Clue: Who, Where, and What

[Martyna Z'muir]

Originally posted March 5th, 2014 by EM Elizabella on the Great Lakes EM Site:

Lady Lilac, in the Study, with the Explosion Potion.

Contessa Cadavera danced in the Ballroom between seven and eight o’clock, as did Lady Lilac. Between eight and eight-thirty, Lady Lilac played the harpsichord in the Music Room, as witnessed by Lord Saffron. Lady Lilac then got Lord Saffron out of the Music Room by claiming she had to tune the harpsichord. Lord Saffron went into the Library and settled down in a comfy chair.

Between eight-thirty and nine, Contessa Cadavera walked into the Library to get some papers and said she was going to lock herself in the Study to write a letter*. She was heard and seen by Professor Snow, Captain Cobalt, and, to a lesser extent, a somnolent Lord Saffron. There was a secret passage between the Music Room and the Study. Lady Lilac went through the passage and threw the explosion potion at Contessa Cadavera. The contessa and her letter were both blown to bits. The contessa’s orange citrine ring** landed at Lady Lilac’s feet. Lady Lilac had once demanded the ring as part of the payments for her silence. Contessa Cadavera had refusing, saying she would “part with this ring over my dead body.” Lady Lilac scornfully threw the ring into the Study fireplace.

Lady Lilac has confessed to the murder and given the Royal Guard full details. A reporter at the scene of the arrest heard Lady Lilac’s confession, which ended with, “It was almost the perfect crime. I plotted it so carefully. Ah well, as they say, most of the fun is in the planning.”

Acting upon information from several citizens, the Royal Guard has also attempted to arrest the seven other suspects for blackmail. Sir Burgundy has confessed and will receive a light sentence. Professor Snow and Lord Saffron are in custody. Captain Cobalt, Madame Sable, and Mr. Mint have disappeared. Nanny Flamingo was seen to fly away, singing about kites and sprinkling rock hard peppermints on innocent bystanders.


*This would have been the letter to the Royal Guard, to report that all her guests had been blackmailing her.
**Contessa Cadavera was not an overly sentimental—nor even a nice—person. However, the little ring had been a gift from her impoverished parents and she treasured it, even to the extent of refusing an engagement ring from either of her husbands***.
***Because no one in Britannia wears more than one ring. It’s just not the done thing, dear.