"The Most Expensive Murder Weapon"
ACT I
(FADE IN. ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF TORONTO CITY STREETS, morning. Most of the traffic on the roadways is from horse-drawn vehicles, but there one or two motorcars about. CUT TO: NARROW ROADWAY, morning. CONSTABLES have blocked off the roadway. MURDOCH walks past one CONSTABLE, who tips his hat and lets MURDOCH enter the scene. In the street is the body of a man, who will later be known as Rupert. The body is face-down. A piece of twisted metal lies a short distance from the body. A PHOTOGRAPHER is recording the scene. CRABTREE is observing the scene and making notes. CRABTREE notices the approach of MURDOCH. MURDOCH crosses himself as he assesses the situation. MURDOCH is about to ask CRABTREE for a report, but CRABTREE speaks first.)
CRABTREE
Sir: This man's body was found, as you see him, shortly after sunrise. A gentleman passing by happened to notice the body, and after checking the body for a pulse, telephoned the police. Other than checking the body for signs of life, the scene has not been disturbed.
MURDOCH
The body is in the street. Possibly struck by a vehicle: a carriage or a wagon.
CRABTREE
Or a motorcar.
(CRABTREE directs MURDOCH's attention to the twisted piece of metal.)
CRABTREE
It is possible that the metal object there is from a motorcar, and it was dislodged by the collision with the victim.
(MURDOCH crouches to examine the metal, but does not touch it.)
MURDOCH
I agree with you, George, that this object seems to be from a motorcar, rather than from another kind of vehicle.
(MURDOCH stands.)
MURDOCH
Be sure to collect that object as evidence, and have it checked for finger marks.
CRABTREE (making a note in his notebook)
Of course, sir. If I may direct your attention to something else, sir?
(CRABTREE guides MURDOCH toward the body. CRABTREE crouches, and MURDOCH follows suit. MURDOCH smells something.)
MURDOCH
Alcohol! This man may have been intoxicated.
CRABTREE
That was my thought as well, sir. The victim may have been too affected by alcohol to realize that he was in the street, or that a vehicle was approaching and that he was in danger of being struck. The collision may have been an accident, sir.
MURDOCH
Perhaps, but there still appears to be a crime committed here. If a driver of any vehicle, whether motorcar or carriage, strikes a pedestrian, even if done innocently and excusably, that driver must stop and render aid to the injured person. The driver cannot leave the scene; the driver cannot drive on and leave the injured person in the street.
CRABTREE
We have heard from many people operating wagons and carriages, who had struck people with their vehicles, that they drove on because they were unaware that they had hit a person. Perhaps that is what happened here.
MURDOCH
Well, whoever was involved with this collision now has a vehicle that is damaged and needs to be repaired. If we find that damaged vehicle, we may find the driver as well.
(CUT TO: EXTERIOR CITY MORGUE, afternoon. CUT TO: INTERIOR CITY MORGUE. MONTAGE featuring mostly OGDEN and JAMES, showing: a body coming in; the body being stripped; CRABTREE inking the body's hands and recording finger marks; a small piece of jagged metal snagged on the victim's jacket; the body being examined; notes being taken; a view of trauma on the victim's back/hip; the body being turned. MONTAGE ends. The nude body of Rupert is on the table, face down, a cloth strategically covering the body for modesty. OGDEN is making a few notes when MURDOCH and CRABTREE enter. JAMES is attending to other duties. OGDEN notices their entry and stops making notes. MURDOCH smiles.)
OGDEN
Ah, William. George. Have you been able to confirm the identity of the man whom you brought in this morning?
MURDOCH
We have. His finger marks match those of Andrew Rupert. Age 33.
OGDEN (writing a note)
Andrew. Rupert, R-U-P-E-R-T. Age 33. Well. I am going to classify the death of Mr. Andrew Rupert as homicide, that is, non-accidental.
MURDOCH
Oh?
(OGDEN points to the body as she details her re-creation of events.)
