A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 90

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 90.
[A body has surfaced near the cruise ship today. It’s so badly waterlogged that identifying the face is nearly impossible, and most of the passengers are sleeping off yesterday’s Cocktail Party, unwilling to open their cabin doors. You, Detective Jane, know this is Will’s doing. And before Will covers his tracks, you mean to discover where he struck, what he used, and which victim fell.]
[This murder case is a recombination of five murders from “Events Aboard the Campbell Cruise.” Therefore, the victim is one of five victims from the play, the murder location is one of five locations, and the murder weapon is likewise one of five. Stir your memories from the play and deduce the answer.]
[During the Mission, Players may only access the Basement through the Second Floor. During this time, the Servant and Aiden Darvel’s persona cannot influence the Player.]
[Now, let the Mission begin. From this moment, explore the cruise and gather information. Time remaining: 6 hours 40 minutes 29 seconds]
Caroline watched the Stopwatch spinning before her eyes.
This Mission looked deceptively difficult—they’d given her time until midnight. The open-ended questions about where, with what, and whom Will had killed seemed impossibly hard to answer.
‘I remember the five victims.’
Caroline began retracing the plot.
Victim number one: the haughty Countess. A woman who delighted in tormenting children, who had bullied Will in his youth.
Victim number two: the bald-headed Baron. He had beaten Will and his mother, treating them as less than human.
Victim number three: the Auctioneer who made people merchandise. Will and his mother had actually been sold at auction.
Victim number four: the beautiful Marquis. He had humiliated Will’s mother, wanting to possess her.
Victim number five: the Circus Master from Will’s previous Circus.
Next, she needed to think about where the murders had taken place.
‘I remember each location, but how am I supposed to know where they are in the Mansion?’
As she stood uncertain, something unfamiliar caught her eye at the edge of her vision. Beside her smaller bag lay a rolled-up Map of similar size.
‘Ah.’
The swimming pool machinery room in the Basement had become the Cruise’s Engine Room. The First Floor Dining Room was the Cruise’s Dining Room, Aiden’s Entertainment Room was now the Cruise’s Entertainment Room, Will’s space on the Second Floor doubled as a Cocktail Bar while Caroline’s room had become the Study.
Caroline headed first to the First Floor Dining Room.
[!]
The moment her foot touched down, a Yellow Exclamation Mark appeared, and she hurried forward. The room was empty, but the table was set with dishes, Napkins, and utensils.
‘What’s here?’
If a knife had gone missing, she would have suspected it as a murder weapon. But with no obvious oddities in the setting, Caroline was about to turn back.
Then she noticed two place settings that looked different.
On the plate with the yellow border, a Napkin folded into a diamond shape should have had a fork and spoon arranged scissor-style across it. But the last two places had no Napkins at all.
Caroline noted the fact on a piece of paper and pen that had appeared beside her as if by magic.
‘She used it in the murder.’
After that, no Yellow Exclamation Mark appeared. In the play, Will does strangle someone alone in the Dining Room while rummaging for food, but this place bore no such traces.
Caroline then left the Dining Room and headed to the Entertainment Room on the same floor.
‘Perhaps because I’m seeing the world through Aiden’s eyes, this Entertainment Room feels a bit different from his usual space.’
More dynamic amusements were arranged here—a Billiard table, a simple Golf Rod, Darts, and a small archery game setup. Will would have become a clown here, performing Juggling and Magic.
Caroline moved step by step, examining each object.
[!]
Right on cue, a Yellow Exclamation Mark appeared.
The Billiard table itself showed nothing unusual. The balls for pool were neatly racked in a triangle, and the Cue Stick bore no signs of violence. If someone had been struck with it, there would be blood.
The Golf Rod and the Darts revealed nothing either.
Frowning, Caroline moved toward the archery game setup, but it too seemed unremarkable. In that space divided into yellow and red territories, five Arrows and bows lay neatly on each side.
‘Why would the Exclamation Mark appear if there’s nothing here?’
Caroline sighed, about to search for another clue, when her final glance across the Arrows made her realize: the red team’s Arrows numbered only four.
‘An Arrow was used.’
Napkin and Arrow. Caroline jotted down what she’d found again.
Then she climbed the stairs to the Second Floor, toward the Study and the Cocktail Bar.
When she stepped into the Cocktail Bar, what greeted her was chaos. Overturned and shattered glasses, empty bottles.
And over them all, a phantasmagoria of wild revelry unfolded before her eyes. Dancing, singing, drinking, lights…….
Dazzlingly gorgeous pandemonium. In that image, Will was laughing, yet it was plain he found the guests utterly repulsive.
Caroline picked up an empty Coupe Glass still bearing only a residue of apple mint. Then someone’s testimony surfaced in her mind.
“Yesterday’s Cocktail Party was magnificent. Everyone seemed to drink at least five glasses each. Oh, except the Circus Master. He drank about half his first glass before the Servant called him outside, and after that I’m not sure. Though it looked like he might have come back later?”
As she touched the empty Wine Glasses stacked in a tree shape, another testimony echoed.
“And everyone overindulged, but the Countess kept stealing other people’s drinks and managed barely two glasses before dozing off early in her seat. The Marquis and the Auctioneer drank like madmen inside the Cocktail Bar, then went out onto the Deck hand in hand. The party ended around then.”
She turned deeper into the bar and moved toward Will’s space, where the wine and supplies were kept. She touched the Shaker and the Ice Bucket with its melted water.
“As for clown Will? He never left his post while making drinks. Doesn’t even seem to have gone to the restroom. Though once—just once—he did step away. Said he was all out of ice and would fetch more. Came back in less than five minutes though.”
“I thought maybe he was slacking off, so I followed him upstairs to check, and there he was with ice and Syrup in hand. His hands looked full, so I offered to help, and he thanked me and handed some over.”
Images matching the testimonies flickered through her mind. Caroline saw the Countess sleeping shamefully, the Marquis and the Auctioneer’s retreating figures as they left together, and the Baron dancing.
‘Who was killed?’
The Napkin and Arrow didn’t seem likely to have been used inside the Cocktail Bar. Unless perhaps poison was smeared on the Napkin and it was used to cover someone’s mouth.
Caroline tilted her head thoughtfully and exited the Cocktail Bar, moving toward the Study.
Then, in the Hallway, she discovered a large Trash Bin.
[!]
And right on schedule, a Yellow Exclamation Mark appeared.
Caroline lifted the lid of the Trash Bin and peered into its dim interior.
The deep black container was too dark to see anything; she needed light. Caroline pulled the Lantern from her bag and shone it inside.
“Oh!”
Significant items filled the bin. Caroline kicked the entire Trash Bin over, spilling its contents across the floor.
[Countess’s Scarf]
The lady’s blue Scarf emerged first—soaked with blood.
‘Blood?’
As she shook out the rolled fabric caked with blood, another piece of cloth fell away. A White Shirt—more than half its front drenched in crimson.
Caroline examined it carefully. The shirt was undoubtedly a man’s, and judging by the size and pattern of the bloodstains, they had originated from the abdomen.
‘Then the Victim must be male.’
The Countess was eliminated from consideration.
Caroline continued thinking. The Circus Master had abandoned his drink and left, while the Marquis and the Auctioneer had stumbled outside in a drunken stupor.
‘I need more information.’
Caroline recorded the Shirt and Scarf, then made her way to the Study.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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