Lets Solve: The Decagon House Murders

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Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

TV Zombie posted:

The doors are locked from the inside right? So how was Leroux's room locked?

I'm assuming Leroux locked it with his key after leaving. I was actually thinking during the room search scene that if they found his key inside, I would be so lost about how he got out. (well, i guess the killer could have always taken the key from Leroux's body and then locked his room after the fact, then planted it in the room after they broke the window...?)

This still leaves questions though, since it all but confirms Leroux left his room with premeditation and it wasn't just a bathroom trip.

TV Zombie posted:

Can we check on the bodies to make sure that they are all dead?

Well if they aren't then Poe has to be the culprit, right? As far as the text is concerned, Orczy was described as "no longer moving nor feeling any shame", Carr was described as "drawing his last breath" and Agatha was described as "lacking all of the movements indicative of life" all of which can arguably be interpreted as the person being alive with some twists of logic. Leroux however is iirc the only one explicitly described as a "corpse" rather than "body" or some such. I guess that makes sense since he's also the only body with an obvious fatal wound.

# ? May 26, 2019 06:04

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# ? May 1, 2024 23:15

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

I'm just anxious and kinda want confirmation as a reader that the dead are dead and that it's either someone alive or an outsider doing the killing.

# ? May 26, 2019 06:11

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

TV Zombie posted:

I'm just anxious and kinda want confirmation as a reader that the dead are dead and that it's either someone alive or an outsider doing the killing.

I definitely feel that. And it's exacerbated by the fact that characters in the novel have brought up the trick where a "dead" person was the culprit. I've got to trust Poe on this though, like... even if he is the culprit he couldn't just lie (with the exception of Orczy) that someone is dead when someone else could just go up and feel a pulse/warmth for themselves. The way I see it, the only "corpse" that could possibly be alive is Orczy's.

# ? May 26, 2019 07:27

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Super short update because I've been slacking.

quote:

4

When they got back to Decagon House, the first thing they did was carry Leroux into his room.

They'd quickly found the room key in Leroux's jacket pocket. His clothes were considerably slick with mud, but they somehow managed to lay him on his bed.

Van placed the glasses he'd picked up onto the nightstand. Ellery turned to him and said "Could you go put some water in a bowl or something? And get some towels too. We should at least clean up his face." He laid a blanket over Leroux as he spoke. Van nodded silently and left the room. His pace was still uneasy, but he had almost recovered from the shock of earlier.

Then, Ellery and Poe began working on Agatha's corpse in the washroom. They carried her to her bed, crossed her arms across her chest, and fixed her disheveled hair and clothes.

"Cyanide, huh?" Ellery said as he looked down at Agatha's face, sunken into eternal slumber. "It's true people usually say it smells like almonds."

"She died just about three hours ago. Around eight in the morning."

As Poe delivered his opinion, Van entered the room. "This was fallen in front of the sink. I think it's Agatha's," he said, holding up a black pouch.

"A makeup bag?" Ellery took it casually, but then as if he suddenly thought of something, he started searching the contents frantically. "Hey Van, was the pouch closed when you found it?"

"No. It was open and stuff was spilling onto the floor."

"So you gathered it all back into the bag? Well, that's fine."

Foundation. Blush. Eyeshadow. A hairbrush. Skin cream. Face lotion...

"This?" Ellery said, finally removing something from the bag. Two tubes of lipstick. He removed both caps and compared the colors. "This one."

"Don't hold them close to your nose. It's dangerous," Poe said, guessing at Ellery's intentions.

"I know, I know."

The two lipsticks were red and pink. Ellery very cautiously tested the smell of the red one, then nodded and handed it to Poe.

"You're exactly right, Ellery. This is coated in lots of poison."

"Yeah. This was her death makeup. And then, wearing a white dress to die in, she poisoned herself. Almost like she's the princess in a fairy tale."

After giving one last sorrowful look at Agatha in the bed, Ellery urged Poe and Van to leave the room. As he closed the door softly, he said "Sleep well, Snow White."

The three returned to Leroux's room.

With the water and towels Van had prepared, they wiped his face clean of filth. They also cleaned his glasses, then placed them on leroux's chest.

"He was so excited too. To be the next editor-in-chief." Ellery shut the door. Once again before his eyes, that signboard with the red letters ---- "Third Victim".

Thus, only the three men were left in Decagon House: Ellery, Poe, and Van.

We're just tidying up after the chaos of the last couple sections. Next update will be more substantial.

# ? Jun 5, 2019 06:07

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

I'm thinking it's Ellery or Van. Nakamura Seiji HAS to be a red herring

# ? Jun 5, 2019 06:48

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

Ellery stating that Agatha was in her death makeup at the time of her death...is curious since we know that's not the case. Also, Ellery calling Agatha Snow White feels uncomfortable. Why are none of the remaining people mentioning Poe's fishing line tripping up Ellery in the hole near Blue Mansion? Because it raises questions as to whether the Killer searching through everyone's luggage to use? Why doesn't everyone else search through their stuff to notice if things are missing?

I wonder if Leroux found evidence or noticed the killer which is why he is headed back to Decagon House. Since there were no footprints near Leroux when he is found, maybe he was pummeled for a bit and then Leroux crawled towards Decagon before succumbing to his injuries. Ellery is also near the crime scene and he definitely could have muddled the crime scene to obscure any footprints in the mud near Leroux's body. I wonder why they don't search for Leroux's murder weapon though they didn't search for Carr's murder weapon either which is strange (I don't remember how the others died but I'm sure they haven't until Agatha with the poison lipstick). You're a mystery club! Why not search for this poo poo, just for your own peace of mind?

Agatha's thoughts before death don't seem to suggest suicide as the survivors suggest. Also, who would bring poisoned lipstick for oneself on a trip?

Leroux's and Agatha's deaths really have me curious about when they occurred.

We don't know about the nameplates for the other victim (Agatha) but I'm feeling like it's being used as a distraction so that the members focus on that...while the murderer carries out their scheme which would point to Ellery since he dabble in magic.

# ? Jun 5, 2019 07:52

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

-Well, it's safe to assume Agatha finished putting on her makeup before dying. In her body discovery scene the narration said something to the effect of "the makeup made her look still alive".

-Poe left his fishing gear in the entrance hall, so literally anyone could have taken it.

