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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 9, 2017 1:15:46 GMT -5
"Oh really?" Gunnarson said. "Anything you can tell me?"
"Why yes actually."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Buzz off!"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 9, 2017 1:29:48 GMT -5
Walton would have none of Gunnarson's "interference" on this case, so he continued speaking to Hardstuckle.
"We know the murderer is one of these people, that is certain. Though as much as I hate to admit it... Gunnarson almost certainly did not do it" Walton said. "he may be a nuisance, but he's no killer" he admitted.
"Then why won't you let me help" Gunnarson asked.
"You... you wouldn't understand" Walton replied before talking to Hartstuckle again. "Until we can determine who the murderer is; we cannot let any of these suspects leave the resort" Walton explained.
"Understood. Follow me, ladies and gentlemen, we need to go back to the hotel" Hardstuckle said as Walton was left alone, looking at the cave. He sighed to himself, then said "It took me years of training and examination to become a detective... I worked hard to earn the respect of Chief Gent. Why should Gunnarson get a free pass... we don't even know his credentials and Gent treats him like a best friend. Why can't he at least follow the procedures we are bound to" he finished before following everyone back to the resort.
Once everyone had assembled in the main hall of the resort...
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 9, 2017 1:39:37 GMT -5
WOAH HOLD ON PEOPLE
Frank, clearly stated earlier in the story, Hardstuckle is a 'big fan' of sorts of Gunnarson, to him he's his hero. Why then is he suddenly against Gunnarson?
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 9, 2017 2:21:55 GMT -5
No, that was Walton who said that. Hardstuckle still supports Gunnarson, don't be confused.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 9, 2017 2:31:29 GMT -5
Oh, alright. Still, you'd think he'd say something in his defense...
...Walton came in to debrief them.
"Now then-"
"Who are you?" asked Picard.
"I am Detective Walton, here to solve the case."
"Another smarmy ass of a policeman. I'd put greater trust in Gunnarson or Hardstuckle to solve this case!"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 9, 2017 12:10:11 GMT -5
"You know, Hardstuckle is a policeman too" Walton said before turning to the group as a whole.
"Now then, it is clear that someone among us is a murderer. Hardstuckle has informed me that there is a good deal of evidence already. But there is something we need to clarify right now, and that is..."
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Post by Toz76 on Jun 9, 2017 23:47:08 GMT -5
"This was done by one of you. No one else could have been in the caves without some sign. It could be any of you. You can't be sure of anyone's innocence, not lifelong friends or your spouse, until we can prove their innocence. Hardstuckle, read off the evidence."
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 9, 2017 23:49:13 GMT -5
"Wait," said Gunnarson.
"What is it now?" asked Walton.
"Where is Mrs. Gothart?"
"She should be... that's strange."
"Emily!" called her husband. "She was hear just a minute ago."
Suddenly Gunnarson called out. "OH NO!" and then he dashed up the stairs to the Gothart's room.
He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Gothart himself had made his way up the stairs now, and took out a key. Opening the door, they found Emily Gothart stretched out on the bed, alive... but unconscious.
Blood streamed down from her head.
"We need doctors quickly!" cried Gunnarson.
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Post by Toz76 on Jun 9, 2017 23:59:10 GMT -5
The others ran in.
"What happened?"
"She hit her head on the bedpost, it seems." A doctor said. "Unfortunate, but it doesn't look like it had anything to do with the case.
"Oh really? Then what about the sealed envelope on the bed where no envelope should be?" Gunnarson asked.
Cricket grabbed the note and opened it. "It's a suicide note! Apparently, she never wanted to marry Mr Gothart, and when she found out she was pregnant with his child, it was the final straw."
"Could she be the murderer?" I asked. "Maybe she mistook the Major for her husband?"
"No, she had an alibi. She was with her husband the whole time. Although, it is strange that she'd try to kill herself now. She must have known how suspicious it would seem." Walton replied.
"Maybe she only just realized she was pregnant? Her "time" didn't come or something?" Cricket suggested.
"Whatever the reason, we need to give the poor girl some space. She's been through a lot." The doctor said.
"Ma'am, could I have that letter? It could contain clues." Walton asked.
"Sure thing, just let me- oh hell!"
Cricket walked right into the doctor, dropping the letter into the fireplace.
"You tried to grope me!" Cricket yelled at the doctor as the letter caught fire.
"No I didn't!" The doctor protested.
"And now what could have been valuable evidence is gone forever." Picard sighed.
Gunnarson just stood in contemplative silence.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 10, 2017 0:04:35 GMT -5
When everything had settled down, the doctor assured everything was under control, so Hardstuckle and Walton gathered everyone, minus Mrs. Gothart in the main room and picked up where they left off.
"Now then; Hardstuckle; what is it we know?" Walton asked.
"All right Walton. Here's what we do know:
- the Killer smokes heavily; Everyone but Mrs. Gothart here is a smoker, but only a handful of you brought cigarettes into the cave. The three ladies over here, did not bring cigarettes with them, nor did Gunnarson or Hartley
- the killer has a knife on his or her person; from what we know, everyone but the Gotharts and the three ladies over there had some sort of knife on them.
- the killer is among the spelunking group; there was no outside interference.
- the killer may or may not have wanted to kill one of you instead; the Major's death may have been unintended, based on the fact that only the nephew here has a substantial relationship to the major; and he had nothing but admiration for the Major
- the killer may not be known at this moment- but the fact that Picard's lighter was found near the place where the major's rope was cut makes him highly suspect.
