BRIAN DENNIS: WARM-UP

[Cavenglok]

Hello, Internet. Brian Dennis veterans, welcome back. Newcomers, nice to meet you. A long time ago, I hosted a mystery create-your-own-adventure type of thing called "Brian Dennis." It's back again, and just to see if it'll work out after all this time, I'm doing a warm-up. Here are the rules.

Every one of you are collectively a detective named Brian Dennis in fictional Climax City. You control him by giving me instructions, and I will tell you how your decisions impact the case. You can ask for autopsies, interrogations, whatnot. Your main goal is to quickly catch the criminal. You have an iPhone, a lie detector, a pistol, and his trademark taser. (Seriously, guys, please don't go overkill with the taser)

Please note that there may be violence. All events, locations and people are completely fictional.

11:06 PM, December 25th, 2012

Wellesley Manor

You walk into the rustic hallways of Wellesley Manor.

"Another murder, eh?" you say to Officer Harrison. He's been with you for most of your big cases.

"Yes, sir. Mr. John T. Wellesley. He's the man of the house. His wife saw him on the 2nd floor hallway, sword through his heart. No other bodily damage, so far as we can tell. But the curious thing is, there was a rusty old suit of armor kneeling by his side, holding the sword. The suit itself had no one inside, and there were no fingerprints, or any sign that someone had been inside it at all. It's as if the suit of armor killed Mr. Wellesley."

"Any sign it could have just been carried over?"

"Sure, it could have. But there's no way we can carry on from that, there is evidence inside."

"Suspects?"

"Here's the list, sir."

He hands you a list of names and descriptions. You smile and thank him.

I'll start you off with a few options. You may:

1) Interrogate the suspects.

2) Observe the scene of the crime.

3) Call for an autopsy.

4) Anything else you can think of.

SUSPECTS:

- Mary Wellesley, 65, Mr. Wellesley's wife. The two had an unhappy marriage, but they started great humanitarian programs together. First met Mr. Wellesley by being his secretary. Retired and was trying to convince Mr. Wellesley to retire as well.

- Arthur Green, 53, the butler. He was Mr. Wellesley's most trusted man in the mansion. He knew all of Mr. Wellesley's secrets, and devoted his life to serving him. He's been working for Mr. Wellesley for 14 years.

- Michael Kaufman, 72, owner of Kaufman and Co.. Successful lawyer that's been vying for the Wellesley mansion. He and Mr. Wellesley were friendly competitors until Mr. Wellesley sued Kaufman and Co., and they became vicious rivals.

- Rick Wayne, 28, CCN (Climax City News) reporter. Has been trying to get an interview in with Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Wellesley about the lawsuit. Mr. Wellesley lately told him that "his paparazzi network can go f*ck themselves." Mr. Wayne was almost fired because of this statement, unless he can get this interview.

Best of luck. Go!

Edited January 6, 2013 by Cavenglok

[plasmid]

Ask Harrison what's inside the armor -- he mentioned there's evidence inside.

And since it seems we start off at the crime scene, might as well look around it while we're here.

[vistaptb]

The butler did it!

Seriously, though, let's start by examining the crime scene and try to find out whether Wellesley was killed in the hallway or moved there. It just doesn't seem reasonable that someone was just standing in the hallway and Wellesley walked by. You'd think he would have seen the murderer.

[Cavenglok]

INTERROGATION: HARRISON

YOU: So what other evidence was in the suit of armor?

HARRISON: There was this watch.

He shows you a watch in a Zip-loc.

HARRISON: Still working. Checked it for fingerprints, nothing. You wanna look it, go ahead.

You receive the watch.

Would you like to interrogate anyone else?

EXAMINATION: The 2nd Floor Hallway

Wellesley's body mark outlines the hallway. There is a blood splotch right where his heart would be. Apparently, he was found face-down. The suit of armor was kept relatively intact. His head is bent over, kneeling over the body. The sword is rusty, just like the rest of the suit. Even the handle is rusted teel, suggesting it was more decoration than weapon.

The halls themselves don't look irregular. The carpet on the floor remains undamaged, besides the blood stains and the champagne that Wellesley was drinking. There is a hair on the floor. You put it in a Zip-loc.

Since it's still the night of the party, there is a broken champagne glass on the floor. Even though it only spilled a few hours ago, the carpet is already stained.

Anything else you want to observe specifically?

[flamebirde]

Autopsy, he might have been killed by poison in the champagne but was stabbed to cover it up.

Off topic, I wonder when MiKi will find this thread. I'm sure her taser hand is starting to itch.

[vistaptb]

Where his heart would be? As in someone took his heart? Ew.

Since we pretty much have to interrogate the suspects to differentiate them, I'd start with Mr. Green.

[MissKitten]

Never fear, MiKi is here!!

First off, why is the butler on the list? He has no motive, whereas the others do. That kinda makes me suspicious. Just a bit.

