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 Dualshock 3 for scale, paperweight for convenience, gloves for hands. Welcome to Murder off Miami penned by crime fiction writer Dennis Wheatley, and planned by his friend, art historian Joseph Gluckstein Links.  Wheatley on the left, Links on the right, also starring Sunny and his piano. What's it all about?    Our ultimate goal is here.  The seal was open on my used copy. I took a peak and sealed it back with a bit of modern tape. You'll have to solve the mystery first, then we'll see if your answer is right. History Murder off Miami hit the shelves on the 23rd of July 1936, priced 3 shillings and 6 pence. What had been originally considered a crazy idea both by the publisher and all sane retailers ended up selling 120000 copies in the first six months. The authors' royalties were set at one penny since the concept was a gamble and each copy was a complete arse to put together by hand. The book's popularity both in Britain and overseas inspired a number of imitations, not to mention three other crime dossiers from Wheatley and Links themselves. Then, World War 2 started for some reason. For more historical context: Murder off Miami came out shortly after the then still flipper-less pinball machines had introduced tilt detectors, and shortly after Monopoly had hit the market. Also, four decades later the first CYOA book, Sugarcane Island, was published after years of oblivion. Murder off Miami is responsible for Infocom's legendary "feelies". Their first game to include them, Deadline, came with an evidence file that was basically a cheap version of these dossiers. LP What I have here is the 1979 edition. All four of the Wheatley's dossiers were recreated around that time, nearly identical to the 1930s originals apart from minor differences in the cover designs. The book has been effectively out of print since 1979, because the 1986 hardcover editions of the series replaced all physical evidence with photos. Anyway, I'll handle it wearing gloves to prevent the book and myself from smearing one another. Interviews and reports will be transcribed, everything else will be photographed for the sake of preserving the format. For better immersion in the reading try sniffing on some really old book.  NO SPOILERS UPDATES Update 1. Pages 1 to 15a. A plain case of suicide. Update 2. Pages 16 to 30. Have the Jap cold between us. Update 3. Pages 31 to 44. I have a large flock you know. Update 4. Pages 45 to 58. No Ordinary Virgin. Update 5. Pages 59 to 70. Eating solids. Update 6. Pages 71 to 86. Cock and bull story. Update 7. Pages 87 to 97. Rudeness and obstruction. Update 8. Pages 98 to 109. Doing some funny business. Update 9. Pages 110 to 131. Oh Lordy! //solution below// Update 10. Pages 131 to 138. I killed him. SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Oct 8, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 17:36
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Update 1. Pages 1 to 15a. A plain case of suicide. : Right, the book is open. Let's touch history.  : And now for a photo of what an average page of text looks like. There are 130-ish of them in this file. Don't bother reading off the picture, it's all transcribed below. There may be typos. REPORT OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTRING OF THE FLORIDA POLICE Acting on instructions received I boarded S.Y. Golden Gull from police launch X21. at 10.40 p.m. in the company of Detective Officer Neame, Police Surgeon Jacket, Station Photographer Southwold and Officer Gurdon of the Uniform Branch. Captain Derringham received me with the other, Mr. Carlton Rocksavage. I proceeded to the Captain's cabin to take statements, Detective Officer Neame acting as stenographer. : "Rocksavage" has a nice ring to it. Anyway, statements.CAPTAIN DERRINGHAM'S STATEMENT. We sailed from New York at 12.30 p.m. on the 5th carrying five passengers in addition to the owner, Mr. Carlton Rocksavage, and his daughter , Miss Ferri Rocksavage. The passengers were Lady Welter, the Honourable Reginald Jocelyn and Mrs. Jocelyn, who are Lady Welter's daughter and son-in-law, the Bishop of Bude and Count Luigi Posodini. We arrived off Miami at 2.35 p.m. this afternoon, where we anchored. My instructions were that three new guests would come on and, immediately these were aboard, I was to proceed to Nassau Bahamas. At 4.30 p.m. a Japanese gentleman Mr. Inosuke Hayashi came on board and at 6.55 Mr. Bolitho Blane, accompanied by his secretary, Nicholas Stodart. The tender was cleared by 7.5, upon which I gave orders that the ship should proceed to sea. At 8.38, just after I had sat down to dinner in my cabin, I was sent by the owner to come down to the suite which had been allotted to Mr. Bolitho Blane. I found the owner there with Mr. Blane's secretary. They explained to me that Mr. Blane was missing and had left a note which gave reason to suppose that he had committed suicide. The window of the drawing room cabin was wide open and it looked as if Mr. Blane had thrown himself overboard through it. It was decided not to alarm the other passengers so the owner said that he would just tell them that Mr. Blane was ill and we were returning to Miami for a doctor. At 8.45 I ordered the ship back to port. MR. CARLTON ROCKSAVAGE'S STATEMENT.  : I'll generally avoid taking flash photos of photos due to glossy ink. Also, you're looking at a photo of a photo of a photo.We had just come down from New York for a few days' pleasure cruising off the islands, and I had arranged to pick up two more of my guests who could not make the yacht at New York, from Miami. Mr. Inosuke Hayashi came on during the afternoon and had tea with us, them Mr. Bolitho Blane arrived with his secretary, Nicholas Stodart, just before 7 o'clock. They went straight down to the private suite which I had allotted to them, and we sailed at once. I didn't see them as I was on the bridge with my Captain when we left Miami at 7.5. Then I went down to the lounge for a drink and, finding Pamela Jocelyn and Count Posodini there, I talked with them for a while. At 7.25 Mr. Stodart arrived and introduced himself as Bolitho Blane's secretary. He said that Blane wished to get some cables off before changing and asked that I would excuse him from putting in an appearance before dinner. I introduced Stodart to Mrs. Jocelyn and the Count, then offered him a drink which he accepted. After a few moments Stodart asked me if the type sheets on the notice board in the lounge contained the closing prices of the New York stock marked and, on my telling him that that was so, he said that Mr. Blane was anxious to have the latest information. He took down some of the prices in his note book, tore the leaf out and, as he had not finished his drink, asked the lounge steward to take the list down to Blane's cabin. The steward came up again and said that the drawing room of Blane's suite was locked and that he could get no answer. Stodart then told him to take it down again and slip it under the door. Mrs. Jocelyn and Count Posodini left us at about this time and I remained with Stodart for a while. Later, the Bishop joined us and Lady Welter came in a few minutes after him. Then I noticed that it was already ten after eight, so realising that I would have to hurry, if I were not to be late for dinner, I went down to change. At a little after 8.30 I got back to the lounge to find all my guests assembled for dinner, except Bolitho Blane and Stodart. Just as I was contemplating sending down a message to Blane, the cabin steward came up with an urgent request that I should go down to Blane's cabin right away. On arriving there I found Stodart standing in the drawing room looking very pale and shaken. He said to me, "Mr. Rocksavage, I'm afraid I've got bad news for you." Then he handed me this note.  : "Dear Stodart, you know how ... I've been..." Good grief, I can't read this handwriting. Anyone in the thread up for it?Nidoking posted:Here's what I make of that letter - a few parts are still unclear, but I made sense of most of it. MR. CARLTON ROCKSAVAGE'S STATEMENT, CONTINUED. What he says in that note about there being a tough crowd behind me is sheer nonsense. Just a wild statement of a man who was half off his head with worry. He didn't know the first thing about me personally as we had never even met and, as I didn't see him when he came on board, I never set eyes on the man in my life. We had corresponded a lot in a business way, of course, and I knew that he had been having a tough time lately, so I was hoping that this little trip, with a few nice people, right away from everything, was just what he needed to set him up again, and I was looking forward to making his acquaintance. After I had read that letter I've just given you, Stodart handed me a slip of paper which, he said, the cabin steward had found found on Blane's table. I saw at once that it was the page that Stodart had torn out of his pocket book after he had taken down the quotations of the closing prices on the New York stock market from the notice board in the lounge and which he had sent down to Blane earlier on. It had a few lines of writing in a different hand on the other side. Here it is ............ : Yes, that's 12 periods in a row. Yes, that's in the book. : Now what was that about the other side? : Awesome! "...! Argus have gone under 40. So the game is up -"MR. CARLTON ROCKSAVAGE'S STATEMENT, CONTINUED. I sent for the Captain at once, told him what had occurred and he put back to port, while I sent a message up to my daughter that she was to take the guests in to dinner, then went up to the wireless room and sent a radio to the Miami police. MR. NICHOLAS STODART'S STATEMENT  : Neame, we need to talk about you flashing people who enter the room.Mr. Blane told me about a fortnight ago that his companies were in very serious difficulties but that his principal competitor, Mr. Carlton Rocksavage, had invited him to a conference in the United States. Mr. Blane believed that Mr. Rocksavage's companies were in almost as serious difficulties as his own, owing to the price cutting war which had been going on between them for a considerable time. Mr. Blane was the big man of the British soap combine and Mr. Rocksavage the head of the rival group in America. Between them they could have had the virtual control of the world soap market, but they have been trying yo smash each other for months past and neither has succeeded to date, That cost both groups an immense amount of money, and an amalgamation between them would have meant salvation to them both, whereas, if they continued their rivalry, it was quite certain that one of them would go under. Mr. Blane accepted Mr. Rocksavage's invitation and we sailed for the United States in the Berengaria. During the voyage Mr. Blane was very depressed. The steady fall in the shares of his companies caused him grave anxiety and he told me repeatedly that if Argus Suds went below 45 he would have very little chance of pulling off a deal with Rocksavage except upon ruinous terms and that, if Argus Suds went below 40, there would be no chance of his pulling off a deal at all, as it would pay Rocksavage better, in that case, to let him go under. The fact that the shares of the Rocksavage companies were also falling, although in a lesser degree, did not appear to console him. Mr. Blane's depression was so great at times that I had grave doubts as to his sanity. He seemed to think that Rocksavage and his associates would stop at nothing to wreck him. He knew, of course, that his death would mean a complete slump in the Blane interests and, although he had never met Mr. Rocksavage, he apparently regarded him as a man who might even go to the length of engineering his death in order to smash the Blane companies. He knew that his only hope of pulling his companies though was this conference on the Golden Gull, yet he seemed to think that by going on board he would be taking his life in his hands, and it was such statements as these which made me consider him to be off the mental balance at times. We should have