-Carr died from poison and Orczy from strangulation with a cord that was still around her neck, so their murder weapons aren't an issue. And I guess they just assumed Leroux was beaten with a random piece of rubble from Blue Mansion.

-Ellery suggesting that Agatha's death was a suicide is weird but it might just be him being poetic?

-I'm also suspicious of the signs, my first thought being that they would obscure the order of the deaths. But Poe's estimations seem to corroborate the signs wrt Agatha and Leroux, so idk. They seem like an unnecessary risk for the killer to take. Since they're obviously the one putting them up, it's just more ways to find them.

# ? Jun 5, 2019 08:19

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

But like, we haven't found the poison that killed Carr nor do we know how the murderer administered the poison.

# ? Jun 5, 2019 14:08

Kitala: Sep 2, 2012; Not Some Opera Floozy

I think the wording for them describing Agatha�s death is mostly poetic in that she applied her own murder weapon and not necessarily that she committed suicide.

# ? Jun 5, 2019 16:48

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

(in the next update, essentially the "class trial" starts. :v:

)

# ? Jun 6, 2019 11:09

The_White_Crane: May 10, 2008

I have very little idea who could have done it, honestly.

# ? Jun 6, 2019 11:13

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

I am doubling down on Ellery being the culprit based on nothing but my feelings towards him. I wonder what the people on the mainland are doing.

# ? Jun 6, 2019 20:36

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

My hope for the characters on the mainland (and I have no clue) is that between now and the solution, they actually come to the island, meet up with the survivors, and then continue solving all the mysteries with everyone there.

# ? Jun 12, 2019 04:17

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Very sorry for the delay!

quote:

5

After going back to his room and changing clothes, Ellery sat on the foot of his bed and took his time smoking two entire Salems, then returned to the hall.

The other two were already there.

Scowling at the bandage on the back of his hand with a grimace and blowing smoke, Poe. Van was brewing coffee in a kettle he'd brought with him.

"Pour some for me too, Van."

Van shook his head silently, holding the cups as if to conceal them, and sat in a chair across from Poe.

"Rude," Ellery said dismissively, and headed to the kitchen himself.

He carefully rewashed a cup and spoon. While he was at it, he also checked the drawer where those murder signs were tucked away. The signs numbered six, having not decreased at all.

"Final Victim, Detective, and Killer, huh...?"

Ellery went back to the hall while his coffee was brewing and mumbled to himself. Poe and Van gave each other a silent look.

"Out of those of us here, no one wants to admit they're the killer, right?" Poe said, frowning and blowing out smoke. Van was sipping his coffee, looking down.

Ellery sat with his cup in a chair across from both of the others.

The room was sunken into a disquieting silence. The men sat haphazardly around the decagonal table were already openly mistrusting of one another.

"I just can't believe it," Poe broke the silence in a strangely apathetic tone. "One of us killed four of our friends."

"Unless it was Nakamura Seiji," Ellery added.

Poe shook his head, annoyed. "I can't prove you wrong, but I highly doubt that. We haven't even established that he's still alive with any semblance of evidence. It's just a fantasy."

Ellery puffed his nose at Poe and said, "Alright, then one of us did it."

"That's what I just said." Poe hit the table furiously.

Ellery didn't flinch. He brushed aside his bangs and said "Let's go over it one more time from the beginning." He leaned back in his chair and looked at the skylight. The sky was as dark and gloomy as always. "First were those plastic boards. Someone made them in advance and brought them here in their luggage. They aren't that heavy, so it'd be easy to pack and carry them without standing out. And it's likely that the one who did that is one of us three. ----We're going with that, I guess.

On the third day, the culprit put those boards' predictions into effect. The "First Victim" was Orczy. The killer snuck in through either the window or the door, then strangled her to death. The cord that was used to do it was apparently still wrapped around the corpse's neck. Right, Poe? However, that doesn't provide us any leads. The main problem we have to tackle there... is how the culprit got into Orczy's room.

When we discovered her body, neither the door nor window were locked. Of course, there's no way to rule out the possibility that she'd left them open from the start, but it's hard to imagine her forgetting. Particularly in the case of the door. Earlier that day, Orczy had been the one to first discover the plates. She was completely shaken up, and we could all tell how anxious she felt.

In which case, what happened? There are a number of ways we could explain it, but I think we can narrow it down to the following two situations. First, Orczy forgot to lock her window and the killer snuck in from there. Or second, the killer woke Orczy and made her unlock the door."

"If they snuck in through the window, then why would the door be unlocked?" Van asked.

"To get the signboard maybe, or else just to stick it on. We can probably assume that. But I mean, if we're going with Poe's claim that the killer is one of us in this room, I think we should be focusing on the latter possibility, that Orczy was tricked into opening the door.

Early in the morning, even assuming Orczy was asleep, breaking into her room through the window would make a considerable noise, no? They'd bear a huge risk of getting caught, which would end everything. Why roll those dice, if you're a friend of hers who could instead choose to make a plausible excuse to rouse her, then get peacefully invited into her room? Orczy was that type of girl. Even while she was doubting everyone, she could never bluntly refuse someone like that."

"But Orczy was in her nightclothes. No way she'd let a guy into her room."

"She would though. If you came at her persistently with some urgent-sounding excuse, she'd be unable to refuse strongly enough. As long as the person wasn't Carr, that is. But arguing that point would be kind of, hmm..." Ellery looked sidelong at Poe. "Suddenly the one looking most suspicious is you, Poe. You've been close to her since you were kids, so her level of caution around you would've been... much lower than Van or I, naturally."

"Dumbass," Poe said, leaning forward menacingly. "Quit it with that. I killed Orczy? You better be joking."

"Of course I'm not joking. You have to admit that at least for the case of Orczy's murder, you're the one who looks guiltiest. Also, the way the killer set up the body so neatly, which we thought was bizarre, would be easy to explain if it was you."

"What about her hand then? Why the hell would I cut off her hand and take it away somewhere?"

"Alright, slow down. What I just said isn't conclusive or anything. Just one possibility of many. Like maybe Van did it. Or I did it. All I'm saying is, you're the one it's looking like right now.

Anyway, the missing hand. I think it's safe to say the killer is in the know about the Blue Mansion incident, but when it comes to what purpose the "imitation" would serve, I come up short. Van, what do you think?"

"Let's see. Maybe something like, to throw us into chaos."

"Hm. And you, Poe?"

"I cant really see that action being just for the sake of chaos. Even the act of cutting the limb without making too much sound would've been an extreme effort."