Second off, if there's a rusty suit of armor, common sense says at least some of the rust would have flaked off as the armor was being moved. Is there a rust trail or something? (A far shot, I know, but hey. The police have been known to miss things.)

Also, what time was he killed? And what time does the watch show right now, at the time of the investigation? And yeah, the autopsy would be great.

And the hair. Can we have that analyzed?

That's all I've got for now. And don't worry, I'm going easy on the taser.

[Cavenglok]

I might have to set some sort of limit to the taser. Er... No. The body was removed for autopsy, and the heart is still there. Which reminds me, Wellesley was stabbed while he was alive, right through the heart. No sign of other poisons or toxins.

INTERROGATION: GREEN

YOU: Hello, Mr. Green. Glad you could join me.

GREEN: Hello, Inspector. Are you any closer to discovering the culprit?

YOU: We are making good progress. Can we ask you a few questions?

(You need to come up with the questions.)

[Cavenglok]

You can decide if he's suspicious.

OBSERVATION: 2nd Floor Hallway

You look for any sign of rust flakes. Nope.

AUTOPSY: WELLESLEY

He was killed around 10:00. The watch says about 10:53.

ANALYSIS: HAIR ON THE FLOOR

DNA analysis will take a very long time, but so far as the scientists can tell, it's a woman's hair. However, it's a brown color, not the white color like Mary's hair.

[MissKitten]

Re: the watch, so it's basically just working normally? Like, nothing special time-wise, just telling the normal time?

Does anyone think there might be a clue inside the watch? I don't wanna take it apart if the watch itself is the evidence, but I was thinking there might be something within the years or something. Or, like, a hidden compartment.

Re: the hair, do they know its a woman's hair because of some fancy scientific reason, or because its long and sleek?

How far away from the victim did the champagne fall?

Another thing is, do we know for sure that the murderer is amongst the suspects?

Okay. I think that's all I have right now, lol. Time to organize my thoughts.

Important things to notice and remember:

-the champagne glass. It spilled in the hallway. Glass is broken. Happened a few hours ago, carpet already stained, but victim didn't die from poison, which would have presumably come from the champagne. Still, maybe test the champagne if possible? Idk, come back to this later.

-the watch. Why was it in the suit of armor? Who put it there? Why a watch? Nothing special about the time, I don't think.

-the hair. Presumably a woman's, but could it be a man's, one who is trying to put us off? It doesn't match the hair of the suspects. Is it the hair from someone at the party? Which means someone was up there. Is there a witness, then? What time were they there?

-rusty armor. No rust flakes. Meaning the murderer cleaned them up. Also, who kills someone with a rusty sword? You'd think it wasn't sharp enough. It would've dulled or something. And how did no one hear someone moving around a rusty suit of armor???

-sorry for the buttload of text. *apologetic smile* And also sorry if I'm repeating something someone's already said, I've been writing this post over the spam of two to three hours on a mobile.

[flamebirde]

Can we get a list of the attendees of the party?

[LiveNacra]

Something else that may or may not be noteworthy: the champagne supposedly was spilled "a few hours ago" but the time difference from the death and the watch is only 53 minutes. Is this an oversight or is the watch time not accurate?

[Cavenglok]

@Flamebirde Sorry, that is 100 people. Brian can get a list, but I really don't want to set up 100 profiles. But there are blonde women at the party, for sure.

@LiveNicra The watch IS slightly slow, to be fair, but Brian sorta guessed that it was a few hours ago.

@MiKiThe watch is ticking normally. The watch has no compartments or anything, but you haven't torn it apart yet. The hair is long and sleek, much too long for any man at the party. No science-y thing. The champagne fell about 3 inches from the body. And, for the sake of the mystery, yes.

[Yodell]

Interrogation:

* Q to the butler and/or wife : did the suit belong in that hallway ? Was the body found next to the place where the suit of armor is usually displayed ?

* Question to the wife/butler : was the reporter on the guest list at the party ? Also was mr Kaufman a guest at the party ? Did they see either of them that night ?

* Question to the wife : "Do you know anyone who might have had a reason for wanting your husband dead ?"

Same Question to the butler (*replace husband with master* )

And while interrogating the wife and the butler , is it ok (for the story) to use my lie-detector ? - if the answer is yes the .. do it and let me know the result

Question to "my-self" (as Brian) : is it possible this is just an accident , like.. the suit of armor was accidentally knocked off it;s feet and it landed on the victim ? Is the suit/scene next to a door ?

Autopsy - was the victim drunk ? What is the alcohol level in his blood ?

[Morningstar]

Hey guys, looks like we're back at it again. Awesome start to a mystery as always, Cav.

[Cavenglok]

Hey, good to see you, Morning.

*Note: The lie detector results are not perfect. Lie detectors blip whenever the target is agitated or excited. Lie detector results will be written in blue.

INTERROGATION: GREEN (butler)

YOU: Did the suit of armor belong in this hallway?

GREEN: No, I believe not. It might have been in the trophy room. I was never allowed in the trophy room, only those closest to him. I would've liked to see it.

LIE.