joined the yacht in New York, but Blane jibbed at the last moment from his fear that his life would be in jeopardy, but he pulled himself together a few hours later and I called Mr. Rocksavage for him that we would fly down to join the yacht in Miami. Just before 7 o'clock we came out to the yacht in a tender and on being told that Mr. Rocksavage was on the bridge, went straight down to our suite with the chief steward. The cabin steward came along and asked if he could unpack, but Mr. Blane was so nervous that he would not allow the man inside the cabin. The yacht got under way just about then and Mr. Blane told me to change at once and, when I left him, he was starting to unpack his things himself. Directly I had changed I returned to the drawing room and found Mr. Blane had only unpacked a few things from his suitcase. He was sitting staring out of the porthole window. After a moment he sent me up to Mr. Rocksavage with a message that he wished to get some cables off, and so would not appear before dinner, and told me at the same time that I was to get tha latest market prices which had come in by radio and send them down to him. That was at 7.30. I went straight up to the lounge, and, finding Mr. Rocksavage there, introduced myself to him. He introduced me to Mrs. Jocelyn and Count Posodini, and gave me a drink. I took down the closing prices in which Mr. Blane was interested. These were sent down at 7.40 by the lounge steward, who retured to say that Mr. Blane's door was locked and that he could get no reply. I remarked that Mr. Blane would be changing and was probably in his bath, so the steward was instructed to slip the note under his cabin door. Mrs. Jocelyn and Count Posodini left us after that and I remained in the lounge talking to Mr. Rocksavage. The Bishop of Bude came in and then Lady Welter. Mr. Rocksavage remarked shortly after that it was ten past eight, so he must change at once of he would be late, and if he was we were to go in to dinner without him. After he had left us Mr. Inosuke Hayashi came in, then Count Posodini. At 8.30 Mrs. Jocelyn, having changed, returned to the lounge with her husband, Mr. Reggie Jocelyn, to whom she introduced me. It was just after the dinner bugle sounded that the cabin steward came up to the lounge and handed me the note that Mr. Blane had left for me. Having read it I hurried below with the cabin steward. We found that Mr. Blane's suite was empty and the window of his drawing room wide open, so it looked as though he had thrown himself out into the sea. It was then that the steward picked up a piece of paper from the writing table, which I recognised at once as the leaf from my pocket book with the share quotations on it, and I saw the line of writing in Blane's hand containing his last message on the back of it. I sent the steward up to get Mr. Rocksavage at once and, immediately I had told him what had occurred, he sent for the Captain. This business has been a great shock to me because, although I have not been in Mr. Blane's employ for very long, he always treated me decently and I had got to be very fond of him. I don't think there is the least doubt about it being a case of suicide. Big business people may use unscrupulous methods at time but it's stretching things a bit too far to suggest that they actually murder one another. I think Mr. Blane's fear for his life was brought on purely by an overstrained imagination and, realising that his last hope of saving his companies had disappeared, when the Argus Suds shared dropped below the 40 level, he decided to make an end of himself rather that face the music. STATEMENT OF SILAS RINGBOTTOM, CABIN STEWARD. : No photo for the little guy.Just before the ship got under way the chief steward called for me and said, "Ringbottom the two new ones that are allotted to suite C. have just come aboard. Get along at once and settle them in." I went to C. drawing room and knocked on the door. The secretary opened it and I asked, "Shall I unpack, sir?" and he replied, "No, that's all right. We're unpacking for ourselves." So I went pack to my pantry. I did one or two odd jobs, a bit of pressing and so on, and then I sat down for half an hour's read, while the guests were changing, until the dinner bugle sounded at 8.30. I then proceeded to my duty of tidying cabins. C. suite, that is Mr. Blane's, being the nearest, I meant ot start on him but I found the door of the drawing room locked, so I just unlocked the door with my master key and went straight into the room. The first thing I saw was a note addressed "Nicholad Stodart Esq." and marked "URGENT" in capital letters. I though that a bit funny as if Mr. Blane had gone up to dinner why couldn't he have taken it up to Mr. Stodart himself? But it's not for me to question the why and wherefores of the guests, so I took it up to Mr. Stodart right away. He just thanked me and tore it open. Then, as I was leaving the lounge to go below, he came hurrying after me and said, "I am afraid something's wrong steward." We went down to the late lamented's cabin together and had a quick look around. He wasn't in the suite and the drawing room window was open. Mr. Stodart told me that he was afraid the poor gentleman had chucked himself overboard, then I spotted a bit of paper on the writing table and gave it to Mr. Stodart saying, "What's this here?" He gave it a glance and sent me up to get Mr. Rocksavage immediately. I did as I was bid and the owner sent me for the Captain. DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S REPORT, CONTINUED Having taken statements from Captain Derringham, Mr. Rocksavage, Mr. Stodart and the cabin steward, Ringbottom, I then proceeded to suite C. which had been allotted to Bolitho Blane. It consisted of a drawing room, a state room and private bathroom. On the other side of the drawing room there was a single state room, which, I am told, had been allotted to Stodart in order that he might be near his employer. A cursory examination of the suite showed nothing which called for special remark. Captain Derringham told me that he had had it locked up at 8.45 before ordering the ship back to Miami, so that nothing in it had been touched or disturbed since the steward, Ringbottom, discovered Blane to be missing. I instructed Station Photographer Southwold to take the necessary shots of the suite and decided to postpone a detailed examination until morning. Soon after arriving on board I told Police Surgeon Jacket that, as the case was one of 'man overboard' his presence was no longer required. At 12.50 Station Photographer Southwold had completed his work, upon which I had Suite C. relocked and placed Officer Gurdon on guard outside it. After which I went above and spoke to Captain Derringham and Mr. Rocksavage. I told the later that I did not think any useful purpose could be served by keeping his guests out of their beds longer, but that as a formality I should have to question them in the morning, so none of them is to be allowed ashore without permission. In my view, at the moment, this looks like a plain case of suicide by a man in a financial jam. Blane's innuendoes that Rocksavage intended to do him in are discounted by the statements of the secretary, Stodart, who appears convinced that for some days past Blane was not of sound mind and suffering from a form of persecution mania. Captain Derringham seems a fine straight-forward, if rather silent, fellow and certainly not the man to permit any monkey-business upon a ship commanded by him. Rocksavage's manner is normal and he appears surprised and upset at the tragedy, although it should be noticed that he stated that this was only a pleasure trip, whereas it is made abundantly clear from Stodart's statement that its real objective was to cover a big business conference between Rocksavage and Blane. On the face of it, all the guests are apparently respectable people of some social standing, and Captain Derringham gives me his assurance that no new men have been brought on in the crew this trip, or employees of Rocksavage, for any special purpose. Apart, therefore, from Blane's innuendoes there is no evidence at all to support any suggestion outside the known facts and, in my view, it is a plain case of suicide. I am sending Station Photographer Southwold ashore in the yacht's launch and also Detective Officer Neame, who will deliver this report. I then propose to sleep the night on board in a spare cabin which Mr. Rocksavage has placed at my disposal. Please instruct the coastguard stations to keep a look-out for the body in the unlikely event of its being washed ashore.  1.15 a.m. 9.3.36 on S.Y. Golden Gull. : And that wraps up the first report, but Kettering doesn't get much sleep. Note the time of the next memo. : Now we're getting somewhere. Here are the photos... of photos.     DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTRING'S SECOND REPORT. On receipt of Lieutenant Schwab's memo and the photographs of C. suite on S.Y. Golden Gull I at once proceeded below in the company of Detective Officer Neame to make a thorough examination of Blane's suite in daylight. I first examined the marks on the carpet, mentioned in Lieutenant Schwab's report, and apparent in print B. These marks consist of a slight irregular roughing of the pile in the carpet running from the table to near the window, Owing to the light that are not observable from the inboard side of the cabin, but only from the outboard side, which explains my failure to notice them last night, and that fact that, while appearing in print B. they are not observable in print A. These marks might have been made by the two legs of a chair being dragged across the carpet. I found, however, at the table end of these roughly parallel tracks a very slightly discoloured patch upon the carpet, which would not have been visible in electric light. I then proceeded to examine the porthole window and found upon the left hand curtain a smear of blood. Returning to the patch on the carpet it seemed to me probable that a small quantity of blood had been spilled here too and that someone had endeavoured to get it out by rubbing the place with a wet sponge. If the person had done this immediately after he blood was spilled, as is probable, most of the blood would have been absorbed, hence the faintness of the discolouration. The patch is still damp and measures about eight inches by five, although it is probable that, if the blood was spilled here, it was no more than a few drops and the main patch was caused by an endeavour to clean the carpet afterwards. In view of this, the tracks on the carpet present a new significance, and I suggest that they were caused by the toes on a man's boots as he was dragged from the table to the porthole. Taken in conjunction the wet patch, the boot tracks, and the smear of blood upon the window curtain definitely point to the fact that Bolitho Blane was murdered. I send this report as once in order that full investigation may be made into the antecedents of all the passengers upon the yacht, who now come under suspicion. I have given instructions that, as they leave their cabins for breakfast, each cabin is to be locked after them. I shall then be able to search all cabins before these are tidied and will proceed to the examination of all parties concerned immediately the have breakfasted. 7.35 a.m. 9.3.36 on S.Y. Golden Gull. : Sadly, the book doesn't include moist carpeting among its pages. We'll have to make do with the curtain.  : The curtain doesn't seem to match the pattern in the room photo. Maybe it went out of fashion some time in the 50s. I've been reading up on the book and, apparently, they were planning to put actual blood here in the 1979 edition. However, it turned out dried blood rapidly lost colour, so some form of dye was used instead.: Actually, here's a photo of the curtain page I found online that does match Southwold's shots. It's from the original edition and seems to come with a genuine bloodstain as well. : Hope this is not Chris's blood. Next time: Kettering asks people about the "suicide" right after they've had breakfast.
SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 17:36
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Here's what I make of that letter - a few parts are still unclear, but I made sense of most of it.The letter posted:Dear Stodart, The first sentence of the note on the back of the stocks is "You see!" Apparently, Blane wanted to leave a note showing why he was jumping out the window. I suspect the secretary - he could easily have written both the suicide note and the note on the back of the stock report, before handing it to the steward. Why would the steward look at the back of a note he was supposed to deliver? Having it slid under the door would make it look like no one but Blane could have written that part, supporting the suicide theory. If we find something that we know was written by Blane (or by Stodart in another context), we could compare the handwriting. Nidoking fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 18:50
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I agree that Stodart seems like the most obvious suspect, apparently being the only one who even saw Blane and insisting on delivering the stock note. However, the note was delivered at 7:40 and Stodart said he was in the lounge the whole time from 7:30 to 8:30, and that note was found on a table by the steward after he returned to Blane's room with Stodart. I think he would've noticed it if it was still on the floor by the door, so somebody must have moved it and it doesn't look like Stodart could have done it. Unless he's working with Rocksavage (which is conveniently also a motive), of course, since the two said they were alone in the lounge for half an hour. Plenty of time to do whatever. Stodart could have even killed Blane right after getting on the boat and all he would've needed to do was move the note on to the table. tiistai fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 19:25
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What would the secretary's motive be? He is suspicious due to being a gateway of information that might not be true about Blane, and in his own words he has not been with Blane long. But if it was the secretary he had many ways to get rid of Blane due to proximity that did not need to involve a boat trip with a business competitor. I think we still need more information. Edit: would have been hard to go out that window without knocking the desk over or knocking something off of it, it's much too tidy I think even to have thrown a body out of it there are all kinds of loose things on there that would go over or need tidying up. Stoca Zola fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 19:29
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tiistai posted:However, the note was delivered at 7:40 and Stodart said he was in the lounge the whole time from 7:30 to 8:30, and that note was found on a table by the steward after he returned to Blane's room with Stodart. I think he would've noticed it if it was still on the floor by the door, so somebody must have moved it and it doesn't look like Stodart could have done it. They went down to the room together, Stodart and the steward. The steward didn't notice the note on the table until after they'd searched the room for a while. It's possible that Stodart moved the note to the table during that time, and the steward's attention was likely elsewhere early on - such as the open window. Stoca Zola posted:What would the secretary's motive be? He is suspicious due to being a gateway of information that might not be true about Blane, and in his own words he has not been with Blane long. But if it was the secretary he had many ways to get rid of Blane due to proximity that did not need to involve a boat trip with a business competitor. Blane's note seems intended to throw suspicion onto Rocksavage. Probably not many convenient chances to make a death look enough like a suicide to fool a casual observer, but also cast suspicion on a business rival of his (ex-)employer's company in case the true nature of the death was discovered. Nidoking fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 19:45
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Was Blane ever actually aboard? Possibly there could be a desperate frame to cast the blame on Rocksavage for a murder-clumsily-disguised-as-suicide that never occurred?
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Sep 26, 2015 20:01
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Nidoking posted:They went down to the room together, Stodart and the steward. It's possible he just didn't notice it even though he entered the room to clean it up, but that seems a bit odd. The Merry Marauder posted:Was Blane ever actually aboard? Good question, but that blood must have come from somewhere.
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Sep 26, 2015 20:03
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The only account that hints that a witness might have seen Blane is the captains, but he doesn't say that he saw Blane and the secretary, just that they came aboard so he might be assuming that it happened because it was supposed to happen, if that makes sense. The suicide note does not have a date on it and the paper comes from Surrey. However the writing matches the other side of Stodarts note, the A for argus is different from Stodart's side to "Blane's" so it might be possible to assume they were both written by the same person, unless Stodart is good at faking handwriting? There's no guarantee that Blane wrote either of the notes ascribed to him, or that they were written on this trip. Stoca Zola fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 20:19
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This is awesome, and I'm half-tempted to try to find a 1979 copy myself to follow along. But shopping online for specific book editions is so difficult.
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Sep 26, 2015 21:21
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Update 2. Pages 16 to 30. Have the Jap cold between us.: Today we're starting on the third report which is pretty big and will alone take three updates. There is a lot of talking. DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S THIRD REPORT. The guests, with the exception of Lady Welter and the Bishop of Bude, who breakfasted in their respective cabins, assembled for breakfast in the dining saloon between 8.50 and 9.25. As each of them left their cabins these were locked after them and the keys brought to me. They had finished breakfast by 9.50, so I took over a small writing room and proceeded to the examination of all parties, first recalling Mr. Rocksavage. DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF MR. CARLTON ROCKSAVAGE.  : Come in Mr. Rocksavage, come in. I am sorry to upset your trip like this but there are just one or two little things I have got to ask, so that we can clear this matter up. I hope it didn't give you a bad night. : No, thank you. I slept perfectly well. Naturally I was a bit upset at anything like this happening on my yacht and it was a shock for my guests, too, but it wasn't as if Bolitho Blane was a personal friend of mine. As I had never met the man any distress I have been feeling is more general than particular.: Sure, sure. Of course it's not like losing a personal friend. I quite see that. Now, Mr. Rocksavage, I want you to tell me the real reason for this trip.: As I said last night, it's merely a pleasure jaunt, to get a little sunbathing and big-game fishing with a few friends.: Contradiction! What would Inspector Jenks say?: Mr. Bolitho Blane was not a friend of yours, so you say.: Well, it's true I'd never met him, but we corresponded a lot and we happen to be in the same line of business, so I figured this was a good opportunity to make his acquaintance.: Business. Now we're getting somewhere I think. Just what was the business you proposed to transact with Blane on this trip?: It was a pleasure party I tell you.: Now, Mr. Rocksavage, that won't do. I had a talk with Mr. Stodart last night and he seems to have known quite a bit about Blane's affairs, so I think you'd best be open with me.: I see. Stodart let out the fact that Blane and I meant to do a deal if it were possible, did he? Well, that's true.: That's better now. Why didn't you let me in on that the first time?: Well, this is a quite unforeseen and very unfortunate affair. I am sure you will understand that the last thing I want in any undue publicity.: Sure, sure.: As you may know, I'm president of Rocksavage Consolidated, and the man behind its associated companies, which between them control the biggest share of the soap output in the world.It is common knowledge, too, that Bolitho Blane was the big man of the British group, who are our principal competitors. A price war, ruinous to both parties, has been going on for years and I considered that the best thing to do was for Blane and me to get together, see if we couldn't arrange some sort of an amalgamation, and put our concerns on a more solid footing. If anyone had come to know what was in the air the shares of both groups would have gone up like a sky rocket, and neither Blane nor I wanted that. It would have meant such a terrible slump afterwards if we'd failed to make a deal. You'll see, then, it was essential we should meet some place where nobody would get to know about it. I suggested my yacht, and Blane agreed. He was to have joined us before we left New York by sea plane, but he sent a message at the last moment saying that he couldn't make it, and would come aboard at Miami. He came off in a tender just before 7 o'clock last evening and went straight down to his cabin. I have already told you what occurred after that. : Thanks Mr. Rocksavage. That's fine. I can quite understand your not wishing your intended conference with Mr. Blane to get about, owing to its effect on the market. Now, tell me about these other guests of yours. Was it in any sense a pleasure trip, or were all of them concerned in this business with your and Blane?: One or two were here on account of business.: Which were they?: Lady Welter. You'll have heard of her, I expect. She's the widow of the shipping man, Sir David Welter, who made a big pile in the war. He died soon after, but his widow's a wonderful business woman as well, although in many ways she's much more concerned with politics and social good. She runs a group of papers in Great Britain and they cost her a tidy packet I believe, but that's her business. She has an outsize income and so she can afford it. A lot of her money is tied up in my companies. In fact, she is my biggest individual shareholder and I value her opinion, so that's why I asked her to join us for this trip. She's and old friend of mine though and, quite outside any business operations, she's been my guest on this yacht and other places many times before this.: Anyone else?: Well, I suppose you'd include young Reggie Jocelyn. He's her son-in-law, and the old lady thinks a lot of him. Since he married the daughter she runs him around and asks his opinion on most things that she does.: And the Jap?: The book is from before the word became offensive, but give it a few years.: Yes, he's business, too. I've never met him before yesterday, although we've corresponded.: What part does he play?: Well, he's a sort of unofficial representative of the Japanese government, and he's been playing ball with me for some time now on the proposition of our securing a monopoly of the Japanese market for our goods. He was playing ball with Blane, too, I don't doubt, anyhow neither of us had seen our way to close the deal up to date but I figured that, if Blane and I could get together, we'd have the Jap cold between us so we both postponed clinching matters until we'd had out talk. I asked the Jap along so that, if we settled things satisfactorily, we could tackle him together afterwards, and kill two birds at one sitting.: Sounds like an odd guest. Dennis Wheatley was well-known for both detective and spy stories, but I'm not sure soap industry is something of interest to any intelligence.: How about the others.: They're just straight-forward guests who know nothing of the business which Blane and I were proposing to transact.: Thank you Mr. Rocksavage. That makes the situation a whole lot clearer. I am afraid no one must go ashore yet, but I'll be seeing you when I've had a chat with these other people.: There was a document right here, but I'll include it a bit later in the following interview.