The Diplomat

by DoctorH

A five-act Murdoch Mysteries teleplay, just like watching an episode on TV. Two Toronto families have a past history of violence, but they have been at peace for over a year and a half. Then a member of one family is shot, and a member of the other family is the prime suspect. Can Murdoch solve the case without jeopardizing the peace? The solution to the mystery is included.

2. ACT 2

ACT II

(FADE IN. EXTERIOR STATION HOUSE NO. 4. CUT TO: BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. MURDOCH is standing, making an initial report. BRACKENREID is in his chair.)

BRACKENREID
Bloody hell! Eric Cameron? Are you certain, Murdoch?

MURDOCH
According to documents he was carrying, that is who he is. We also have a general description of Eric Cameron, and the victim matches that description. We will be confirming the victim's identity in due course.

BRACKENREID
Bloody hell! (shakes his head in disbelief) The Stroud-Cameron battle is going to start up again, only this time, it's starting up in MY jurisdiction! Why couldn't they keep their dispute confined to Freddy Winthorpe's territory?

MURDOCH
We don't know yet whether Mr. Cameron's death is related to the feud between the Cameron and Stroud families—

BRACKENREID
Of course it's related! Even if Cameron WASN'T killed by someone in the Stroud family, the Camerons are going to THINK he was! And that means there's going to be blood! Right now, I'd wager that the Camerons are plotting some sort of revenge.

MURDOCH
And there is no avoiding the fact that that the Strouds are the most likely suspects. I will have to question them.

BRACKENREID
Get them to come to OUR station house, Murdoch! Don't question them at Station House Two. Get them away from the Camerons, if you can.

MURDOCH
Yes, sir. Perhaps— I may be able to rule out the Strouds as being involved. We have recovered some finger marks from the scene and from the firearm found at the scene. If the finger marks do not match anyone from the Stroud family, then maybe we could announce that the Strouds are not our principal suspects.

BRACKENREID
I doubt that will do much good at cooling thigs off, but it may be worth a try. But first things first: who is doing the finger mark analysis?

MURDOCH
George is doing the preliminaries on it.

BRACKENREID
And you'll be checking his work.

MURDOCH
I will.

(CUT TO: THE MORGUE. The victim's body is on the slab. A Y-incision on his chest has been roughly sewn up, to show that the autopsy has been completed. OGDEN covers the victim's body, and ASSISTANTS prepare to put it in storage. MURDOCH watches. OGDEN picks up a small cup.)

OGDEN
The victim was struck by a single bullet. (handing the cup to MURDOCH) This is the bullet. The shot was fatal and the victim died within seconds. He was struck in the heart. The bullet was stopped by his backbone from exiting his body.

(As the ASSISTANTS come to take the body away, MURDOCH quickly examines one of the hands of the victim. The hand has ink stains on it fingers.)

OGDEN
George made a record the victim's finger marks.

MURDOCH
Good. Is there anything else that your examination reveals?

OGDEN
The shot was at close range, less than three feet away, as indicated by scorching on the clothing. The path of the bullet through the body is slightly downward, which may suggest that the victim was slightly leaning forward when he was shot.

MURDOCH
Can you estimate the height of the killer?

OGDEN
No. Not to any degree of certainty.

(CUT TO: MURDOCH'S OFFICE. MURDOCH enters his office, and CRABTREE follows, carrying some notes and papers. CRABTREE shuts the door. Both men sit.)

MURDOCH
All right, what have you George?

CRABTREE
There were six chambers in the revolver, four had bullets, one had a shell, and the remaining chamber was completely empty. Whoever carried the gun may have kept one chamber empty for purposes of safety.

MURDOCH
So the weapon fired only one shot.

CRABTREE
Yes, sir.

MURDOCH
And if the witnesses who heard two shots are correct, that would mean there was a second gun.

CRABTREE
That is what the evidence would suggest to me as well, sir, except—

MURDOCH (intrigued)
Except?

CRABTREE
If there are two guns, the scenario that comes to mind is that the killer and the victim each fired at the other.

MURDOCH (agreeing that CRABTREE's scenario is reasonable)
Yes.

CRABTREE
The killer then fled, taking his own gun, and the victim's gun fell to the desk, where we found it. Only— the gun that we found on the desk did not have the victim's finger marks on it.

MURDOCH
Do we know whose finger marks are on the gun?

CRABTREE
I think we do, sir. They appear to be the finger marks of Eliot Stroud.

MURDOCH (realizing this is bad news)
So a member of the Stroud family may indeed have shot a member of the Cameron family. Have you told Inspector Brackenreid this?

CRABTREE
Not yet, sir. I wanted to tell you first. I requested some of the finger mark records from Station House Number Two. Eight members of the Stroud family have criminal records. The marks on the weapon closely correlate with the finger marks of Eliot Stroud's right hand. Finger marks we found on the desk are almost certainly those of Eliot Stroud; as for the finger marks on the weapon, the correlation is strong, although I would hesitate to say that the match is conclusive. There's one more thing, sir.