"I see. You're saying it would require an equivalent usefulness. In that case, what would be such a use...?" Ellery cocked his head and took a breath. "How about we table that particular discussion for now and move on to the next case. Carr's murder.

This is another case where there are no obvious conclusions we can make. Though at the very least, based on our discussion afterward, of those of us here it was impossible for Van to have poisoned Carr's coffee. While it's true that everybody had a chance to poison the cup beforehand, we had to rule it out due to the lack of any distinguishing marks on the cup to differentiate it from the rest. And that's where our argument came to a grinding halt.

In any case, with Agatha now unfortunately passed, the only one who could have slipped the poison into his drink with a quick sleight-of-hand is me, I regret to say. However..."

"You're about to say I could've given him a time-release capsule beforehand, right?" Poe interjected.

Ellery grinned. "Precisely. I wouldn't say it'd be a smart way of doing it though. Even if you did give him a poison pill, that would have been quite lucky for Carr to collapse just after drinking his coffee. If the poison had happened to take effect before Carr had ingested anything, everyone would automatically suspect the med student. Do I think you are so dim-witted you wouldn't think of that? Not in the least."

"Well reasoned."

"However, there is still one more possible method."

"Oh? What do you have in mind, Ellery?"

"Poe, you are the genius of our medical school, and on top of that your family has a successful clinic in O City. It wouldn't be crazy to think that Carr might have visited there in the past, concerning his health. Or else maybe you got the files shipped from Carr's hospital. Either way, we can assume you had a way to gain full knowledge of Carr's medical history.

Maybe Carr just had a sudden fit. Like for example a seizure or something. Then Poe ran up to him before anyone else and pretended to nurse him while actually slipping him some arsenic or strychnine or what have you."

"I get that I'm suspicious here, but that theory is too unrealistic. Not even worth discussing."

"Well, I wasn't being all that serious. Just spitballing here. Except, if we're throwing stuff out based on realism, I'd like to also throw out the theory that I used fancy magic tricks on the same grounds.

I don't know if I should be happy or sad about this, but you're all way overestimating my sleight-of-hand skills. A maneuver like tossing a concealed substance into an adjacent cup while reaching for your own is harder than it sounds. Plus, even if I was the culprit, I'd stay away from risky moves like that. Rather, applying the poison to a cup beforehand, then putting a mark, would be the easier and safer option."

"But we checked with our own eyes. There were no distinguishing marks on that cup."

"Right. So that's where the reasoning stops. I wonder if there really wasn't a mark on the cup after all." Ellery tilted his head at a nearby cup, squinting closely. "No cracks. No chips. No faded paint. It's the same moss green, the same ten sides... wait, hold up."

"What is it?"

"If I'm right, we've overlooked something huge." Ellery rose from his chair. "Poe. Are you sure the cup Carr drank from is where you left it?"

"Yeah, on the counter."

"Let's take another look at it." No sooner than he said that, Ellery was heading toward the kitchen at a trot. "Follow me."

The cup in question was on top of the counter, covered with a white hand towel. Ellery carefully removed the towel. The inside of the cup still contained a small trace of coffee from the other night.

"...Just as I suspected."

Ellery peered into the cup from above, then clucked his tongue loudly.

"We were magnificently deceived. It's amazing how none of us noticed before."

"Huh? Noticed what?" Van said inquisitively.

With a confused expression, Poe asked "It looks the same as the others, right?"

"No it doesn't," Ellery said with a tone of grandeur. "This decagonal building, with its decagonal hall, decagonal table, decagonal skylight, decagonal ashtray, decagonal cups... all around us we've been shown a conspicuous number of decagons everywhere. That's why we didn't see it."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"This cup has a distinguishing feature after all. A point where it obviously differs from all the other cups. Have you found it yet?"

After a pause, Poe and Van went "Oh!" at almost the exact same moment.

"I see you understand," Ellery said with a satisfied look. "All the decagons incorporated into this building were one gigantic misdirection for us. This cup isn't ten-sided at all. It is... eleven-sided."

Mr. Steak fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Jun 18, 2019

# ? Jun 18, 2019 15:57

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

What the heck. Now everyone has to make sure that everything only has ten sides.

# ? Jun 18, 2019 19:07

Lord Zedd-Repulsa: Jul 21, 2007; Devour a good book.

I wonder if that cup was with the house all along or if the killer prepared it and brought it with them. If the latter, how did they know what the originals looked like? Maybe I need to reread from the beginning to see if I'm forgetting anything important.

# ? Jun 19, 2019 03:19

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

If the cup was brought by the killer, then they would have had to have visited the island before, and made plans for how they wanted to execute the killings. The killer visiting previously made explain the basement door found in the blue mansion with the floor looking clean/recently swept.

If the cup was already there, then that cup....is a coincidence?

# ? Jun 19, 2019 05:15

Lord Zedd-Repulsa: Jul 21, 2007; Devour a good book.

I'm trying to remember if poison or a person being drugged figured into the prior murders, which is part of why I need to reread. Coincidences can't exist in mystery books :v:

# ? Jun 19, 2019 05:32

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

Prior murders like when Seiji Nakamura's time?

Carr was poisoned from drinking a cup of coffee and Agatha was poisoned by poison on her lipstick, from what I remember.

# ? Jun 19, 2019 05:36

Lord Zedd-Repulsa: Jul 21, 2007; Devour a good book.

Yeah, the Nakamura ones.

# ? Jun 19, 2019 05:47

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

The wife and the servants were apparently drugged with something strong enough to last a couple of days,if I recall correctly. Servants were killed first and then wife had hand chopped off days apart.

# ? Jun 19, 2019 05:53

The_White_Crane: May 10, 2008

Mr. Steak posted:

"This cup isn't ten-sided at all. It is... eleven-sided."

That really merits an exclamation point, don't you think?
I can almost hear the musical sting. *DUM DUN DUUUUUUN!*

I like that they're going through now and shooting down some of our theories. :allears:

I have no idea how this is gonna shake out now.

# ? Jun 19, 2019 10:23

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

quote:

6

"Back to square one, huh?" Upon returning to the table in the hall, Ellery looked once more at the other two. "Now that we've found a distinguishing mark on the cup, all three of us are equally likely to have poisoned Carr. Among the decagonal cups, there was a single eleven-sided one mixed in. If the killer applied poison to that cup, then if they happened to receive it, they'd just have to silently refrain from drinking."

