Death of a Thief

by DoctorH

A Murdoch Mysteries teleplay. A professional thief is shot and killed, and the deceased's brother fears (with good reason) that he will now be targeted for death. There are odd aspects to the case, including an unusual reconstruction of the shooting by Dr. Ogden, and Murdoch finds it a challenge to sort through the evidence. As always, a solution to the mystery is included.

1. Act 1

(FADE IN. Establishing shot of downtown Toronto. CUT TO: Ext. of the rooming house. There is a cart parked outside the building suitable for moving a dead body, but there is no one near the cart. A CONSTABLE stands guard at the entrance to the rooming house. MURDOCH approaches the entrance. As MURDOCH approaches the entrance, a PHOTOGRAPHER emerges, with equipment. MURDOCH addresses the PHOTOGRAPHER.)

MURDOCH
You have taken your photographs?

PHOTOGRAPHER
Yes, sir, Detective Murdoch. Doctor Odgen is still on the scene. Take the stairs up.

MURDOCH
Thank you.

(MURDOCH proceeds to the door. CONSTABLE recognizes MURDOCH and grants entry; MURDOCH and the CONSTABLE acknowledge one another as MURDOCH enters the building. CUT TO: Int. of the rooming house, a hallway. MURDOCH climbs some stairs to the hallway and sees OGDEN walking toward him. OGDEN is grim. Farther down the hallway stand three men, apparently waiting in the hallway outside a room. FIRST MAN and SECOND MAN are in their 20s and are fit; they are dressed as men to move a body and they have a litter with them. MAGEE is older and more slight; his attire indicates that he is low-class.)

OGDEN
Ah, William. The body is in the room at the far end, there. After you've had an opportunity to observe, let those men (indicating) know and they will move the body to the morgue.

MURDOCH
I spoke with the photographer outside; he says he has taken photographs. Your examination is finished, then, as well?

OGDEN
(uncomfortably) Yes, I've done all I can do here. I have instructed George Crabtree to make several careful measurements of the scene. I must be getting to the morgue; I have much to do before I can conduct my autopsy.

MURDOCH
Of course. I will observe the scene and speak with you later.

OGDEN
Yes.

(MURDOCH moves to give OGDEN a quick kiss, but she politely declines, indicating that she is not as clean as she would prefer. MURDOCH understands and the two of them smile and awkwardly blow kisses at each other. OGDEN proceeds toward the downstairs as MURDOCH proceeds toward the scene of the crime. The room holding the body has the door almost closed, but the door is blocked open by a small box. All of the men in the hallway stand up straighter as MURDOCH approaches.)

MURDOCH
(to the men) You gentlemen are here to take away the body?

FIRST MAN
Yes, Detective.

MAGEE
(uncertain whether he was addressed) I'm not, uh, Detective, I'm not with them.

MURDOCH
And who are you?

MAGEE
My name is Magee. I'm a neighbour of Johnson (indicating the room). I was one of the people who reported the gunshot. Your constable said I should wait here. 'The Detective will want to talk to you,' he said.

MURDOCH
All right.

FIRST MAN
We were told you were on your way and that we should wait until you had arrived and could view the scene. When you give us the word, we'll take away the body.

MURDOCH
Very well. Please wait here, all of you.

FIRST MAN
Yes, sir. Call us when you are ready.

MURDOCH
Yes.

(MURDOCH enters the room: he carefully pushes on the door to open it, and steps over the small box that had been holding the door open. CUT TO: Int. of the rooming house, the room. As MURDOCH steps inside, he releases the door, which tries to close of its own accord, but is stopped by the box. MURDOCH takes note of the fact that the door tends to close by itself. MURDOCH surveys the room. The room is a fairly small room, furnished with a bed, a dresser, a desk, a chair, a wardrobe and various modest furnishings. On the floor next to the bed is a body of a man, with a sizable pool of blood spreading from the body. The man is well-dressed, and wears a jacket and a tie. The body is fairly close to the head of the bed near a wall; on the wall, about 1.8 meters above the floor, is a blood stain, and in the upper part of the blood stain is a bullet hole. About three meters from the body in the other direction is a pistol on the floor, near the chair. CRABTREE is present and is making some notes, he looks up as MURDOCH enters. MURDOCH crosses himself, then turns to CRABTREE.)

MURDOCH
What have you, George?

