Two Mini-Murdoch Mysteries

by DoctorH

A teleplay in two acts, in which Murdoch and Crabtree are investigating two separate murder cases. Murdoch is taking the lead in one case, and Crabtree is taking the lead in the other, subject to Murdoch's supervision. Both Murdoch and Crabtree are puzzled by their respective cases, but each man educates the other so that they can formulate plausible solutions.

2. ACT II

ACT II

(FADE IN. ESTABLISHING SHOT OF STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, afternoon of the next day. CUT TO: INT. STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, MURDOCH'S OFFICE. MURDOCH is seated at his desk. In addition to a number of documents, there is a cuckoo clock, mounted on a meter-and-a-half-high upright piece of wood, next to the desk. Also nearby are various detective tools, notably a magnifying glass and a stopwatch. CRABTREE, carrying a folder holding a large number of documents, approaches MURDOCH'S OFFICE and knocks. MURDOCH looks up; once again, MURDOCH'S expression suggests that he is not pleased to see CRABTREE. MURDOCH waves CRABTREE in. CRABTREE enters the office, and begins to extract documents from the folder; as will be seen, most of these documents are actually crime scene photographs. MURDOCH clears his desk so that the photographs may be examined. CRABTREE places some photographs on the cleared portion of the desk and stands next to the desk. MURDOCH stands also. From time to time, the men bend over the table to examine the evidence.)

MURDOCH
Ah. These are the photographs of the Erb crime scene.

CRABTREE
Yes, sir.

MURDOCH
(scanning the photographs) It was prudent of you to have photographs taken of all of the rooms, not just the room where the body was found.

CRABTREE
I didn't want to miss anything.

(MURDOCH examines the photographs of the bedroom with Erb's body still in place. There are several such photographs.)

MURDOCH
(pointing out things shown in a photo.) Mr. Erb's body. Hmm. And the sword.

CRABTREE
All witnesses agree that this is approximately where the weapon was found, though Mr. Nance and Mr. Sutherland admitted that they had picked it up before realizing that it ought not to be touched. In any event, the finger marks of neither man were found on the sword—

MURDOCH
(finishing the sentence) — Because the handle does not retain finger marks.

(CRABTREE nods. MURDOCH reviews other photographs of the bedroom and Erb's body. The body is not flat on the floor, but is slightly propped up in a corner of the bedroom between a bed and a wall, with the head closer to the corner. One window looking east is above the bed's heavy headboard next to the body. There is another window, looking north just past the feet. Above the body on the walls is a sizable framed picture of a group of men. On the far side of the bed, about six feet from the body, is a small side table with a vase, a water glass, and a pitcher.)

MURDOCH
So Mr. Erb was standing in this corner when he was stabbed.

CRABTREE
Yes, sir. There is no trail of blood suggesting that he staggered there after being stabbed. Rather, he was, quite literally, cornered.

MURDOCH
If he was trying to flee from his attacker, this corner seems an odd place to go. Surely he knew he would have no escape around the bed or through a window. He would have no access to anything he might use in his defence, such as this vase or this pitcher.

CRABTREE
I noticed that as well. I hypothesize that Mr. Erb was not trying to flee, but was taken by surprise.

MURDOCH
Hmm.

(MURDOCH looks at a few other photographs. Some show other bedrooms, which are sparsely furnished. Another shows the hallway with a frame.)

CRABTREE
(pointing) That is the mounting from which the sword was taken, sir.

(MURDOCH looks at a few other photographs. One seems to show a kitchen. On the stove is a tea kettle, but otherwise, there is nothing on the stove or the counters except for a dark, round dish, apparently smaller than a dinner plate. There appears to be a wisp of burned waste paper on top of a pile of crumbled ashes in the ashtray. Otherwise, the kitchen is super-clean.)

MURDOCH
The kitchen. (indicating the dark dish) Curious. This item seems out of place. What is it?

CRABTREE
Oh, that, sir, is an ashtray. Mr. Sutherland smoked his pipe there, next to that window. He deposited his ashes in that tray.

MURDOCH
(slowly) Ah, I see. The kitchen otherwise seems to be, well, unused.

