It was a quiet and ordinary Saturday morning when I received my ninth case. As a detective I was used to thinking differently, observing the unusual, and especially expecting the unexpected. Therefore, it didn’t faze me when a small, thin, older man, about the age of 65, came into my office wishing to speak to me immediately. He was of medium height, thinning hair, and wore glasses. As he carefully took a seat at the other side of the desk, he began speaking. I noticed his voice was slightly shaking, and I could tell something was causing him to be quite anxious. He introduced himself as Owen Donnelly, the owner of a theatre nearby. I asked him what the matter was and how I could be of assistance. He came to explain to me that he was trying to keep his theatre afloat, and a recent and sudden situation created complications for such an effort. I encouraged him to go on, and he proceeded with hesitation.
“Detective Lancaster,” he continued, “I am here because of the death of one of the actresses in our current show. Her name was Maryse Lawson. She may have even been intentionally killed. We aren’t sure -”
“- You mean murdered?” I interjected.
“Yes sir, and the police department has of course rightly gotten involved. However,
despite the horrible incident, which by all means we do wish to have solved, we cannot afford to have lots of delays due to police investigations. Just last night was our opening night, and we would lose a great deal of money, and possibly even the theatre itself, too, if we had to put many performances on hold. I was very much hoping that you could help us solve this crime so that as soon as possible we may continue with our shows. You do understand, don’t you?”
I continued to question this new client and made a strong effort to gain as much information about the situation as I could. I found there not to be many details, as the death took place only the night before. I came to understand that the actress who had died, Maryse Lawson, was one of sixteen actors in the play and had been found dead backstage towards the end of the opening show. The last time she was seen on stage was a death scene where her character was poisoned. Immediately after hearing this, I knew that someone, another actor maybe, purposely switched the fake poison that was to be used as a prop with real poison. The reason behind this murder I was not yet sure of, though it would not be long before I had that answer.
Before I had ended my conversation with Mr. Donnelly, I assured him that I understood his predicament and was willing to help him. I offered to come by the theatre that afternoon to investigate the building and learn more about the actors. Before he exited, he gave me a playbill to the show so that I had a list of the cast members and everyone involved.
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Around three o’clock I arrived at the theatre. Mr. Donnelly greeted me and walked me inside. He gave me a tour of the building, including backstage. About an hour later, some of the actors showed up at his request in order that I may personally question them if I so desired. The first few actors I talked to failed to provide me with much new information. Eventually however, a couple of actors mentioned that the night before they noticed that one of the actresses seemed a bit off. Some of this woman’s characteristics seemed to them a bit different than usual. I proceeded to ask them the name of this actress and learned it to be Elodie Osborne. They also explained to me what part she played in the show. I listened closely as they shared with me that Ms. Osborne didn’t have her usual cup of tea before performing, and she also seemed much less nervous than she typically would be before an opening night performance. I looked at the program, and noticed that there was a note toward the bottom indicating an understudy for the role of Elodie’s character. Now, for any of those who are not aware, an understudy is a performer who learns the role of another in order to serve as a replacement if necessary.
I had many thoughts, and, in growing curiosity, asked Mr. Donnelly and the actors with whom I was speaking to take me backstage again. Once there, I requested that they show me where Elodie would get ready for the performances, and where she kept her costume pieces and other belongings. They brought me to the costume racks and quickly fumbled through the garments until they came upon those which were hers. As I stepped forward to look closely at one of her costumes, I took it down off the rack. I then proceeded to smell the fabric, and in doing so received looks of confusion from those around me.
“Does Ms. Elodie Osborne wear such a fragrance or perfume as this?” I questioned the actors. I then held it up to them so that they might sniff it themselves. One of the actresses said, “Why no, I’ve never known her to. She has a strong sensitivity to many fragrances, let alone to perfumes.”
“Interesting.” I replied. “As I’m sure you could tell by smelling it, the last person to have worn this left the scent of some perfume-like fragrance on the fabric.”
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By the time I finished my examination backstage it was about half past four. We retreated to the lobby to finish any discussions before I went home for the evening. I inquired as to where Ms. Osborne was and if she had been one of the actors that was called and asked to come to the theatre that afternoon in case she was needed for further questioning. Mr. Donnelly reported that she had not answered her phone, and after multiple attempts to reach her, he had left a voicemail asking her to come to the theatre as soon as possible.
As we were talking about what time I could return the next day to do more investigating, a young man abruptly entered the theatre. He looked around and then walked over to Mr. Donnelly.
“Excuse me sir, I’m Charley Osborne. I was wondering if you’ve seen my sister, Elodie?” he blurted. “I have been trying to reach her, and she hasn’t been responding. This is unlike her...I’ve begun to get a little worried. That’s why I am here. I figured you might have heard from her, or perhaps you may have seen her very recently considering the opening performances this week.”
Mr. Donnelly replied, “I am sorry you are having difficulty reaching Elodie. There has been quite a lot of commotion here in the last twenty-four hours as one of the actresses, Maryse Lawson, has died. Here with me is Detective Phillip Lancaster. I have not seen Elodie since last night, however I attempted to reach her multiple times today, yet unsuccessfully. I’m sure she has just been busy or perhaps she is just trying to get some extra rest and recover after the overly-stressful opening night.”
“I see.” the young man replied. “Well, that would make sense, I suppose. I may stop by her apartment too, just in case. And I am very sorry to hear that there has been such a tragic incident.”
