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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Circus: Mafia 2010: Preservation
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Pax Romana
Shipmate
# 4653
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Posted
Kate Dominic walked out into the crisp, clean air to take her usual morning walk. She planned to stroll through the village common, take a turn around and stop for coffee and a nice piece of carrot cake in the tea rooms. She was shocked to come upon a group of villagers who gave her the news of the kidnapping of the town doctor.
The killing of Julia Overton was already such a terrible thing. What was happening to this picture-perfect town that she had adopted as her refuge?
Kate was not one to take drastic action. It was best, she thought, not to do anything until more information would come to light.
In the meantime, she must have her morning coffee.
Pax Romana
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I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.
James Thurber
Posts: 4598 | From: New York City | Registered: Jun 2003
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Eliab
Shipmate
# 9153
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Posted
Alison Eliab gulped down a couple of pills for her nagging hangover, and prepared to go to work. A smart, but not too expensive suit for the professional look, a skirt, of course, instead of trousers, in a backwater community like this, and make-up in soft shades, feminine and understated, to suggest approachability.
She opened her jewelry box and selected two stud earrings, and her engagement ring. The gentleman in question had been discarded and not replaced, but Alison liked the suggestion of not-quite-unavailability that it represented.
Now the finishing touches, the little clues to personality that might induce the good people of Shipbury to confide in the reporter. In a rural community, a label pin from the RSPB or National Trust would be safe enough. What else? Alison hesitated between the logo of the Countryside Alliance, and that of the League Against Cruel Sports. Which? Outspoken country girl, or idealistic townie? She could play either role fluently, but which would play best here?
After some deliberation, she pinned the LASC badge to her jacket. In her experience, the sort of people it would antagonise were as likely to be provoked to argument as to indifference, and once someone set out to argue with an earnestly naïve and attractive young woman it would not be difficult to get them to talk. That was all that mattered to a good reporter. A good reporter saw being liked by people as a means to an end, not an end in itself.
The persona decided upon, Alison switched her analogue watch for digital, replaced the mobile phone with one of later generation, and added a Blackberry and iPod. She chose an appropriately stylish black leather hand-bag, dropped her best dictaphone into it, and went to find out what was being said on the streets of Shipbury.
About an hour later, Alison said deep in thought in a local tea-room, thinking about the young surgeon’s disappearance, and wondering what the fuck was going on.
[ 25. February 2010, 21:57: Message edited by: Eliab ]
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"Perhaps there is poetic beauty in the abstract ideas of justice or fairness, but I doubt if many lawyers are moved by it"
Richard Dawkins
Posts: 4619 | From: Hampton, Middlesex, UK | Registered: Mar 2005
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Joyeux
Ship's Lady of Laughter
# 3851
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Posted
While wandering back toward home, or at least away from the obvious reporter who had encamped in the tea room (shudder), Melindra considered the so-called options.
Do nothing, and Surgeon Brown may be released.
Pursue justice, and he will be killed.
Having lived in various large cities, and so having had access to the grittiest of the nitty-gritty crime shows, Melindra had learned one important thing about kidnappers and their demands: if the head cop was having a bad hair day, then it didn't matter what you tried to do, as it would backfire.
Melindra resolved to consider the matter from another perspective. "Ah! There's the Country House Hotel. They have a lovely lobby, and I should be able to find a quiet niche for awhile before they begin serving early dinner."
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Float?...Do science too
Posts: 4318 | From: over th... no, there! | Registered: Dec 2002
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Ariston
Insane Unicorn
# 10894
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Posted
Evening came to the Angel and Greyhound, and with it the first of the locals looking for a drink after work, before dinner, or anywhere their wife wasn't. Hugh was infamous for his uncurable amnesia; any time one of the town's womenfolk called the Angel looking for her husband, he'd suddenly forget the name of the man who had sat at the same stool at the bar every day for years on end. Today, though, it seemed everyone was more concerned with who wasn't in the pub than who was; "Doc" Brown's customary place at the bar was left empty, with more than a few forlorn glances directed at the vacant seat.
"That'll be £2.70, if you don't mind, mate." Hugh made a point of having real ales from the local breweries on cask; in a perverse sort of way he was almost glad Doc had gone missing, as it kept people from noticing the Old Hooky had as well. So long as the Village Idiot held out and Mordred wasn't defeated, the pub might not run dry after all, even with all the Ale Trail tourists. Of course, if the BCS turned their attention to the North Cotswold Brewery delivery man, even Hugh would have to start making appearances at the new tea room.
"You have a light back there, Hugh?"