CRABTREE
It is unused, sir. Since his wife died, Mr. Erb has taken his meals at a hotel that he owns, or had them delivered from the hotel to his home. He has never learned to cook. The kitchen has been essentially unused for years.

MURDOCH
(looking at another photograph) The dining room. It likewise seems to have been unused.

CRABTREE
The witnesses said that some brief discussions were held there, but otherwise, it was unused.

MURDOCH
(looking at some other photographs) And this is the drawing room, where most of the discussions took place?

CRABTREE
Yes, sir. (indicating) This is the chair that Mr. Beeson used. The others sat wherever they pleased; no one had any "assigned" chair.

(One of the photographs shows a table in the drawing room with a dark top. There is a teapot, and teacup and saucer on the table, along with what appear to be some small white rectangles.)

MURDOCH
(indicating) What are these things here, on the table, George?

CRABTREE
Those are simply blank pieces of note paper, sir. They were used for any purpose, such as to perform computations or to memorialize any agreement with respect to their dispute, if any agreement were to be reached.

MURDOCH
(looking up from the photos) Ah. Did you make any progress, George, in understanding the nature of the dispute among these men?

CRABTREE
(sighing) I have a somewhat more detailed understanding of it, sir. I got some additional explanation mostly from Mr. Beeson, although the other three men concurred with his explanation. The subject of the dispute is a valuable piece of real property. The issues pertain to the propriety of various conflicting conveyances of parts or the entire parcel of the property; and verified chain of title; and as well to priority of interests; and whether documents of recordation have been properly perfected and on what day; and further whether various encumbrances would have invalidated one or more instruments of conveyance; and whether there were inducements based upon fraud. As for the positions of each of the individual parties on these respective issues—

(MURDOCH's eyes go glassy.)

MURDOCH
Never mind. Never mind. I can see that, as you say, the issues are legally complicated.

CRABTREE
(relieved he does not need to explain further) Yes, sir. There is one further fact that you may find to be of interest, sir. There is agreement among all of the witnesses that the one person who was standing in the way of settlement of the lawsuit was Mr. Erb. The others had agreed in principle to an equal division of the assets. Mr. Erb, however, was adamantly opposed to equal sharing, because he felt strongly that the law was on his side, which, as Mr. Beeson opined, it may well be.

MURDOCH
So if Mr. Erb is out of the way—

CRABTREE
(finishing the thought) — The dispute could be resolved to the satisfaction of all of the parties, merely by sharing the property equally. And today I have learned—

MURDOCH
(finishing the thought) — That the parties HAVE reached a settlement.

CRABTREE
Exactly, sir. They have agreed to split the value of the property four ways—

MURDOCH
Four ways?

CRABTREE
Yes, sir, with Mr. Erb's estate taking one-fourth. While he was alive, Mr. Erb wanted no less than eighty percent of the value; but the others expect the executor will approve the settlement for a significantly smaller share; and that they can finalize the agreement within a week. They are, as we speak, meeting with the judge in chambers to tell him that they believe the lawsuit has been settled. So, as far as motive for killing Mr. Erb is concerned, Mr. Willingham, Mr. Sutherland and Mr. Nance ALL benefit from his death. They get equal shares and they put an end to this troublesome and expensive litigation.

MURDOCH
Curious. Certainly they know, or at least suspect, that one among them is a murderer. Yet they seem willing to overlook this fact in the interest of increasing their wealth. And certainly the judge would be wondering about the guilt of the parties as well. Likely, they are all telling the judge— as they told you, George— that each of them is innocent and some stranger must be responsible for Mr. Erb's death. This meeting with the judge: when will it conclude?

CRABTREE
I believe everyone expected it would be over by fifteen minutes past four o'clock.

MURDOCH
(consulting the cuckoo clock) Less than thirty minutes from now. All right. George, when these men conclude their meeting with the judge, you will be present outside the judge's chambers, to arrest one of them.

CRABTREE
(stunned) I will? Which one, sir?

MURDOCH
(smiling) You tell me.

CRABTREE
But— I don't have any prime suspect.

MURDOCH
George: First, tell me this: Why was Mr. Erb in the bedroom? Why was he in the corner where his dead body was found?

CRABTREE
I— I don't know.

