First mate's log:

April 20, 1966

I keep catching stuff other than fish in the lagoon. Today it was a crate. I was hoping there'd be something good in there, like more magic tricks or movie equipment. (They still haven't found our movie but maybe we can make another one.) But the crate was full of coconuts! Mrs. Howell said that that's bringing coals to Newcastle, which means we don't need more coconuts.

What was wrapped around the coconuts was more interesting, some newspapers from Honolulu. And there was an article that said that passengers on the Minnow are murder suspects! Not all of them, not the kids of course and none of the wives. But Mr. Howell, Mr. Brady, the Professor, Ginger, Mary Ann, and Alice all knew the victim, Randolph Blake.

He was killed an hour before the Minnow set out on its last 9 a.m. tour ever. (We had to miss our afternoon tour of course.) It took the police all this time to narrow down the list to those six people. And they weren't even sure what happened to the Minnow, because most people who come to the island don't talk about us for one reason or another. ("You Need Us" is a big hit for the Mosquitoes by the way.) But when Mrs. Smith said she saw "those charming castavays," then the case was sort of reopened.

It's hard to believe that someone on the island is a killer. They all seem so nice. But the Skipper says we don't really know all about these people, what they're like back in civilization. I don't think the killer will kill any of us. It's been almost two years and they've definitely had opportunities. Maybe it was a one-time thing, a specific grudge against Mr. Blake.

All I know is, i wish I hadn't caught those coconuts.

Carol Martin's diary:

April 21, 1966

I can't believe this is happening. Someone on this island is a murderer! It happened right before we set sail. The worst part is I'm not exactly sure who it is. The police have narrowed it down to six of us. No, I'm not a suspect. I've never even heard of the victim, Randolph Blake.

Mike is one of the six suspects. Of all of them, he's the one I least want to believe is guilty. He's as rational as the Professor but also a devoted family man. I could see him killing to protect his home and his family, but Mr. Blake was murdered in his own store.

It was a boating equipment store. In fact, it was the only store owned by Howell Industries that was losing money, so Mr. Howell is a suspect, too. I don't know what all the other motives are, but Mary Ann admitted to me that the police might suspect her for financial reasons as well, since before he moved to Hawaii, Mr. Blake was business partners with Mr. Summers back in Kansas, and poor Mary Ann's father died in the poorhouse. That's why she and her mother had to move in with her aunt and uncle.

The other suspects are the Professor, Ginger, and Alice. I can't see any of them doing it, but maybe it was a crime of passion and Ginger killed Mr. Blake out of jealousy. How well do we all really know each other after all? Someone could've landed on the island and tried for a fresh start.

Of all the things I've tried to protect my girls from, this may be the hardest. Cindy is still too little to ask big questions, but Marcia and Jan are bright, curious girls and they're going to find out that the boys' father, and some of the other adults they trust, are wanted for a terrible crime. I'm going to babysit all six kids tonight when the crime is reconstructed, and I know Greg and Peter will have questions, too.

I sort of don't want to know who's guilty, because we'll still have to live with that person, but I understand the doubt and mistrust among our close-knit little community. They want this question settled. But then what? We can't turn the criminal over to the authorities. Are we supposed to imprison him or her on the island until the distant day when we're rescued? What if the person truly repents and is no threat to the rest of us? I think he or she should still serve time someday, but should he or she continue to live among us as part of the community?

And who's to say that the reconstruction of the crime will really solve the case? We're not detectives, and why would the killer act exactly as he or she did at the scene of the crime? If the killer was going to confess, why not just confess?

Still, I'm going along with this, as I go along with most of the crazy plans the others come up with. I try to be a voice of sanity, but what am I supposed to do when the two most logical people on the island are murder suspects?

April 22, 1966

Well, last night I got roped into playing a murder victim in a reconstruction of the crime. Everyone wanted to find out whodunnit and the Skipper was supposed to protect me as soon as someone reached for the murder weapon, a spear gun. We made our hut look like Randolph Blake's boating equipment store. That part was easy, because we've been to a lot of boating equipment stores, although not Randolph's. (Good thing, or we'd be suspects, too.) I stood behind the counter and the Skipper hid on the floor. Then the suspects came in, mostly one by one.