"But why would there be a single unique cup?" Van asked.

"Maybe Nakamura Seiji thought it would be funny," Ellery answered with a smile on his thin lips. "Making a building so infused with decagons, but with one singular eleven-sided object buried under them all... that's a fantastic trick, don't you think?"

"That's all it was?"

"I think so. Though I must say, it is a thought-provoking design choice.

The killer happened to find the eleven-sided cup and incorporated it into their crime. I'm sure it wasn't something they prepared in advance. They'd have to have it custom made to fit in perfectly with the others. Most likely, they noticed the cup by chance after coming to the island. And who had a chance to do that? All three of us." Ellery placed both elbows on the table and joined his fingers at eye level. "So, next the killer waited for everyone else to fall asleep, and snuck into Carr's room where he was already dead. Then, he went through the struggle of cutting off Carr's left hand and tossing it into the bathtub. As for the reason for doing that, just like Orczy's case I have no clue."

"Agatha said she heard a weird sound, remember? Maybe it was that."

"Good point, Poe. That was when we were all totally over-sensitive to any noises. Which means the killer, knowing that, intentionally took the risk anyway. Therefore, we have to assume the killer's actions regarding the hands had a strong sense of purpose behind them.... It's quite puzzling." Ellery's brow creased considerably as he thought. "In any case, now that we've confirmed the three of us had equal opportunity to commit the act, let's move ahead."

"Next would be Agatha... or wait, Leroux was first, right?" Van replied.

Ellery said "Wrong," and shook his head. "Before that, there's the case of the attempted murder of me, Ellery. Yesterday at the basement.

It was just before Carr collapsed when I first brought up the idea of the Blue Mansion basement's existence. Hearing that, perhaps the killer, after severing Carr's arm and sticking the sign on his door, snuck outside to set that trap. Since we were all present at the scene when Carr collapsed, it could potentially be anyone's trap. Well, as the victim we can count me as the exception..." Ellery glanced at the reactions of the other two. Poe and Van were giving each other a look, looking like they wanted to refute him. "I know, of course. There's no guarantee I wasn't pretending. I only suffered minor injuries, after all. ----Next, this morning Leroux was killed."

Ellery paused a moment to think.

"It's a somewhat strange case, that one. Laying in that spot outside, and beaten to death. In stark contrast to the obsessive way the previous two corpses had their hands cut off, that one dropped the imitation entirely. It had a kind of different feeling to it."

"Definitely. But that still doesn't change the likelihood that the killer was one of us here," Poe said.

Ellery rubbed at his slender jaw and replied, "True, true. ----Let's leave the specifics of Leroux's murder for later. I want to think about this linearly.

Last was Agatha. As we just determined through investigation, potassium cyanide or sodium or whatever was put into her lipstick. The only question is when and how the poison was put there.

That lipstick should've always been in Agatha's room, inside her makeup pouch. After Orczy and Carr were killed a couple days ago, Agatha was extremely on edge and definitely never forgot to lock her door at all times. I'm sure there wasn't a single gap during which the killer could have snuck in. On the other hand, Agatha wore lipstick every day. Which means that, since she died this morning, the poison had to be prepared sometime the previous day."

"Ellery, can I say something?"

"What's up, Van?"

"I'm pretty sure Agatha's lipstick color was different today than it was yesterday."

"What?"

"Today it was a terribly vivid color. It made her lips look totally different from a corpse's, and gave me a weird indescribable feeling..." Van formed his sentences sluggishly. "Yesterday and the day before, she was using a more reserved pink. I think it was called rose pink."

"Aha," Ellery exclaimed, hitting his fingers against the table edge. "Now that you mention it, the other tube of lipstick in her pouch was pink. I see. So you're saying just one tube was poisoned long before. Like on the first or second day, when Agatha wasn't on guard yet, they snuck into her room and poisoned the red lipstick. And since then, she didn't use the lipstick until this morning."

"A time bomb," Poe said, scratching at his beard. "Yet again, all three of us had equal chances to do that."

"Yep, that's what we've come to. But Poe, since we're operating under your assumption that the killer is one of us, there's no need to go about things vaguely."

"What are you saying we should do?"

"Let's put it to a vote," Ellery said dispassionately. "We won't take it too seriously, but anyway, let's go around and give our opinions. Who do you think is most suspicious, Van?"

"Poe," Van answered with surprisingly little pause.

"Excuse me?" Poe's face changed color, and he threw his barely-lit cigarette into the ashtray. "It wasn't me. Yeah... I know, saying that won't convince you of anything."

"Of course we can't let you off the hook that easily. Me and Van both think you're suspicious," Ellery said, detached.

Poe wasn't trying to hide the waver in his voice when he replied, "Why? What makes me suspicious?"

"Motive."

"Motive? Did you seriously say motive? Why the hell would I kill four of my friends? Please enlighten me, Ellery."

"Your mother is currently enrolled at a psychiatric hospital, isn't that right?"

Ellery spoke without tact, all the more detached. Poe's voice stopped in his throat and he gripped the table tightly with both hands. In the blink of an eye, his fists had become pale and trembling.

"It was a couple years back. Your mother was apprehended after attempting to kill a patient at your family's hospital. By then, her mind was thoroughly in a state of delirium...."

"Wait, for real?" Van was wide eyed. "I never knew that."

"His father covered it up. Now it's the subject of hospital gossip. The patient she'd tried to kill was apparently paid a huge sum of money to keep quiet. The attorney who'd acted as an intermediary in that case is a friend of my father, so I heard about it from him. The position of doctor's wife... probably comes with a considerable mental strain. For a woman of weak nerves, it could be too much to bear. Like perhaps, she felt as if the patients were stealing away the husband she loved."

"Shut up!" Poe raised his voice. "Don't you ever talk about my mother."

Ellery whistled nonchalantly and shut his mouth. Poe sat for a moment, hands clenched into fists, then finally huffed a short laugh.

"So you're basically saying I'm probably crazy too. That's a lame argument."

Then, in a stark change of expression, Poe glared sharply at Ellery and Van with grim resoluteness. "If we're really going there, both of you have motives too."

"Oho. Please, I'd love to hear it."

"First, Van. You were in middle-school if I'm not mistaken, when your parents were killed by a burglar. Along with your little sister, I believe. So from your perspective, us students who take such a morbid interest in the activities of killers... our existence must make you extremely angry."

