The Murder Game

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The Forum Adventure has evolved!

I am going to start a little game. Hopefully it's allowed.

There is going to be a house. And people are going to get killed. How friendly. And you lot are going to be detectives. I will put a description of a room and you can reply to examine further, like an FA.

However, it's like cluedo, if you think you know who dunnit, then PM me, get it? PM ME. And if someone get's it right then I post up how it happened.

Shall we get started? Yes let's get on with it then.

In Burlet manor there was a party two days ago. A few people stayed, altogether in the house are:
The Butler.
Three Maids.
A Stable Boy.
A Cook.
Mr Burlet, the lord of the manor.
Madam Tumord, Mr Burlets' Aunt.
Mr and Mrs Crim, Mr Crim is Mr Burlets' business partner.
Andria, Mr Burlets' niece.
Edward, Michelle and Stephanie, Andrias' friends.
Miss Purden, a friend of Mr B.

Here we go.

It was night and the house was quiet. Andria and her friends were sitting by the fire in the living room reading with Madam Tumord. The maids were around the house cleaning and in the kitchen was the cook.The butler was serving Mr and Mrs Crim in the in the dining room. Mr B himself was in the study working furiously when he heard a scream from downstairs. Rushing down he saw one of the maids lying on the floor by the stairs, There was a strong smell of alcohol and a pool of water nearby. by the maid was a smashed vase, yet nobody heard it breaking. Not even the Stable Boy, who was nearby at the time.

It's now your turn. You can choose to examine the area more closely, talk to some of the people or explore around a bit. Hopefully this will turn out properly...

 

I should like to examine the scent of alcohol and find it's source. Also, what seems to be the cause of death?

 

The maid seems to have died from being hit over the head from behind.

The alcohol smells pretty strong along the corridor but is strongest near the entrance to the library.

 

I would certainly like to ask one of the maids, why they are cleaning the house at night. Isn't it more usual that the house is cleaned during the day.

Is there someone in the library now?
Did anyone see the maid drink in the library or saw her walk through the corridor drunk?
Was anybody else seen drinking in the library?

 

The maids were sent away while the party was going, and had arrived late in the night, there was some cleaning left and they had started earlier, unfortunatly there was a great deal more than expected and they have continued until the time of the murder - 8:25

After searching the library there was nobody found there. However a few books had been removed from their shelves and put on the table and candlewax had dripped on the floor near the door. some flowers were missing from a vase as well.

One of the other maids, Rose was upstairs when she heard the scream, she looked down the stairs and didn't see the victim, only when she came downstairs did she see the body along with Mr B. However, from where she was standing she should have been able to see the body anyway. The maids weren't allowed to drink and the dead one never touched alcohol, except when cleaning.

There was nobody in the library, all people who should be and are in the house where elsewhere, as far as anyone can tell nobody else has been here.

 

"Firstly, I would like to ask Mr. Burlet to confirm the crime scene is exactly as he found it. Secondly, I would like to ask Miss Purden, the stable boy and the third maid what they were doing at the time of the murder"

 

Ummm... sounds interesting, good idea 8people, well done. But for the moment I think I'm going to sit back and watch the other detectives do my job for me.

 

Mr B didn't change anything there and made sure nobody else did while he called the police. It is exactly as it was.

The other Maid. Marianne was cleaning by the kitchen, the cook confirms this. The stable boy says he was with the horses in the stables while miss Purden says she was in her room.

 

I am wondering on what Mr. B was working on so furiously?

 

Has anybody seen the stable boy at the time of the murder, to confirm his exact location.

What are the books about that were taken from the book case and put on the desk?

Am I right to asume that the water came from the vase and the alcohol on the floor came from a bottle that the maid was holding when she fell to the floor?

 

The maid was holding a vase - not a bottle and the water on the floor was definitly water.

The smell of alcohol is in the air along the corridor, not actually from the maid herself.

Mr B was working on a few business papers from a rather paranoid client. Mr B was trying to make sense of them all as some were written in a code.

Mr B, however says he saw the Stable Boy walking into the stable just after 8:20, a few minutes before the murder.

 

Before I do anything else, I mark the outline of the body on the floor, and also the positions of the vase pieces. I draw a quick sketch on my notepad, showing the position of everything.

Flipping over a new page in my notepad, I resume questioning " Let me get a few things straight. The murder occured at 8.25 pm, and the victim's scream was heard by Mr. Burlet in his study and Rose - at the top of the stairs? And nobody else heard anything? I would like to be shown to the rooms everybody was in when the murder occured - starting with your study, if I may, Mr. Burlet?"

