The Interrogation
Begin with Mrs. White. Demand her alibi in front of everyone. She
will refuse. Point out the reasons why one would suspect her: the
enormous life insurance policy shell collect, the fact that she and her
husband were known not to get along. Ask her what the lead pipe was doing
under her bed, and let her struggle for an explanation. Then ask her if
there wasnt anything she had left out of her story so far any
crucial addition to motive. Wasnt it true that THESE silk boxer
shorts which belonged to Colonel Mustard were in her bed?
Wasnt she, in fact, having an affair with Mustard? Turn to him
and point out that perhaps he is, in fact, a better candidate to have been the
murderer. Point out that jealousy is a common reason to kill. Have
Professor Plum reveal the brain in all its splendor and show how the
candlestick in Mustards room perfectly fits the hole in it. Accuse
him of the murder.
- Isnt it true, Colonel Mustard, that you are a fraud? You drank and
gambled your way through University and bribed your professors to pass you with
a degree in foreign languages. In reality as the letters in your
room prove --you are barely literate in English.
Your personal
history is no less seedy. During your youth, you cavorted through a series of
harems in Persia, always sneaking out under cover of darkness when your debts
became too great. Most of your actual cash went to bribes so that you
could quickly rise through the military ranks.
Since reaching the age of forty, you have become the picture of
respectability. But its all a front, isnt it? Admit
it. You are the killer!
At this point, Mustard will have been instructed to sing like a bird.
Hell have to admit that he was in bed with Mrs. White in order to save
his skin. However, if they vouch for each other, that leaves you without
a suspect. Ask the assembly: is there anyone else here who might have
reason to want to kill Mr. White? Turn to Empress Ebony. Ask her
if its true that this piece of parchment (hold it up) came out of her
room. Then hold it over a candle flame to reveal the note agreeing to pay
the maid for killing him. Ask her why she would do such a thing:
Empress Ebony
or should I say
EGBERT
EBONY!
- Isnt it true, Egbert, that you have devoted your adult life to
carefully disguising the fact that you are a man? That you are a skillful
cross-dresser who has never let your polite affairs progress to a point where
your identity may be discovered? It would be the end of your social
standing and your career if your secret came out.
Thats why, when Mr. White began blackmailing you, you arranged with the
maid to have him killed.
Ebony will admit it. However, shell say, the maid never
followed through. Mr. White was already dead before she had a
chance! Observe that this is a pretty flimsy story. Suggest that
youd better consult Madam Rose for a psychic opinion on whether the maid
could have done the killing. She (having paid the housekeeper to find out
that the maid didnt do it) will reveal that the maid didnt do
it. She will also reveal that Miss Peach had an improper past life
she was the madam of a brothel, and one of the women who worked for her was
Mrs. White. White left the house under mysterious circumstances, with a
dead client behind her!
Turn to Miss Peach.
- Its interesting, isnt it, Miss Peach, that you didnt
reveal something that was so relevant to the current investigation.
And its also interesting, isnt it, that you were the only other
person who was present at both murders? And that you were asking all
kinds of questions to Professor Plum about the autopsy? And that you and
Empress Ebony are serving as each others alibi? Its all very
convenient, isnt it? Is this a group murder, with you, Ebony and
White all in on it together?
Hold a conversation with yourself. State that that was, indeed,
your first impression of what was going on here. You were just getting
ready to arrest all three women when Professor Plum announced an interesting
result of the autopsy. (Give the floor over to Prof. Plum and let him
show the group how the heart shows proof of poisoning. Mr. White, when
bludgeoned over the head, was in fact
already dead.) So
whats the story here? Was the head assault a coverup of the
poisoning? If so, why bother with the poison at all? Unless
there was somehow a mistake made. What if the target of the murder
attempt wasnt really Mr. White at all?
The first step in this new line of inquiry was to think about two things:
motive who had a reason to kill someone else at the party? and method
who had the ability to do it? Turn the floor back over to
Professor Plum, who will describe the poison as having been distilled from
cactus juice. Who would be most likely to have access to a cactus?
Sketch in what was found in the various rooms. Miss Peacock had lots
of plants and flowers, but no cactus. The Colonel had seven herbs and
spices, but all were finger lickin good. The only person who,
predictably, had a cactus in his room was
Turn to Burt Sienna. Produce the cactus.
- Isnt it true, Mr. Sienna, that this cactus came out of your
room? And that you have not been entirely honest with us? Were you
and Miss Shell really together on the night of the murder?
Burt Sienna will stick to his story, so it will be time to call in the psychic
again. She will reveal that Burt Sienna and Miss Shells
relationship is not all that it seems. Miss Shell has been cheating on
Burt with Mr. Green! When the surprise of this dies down, state that
this was as you suspected from a discussion with the butler, who had seen Green
and Shell in a compromising position together. This certainly would
create motive for Burt Sienna to do the killing, if he thought that the man in
the chair was Mr. Green. Once and for all: did Miss Shells betrayal
drive Sienna to commit the murder?
In order to protect himself, Sienna will cave. Hell tell you
that this isnt a possible reason, since hes not really involved
with Miss Shell. Shes an American spy, and he brought her along to
help him find out about Prince Maroon. He knows that Maroon is not what
he seems to be; none of the sheiks of the Middle East will admit to having him
as a son. However, something strange is obviously going on with Miss
Shell, so hell come clean. He and Miss Shell werent together
during the murder. He was reading in his own room the whole time.