At Poe's relentless barrage of words, Van went instantly pale. "That's, I mean... if it made me mad, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to join the mystery club at university," Van objected softly. "Besides, that was so long ago. Also, I've never even once believed that mystery fans are somehow supporting murderers. Otherwise I wouldn't even be here with you guys at all."

"I wonder about that." Poe then fired his gaze towards the remaining member. "Next is Ellery."

"What's my motive, then?"

"When all is said and done, you couldn't ever get through to Carr, who always shot down your ideas one after another."

"Me? Threatened by Carr?" Ellery was dumbfounded for a moment. "Oh, I get it. You're saying the other three were just camouflage. That's the dumbest reasoning I've ever heard. I'm sorry to say I never thought about Carr enough to see him as a threat. I'm the kind of person who doesn't waste a single thought on how others perceive me, you see. You ought to know that by now. Unless you legitimately think I hated Carr enough to kill him?"

"For you in particular, you wouldn't need more than a small motive. It'd be like stepping on an annoying bug, for you."

"Woah woah woah. Do you seriously think I'm that cold-hearted?"

"Not exactly cold-hearted per se, but there's definitely a character defect there. I fully believe you'd kill someone as a joke. ----Am I wrong, Van?"

"Er, it's possible." Van nodded with a blank expression, eyes down.

Ellery's face showed a complicated expression for an instant, then quickly returned to his wry smile. He shrugged. "Well this is a predicament. I suppose we have to start looking critically at our normal daily actions."

With that, the three fell into silence.

The gloom stagnating in the air of the hall twisted around each of their hearts like a thick sludge. The ten white walls surrounding them looked more warped than they had before.

How long could they remain in such a condition?

The sound of wind through the trees broke in like static. Then, as if taking that as its cue to start, a light tapping sound started on the building's roof.

"Oh? It's raining," Ellery murmured, gazing up at the droplets forming on the skylight.

The sound of rain gradually increased. It grew to a strength, a ferocity that made them question whether it was trying to further isolate those trapped on the island.

...Then, suddenly.

With a voiceless expulsion of breath, Ellery stood quickly from his seat, still staring at the skylight.

"What's wrong?" Poe asked, suspicious.

"Wait. Just hold on a second."

Seemingly unsure if he wanted to say more, Ellery swiftly turned toward the entrance, knocking over his chair in his haste.

"The footprints!"

I know I haven't been giving a lot of my comments lately. My main one here is, wow there was a lot of poo poo dragged up about Poe and Van! Between the two of them I like Van's potential motive more. It also fits the whole thing in the prologue where the culprit (im assuming?) has been biding his time for a while just to get revenge...

# ? Jun 19, 2019 16:13

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

quote:

7

The rain was pouring down in sheets. That sound mixed with the commotion of waves and enveloped the island, making it feel as if the entire island had been swept into a distinct time and space from reality.

Without any care for getting drenched, Ellery dashed out into the rain.

He headed in a different direction than the arch of pine branches, rather heading directly toward the ruins of Blue Mansion. He intended to cut straight through the row of pines.

On the way, he stopped once and turned around. After ensuring that Poe and Van were following, he shouted "Hurry! The rain will wash the footprints away," then ran off again.

Stumbling over the underbrush with every step, he ran through the small grove. When he eventually reached the front of the mansion, the footprints near where Leroux's corpse had been were still barely identifiable.

Soon, Poe and Van caught up. Trying desperately to catch his breath, Ellery pointed at the footprints. "Look, and memorize them as if our fates depend on it."

Pummeled by the rain, their eyes followed the numerous trails of footprints remaining on the ground. Rainwater was pooling, flowing between them, and gradually making them vanish. The men firmly baked the image into their heads while it lasted.

After a short while, Ellery brushed his soaked hair out of his face, then turned heel.

"Let's return. My body's freezing."

＊

quote:

Once they'd changed out of their wet clothes, the three quickly reconvened around the table in the hall.

"Would you two come a little closer? This is important," Ellery said, opening a notebook he'd retrieved from his room, and gripping a pen. Poe and Van hesitated conspicuously, then left their seats to stand on either side of Ellery.

"I want to draw a diagram before we forget. Sound good?" Ellery said, drawing a long rectangle across one page. "This'll be the mansion grounds."

He continued, drawing another rectangle in the lower half. "And this'll be where all those piles of rubble are. And here are the stairs that go down the cliff." On the left side of the larger rectangle, he made a mark.

"Decagon House is at the bottom right. And down here is the row of trees. ----And let's see, Leroux was laying right about here," he said, drawing a figure to the right of center. Then Ellery looked up at the other two and said "Alright, now for the footprints. Where were they?"

"First, from the entrance ---- that arch of pines ---- to the cliff stairs... there was one line of footprints," Poe answered, scratching his beard restlessly. "And from that same entrance going directly toward Leroux's body, and from the body back to the entrance, three lines each, all jumbled up. And then..."

"Going from the stairs to Leroux's body, two lines. Jumbled as well." As he spoke, Ellery was indicating each one on his diagram with arrows.

Poe nodded and said "Right. And there was also a line going from the body right to the stairs, I think."

"Yes. ---- It was just like this. Van, do you agree?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's how it was."

"Awesome. We're done." Finishing off the last of the arrows, Ellery propped up the diagram in a place they could all see. (Refer to Fig.3 "Sketch of Scene")

"I was the one who discovered Leroux's body, just after I started heading from the arch to the ruins. Soon after, you two came and ran up to him. Then after that, Poe and I carried him back to Decagon House while Van followed. Therefore, in here, our own three sets of footprints must be mixed in. Considering that, if we remove those footprints..." Ellery paused to brush back his damp hair. "Isn't that strange?"

"Strange? The footprints?" Poe asked, frowning.

"Indeed. The ones who approached the crime scene were Me, Poe, and Van. Of course, the killer was there as well. Including Leroux himself leaving a set of footprints leading up to his corpse, that makes a total of five sets of footprints we'd expect to see. However..."

"Wait a sec, Ellery," Poe said, glaring at the diagram. "Erasing the footprints the three of us left when we discovered the body, all that's left is a single trail from the entrance to the stairs, two from the stairs to the body, and one from the body to the stairs..."

"Exactly. It's puzzling, no?"

"----Hmm..."

