Decstemic

28

“Out of the ten competitors, three have already lost their hands!” Sharon pointed at the list of names while peeling prawn shells. “Could the culprit be among the remaining seven people?”

“That’s possible…” Liam pondered for a few seconds and said, “but the top three could probably be eliminated too! They performed well, so why would they want to chop off the hands of the losers?”

“That’s true…” Sharon was also very excited. She pointed at the list and said, “Senior, look, the first victim, Sarah came in sixth in the Grand Piano Competition. Mabel was fifth, and Doyle was fourth. The culprit is chopping off hands in order! I think the culprit must be beyond sixth place! So, seventh to tenth place! These four people are the most suspicious!”

“Right!” Liam nodded, “Since it started from sixth place, the person who placed seventh naturally is the most suspicious. I think the culprit is likely to be him!”

“No, no, no.” Sharon unexpectedly shook her head. “I’ve checked the background of th