MURDOCH
(trying another approach) Where was Mr. Erb stabbed? What part of his body, I mean?

CRABTREE
(indicating on his own abdomen) About here, sir.

MURDOCH
From the front?

CRABTREE
Yes, mostly from the front. The wound was oblique, I suppose you could say; in other words, Mr. Erb was not directly facing his attacker when he was run through.

MURDOCH
Would it be possible, do you think, for the attacker simply to walk up to Mr. Erb and stab him?

CRABTREE
No. If Mr. Erb saw his attacker coming with a sword, he would have cried out, or tried to flee. He did neither. So he was taken by surprise. (asking himself) But how could he be stabbed from the front and yet be taken by surprise? (answering himself) Because he was momentarily misdirected or distracted! He was looking at something else, and as he turned to give his attention to the attacker, he was stabbed!

MURDOCH
A reasonable re-creation, George. Now: why was Mr. Erb in the CORNER of the bedroom?

CRABTREE
Because— (putting it together) that is where the misdirecting thing is. That is the thing that had his attention for a few moments, while the attacker took the sword, presumably from behind his back, and prepared to strike.

MURDOCH
What sort of misdirecting thing is in that corner, George?

CRABTREE
Well, it could be something outside the house, but it is difficult to see through the windows from there. The only thing in that corner is—

(CRABTREE fumbles through the photographs; he finds one of the bedroom showing Erb's body in the corner and a framed picture on the wall.)

CRABTREE
This picture! This picture of these men! Taken to commemorate the groundbreaking for a hotel.

(CRABTREE studies the picture in the photograph.)

CRABTREE
(indicating) One of the men in this framed picture is Mr. Erb, here. And this is Mr. Willingham! And this is Mr. Sutherland! I— I don't see Mr. Nance anywhere.

MURDOCH
So. Mr. Erb is in the bedroom. The attacker silently retrieves the sword from the hallway display and holds the sword behind his back.

CRABTREE
(picking up the thought) The attacker enters the bedroom and after a few pleasantries tells Mr. Erb that there is something in that picture that Mr. Erb needs to see. Something very important.

MURDOCH
Perhaps. But how would the attacker convince Mr. Erb to believe there is something important in that picture?

CRABTREE
Because— the attacker is IN the picture, and Mr. Erb knows it! Suggesting that the killer is Mr. Sutherland or Mr. Willingham, because they are both present in that picture.

(MURDOCH grins subtly.)

CRABTREE
(continuing his re-creation) Mr. Erb goes into the corner to look at the picture. The attacker quietly follows. As Mr. Erb's back is turned, the attacker pulls the sword from behind his back and gets ready to strike. And when Mr. Erb starts to turn back toward the attacker, the attacker thrusts the sword into Mr. Erb.

MURDOCH
So far, so good, George. Now: Why was Mr. Erb in that bedroom AT ALL?

CRABTREE
I don't— Wait a minute. He was in that bedroom because the attacker WANTED him to be in the bedroom. That's the room where the attacker planned to commit the crime!

MURDOCH
But how did Mr. Erb get lured into his own bedroom?

CRABTREE
(reasoning it out) The attacker must have told him to go there!

MURDOCH
(in mock astonishment) Curious that none of the witnesses mentioned hearing any such thing.

CRABTREE
(momentarily puzzled) Yes. Unless— The request wasn't said out loud!

(CRABTREE fumbles through the photographs, and finds one of the drawing room.)

CRABTREE
The attacker may have written Mr. Erb a note on one of the pieces of paper, saying, "Meet me in your bedroom at eleven o'clock," or some such thing, along with some promise of a way in which he could get the best of the settlement. So! Shortly before eleven o'clock, Mr. Erb leaves the drawing room— as many have done, it was not unusual— and goes to the bedroom. Some minutes later, the attacker retrieves the sword and enters the bedroom and commits the crime. That all fits!

MURDOCH
And the key piece of evidence, then, would be that written note that lured Mr. Erb to his doom.

CRABTREE
(deflated) But there is no note. All of the suspects were searched. The house was searched. We would have found any such note, if there was one. We did find a few scribbled notes in the house, all right, but they were calculations and lists and the like; none referred to the bedroom or Mr. Erb.

