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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 25, 2017 22:29:49 GMT -5
"So what happens now?" Sergeant Hamilton asked.
"Well, I'm afraid the rest of you will be facing attempted murder charges- except for Physician Warren, since other than the sword there is little against her. Sergeant Hamilton, you may have to face a review board after this. Dixon, for impersonating a Reverend after being stripped of the cloth you'll have to face that charge as well. And Colonel Brooks, for you its two counts of attempted murder because of you shooting Mr Law". Detective Stein explained (you never said he left)
Everyone's jaw dropped at that revelation.
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Post by Eyes on Jan 25, 2017 22:48:47 GMT -5
(He didn't.)
"How did you get here anyway?" asked Lady Godfrey, addressing Stein.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 25, 2017 23:01:06 GMT -5
(Lady Goodwin)
"After Gunnarson gave me a call, I got some guys and went at shoveling once we got close to the mansion. Man, we must have spent hours digging a path" Stein explained.
"So why weren't we taken away yet?" Professor Miller asked.
"We need to assess the context of each of your individual cases Professor; not all of you adequately have evidence to proceed with a case. From what I can make sense of, so far Physician Warren... and possibly you, don't have a case with sufficient grounds to go on" Stein explained.
"If it means anything" Mr. Law said, "I don't want to press any charges against Colonel Brooks; he wasn't thinking clearly, and considering the story he told me I don't blame him" The groundskeeper explained.
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Post by Eyes on Jan 25, 2017 23:14:20 GMT -5
Everyone made sounds of agreement.
"What if..." began Gunnarson.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"What if everything that you told me about last night... was nothing more than dreams you all had?"
Everyone was now staring at him in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh, it's happened before that multiple people have similar dreams," Gunnarson replied.
Stein smiled, knowing his friend. "You're right," he said. "There's no real proof that what you say happened last night really happened..."
"Wait... so we're not being arrested??"
"Well as far as I can make out, it's only Dr. Walker and his associates' word against your own, and considering what they've done I doubt their word would be believed..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 25, 2017 23:20:11 GMT -5
"though I must insist that you do take me away detective; I've gone on with this Reverend thing long enough; I was rightly stripped of the cloth and I deserve what's coming for impersonating one these past few months" Reverend Dixon explained.
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Post by Eyes on Jan 25, 2017 23:22:58 GMT -5
"Reverend," said Stein, "I see you as a man of God, though like the rest of us mortals are tempted by sin every now and then. It's what makes you and me human. You were rightly stripped of the cloth, but it's my conviction that you've learned your lesson and will refrain from doing so again after this ordeal."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 25, 2017 23:26:54 GMT -5
"Why were you impersonating a Reverend anyway?" Ms. Parker asked.
"I am 60 years old and have little money; without those tax exemptions the government gives people like me, or rather, who I was, I will be forced to live on the streets in a matter of months. It was the only way I could think of to keep a roof over my head" Dixon admitted.
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Post by Eyes on Jan 25, 2017 23:30:23 GMT -5
"It would anyway be a better punishment than being sent to prison," Stein said sternly.
The Reverend sighed. "Oh well, with the war now long over perhaps job opportunities aren't that hard to come by anymore."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 25, 2017 23:42:11 GMT -5
"I only hope someone is willing to hire a 60 year old former minister" Reverend Dixon lamented.
"I'm sure it will work out in due time" Professor Miller assured.
"So what happens to the estate now?" Mr. Law asked.
"We're contacting Dr. Walker's sister; apparently she's the last of the Walker siblings now, so that means the estate is to be transferred to her now" Gunnarson explained.
"So, anything else we need to cover?" Mrs. Clarke asked
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Post by Eyes on Jan 25, 2017 23:46:56 GMT -5
"Well there is one thing I never understood about this whole case," said Physician Warren.
"What is that?" asked Gunnarson.
"Why did Ms. Parker claim that she was in love with Dr. Walker?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 0:16:13 GMT -5
"How much you want to bet it was so she could get a claim on the Walker estate? Even a slice of 3 million pounds is a lot" Lady Goodwin pointed out.
Ms. Parker began, "Well, if you must know..."
