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You are a detective and you have been assigned a case. Valerie Evans has been murdered in her apartment building. There are five suspects, and one of them is definitely the murderer. You talked to the suspects, and this is what they said:

Tom S.- In college, Valerie and I were together, but she dumped me for Gary, who became her husband later on. I never liked her anyway.

Fiona L.- Val and I were best friends in middle school. One day, she just turned on me and I don't know why. She became best friends with Hannah, just a week later.

Hannah D.- I didn't do it!

Gary E.- Valerie was such a good person, she didn't deserve to go like that. She had a successful career as a cryptologist and she was about to get her big break. She had so much to live for.

Rachel G.- Valerie was my only sister. I wouldn't have done anything to her!

An unsigned note was found in the apartment. It said:

M XSPH CSY XLEX M ASYPH KIX CSY FEGO, ZEP. CSY WLSYPH LEZI WIIR MX GSQMRK.

So, who did it and how do you know? I hope this is challenging and fun to solve. It's my first puzzle, so I hope you like it. Here is one hint, but seriously, you've probably already figured it out.

Valerie's career is crucial to know who did it. However, it is not a direct connection.

Oh, and also, please hide your answer with the spoiler trick so that others can answer it on their own. Thanks!

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    $\begingroup$ Don't add hints this early - for ciphers that are this simple, usually if the question isn't answered it's because nobody has even seen it yet. $\endgroup$
    – f''
    Commented Jun 20, 2016 at 18:31
  • $\begingroup$ Welcome on site! While you're waiting on some responses, you might want to check the Meta-site for some useful community discussion/tips. :c) $\endgroup$
    – BmyGuest
    Commented Jun 20, 2016 at 19:49

2 Answers 2

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The murderer is Fiona, because of the plaintext being "I told you that I would get you back, Val. You should have seen it coming" (as f" wrote) and because the note calls her "Val." Fiona is the only one of the suspects that calls her Val.She even has a motive as The victim turned on her.

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The cipher is

ROT4

and the plaintext says

I TOLD YOU THAT I WOULD GET YOU BACK, VAL. YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING.

This points to

Fiona L. (or possibly Tom S.)

unless they're being framed, of course.

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  • $\begingroup$ You are very close, but there is a definite answer. :) $\endgroup$
    – annabellef
    Commented Jun 20, 2016 at 18:34

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