"Sure thing, mate."
From the front room, Hugh heard one of the local hotheads getting riled up. There'd been a bit too much talk about lynching for his taste, and certainly for his peace of mind. He loudly rang the last call bell, bringing the pub to a stunned silence; wasn't it only a quarter past six? Hugh never closed early, or even on time for that matter.
"If you're going to discuss lynchings, or even tarring and feathering, please take your heated words somewhere else. There'll be none of that here on my watch. I don't know who's responsible, nor do I particularly want to know. If you're the kind of person who gets an honest landlord in trouble, I suggest you proceed to The Carp post haste, as there's nobody meeting that description there!"
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“Therefore, let it be explained that nowhere are the proprieties quite so strictly enforced as in men’s colleges that invite young women guests, especially over-night visitors in the fraternity houses.” Emily Post, 1937.
Posts: 6849 | From: The People's Republic of Balcones | Registered: Jan 2006
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Okay, I think we're about ready to hold the first vote. Remember that voting is compulsory, so this phase will continue until everyone (except Dr Brown) has registered their preference. The options are:- To continue with a round of accusations and a possible lynching. In this case, the BCS will kill Dr Brown.
- To suspend accusations and lynching for another day. In this case, Dr Brown will be released.
As we have an even number of voters, a split vote will count in favour of option 1. So, please post your vote to this thread, and perhaps keep discussion to a minimum while the voting occurs.
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Joyeux
Ship's Lady of Laughter
# 3851
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Posted
(Interesting but unnecessary prose on Melindra's thought process cut)
Option 2 - Save the Surgeon
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Float?...Do science too
Posts: 4318 | From: over th... no, there! | Registered: Dec 2002
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Imaginary Friend:
...and perhaps keep discussion to a minimum while the voting occurs.
quote:
Originally posted by Joyeux:
(Interesting but unnecessary prose on Melindra's thought process cut)
Ah. Please accept my apologies, I certainly didn't mean for you to cut text that you had already written and which would be interesting and directly relevant to casting your vote. I guess what I meant by "keeping discussion to a minimum" was to keep on the topic of the vote, and to not respond directly to other player's comments. Certainly, explanation of why you are voting the way that you are is welcomed. Sorry again.
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Eliab
Shipmate
# 9153
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Posted
"Right, I think I've worked it out," concludes Alison, taking the well-chewed pencil out of her mouth and carefully re-applying her lip-stick.
"It would be in this BCS's best interests for us to ignore the threat. We know practically nothing, so the first gueses about who is likely to be guilty will probably be wrong. If we vote to lynch some poor fool, more likely than not, we get an innocent.
So why make a threat they want us to ignore? What do they gain from doing it?
The only answer I can see is: cover. It's going to be the easiest, most obvious, thing in the world for an innocent person to say - 'do nothing, save the surgeon'. I expect quite a few innocents will say that. In fact, it's going to be tricky to say anything else - who wants to doom a presumably innocent victim on the off-chance of a hunch being right? And to invite suspicion if the hunch turns out to be wrong? So the guilty can do that as well. It's easy and safe.
Trouble is, I don't have much of an alternative.
Ideally, I'd like to suggest ignoring the threat, having the discussion, learning something from it, and then, if we still don't have a plausible suspect, voting for inaction at that point, rather than now. But it looks as if the BCS would kill Andrew Brown even if we don't end up agreed on anybody. I'd like to have that confirmed before voting."
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"Perhaps there is poetic beauty in the abstract ideas of justice or fairness, but I doubt if many lawyers are moved by it"
Richard Dawkins
Posts: 4619 | From: Hampton, Middlesex, UK | Registered: Mar 2005
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Eliab
Shipmate
# 9153
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Posted
Also, I wouldn't mind knowing whether we should necessarily be treating the promise to release the surgeon if we vote to do nothing as being trustworthy.
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"Perhaps there is poetic beauty in the abstract ideas of justice or fairness, but I doubt if many lawyers are moved by it"
Richard Dawkins
Posts: 4619 | From: Hampton, Middlesex, UK | Registered: Mar 2005
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Joyeux
Ship's Lady of Laughter
# 3851
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Imaginary Friend:
Ah. Please accept my apologies, I certainly didn't mean for you to cut text that you had already written and which would be interesting and directly relevant to casting your vote. I guess what I meant by "keeping discussion to a minimum" was to keep on the topic of the vote, and to not respond directly to other player's comments. Certainly, explanation of why you are voting the way that you are is welcomed. Sorry again.