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Post by Eyes on Jan 26, 2017 0:29:02 GMT -5
"...Dr. Walker himself told me to do that." "I'm guessing so that you would look suspicious?" asked the Reverend. "If I had to guess, yes," said Gunnarson. "This would also explain why she got the facts wrong." "So then it was a crushing blow to see his brother's tattoo?" asked Professor Miller. "Yes... it was..." sighed Ms. Parker as a tear rolled down her eye. Miller rapped his arm around her in sympathy. Gunnarson closed his eyes and smiled. He thought he could see a future here... *** Four years later...Gunnarson walked into the bar. Not many people were there, but there was a table filled with seven people. Gunnarson joined them. "Hello again Mr. Gunnarson," said Mrs. Clarke. " Trevligt att se dig igen, madame." He surveyed the table. There was Professor and Mrs. Miller (nee Parker), Colonel Brooks, Reverend Dixon, Sergeant Hamilton, Lady Goodwin, and Mrs. Clarke. Gunnarson sat down in a chair reserved for him. |
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 0:59:34 GMT -5
"How has everyone been?" Gunnarson asked.
"I retired from the military three months ago; they promoted me to Brigadier and gave me a honorable discharge and now I live quietly" the now Brigadier Brooks explained.
Did things work out for you, Rev... Mr. Dixon?" Gunnarson asked.
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Post by Eyes on Jan 26, 2017 1:02:15 GMT -5
"They did, in a sadder sort of way - a cousin of mine died and left me his money; being quite rich I'm now in a better position than ever."
"And I see you two have been very happy," Gunnarson addressed Mr. and Mrs. Miller.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 1:07:26 GMT -5
"Yes; a few months after the incident I had a breakthrough, and from there everything just worked out" Professor Miller explained.
"Has the Mrs. been satisfied?" Gunnarson asked.
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Post by Eyes on Jan 26, 2017 1:09:01 GMT -5
Mrs. Miller chuckled. "Very."
He turned to Mrs. Clarke. "And how have you been?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 1:12:31 GMT -5
"Well, after Dr. Walker's sister took over the estate, she paid off the debt so there wouldn't be any bad blood between us. My husband (the one she married after the first died, and how Ms. Parker became her stepchild) and I are on good terms with her." She explained.
Sergeant Hamilton spoke "After the incident it gave me a lot to think about. So I abandoned my affair and stayed true to my wife and family. Things are much better now" he assured.
"And what about you?" Gunnarson asked Lady Goodwin.
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Post by Eyes on Jan 26, 2017 1:22:34 GMT -5
"Well, I've been the most unlucky. I ended up running into some money trouble, but luckily a friend of mine bailed me out and everything's looking up for me." "Good to hear. But where is Physician Warren?" "You haven't heard?" asked Ms. Miller, surprised. "No, I'm afraid not." "Well after the incident, she had some very deep depression..." Gunnarson stared wide-eyed. "Her body was found at the bottom of a cliff..." said Brigadier Brooks. "A tragedy," whispered Gunnarson. They all held a moment of silence for their departed comrade... ~FIN~ |
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Feb 5, 2017 17:13:49 GMT -5
EPILOGUE Well, this case ended up becoming one of the most intricate my friend Gunnarson had to deal with. So I bet most of you are wondering what happened to the Ellis siblings and Dr. Walker after they were arrested? Well, the Ellis siblings wound up pleading guilty, and the physical evidence against them was solid. Dr. Walker unfortunately... the Crown Prosecutor assigned to the case dropped the charges against him. Unfortunately, between not actually committing the act, and there being no evidence connecting him to the actual murder, the Crown Prosecutor decided that it wasn't worth going to trial over and let him go free. While it is true that Sergeant Hamilton supposedly had testimony that would have sealed his fate, Dr. Walker threatened to reveal Hamilton's affair to the press, forcing Hamilton to stay silent. I can understand that many of you do not believe me, so here is a newspaper article that came out a week after the case was solved. -James Hartley ...... WALKER CASE CLOSED- DR WALKER ACQUITTED, ELLIS SIBLINGS PLEAD GUILTY One week after the murder of Businessman Clarence Walker, closure was finally received today with the case. Deciding that a trial would be to strenuous for people of their age, Howard and Samantha Ellis pleaded guilty to his murder; taking a more lenient sentence in exchange. The context of the case was rather convoluted- the intended victim of the Ellis siblings was actually their employer, Dr. James Walker, who was also Clarence Walker's twin brother. Resenting their employer for paying them what Howard called "poverty wages," they plotted to kill him late at night. In their confusion though, they ended up killing Dr. Walker's twin brother. Initially, it was believed that Dr. Walker was in on this scheme, with a check for a considerable amount of money being written to the Ellis siblings being the primary source of that theory. However, upon reviewing what happened, Crown Prosecutor Dennis Brown said that it was "highly unlikely" Dr. Walker was involved.