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF CABIN STEWARD, SILAS RINGBOTTOM. : 'Morning Ringbottom. : Good morning, sir.: Have you been on board this ship long?: Yes sir; ever since Mr. Rocksavage bought her, and before that, too, with the previous owner, Lord Foulkes. I am an ex-navy man and this was my first job on leaving the service.: Good. Well, there are just one or two things I want to ask you about this affair that occurred last night. According to what you told me then, after you had been to Mr. Blane's suite to enquire if he wanted you to unpack, you went straight back to your pantry, id a few odd jobs there, and then read a book until the dinner bugle sounded. Now, is that correct?: Yes sir, that's correct.: You're quite sure you never left that pantry of yours? I'm not trying to pin anything on you, don't think that, but I want you to be quite certain that you're not making any mistakes.: Wait a minute, sir: I did leave it just once, to slip up to the writing room to get some sheets of notepaper for the Japanese gentleman. He's asked for it earlier on, but I found the racks were empty and, as the chief steward had been ashore at Miami, the store room was locked. When the Jap rang for me again later, though, the chief steward was back again in his cabin and he gave me some from the store.: What time was that?: A bit before eight bells sir.: Just before eight o'clock, eh? And, apart from that, you never left your pantry?: No, that's the truth sir.: Who else was on duty at that time?: Only me sir. The other stewards who help with the cabins was at their job of laying up for dinner then; and the stewardess, Maud Briggs, what would have been on duty, went down with shingles two days ago, so she's in the sick bay. Fortunately there's only three ladies aboard, and two of them has their own maids, so they're looking after the other lady between them.: Can you bring anybody to prove that you were in your pantry during all this time?: Well, may be it's lucky for me sir. In the ordinary way I wouldn't be able to, the stewardess being ill, but, as it happens, I can. Syd Jenks, the ship's carpenter, was doing a job of work in the passage way during the whole of that time and we passed the time of day, as you may say, quite frequent, while he was at it. He knows I never left my pantry, except to get the Jap his notepaper, not before the dinner bugle went.: Oh, crap. There is a Jenks on board.: Did it strike you as unusual that Mr. Blane's cabin door was locked when you went to tidy it up?: No sir, not particular. Visitors varies, some's open handed, some's not. Some's suspicious, some's not. Visitors who haven't sailed with us before sometimes locks their cabin doors for the first day or two out, then they don't bother no more. I didn't think nothing of it. I just unlocked the door with my master key and went straight into the room.: Is it me, or is Ringbottom's grammar getting worse with each minute?: That's good. Now, from your pantry you can't see the door of Mr. Blane's suite, can you?: No sir. You see my pantry's an inside cabin, so I can't see round the corner along the passage way. : Here's the document page from earlier. Now we have a plan.: No. That's quite obvious from the ship's plans I've got in front of me. So you wouldn't be able to see if anyone approached Mr. Blane's cabin from the lounge, would you?: No sir.: But you would be able to see anybody who came the other way, from the forward companion-way, which leads to the upper and lower decks, wouldn't you?: I would that sir.: Was your pantry door open during this time?: Yes sir.: Now, think carefully, Ringbottom. Did you see any member of the crew, or any other person, come either up or down the companion-way and pass your door, going in the direction of Mr. Blane's cabin between 7.45 and 8.30 last night?: Only Miss Rocksavage's maid sir, going along to dress her, no one else.: But you would have, if they had?: Yes sir. I couldn't have helped seeing them.: Right, That's all I wanted to know.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF SYD JENKS, SHIP'S CARPENTER. : Good morning Jenks. : Good morning sir.: What do you know about Devil worship? ... I am not doing the portrait.: How long have you been on board this ship?: Just on two years sir. Ever since Captain Derringham took over. Her brought me with him from his previous ship, the Southern Cross.: Right. Now, d'you mind telling me where you were between 7.30 and 8.30 last night.: I was fitting new skirting boards to the stewardess's pantry on A. deck from just before 7.30 sir.: From where you were working could you see the door of Mr. Blane's suite?: No sir. I was working on the starboard side, just across from the for'ard companion-way.: Was the companion-way in your view the whole time?: Yes sir.: Did you see anyone go up or down it during the time you were working there?: Lady Welter's maid went down below just after I set to work.: Just after 7.30, eh?: This : Yes sir. Then Nellie Orde, Miss Rocksavage's maid, came up to dress her mistress much later on, about ten past eight I should say.: Anyone else?: No sir.: Could you see the entrance of the steward's pantry from where you were?: Yes sir. It was just across the companion-way on the portside.: Was anyone there, d 'you know?: Yes sir. The cabin steward, Mr. Ringbottom.: Was he in the pantry the whole time you were at your job?: Yes sir, except when he went to answer the Japanese gentleman's bell, and then off to the chief steward to get some notepaper from him out of the store. He remarked, I remember, about the slackness of the lounge steward in letting it run out in the writing room because someone else had asked for some earlier on in the afternoon, when the chief steward was ashore, and there wasn't none.: What time was that?: I'm afraid I couldn't say sir.: Can you give me any idea.: I'd hardly like to say the time, you see I didn't notice partic'lar, being busy on my job.: Was it before, or after, eight?: Oh, before eight. Maybe about a quarter to, but I wouldn't like to say for certain. Ringbottom was away about five minutes then, but all the rest of the time he was in his pantry because, although we couldn't see each other, every now and then we exchanged remarks.: Did you see anybody else in the passage-way during the time you were working there?: Only the Bishop sir, when he went up. That was at eight o'clock, because I heard the ship's bell strike immediately after.: But various other people must have been coming down from the lounge or going back up to it, during that time.: That's true, of course, but the companion-way to the lounge is way aft, nowhere near where I was. I heard cabin doors shutting now and then, but you see I had my back to the passage-way most of the time and I didn't take much notice what happened behind me, being busy with my job.: What time did you stop work?: Just after the dinner bugle sounded at 8.30.: Right. That's all I want to know. Thank you, Jenks.: You're welcome sir. : I apologize. Now, for two short examinations of people with faces.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF MISS FERRI ROCKSAVAGE.  : I see they didn't let Neame flash her.: Good morning Miss Rocksavage. Come right in. : Good morning.: Come and sit down. There are just a few questions I want to ask about this unfortunate business last night.: Certainly; anything I can do .......: Would you just tell me, Miss Rocksavage, what you were doing, and where you were, from the time the yacht sailed until you went in to dinner.: When the ship left Miami I was sitting on the port deck with Mr. Jocelyn.: Did you see Mr. Blane come aboard?: No. We were on the port side of the ship: that is, we were facing out to sea. We sat there until about 7.15, and then we both went below to our cabins. I got interested in a book, so I was a little late in changing and didn't get up to the lounge until about 8.40. The other guests were all there, except Mr. Bolitho Blane and his secretary, neither of whom I had met, and I was just looking round for my father when the steward came up with a message from him. He said to me, "Mr. Rocksavage says, Miss, would you please take everybody in to dinner. Mr. Blane has had a heart attack, so we are returning to Miami.": And what happened then?: I did as my father had asked me to and I didn't know anything about what really happened until father told us all after we had anchored off Miami again, just a few minutes before the police came on board.: Did you know of any special reason for this trip?: No.: Are you certain of that?: Well, it's just a pleasure trip, like lots of others we've had on this yacht, but as there were several strangers on board I naturally assumed that some big business deal would be discussed during the time were were at sea. Father often uses these trips to entertain people with whom, if he were seen ashore, comment might be aroused which would affect the markets.: I see. Thank you, Miss Rocksavage. That'll be all for the moment.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF THE HONOURABLE REGINALD JOCELYN.  : The embodiment of smug. It's hard not to be with socks like those.: Good morning, Mr. Jocelyn. Now, I'd just like you to tell me anything you can about this unfortunate affair last night. : I'm afraid I can't tell you anything.: Well, let's hear what you were doing between the time of the ship's sailing and your going in to dinner.: When the ship sailed I was sitting on the deck with Miss Rocksavage. We stayed there until the ship was well out to sea and somewhere about 7.30 we went down to our cabins to change for dinner. I came up to the lounge at 8.30 and Mr. Rocksavage arrived soon after. A steward spoke to him and he went below, then a message came up that Mr. Blane was ill, so we were returning to Miami. After that we went in to dinner.: Do you always take an hour to change your clothes?: Sometimes an hour, and sometimes two if I feel like it.: No need to get fresh now. Were you changing all that time?: I don't see what the devil it's got to do with you but, if you must know, I spent a long time lying in my bath.: Thanks. Now, this trip. You were in on the object of it, weren't you?: I don't understand what you mean.: Oh, yes you do. Bolitho Blane and Carlton Rocksavage were using this as a meeting ground to patch up a truce in the commercial war they've been waging.: Oh; that. Yes.: That, yes! And how much more did you know about it?: Nothing, except that Lady Welter, my mother-in-law, has very large holdings in the Rocksavage companies, and that she always likes me to stand by so that I can advise her where her business interests are concerned.: Right. That'll do for the moment, Mr. Jocelyn.: Well, that's enough talking for now. Next time: we hear someone who actually saw Blane come on board.
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Sep 27, 2015 17:36
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Well the only slightly suspicious bit from this exposition that I can see was Rocksavage's maid passing by the pantry and Blane's cabin, seeing how Ferri's cabin is on the other side of the floor.
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Sep 27, 2015 18:24
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And he didn't see Lady Welter's maid, who would have passed by the door. Either the steward or the author seems a bit confused.
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Sep 27, 2015 19:08
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Oh boy, I love mysteries, and this looks really cool. Let's think about these testimonies. I'm wondering about the note with the stock numbers and the scribble on the back. If the working theory is Stodart killed the victim before he even left the cabin, and wrote the note as misdirection, then we need to explain why Ringbottom didn't see it when he first entered the cabin. It's one thing to overlook a piece of paper lying on a table, but it's another entirely to do so if the paper is lying on the floor just inside the door you just opened, which is where it would have been if there hadn't been anyone alive in the cabin to move it. Stodart could easily have prepared a duplicate note and place it on the desk beforehand, but he still needs to get rid of the note the lounge steward pushed under the door somehow. Ringbottom didn't mention Lady Welter's maid because she passed by at 7:30 (according to Jenks's testimony), and Kettering only asked about people passing by between 7:45 and 8:30. Though, actually, according to the diagram, the way the door to the pantry opens, how could Ringbottom see anything in the hallway at all? Edit: I noticed a small discrepancy between Stodart and Rocksavage's testimonies. Stodart claims: "We should have joined the yacht in New York, but Blane jibbed at the last moment from his fear that his life would be in jeopardy, but he pulled himself together a few hours later and I called Mr. Rocksavage for him that we would fly down to join the yacht in Miami." Whereas Rocksavage describes the same circumstances thus: "I suggested my yacht, and Blane agreed. He was to have joined us before we left New York by sea plane, but he sent a message at the last moment saying that he couldn't make it, and would come aboard at Miami." The difference is small, but in Rocksavage's version he receives a single, last-minute message saying they will join up in Miami, whereas Stodart implies Blane only changed his mind again a few hours afterwards. Perhaps one or both are confused or are conflating events, but it is a discrepancy. (Was Blane in fact killed in New York, and never made it to Miami at all?) Edit 2: There is one man yet un-interviewed who must have seen Blane, however: the chief steward, who accompanied the two to their cabin according to Stodart. Edit 3: Why would a suicidal Blane write two notes explaining his reasons? Of course, he probably didn't commit suicide, but someone wrote those notes with a purpose in mind. Hyper Crab Tank fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Sep 27, 2015 |
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Sep 27, 2015 21:08
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I am suspicious of the son in law. He seems like a smug neer do'well.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:43
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Do we have anyone who's actually seen what Blane looks like? My current (albeit pretty much unfounded) theory is that Blane killed his secretary and took his place hoping to ruin his competitor... somehow? Stodart says he was told repeatedly by Blane that if the Argus shares fell then he'd be ruined but Stodart didn't seem to make note of this when marking down the share numbers. pseudo-edit: Ah but if the Chief Stewart saw the two men then he'd know if Blane took Scodart's place. Whelp. Also, this is really cool, I'm very interested to see how this case opens up.
