T E A C H E R’ S N O T E S

10C Detectives
Vincent A. Desmond

Type of activity Answer

Deduction and speculation game. Group work.
Aim
To practise time expressions/discussion.
Task
To piece together a story using clues.
Preparation
Make one copy of the worksheet per group of
three or four students and cut it up as indicated.
Timing
20–30 minutes
Procedure
1 Introduce the situation and the characters to
the class and explain they will try and find out
what happened and why.
• Tony, the victim, was found dead today. He
had been shot with his own gun.
• Jeanette was Tony’s wife.
• Steve was Tony and Jeanette’s driver.
• Peter was Tony’s business partner.
2 Divide the class into groups of three or four.
3 Hand out the clues from the worksheet – one
set to each group. Give each student a
different set of clues, so that each has all the
information about one of the four characters.
4 Tell the students to exchange the clues they
have and come up with a theory explaining
Tony’s murder.
5 When they have finished, groups report back
to the class with their theories on who did
what and why.
You can either choose the explanation which is
the most ingenious or entertaining – or decide
which group got closer to the version below.
Steve and Peter both needed money. Steve’s salary
was small. Peter had lost a fortune gambling.
They had been stealing from the business together
for a year. To divert suspicion they pretended to
hate each other. But the money still wasn’t
enough – especially for Peter.
Peter played tennis with Jeanette and he knew she
had fallen in love with him. He persuaded her to
leave her husband and run away to Bangkok with
him, though he had no intention of actually
going. She bought the tickets and cleared out her
and Tony’s joint private bank account. There was
about £2,000,000 in it: the savings from Tony’s
share of profits of the business. Meanwhile Peter
booked a flight to Rio.
Tony had long before realized money was
disappearing from the business and he had hired
a private detective. The detective told Tony about
Jeanette’s visit to the bank and when Tony
discovered that she had emptied the account, he
confronted her. She panicked and shot him.
Follow up
Students write up a report or a newspaper story
telling what happened.
 I N S I D E O U T R e s o u rc e P a c k

10C Detectives
Tony has been found dead today at home. Tony has been found dead today at home. He
He had been shot with his own gun. The had been shot with his own gun. Steve was the
police have the following information about driver for Tony and Peter’s business. The police
him. have the following information about him.

He hired a private detective a He’s always arguing with Peter

month ago. at work and last week they had
a fight.
The business he owns with Peter
has been in trouble for over a He owes three months’ rent on
year. his flat.

His marriage was not a happy He has a criminal conviction for

one. theft.

✂ .............
Tony has been found dead today at home. Tony has been found dead today at home.
He had been shot with his own gun. He had been shot with his own gun. Peter
Jeanette was Tony’s wife. The police have was Tony’s business partner. The police have
the following information about her. the following information about him.

She plays tennis regularly with He has plane tickets for Rio
Peter. tomorrow and Bangkok the day
after – both from London.
She has a plane ticket for
Bangkok for the day after He is a regular gambler.
tomorrow.
He’s just sold his flat and is
She wasn’t happy in her staying in a hotel.
marriage.
He’s always arguing with Steve
She went to her bank the day at work and last week they had
before yesterday and took out a fight.
all the money from the joint
account she held with Tony: He plays tennis regularly with
about £2,000,000. Jeanette.

Tony and Peter’s business has

been in trouble for over a year.

© Sue Kay & Vaughan Jones, 2000. Published by Macmillan Publishers Limited. This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class. Photocopiable