No worries! I hadn't actually already written anything, but had sort of figured out why Melindra would vote to save the surgeon, and then realized that not having the process out there might be better.
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Float?...Do science too
Posts: 4318 | From: over th... no, there! | Registered: Dec 2002
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Eliab:
But it looks as if the BCS would kill Andrew Brown even if we don't end up agreed on anybody. I'd like to have that confirmed before voting."
quote:
Originally posted by Eliab:
Also, I wouldn't mind knowing whether we should necessarily be treating the promise to release the surgeon if we vote to do nothing as being trustworthy.
All I shall say in response to these two questions is the following: The BCS has it's own mind.
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Eliab
Shipmate
# 9153
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Posted
In that case, let's go ahead. We can still decide not to accuse anyone, but it should be our (collective) choice, not one that's forced on us. I want to see who speaks up, who accuses whom and why,and how people vote, because that is, essentially, the only data we can get from which we can deduce guilt.
If we could guarantee saving the surgeon by complying with the BCS's demands, then that might be different, but it seems we can't be certain that he'll be released, whatever we do.
Alison Eliab votes for Option 1.
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"Perhaps there is poetic beauty in the abstract ideas of justice or fairness, but I doubt if many lawyers are moved by it"
Richard Dawkins
Posts: 4619 | From: Hampton, Middlesex, UK | Registered: Mar 2005
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Ariston
Insane Unicorn
# 10894
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Posted
Option Two.
There's a small chance that the Brotherhood will be true to its word if we discontinue this discussion of stringing up our fellow villagers, as opposed to none at all if we start looking for a rope. What could be gained from further discussion? We're already watching each other's every move, scrutinizing every word for a hint of guilt or, dare I say it, innocence even; engaging in this sort of mistrust and suspicion will lead nowhere. We should see if the BCS is true to its word and allow the police to continue their investigation–perhaps something will come to light in the morning.
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“Therefore, let it be explained that nowhere are the proprieties quite so strictly enforced as in men’s colleges that invite young women guests, especially over-night visitors in the fraternity houses.” Emily Post, 1937.
Posts: 6849 | From: The People's Republic of Balcones | Registered: Jan 2006
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
Vivian listened carefully to Ms Eliab's questions. The whole thing was rather tricky. If it was certain that the surgeon could be saved, then she would definitely be in favour of holding fire on looking for the perpetrators. She couldn't see any way that it would be in the interest of honest citizens to allow one of their own to go to his death. Not only would he die, but the Brotherhood might reasonably be expected to make another attack tonight, and then two innocents would be lost. If the town should come to a consensus on the identity of the criminal which was mistaken, the number would be three. That could not be to the advantage of the honest folk of Shipbury. Furthermore, as far as Vivian could see (unless there were more wheels within wheels than she cared to imagine), Andrew Brown could be considered definitively innocent. If further crimes were committed, it might be most useful for there to be at least one member of their population whose probity could be relied upon.
However, if the Brotherhood were not to be trusted, then this all went up in the air. Andrew Brown would still be dead, and no information would be gathered. So what it all came down to (assuming the villains were not to be trusted, which seemed reasonable, at the least) was a decision regarding how much useful information could be attained from making accusations now. This was a bit uncertain - there was nothing much to go on, unless anyone had been watching Mr Brown's house and was prepared to say so. But someone might get clumsy or daring. It might be worth it, but it was risky.
There was one further element to be taken into consideration - the votes already cast. So far there were two in favour of trying to save the surgeon, and one in favour of looking for the criminals. So if Vivian voted in favour of option 1, then it wouldn't really (yet) swing things either way - it would just set things back to equal, leaving others the chance to decide. Consequently she decided to hedge her bets and test the daring of the town, reasoning that this early in the day, the choice was still wide open. If they decided it was too risky, she would get outvoted anyway. Voting for what would surely be the unpopular option almost counted as an abstention at this stage, or so it seemed to her.
option 1
[missing word. Not a very important one but I'm a perfectionist]
[ 26. February 2010, 14:03: Message edited by: la vie en rouge ]
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Jay-Emm
Shipmate
# 11411
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Posted
As Jim wrote down option 2 he explained to the neighbours cat (that had broken in), if they do release him then all's well and good, and if not then the mafia either get a kill in hand or lose a proxy kill, depending on the perspective. On balance I'll go for saving life.
Posts: 1643 | Registered: May 2006
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
Four possibilities:
a) The BCS intend to keep their word and we don't debate accusations.
b) The BCS intend to keep their word and we do debate accusations.
c) The BCS don't intend to keep their word and we don't debate accusations.
d) The BCS don't intend to keep their word and we do debate accusations.