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Sep 28, 2015 04:01
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I like your line of thinking, even if the steward saw two men he would have no way to know which was which. I was going to make a post about motive because I still can't see anyone with a motive to kill Blane. None of the business dealings seem like murder would actually be an advantage, since Argus was going down already, killing Blane is completely unnecessary. There is a hint that Hayashi might not want to be coerced by a joint operation of Argus and Rocksavage but I don't think Hayashi would know it was coming and know to plan a murder. The dropping share prices are obvious and not a secret and it would be easier to assume Argus was going to go bust than to see them as a threatening competitor. Unless I've read it wrong and Hayashi just buys soap from whoever the best supplier is, in which case murder is even more useless. If Blane is the victim we still don't know who benefits most from his death. The picture of "Stodart" stood out to me as the man is quite tall and imposing ie more like a magnate than a secretary. In his statement he might have slipped up and said "I called Rocksavage" whereas Rocksavage believes he was contacted by Blane. In killing Stodart and assuming his identity though what does he actually gain? Perhaps Stodart was never on the boat and Blane is just interested in faking his own death to get away from any debts. Or perhaps there is some scheme to drop the shares really low through the fake death, then reappearing later and getting rich from the boost in share prices. Perhaps in conjunction with someone who is keen to invest, like the shady son in law who was being evasive about his bath time? Until we see a handwriting sample from the guy claiming to be Stodart I'm going to have big doubts about who he is.
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Sep 28, 2015 05:19
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The possibility of the old switcheroo crossed my mind, but it didn't feel like there would be anything to gain from it. I thought that somebody would recognize him sooner or later, but then again this is the 1930's.
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Sep 28, 2015 07:31
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Nidoking posted:Here's what I make of that letter - a few parts are still unclear, but I made sense of most of it. As for the unclear words — It's the 'bear[s]' slamming the stock, and 'publicity' that is loathed. The '___ing out'[?] at the end is pretty. It doesn't match the earlier 'going' but also the writing at that point appears to be more agitated. Could also be 'giving'. Thoughts on the case: If a body can go out a porthole, a body can go in one too. Possibly someone was able to climb down into the room from the side or above. Reggie seems like the type who could kill, and anyone with a financial interest in Rocksavage's company would certainly have reason to want Blane out of the picture. If the claim in the letter has any truth, he could be part of the 'rough crowd'.
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Sep 28, 2015 16:39
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Update 3. Pages 31 to 44. I have a large flock you know.: The interviews continue and today we finally meet everyone who matters on the yacht. DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF THE HONOURABLE MRS. REGINALD JOCELYN.  : Good Morning, Mrs. Jocelyn. Sit down, won't you? : Thank you.: Now, just what can you tell me about this unfortunate affair last night?: Nothing at all, I'm afraid.: It would help me to check up on things if you wouldn't mind giving me your movements from the time the ship sailed until you went in to dinner.: I am afraid that's not going to help you much and, after all, it's quite clear that Mr. Blane took his own life, isn't it?: Sure - sure, Mrs. Jocelyn. It's only a matter of routine procedure that I have to bother everybody like this. Just where did you happen to be when the yacht left Miami?: I was in the lounge with Count Posodini.: Anyone else there?: No, not until Mr. Rocksavage arrived.: What happened then?: We had more drinks and talked for a bit, then Mr. Blane's secretary came in and was introduced to us. There was some talk about his sending a message down to Mr. Blane, and just after that I said that I must go down and change for dinner. Count Posodini said that he thought he would, too, so we went below together.: What time would that be?: About ten minutes to eight.: And then?: I changed and came up to the lounge with my husband again just as the dinner bugle sounded at 8.30. A few minutes later a steward came in and spoke to Mr. Rocksavage, who had just come in, and they both went below together.: Yes, go on please.: I was talking to my mother when a message came up from Mr. Rocksavage that Mr. Blane had had some sort of an attack, and so we were returning to Miami. Ferri Rocksavage said that we had better go in to dinner without her father, so in we went.: Just when did you know the real cause of the trouble?: Not until the yacht was anchored off Miami again. Mr. Rocksavage told us then, and said that the police would be coming on board in a few moments.: Good. Now, did you regard this just as a pleasure trip?: Not altogether. I know that my mother has a big interest in the Rocksavage companies and, as Bolitho Blane was expected to join us at Miami, I thought that there must be something in the wind. Anyone would, who knew that Blane and Rocksavage were the two soap kings, but I wasn't particularly interested, because it's not really anything to do with me.: Your husband advises your mother, though, where her financial interests are concerned, doesn't he?: Yes, but we go about with mother quite a lot on social parties, where no business comes under discussion at all.: Thank you, Mrs. Jocelyn, that'll do for the present.: She seems nice. Now comes the mother.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF LADY WELTER.  : Why did they pin the photo to a leather couch?: Good morning, Lady Welter. Take a chair, please. : Thank you, I prefer to stand.: Just as you wish, lady.: What is it you wish to see me about?: Isn't it rather obvious? You know that I'm the officer in charge of the investigation of Mr. Bolitho Blane's death.: And what has that to do with me?: Nothing - nothing, as far as I know, Lady Welter, but this is just a matter of routine and you won't mind answering a few questions, I'm sure.: That all depends on the questions, young man.: Well, they're quite simple. It's just a matter of routine checking up, and I'd like you to tell me just what your movements were between the time of the yacht sailing from Miami and your going in to dinner last night.: Are you accusing me .......: Now, now, have a heart, please. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but it's my duty to get all these details which may seem stupid to you. Where were you when the ship sailed?: I was on the deck talking to the Bishop of Bude.: Whereabouts on deck?: By the rail. I was leaning on it, if you must now.: Yes, but in what part of of the ship?: I was facing the land.: You saw the tender come off then?: I did and the Bishop said to me, "That's Mr. Bolitho Blane," as the two men came up the gangway in to the middle of the ship.: The Bishop knew Blane by sight, then?: I don't know. I suppose so.: Right, what happened after that?: The Bishop and I went down to our cabins. When I came up to the lounge I found Mr. Rocksavage with Mr. Blane's secretary and the Bishop. The secretary was introduced to me and we sat there until Mr. Rocksavage left.: What time was that?: I really haven't the faintest idea. What has all this to do .......: Patience, please. What happened after Mr. Rocksavage left the lounge?: If you must know, the Japanese gentleman came in and then my daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Jocelyn. After the dinner bugle sounded Mr. Rocksavage came in, too, but he went downstairs almost at once and some message came up that Mr. Blane was ill. so that we were to go in to dinner without waiting any longer.: Am I right in believing that you hold a large block of shares in the Rocksavage companies?: That, young man, is nothing whatsoever to do with you.: Did you come on this trip for pleasure?: For my own reasons. This discussion is quite pointless.: All right, all right. I won't trouble you any more now, Lady Welter, but maybe we'll have one of these jolly little discussions together again, a little later on.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF THE VERY REVEREND DR. STAPELETON THOMAS, D.D., THE LORD BISHOP OF BUDE.  : Erm... Who took this photo? The Holy Spirit?: Good morning, Bishop. : Good morning - good morning. This is a very distressing affair - very distressing.: It certainly is, and I am sure you will forgive me bothering you, but I have got to ask you just a few questions, so that I can check up on the events last night.: Of course. I am the last person to wish to obstruct you in your duties, officer. Any information I can give is entirely as your service.: That's nice of you, Bishop. I only wish that all the people I've had to question looked at things like that. Now, perhaps you'll just tell me what were you doing between the time of the ship sailing and going in to dinner last night.: I was standing by the after-rail on the starboard side of the ship, with Lady Welter, when we left Miami.: You saw Blane and his secretary come aboard, then?: Yes.: You are quite certain that it was Blane?: Oh, yes. I remarked to Lady Welter at the time how very much older he was looking.: You knew him before then?: I would hardly say that I knew him, but we met once about seven years ago. He was staying in an English country house where I also chanced to be a guest.: What happened after that?: Lady Welter and I went below shortly after the ship sailed. I changed for dinner and came up to the lounge at 8 o'clock. I can state the time with certainty as the ship's bell was sounded just as I went up the companion-way. My host, Mr. Rocksavage, was there with Mr. Stodart. A few minutes after that Lady Welter came in and then Mr. Rocksavage went below to change, remarking as he did so that he had left it very late and, if he were not up on time, we were to go in to dinner without him.Lady Welter and I talked with Mr. Stodart for a time, and then a Japanese gentleman, who had come aboard in the afternoon, joined us. Mr. and Mrs. Jocelyn came in next - no, no, I'm wrong there - Count Posodini arrived after the Japanese, then the Jocelyns, just before the dinner bugle sounded. Mr. Rocksavage was a little late and had no sooner arrived in the lounge than he was sent for to go below. We stood about for a few minutes, and then Miss Rocksavage came in. Soon after she received a message from her father that Mr. Blane had been taken ill, so that the yacht was returning to Miami, and that we were to go in to dinner without waiting any longer. : If I have to type another one of "going in to dinner", I'm going to punch my keyboard.: Thanks, Bishop. That's all nice and clear. Now, what can you tell me about the objects of this party?: Well, it's just a pleasure trip, you know. I had hoped that it would be a most pleasant relaxation from my arduous duties. I have a large flock you know - a large flock.: But you were aware, surely, that Lady Welter is a very rich woman and a considerable portion of her fortune is invested in the Rocksavage companies?: Yes, I was aware of that. Lady Welter is a very old friend of mine - one of my oldest and, you will not misunderstand me when I say, one of my dearest friends. Those papers that she controls at home wield an enormous influence for good, and it has been my privilege on many occasions to advise her on questions of policy for these papers.: She might well have consulted you then if the money which supports those papers was in jeopardy?: Yes, she certainly might have done so as an old friend, you know - a very old friend.: But you didn't actually know that this trip was cover for a big business deal in which Rocksavage, Bolitho Blane and Lady Welter were concerned?: No. I was not actually aware of that.: And, although you had known Blane previously, you did not have any communication with him while he was on board this ship?(AT THIS POINT STODART, WHOM WE HAD SENT FOR EARLIER FOR THE PURPOSE OF GETTING A FLASH PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM, CAME INTO THE CABIN. I SNAPPED HIM AS HE ENTERED. WE THEN SAW THAT THE BISHOP HAD COLLAPSED IN HIS CHAIR. AFTER A MOMENT HE CAME ROUND OUT OF HIS FAINT, APLOLOGISED AND MENTIONED THAT HE HAD HAD NO BREAKFAST, ALSO THAT HE SUFFERED FROM HIS HEART. DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING, HAVING CONCLUDED HIS EXAMINATION, HE ALLOWED THE BISHOP TO WITHDRAW IN STODART'S COMPANY.) : Huh. That's one way to exit a conversation. I wonder, if bishops boast the size of their flock to each other.