Day 15

[pandatrash]

[There are really only two important things to note about Day 15:

One, your tablet informs you that there's a killing night tonight! Tonight we're back to normal; only one murder, please!

And two, there is shitty prepackaged deli sushi in kitchen. So uh, y'know. Enjoy that.]


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[very_good_end]

Good.

Are you familiar with And Then There Were None? It is held up as the quintessential example of the genre, and for very good reason. It's a very good starting point, if you're... a complete neophyte.

[truthstranger]

I've heard of it, but I haven't actually read many classic mysteries... I don't think.

[very_good_end]

Then, that is where we will start.

[she'll just go retrieve that copy]

Ah, but Dame Christie was truly the Queen of Mystery. You can't go wrong with any of her books. Especially the Poirot series. Perhaps we'll move on to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or Murder on the Orient Express next.

[truthstranger]

Maybe you should make me a reading list.

[this seems to be a sincere suggestion]

[very_good_end]

I just might.

[and, assuming they take a seat somewhere.]

And Then There Were None is regarded as the greatest mystery fiction novel for several reasons... first of all, it is ambitious. There is no detective. The clues are provided entirely through the narrative. Second, it has the highest number of deaths... totaling in ten in all, and including all of the main characters.

Well, then, shall we begin?

[truthstranger]

All of the main characters...? Well, I suppose that does make sense with the title.

[he hms a little as he settles back into his armchair]

Sure, I'm ready.

[spoilers for And Then There Were None]

[very_good_end]

Mm. The original title was actually something different, but it was offensive by today's modern standards and updated to reflect that. At any rate, the title of the book hardly matters. I'm reminded of the adage of judging books and covers, thereof.

[she'll start reading... and translating, getting closer and closer to the end until Vera kills herself, but before reading the epilogue with the detective.]

...Well? Do you have an idea, Saihara-san?

[truthstranger]

Hmm.

I think... I'd need to go back and check some of the details. The most likely explanation seems to be that one of the earlier 'victims' didn't actually die... and was actually the culprit who planned everything. That's more obviously impossible for some of them than others, but...

[very_good_end]

...It wouldn't be much of a mystery if it was some character who came out of nowhere.

Which death seemed most suspicious, then? I'll turn back and re-read the scene.

[truthstranger]

Well, it's possible one of the people we thought died was actually a stranger, and the person we thought they were was still alive to be the culprit. But I don't know who that would be...

Otherwise, someone must have faked their death? So, let's see. It would be hard to fake being bludgeoned to death. Any of the poisonings seem easier, but if someone just looks like they're unconscious, they'd obviously check their pulse. And I think they did...? Though, if they had an accomplice, they could have lied about it.

I guess... I want to verify who declared each person dead.

[very_good_end]

[smiles, clearly having fun]

Remember... you must also have a 'howdunnit' and a 'whydunnit'. Finding out 'who' the culprit is is just a little piece of the puzzle... if you also take into account motive and how they completed the crime. No less could be expected of a detective.

Let's go back and check those deaths...

"Too quickly, perhaps. He choked - choked badly. His face contorted, turned
purple. He gasped for breath - then slid down off his chair, the glass falling from
his hand..."

"He bent over the bed where the woman was lying peacefully on her side. He lifted
the cold hand, raised the eyelid. It was some few minutes before he straightened
himself and turned from the bed."

"A bigger chopper, a heavy affair, was leaning against the door - the metal of it
stained a dull brown. It corresponded only too well with the deep wound in the
back of Rogers' head..."

[and so on, and so on.]

[truthstranger]

[It turns out just listening to a bunch of deaths in a row is kind of morbid, and he’s a little distracted from it by the other part of what she said, anyway. It almost seemed like a hint...

He cuts her off part way in.]

The judge, what was his?

[very_good_end]

[no reaction but to repeat that part]

Mr. Justice Wargrave was silting in his high-backed chair at the end of the room.
Two candles burnt on either side of him. But what shocked and startled the
onlookers was the fact that he sat there robed in scarlet with a judge's wig upon
his head...

Dr. Armstrong motioned to the others to keep back. He himself walked across to
the silent staring figure, reeling a little as he walked like a drunken man.

He bent forward, peering into the still face. Then, with a swift movement, he
raised the wig. It fell to the floor, revealing the high bald forehead with, in the
very middle, a round stained mark from which something had trickled...

Dr. Armstrong raised the limp hand and felt for the pulse. Then he turned to the
others.

He said - and his voice was expressionless, dead, far away:

"He's been shot... "

Blore said:

"God - the revolver!"

The doctor said, still in the same lifeless voice:

"Got him through the head. Instantaneous."

[truthstranger]

"A round stained mark" is pretty ambiguous for a gunshot wound. And the doctor could definitely be lying. I'm not sure why he'd help him, though...

[very_good_end]

Oh? Weren't you just saying there could be an accomplice? Yet you don't have a theory as to why...?

[truthstranger]

I was figuring out what was possible first. Sometimes people's reasons are hard to understand right away.

[very_good_end]

You think so?

[shrugs]

You're doing very well for a first-time reader, I must say. Though that's no indication you've picked the right people.

Shall we read the next chapter? It provides a few more insights... and then, after it, is the final reveal of the culprit.

[truthstranger]

[after looking a little surprised at the compliment, he nods]

Sure, let's hear the rest.

[very_good_end]

[reads the epilogue, which sums up the deaths, indicates the last fingerprints on the gun belonged to Vera, someone moved Vera's chair after she hung herself, and the gun was found in Wargrave's room, and that all the crimes were things the law couldn't prove, except Wargrave's, which the man he hanged turned out to be guilty all along, and the man who organized it died of poisoning.]

"And therefore, sir, there must have been some one else on the island. Some one
who tidied up when the whole business was over. But where was he all the time -
and where did he go to? The Sticklehaven people are absolutely certain that no
one could have left the island before the rescue boat got there. But in that case -"

He stopped.

The Assistant Commissioner said:

"In that case -"

He sighed. He shook his head. He leaned forward.

"But in that case," he said, "who killed them?"

...

[Watches him, expectantly.]

[truthstranger]

...It has to be the judge. He was taking justice into his own hands by killing all these people who he thought were murderers. He'd done that before. And... I guess he must have shot himself afterwards, to make his death real? Maybe to avoid facing justice himself.

I'm still not sure why the doctor would help him fake his death, but... these people were scared and paranoid. He didn't actually kill all of them, some of them killed themselves or each other. It's not out of the question he could have been threatened or convinced that it was a good idea.

[very_good_end]

Oh? Interesting... you have a 'whodunnit' and 'whydunnit'... but your 'howdunnit' is a little lacking... Well, perhaps 'underdeveloped' is a better word.

Do you have a source of where he, or indeed any other culprit, procured the poison, at least? Everyone was searched at various times, as well.

[truthstranger]

Ah, I'm not sure. I don't actually know much about chemicals and poisons and that sort of thing.

[in fact that seems to touch on something painful for some reason, and he winces]

[very_good_end]

Aha. But you must. You cannot say the culprit 'magicked' some poison into existence. It must have an origin... of course, it's the story's job to provide you context with understanding what could be used as poison, so you needn't have a chemistry background to comprehend, Saihara-san.

Think. You are nearly there. We have had sleeping powders introduced... was there any other thing?

[truthstranger]

There was cyanide, wasn't there? And it seemed like they thought it was strange to have around... but he could have brought it with him if he planned all of this. I don't know how hard that would be.

[very_good_end]

There was.

[...]

You don't remember another source?