 

The study is a large square room, it has a large ornate fireplace next to the dorr with two large candlesticks on it. along the sides of the room are bookcases, tables, lamps and a couple of chairs. At the far end is Mr Bs desk facing the large window, it has a swivelly chair and a painting behind it.

 

(I'm interested in finding out how far the rooms are from the murder scene and how one would get from any particular room to the scene)

I stroll over to the window and look out. "Mr. Burlet," I say, tapping on the glass, "this is an impressive view you have. Would you care to point out the door you saw the stable boy use? And how long would it take to walk to the stables from the nearest house door?" I study the scene for some time, trying to determine how it might be possible for someone to approach the house unseen - either from the stables or from the edges of the grounds.

 

Now this is where i get off my chair and start thinking for myself.
Let me get a few things straight first.
So no one heard a vase smashing, right?
The murdered maid was at the bottem of the stairs when found?
A vase was smashed by the murdur victem?
Rose was at the top of the stairs?

I'm sure they are right but never hurts to double check .
Was the vase found in the hand of the murdered maid?

 

The smashed vase was found in the maids hand.
The maid was found on the ground floor, the study was on the floor above and Rose was on the floor above that. Mr B saw the Stable boy heading for the stables, unfortunatly the view couldn't show where the boy emerged but most likely from the kitchens.

Nobody heard the vase smash.

 

If they could her the maid scream, they probably could also hear the vase break, so the vase must already been broken when the maid carried it through the hallway. The maid was probably disposing the remainders of the vase, maybe in an attempt to hide her clumsiness or to avoid the boss getting mad at her. My theorie could be correct if there are no flowers on the floor, so are there any flowers near the murders scene?
What kind of vase is it (is it antique?), and did Mr Burlet own the vase?
When was the last time the vase was seen not broken?
If the vase was already broken before the maid died, I would like to start an investigation where the vase was exactly broken, maybe look for another room with water on the floor or maybe some pieces of the vase. If the vase was indeed broken in another room, this would however not explain the water on the floor in the corridor where the maid was murdered.

 

Interesting...

... ok ... now let me think a while ...

Were all Andria friends by the fire?
I would like to question everyone about the murdured maid. Did anyone have anything against her? any grudges or anything else? Did she have any "enimies" (spelling?)?

And then I would hook every one up to one of those high tech lie detecters and ask if they murdured the maid. But that would just ruin the run so I'll skip that out.

i would also like to repeat Silverblades unanswer question, What are the books about that were taken from the book case and put on the desk?

Where abouts where all the other occupint of the house between 8:20 and 8:25 pm? Can any one comferm this?

What does the room where the maid was murdered look like? What rooms go off this room (is doors leading into this room)?

Is there any other item noticbaly missplaced in the room of the murdur?

How long after the murder did I arive at the crime scene?

I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, but I can't work out what? Maybe after a good night sleep i might be able to solve this dreadful crime.

 

I write down what Mr. Burlet told me. "Mr. Burlet," I continue, "what doors lead into the house? And does anyone who was not known to be present have a key?" Once he has answered, I ask Rose to show me where she was cleaning when the murder occured.

 

Gah! Too many questions!

Right.

There are no flowers where the maid was found.
It was a blue and white vase Mr B had bought recently, usually kept in his study.
The vase was last seen in it's proper place at around 6:00. It then went missing along with a couple of papers from the study.

All of Andrias' friend were by the fire, Madam Tumord can comfirm this.
The Maid got along well with everybody, even though she didn't speak much to the guests she was well liked amongst the staff and Mr B.
The Books on the Desk were: A Complete Guide To Horsemanship, an antiques directory, A book on flowers and one of Mr Bs books from his study, it has a few pages ripped out.

Miss Purden was in her room, this cannot be confirmed however.
The Stable boy was in the stables, this can be confirmed as Mr B saw him going there after 8:20
Tumord, Andria and her friends were in the living room, each confirm each others presence.
The Crims and the Butler were in the Dining Room the cook can confirm as can the Butler.
The Cook was in the kitchen, the Butler confirms this as do the Crims.
Mr B was in his study, though it cannot really be confirmed.
Rose, the maid, was on the third floor, Mr B can confirm this as he saw her come down the stairs at 8:25.
Marianne was cleaning by the Kitchen, confirmed by the cook.

The room where the maid was found is the hallway, rather long and not very wide, with a bay window along one side, the Front Door is on a smaller side, the door through to the drawing room is on the side opposite the window and the library door is opposite the drawing room door. The far side of the hallway (opposite the front door) leads onto a central hallway.
Nothing else is misplaced in the room
You were called in immediatly after the body was discovered.

Only Mr B and the Butler have keys to the house. only the front door and Kitchen door lead into the house, though there are numerous windows.