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF MR. INOSUKE HAYASHI.  : A human from pre-anime Japan.: Good morning Mr. Hayashi. Just sit down and answer a few questions, will you? : Certainly.: Will you give me your movements please from the time you came on board this yacht until you went in to dinner last night.: *THUD* Ow!: Oh yes. I came on board from a launch at 4.30 yesterday afternoon. After visiting my cabin I had tea with my host and some of the other guests. About ten past six I went down to my cabin again to do some work, and remained there until after I had changed for dinner.At 8.15 I came into the lounge, where I found the Bishop and Lady Welter, whom I had met at tea. The latter introduced me to Mr. Stodart whom I have not seen before. (FROM THIS POINT INOSUKE HAYASHI'S STATEMENT CONFIRMS THAT OF THE OTHERS.) : Thank you, Neame, for sparing us another retelling of the same event.: Now, I'd like to know the reason for your coming on this trip.: At the invitation of Mr. Rocksavage. We are business friends - it is nice to meet each other - and enjoy the pleasures of such excellent company upon his very beautiful yacht.: Now, that won't do, and the sooner you come clean with me the better. This pleasure trip was a blind to cover a big business deal between Rocksavage and Blane. You're going to tell me just what part you were going to play in that.: I tell you anything you like. When I say that it is a pleasure trip I speak truthfully, but I have already said that I was a business friend of Mr. Rocksavage, too. When business men are together, even for pleasure, their conversation is of their business also, most of the time, and I have frequently observed.: You knew, then, that business would come under discussion?: Certainly I knew that.: Well, let's hear the part you were going to play in it.: I have the honour to act for the Shikoku Products Company, which is associated with my government. Shikoku handles various commercial concessions for the Ministry of the Interior and one of these has to do with the supply of soap to the armed forces and also civil services of Japan. This monopoly is of considerable value and Shikoku hoped to raise a loan of ten to twelve mission dollars on it. Also, this monopoly would have considerable value for whatever company acquired it since, if they wished, they could float a subsidiary company upon the prospective profits which the monopoly will bring and thus attract considerable new public money to their business.: And you were about to sell this monopoly to either Rocksavage or Blane?: That is so. I have been negotiating by correspondence with both for some time. A fortnight ago, however, Mr. Rocksavage cabled me that negotiations could go no further until after a conference he proposed to hold on this date. He suggested that I should join the party and said that, if I did so, he had every reason to believe that the affair might be concluded to the satisfaction of all concerned. I sailed from San Francisco to Panama and from there I came overland to join his yacht at Miami.: I see. That will do.: Now, for the second best character of the day, after the incredible fainting bishop.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF COUNT POSODINI.  : Looks more like a Mario to me. At least it's not one of the later crime dossiers where Wheatley and Links themselves had to pose for photos of suspects. : Hello! Hello! Has this writing room been converted into a photographic studio overnight?: No. Come in, Count. It's just that we're taking a flash of all the guests on board before we examine them. Matter of routine, that's all. Sit down, will you? There are just a few questions I'd like to ask you about this unfortunate affair last night.: Fire away, friend, fire away!: From your name I had imagined you to be an Italian, but you talk like an American.: This book was written by a Brit.: I am an Italian, but I have lived in the States nearly all my life. My mother was an American and she had the money so, although I still have the old place in Italy, I regard New York as home.: I see. Now, would you mind telling me what your movements were from the time the yacht sailed till you went in to dinner last night.: There's no mystery about that. I was having a drink in the lounge with Mrs. Jocelyn when the engines started to turn over. A few moments later Mr. Rocksavage joined us. We had another spot with him and then Blane's secretary, a chap called Stodart, came in and made himself known to us. We had another round of drinks to keep him company while he was taking some notes of share prices off the board for his boss. The lounge steward took those down to Blane's cabin for him and came up to say that he couldn't get any answer to his knock, so Stodart told him to take them down again and push them under the cabin door.Just after that I said I thought it was about time to go below and change. : Can you tell me what time that would have been?: About a quarter of eight. Mrs. Jocelyn said she thought she would go down, too, so we went down together, after which I went straight to my cabin.I came up to the lounge again about 8.25, and when the dinner bugle sounded most of the guests were assembled there. (FROM THIS POINT COUNT POSODINI'S STATEMENT CONFIRMS THAT OF THE OTHERS.) : Now, Count, what d'you know about the real motive for this party?: Real motive? There's only one as far as I know - stealing a little summer down in these waters before New York becomes livable again. I'm just mad about sunshine, but maybe that's my Italian blood.: D'you mean to tell me you had no idea that an amalgamation between the big soap interests was to be negotiated during this trip?: That's news to me. The only thing that I know about soap is that it's useful to wash with.: How long have you known Mr. Rocksavage?: Just three and a half days.: You'd never met him, then, before you came on board at New York?: No sir.: How long have you known Bolitho Blane?: I'd never met him, either. I'd heard of him, of course, as a big financier, but I didn't even know that he was interested in soap.: All right. What about the Jap, Inosuke Hayashi? How long have you known him?: The same applies. I didn't even know of his existence before he came on board yesterday afternoon.: But if you've never had any dealings with any of these people can you give me a satisfactory explanation as to why Rocksavage invited you to join this outfit?: He didn't. It was Reggie Jocelyn who asked me if I'd like to come along for a few days' sunshine and big-game fishing.: How long have you known Jocelyn?: I met him coming over in the Normandie, and later developed the acquaintance in New York. His wife is Lady Welter's daughter and I gather that Lady Welter is a very old friend of Mr. Rocksavage. In fact, although Miss Rocksavage is nominally hostess here, Lady Welter gave me the impression that she was running the party and, as the invitation came from her son-in-law, I didn't hesitate to accept it.: Thank you, Count. That'll do for the present.: Indeed, that will do. Next time: Kettering compiles a time table and searches the cabins.
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Sep 28, 2015 17:36
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The incredible fainting bishop is very interesting. My mind immediately leaps to the old switcheroo again - in other words, the man who showed up to be photographed, the man Kettering believes to be Stodart, is actually Blane, who has killed his secretary and assumed his identity. Naturally, seeing the dead walk would be quite a shock to the bishop, who is the only one so far who actually knows what Blane looks like. This, however, brings to question who the guests were talking to at dinner. Several people made reference to "Mr. Stodart" - but none of them actually describe him. It could have been Blane in the lounge all along, except for the fact that the bishop also identified the man he was having drinks with as "Mr. Stodart". Unless, of course, it really was the real Stodart who was in the lounge having drinks before dinner, and the switcheroo only occurred afterwards... but I can't reconcile this with the events as we know them to have transpired so far. The man calling himself Stodart was in the lounge in the company of other dinner guests right up until Ringbottom came up with the note, upon which both of them went back into the cabin. Furthermore, Rocksavage would have clearly seen through the switch. Of course, Rocksavage may be in on it - he's the one who most stands to gain from Blane's death, after all - but unless he could also rope a mere cabin steward into being accessory to this convoluted murder, I'm having trouble making that fit. The only way I can make this theory work is if Blane hid in his room as Ringbottom and the real Stodart entered, waited for Ringbottom to leave, then killed Stodart and chucked him out the porthole before waiting for Rocksavage to arrive. This would mean only Rocksavage would have to be in on the deed, and if it was planned beforehand, then Rocksavage sending Ringbottom to fetch the captain (thus preventing him from also noticing the switch) would also be a part of the plan. ... of course, this opens the question of why in the world Blane would want to fake his own suicide. ... or why anyone would choose to kill in this manner, given that an askew glance from the wrong person would instantly mean the jig is up. Hyper Crab Tank fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Sep 28, 2015 |
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Sep 28, 2015 18:18
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I love this idea of this thread. I played a game like this once at a tabletop con, one designed for a dinner party game. Anyway, I went through everyone's statements and assembled a timeline of events, along with who reported/confirmed each one. BB: Bolitho Blane CD: Captain Derringham CR: Carlton Rocksavage FR: Ferri Rocksavage IH: Inosuke Hayashi LP: Luigi Posodini LW: Lady Welter MJ: Mrs. Jocelyn NS: Nicholas Stodart SJ: Syd Jenks SR: Silas Ringbottom ST: Stapleton Thomas Evening Timeline 2:35 PM (CD): Golden Gull arrives at Miami. 4:30 PM (CD, CR): Inosuke boards the Golden Gull. CR didn't give an exact time. 6:55 PM (CD, CR, NS): Bolitho and Nicholas board the Golden Gull. 7:05 PM (CD, CR, FR, RJ, MJ, LW, ST, IH): Golden Gull leaves Miami Beach. CR didn't see BB or NS this time. RJ and FR are together. MJ is with LP. ST is with LW, they saw BB and NS board. 7:08 PM (LW, ST): LW and ST return to their cabins. Time estimated. 7:10 PM (NS, SR): NS and BB in suite. SR offers to help unpack, but is declined. SR only saw NS. 7:15 PM (NS): BB tells NS he won't be going to dinner. Time estimated. 7:15 PM (FR, RJ): RJ and FR retreat to cabins. RJ put this at 7:30. FR doesn't emerge until 8:40, RJ 8:30. 7:20 PM (SJ): SJ begins work on Stewardess's Pantry. Time estimated. 7:25 PM (CR, NS): NS introduces himself to CR, asks to excuse BB from dinner. CR introduces NS to MJ and LP. 7:35 PM (SJ): LW's maid passes by SJ. 7:40 PM (CR, NS, MJ): 7:45 PM (SR, SJ): SR gets some notebook paper for IH. From now to 8:30, SR claims the only person who passes the pantry door in the direction of BB's cabin is FR's maid. 7:45 PM (NS, MJ, LP): MJ and LP leave, NS and CR continue talking. Time provided by LP. 8:00 PM (SR): SR sits down to read in the pantry for half an hour. Claims SJ can verify this. 8:00 PM (SJ, ST): ST leaves for the lounge. 8:10 PM (SJ): FR's maid passes by SJ. 8:10 PM (NS, LW, ST): ST and LW join NS's group. CR says he must change, and leaves the others to go to dinner without him. 8:15 PM (NS, LW, ST, IH): IH join NS's group. 8:25 PM (NS, LW, ST, LP): LP joins NS's group. 8:30 PM (NS, SR, MJ, LW, ST): Dinner Bell. MJ and RJ join NS's group. SR calls NS to BB's cabin. SJ stops work. 8:35 PM (CR, RJ, LW, ST): Everyone present for dinner other than BB and NS. SR calls CR to BB's cabin. "A little after 8:30", time approximate. 8:38 PM (CD): Carlton calls Derringham to Bolitho's suite, finds suicide note. 8:40 PM (FR, RJ): SR reports that BB is ill and ship is going back to Miami. 8:45 PM (CD): Derringham orders ship back to port. Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Sep 28, 2015 |
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Sep 28, 2015 19:39
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ProfessorProf posted:7:40 PM (CR, NS, MJ): SR reports stock prices to BB's suite, but finds the door locked. This wasn't Ringbottom - it was the unnamed lounge steward who took the note down to the cabin. Ringbottom, the cabin steward, was in the pantry at the time.