A). Nobody dies. The detective has, however, gained an extra night period in which to detect.
B). Andrew Brown dies. We gain a period of debate and accusation from which we can draw conclusions if sufficiently good at amateur psychology. However, we are already engaged in debating our response to this offer now.
We may kill a BCS member, or more likely, an innocent.
C). Andrew Brown dies.
D). Andrew Brown dies. We gain a period of debate and accusation from which we can draw conclusions if sufficiently good at amateur psychology. However, we are already engaged in debating our response to this offer now. We may kill a BCS member, or more likely, an innocent.
We can't do anything about whether the BCS intend to keep their word. B and D are the same. So, essentially it's how much better option A is than B, compared to how much worse option C is. It seems to me that at this stage C is not much worse for us than D is. A is a lot better for us. In fact, the only reason I have for hesitating is that A is so obviously good for us that I don't see how the BCS can think there's anything in keeping their word for them. I suspect that the BCS might be acting on some dictate from their god, sky fairy, or imaginary friend.
The only possible complication is that it looks very much as if Mr Brown is innocent. This might be a complicated way of making Mr Brown look innocent. In which case, going ahead with the accusation process would call the BCS's bluff. I don't think that possibility is worth passing up A for.
I vote for Option Two (don't go through the process of accusations).
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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fletcher christian
Mutinous Seadog
# 13919
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Posted
Dalbhac reckoned the whole damned affair was a foil; that the doctor was one of the BCS's own and right now was sitting in some cosy hotel swigging brandy.
But what else could the townsfolk do? If they decided to go on with a lynching they could be branded as savages! No, they had to wait.
Option 2
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'God is love insaturable, love impossible to describe'
Staretz Silouan
Posts: 5235 | From: a prefecture | Registered: Jul 2008
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Wet Kipper
Circus Runaway
# 1654
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Posted
Andrew wondered if there wasn't a 5th option.
He remembered that in the description of events, it was possible to have a round of accusations, and a vote, but still not lynch anyone because there wasn't a majority.
If even just deciding to accuse meant death for Dr Brown, then there would be little point in then not having a lynching.
If Dr Brown was going to die anyway, why not just open accusations and accuse him, making sure he got enough votes for a lynching?
now he was even more confused. He decided to go for Option 2, as that looked like the way of the fewest possible deaths. He was not about to suggest a lynching, condemming both the doctor and whichever poor soul was picked upon for "justice"
[ 26. February 2010, 18:01: Message edited by: Wet Kipper ]
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- insert randomly chosen, potentially Deep and Meaningful™ song lyrics here -
Posts: 9841 | From: further up the Hill | Registered: Nov 2001
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Gwai
Shipmate
# 11076
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Posted
Miss Rachel picked up her cane and her lawn chair. Maybe it was time for a little fresh air. Certainly it was time to enlighten the town. She put her lawn chair down (on the sidewalk not the grass. Wouldn't want to mar the grass) and begin to speak. Meanwhile, the housekeeper sighed with relief.
"Now look, you foolish people, I can not believe you all are even thinking about leaving our distinguished surgeon to die! What are you people, a bunch of savages?
Eh! I already knew you were a bunch of donkeys. But I'll have you thugs know that we have a perfectly good police force in this town. They'll do the job just fine. Leave them be and get to behaving yourselves!" (Option 2)
[ 26. February 2010, 18:17: Message edited by: Gwai ]
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A master of men was the Goodly Fere,
A mate of the wind and sea.
If they think they ha’ slain our Goodly Fere
They are fools eternally.
Posts: 11914 | From: Chicago | Registered: Feb 2006
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
Matilda Smudgeson was rather pleased at the sudden influx of people into her little teashop, though this was not quite the way that she had hoped to become established in the community. Understandably, the conversation at the little lace-covered tables was almost exclusively expressions of shock at the poor surgeon's distress and concerned debate about the townsfolks' response to the kidnappers' ultimatum. Normally she'd have been at the forefront of the gossip-mongers, but somehow she felt unsettled and uncertain of whom she could trust.
What should she do? Go for accusations and she could end up with two innocent deaths on her conscience. No, that was unthinkable. Option 2 it had to be.
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
Bo Langton put down the slab of Parkin on the tea room counter, and hefted her basket of still warm Lardy Johns over the till to Miss Matilda. I agree, she nodded. Option 2 it has to be.