Turn to Miss Shell. State that Siennas story matches the
evidence: a telegraph and coded messages were found in Miss Shells
closet. As Siennas fake girlfriend, she had access to the cactus;
as a trained spy, she would know how to make poison out of it. Come
clean: did she have some reason to kill someone at the party? Does
she have additional knowledge about Maroon?
- Mr. Siennas story adds up, Miss Shell. A telegraph
machine and coded messages were found in your closet. As Siennas
partner, you had access to the cactus; with your spy training, you would have
known how to make poison out of it. Come, come, Miss Shell! Was
there someone at the party whom you had reason to kill? Did you learn
something incriminating about Prince Maroon?
Miss Shell will confess that she is a spy, but she will also admit that she has
learned nothing about Maroon. She was interested in Green because she
believes that he is an international jewel thief. The rash of stolen
items adds to her conviction. She was only sleeping with him to find out
if her suspicions had merit; she had no reason to kill him or anyone
else. Turn to Mr. Green.
Mr. Green will demand clemency in return for telling what he knows. Give
it to him. Hell then itemize who and what he saw while stealing the
jewels. Hell clear Burt Sienna because he knows that Sienna was in
his room all night. Hell admit that Mustard and White were in bed
at the time of the murder and that it was he who took the candlestick from the
room. However, he left it on the hall table by mistake. He has no
idea what happened to it, but he isnt the killer! Turn to Prince
Maroon.
- Now that we have cleared Burt Sienna, lets go back to what he said
about your history. Isnt it true, Prince Maroon, that you are not a
prince at all? (Let him deny it.) Oh? Witness this disinheritance
decree, which was discovered in your oil lamp. It states that you are, in
fact, Colonel Mustard's illegitimate son! Your mother was a member of a
kings harem, but Mustard abandoned her. She was executed when their
infidelity was discovered. You spent your childhood as a street rat and
hate the Colonel with a passion. You had very good reason to kill
him.
Maroon will never cave. Hell claim that the document is a fake and
point out that he has an excellent alibi; he was with Miss Scarlet. She
will back him up. Consult Madam Rose. She will, in her third and
last psychic vision, tell what she saw on the night of the murder:
Maroon and Scarlet naked, leaving the barn, and then returning covered in
blood.
Maroon, who has been scoffing at the psychic all night, will bluff.
Hell ask whether theres any good reason to believe that her visions
are valid. Tell him the truth: now that Madam Rose has served her
purpose, theres no need to pretend.
- Of course Madam Rose is a fake. But that doesnt mean her
information cant be trusted. Shes an excellent snoop,
and she pays the staff, who see and hear everything that goes on, to tell her
things that they wouldnt necessarily admit for free. She was spying
on you the night of the murder. The cook whom she paid to be her
alibi --saw her spying, because she was doing the same thing! I would
feel more loyalty to protecting her secret if she hadnt lied to me as
well. However, she has been a most helpful resource in unmasking the
murderer
or one of them.
Turn to Miss Scarlet. Produce as evidence the bloodstained cloth from the
barn.
- Isnt it true, Miss Scarlet, that you are having an affair
with Prince Maroon? That he confessed the murder to you, and that you
helped him hide this handkerchief in the barn? Do you really think that
you stand a chance of continuing this relationship? The man is going to
jail? And even if he is not convicted, he is denying in front of this
whole roomful of people that he has feelings for you. Are you prepared to
go to jail yourself for a man who has spent the whole night in the loving arms
of another woman?
Shell cave and implicate him. Think aloud. We now know that
Maroon beat Whites skull in, believing that he was Mustard. But
where is the murder weapon? Mustards candlestick shows no traces of
blood. Where is the candlestick?
Turn to Countess Emerald.
- Isnt it true, sweet shy Countess Emerald, you are wildly jealous
where Prince Maroon is concerned? You knew, didnt you, that he was
having this affair? The butler saw you three nights ago, in the
conservatory, watching in fury as your fiance was locked in Miss Scarlets
arms?
Admit it. Last night the cook saw you in the
window of the attic. You saw Prince Maroon leaving the barn. You
could not contain your fury, so you crept up silently behind him and smashed in
his skull with the candlestick. However, youre no
professional
which is why you left the candlestick hidden under the
floorboards of your room.
(Produce the candlestick; shell confess.) At this point,
recreate the murder from the poisoning onward.
- That leaves just one question: who did the poisoning, and why? Was
it another case of mistaken identity? Was it a jealous rage?
Prevention of blackmail? Contract work? Or was it
perhaps
revenge?
Announce that you finally discovered the key to the murder by solving a long
forgotten case. It turned out that the biggest clue of all was left by
the dead man himself. There was, quite literally, a skeleton in his
closet. (Open the closet and reveal the skeleton inside).
- The woman within was the first victim of Jack the Ripper, and when
compared with police sketches and witness accounts, it was confirmed. Mr.
White was Jack the Ripper. The famous prostitute killer who chose whores
as targets because of his hatred of his wife. The man who killed Miss
Peacocks sister. Miss Peacock -- a botanist who would have
intimate knowledge of plants and their natural poisons. Miss Peacock
who, now that Emerald has confessed, has no corroborated alibi.
The woman who kept a small stuffed peacock in her room
to conceal
the capsules of poison that did her sisters killer in.
Open the peacock, take out the capsules, and announce that the three
murderers will all be taken into custody.
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