"I think we can safely assume the footprints from the entrance to the stairs were Leroux's. And one of the sets going from the stairs to his body were his as well. That leaves two sets of prints. The round-trip footprints of a single killer. Except, oh dear, where did the killer come from, and how did he return?"

"The stairs."

"Indeed. But think about it, the bottom of those stairs is nothing but sea.

You remember, right? That rocky area has vertical cliffs on both sides. The only ways up to the island are the stairs from the rocky area, and the stairs at the dock where we arrived, so I'm asking how the killer got to the rocky area. And where did they go from there? They'd have to go around and circumvent half the island to reach the stairs at the dock. The water is extremely deep. The killer would have had to swim. In whatever temperature the water is this season."

Poe picked up a cigarette and went "Hmm..." Van was staring madly at the notebook on the table.

"So?"

"So the question is, why did the killer take those actions? Well...?"

Here in this tense situation, Ellery seemed to be merely acting out a riddle to himself. Van stayed silent, hiding his hands in the pockets of his down vest.

"Sure," Poe grunted. "The killer is one of us three in Decagon House. In that case, they wouldn't need to go out of their way to climb down to the rocky area and circle around the island. They could've just returned by walking on land. Plus, if you made a lot of confusing footprints, or swept them away as you walked, you wouldn't have to worry about being tracked at all. If there were forensic experts around, that'd be a different story. But since they aren't, they'd just be cornering themselves at the sea if the worst were to happen."

"Exactly. And the answer is clear." With a satisfied nod, Ellery stood up from his chair. "With that, let's make some lunch. It's already three."

"Lunch?" Van looked over with dubious eyes. "How can you eat at a time like this? Hey Ellery, why in the world did the culprit...?"

"Later, later. You shouldn't be in such a rush. We haven't eaten anything all day."

Ellery spun around and headed for the kitchen.

Fig.3 "Sketch of Scene"

(This is self-explanatory so I'm not gonna edit the text.)

# ? Jun 24, 2019 10:03

Fritzler: Sep 5, 2007

Just found and finished the first page of the thread! Not gonna read any comments yet but wanted to thank you for the effort! Will read regularly and comment once I�m caught up.

Edit: Love shimada a weird amount

Is Morisu a boy or girls name? Or unisex?

Edit edit: Nevermind on morisu - next chapter has that info. Thought morisu was one of the people on the island and wanted to guess.

Fritzler fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Jun 30, 2019

# ? Jun 30, 2019 06:20

Fritzler: Sep 5, 2007

OK caught up. Two things of note to me:

1. The New Years party - obviously important but I'm interested at the timeline. At some point this night Van said his uncle bought these islands, a light plan was made to visit and also this night Chiori died. What order? Did one lead to the other? It is kind of wild that the main characters have not really acknowledged the party more. I'd still be thinking about it a bunch a few months later. Orczy dying first makes sense if she is the only one (other than the killer) knowing Chiori's connection to this place.
2. I am wondering if the there are secret tunnels in the Decagon house. Obviously they were kind of hinted. I wonder how they would work in such a symmetrical house. With everyone's rooms being identical I feel like if any room had a secret tunnel, then every room would have to have a tunnel. Whether that goes straight across or somewhere else I don't know.

Early on I thought it would be important to match club names to real names. I don't think that's true anymore.

# ? Jun 30, 2019 18:45

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

Ellery seems to have already solved the mystery or is the murderer based on his attitude towards getting some food in light of everything that's happened.

...Are updates coming soon?

# ? Jul 3, 2019 19:25

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

TV Zombie posted:

Ellery seems to have already solved the mystery or is the murderer based on his attitude towards getting some food in light of everything that's happened.

...Are updates coming soon?

yes, please forgive the delay! ive been unproductive this week across the board. i'm not reading ahead and i'm just as invested in the mystery as you, so you don't have to worry about me losing interest in this thread.

about ellery, i think he's already concluded that the killer is a 3rd party (nakamura seiji) and keeping it to himself out of spite because of how Poe dismissed the theory. so he's being all "welp, it looks like it was impossible for any of us to do it. i guess theres no other possibilities..." probably after this footprints thing he's gonna bring up the seiji=culprit thing again.

# ? Jul 3, 2019 19:43

Fritzler: Sep 5, 2007

Mr. Steak posted:

about ellery, i think he's already concluded that the killer is a 3rd party (nakamura seiji) and keeping it to himself out of spite because of how Poe dismissed the theory. so he's being all "welp, it looks like it was impossible for any of us to do it. i guess theres no other possibilities..." probably after this footprints thing he's gonna bring up the seiji=culprit thing again.

I think you're probably right about that, but not sure how the group on the mainland is going to interact. It seems like they should have an idea if Seiji is still alive. Any update timeline?

# ? Aug 12, 2019 19:53

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Ah yes, this thread is still a thing. Back when I stopped updating there was a lot of life stuff getting in the way of everything, but now I'm back on top of... pretty much everything except finishing this novel. Don't worry though, I'll most likely do it within the next couple days.

# ? Aug 12, 2019 19:57

Kchama: Jul 25, 2007

Mr. Steak posted:

Ah yes, this thread is still a thing. Back when I stopped updating there was a lot of life stuff getting in the way of everything, but now I'm back on top of... pretty much everything except finishing this novel. Don't worry though, I'll most likely do it within the next couple days.

That's good because I ended up going and getting the book in the meantime, though I'm eager to watch the discussion.

# ? Aug 12, 2019 20:01

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Kchama posted:

That's good because I ended up going and getting the book in the meantime, though I'm eager to watch the discussion.

Oh cool. I'm glad I was able to introduce the characters and stuff properly cuz the official translation doesn't bother haha. I'm sure if it got one thing fine it's the description of the solution, so I can rest easy about that.

# ? Aug 12, 2019 20:06

Fritzler: Sep 5, 2007

Mr. Steak posted:

Ah yes, this thread is still a thing. Back when I stopped updating there was a lot of life stuff getting in the way of everything, but now I'm back on top of... pretty much everything except finishing this novel. Don't worry though, I'll most likely do it within the next couple days.

Thank you! I was thinking about getting the book on kindle unlimited, but glad I don't need to.

Kind of meta but I wonder if this will have a similar solution to And Then There Were None where one of the characters we thought was dead is alive and actually the killer. You have seemed to be leaning that way if I remember correctly.