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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leonato
Shipmate
# 5124
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Posted
Hmm, now we can't trust the mob as far as we could throw them, so why believe anything they offer? Not making any accusations gives the mob a free night to do as they please while innocent citizens sit quietly by learning nothing, with the benefit of saving (possibly) one (possibly) innocent villager. Not a great exchange.
I wouldn't be surprised if the kidnapping were just a bluff so the Mafia can make themselves look all innocent and caring. Trust nobody!
We need to be brave. I vote for Option 1.
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leonato... Much Ado
Posts: 892 | From: Stage left | Registered: Oct 2003
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
Miz Lillian sat thinking of the possibilities. If she chooses option 1, there is a slight chance that an evil doer could be stopped before any other victims are accosted. Yet, that option ensures the death of the poor surgeon, and isn't he such a nice young man?
No, we must take the chance that he is yet alive, and not in cahoots with the BCS. She sends an Imaginary message... option 2.
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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Pax Romana
Shipmate
# 4653
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Posted
Option 2 - save the doctor and start again to try to figure things out. Don't give in to the organization, but don't put a life in danger. Tomorrow is another day.
Kate Dominic giggled at her tendency to use cliched quotes from other writers. She really must cure herself of that habit.
Pax Romana
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I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.
James Thurber
Posts: 4598 | From: New York City | Registered: Jun 2003
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
"Well," thought Bo, "things are definitely going from bad to worse here in Shibury. Fancy some folks actually WANTING more murder and mayhem." She shook her head. But what could you expect with this influx of foreigners who had probably been watching shows like Midsomer Murders for years? She tallied up the 14 votes.
Option 1 (murder and mayhem) Alison Eliab; Vivian Rudge; and Leo Gnattson.
Option 2 (save the surgeon) Mellindra Talleston; Hugh Northfield; Jim Cartwright; Dan Floyd; Dalbahc Nuabha; Andrew Thomas; Old Miss Rachel; Matilda Smudgeson; Bo Langton; Mz. Lillian Austin; and Kate Dominic.
She wondered what would happen now. Would the surgeon be saved?
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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Jay-Emm
Shipmate
# 11411
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Posted
Jim also was looking at the list he had drawn up of voters.
option 1 option 2
_________________Melindra
Alison_________________
_________________Hugh
Vivian_________________
_________________Jim
_________________Dafyd
_________________Dalbhac
_________________Andrew
_________________M Rachel
_________________Matilda (decider)
_________________Bo Langton
Leo_________________
_________________Lillian
_________________Kate
He looked at it for a while, clearly most innocents went for option 2, but presumably so would most fakes... This whole situation was unusual, as his mind continued to go round in circles he picked up his bag and went to the pub.
[edited as spaces compressed]
[ 28. February 2010, 13:44: Message edited by: Jay-Emm ]
Posts: 1643 | Registered: May 2006
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
So, the villagers have decided: No accusations today.
Now they must wait and see what the BCS will do in response...
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
It was a quarter to midnight. The villagers couldn't get used to the waiting. There were groups gathered at the pub, the tea rooms and the coffee house (all of which had stayed open late), but no-one knew what to say to each other. You could cut the tension with a knife.
Then, suddenly, uproar in Market Square. A van without number plates came careering round the corner from Down Street and screeched to a halt by the war memorial. The rear doors opened, and a body bag was dumped unceremoniously into the road. The driver lit up the tyres, and the van was gone.
Villagers were stunned. It was fully five seconds before anybody moved. Then, as one, they rushed to the abandoned bag and tore open the zip. It was Dr Andrew Brown. His body appeared unharmed, but he was certainly dead. Dazed, they reeled back. Some called for immediate vengeance, others that the police must be called, and still more cried that the village must remain united. A nurse pushed her way to the front of the crowd and knelt over the body. Smelling the dead man's lips, she announced "he's been poisoned!"
Then Archibald Mortimer, the head of the PCC stepped into the middle of the throng and implored "People, listen. This has been a tragedy. I personally grieve most deeply for Doctor Brown and stand in solidarity with his family and friends. But now is not the time for rash action or harsh words. We must take our time to consider our next move. Let us reconvene tomorrow and debate this fully, but until then, go home, protect yourselves and your families, and search your memories for anything that might give away the identities of these heinous killers."
The crowd listened, and knowing in their hearts that he was right, quietly slipped away into the night.
Night falls.
If you have night actions, please take them now.
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Oh, and I forgot to say:
Just to make it explicit, the BCS decided to go ahead and kill Dr Brown. He was a villager.
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Joyeux
Ship's Lady of Laughter
# 3851
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Posted
Question: Does the dearly departed get to post a death scene (without revealing identities to the remaining players)?