MURDOCH
Which is?

CRABTREE
Finger marks consistent with Mr. Stroud's right hand appear on the trigger and the handle of the revolver, but finger marks consistent with Mr. Stroud's left hand appear on the barrel. It is as though he carried the gun in his left hand by the barrel, instead of the way that a person would ordinarily carry a gun.

MURDOCH
Dr. Ogden recovered the bullet that caused the victim's death. We should see whether that bullet could have been fired by this gun. (takes a breath) George, I want you to assemble four other constables. Make sure they are armed. We are going to arrest Eliot Stroud. I'll notify Station House Two of our intentions; they may wish to assist.

(A hubbub starts outside MURDOCH'S OFFICE. MURDOCH and CRABTREE stand to see what is going on. WINTHORPE, a well-dressed man, barges into the CONSTABLES' AREA.)

WINTHORPE
Where's Tom? Where's Inspector Brackenreid?

(A CONSTABLE points at BRACKENREID'S OFFICE, and WINTHORPE starts in that direction, then stops and turns toward MURDOCH. WINTHORPE, without knocking, opens the door to MURDOCH'S OFFICE. In the background, BRACKENREID emerges from his office to see what's going on.)

WINTHORPE
You're Murdoch, right? I need to speak to you, right now!

MURDOCH (recognizing WINTHORPE)
Of course, Inspector.

(CUT TO: BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID, WINTHORPE, MURDOCH and CRABTREE all stand.)

BRACKENREID
Detective William Murdoch, you know Inspector Freddy Winthorpe from Station House Number Two?

MURDOCH
Yes, we've met before.

WINTHORPE (agitated)
What in the hell are you all doing?

BRACKENREID
We're doing our jobs, Freddy.

WINTHORPE
Asking my station to send you criminal records of the Strouds: what in the hell is that about? Are you trying to start a war? I AM going to have a war on my hands! Do you understand that? Eric Cameron gets killed and I find out that you are checking to see whether someone in the Stroud family did it! Don't you see how dangerous that is?

BRACKENREID
Considering the bad blood between the Strouds and the Camerons, the Strouds are legitimate suspects, Freddy.

WINTHORPE
These families have had a truce for the past year and a half! You start suggesting that a Stroud killed a Cameron, and that truce will end! And I'll have an all-out war on my hands! Innocent people are going to get hurt!

MURDOCH
Sir: we have evidence indicating that Eliot Stroud fired a shot that killed Eric Cameron.

WINTHORPE
Evidence? What evidence?!

MURDOCH
Finger mark evidence, at the scene and on the weapon.

WINTHORPE (in disbelief)
You must have made a mistake!

MURDOCH
I don't believe we have made—

WINTHORPE
There's no motive, for one thing! There's no good reason for Eliot Stroud to kill Eric Cameron! It would be against his interests, against his family's interests, and it would re-start a war that the Strouds do not want!

(CRABTREE hears this and gets an idea, but he says nothing.)

MURDOCH
Nevertheless—

WINTHORPE (calming himself)
Detective Murdoch. (to BRACKENREID) Tommy. (to all) Let me explain something to you, all right? The Camerons and the Strouds have been enemies for a long time. It's been awful, at times. The last time they had an all-out fight, well, I don't want to go into details, but it was awful. We were lucky, DAMN lucky, that only half a dozen innocent bystanders got hurt. About five years ago or so, tensions started to ease up. There were still a few incidents, disagreements about things, but most of the serious bloodletting seemed to be over. About eighteen, maybe twenty months ago, the families agreed to make peace. And do you know who helped make that peace? I did! At the risk of my own LIFE, I helped make that peace!

BRACKENREID (impressed)
I didn't know that. I knew there was a neutral intermediary who negotiated the end to the conflict; that was YOU?

(WINTHORPE nods.)

WINTHORPE
If a Stroud killed a Cameron, all of that effort could be destroyed. I do not want that to happen.

BRACKENREID
I understand.

WINTHORPE
You people here don't know what is going on between the Strouds and the Camerons, but I do. And take it from me, if Eliot Stroud killed Eric Cameron, the Strouds would have NOTHING to gain, and EVERYTHING to lose! The Strouds have no grounds for complaint against the Camerons. If there's anyone who DOES have grounds for complaint, it's the Camerons, not the Strouds!

MURDOCH (carefully)
That background information is very helpful, sir. But in view of the evidence that we have in our possession, we must at least question Eliot Stroud. (conciliatory) Perhaps an arrest is not necessary? Perhaps, since you know the families, you might assist us in getting his cooperation?

WINTHORPE (reluctantly)
All right. I'll help you. I hope you understand one thing, Detective Murdoch. You're playing with fire.

(FADE OUT.)