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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 3, 2017 0:17:12 GMT -5
(So when does this story take place? LM 7 was in 1946; and the epilogue was in 1950, 4 years later- Warren had committed suicide by then. Is it still 1946?)
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice... I don't mean to bother you while you are still mourning Dr. Warren, but I need you" Marlena explained.
......
Over at Scotland Yard, Gent was filling out paperwork when he heard a commotion. He ran down to see Gerald Knots, Murples' nephew, landing several hard punches and kicks on the pawnbroker before officers forced them apart. "You damned swindler; just confess to it! You already tried stealing my aunts heart, now her jewels? Her life? Have you no standards?!" The nephew screamed, recognizing the "Frenchman" that had try to win over his aunt.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 3, 2017 0:52:39 GMT -5
"Look, if this was how you were gonna treat me," spluttered a bleeding pawn broker, "I never would have let those jewels be brought into my shop!"
Knots stopped and crumbled.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 3, 2017 9:20:29 GMT -5
He clearly was angry at this con artist.
"How long will you keep up these lies?! First you pretend to be a Frenchman, then you go after my aunt just for the money, how stupid do you think I am?! You swoon her over and then you just happen to have her jewels after she dies? What are you trying to pull!" He screamed.
(Clarification: the pawnbroker is the phony Frenchman the nephew referenced earlier)
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 3, 2017 15:20:27 GMT -5
(Clarification: Toz's post about the pawnbroker having lied was kinda stupid and only through luck have they caught this jewel thief, and even then, there's no proof, because we only have the nephew's word for it and he could be lying for all we know.)
Meanwhile, Marlena still had to find the murderer. Perhaps the pawnbroker did it, but somehow she felt there was more to this story.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 3, 2017 17:16:33 GMT -5
Based on the testimony of Mr North, she did know that the nephew was the last person in the house besides Murples, so that part of the story was true. Though the pawnbroker was indeed the con artist, as confirmed by the nephew and "Gabriel's" accidental confession, she could not be sure he was a thief.
"Well what do we know so far?" Dr Warren asked.
"We are looking at two distinct crimes here- the theft and the murder. Since the jewels were only known to her close friends and family, only someone she knew could have stolen them" Marlena concluded.
"Why are we even looking at this still? The police have the nephew and the con artist arrested, what's the point?" Crow asked.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 3, 2017 19:23:24 GMT -5
"It just doesn't seem... right, somehow."
"You're making a mountain out of a molehill, Marlena. I expect next you'll want to rewind time and watch the murder committed yourself."
"THAT'S IT!" cried Marlena.
"What's it?" asked Crow, but Marlena had already left them to gather up the suspects and bring them back to the house where Murples had died, to re-enact the murder and have a little party of their own, with the cooperation of the police, of course.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 3, 2017 20:06:51 GMT -5
It had taken some convincing, but eventually Marlena had rounded up Reverend Goodrop, Mary Jane Andrews. Wilma Kneeterson, Isaac North, James Hammond and Gerald Knots. Several officers and Detective Byrne had also showed up.
"Now you are probably wondering why I asked for you cooperation in this" Marlena began.
"Yes; especially since we were able to find fingerprints on the hatchet. What exactly are you trying to do? For the record d- I'm only entertaining this while waiting for the boys in the lab to process the prints" Byrne stated.
"It's very simple. You see..."
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 3, 2017 20:44:56 GMT -5
"I thought maybe, in case Knot and the pawnbroker aren't guilty, we could set up a little reenactment of the crime. Sometimes these things have ways of clearing up things that weren't obvious at the start."
"It's an idea," said Byrne. "I don't mind, so long as you're leading the charge."
"Perfect," said Marlena, "now then..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 3, 2017 21:01:37 GMT -5
"Let's start fro the beginning; how did the party go?" Marlena asked
"Well, lets see; we all arrived within 10 minutes of each other; and we came here to the main room" North explained.
"Good, good. Now what?" Marlena asked.
"Well, we had some light pastries and had some discussion; then Andrews went into the kitchen for a few minutes" Knot explained/
"So far so good... and then what happened?" Marlena asked
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Post by Toz76 on Aug 3, 2017 22:08:45 GMT -5
"That's when she brought out the jewels." Hammond replied.
"You mean these jewels?" Marlena asked, pulling them out of her satchel. She watched everyone closely for their reactions.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 3, 2017 22:18:12 GMT -5
"You found them?! But, how?" Knots asked.