CRABTREE
Sir: shortly after seven o'clock this morning, residents of the building contacted the Constabulary to report a gunshot. I arrived here at about seven-twenty and began an investigation. About ten minutes later, I came to this room. At least one resident, a man named Magee—

MURDOCH
I met Mister Magee in the hallway, briefly.

CRABTREE
Mister Magee identified himself as the man who had telephoned the Constabulary to report the gunshot; he was adamant that the gunshot had come from this room. I knocked and got no reply. I then tried the door and found it unlocked. I entered and discovered the scene essentially as you see it. I checked the victim for signs of life and found none. I asked Mister Magee to telephone the Constabulary to report the crime and request immediate assistance; and he did so. Doctor Ogden arrived shortly afterward in the company of another constable, and she confirmed that the victim was dead but otherwise did not disturb the scene.

MURDOCH
Do we know the identity of the victim?

CRABTREE
The man who rented this room was known to his neighbours as a 'Mister Johnson'; but Mister Magee has told me that he believes that name to be an alias, and I have not confirmed the man's true name.

MURDOCH
Have you confirmed that the deceased was the man who rented this room?

CRABTREE
No, sir. No one has been allowed to enter the room to make any sort of identification.

(MURDOCH looks at the pistol, the body, the blood on the wall, the bullet hole on the wall, and the pistol again.)

MURDOCH
(indicating the pistol) Has anyone touched this weapon?

CRABTREE
No, sir, it has not been disturbed. I feel I should mention, sir, that when I entered the room, the door closed behind me. In order to exit, I had to use the doorknob. If the killer's finger marks were on the knob, I may have inadvertently fouled them.

MURDOCH
Understandable under the circumstances. The scene has been photographed?

CRABTREE
Yes, it has. The photographer finished a few minutes before you arrived.

MURDOCH
And so the photographer has been on the scene, and Doctor Ogden, and me, and you—

CRABTREE
And the victim. And the killer. No one else.

MURDOCH
I'll need you to check the rest of the room for finger marks, George. On the weapon, on the desk, on the chair—

CRABTREE
Yes, sir.

MURDOCH
And I will also need exact measurements: of the position of the body and the pistol; of the dimensions of the room; and of the location of that bullet hole.

CRABTREE
Yes, sir, Doctor Ogden has already directed me to make those measurements. (uncomfortably) She mentioned that the scene seemed very odd to her, but she did not explain what she meant.

MURDOCH
Very well. Have you made all of the measurements you need to make with respect to the body itself?

CRABTREE
Yes, sir, I have.

MURDOCH
Then, unless you can think of anything else that needs to be done before the body is removed, I will advise the men in the hallway that they may remove the body.

(CRABTREE assents.)

CRABTREE
I have a lot of work in front of me.

MURDOCH
I will admonish the men in the hallway not to touch anything else. Please observe them to make sure that they do not disturb any of the other evidence.

CRABTREE
Of course, sir.

(MURDOCH exits the room. CUT TO: The hallway. MURDOCH gestures to FIRST MAN and SECOND MAN to proceed, and they pick up the litter and get ready to enter the room. MURDOCH speaks a few unheard words to them, and they nod, and enter the room. MURDOCH then addresses MAGEE.)

MURDOCH
Do you live in this building, Mister Magee?

MAGEE
Yeah, below Johnson. I heard a gunshot, and was pretty sure it came from the room above me. I knocked on Jack Nimmark's door— he's got a telephone— and he called the constabulary. I told all this to the Constable (indicating the room), already.

MURDOCH
Did you see anyone leaving the building after the gunshot?

MAGEE
No. Didn't see anyone running away, if that's what you mean.

MURDOCH
Did you know Mister Johnson?

MAGEE
We were friendly, but not friends. (in a lower tone) His real name isn't Johnson, I'm pretty sure.

MURDOCH
What makes you say so?

MAGEE
I think he's a criminal. I think he was hiding. Johnson, whatever his name was, him and his brother were crooks. I could sometimes hear them planning things in the room above me. And in the past few days, I'm pretty sure I heard Johnson say that there were some people were after the two of them.

MURDOCH
You mean, you think Mister Johnson and his brother were hiding from the Constabulary?

MAGEE
No, I mean that Johnson and his brother were hiding from some other criminals who wanted to kill them. Maybe one of those criminals that was looking for him, they found him and done this.

(MURDOCH nods as if acknowledging the possibility without accepting it. FADE OUT.)