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Float?...Do science too
Posts: 4318 | From: over th... no, there! | Registered: Dec 2002
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fletcher christian
Mutinous Seadog
# 13919
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Posted
oops
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'God is love insaturable, love impossible to describe'
Staretz Silouan
Posts: 5235 | From: a prefecture | Registered: Jul 2008
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Eliab
Shipmate
# 9153
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Posted
"But looking on the bright side..." mutters Alison Eliab as she goes - cautiously - back to her rented apartment "...the photograph of the body-bag flying out of the rear of the speeding van has got to be worth at least one awards nomination. I just hope I'm still around for the ceremony".
Inside, Alison makes a few brief and composed calls to editors, agrees a fee, and then fires up her lap-top to dispatch her story and pictures. She imagines the headline: "STATE OF NATURE? Environmental Protestors Turn to Murder", over the image of the young surgeon's horribly discoloured face.
The journalist shrugs off her jacket, removes her earrings and shoes, and turns off the computer. "That face..." she shudders uncontrolably, and her composure vanishes as she rushes to the bathroom to vomit noisily into the toilet basin.
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"Perhaps there is poetic beauty in the abstract ideas of justice or fairness, but I doubt if many lawyers are moved by it"
Richard Dawkins
Posts: 4619 | From: Hampton, Middlesex, UK | Registered: Mar 2005
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Joyeux, Dr Brown is very welcome to describe his final moments if he would like. Up to him.
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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El Greco
Shipmate
# 9313
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Posted
The bell struck one, and shook the silent tower;
The graves give up their dead: fair Elenor
Walk's by the castle gate, and looked in.
A hollow groan ran thro' the dreary vaults.
She shriek'd aloud, and sunk upon the steps
On the cold stone her pale cheek. Sickly smells
Of death, issue as from a sepulchre,
And all is silent but the sighing vaults.
A crack broke the silence. Andrew put down the volume with Blake's poetry and turned around.
"What are you doing here? How did you come in?"
Before he could stand up, a gun was pointing at him.
"Not a move", a familiar voice said.
"What do you want?"
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You have betrayed our town. You had a chance to become one of us, and you spat on our face. Drink this. Let's not make a mess here, shall we?"
Andrew took the cup. He realized there was no way out. People whom he considered friends and neighbors, turned out to be deranged criminals. How could they do this to him?
He drank from the cup. He felt his heart slow. He got dizzy.
O Elenor, beware the cursed duke,
O give not him thy hand. now I am dead;
He seeks thy love; who, coward, in the night,
Hired a villain to bereave my life.
Familiar verses visited his mind. Then everything got dark.
A gloomy voice cried: "Is it done?"
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Ξέρω εγώ κάτι που μπορούσε, Καίσαρ, να σας σώσει.
Posts: 11285 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
With a sigh, Miss Smudgeson turned the sign on her teashop door from "open" to "closed" out of respect for the late lamented Mr Brown. Her faith in human nature was shaken to the core. She had truly believed that a vote for the most reasonable option would have moved the terrorists to mercy, finding hard to envisage a heart so callous as to commit cold blooded murder over such an issue.
Perhaps the tearooms was a mistake, she thought as she slowly nibbled subconsciously on a slice of home made Victoria Sandwich. Perhaps the call of the English countryside had been a siren call after all. Perhaps she should quit whilst she was ahead, move away from her new home where progress seemed so dangerously unwelcome, and seek a fresh start ...er.. afresh.
But no, everyone knew the best cure for shock was a nice cup of tea. She had a duty to her new townsfellows. Putting the kettle on, she flung the door open and turned the sign around again, then began loading teatrays with cups of a refreshing brew to share amongst the still shaken crowd. No charge. At times like these, folk had to stick together. (Though she had to admit she felt a frisson of discomfort at the thought that someone drinking her tea and eating her cakes could well be a murderer... and a poisoner at that!).
At last, teapot and till equally empty, she closed shop again, locked and bolted the door, and made her way cautiously to bed.
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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Pax Romana
Shipmate
# 4653
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Posted
Kate Dominic is grateful to see that the tearooms are open after all. She needs her morning coffee after her morning walk, especially on such a day as this.
She buys a newspaper from a kiosk and turns to the front page. There it is, the story of the murder of Doctor Brown, written by the town's own Alison Eliab. It is a well-written article and Kate is intrigued. She must make the acquaintance of her fellow writer, even if she IS a journalist. Perhaps together they can solve the mystery of who is committing murders in this nice, peaceful town.