MURDOCH
There was no note to be found. Which may suggest—?

(CRABTREE takes a moment; then his eyes light up.)

CRABTREE
If there HAD BEEN such a note, the note must have been destroyed. And the only way it could be completely destroyed would be by burning. But— there was no fire in the fireplace. (after a moment) But— there was another fire!

MURDOCH
(smiling) And where was that, George?

CRABTREE
Mr. Sutherland! He smoked a pipe! And he was the only one who carried matches! I know this because Mr. Nance had to borrow one of his matches to light the gas stove to get hot water for his tea!

(CRABTREE snatches up the photographs showing the ashtray.)

CRABTREE
And his ashtray had ash in it that was not tobacco ash! Sir! Mr. Sutherland wrote the note, and slipped it to Mr. Erb, then after killing Mr. Erb, he retrieved the note and burned it while smoking his pipe!

MURDOCH
So when the meeting with the judge is concluded, George, who are you going to arrest?

CRABTREE
Mr. Sutherland! I know that we have a lot of suppositions, but I believe I can use them to form an effective interrogation!

MURDOCH
Very good, George. Keep in mind that one of the other men may have conspired with Mr. Sutherland; but if you can get him to incriminate himself, you will likely get him to incriminate his co-conspirators, if he has any. You may have solved this case all by yourself.

CRABTREE
(sheepishly) With your considerable guidance, sir.

MURDOCH
Anyway, I must now turn my attention back to the Spooner case. I am more convinced than ever that Mr. Zeller is the killer. (pained) But his alibi for six o'clock seems to be solid.

(CRABTREE collects the photographs from the desk while MURDOCH moves the mounted cuckoo clock next to his desk.)

CRABTREE
Sir, since you helped me with my case, and since I have some time to spare, perhaps I can help you with yours—?

MURDOCH
(skeptical) I doubt there is much you can do, George. What I have been doing today is checking the cuckoo clock for tampering. All of the occupants agree that the cuckoo clock kept near-perfect time. They relied upon it for their daily schedules, and it never failed them.

CRABTREE
I believe you were checking into whether the prime suspect, Mr. Zeller, could have tampered with the clock.

MURDOCH
Yes. (sighing) And it appears he did not. One possibility I considered: Mr. Zeller reset the clock, set it back or ahead by, say, five minutes. So when the cuckoo cuckooed six times, the time was REALLY five minutes before or five minutes after six o'clock. But this scenario does not work. If the clock had been set forward or backward by five minutes, then the clock would STILL be five minutes ahead or behind after the crime was committed. When I investigated the scene, I found the clock to be showing the correct time, and Mr. Zeller had no opportunity to reset the clock to the correct time.

CRABTREE
Perhaps he committed the crime, quickly reset the clock, then escaped.

MURDOCH
That scenario also has difficulties. He would have had to reset the clock very quickly and very accurately, which would be a difficult thing to accomplish. Besides, the other occupants of the rooming house agreed that three noises occurred in rapid succession: the shots, followed almost immediately by the start of the cuckooing, and the opening and shutting of the front door while the cuckooing was in progress.

CRABTREE
It could be done, though—?

MURDOCH
(shaking his head) Add to that the fact that Mr. Zeller is too short of stature to reach the hands on the cuckoo clock, and there was nothing nearby upon which he could stand to reach the clock face. He was just tall enough, however, to reach the pendulum. So I wondered whether he had adjusted the bob on the pendulum—

(MURDOCH indicates the leaf-shaped structure on the clock's pendulum.)

MURDOCH
— sliding it upward to make the clock run faster or downward to make the clock run slower. But once again, resetting the pendulum quickly and accurately in just a second or two would be a nearly impossible feat. Plus, this scenario would require Mr. Zeller to reset the pendulum AND the clock hands before fleeing. (picking up the magnifying glass) Add to that the fact that microscopic examination shows the pendulum has not been adjusted recently, and that the face of the clock, the hands of the clock, and the pendulum do not have any finger marks that could remotely match those of Mr. Zeller. The only finger marks I can find are consistent with Mr. Spooner. So, if Mr. Zeller tampered with the clock to make it cuckoo at the wrong time, he must have undone his tampering within a second or two, and left no trace of the tampering.

