Think Back: Which of the three paths did you want the story to continue down?
Option 1: The victim’s body is more thoroughly analysed.
Alex takes a closer look at the body, and can smell around his mouth the faint scent of bitter almonds. The investigators conclude from this that Smith was not killed by a gunshot wound, but rather poisoned with cyanide.
[Where are the remains of the poison?]
The group searches outside, and below a set of windows they find a shattered glass vial that must have fallen from one of the rooms. After inspecting the pieces, they smell bitter almonds again, and conclude that this is the same vial that held the poison that killed Smith.
Skylar suggests that they look for fingerprints on the glass, but Danny shakes his head. “It rained last night, remember? Any prints would have been washed away.”
Option 2: A second victim is discovered.
As the staff file into the Castle, a scream rings out from the kitchen and the investigators rush downstairs. Upon reaching it, they are met with a second victim: one of the cooks is dead on the floor. Other than the look of terror on his face, there are no clear indications of how he died.
Alex leans down and starts to look over the cook. Danny tsks and warns him not to get his fingerprints on the body. After all, he wouldn’t want them to think that he was just covering up evidence.
After an investigation of the body, Alex concludes that he must have been poisoned.
[Where are the remains of the poison?]
The group searches outside, and below a set of windows they find a shattered glass vial that must have fallen from one of the rooms. Jesse picks a piece up with corner of her shirt, and smells the scent of bitter almonds. From this, they conclude that the poison was cyanide.
Skylar suggests that they look for fingerprints on the glass, but Danny shakes his head. “It rained last night, remember? Any prints would have been washed away.”
Option 3: One of the investigators finds a half-written note in under the bed in Smith’s room.
It says: “I have been betrayed. Someone here is a fraud, but I didn’t know who until I was poisoned tonight. It has to be...”
The note trails off in an unintelligible scrawl, and the investigators assume that it is because of his death.
[Where are the remains of the poison?]
The group searches outside, and below a set of windows they find a shattered glass vial that must have fallen from one of the rooms. Jesse picks a piece up with corner of her shirt, and smells the scent of bitter almonds. From this, they conclude that the poison was cyanide.
Skylar suggests that they look for fingerprints on the glass, but Danny shakes his head. “It rained last night, remember? Any prints would have been washed away.”
[Back to main story]
The investigators look up at the three windows above where the cyanide bottle most have fallen from. They are determined to be Skylar’s, Morgan’s, and Alex’s, so the investigators search those three rooms.
In Skylar’s, they find a large wad of money. Skylar blushes, and says, “I know what this looks like, but it’s not what you think. Smith was paying me to investigate everyone here. I don’t know why, but he paid a lot of money for it, so I didn’t really ask questions.”
Danny looks skeptical, but they move on to the next room.
There is nothing interesting in Alex’s room.
So they move on.
In Morgan’s room, they find a notebook in the dresser.
The first entry has a number of newspaper clippings, each one talking about the investigators' triumphs. The entry reads: I saw these clippings today about how hight all my old pupils have risen. But I can't help but think that some of them are too good to be true. I have to get answers.
The second entry reads: I sent all my old prodigies a letter today, asking them to come to Hearst Castle for a special reunion. I'm sure that whoever has been lying about their accomplishments will see the invitation and refuse to come. Then I'll have them. For the record, my money's on-- The page is torn off just then, so no one can tell which name Smith had written.
The third entry reads: They're all here now. All of them. I was so certain that at least one wouldn't have showed up... Maybe their deductive powers have been lessened as they took their short cuts. Or maybe I'm wrong...
Instead of pronouncing her innocence, Morgan grabs a pencil and the notebook, and on the page behind the one that was ripped, lightly shades a portion. When Morgan sees the message revealed, she quickly closes the notebook and looks around the room at the other investigators, her face pale.
“I bet it was your name in there, wasn’t it Morgan?” Danny sneers. A few of the others glance at each other, uncomfortable.
“Why would I try to reveal what was in there if I knew it was my own name?” Morgan snaps back.
“To throw off suspicion,” Jesse says timidly. “Like using my gun to cover the fact that it was a poisoning, or wearing shoes that no one owns when climbing up to the window.”
“Yeah,” Sam agrees. “I bet you just didn’t think we would actually check your room for evidence.”
“Or somebody else planted the notebook in here! Doesn’t that seem like the more rational explanation?” Morgan argues.
“Well of course the murderer would say that,” Danny says.
“I didn’t kill Smith! But I know who did. And they know that I know, and that Smith knew, because why else would they rip off the page that had their name on it?"
Think About It: Who killed Chief Smith?
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