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Sep 28, 2015 20:02
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Hyper Crab Tank posted:This wasn't Ringbottom - it was the unnamed lounge steward who took the note down to the cabin. Ringbottom, the cabin steward, was in the pantry at the time. Updated.
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Sep 28, 2015 20:03
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If I'd met someone once, seven years ago, I doubt I'd recognise them again! But a bishop is probably more of a people person than me. If the bishop saw the dead walk, as was suggested, why would he hold his tongue to the authorities? The fainting bishop is very interesting indeed. He was also the least rude or evasive apart from the Italian. I'm kind of interested in a summary of not what everyone said, but how they said it as some people were more evasive than others. Alas, bedtime for me.
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Sep 28, 2015 20:05
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The report indicates Stodart immediately escorted the bishop out after he came to. If that theory is correct, we might expect to see some kind of horrible accident - a heart attack, perhaps - befall the poor bishop in the near future, before he has a chance to properly report what he saw...
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Sep 28, 2015 20:10
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Or perhaps the bishop is in on it, and faked a fainting spell to distract the detective at a critical moment.
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Sep 28, 2015 21:08
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Irritatingly that Bishop has both given me reasons for and against my theory of Blane taking Stodart's place. On the one hand the Bishop has met Blane before, albeit 7 years ago. But on the other his memory seems ever so slightly suspect as he seemed to forget who joined his little discussion, forgetting about Count Posodini. The fainting spell really makes me want to think he recognised Blane when "Stodart" walked in on the interview. Also there is a certain ambiguity in Lady Welter's description of the Bishop seeing Blane, saying "There's Blane" when the two of them arrive without specifically pointing out which was which.
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Sep 28, 2015 21:39
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Ghosts Love Wubs posted:Also there is a certain ambiguity in Lady Welter's description of the Bishop seeing Blane, saying "There's Blane" when the two of them arrive without specifically pointing out which was which. It's definitely hanging over the game, but there was absolutely no need for him to indicate which is which. The other person was merely a secretary. It'd more remarkable if he had specifically pointed out Blane.
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Sep 28, 2015 22:08
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Yeah, I doubt there was any confusion about who the Bishop meant, especially since he remarked Blane was looking "very much older" than he remembered. If Stodart is Blane, then judging by that picture he must have looked pretty young seven years ago.Stoca Zola posted:If I'd met someone once, seven years ago, I doubt I'd recognise them again! Well, if the Bishop knew that a person he had met before was coming on board in Miami, then it probably wasn't all that difficult to recognize which one it was, even if he had remembered his face only faintly.
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Sep 28, 2015 22:49
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Very interesting. The least likely murderer on the sketchy evidence so far seems to be the Italian, so it's probably him. Well, assuming that Blane is actually dead, and not gypsy-switching. Lady Battleaxe is way too grumpy and defensive, the Rockhearts too obvious, Hayashi, I'd imagine, too sinister in the '30s, and the Bishop's fainting spell too odd. Of course, having said all that, there _is_ a Jenks on board...
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Sep 29, 2015 14:16
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Ghostwoods posted:Very interesting. The least likely murderer on the sketchy evidence so far seems to be the Italian, so it's probably him. Well, assuming that Blane is actually dead, and not gypsy-switching. Lady Battleaxe is way too grumpy and defensive, the Rockhearts too obvious, Hayashi, I'd imagine, too sinister in the '30s, and the Bishop's fainting spell too odd. The secretary switch is looking too obvious at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if the current "murder" is a complete fabrication (both Blane and his accomplice are currently alive) and there's another, actual murder that occurs during the investigation. (Probably of Blane, since the answer flap specifies him.)
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Sep 29, 2015 14:51
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Gabriel Pope posted:The secretary switch is looking too obvious at this point. I find it amusing that a theory involving a complicated identity switch for the purpose of faking your own suicide by killing someone else is "too obvious". I mean, there are a whole lot of gaps in any theory anyway, since we haven't seen all the evidence yet. Notably, we're missing anyone with a clear motive to kill Blane in the first place. Even the one who stands to gain the most from his death, i.e. Rocksavage, was already winning the business war since Argus Suds had dropped so low and everyone involved was making it sound like it would just be a matter of time before it was going bankrupt entirely. And I can't imagine any reason why Blane would fake his own death, either. Nor why Stodart would kill his employer. Again, what do any of these people stand to gain that's valuable enough that they'd go as far as murder? We also have no murder weapon and thus no real forensic evidence. Several people had the opportunity to commit the deed, but we have no conclusive proof either way. If Blane was indeed killed sitting at his table, then either he knew the killer and let them into his cabin, or the killer must've had a key. It's not entirely clear to me what way all the doors seen in the photos face, nor where the table is in the cabin exactly...
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Sep 29, 2015 15:04
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There's some information I'm hoping comes out, like the actual listing of the stock prices as they were displayed in the yacht to compare with the note. I mean, as far-fetched as theories go, I really wanted to see if maybe there was an actual attempt to drive Blane to suicide via misinformation of his company's stock values, if only to goad him into creating sufficient signs of a suicide (such as the panicked writing on the reverse) to incite doubt thereof once the cover up attempt of the murder ensued.
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Sep 29, 2015 15:25
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On the topic of the writing on the back of the notebook page, there's still something wrong about all that... why would Blane, after hearing about the stock, write that note on the back only to then write another, lengthier message saying close to the same thing? Furthermore, "the game is up" is a potentially ambiguous statement. We only have Stodart's testimony on which to base the interpretation that it refers to 40 being the breaking point below which the stock was unrescuable. Maybe that's not at all what Blane meant. The handwriting on the back of the notebook page seems to match the handwriting on the suicide note. But we also know, or at least suspect, that Blane was killed by someone else, as evidenced by the blood on the carpet and drapes. Whence, then, the suicide note? Did Blane write it intending to kill himself after all, but someone beat him to the punch? Was he coerced into writing it? Is it a forgery altogether? Was neither note written by Blane?
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Sep 29, 2015 15:35
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Hyper Crab Tank posted:If Blane was indeed killed sitting at his table, then either he knew the killer and let them into his cabin, or the killer must've had a key. It's not entirely clear to me what way all the doors seen in the photos face, nor where the table is in the cabin exactly...  It had to have happened quietly if it happened in the room, since the Steward was right there! The table was in front of a window and the only place that makes sense for there to be a window is the wall of the drawing room that I drew a box around. His back would be to the door assuming someone sneaked up on him. So he could have been coshed and tossed, and somehow no mess made of the table, and the perpetrator had time to clean up after themselves. Wait, where was the wet spot on the carpet again? I'm going to go back and read to find out.  Okay here's a quick sketch of the rooms as they are laid out from the photos. The bathtub is on the wrong side than is indicated in the plans and I'm not sure where the door between the drawing room and the bedroom is. Something that stood out to me is that there is no chair at that desk so he would have been standing at it. The drag lines go AWAY from the desk, to my eye. The marks start wide, as you'd expect from a standing man, then draw together as you'd expect limp legs would. Looks like the body (dead, or unconscious) was stuffed behind the sofa, perhaps temporarily. Also, sorry I had to rotate the rooms, I'm one of those people who has to turn a map upside down and around or I can't follow it. Stoca Zola fucked around with this message at 16:45 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 16:20
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See, that door is what I can't fit in there. It's clearly not in the corner next to the other door, as we can see the corner in one of the photos. If it's further up on that wall, then it's behind the sofa, which is pushed right up against the wall, rendering it inaccessible. Alternately, we can assume the desk is against some wall other than the one facing out the ship, but then that means the drawing room has two windows/portholes, and one of them is facing either into one of the bedrooms or into the corridor, which makes no sense either. I'm trying to figure out which way Blane would have been standing when he was killed. The spot of blood is by what Kettering calls the "table end", but since he consistently uses the word "writing table" rather than "desk" (I suppose that was more common in 1936), I'm still not sure where the blood was.