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I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.
James Thurber
Posts: 4598 | From: New York City | Registered: Jun 2003
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
I'll remind you that it's still the night phase so we should refrain from speculating on the identities of other characters. Thanks. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
And, I should point out, that it appears from Dr Brown's account of his own murder, that the poor physician was dead even before the BCS removed him from his house, and before they left the note claiming that he was kidnapped. Dastardly!
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
Dan Ffloyd had hoped that the protestors against developers were acting out of opposition to the bourgeouis capitalist multinational property developers. But it was clear that they were in fact reactionary aristocrats who didn't keep their word to the people.
Anyway, Dan didn't think they'd done anything too wrong. Seeing if it was an honest offer from the BCS, or an offer forced on them by their imaginary friend, had been worth a bet. It hadn't paid off.
As he stood in the town square waiting for tourists to pass by, Dan wondered which of the villagers going about their business was devious enough to have suggested this proposition?
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
Miz Lillian took off her scarf and wool coat. She held them as if not recognizing them for an instant or two, then hung them on the coat tree. What a hair raising evening it's been. Thank goodness for Hazel.
When the maid had gone to Lillian's sitting room complaining of stuffy air, and wanting to open a window...just a crack, mind you...Lillian suggested a brisk walk before bed, instead. Especially since the house was more than a little chilly in her estimation.
Hazel was very accommodating, not wanting Miz Lillian out so late by herself, and also enjoying the thought of a late-night stroll, something she hadn't done since she was in her early 20's!
Well, had they not been near to the war memorial, where they saw the crowd around the body bag, they might not have know anything had happened until the next morning. The Shipbury Tea Rooms was the perfect place to calm down, enjoying Miss Smudgeson's hospitality. And to gossip with the neighbors, of course.
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
Bo Langton sat down to her breakfast of Arbroath smokies and poached Legbars and flicked open the local rag. The haddock stuck in her throat as she looked at the sad sad picture on the front page. Who were these awful people claiming to be preserving the heart and heritage of Shipbury? She didn't know whether to scream or cry. She threw down her fork in disgust. This was NOT the way to garner local support for all that was excellent in Shipbury. What next, she wondered?
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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Pax Romana
Shipmate
# 4653
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Posted
Kate Dominic was taking her early morning stroll before heading into the Shipbury Tea Rooms, observing everything and everyone around her, as a good writer must. The plot of that new fantasy novel had come to a halt in her mind, and she needed to find a way to extricate her characters out of the situation she had put them in. Perhaps she shouldn't have gotten them so entangled.
Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind by two unseen assailants, a pillowcase was thrown over her head and she was dragged behind a tall bush. She felt the cold steel of the blade as it entered her ribcage and expired. Her last words were the same ones once spoken by the Emperor Nero:
"What an artist is perishing!"
Pax Romana
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I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.
James Thurber
Posts: 4598 | From: New York City | Registered: Jun 2003
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Pax Romana
Shipmate
# 4653
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Posted
PS: The blade did not expire. I did.
Sorry. The time for editing was past by the time I noticed that little grammatical/punctuation gaffe.
Pax Romana
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I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.
James Thurber
Posts: 4598 | From: New York City | Registered: Jun 2003
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Imaginary Friend
Real to you
# 186
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Posted
Morning breaks.
So, there has been another murder! Kate Dominic has been brutally knifed by the BCS. She was a Policeman.
The accusation phase begins. I refer you to a previous post where I explained the procedures. So, whodunnit?!
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"We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass."
Brian Clough
Posts: 9455 | From: Left a bit... Right a bit... | Registered: May 2001
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Jay-Emm
Shipmate
# 11411
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Posted
Jim left his house and went down the street, as he turned a corner he sure something in the bushes, a drunk? He examined cautiously and found Kate lying in a pool of blood. It was blatant that there could be nothing done for her. He rang the emergency services and as he reported the victim there was a sharp intake of breath.
A chill struck his heart the front line of defence was gone.
Posts: 1643 | Registered: May 2006
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
When Bo got to the co-op that morning, Jim was talking incoherently into the phone, and a crowd was beginning to gather outside. Further down the street, police tape had cordened off the road outside the tea rooms. As another body bag was loaded into the emergency services vehicle, Bo felt a shiver run down her spine. These felons had to be stopped. It was time for the decent folk to put their heads together.