"This whole idea that he wanted to kill his brother in order to take over his life is rather preposterous. In fact, Dr. Walker had zero reasons for wanting to do so. He was a respected man and a town leader here, he's a doctor in the top of his field, engaged to marry the woman he loved and he was quite wealthy through inheritance. The Walker estate is worth over 3 million pounds [119 million in 2017 pounds]. He was very successful in his own way- there is nothing to prove he had any problems that would want him to do this" said Prosecutor Brown yesterday. He elaborated to explain that the fire poker and lead pipe were the only two weapons that were used to kill Mr. Walker; there was no third weapon found anywhere, proving that only the two servants killed Mr. Walker. He also explained that the check in and of itself, proved next to nothing. When asked about the check, the Ellis siblings denied any knowledge of its existence; saying they had no knowledge of any gift Dr. Walker was going to give them.
When asked what he felt about this whole ordeal, Dr. Walker said that "I am saddened my loyal housekeepers and caretakers of so many years would do such a thing, but I digress. Though I am disgusted that the detective who accused me of murdering my brother says I was involved; it has ruined me in more ways than one. I am also disgusted that he would accuse me of being a gambler and having lost my money like that; I absolutely despise gambling and hate it with a passion" Explaining that this incident has cost him many friends and even his bride to be, Dr. Walker explained that he has decided to start over.
"I am leaving the estate in the hands of my sister. I have booked passage on the Queen Mary on her next voyage to New York, and will start anew there. I am saddened to leave all of this behind, but it is my only choice now" he explained.
At time of publishing, Dr. Walker has left England, and is now sailing to New York. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.
(NOTE: Because this ending had left too many questions unanswered, the epilogue has been brought back to tie up loose ends that weren't addressed in story) |
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Feb 5, 2017 18:06:11 GMT -5
Since several readers were not very fond of the twist ending in this book, as a compromise this alternate ending has been written that is closer to what was originally intended to end this book. Refer to the post where Gunnarson narrows it down to four suspects; that is the point of divergence ....... ALTERNATE ENDING Gunnarson took one more look at the suspects.
"Hmmm... Reverend Dixon with the poison in the conservatory, Ms. Parker with the Pistol in the lounge, Lady Goodwin with the Dagger in the kitchen, Professor Miller in the billiard room with the rope, Physician Warren with the hall with the sword, Mr. Ellis in the ballroom with the fire poker, Colonel Brooks in the study with the wrench, Sergeant Hamilton with the candlestick in the drawing room, Ms. Ellis in the library with the pipe, and Mrs. Clarke in the dining room with the revolver. Almost sounds like a game, really. But this is no game, we are talking about murder. And since we know Dr. Walker was killed with a blunt object. That narrows it down to...
.Mr. Ellis in the ballroom with the fire poker
.Colonel Brooks in the study with the wrench
.Ms. Ellis in the library with the pipe
.Sergeant Hamilton with the candlestick in the drawing room
"One of you four... is a murderer" Gunnarson said sternly. The four of them stared on nervously.
"Each of you had a weapon during the night- that is means. Each of you, based on what I can determine, ran into him during the night. That is opportunity. As to motive- you all have a motive. Mr and Ms Ellis, you were motivated by money, and Colonel Brooks and Sergeant Hamilton, you were both motivated by revenge. Now it is a question of who had the stronger motive..." Gunnarson thought it over.
"If it helps- I don't think it's possible for Ms. Ellis to have done it- a woman of her age and build wouldn't have the strength to pull him that long distance to the cellar" Professor Miller pointed out.
