M3: (Working Title: Deathmask)


It's a wet and rainy Halloween night, and Veronica Ashcroft is giving
her traditional Halloween party.  Would you have accepted the
invitation if you had known that in a few hours Veronica would be dead
and you would be the prime suspect?  Would you have rented that silly
looking cowboy costume if you had known Veronica would be strangled with
a lasso?  Fortunately there are other suspects, but you have to think
fast to forestall and quick and unfortunate ending this mystery!

The Setting:

Ashcroft Farm, a Southern mansion tucked away in the Maryland hunt
country.  Home of Michael Wellman and his wife, Veronica
Ashcroft-Wellman.  Veronica has secretly agreed to sell the Farm for
real estate development, and plans this final Halloween bash to say
goodbye to the old place. It's to be a grand costume ball with simply
everyone invited.

The manor house is a huge old southern style mansion, a la Tara, but
more tasteful.  There are stables and garages and a barn out back, and
it's clear that this is horse country:  paddocks, jumping equipment, and
so on abound, and one room inside is crammed full of show pictures and
ribbons.  Veronica is a serious horsewoman, and when she was younger,
she was a competition-level jumper and dressage rider.

The main center of action is the ballroom of the manor.  Most of the
guests are here, but unfortunately most of the suspects were
conveniently absent when the murder was committed.  A band plays, a
bartender dispenses drinks, and oddly costumed guests cavort on the
dance floor.

Other rooms include a library, a trophy room, bathrooms, a foyer, etc.
The upstairs is off limits.  There are also some outside rooms (paddock,
stable, etc.).


Characters and Their Costumes:

You (the player); "cowboy"/"cowgirl"

Michael Wellman; "sheik"
Veronica Ashcroft-Wellman, Michael's wife; "Titania"

Alicia Barron, Michael's lover; "harem girl"

Richard Ashcroft, Veronica's brother; "werewolf"
Linda Meade, Richard's girlfriend; "ballerina"

Colonel Robert Marston, Administrator of the Ashcroft Trust; "explorer"
Senator Alan Asher; "harlequin"
William Cochrane, a local real estate developer; "astronaut"
Samuel Ostmann, another real estate developer; "vampire"

George Smythe, the butler; "gorilla"
Jack Johnson, bartender; "domino mask"

The Detective
Sgt. Duffy

Many other party guests (in various costumes)

[Note that many of the costumes obscure the face.]


Action:

At the start of the game, you are in the ballroom, minding your own
business, when Michael calls you over.  Veronica is discussing one of
her many horses when suddenly she spills her drink all over her costume
(naturally the costume is white).  Seriously annoyed, she storms out of
the room (maybe she was a little drunk).

A few minutes later, she is a little dead, as well.  You can find her
sprawled in the office among her horse trophies, strangled by your own
lasso.  The office is ransacked: perhaps she interrupted someone in the
midst of a burglary, a search, or what?

It is possible for you to be the first to discover the body.  (If not,
someone else will.)  If you find it, several different lines of play can
ensue.  First, you can sound the alarm.  This means the police are
called, and since you are a prime suspect, you're in deep trouble.
Second, you can try to hide the body and find the murderer yourself.
Third, you can remove the lariat and leave. Still other possibilities
might present themselves.


Modus Operandi (Spoiler Warning!):

Veronica is last "seen" after the murder was actually committed, because
the murderer's accomplice (Alicia, who resembles Veronica in build and
voice) appears briefly in the Ballroom wearing a duplicate of Veronica's
costume. This confuses the time of death and gives the murderer
(Veronica's husband, Michael) an alibi, while also casting suspicion on
you.

The murder weapon is fortuitous; you left it in the coat closet with
your coat and Michael happened upon it.

Veronica was lured away by Michael, and soon after they seem to
reappear, but in fact, Alicia has donned her costume, and is
impersonating her.

Because the murder is committed with your lasso, the detective will
suspect you, and you must avoid being arrested.  You might even want to
flee, but if you do, you will be caught or possibly even killed.  Better
is to find out who really did it so that when the police arrive, you can
hand over the real murderers.

Once the detective (yes, it's the player from Deadline or The Witness)
and Sgt. Duffy arrive, you have a very limited time in which to get
things fixed up to prevent your arrest.  It might be better to hide the
body or the lasso, but by the same token, being discovered while doing
this is probably a sure ticket to the Big House.


The Motive:

Michael, Veronica's husband, is the murderer.  He has been carrying on
affair Alicia, who becomes his accomplice, and wants a divorce so he can
to marry her.  Veronica is willing to divorce, but without a property
settlement.  It turns out, according to Col. Marston, the administrator
of the Ashcroft family trust, that Michael will inherit most of her real
property if she dies.  If she sells the farm before she dies, as she
plans to, there is nothing for Michael to inherit.


Suspects:

Michael:  Once you find out he has a lover, and wants a divorce, he's an
obvious suspect.  But if he kills Veronica, there seems to be no way he
can get his hands on her money, and he's not the type to give up his
affluence.  Col. Marston can clear that up.

Alicia:  Her connection with Michael is unsuspected, but once you find
out about it, she's an obvious suspect.

Richard:  Veronica has control of the Trust money, as oldest sibling,
and rules Richard with an iron hand.  Also acts nasty to Richard's
girlfriend.

Linda:  Too common for Veronica, who constantly snubs her and insults
her.  She hates Veronica.

Marston:  Veronica thinks he's embezzling from the Trust money (he is),
and once she gets proof he'll be fired.  He sets the whole thing in
motion by revealing to Michael that he inherits the farm if his wife
dies.

Smythe:  Doesn't the butler always do it?  He knows Michael has a lover.
(The servants always know these things). He is loyal to Veronica in a
family-retainer sort of way, but has discovered her plans to sell the
estate: he's worked there all his life and resents the idea of leaving.

Sam Ostmann:  President of the firm Veronica is selling the Farm to. He
has no motive, and is probably the one with the most to lose from her
death.

William Cochrane:  President of a rival to Ostmann's firm. His company
is close to collapse.  Veronica's decision not to sell to him will ruin
him.  He reveals the sale to Michael, reinforcing the motive. On the
other hand, at first he looks like he has the strongest motive.

Senator Asher:  He is in the room next to the room where her body is
found.

Bartender:  Remembers who was drinking what.  Perhaps Alicia doesn't
drink what Veronica does?


Clues:

* Key to office, which is normally locked, and locked between the time
  of the murder and Alicia's entrance, but unlocked afterward.  Alicia
  has to ditch the costume, then get back to the party by going around
  the outside of the house, and get the key back to Michael.

* Michael disposes of the costume Alicia ditches. By appropriate
  sneaking you can watch him do it, or catch him in the act.

* Alicia's overcoat is soaked, from her first, secret arrival, though the
  rain has let up at the time everyone think's the murder happened.

* Receipt for Alicia's copy of Veronica's costume.

* Where was Alicia before the impersonation?

* Costume Veronica has on is different in some way from Alicia's.

* How did Michael find out what costume Veronica would be wearing?

* Loophole in family trust.

* Michael's talk with Col. Marston about loophole.

* Purchase and Sale Agreement on farm is found in the office on the
  desk. It's almost too obvious...

* Col. Marston's embezzlement is known to Veronica, and that's what's
  really missing from the office; the evidence.


Ideas for Package Elements:

Mask: Your mask, an ordinary black or white mask.

Receipt: The receipt from your costume.

Invitation: The invitation to Veronica's party.

[Needed is an anti-piracy element, if we think one is important.]