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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fletcher christian
Mutinous Seadog
# 13919
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Posted
Dalbhac always had suspicions about Bo Langton
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'God is love insaturable, love impossible to describe'
Staretz Silouan
Posts: 5235 | From: a prefecture | Registered: Jul 2008
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
Bo had been wondering why Hugh had seemed to want to divert suspicion away from Leo in Round One. Leo, interestingly, had voted for murder and mayhem while Hugh had then voted to save the surgeon. Bo was suspicious of both, but nominates Leo Gnattson.
Bo knew she wasn't guilty of murder, despite her firm belief in promoting local produce. But she also knew it would be a neat temporary frame-up. She only hoped the locals knew her well enough to believe she could never harm another soul.
[ 03. March 2010, 03:24: Message edited by: Banner Lady ]
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
Hhhmmm… Vivian was suspiscious of Bo herself, but noted that the Irish painter fellow had got there first. Anyways, here's why Vivian had planned to accuse her (we're in a debate stage, no?):
One of the reasons that Vivian had voted for option 1 was that she had hoped to force a tight vote. Even if there were finally no accusations, it seemed to her that some useful information might be garnered that way. Since they now knew furthermore that the killers had been lying all along, she surmised that what they would have done would be: wait until the end of the round to see which way the wind was blowing, then if possible vote for option 2 (no investigation), knowing that Andrew Brown was already dead.
This was pretty much what Bo had done. She had cast her vote late, despite being seen about town earlier in the day, and had offered no reasoning for her choice beyond her attempt to butter up Miss Smudgeson. Furthermore she had popped up like a little mushroom as soon as the polls were closed, in what looked to Vivian like a rather clumsy attempt to incriminate the small number of those who, ironically, had voted for the option which would have actually been in the town's favour.
The accusation of Leo made this look even more likely to her. Vivian thought it highly unlikely that any of the killers had voted for option 1. There had only been three votes in this direction and these were now sticking out like a sore thumb. A sensible killer would try to go a little more unnoticed than that. Nope, Bo Langton was looking very dodgy indeed.
This was a bit of a pain in the butt because if Vivian was right, she was going to have to find a new produce supplier (and even if she was wrong, she supposed, since she doubted that Bo would keep on selling to her if it turned out that she'd wrongly accused her of murder, kidnap and extortion). Oh well. Better that than buying your cheese from a murderer. That couldn't be good for the hotel's reputation...
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
As Matilda Smudgeson busied herself with the early morning tasks of preparing the teashop for the first customers of the day, she glanced with surprise at the clock. Although the tearooms had not been open for long yet, there had been a degree of predictability amongst her customers, so it was unusual that Kate Dominic was not there yet, eager for a cup of coffee after her morning walk.
Content that all was ready, Matilda pulled the lace curtain aside and was shocked to find the police outside, cordoning off the road and trying to disperse the growing crowd of people gathering around what was clearly the scene of yet another crime. She opened the door and enquired of the officer outside what was going on, little expecting the shock that awaited her. No wonder Kate's usual table still stood empty! And to think she'd been protecting the townfolk as an undercover policewoman all along! Whatever would happen now?
With the street cordoned off it looked as though little custom would be coming her way at all today, so she loaded a tray with the fresh cakes and biscuits that Bo had provided the previous evening and took them out to share with the crowd and, she had to admit, to listen to some of the gossip. She was shocked to hear people voicing suspicions about people like Bo Langton and Leo Gnattson. She herself found it difficult to suspect anyone.. though Leo hadn't been the only one to vote for "murder and mayhem", as Jim had so finely put it. Perhaps he was on to something.
She would keep her ear to the ground and see what other people thought before she jumped to any ill-founded conclusions. Bad enough that three people now were dead.
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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Eliab
Shipmate
# 9153
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Posted
A bored Alison Eliab sat in the public gallery in Court 26, of the RCJ in London, waiting for the Judge to start the trial she was meant to be reporting on."If I can get here from Shipbury, the sod could at least start on time, even if there's a poxy fire on the Northern line..." she mutters.
She scours her copy of Metro for the third time in the hope that there is some article she has not yet read. The court papers which she lifted from the Advocate's robing room half an hour previously remain safely in her briefcase - because a pupil barrister is still looking forlornly around like a lost puppy in search of his missing file, and Alison does not like to tease. At least, not when she is as pissed off as she is now. "The sooner this circus is over and I can get back on the murder story, the better" she snarls.
[OOC: my trial starts today - I'll be looking in, but may not post much for the rest of this week.]
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"Perhaps there is poetic beauty in the abstract ideas of justice or fairness, but I doubt if many lawyers are moved by it"
Richard Dawkins
Posts: 4619 | From: Hampton, Middlesex, UK | Registered: Mar 2005
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