YOU: Then who cleaned the trophy room?

GREEN: He cleaned it himself.

TRUE.

YOU: Were Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Wayne guests at the party?

GREEN: Yes, Mr. Kaufman was a guest at the party. I am not aware of a Mr. Wayne.

TRUTH.

YOU: He was a reporter?

GREEN: Oh, yes, of course. Yes, he was. He was constantly badgering Mr. Wellesley for that interview of his. He was very distressed at one point. Asked for six glasses of champagne.

TRUTH.

YOU: Do you know anyone who might want Mr. Wellesley dead?

GREEN: Of course. He had many political enemies, people who would want him dead. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to kill him. But I can't believe that he finally...

LIE.

AUTOPSY: WELLESLEY

Some alcohol in his liver, but not a lot. Not enough for extreme drunkenness.

[Morningstar]

Some of the answers that look like lie detector results aren't in blue. Is it just my browser?

Edit: Also, where is the trophy room relative to where the body was found?

Edited January 8, 2013 by Morningstar

[Cavenglok]

This is really awkward.

INTERROGATION: GREEN (butler)

YOU: Did the suit of armor belong in this hallway?

GREEN: No, I believe not. It might have been in the trophy room. I was never allowed in the trophy room, only those closest to him. I would've liked to see it.

LIE.

YOU: Then who cleaned the trophy room?

GREEN: He cleaned it himself.

TRUTH.

YOU: Were Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Wayne guests at the party?

GREEN: Yes, Mr. Kaufman was a guest at the party. I am not aware of a Mr. Wayne.

TRUTH.

YOU: He was a reporter?

GREEN: Oh, yes, of course. Yes, he was. He was constantly badgering Mr. Wellesley for that interview of his. He was very distressed at one point. Asked for six glasses of champagne.

TRUTH.

YOU: Do you know anyone who might want Mr. Wellesley dead?

GREEN: Of course. He had many political enemies, people who would want him dead. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to kill him. But I can't believe that he finally...

LIE.

[Morningstar]

Sorry, it just makes it easier for me to tell what's what when I'm looking through the posts.

[phaze]

Could we ask Mr Green what the time is? (with lie detector)

* Compare the time with that of the watch, assuming that the suspect has his clocks watches synchronised we should get a good indication about who left the watch in the armour*

(probably should ask all suspects when we examine them)

* covertly examine Mr Greens wrist to see if tan lines indicate he has been wearing a watch *

{probably should do this with all suspects)

* examine body to see if tan lines indicate they have been wearing a watch *

Edit:

* examine other clocks in the house to see if the time corresponds to the watch

Edited January 8, 2013 by phaze

[MissKitten]

If the champagne was spilled, could it indicate Wellesley being startled by something? I.e., the murderer?

@Cav, how long after Wellesley's death was his body discovered?

[Aaryan]

Let's see what I can do. You people focus on evidence; what I want to know is the circumstances of the death. Why was a rusty suit of armor needed, for example?

Ask the butler and the wife about any superstitions, etc. that Mr. Wellesley may have had. It may have something to do with the strange situation. Maybe he had a problem with the suit of armor? Maybe there was something symbolic about it.

Logically, the assailant would have killed Mr Wellesley, and then positioned the suit of armor. That seems the only way they could have done it. The question is, why frame a suit of armor? Now, why would one choose a rusty sword to kill him? That seems more a "heat-of-the-moment" sort of crime. Perhaps the second glass suggests Wellesley was drinking casually with somebody, and then they killed him? Under those circumstances, the most likely suspect would be Kaufman, or possibly the wife.

Just thinking out loud here from a psychological perspective. Might spark an idea.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Aaryan

[Yodell]

* And, please ask the wife the same questions I;ve asked the butler... with the lie detector as well

* Did the victim had a watch ? Show the watch found in the suit of armor to the wife (without telling her where it was found!! ) and ask her if she recognizes the watch .. with the lie detector working... Same for the butler...

[Cavenglok]

INTERROGATION: GREEN

YOU: What time is it, Mr. Green?

GREEN: (checks watch) It is ten past eleven.

TRUTH.

You notice Mr. Green is wearing a watch on his right wrist. You'd be an awful detective if you didn't see him look at his watch. He has tan lines on his left wrist.

AUTOPSY: WELLESLEY

The body was discovered around 10:00.

I will reply to other posts in a few hours, I have to go right now.

REMAINING REQUESTS:

-Interrogate Mrs. Wellesley with the questions that Yodell asked

-Superstitions Mr. Wellesley had?

-Do the butler and wife recognize the watch?

Edited January 9, 2013 by Cavenglok

[Morningstar]

How do we know that the watch belonged to the murderer? It's pretty hard for your watch to fall off without you noticing, so it was probably put there deliberately. Also, where in the suit was the watch found? I.e. in the wrist part, just loose inside, etc.

[Aaryan]

I think we're relying rather heavily on a lie detector here. After we talk to everyone, I suggest we go back to the manor and look around some more.