"Normally I'd be offended by a remark like that, but for once I say that he's got a valid point" Ms. Ellis quickly added.
"Perhaps; then again, very few things are certain at this point" Gunnarson added. After looking over the suspects, he came to a decision. "I am going to go have another look at the ballroom, the study, the library and the drawing room. If there is evidence that will break this case, I will find it there"
And he left the room, leaving the 10 suspects sitting in the room feeling nervous.
Gunnarson looked over every inch of the drawing room, but found nothing to suggest foul play. Then he investigated the study, but found nothing there either. But at last he came to the Ballroom, and found something.
"Wait a minute, this is..." and Gunnarson carefully looked over the fire poker. He was shocked. He yelled down the hall. "Sergeant Hamilton! Please come quickly!" he exclaimed. the officer made his way to the Ballroom.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Hamilton, do you see what I see on the fire poker?" Gunnarson asked. Hamilton took a closer look and was shocked.
"My God! You don't think?" He asked.
"I know I can trust you again because the candlestick was clean. But please, come with me to the library; I suspect something rather shocking..." Gunnarson explained. Once in the library, they looked at the pipe. Then they looked outside, and saw a strange trail, going from the ballroom to the library.
"Hamilton, go check out their rooms; if what I suspect is true, this case has been cracked" Gunnarson explained.
Some time later, Gunnarson came back to the suspects.
"I now know who did it" Gunnarson explained.
"You do?" Everyone said collectively.
"Yes; the murderer is..." and Gunnarson paused briefly before pointing. "Mr Ellis! You killed him in the ballroom with the fire poker!" He declared.
"W-what?! You can't be serious!" He shot back.
"I am. And what is more, you weren't alone!" Gunnarson revealed.
"What?! How could Dr. Walker have been killed in two rooms?" Lady Goodwin asked, confused.
"Brother? How could you?!" Ms. Ellis said
"Don't act all innocent in front of everyone! You are just as guilty as I am!" Mr. Ellis boomed.
"My goodness! Of course! It makes sense now; the reason why everything looked so clean in spite of what happened last night!" Professor Miller explained.
"Let me elaborate" Gunnarson explained, as he began pacing in front of everyone.
"Like the rest of you, the Ellis siblings had a motive to kill Dr. Walker. However, unlike the rest of you, their motive was both shared, and the same. The resolved to kill him together, and that is why they succeeded" Gunnarson explained.
"He had it coming!" Ms. Ellis boomed. "We deserved more money for the amount of work we do! And he refused to pay us any more than he already was" she said.
"But he gave you a roof over your heads and covered all of your meals! Heck, he let you dine with him at dinner!" Mr. Law pointed out.
"That only made us dependent on him! But we wanted some freedom for once! A chance to get out of the house for something other than to go shopping for him!" Mr. Ellis declared.
The house guests were shocked that the servants would do such a thing; but perhaps even more shocking was how each and every one of them wanted Dr. Walker dead for one reason or another. Well, maybe not Physician Warren, but that's debatable.
"But how was it in two rooms?" Ms. Parker asked.
"Simple; first, Mr. Ellis attacked him in the Ballroom; Walker survived this initial attack though, and made his way to the library; only to be finished of by Ms. Ellis herself. Afterwards, both dragged him into the cellar, had him bound and gagged, and then cleaned up almost all evidence. And yet, they missed a fair deal" Gunnarson explained.
"Such as?" Professor Miller asked
"I believe I can answer that" Sergeant Hamilton explained. He brought in some items. It was Mr Ellis' shirt, Ms. Ellis' apron, the fire poker and the pipe. All four items were covered in blood splatter.
"And this is just the most significant items" Hamilton explained. The Ellis siblings began looking nervous.
"I can't believe this! How could you harm Dr. Walker like that?! After all he did for you! Now we're ALL out of a job!" Mr. Law said in shock.
"Are you kidding? You're free like us Judas; now you can go get a job with decent pay!" Mr. Ellis pointed out.
"I'm 57 for Christ's sake! No one is going to hire me at this point! Not to mention that hut is my home!" Mr. Law pointed out. "if this estate gets sold, I could very well end up homeless!" he pointed out.
But just then, knocking was heard at the door; everyone rushed into the hall to see who was on the other side. Just then, three officers burst in.