"It would seem that they ended up in a pawn shop not too far from here. Now I only have one shot at this; the police made it clear that these are considered evidence now, so for the time being they are police property. However, that still doesn't change one fact- it was a woman who sold the jewels. That doesn't necessarily prove a murderer, but it does prove a thief. Now, the only ones who knew of the jewels are in this room, meaning... Mary Jane, Wilma, one of you is a thief" Marlena said sternly.
"Surely you can't be serious" Wilma said nervously while Mary Jane simply looked nervous.
"Oh no, it makes perfect sense. An old friend forced to sell the jewels for money... but for a reason, mind you. Mrs Andrews... must feel good, dies it? That money would have paid off Ronald's debt and left you with plenty to have fun with" Marlena pointed out.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 4, 2017 0:20:15 GMT -5
Mrs. Andrews's jaw popped open in surprise. "But- I- I did nothing of that sort! I would never stoop so low as to betray a friend's trust, let alone STEAL! I swear to you, I never did steal those jewels!"
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Post by Toz76 on Aug 4, 2017 0:31:34 GMT -5
"Then what about you, Wilma? How's your sister?"
"Huh? I don't have a sister."
"Really, because earlier you said that's why you left early. What's the truth?"
"Er, I'm a senile old lady and..."
"Oh please. You're clearly not senile. For one thing, senile people refuse to admit to their senility."
"Er, well..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 4, 2017 7:52:21 GMT -5
"Now that you mention it; I do remember that a few minutes after she left, I passed by Murples' room on her way to the lavatory; her dresser looked disheveled and... and the box the jewels were in was wide open" North pointed out.
"Tell me... what is Wilma's mother's name?" Marlena asked.
"It's... its Marianne" Wilma admitted.
"Ah. And what was her maiden name?"
"Why it's... its Craig" Goodrop pointed out.
"Hence the Alias" Marlena concluded. Wilma had been caught red-handed
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 4, 2017 9:34:31 GMT -5
"What alias?" said Wilma. "Do you seriously believe I would blab out how I managed to get the jewels if I had?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 4, 2017 17:13:05 GMT -5
"Quite frankly, yes. You can't keep your mouth shut about anything, Wilma. Why do you think we stopped telling you secrets?" Hammond pointed out.
"Indeed. Someone like you... never would have guessed. To think, you made 20 thousand pounds off those jewels" Marlena began.
"Don't be ridiculous! They were worth 60 thousand pounds at least" Wilma said in defense.
"And yet a pawn broker never pays full price" Marlena pointed out.
"That's right! So I managed to haggle him up to 45 thousand before closing the d... gah!!" Wilma screamed, realizing she gave herself away
"Why would you do such a thing?!" Goodrop said.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 4, 2017 17:17:35 GMT -5
"I... needed the money," she said meekly.
"But why? And what was the use of killing Mary as well?"
Marlena whirled around violently and stared Goodrop in the eyes. "Oh the murderer wasn't Wilma. That was... YOU!!"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 4, 2017 17:57:07 GMT -5
"What!? That's impossible! I was the last to leave the house and she was alive when I left!" Knots pointed out.
"Yes; and Goodrop left before me- she was alive when I was there!" North pointed out.
"Marlena... you'd better have a good explanation..." Byrne began.
"And I do- you see, the it all started..."
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 4, 2017 18:28:10 GMT -5
"...when Mrs. Murples came to me, the day after your 'party'. She had a case of missing red jewels. She wanted me to figure out who stole them."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 4, 2017 18:59:29 GMT -5
"Uh... that means absolutely nothing. How about giving us information we can actually use" Byrne pointed out.
"Yes, yes, of course. So, when should we actually start? So we know that she was alive at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night; that was when I visited her in regard to this case. Now, the jewel thief has been found, but what of the murderer? It could have been any one of you" Marlena said.
"No, it couldn't have been us. We are in bed and asleep by that time; the church's groundskeeper can vouch for us" Reverend Goodrop said, as Hammond nodded in agreement.
"And the same goes for me; I was in bed and my husband can vouch for me" Andrews followed up with.
"I may be a thief but I am no murderer- I was reading my bible at home" Wilma said.
"And I was taking care of my brother; with his leg broken he's had trouble getting around the house"
"I... I was out drinking. I couldn't forgive myself for what I did to my aunt and was trying to fee better" Knots explained.
"Can anyone vouch for you?" Detective Byrne said.
"No... I was drinking alone" Knots admitted.
"Well, everyone here has an alibi; except you. Meaning... Gerald Knots, YOU are the murderer" Detective Byrne declared.
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