Broadway Willie

by Aussie Meyer
Solving Tips

Story


Wilfred Cream, often called "Broadway Willie" by his friends and New York reporters, had a lively and sometimes felonious idea of fun. Adela Cream, his mother and a well-known mystery novelist, was away for six weeks on a book signing tour to promote her latest book, "What the Cat Dragged In".

Mr. Homer Cream and Wilbert tried to keep track of what Wilfred was doing, with notes and articles that appeared in various New York newspapers. The whole household also searched the house at least once a week, to discover any items which Willie, in the course of his wanderings, happened to pinch, since Wilfred was known to be a kleptomaniac. However, when Mrs. Cream was due back, six weeks later, they found their recollections a little sketchy.

Can you help them figure out, during each week Mrs. Cream was gone, what Willie pinched (a silver cigarette case, a jeweled dog collar, a cane/sword stick, jeweled opera glasses, an ivory mah jongg set, and a gold pocket watch), and where he hid it (an Egyptian urn, a Greek vase, the baby grand piano, a suit of armor, a golf bag, or a silver teapot)? Also, can you tell what escapade he dreamed up each week (hijacking a cab on Broadway, throwing a stink bomb into a crowd, stealing a policeman's horse, releasing the monkeys at the zoo, holding up a bank, or disrupting his ex-wife's latest wedding), and which New York paper (the Gazette, Herald, Post, Register, Times,or Tribune) reported on it?

* To clarify, clues 1 and 6 each list six incidents from separate weeks, not including clauses in parentheses ( )


./Labels/h_Hiding_place.png ./Labels/h_Paper.png ./Labels/h_Escapade.png
./Labels/v_Egyptian_urn.png ./Labels/v_Golf_bag.png ./Labels/v_Grand_piano.png ./Labels/v_Greek_vase.png ./Labels/v_Suit_of_armor.png ./Labels/v_Teapot.png ./Labels/v_Gazette.png ./Labels/v_Herald.png ./Labels/v_Post.png ./Labels/v_Register.png ./Labels/v_Times.png ./Labels/v_Tribune.png ./Labels/v_Disrupt_wedding.png ./Labels/v_Free_monkeys.png ./Labels/v_Hijack_cab.png ./Labels/v_Rob_bank.png ./Labels/v_Steal_horse.png ./Labels/v_Stink_bomb.png
./Labels/v_Item.png ./Labels/h_Cane_sword_stick.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Cigarette_case.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Dog_collar.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Mah_Jongg.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Opera_glass.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Pocket_watch.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/v_Escapade.png ./Labels/h_Disrupt_wedding.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Free_monkeys.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Hijack_cab.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Rob_bank.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Steal_horse.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Stink_bomb.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/v_Paper.png ./Labels/h_Gazette.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Herald.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Post.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Register.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Times.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
./Labels/h_Tribune.png Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark
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JavaScript Grid by Scott Noyes

Clues

  1. Mr. Homer Cream recalled each of these separate weeks vividly: There was the week Wilfred threw a stink bomb in a crowd at Madison Square Garden, the week Willie lifted a jeweled dog collar, the week the revolting article appeared in the Tribune (which was published the week before Willie hid something in a golf bag), the week Willie pilfered the cane/sword stick, the week Wilfred hid something in the baby grand piano, and the week Willie showed up at his ex-wife’s latest wedding dressed as the parson (which occurred the week before the article appeared in the Gazette). Unfortunately, Mr. Cream did not remember any of them in any particular order.*
  2. Over four consecutive weeks, and in the following order, Wilbert noted that Willie had snitched an ivory mahjongg set, the Times has reported on one of Willie’s shenanigans, Wilfred had hijacked a cab on Broadway, and Wilbert had found something hidden in a golf bag.
  3. Mr. Cream remembers finding the gold pocket watch Willie had helped himself to in the urn, and reading about Wilfred releasing all the monkeys from their cages at the Bronx Zoo in the Gazette the very next week.
  4. Over four consecutive weeks, and in the following order, Willie admitted hiding something in the suit of armor in the hall, stealing a policeman’s horse in Central Park, snatching a pair of jeweled opera glasses, and involving himself in an imbroglio which was duly reported by the Herald.
  5. Everyone agreed that nothing was found in the baby grand piano during week four of Mrs. Cream’s absence.
  6. Over the course of the six weeks, Wilbert remembered the following events happening, one during each week, but could not remember the correct order. There was the week Willie shocked society by holding up the Chase Manhattan Bank, armed with a machine gun, the week an article with an unflattering picture appeared in the Register, and the week Wilbert found something hidden in his antique silver teapot. There was the week that the almost humorous article appeared in the Post (which occurred the week before Willie was caught stealing the policeman’s horse). Also, there was the week Willie grabbed the silver cigarette case, and the week he hid something in the Greek vase in the drawing room.*
  7. After slipping the dog collar from the poodle and pocketing it, Wilfred hid it in the silver teapot Wilbert had just acquired, which happened to be shaped like a St. Bernard. Willie was sure this wasn’t the same week that the Times article gave him a full column.



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