- the rope was sabotaged at the time of the murder; Gunnarson and the nephew were with the major when he inspected the ropes prior to the adventure, and both can vouch that at that particular moment, the major's rope was fine.
"...and quite honestly, I am glad that you are here Walton; I mostly deal with burglaries and the occasional car wreck; so a murder caught me off guard. Three heads are better than one after all" Hardstuckle admitted; not forgetting that Gunnarson was also there.
"Understandable. Now then, the next question becomes... what would be the next piece of the puzzle?" Walton explained to Hardstuckle, but he said it in a way that indicated he was explaining it to the whole group.
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Post by Toz76 on Jun 10, 2017 0:16:38 GMT -5
"Obviously, the next step is to eliminate those that couldn't be guilty based on evidence and cross-examine the rest."
"Silence, Adolf." Walton ordered. "Now, let's eliminate those that the evidence proves innocent and interrogate the rest."
Hardstuckle cleared his throat.
"The suspects are: Gunnarson, Hartley, Cricket, Picard, Major's Nephew, the three old ladies, and Mr and Mrs Gothart. The Gotharts and old ladies didn't have a knife on them, ruling them out for the most part. Gunnarson and Hartley are also ruled out by their not having cigarettes. So the killer was either Cricket, Picard, or the nephew. Of the three, evidence implicates Picard, so we'll start with him."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 10, 2017 0:33:16 GMT -5
So for the moment, it was Hardstuckle and Walton; Gunnarson had a hunch something was off about this whole scenario, but couldn't place it. So while they went to interview Picard, he kept an eye on Cricket and the nephew, for any "unusual" behavior.
Picard was seated across from Hardstuckle and Walton in the next room over. Hardstuckle began the questioning.
"I suppose we should go off of something that was really only implied until now. Mr. Picard; before today have you ever met the major?" he asked.
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Post by Toz76 on Jun 10, 2017 0:40:25 GMT -5
"No."
"What is the purpose of your trip to the UK?"
"I like to immerse myself in other cultures."
"Alright, down to the nitty-gritty. Explain why your lighter is at the crime scene."
"I wish I knew. I lost it a few days ago, perhaps it was stolen and used to frame me."
"And yet you initially told Gunnarson you "didn't bring it". Can you explain this discrepancy?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 10, 2017 0:46:48 GMT -5
"Well... what I meant was I didn't bring it with me in the caves. And if we are being technical, I wasn't lying when I said that" Picard explained.
"I suppose that is true" Hardstuckle conceded. "Next question then... about your knife- to be honest, I don't see a use for a knife when it comes to spelunking, so why did you have one on you?" he asked.
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Post by Toz76 on Jun 10, 2017 0:57:29 GMT -5
"For self-defense."
"But... you wouldn't have needed to defend yourself in the cave. There was no danger of your being attacked."
"Is it a crime to carry a weapon for self-defense?"
"Well, no, but-"
Picard interrupted Walton. "Oh really? Because you're making it out to be a crime. We as citizens of Europe need to defend our right to arms by being armed at all times."
"Even when it's unnecessary?"
"Especially then."
"Are you sure you aren't American?" Hardstuckle snarked, chuckling until being silenced by a withering glare from Walton.
"Anyway, can you explain why you happened to be alone around the time of the murder?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 10, 2017 1:04:42 GMT -5
"Well, if I recall correctly, the nephew and I had just heard a rather unsettling noise, and decided that one of us should investigate it. We played rock paper scissors for who would go- I won, so I stayed where we where. See, the sound had come from an unmapped part of the cave, so I would stay in the one place with my torch (UK- torch=flashlight) while he went on to investigate. To ensure he wouldn't get lost, I would stay where I was, in the mapped section, and hold the torch up, so he'd have a point of reference. All I know is- 10 minutes later, he came back having found nothing, and 5 minutes after that was when we heard the others talking together and ran to the group. Next thing I knew- we were all standing around the dead major, trying to figure out who did it" he explained.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 11, 2017 0:42:11 GMT -5
"I see," said Walton. "Hardstuckle...?"
"Yes sir. Mr. Picard..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2017 0:50:11 GMT -5
"...if we were to ask the nephew if about this little incident, would he vouch for this little story?" Hardstuckle asked.
"I should hope he would; I have no reason to lie to you after all" Picard replied.
"I suppose I only have one question left then" Hardstuckle replied. "Mr. Picard..."
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 11, 2017 0:56:16 GMT -5
"...has there been any strange activity around your hotel since you've been there?"
"What do you mean by that?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2017 1:02:24 GMT -5
"Anything out of the ordinary... something you wouldn't expect to happen while you were staying at the hotel?" Hardstuckle asked.
"Well... nothing I can think of. With that festival and all, there isn't anything I can really single out as being out of the ordinary" Picard explained.
"I guess that is the end of that" Harstuckle said, signaling that it was time for Picard to go and the nephew to come in.
Once again, Gunnarson kept a close eye on Picard and Cricket while Robert was interviewed.
"Now then, Mr. Crownwall, I hope you are aware that as the only one here with a substantial relationship with the major, that places a lot of suspicion on you" Hardstuckle warned.
"As lousy as Gunnarson is, he was correct when he said that to have motive there must be some sort of relationship involved, so explain this... how was your relationship with your uncle?" Walton asked.
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