(MURDOCH scowls.)

CRABTREE
(off-handedly) Or he may simply have deactivated the cuckoo.

MURDOCH
Pardon me?

CRABTREE
Mr. Zeller may simply have deactivated the cuckoo.

(MURDOCH thinks CRABTREE might have something, but MURDOCH is cautious.)

MURDOCH
You are going to have to explain that, George.

CRABTREE
I used to live in a house that had a cuckoo clock. The cuckooing used to keep me awake at night, so I got into the habit of deactivating the cuckoo at night, and reactivating it in the morning.

MURDOCH
And how did you do that, George?

(CRABTREE points to the clock as he explains matter-of-factly.)

CRABTREE
This particular clock, sir, has two weights on chains, which power the mechanisms by gravity. The weights must be manually moved upward (CRABTREE demonstrates) from time to time to supply mechanical power to make the clock function.

MURDOCH
Yes—?

CRABTREE
If I'm not mistaken, this left weight powers the clockwork itself, and keeps the pendulum swinging. This right weight powers the cuckoo and the clock chimes, if any. To deactivate the cuckoo, all you need to do is remove this weight from the chain.

(CRABTREE removes the pinecone-shaped weight from a hook on the chain.)

CRABTREE
Without this weight, the clock still works, but the cuckoo will not make any sound.

MURDOCH
But the cuckoo DID make a sound, George.

CRABTREE
Yes, sir. Let me demonstrate. As you can see, it is almost four o'clock. Any second now, the clock will make a click sound, meaning that the clockwork will be telling the cuckoo to cuckoo. But I've removed the weight, so the cuckoo cannot cuckoo.

(The clock shows exactly four o'clock; the clock makes a clicking sound [SFX]. But there is no cuckoo sound, and no chimes.)

CRABTREE
You see, sir? No cuckoo.

MURDOCH
(still hasn't got it) But everyone heard the cuckoo.

CRABTREE
And so will we. The clockwork mechanism has told the cuckoo mechanism, "Go ahead and cuckoo four times." But the cuckoo mechanism says, "I can't cuckoo at all; I don't have any power."

(CRABTREE shows the weight in his hand.)

CRABTREE
So the cuckoo mechanism is ready to cuckoo, and all it needs is power. So if I reattach the weight—

(CRABTREE reattaches the weight and lets it hang. The cuckoo immediately cuckoos four times [SFX]! The clock shows two minutes past four o'clock. MURDOCH puts the pieces together at once. Before MURDOCH can say anything, CRABTREE explains.)

CRABTREE
So, one possible scenario is this: Just before Mr. Zeller went off to work at 5:55, he removed the weight that powers the cuckoo. He established his alibi with his co-workers at exactly six o'clock. As soon as he could, five minutes after six or so, he returned to the rooming house. He found the Spooners and shot them dead in cold blood. He then reattached the weight— that took only a second— and the cuckoo, which was all set to go but had no power, immediately began to make noise. And Mr. Zeller fled the house while the cuckoo was still saying that it was six o'clock!

MURDOCH
It was really five minutes after six o'clock, but all of the witnesses swear that it was EXACTLY six o'clock! And it was not necessary for Mr. Zeller to reset the hands of the clock at all!

CRABTREE
And since Mr. Zeller was a resident of the house, he knew that the other occupants would rely upon that cuckoo clock to tell them the hour.

(MURDOCH mulls it all over and is satisfied. He abruptly stands straight up, and heads to his coat rack to retrieve his hat and coat. CRABTREE stands straight up as well, and prepares to follow MURDOCH.)

MURDOCH
George, I am going to speak to Inspector Brackenreid about your fine work on these two cases. But that will have to wait. You and I each need to get the assistance of at least one other constable. We are each going to make some arrests!

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE walk hastily out of the office, and beckon to HIGGINS and JACKSON, who both quickly rise. MURDOCH and JACKSON head out onto the street one way, and CRABTREE and HIGGINS head out onto the street in a different direction. FADE OUT.)

THE END

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Our house has an old cuckoo clock. The trick described by Crabtree actually works with this clock.)