Welcome to turn three of Death at Sea. Attention has solidly focused in of Misters Scarletti and Jones. At this point Spade seems to think that Scarletti did it while the subtle M. Poirot seems to favor Jones. Interesting how detectives seem to find murderers very much like themselves. Remember, the detectives must establish means, motive and opportunity for ONE person to solve the case! This means that the murderer is probably someone we have already talked about, instead of some mysterious Mr X.
WHO CAN PLAY?
As always everyone is invited to participate in this game free of charge. Just send in 2 arguments for Poirot (to establish means motive and opportunity for the person you think murdered Lackland) and 1 argument for the murderer (you decide who you think did it and defend him by making misleading clues etc.). If you wish you may make 1 argument for Spade (he is not as smart as Poirot) and 1 argument for the murderer.
At the end of this game the players will have discovered who the murderer is by ruling suspects in or out. I for one am interesting in learning who did it.
LIST OF CHARACTERS
Hercule Poirot: a famous Belgian private investigator
Sam Spade: an American gumshoe
Captain Henrik: of the Dutch ship Breda
Jon: a muttering disgruntle seaman
Gavid Jones: a young Welsh doctor
Elizabeth Jones: his wife
Vincent Scarletti: a New York mobster
Herbert Wilson: a bloodless London Merchant Banker
"Tex" Hogsetter: an ugly American
Mr + Mrs Engel: a German American tourist couple returning home
Miss Madeline: a French noble woman and vamp
Ann Lacland: a murdered British socialite
PRE-MURDER INFORMATION
1. Lacland and Madeline competed for the attention of Dr Jones, Scarletti, and Wilson.
2. Both spurned the affections of Tex.
3. Spade noted that Scarletti had a gun.
4. The Engel shared a table with Lacland who subtly made fun of them.
5. Seaman Jon was called down for being too familiar with passengers.
6. Lacland beat Madeline for the men's affections.
7. Madeline took up with Tex.
8. Mrs Jones was publically jealous of her husband attention to Lacland.
9. Scarletti, Jones, Wilson and Jon are noted as coming out of Lacland's room at unbelievably early morning hours.
10. The above realize that they are all seeing the same woman.
11. Tex and Madeline egg on the fight over who gets Lacland.
DISCOVERY
The Engels discovered Lacland dead at 9:30AM on the 9th day at sea (day 1 of the investigation). Her door was not locked and they stuck their heads in to see if she was up for breakfast.
They found her room in disarray and Lacland lying on the floor. Engel, a Spanish American war veteran, knew she was dead. He sent his wife to notify the Captain while he guarded the room. CRIME SCENE
A thorough inspection of the room and corpse reveals...
- 1. There was a struggle in the room that knocked over tables and chairs.
2. A vase and the phone were thrown. The vase broke on a wall.
3. Stains on Lacland's bed sheets indicate that she has sex one or two times the night of the murder.
4. There are three different brands of cigarette butts in the ash tray by the bed.
5. Someone riffled through Lacland's draws looking for something.
6. Lacland's nightgown was dishevelled and showed signs she was in a fight.
7. Lacland had bruises on her arms showing she had been held.
8. Lacland died in the early hours of the morning, no later than 4AM.
9. The cause of death appears to be a blow to the back of the head.
10. She has 2 bruises on her chest that appear to have occurred after she was dead.
11. The radiator across the zoom from the body has blood on it.
12. A pool of blood near the radiator indicates that the body must have lay there for a while after death.
THE MATRIX
Talk/Bargain
Heroic Action
Work/Prepare
Cowardly Action
Do Business
Wicked Action
Move
Fight
Have Fun
Love/Hate
Sad/Happy
Fear/Fearless
Envy
Make Friend/Enemy
Shame
Advantage
Reputation
Kill
Victory/Defeat
Political Agenda
Natural Disaster
Religion
Social Class
Politics
Justice
Tradition
Wealth/Power
Motivation
Loyalty/Honor
Personality
Knowledge
Logic Beyond your abilities
"Magic"
"Miracle"
"Monster"
"Adventure"
Wild Card
Mystery Supplement
Means
Motive
Opportunity
Move
Escape
Greed
Investigation
Anger
Interrogation
Envy
Question
Love
Clues
Fear
Mystery
Victim
Red Herring
Lie
Deduction
Intuition
Insight
Organization
Arrest
Jail
Court
Plan
Fight
Crime
Skill
Plot Device
Physical Evidence
Action
Action
Action
Wild Card
Wild Card
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR
Day 1
M. Poirot examines Lacland's room alone and detects traces on man's musk aftershave in the air from which he concludes that there several men in the room the evening of the murder.
Poirot notes that Lacland was a strange woman since Spade heard her say to the Engels "But of course you know about protocols." Which they wouldn't know about if they were midwesterners and why were they discussing the subject anyway?
Spade searches the garbage chutes and discovers the remains of a blood covered man's dress shirt in the incinerator room. So the murderer must have been a man!
Vinny Scarletti tells Poirot that he has an alibi for last night. He was with Elizabeth Jones!
