A man is dead.
I prefer it [[that]] way.
[[Next>>]]The man was Arthur Finn Ashbough III. He had been [[stabbed]].
It was a gray Wednesday morning when I got called in to the scene. The late Mr. Ashbough lived on an [[estate]], I suppose you could call it. It was set far enough away from the town that there was only one true neighbor. And even then, you'd have to consider it an undertaking to go get a cup of sugar from them.
The local police force was much too small and inexperienced to feel comfortable handling such an obvious murder case, so they sent a message to my branch of the force, stationed in the nearest, medium sized town that could be classified a city.
Jensen was sent ahead, along with a forensics team, to do the preliminary investigation and rounding up of suspects and clues before I got there. It was decided the local coroner was [[sufficient]] enough.
I counted five automobiles in the driveway, one of them a police vehicle, as I approached the house. [[Jensen met me at the door.]]In every tv show, movie, and obituary section of the newspaper, there's always a dead, murdered woman. For the fictional murders, they might as well kill a [[dog]].
[[<<back|that]]
[[Um, hello? There's a dead man?|Start]]I like the more interesting motives that show up when a man is murdered. Makes the job more [[fun]].
[[<<back|that]]
[[A man is dead???|Next>>]] In the back.
Which would be ironic if it weren't literal, considering all of the suspects were people who were [[close]] to the deceased.
[[<<back|Next>>]]It was a bigger house than most people had, and you could say that it had a few acres of grounds, but it was by no means a grand, sprawling mansion. Though it was large enough, I noted, that it would not be uncommon to not see another resident for several hours, or possibly even a day or two.
It was set far enough away from the town that there was only one true neighbor. And even then, you'd have to consider it an undertaking to go get a cup of sugar from them.
[[<<back|Next>>]] "Hey boss. Follow me this way, to the kitchen, I'll give you the rundown."
Jensen sat down at a table covered in files, handing me a warm mug.
"I rounded up all the possible suspects I could find, and did preliminary interviews. Didn't get all that much, and some of them don't seem likely at all, but. They're all waiting in the sitting room, I figured you'd want to over their files first."
I nodded, gratefully accepting the mug. I always liked Jensen.
[[Ask Jensen what had been discovered so far]]
[[Pick up the closest file]]I hate it when it's a woman that's dead. It's much too [[common]], in media and in real life.
Plus, the [[reasons]] the women are killed are generally always the same and always sad.
[[The dead man???|Start]] No, I don't have skewed morals. Why do you ask?
[[<<back|reasons]]
[[Seriously, a man is dead. Go back to that!|Start]] Some people would probably be more upset about the murder if that were the case.
Despicable.
[[So...uh, the dead guy?|Next>>]] Though no one can compare to my main girl, Evelyn. Ain't nobody can deal with dead bodies like her.
[[<<back|Next>>]]Personally, geographically, genetically, whatever
Take your pick, I don't care
~~(actually i'm being paid to care....so.)~~
[[<<back|Next>>]]"The knife was the deceased's. His grandfather's fancy hunting knife or something. Apparently he kept it displayed in his study, on top of the cabinet right near the door. He also apparently kept it [[sharpened]]. Bet that's a regret now."
"Can the dead have regrets, Jensen?"
"...Is there a right answer to that boss?"
I raised my eyebrows at Jensen, taking a long sip from the mug. How the hell would I know? I wasn't dead[[.]]
[[What else?]]''Khalil [[Gardener]],'' groundskeeper
In his late 30s, has worked as the groundskeeper here for 8 years, after the old groundskeeper retired. Grew up in the city and worked in the botanical gardens for years before deciding to move out here for a quieter life. Lives in town, keeps to himself, but described as always being kind and friendly.
Has no set hours or days, just comes whenever for however long it takes to do his job. Often comes nearly everday though. Good friends with the housekeeper.
Had no complaints about Ashbough as a boss, said he wasn't the greatest, but adequate. Good pay, flexibility, nice grounds.
Has no outstanding debts or bad habits unless he is keeping them //very // quiet.
Jensen's handwritten note: Nice guy. Very calm. No motive as far as I can tell.
[[Pick up the next file]]Truly, what a convenient name.
[[<<back|Pick up the closest file]] Double-click this passage to edit it.Does it matter if the knife is sharpened or not when it's being stabbed?
Obviously it matters when cutting and slicing, but stabbing? Funny, the things you never think about.
Evelyn, my favorite coroner friend, would know. She knows all about bodies and the things that make them stop living. She figures out why people are dead and how the death was caused.
Me? I just detect. That doesn't really deal with the dead bodies. It's pretty easy to detect if a person's dead or not. I've never been wrong once.Yet."So, the knife can't help us in figuring out the murderer. Anyone could have grabbed it. Therefore, we also have no way of knowing if it was a spur of the moment impulse or a previously planned thing, this murder."
I nodded. "Very good analysis Jensen."
Jensen didn't quite smile, cause that wouldn't be appropriate in this situation, with the murder and all, but they [[brightened]] a bit.
"The coroner says Ashbough died Monday afternoon or evening. The body didn't get discovered until Tuesday afternoon though, not far past midday. His housekeeper and his daughter discovered the body together. The housekeeper was also the last one to see him. He had lunch Monday and then he told her he was going to go shut himself in his study for a while, and not to disturb him. She then went to the grocery store, returned and put away the groceries without seeing Mr. Ashbough, then went home for the day."
"Hmm."
"She could have had the opportunity to stab him as soon as he went into his study, though I don't think so. We've got several people who saw her leave the house and go get groceries not long after lunch ended, and whoever stabbed Ashbough would've had to [[clean]] up the blood that got on them."
"So what happened at that lunch?"
"I don't know boss, I didn't ask that. I figured you'd want to be here to hear those answers yourself."
I nodded. There was a reason I liked Jensen.
[[Pick up the closest file]]
[[Who all did you round up as suspects?]]Jensen //thrives// on positive enforcement.If anyone could clean blood quickly out of clothing, it'd be a housekeeper."For starters, the groundskeeper and housekeeper. They both spend a large part of their days here, probably know everyone's schedule and the house and grounds well, and it's possible there could be resentment in the employer-employee relationship. I don't like either of them for it though.
There's also the neighbor. She's an old lady, I really doubt she could have done it, but you know, I never want to underestimate the elderly just because they're [[elderly]]. It's unlikely we'd be able to get her away anyway--this is the most exciting thing to happen near her in a while and she's nosy enough she'd be here anyway even if we didn't ask her to be.
Then there's Ashbough's niece. Her parents sent her to stay here with her uncle for a time, no definitive end date. Doesn't seem like it was her idea, popular guess is she was a bit of trouble for her parents. She's been here three [[months]]. Got some anger and resentment, I think she's definitely a possibility. Her and the old lady have become friendly.
There's a few more in the motley crew of suspects, who will be introduced later, when Juliette writes thatThat's wisdom I taught Jensen. The most prolific murderer I ever investigated was the frailest looking grandma, but boy was she killer.I was once sent to stay with relatives for a few months when I was young. They weren't too great at keeping watch of me, however. I ended up staying a week in the mansion of a socialite as a personal guest of theirs, a few days journey away from my relative's house, after traveling on a boat with a con woman/psychic. It was quite the adventure for an eleven year old. And to think it all started with a visit to a convent.
Good times.
[[Anyway.|Who all did you round up as suspects?]]