"Police! Hands up!" The one in the center screamed.
"It's all right, everything is under control" Gunnarson assured as they began to calm down. "Glad you could make it Stein, you too Conrad and Johnson"
"Good thing we were in the area on a case; otherwise we would never have made it" Stein said as he came forward.
"All right, so who did it?" Johnson asked.
After explaining the situation, Conrad and Johnson arrested the Ellis siblings, and Stein talked over with Gunnarson what had happened. It was decided that, due to a lack of physical evidence, no further charges would be pressed.
Several days later, at the funeral of Dr. Walker, Gunnarson sat in the back as the eight former suspects, plus Mr. Law and some family members mourned him.
"He may have had his faults, but at the end of the day he was a good man, and it is so unfortunate that this was how he ended up going" Colonel Brooks said in the eulogy.
Gunnarson simply looked on with the proceedings; he hoped that the eight would be able to move on from all this.
After the funeral, Gunnarson realized there was one last thing that had to be cleared up.
"Forgive me Ms. Parker, but there is one thing that still baffles me- why would you claim to be his lover when you really weren't?" Gunnarson asked.
"I... I was nervous. I did not kill Dr. Walker and I didn't want to be considered a suspect. In my haste I said that because I felt it would have minimized the suspicion.. but it seems it did just the opposite" she said.
"Don't worry; I'm sure everything will work out" Gunnarson assured as he left to go home. He couldn't help but notice though that Physician Warren looked extremely depressed during the funeral.
......
"And it is my belief that they should not be charged sir; they've been through enough and since the actual murderers were caught the case is not truly worth pursuing" Gunnarson said over the phone.
"Quite right; Stein did speak with Mr. Law and he did make it clear he wasn't going to press charges against Colonel Brooks. I feel bad for the former Reverend though, so I will have him let off with a warning" the man on the other end said.
"I feel that is the right decision; good night Gent" Gunnarson said as he hung up the phone.
......
(FOUR YEARS LATER)
Gunnarson walked into the bar. Not many people were there, but there was a table filled with seven people. Gunnarson joined them.
"Hello again Mr. Gunnarson," said Mrs. Clarke.
"Trevligt att se dig igen, madame."
He surveyed the table. There was Professor and Mrs. Miller (nee Parker), Colonel Brooks, Mr. Dixon, Sergeant Hamilton, Lady Goodwin, and Mrs. Clarke.
Gunnarson sat down in a chair reserved for him.
"How has everyone been?" Gunnarson asked.
"I retired from the military three months ago; they promoted me to Brigadier and gave me a honorable discharge and now I live quietly" the now Brigadier Brooks explained.
Did things work out for you, Rev... Mr. Dixon?" Gunnarson asked.
"They did, in a sadder sort of way - a cousin of mine died and left me his money; being quite rich I'm now in a better position than ever."
"And I see you two have been very happy," Gunnarson addressed Mr. and Mrs. Miller.
"Yes; a few months after the incident I had a breakthrough, and from there everything just worked out" Professor Miller explained.
"Has the Mrs. been satisfied?" Gunnarson asked.
Mrs. Miller chuckled. "Very."
He turned to Mrs. Clarke. "And how have you been?"
"Well, after Dr. Walker's sister took over the estate, she paid off the debt so there wouldn't be any bad blood between us. My husband (the one she married after the first died, and how Ms. Parker became her stepchild) and I are on good terms with her." She explained.
Sergeant Hamilton spoke "After the incident it gave me a lot to think about. So I abandoned my affair and stayed true to my wife and family. Things are much better now" he assured.
"And what about you?" Gunnarson asked Lady Goodwin
"Well, I've been the most unlucky. I ended up running into some money trouble, but luckily a friend of mine bailed me out and everything's looking up for me."
"Good to hear. But where is Physician Warren?"
"You haven't heard?" asked Ms. Miller, surprised.
"No, I'm afraid not."
"Well after her beloved's death, she had some very deep depression..."
Gunnarson stared wide-eyed.
"Her body was found at the bottom of a cliff..." said Brigadier Brooks.
"A tragedy," whispered Gunnarson.
They all held a moment of silence for their departed comrade...
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