MM: Scene of the Crime: The Hot Tub

A danger to me? Maybe, but not in that way.

No Noel, I just don't buy it. Aside from the wine glass, what proof do you have?

Was it her hair dryer? Were her fingerprints on it?

 

Right.

//folds his hands

Let's take a different approach. Theresa, in the next room, sits on her bed. Crystal, at the end of the hall, is in her room, too. Theresa's door is open.

//points to the tub

Torrance and epic are having a drink together. She leaves after some time.

//walks to the door

The killer, then, must have been waiting right around the corner. If Torrance left the tub and went straight to her room downstairs, and Theresa had her door wide open, the killer must have been...

//leaves the room

//voice from behind the opened door:

...here. Lying in wait. And out of sight.

//appears again

Do you follow me so far?

 

Yeah I think so, you're making more sense now.

Then what?

 

At this point, the killer must already have taken the hair dryer from Crystal's room. Because at the time of the killing, Crystal is in her room, according to her testimony, so she would have seen anyone enter it.

And Theresa would have seen the killer walk past her door to Crystal. But Theresa didn't see anyone -- not Crystal, who has to walk past Theresa's door to get here.

Theresa closed her door when the arguing went on and on.

So what do we have?

The killer is standing behind that door, with the hair dryer. He or she waits for Torrance to leave, then strikes.

Now think. Are Crystal and Theresa still suspects in this scenario?

 

Hmmm, well I suppose Theresa could be lying, in which case either one of them could still be suspects.

But I don't think she is, so no... I guess that rules both of them out.

 

Ho!

Imagine that Theresa is lying. Her door is open, but it is she who stands behind the opened door. She leaves her door open so she can run right back into safety. No one would have seen her.

Imagine that Crystal is lying. She stands behind the opened door. She has taken the hair dryer with her, and waits for Torrance to leave. Theresa wouldn't have seen anyone walk past her door, because Crystal is already here.

//taps his fingers on the door

Someone was here, Eddie. Someone damn smart.

 

Yes, but who?

Not Quentin? Is that what you're getting at, do you think it was Quentin?

 

//keeps silent, smiles

We've established the killer is smart, and, at the time of Torrance's departure, was standing behind this door.

Then he or she sees his or her chance.

The killer comes up from behind the door...

//walks to the tub

...throws the hair dryer into the tub, electrocuting epic. He, with the last of his legendary powers, manages to write the killer's initial in the mirror.

If Crystal is the killer, she might have deliberately touched the dryer with her bare hands. Still, to make it appear as if someone tried to frame her, she takes two gloves from the cabinet...

//walks to the cabinet

...here. She crams the gloves into the toilet, so that they're stuck and won't be flushed from the toilet.

If someone else is the killer, he or she already wore the gloves before even taking the hair dryer. Then tries to flush the things -- but they won't flush. Or he or she thinks they have safely been disposed of.

 

Right, so the killer left in a hurry. Maybe they heard some one coming, a witness who hasn't spoken up.

I wonder... Steve seems to have seen something that night, something that he's pretty shaken up about. Do you think he may have seen the murder Noel?

 

Ah!

//waves his finger in the air

Now you're raising an interesting point. Where was Steve? He obviously hadn't been seen for some time.

The killer, interestingly enough, must have been waiting here quite some time as well -- long enough to wait for Torrance to leave, and long enough to make sure Theresa and Crystal wouldn't see anything.

Steve's car crashed. But when? And who says Steve was the driver?

 

Yeah, I guess we all just kind of assumed that Steve was the driver, but that's not necessarily true.

But what are you getting at Noel? I don't think I fully understand. Are you suggesting that Steve may have been more than just a witness?

 

He could have been a witness. Killers witness their own crimes.

 

So you do think it was Steve! So then, do you think that he is faking his "amnesia"?

Because if he really doesn't remember committing the murder, then why would he try to frame me?

 

//laughs

I'm only giving you the possibilities, Eddie.

Let's take a look at Holly. She shares the floor with Theresa and Crystal, but was at the bar all the time.

Or was she? Have you seen her standing there after epic had left to go to the tub?

 

Well no, but like I told you before I was in my room all night, so I wouldn't know where she was.

 

Exactly.

Though you also have been in the pool, Eddie. Remember that little inconsistency in your story?

And you can get from the pool to the bathroom without being seen by....Melody, who was in her room and would have seen you walk past it like Theresa would have seen Crystal.

Do you see what I mean, Eddie? The killer is a genius. He or she has set this up in such a way that everyone...

//knocks on the door with his fist

...could have been behind this door! Anyone! I can't help but have the greatest respect for a criminal mind like that.

 

Yeah, okay I forgot about that. Really the only thing on my mind that night was getting a good buzz.

So where does this leave us? Back at square one?

 

//grins

You just stay and watch, Eddie. Soon you'll find out who the killer is. I'll show you, and you'll hit yourself for not having seen what was so obvious all the time.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must leave again. I have to do some final things before definitely closing the net on the killer.

 

Alright Noel. You seem to have a firmer grasp on the situation than I do. Perhaps this really will be the first case you crack.

//Walks into the house in search of a drink