Tex and Madeline also quickly provide themselves with an alibi, by saying that they were together.
Unknown to anyone on board (yet!) is that the Bloodless Mr Wilson has a record in Bow Street for assault on Prostitutes.
And finally the scene focuses in on the murderer's hand, forging a note in Lacland's hand. "You are vulgar and beneath me. It's over between us. -Lacland."
Day 2
Poirot has the trash searched and discovers the letter (noted above). "Ah ze English and zer need to write letters! Zut Alors! Zis shows zat zere was a spurred love."
Poirot deduces that the murderer is a very fastidious man. "Note zat he wished the shirt burned rather than simply thrown overboard. And he did not search through ze trash for zis note. He is blind to his own peccadillos."
Poirot sends a Cable to captain Hastings to Check with inspector Japp about the connection between the suspects. While waiting for the reply, he ponders why a British socialite would mix with such middle class people. The the answer comes... or is it a greater mystery?
- HASTINGS TO POIROT STOP
JON DISINHERITED SON OF LANDED FAMILY RELATED TO LACLAND STOP WILSON WAS LACLAND'S FATHERS BANKER STOP WILSON RUINED FATHER STOP FATHER COMMITTED SUICIDE STOP LACLAND LIVED OFF HER MOTHERS MONEY STOP DR JONES LIVED IN KENSINGTON VILLAS BEFORE MARRIED STOP HAD RUN IN WITH THE YARD BUT GENERALLY SOUND STOP LACLAND HAD BEEN ENGAGED TO AN AMERICAN STOP FAMILY PREVENTED THE MARRIAGE STOP
Elizabeth Jones tells Spade that Scarletti is a liar! She spent the night with Gavid Jones, her husband! Spade is impressed by the tenderness in her voice and believes her. He thinks Jones is in the clear.
The murderer fearing that something in Lacland's papers might incrimenate him steals them arid throws them overboard. This meant breaking into her room and searching it again. Papers removed to the Captain's office are still safe (passport, identification papers).
Finally the body of a porter is found in a walk-in freezer. He turns out to be the man on duty on the night of the murder in the part of the ship where Scarletti and Hogsetter have their rooms.
Day 3
RADIO MESSAGE COLON PROSTITUTE DISCOVERED MURDERED IN LONDON PERIOD MAN ANSWERING DESCRIPTION WILSON SEEN IN NEIGHBORHOOD PERIOD HOLD FOR QUESTIONING STOP
Spade searches Scarletti's room and discovers that Vinny's aftershave smells like musk! I guess Americans have a pretty good sense of smell too. "Scarletti would be the type to murder woman wouldn't he?" Sam comments to himself.
Poirot, in the mean time, smells a familiar aftershave musk when the laundry basket is pushed by. He discovers that the smell comes from towels out of Dr Jones' room. "Does zis not remind youof ze casual blindness we have observed zus far In ze murderer?"
Dr. Jones notices that Mr Scarletti winces at supper when he sits down. The Dr. investigate, by bumping into him, and finds that Scarletti has a large gash on his right side. "This looks like it has two or three days healing in it. And M. Poirot, I would expect just such wounds to occur in a fight with a desperate woman."
Scarletti agrees with the Doctor and says that Elizabeth Jones was the woman who wounded him. He then introduces Spade and Poirot to his next door neighbor, who confirms that Vincent and some woman had a fight Scarletti's room on the night of the murder. "And yes! The bloody shirt was mine!"
The scene now shifts. The picture focuses in on the murderer forging an entry in the murdered porter's agenda (pocket calendar). "Meet w/Taffy -- 2AM -- Promenade" (Note: Taffy is an English slang term for a Welshman.)
ARGUMENTS TURNED IN THIS TURN THAT FAILED
I've decided to only put in the arguments that did not succeed.
Poirot hears the Engels commenting on the disgusting behavior of Wilson in bankrupting Mr Lacland. "He doesn't look Jewish." Poirot then realizes that the protocols Lacland mentioned were the "Protocols of Zion" [an important anti-semitic document]
Poirot examine the body of the porter and finds that he was killed with a sharpened screw driver. Clutched in his fingers is a small lacy handkerchief with the scent "Ah! Channel No 5" - no an imitation produced in the Parisian slums.
Dr Jones did a post mortem on Lacland's body and discovers that she died of poison! The blows were administered after death! Poirot searched Dr Jones' cabin during a shuffle board match and discovered a silver locket engraved "AL & GJ ; amor vicit omnia" dated some 5 years before Jone's marriage.
Mr Wilson produced papers showing Poirot that he had just made a large cash settlement with Lacland regarding her fathers suicide. That is why he was going in and out of her room.
Poirot notices that Dr Jones, and no one else, smokes a brand of cigarettes found in Lacland's room.
Spade, in typical Hollywood fashion, puts the squeeze on Scarletti. Vinny panics and rushes to protect the incriminating evidence, Lacland's bloody underwear! A fight ensues in which Sam thrashes Scarletti.
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© Copyright 1993 by Chris Engle
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