Did she want someone who’d call to get the not-a-busy-signal-and-not-even-a-dial-tone response? No
That’s part of the fun of these puzzles!
Was Mary already dead at the time of the alleged phone-plugging-in? Yes
Like, was she a ghost? No
You say the whole plugging-the-phone-in thing wasn’t true, but
Was it, in fact, moved from one room to another? No
Did the rumor come from people who actually knew Mary? Probably not
From public speculation at the time of her death? Maybe this…
From nebulous “legend has it” historical mythology? …or maybe closer to this. I’m not sure.
Was Mary famous? Yes
Was Mary elderly? Yes
Does this story take place before 1960 or so? Yes
Was this a wall-mounted phone? Don’t know
Was Mary’s death an accident? No
Did the phone and/or wall collapse? No
Was the phone always in Mary’s house, just not always in the same location? I assume she had a phone in her house. Whether it was ever moved around, I don’t know.
Was electricity involved? It would be, if the rumor was true.
Did she move the phone to the bathroom — maybe so she could get out of the tub and use it pretty quickly if needed — but unplugged, maybe because she didn’t want to die from a phone-in-tub accident? But “they” say she plugged it in, because “they” say stuff like that when they hear a woman is found dead in a tub with a phone nearby? No
Was anyone else in the house at the time of Mary’s death? Probably, but not relevant
Was the phone unplugged at someone else’s request? No
Had someone else requested she plug in the phone at a time when she would normally have had it unplugged? No
Was it unusual because she didn’t usually lie down to sleep? No
(And I’ll just go ahead and say it. “Sleep” just means death. I should have said “rest”.)
Had the line not been activated in her bedroom, therefore the phone wouldn’t work even if plugged in?
I don’t know why I’m thinking “Typhoid Mary” Mallon. I know it’s not but it prompted this question (as she died in a hospital). Did this take place in her own house?
Had the line not been activated in her bedroom, therefore the phone wouldn’t work even if plugged in? No
I don’t know why I’m thinking “Typhoid Mary” Mallon. I know it’s not but it prompted this question (as she died in a hospital). Did this take place in her own house? No
So she knew she was going to die, which is why she wouldn’t have
bothered plugging the phone in ?
But she wasn’t murdered and didn’t commit suicide and didn’t have
an incurable disease ?
So she knew she was going to die, which is why she wouldn’t have
bothered plugging the phone in ?
But she wasn’t murdered and didn’t commit suicide and didn’t have
an incurable disease ? No murder, no suicide. She did die of an illness.
Did she know that she was going to die imminently, like, that very night? Not necessarily, though she did know she was sick
Would it have been possible for her to plug the phone in? Yes
Was the phone fully-functional (aside from not being plugged in)? Yes
Did the phone require any plug other than the standard telephone cable (such as a separate power supply)? It would have needed electricity, which I’m not sure would have been available
I’ll drop a hint in the morning if it hasn’t been guessed by then.