OGDEN
The progression of injuries seems fairly clear. Mr. Rupert was struck by a vehicle here, causing trauma to his back. This would have knocked him to the ground. The vehicle then drove over his lower back, causing a broken back and severe internal injuries, which likely would have been fatal.
MURDOCH
And— how does that indicate that the death was non-accidental?
OGDEN
It doesn't. That is, it wouldn't, if those were the only injuries. Mr. Rupert was driven over a second time. The second time the vehicle drove over his neck. This broke his neck and almost certainly killed him at once.
MURDOCH
Can you be certain that he was driven over a second time, not merely driven over by two sets of wheels on a vehicle?
OGDEN
Yes, I think so. First, the distance between the trauma to the lower back and the trauma to the neck is about two-and-a-half feet. The wheels of carriages, wagons and motorcars are set apart by more than two-and-a-half feet, aren't they?
MURDOCH
I believe so.
CRABTREE
There may be some three-wheeled motorcars having one wheel offset from the others by about two-and-a-half feet. But I am not certain.
OGDEN
Oh. But there is also this. The path across the lower back is at a modest angle, more than thirty degrees, compared to, say, the waistband of the victim's trousers. But the path across the neck is straight across, with no comparable angle.
MURDOCH
Meaning the paths of the wheels across the victim's body were not parallel.
OGDEN
Correct.
MURDOCH
That suggests that someone hit Mr. Rupert with a vehicle and ran over him, then backed up or turned around, and ran over him again.
OGDEN
That is what the evidence says to me, yes.
MURDOCH
Which means this was not an accident, and was probably a murder.
(OGDEN picks up the piece of metal, and hands it to MURDOCH.)
OGDEN
One more thing: this piece of metal was snagged on Mr. Rupert's clothing. It may have come from the vehicle that struck him.
(MURDOCH takes the metal piece and examines it. Part of it has a distinctive decorative ridge, over which MURDOCH rubs his finger. CUT TO: ESTABLISHING SHOTS OF A TORONTO CITY STREET, late afternoon. One of the buildings is a rooming house. CUT TO: INTERIOR OF A ROOM in the rooming house. CRABTREE and HIGGINS are searching the room and cataloging what they find; they are essentially finished with the job. There isn't much furniture in the room, just a bed and a chest with a mirror. On the bed is a blanket or duvet with a distinctive pattern, and on top of that is a camera. Clothes and a general mess are about. There is a closet in one corner of the room, and the closet door is open. The door from the hallways to the room is open also, and a CONSTABLE and a LANDLADY observe the search. MURDOCH appears and the CONSTABLE lets MURDOCH enter the room. CRABTREE and HIGGINS face MURDOCH.)
MURDOCH
What have you, George, Henry?
CRABTREE
Very little, I'm afraid. Mr. Rupert did not seem to be a very wealthy man. He had a few clothes and some modest possessions, the most valuable of which seems to be this camera, which he stored in his closet.
MURDOCH
Hmm. There seem to be no facilities in this room for developing photographs.
(HIGGINS produces a key on a string.)
HIGGINS
We found this, sir; it was hanging inside the closet.
CRABTREE
It was hanging in a place in which it would be unlikely to be noticed, sir.
HIGGINS (somewhat proudly)
But I noticed it all the same, sir.
CRABTREE
He did, sir.
(MURDOCH takes the string with the key.)
MURDOCH
Well done, Henry. A key. It does not appear to be a key to this room. Possibly it is a key to a photograph-developing room? Or perhaps— it is for something else. Is there anything in this room that might take a key, such as a trunk or a safe?
CRABTREE
No, sir.
HIGGINS
I think it's a bank key, sir.
(MURDOCH examines the key.)
MURDOCH
You may be right, Henry. This could be a key to a deposit box at a bank. Curious. What could a man with so little wealth possibly want to keep secure in a bank?
(The key dangles from MURDOCH's hand. FADE OUT.)