“I imagine if you don’t hear from her and she doesn’t show up tomorrow, we will have to call in Cressida. I’m sure Elodie is just fine though.” Mr. Donnelly added reassuringly.
“Cressida?” I interjected. “That is the understudy, if I am remembering correctly?”
Mr. Donnelly nodded, “You would be correct. Elodie’s understudy happens to be her own sister, Cressida. It is quite convenient too considering that they look so much alike.” Turning to Charley he said, “Anyway, we won’t keep you any longer, Mr. Osborne.”
He nodded, “Yes, well thank you for your help. Good da-”
“-Excuse me for interrupting, Mr. Osborne, but I was wondering if I might accompany you to Elodie's apartment.” I had a strong feeling that tagging along would help significantly in the process of my investigation. I was getting very close.
“Oh, well, by all means detective. I’m sure that would be no problem. May I ask why though?” Charley questioned.
“Well, young man, I have questions concerning the involvement of your two sisters in the unfortunate death that has taken place here last evening. I would like to speak to them both if I get the chance.”
“Oh yes, I understand. As their brother I pray they are innocent, but I am amenable to have you come along and carry out your investigation.”
I nodded in understanding, quickly informed Mr. Donnelly of my plan, and exited the theatre with Mr. Osborne.
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When we arrived at Elodie's apartment, we knocked on the door. No answer. Charley also tried to call Elodie’s phone to see if she was home, but she didn’t pick up. Fortunately, she had in the past given her brother a key in case he ever needed to get in, so we proceeded to unlock the door and enter. When we walked in, we were shocked. Elodie was in her apartment after all. She was lying on the floor while tied up to the coffee table. Her sleepy eyes widened in surprise, and relief as she saw us. Charley hurried over to her and untied her wrists from a scarf that had been fastened to the leg of the table.
“Elodie,” he exclaimed, “what is going on?!”
Before she could answer, I piped in. “Your twin sister Cressida has left you here, hasn’t she?”
The girl and her brother both looked at me stunned, “How do you know this?!” she said.
“Cressida must have switched places with you last night and pretended to be you. I’m assuming you must be identical twins? That is how no one realized it wasn’t the real Elodie.” Charley’s face was filled with confusion, surprise, and worry. “Yes, they are identical twins. But I don’t understand. Why would she do this to you, Elodie?” he said. “And wait, where is she now?”
After helping Elodie up onto the couch, I introduced myself, and asked her to recall what had happened the day before. She had begun to feel ill with a head cold, and Cressida had come over to check on her. Elodie was worried she wouldn’t be able to perform that night. Cressida was the understudy and knew that she would have to take her sister’s place if Elodie couldn’t perform, so she saw it as the perfect opportunity to take over the role for the evening. Elodie then explained to Charley and I that Cressida had made her soup and gave her some cold medicine. What Elodie didn’t know was that her sister had purposefully given her too much cold medicine in order to drug her and then take her place in the show. Next thing she knew, Elodie had found herself lying on the floor of her living room with wrists tied to her enormously heavy coffee table. Interestingly, Cressida had still been kind enough to leave her twin sister covered with a blanket and with a pillow under her head.
“Why would my sister tie me up, do all this, and want so desperately to switch places with me?” Elodie inquired.
I proceeded to inform her of the events that had unfolded last night.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Ms. Osborne, but your fellow cast member, Maryse Lawson, was allegedly murdered last night. She was found dead backstage part way through the performance. The coroner suspects poisoning was the cause of her death.”
Elodie clasped her hand over her mouth in disbelief.
“No! How could such a horrible thing have happened?! And by poison even! There is a scene in the play where Maryse’s character is poisoned, but of course it is supposed to be fake! Is it possible that someone switched the fake prop poison with real?”
I nodded in agreement, “That is precisely what I suspect happened. My investigation now leads me to figure out who could be responsible for taking the poor life of this young actress. Now, Charley and Elodie, can you think of any reason why your sister, Cressida, would have wanted Maryse Lawson dead?”
The next few minutes allowed me to discover the final pieces of what had happened behind the scenes leading up to opening night. The two siblings recounted with concern that their sister Cressida had told them both about a cast member who had been bullying her ever since the beginning of show rehearsals. When I asked Elodie if she could identify the bully, she revealed that it indeed had been Maryse. Cressida had reported the negative interactions with Maryse to the show’s director and had even scheduled a session with a mental health counselor for the upcoming week. It was now clear to me that the bullying had gone so far that sadly Cressida just couldn’t take it anymore.
The pieces of the puzzle were coming together. While Elodie was passed out from the medicine, Cressida had then proceeded to take over Elodie’s role, hoping that no one would notice due to their practically identical looks. I, however, suspected this due to the fragrance left on the costume, and the unusual behaviors that some actors had noticed. It only confirmed my suspicion when I heard that Elodie Osborne did indeed have an identical twin sister. It was easy then for Cressida to substitute the fake poison with a lethal substance.
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In conclusion, I must say this case was an intriguing one. Thankfully, no serious harm had come to Elodie. When they heard that their sister Cressida was responsible for murder, Charley and Elodie were shocked and concerned but handled her arrest as well as one might expect. As for the bully, Maryse, her opening night unfortunately became her very last. Mr. Donnelly was relieved that he didn’t lose his theatre, and Elodie, after taking a short break, continued her theatre career and went on to be a part of many more curtain calls.
The End
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