Well, Mrs. Howell came in with Mr. Howell. She wasn't actually there the morning of the murder, but she thought it would be "a lark" to play along, and she didn't want to be stuck babysitting like Mrs. Martin. She didn't threaten me like her husband did. He was mad because the store, which he owned, was not just losing money but Randolph was stealing it. But he just went over to the pretend pay phone and would've pretended to make a call but he didn't have a dime on him. Then they left.

Then Alice came in. I could see Mr. Howell maybe killing someone, especially over money, but Alice? Did he insult her cooking or something?

Well, it turns out that Alice had a boyfriend named Mark Millard in high school and he was going to visit her when she was a secretary in Hollywood ten years later, at a modeling agency. She was looking forward to their reunion, but then Randolph, who knew Mark from business deals, told Mark that Alice had a crush on her boss, which she did but her boss didn't notice her because he was surrounded by all these gorgeous models. (And Randolph knew about that part because he was dating one of the models.) So she was really mad, another ten years later, at Randolph for spoiling the chance of a reunion with her old bow. Yeah, it sounds like something from one of the soap operas that she and Mary Ann like to listen to. But it didn't end in murder. She just yelled at me for ruining her happiness and then she bought some seasickness pills (it was a really detailed set) and then left.

The Professor was next. He said that Mr. Blake pretended he wrote a scientific paper the professor had worked on for seven years. But he didn't try to kill me. He just threatened to cancel my subscription to some scientific magazine.

When Ginger came in, I got more scared. Of the six of them, she was the one I most suspected. She's got a redhead's temper sometimes, and she is an actress, so if anybody could kill someone and act innocent for a couple of years, it would be her.

I got scared in a different way when it turned out that she had been dating Randolph and wanted him to end his engagement she'd just found out about. She was coming on real strong, even kissing me. I rejected her because I figured that's what he did. So she was a woman scorned and you know what they say about them. But her threat was to never date me again, which I can live with.

Mr. Brady was the last male suspect. I had no idea what his motive might be, but maybe Mr. Blake cheated him in a real estate deal, because Randolph seemed like a pretty shady guy. This is embarrassing, but he pinched Mrs. Brady's bottom at a party the night before.

"I never even touched her!"

"Don't deny it, Randolph. Barbara was still crying when I left the house this morning."

I almost said, "That must've been a really hard pinch," but I figured it was better not to say anything else.

"She doesn't know I came to see you, but I swear if I ever see you even look at her again, I won't be responsible for my actions." Then he stormed out.

That just left Mary Ann and I already knew that he bankrupted her dad. She's so sweet, she'd be the last person you'd suspect, but maybe that meant she got away with murder. And she has probably the strongest motive. I'm sorry Mrs. Brady got pinched and Ginger got dumped, but they probably got over it pretty quick, and I don't think Mr. Brady would kill over it. And I'm sorry about Alice's romance, but it was years ago. I'm sorry about the Professor's paper, too, but it's not like he can't write more, especially with all his research on the island.

It's too bad about Mr. Howell losing money, but he could afford to. It didn't change his whole life, like it did for Mary Ann. But she mostly just cried, which made me feel worse, especially since as Randolph I couldn't show her any sympathy.

Since no one tried to kill me, the Skipper thought we should start all over again, but I couldn't face all that again. I slammed the door, which triggered the spear gun, which almost hit me! So I guess Randolph Blake accidentally killed himself, which is a big relief. I wouldn't want any of my friends to be killers.

April 28, 1966

Today the news confirmed the theory that Gilligan and the Skipper came up with during their reconstruction. Randolph slammed the door so hard that he triggered the spear gun, stabbing himself. Gilligan luckily just missed himself. And, yes, I'm so glad that Mike and the others are innocent.