# ? Aug 12, 2019 20:12

Kchama: Jul 25, 2007

Mr. Steak posted:

Oh cool. I'm glad I was able to introduce the characters and stuff properly cuz the official translation doesn't bother haha. I'm sure if it got one thing fine it's the description of the solution, so I can rest easy about that.

Yeah I'm absolutely waiting to see your translation of the rest. You aren't wrong, I really understood more thanks to you.

# ? Aug 12, 2019 20:16

Lord Zedd-Repulsa: Jul 21, 2007; Devour a good book.

I'm glad things improved enough for you to finish this!

# ? Aug 12, 2019 23:43

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

ok i will update this tomorrow on my day off or :toxx:

e: ok frick, i didnt finish it. it's the first thing on my agenda after work though

Mr. Steak fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Aug 17, 2019

# ? Aug 16, 2019 02:41

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Hey! Sorry for the super long hiatus! From now until the end of the novel (which is pretty soon) I'll be updating similarly to how I was before.

quote:

8

"Alright--" Ellery finally spoke, having finished the simple snacks and cup of coffee he�d made for himself. �Now that our stomachs are full, let�s tackle the question from before. How about it?�

�Obviously we approve. Now stop beating around the bush,� Poe responded. Van meekly agreed.

Ellery�s behavior since bringing up the footprints had greatly confused the other two. During their entire meal as well, they had continued to scrutinize Ellery with suspicious eyes, though they found nothing different from Ellery�s constant refined composure and unchanging smile on his lips.

�Then let�s start.� Ellery pushed aside his tableware and cup, then opened the notebook from before. For the second time, the three of them were gathered haphazardly around the table.

�Let�s go over the main points again. Okay?� Ellery glanced down at the sketch he'd drawn earlier, and spoke. "The sets of footprints we can consider to be the culprit's are the pair going between the corpse and the stairs; that's the conclusion we reached. In other words, the culprit must have come and gone via the ocean. Following that reasoning, and based on our presupposition that the culprit has to be one of us, we came up with a path he could have taken....

First, he left Decagon House, went down to the docks, then swum from there to the rocky area, then climbed the stairs to the mansion ruins. After committing the crime, he followed that same route all the way back here. Poe was going on and on before about possible reasons the culprit would've needed to return by sea, but in the end there's absolutely nothing of the sort. No matter how you face it, that behavior is practically nonsense. There's nothing necessary or realistic about it."

"But Ellery, by that argument, the only reasonable solution is that the culprit is someone besides us here... who came to the island from outside, then left."

"And why is that a bad thing, Poe?" Ellery said, snapping the notebook shut. "An outside culprit is the most logical theory to take in a situation like this. We don't have any way to leave the island, but a third party could potentially come and go at will. Then we wouldn't need any half-assed explanations about swimming. It's safe to think they used a boat."

"A boat...?"

"Why do you think even Orczy and Leroux [both hands-on deaths] were killed so early in the morning? Because in order to dock here without us noticing, between dusk and dawn would be the ideal time. ----Well?"

As he looked expectantly at the other two, Ellery took a box of Salems from his pocket. Seeing that it was empty, he tossed it onto the table. "Need a smoke?" Poe asked, sliding his cigarette case over to Ellery.

"Poe, it seems like you agree." Ellery took one, held it in his mouth, and lit a match. "And you, Van?"

"I think you're right. ----Hey, could I have one too, Poe?"

"Yeah, no prob."

Ellery passed the cigarette case to Van.

"The thing is, Ellery, if your theory is correct, then why did the culprit make those signboards in the first place?" Poe asked.

Not just for the "victims" but they prepared ones for "detective" and "killer" too. That's the main mystery of those boards."

Ellery smiled wider as he blew smoke. "The first reason was to cement firmly in our minds that the "killer" was one of us seven. That way, we'd be less cautious about outside danger."

"And the second reason?"

"Psychological pressure, perhaps. To sow mistrust among the final survivors, maybe even leading to them killing each other--- it's also possible the culprit was aiming for that. That way they'd score some corpses without getting their hands dirty. At any rate, I think the culprit's end goal is likely for all seven of us to die."

"That's awful," Van murmured, lighting his cigarette.

"One last thing I'm suspicious of... " Poe said, rubbing his temple with the thick tip of his thumb. "is why the culprit felt the need, after killing Leroux, to immediately head back to the ocean."

"Why...?" Leroux repeated the question as he handed back the cigarette case.

"If the culprit wanted us to believe the killer was among our group, then in that situation, it would've been way more sensible to walk back to the ruins entrance, then circle around again to the stairs to add multiple sets of footprints. There's no way a killer would pass up such an easy trick."

"Maybe he didn't notice he left behind footprints?"

"In that case, I'm sure he would've gone straight back to the mainland. But that "Third Victim" signboard... when exactly was it glued to the door?"

"That's, um..."

When Leroux lost his words, Poe turned to Ellery. "How do you explain that, Ellery?"

"Like this," Ellery said, placing his cigarette in the ashtray. "As Van said, we can't rule out the possibility that the footprints were overlooked. Because if they weren't, then the culprit would have surely taken a more circuitous route back to the stairs. Seeing as we cannot deny the truth of the footprints showing he did not do that, it appears likely, taking the entire circumstance of Leroux's death into account, that the killer ignored the footprints.

Leroux was bludgeoned to death. From that, and based on the messiness of both sets of footprints leading away from the stairs, we can surmise that the culprit chased Leroux to that spot. Perhaps Leroux had seen the culprit on his boat, or maybe saw the culprit as he was trying to leave the island.

Guessing at the situation, Leroux started running. The culprit, noticing this, frantically chased after him. At that time, there's no mistake that Leroux was screaming his lungs out for someone to help. Then, after catching up to Leroux and killing him, the culprit panicked. He would have been afraid that someone else had heard the screams, and would soon get out of bed to investigate. He could have gone through efforts to hide himself, but the danger of his boat being found was much worse.

With no other choice, the culprit left the footprints as they were and returned to the rocky area, so he could quickly take the boat around to the docks and check for any voices looking for Leroux. Fortunately, there was no sign of a disturbance. Then, the culprit climbed up to Decagon House, checked through the kitchen window if anyone was awake, then snuck in through the main entrance and put the sign on the door. Afterwards, he quickly gave up on the footprints and left the island. Going back to the mansion ruins at that point would have been much too risky time-wise."

"Hmm. So the culprit was here on the island all last night?"

"I believe he's been coming here every night. Climbing up after dusk to monitor our movements."

