X
Suspects
20th Century
Wales
The Iron Merchant's Gargoyle
1984
A man lies flat on his stomach, in a pool of his own blood, in the middle of the male toilets. His limbs are splayed out at different angles and his neck is twisted at an odd way – clearly broken. His light grey eyes stare lifelessly out.
The Doctor, Terry, Aiden and the man who found the body, stand in the doorway to the bathroom, staring down at this dead body. They are silent for a long while as they observe this. But eventually the Doctor is the first to move. He steps into the bathroom and crouches down beside the body. And then he sniffs the air.
Terry shuffles uncomfortably on the spot as the Doctor does this. She is itching to get out her handheld device for she knows that this is no accident. Instead she goes to join the Doctor. She stands just over his shoulder and observes the dead body.
Terry cocks her head to the side thoughtfully. "Well his neck is clearly broken," she states flatly. "That is why he is dead." She says this in such a way it sounds as if she is teaching young children, even though she is stating the one thing they all can see.
"But where is all the blood coming from?" Aiden asks.
The Doctor puts on his black, thick-rimmed glasses, trying to see where the blood is coming from. However, Terry, who is now suddenly wearing rubber gloves, gently lifts the dead man by his limp arm and rolls his body over so that he is lying on his back.
The man who found the body starts to whimper at the sight of the the large, deep gash in the dead man's stomach. Aiden turns and starts to direct the man away from the scene. Then when they are alone, Terry and the Doctor look at each other.
"Slitheen?" The Doctor says.
"There's no other explanation. I can smell one here." Terry says darkly.
"In the pub?"
Terry nods.
"No one could have come in without me knowing," Aiden says, who has now returned to the bathroom. "I keep tabs on every guest that walks in and out of this pub and I know this man," he nods to the dead body. "He is a member of a cult like everyone else here."
"So the murderer is with us in the pub tonight." The Doctor says, glancing warily from Aiden to Terry. He then jumps up on his feet. "Lock the pub." With that, he walks out of the bathroom and back into the pub.
The pub is silent and all the slightly drunk guests stare at the Doctor, their faces full of shock horror.
"There has been a murder," the Doctor announces but there is not the slightest hint of a stir in the pub. "A member of this cult has been murdered behind your backs."
And then there seems to be a few mutters across the pub and the guests whisper words to each other.
"Who would ever do such a thing?"
"The man was always quite reserved from the rest of us, but he never had anything to hide."
"God rest his soul."
"How could this have happened to us?"
"Well one thing for sure," the Doctor says as he steps forward. "That each and every one of you is a suspect," he walks around the tables, heading towards the entrance door. "And none of us will leave this pub until the murderer owns up. We can wait all night if we have to." The Doctor bolts the pub door locked.
"And who are you and your friends? What makes you think we can trust you?" One of the guests says rather spitefully.
The Doctor hesitates for a second, smiling gleefully to himself, with his back still to everyone in the pub. This situation they are in, it isn't exactly a laughing matter, but sometimes announcing who he is the one of the Doctor's favourite things to do on his travels.
The Doctor slowly turns around so that he is facing everyone with a smirk. "Because I am the Doctor. And no one bypasses me."