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Sep 29, 2015 17:32
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Update 4. Pages 45 to 58. No Ordinary Virgin.: The end of the third report is nigh. We're almost done with the interviews. DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S EXAMINATION OF THE LOUNGE STEWARD, JACK CANE. : Come in, Cane. I just want to ask you a few questions about what occurred last night. : Yes sir.: How long have you been in the employ of Mr. Rocksavage?: A year and three months sir.: What were you doing before that?: I was third barman at Biltmore in New York. I did eighteen months there and before that I was at the Sporting Club in Havana, doing lounge waiter.: That's all right; now, I want you to tell me all that you can remember about which guests came and went from the lounge from the time of the ship's sailing until they went in to dinner last night.(CANE'S STATEMENT CONFIRMS THE TIMES OF ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF THE GUESTS FROM THE LOUNGE, AS GIVEN BY THEMSELVES BETWEEN THE TIME OF SAILING AT 7.5. AND THEIR GOING IN TO DINNER AT 8.40.) : Were you in the lounge the whole of that time?: Yes, I was there the whole time, sir, as they kept me pretty busy mixing drinks, except, of course, for two brief absences between 7.40 and 7.45. Mr. Stodart took down some figures from the notice board in his pocket book, tore out the leaf and asked me to take it down to Mr. Blane's cabin. I knocked and there was no reply, so I took it up again, and then Mr. Stodart remarked that Mr. Blane was probably in his bath, so he sent me down with it again and told me to slip it under Mr. Blane's door which I did.: That'll do. You can go now.: To sum it up, the entire chat confirms what we already know. The last one is no better.DETECTIVE OFFICER NEAME'S SHORTHAND NOTES OF DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S SECOND EXAMINATION OF THE HONOURABLE REGINALD JOCELYN. : Sorry to bother you again Mr. Jocelyn, but I understand that Count Posodini joined this party at your invitation.: Yes, that's right.: Now, what part does he play in this business deal which Rocksavage, Blane and the Jap contemplated putting through?: None at all. He doesn't know anything about it.: Why did you ask him then?: Because he's a nice fellow and I thought it would give the gathering more the appearance of a pleasure trip to have someone there who didn't know anything about the business which was contemplated.: I see. How long have you known him?: About five weeks. I met him coming over in the Normandie.: Thanks Mr. Jocelyn. That's all for the moment.: Now we can look at the big picture.DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S THIRD REPORT, CONTINUED. From the foregoing statements it is obvious that, as we have a note in Blane's own hand, scribbled on the back of the leaf torn from Stodart's pocket book with the share quotations on it, which was sent down to him at 7.45, he must still have been alive at that time. The steward, Ringbottom, entered his cabin at 8.30 and discovered him to be missing. Therefore, Bolitho Blane must have been murdered between 7.45 and 8.30. The situation of the cabin steward's pantry and Ringbottom's statement, backed my that of the carpenter, Jenks, rules out the possibility of the crime having been committed by any member of the crew and we must, therefore, assume that the guilty party is either Carlton Rocksavage or on of his guests. After I had questioned Count Posodini, Detective Officer Neame told me that he felt certain that this man's face was familiar to him, and that we had him on our criminal records. Every effort should, therefore, be made to obtain full particulars regarding him at once. Having taken statements from all the guests and the only members of the crew who might possibly have been concerned in the affair I proceeded to analyse their statements with a view to seeing how far they vouch for each other, and the limited time in each case, when they were on their own, during the period 7.45-8.30, during which the murder must have been committed. : I don't feel like copying the lists. Have some photos.  DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S THIRD REPORT, CONTINUED. The foregoing tables rule out the lounge steward, Cane, as he was only absent from the lounge for two periods of two minutes each during the time under review, and in each of these has to go down to Blane's cabin and come up again, and so he could not possibly have had time to perpetrate the crime in either. The only other person who is entirely ruled out is the secretary, Nicholas Stodart, as he was in the lounge during the whole period under review. Rocksavage and all his other guests were, however, absent from the lounge for periods from 15 to 45 minutes between 7.45 and 8.30, during which they might have committed the murder. I then proceeded to make an analysis of possible motives. POSSIBLE MOTIVES Mrs. Jocelyn. Nil, as far as is known at the moment. Count Posodini. Nil, as far as is known at the moment. Mr. Rocksavage. Blane's death will send the shares of the Blane companies down to zero and, in their present precarious state, possibly cause them to crash altogether. That would suit Rocksavage's book far better than the proposed amalgamation. Blane also stated his fear that Rocksavage might attempt his life, before he died. Motive in Rocksavage's case, is therefore, strong. The Bishop of Bude. Nil, as far as is known at the moment. Lady Welter. As the largest holder in the Rocksavage companies she stands to benefit by Blane's death. She may have other assets outside the Rocksavage companies, however, so, although there is motive, in her case it is weak. Mr. Hayashi. Nil, as far as is known at the moment but, as he is concerned in the world soap interest, he may well have a motive which has not yet come to light. Mr. Jocelyn. Nil, as far as is known at the moment but, as a dependent of Lady Welter, his interest marches with hers, so it is possible that he might have acted at her instigation. Miss Rocksavage. Nil, as far as is known at the moment. Having analysed the information gained from the first statements, as above, I then went below to examine the dead man's property, an inventory of which follows:  : >take all_Oh, wait. Wrong kind of interactive fiction. ... >wear panama_  : Nice one, Dennis. 'No Ordinary Virgin' by Eve Chaucer is a real book. Eve Chaucer's real name was Joan Wheatley, she was Dennis Wheatley second, and ultimate, wife. Don't know why she bothered with a pseudonym since her books always seem to have (Mrs. Dennis Wheatley) on the title page. As I understand, Joan did take part in one of these dossiers: in a post-modern feat of breaking the fourth wall the second one starts with the Wheatleys and Links discussing the upcoming case.: Here she is: : Dennis was her third husband. Joan was a widow with a kid when they met, and there were another four from her first marriage. No ordinary virgin. Anyway, back to S.S. Mother Goose. DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S THIRD REPORT, CONTINUED. The last item on the inventory is of considerable interest as it comes from the Japanese, Inosuke Hayashi. It is on a yacht postcard and, therefore, written after Hayashi's arrival on board. Presumably is was delivered to Blane some time between his arrival on the yacht at 7.5 and his death, which is known to have occurred between 7.45 and 8.30. Postcard herewith.  : What I can make out here is that Hayashi wanted to meet Blane and waited in his own room until 8 expecting a reply. Sorta.Gabriel Pope posted:Dear Mr Blane DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S THIRD REPORT, CONTINUED. With the assistance of Detective Officer Neame I then searched the cabins of all parties concerned. As the parties had slept in them on the previous night they had ample opportunity to destroy any incriminating evidence. However, as Blane's death was assumed to be suicide until early this morning, none of the innocent parties is likely to have taken any special precautions and, as in a case such as this, nearly everybody has some private peccadillo to conceal I was in hopes that we might still unearth some useful information which would eventually lead us to the murderer. On my instructions to the Captain the whole party were informed, immediately each of them left their cabins this morning, that they were not to return to them until they received permission. None of the cabins had, therefore, been cleaned or tidied and each was locked after its occupant had gone up to breakfast. The contents of the wastepaper baskets in each cabin, which had not been cleared since the previous morning, were removed and as a matter of routine their contents are being catalogued. The search revealed items of interests in two cases only: - Count Posodini - among the Count's belongings were found eight packs of specially prepared cards, two sets of loaded dice and an automatic Mouser .22 pistol with a silencer attached, one spare clip and 44 rounds of ammunition. It will be recalled that, upon the Count's examination by me this morning, Detective Officer Neame remarked that he felt certain this man's face was familiar to him, and that we have him on our records. The items above mentioned, having been discovered in his possession, give considerable colour to Detective Officer Neame's suggestion and every effort should be made to trace up particulars of this man at once. : Oh, come on. It's obvious Luigi is trying to make live-action Wolfenstein RPG/TCG a thing.The Bishop of Bude. In a square black portable writing case belonging to the Bishop I found a letter which was evidently written and despatched by Bolitho Blane from New York and received by the Bishop in the post delivered to the yacht on her arrival off Miami yesterday. Letter herewith.  : I like the concept of a handwritten note as evidence but not in a doctor's hand. As far as I can tell, in the first paragraph Blane is surprised to learn the Bishop is on board, in the second he stresses what good friends they are, and in the third he says some strange things might happen on the yacht at sea, so the bishop should remember what good friends they are.Hyper Crab Tank posted:Ohoho. That letter from Blane to the bishop is very interesting, and seems to add some weight to the switcheroo theory. Here's what it looks like to me: DETECTIVE OFFICER KETTERING'S THIRD REPORT, CONTINUED. I then examined the ship's officers, Dr, Ackland, Mr. Rocksavage's personal physician, who messes with the officers, and all members of the crew. I am satisfied none of them could have had any connection with the crime and take it you will not require detailed reasons for my conclusions. As my examinations and listing of Blane's effects had occupied me all the morning, and a thorough search of the cabins of all parties some six hours, being completed a little after 8 o'clock, I decided to postpone any further examination of the parties until to-morrow morning, by which time it is to be hoped that further information about them from outside would be at hand. 8.25 p.m. 9:3.36 on S.Y. Golden Gull. : Phew. I'll take a short break and start on the fourth report, which will take four updates on account of it being spread over 50 pages. There's is also a pile of documents, including the Count's background.
SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 17:36
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Ohoho. That letter from Blane to the bishop is very interesting, and seems to add some weight to the switcheroo theory. Here's what it looks like to me:quote:My dear Bishop, If the letter is to be believed, the two were more than just passing acquaintances that happened to share lodgings seven years ago; the letter makes them out to be quite good friends indeed. Blane seems to warn the bishop that strange things are going to happen and seems to urge him to remember that they are friends, i.e. that Blane should be trusted in whatever he's doing. This fits very well with the theory that the "Stodart" who came to be photographed was indeed actually Blane, and explains why the bishop is staying mum about this fact. e: Hayashi's letter reads: quote:Dear Mr. Blane, Again, very vague language. Blane has clearly told Hayashi about something that shocked and upset the latter, who wishes to dissuade Blane from going through with whatever it is he's planned. If Blane was indeed planning to fake his own suicide, I don't see why he would tell Hayashi. Likewise I don't see why he would tell him if he was actually contemplating suicide. Did he let it slip that he and Rocksavage were planning to conglomerate? Hyper Crab Tank fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 18:09
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SelenicMartian posted:
Dear Mr Blane Needless to say I was very shocked to receive your letter while I was in New York. You have certainly overlooked some considerations which are from your point of view extremely important. And quite apart from my own interests in the matter I consider it highly desirable that you should know the consequences to you of the action you contemplate before confirming with Mr. Rocksavage. I shall be in my room until eight o'clock, but would prefer to discuss the matter in your room. Please, therefore, let me know at what time I may visit you. Yours Truly, Some Weird Jap
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Sep 29, 2015 18:10
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