"Lurking under the kitchen window...?"

"Well, something like that probably."

"And during all that time, he was leaving his boat out in the open at the rocky area or the docks?"

"He probably had it hidden. If it was just a small inflatable raft, it could be easily tucked away. He could have even carried it into the woods, or put a weight on it to hide it under the water."

"An inflatable raft?" Poe frowned. "You really think that's enough to get to the mainland and back?"

"There'd be no need to go to the mainland. A much closer hiding spot would be ideal, no?"

"----Cat Island?"

"Yep, there's that place called Cat Island. I believe the culprit has set up camp there. If he only needed to paddle between there and here, an inflatable raft would be sufficient."

"I see. That makes sense."

"Let's go over the culprit's activities one more time," Ellery began talking, holding the notebook under his arm while he fiddled with some blue-backed Bicycle cards he'd taken out at some point. "Last night, the culprit rode here from Cat Island. He watched our movements, searching his his next chance to commit murder, but when none arose, he withdrew back to the rocky area. By that time, the rain had most likely not yet stopped. That's why the culprit's footprints between the ruins entrance and the stairs didn't remain.

Then, while the culprit was preparing his boat, the rain stopped falling, leading to the current situation where footprints will remain visible. That must have been when Leroux approached. Though it is still unclear why he would have gone out there so late at night.

Leroux had the misfortune of witnessing the culprit along with his boat. He frantically picked up a nearby rock and chased after him to keep his mouth shut. Then, fearing that someone had heard the screams, he took his boat to the docks straight away. He listened for a short time, then seeing that no one had awoken, snuck into Decagon House to glue the sign on the door. ----And that's that."

That entire time, Poe's thumbs had not stopped rubbing his temples. Maintaining that posture, he hit the table gently with one elbow and asked with a painful expression on his face, "Then Ellery, the culprit hiding away on Cat Island... who was it?"

"Nakamura Seiji of course," Ellery asserted instantaneously. "I've been saying that since the start. I know I was suspecting Poe earlier, but that wasn't actually my true belief."

"Fine, let's entertain for a second the possibility that Seiji is alive. Even then, he would need a motive to kill a bunch of people he had no connection to whatsoever. I can't think of a single reason. You're not just going to say he's insane, are you?"

"A motive, huh? But he has plenty of motive to kill us."

"What?"

"What are you saying?"

Poe and Van simultaneously rose their voices and leaned forward inquisitively. Ellery gracefully collected the cards he had spread in a line on the table.

"Before, we were all scrambling to come up with motives we might have against each other, but the truth is, Nakamura Seiji has a much more obvious motive than any of those. Last night after I went to bed, I suddenly realized it."

"Really?"

"Well what is it, Ellery?"

"Nakamura Chiori. Remember her?"

The dim hall was awash in silence.

Only the distant sound of waves could be heard. The sound of rain on the roof had already departed. It had been only a light drizzle.

"----Nakamura Chiori. Um?" Van spoke in a quiet voice.

"Yes. Last January, we let our clubmate die due to our negligence. That was Nakamura Chiori."

"Nakamura----Nakamura Seiji----Nakamura Chiori..." Poe mumbled, as if intoning a chant. "But... there's no way."

"Yeah, there's no way. That's what we all thought. There's no way Nakamura Chiori was Nakamura Seiji's daughter."

"Yeah..." Poe frowned deeply, knocked a single Lark out of his cigarette case, then took it directly with his mouth. Van had linked his hands around his head and closed his eyes tightly. Placing the cards back into their box, Ellery continued.

"The culprit of the incident on this island half a year ago was none other than Nakamura Seiji. Whether it was the missing gardener or someone else, Seiji found someone with a similar physique, age, and blood type, then survived by their identity after killing them in the fire. That way, he could proceed to get his revenge on us, his daughter's killers..."

At that moment, suddenly----

A bizarre guttural noise erupted from Poe's throat.

"What's wrong?"

"Poe?"

Poe's chair made a violent clanging sound. Poe's sturdy body went barrelling backwards onto the floor.

"Poe!"

Ellery and Van rushed over to support Poe's body. Making to bat away their hands, Poe's body twisted powerfully. And in the end----

Accompanied by a fierce spasming, Poe lay facing up, all four limbs sprawled into the air, then ultimately thumped onto the floor. Those were Poe's final moments.

Smoke from the cigarette Poe had just used floated up from the blue-tiled floor. Ellery and Van could only stare blankly down at the motionless body of the "Final Victim".

# ? Aug 18, 2019 22:40

Kitala: Sep 2, 2012; Not Some Opera Floozy

Assuming death by poisoned cigarette, Van is the obvious choice since he had the case last.

# ? Aug 19, 2019 04:08

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

Oh man, it's been so long that I've forgotten everything about who got killed and such.

For the poisoned cigarette, everyone is smoking.I think that Poe just became a victim by chance by the killer...which would mean Ellery would be the Killer.

Why did Leroux go outside the house in the first place? What was he running from?That's bouncing around my brain. I wish that they had, as a group, walked in the direction of where Leroux was running from, to see what might have caused him to run.

For the killer to be someone outside of the group, they would have to know when this group was going to head to the island...which would suggest that someone in the group is helping the killer...right? I seem to remember that there was a pair of people scanning the island and looking at Cat Island and floated a theory that the past killer could have been hiding out there but that was quickly denounced as ridiculous. Are either people in that conversation still alive in that passage?

Ellery's obsession with Seiji is ridiculous. His suggestion that Seiji killed someone, brought them to the island to be used as his body double is crazy and it still leaves the detail about where the missing gardener is, untouched. I feel like Ellery is trying to cause misdirection(which is what magicians do) with continually posing the idea of an outside killer.

Could Poe have faked his "death"...he's the only one with medical training left right?

Does one of the adults from the prior murders have children?

# ? Aug 19, 2019 04:48

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# ? May 1, 2024 23:15

Mr. Steak: May 9, 2013; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

im so sorry i didnt keep my promise to update regularly!

however that will end today. as soon as i get back from dinner i'm translating the rest of chapter 9, and then there are only like 60 pages left in the novel so i'll make sure i finish within the week.

sorry again!

e: im not reading ahead, so im still just as anxious as y'all to see the ending! ive just been working on other stuff and the time flew by

Mr. Steak fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Sep 22, 2019

# ? Sep 22, 2019 23:00

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Lets Solve: The Decagon House Murders

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