bedsheets or other linen?
Did the poisonous powder end up in a washing machine?
in a dryer?
Were the laundered items dried outside?
reply to Folly:
So A and B doing the laundry at the Embassy exposed the diplomat to a poisonous powder although A and B were not aware that this happened? Yes
Did the poisonous powder end up on clothing that the diplomat was wearing? Yes
towels? Maybe…?
bedsheets or other linen Yes
Did the poisonous powder end up in a washing machine? No
in a dryer? No
Were the laundered items dried outside?
No.
Did A and B use the poisonous powder as part of laundering Embassy things?
Was the poisonous powder meant to be used as poison?
Was it rat poison?
Did A and B do the laundry in an unusual way?
Was there anything different about doing the laundry than what A and B usually did when the poisoning happened?
reply to Folly:
Did A and B use the poisonous powder as part of laundering Embassy things? No
Was the poisonous powder meant to be used as poison? No
Was it rat poison? No
Did A and B do the laundry in an unusual way? No
Was there anything different about doing the laundry than what A and B usually did when the poisoning happened?
Yes
Was the laundry done in a different location than usual?
Using different machines than usual?
Was the type of laundry done different than usual?
Was the time the laundry was done different than usual?
Did they use cleaning fluid instead of detergent?
No to all
No