We (me, Paul, Lance, Cuth, Adrian, Jeff, Dianne and Marion) were gathered around a long table replica of the table present at the crime scene but smaller due to our reduced number. There were a couple of police officers on standby outside the room, just in case.
"Since I called only you people here, I'm sure you already realize that the murderer is among you lot. Except for me, Peter and Cuth here of course."
They remained silent - a sign of consent.
"I am first going to demonstrate how the murder was carried out. After I do that, it will be clear to you who the murderer is. Jeff, would you stand there in the middle? Pretend you are Damon and this pillow on the table before you is a cake.
“Paul and Lance, sit beside him. I will pretend I am Dianne. Peter, sit to my right. You pretend to be Marion. Cuth, you sit to my left. You are Jeff. Marion and Dianne, you may sit anywhere you like
"Now, consider this is the time when Damon is giving his little speech (that's why I asked you to stand up Jeff). By this time, everybody has settled down. Now, we all know that in the middle of the speech, the power went out. By the time one of the guest used the torch in his mobile phone, Damon was convulsing painfully on the floor.
"Obviously, since Paul and Lance were by his side, they were the prime suspects. But they are innocent. They did not do anything. Before I proceed, Lance, can you tell us again what you heard in the darkness?"
"Well," Lance began nervously, "The people were murmuring about the light when suddenly, I heard a grunt followed by a thud, mixed with sound of plates hitting the table. Like this." He raised a plate before him to a few millimetres and dropped it. It struck the table with a small 'clank'.
"Do you agree with him Paul?" Adrian asked.
Paul nodded silently.
“Cuth, I asked Lance instead of Paul to testify so to show that I did not ask or teach Paul to say anything.”
“Fair enough.”
“Do the rest of you agree that you heard a similar noise, except for the grunt?"
Jeff, Dianne and Marion nodded.
"I'll show you exactly how those sound came about. Sorry Jeff."
"Sorry for what-" Suddenly, Jeff lurched forward with a grunt, knocking over his chair backwards with his feet, landing face first on the pillow in front of him. Losing his balance, he fell down on the floor.
"What the hell was that Adrian?" Cuth exclaimed, jumping up and heading over to Jeff, who was being helped up by Lance and Paul.
"You understand now Jeff? At least partially?" Adrian asked.
"I think so … But it can't be detective. It can't ... The knife! How do you explain the knife in his throat?" Jeff asked. His voice had quieted down to almost a whisper at the end.
"You hit the pillow didn't you?"
"What has that got anything to do ..." Jeff trailed off and became silent. He looked at Adrian sadly and nodded.
"The hell Adrian! Explain!" Cuth exclaimed.
"I hit Jeff's leg from under the table inspector. Kicked him in the shin real hard with my feet. He grunted in pain when I hit him. Because of my kick, his foot was pushed backwards, causing him to launch forward and fall unto the table. When he landed on the pillow, the plates jumped up a bit, causing the clanky noise. Then he lost his balance and fell down." I knew what Adrian was getting at.
I knew now who the killer was.
"The killer is you Dianne. Isn't it?" Adrian finished.
"What?" Dianne asked, startled.
"You are the killer. You killed Damon using the same trick I demonstrated just now."
"What? That's ridiculous!" Dianne exclaimed. Marion just stood there quietly, in shock.
"What about the knife Adrian?" Cuth asked.
"It was in the cake." Adrian leaned back in his chair and took in a long breath. "I'll explain it from the start. After partying outside in the lawn, you guys came inside to cut the birthday cake. The sole of your shoes were all muddy and dirty. Tell me Jeff, when I hit you, did your foot slide back a bit?"
Jeff nodded.
"I looked around in that room and found a mark that would be made when a person rubs his muddy shoes backwards on the carpet. That mark was right where Damon was standing. I also found some mud in the bottom part of his otherwise spotless jeans. Are you getting the picture Cuth?
"Dianne was seated opposite Damon. When the power went out while he was giving a speech, she kicked him just like I had kicked Jeff and left mud marks on his jeans. Damon's foot slid backward as he slipped, leaving the aforementioned mark on the carpet.
"As for the knife, it was in the cake. You all saw how Jeff hit the pillow. In the same manner, Damon fell down on his cake - a cake with a knife inside, standing upright. He was impaled in the neck at that moment. Then, as Jeff had, Damon lost his balance and fell down on the floor and began to convulse due to pain. Or perhaps it was because he was choking on his blood from the artery."
"So?" Dianne demanded. "Your silly little conjecture doesn't prove me the killer. It’s all circumstantial. Where's your evidence? The mud on my brother's jeans? He could have got them some other way!"
"Who baked the cake dear?" Adrian asked.
Dianne immediately froze.
"When the knife was removed, and it was a rather small knife - small enough to be hidden inside a cake - it was found that not only the handle but the whole knife had been covered in cake. Traces of cake had been found on the upper part as well as the tip of the blade. The only explanation how the knife could get the cake there is that it was already hidden in the cake.
"Also, the knife had been found tilted slightly upwards. If a short person had attacked Damon, then yes, the knife could have been tilted upwards. But I watched the video Jeff had recorded. None were so short that, had they attacked, the knife would have been impaled either perpendicular to the neck or tilted downwards. No one from outside could have done it because the mud prints in the other room only show people coming inside and none leaving through the door that leads to the lawn.
"Marion stands witness to the fact that you baked the cake. Jeff's video has proof that you brought the cake and placed it before Damon yourself. I’d like to see you prove to the jury otherwise. Have you got anything to say?"
Without a word, Dianne collapsed to her knees on the floor. Marion had frozen where she sat, her eye wide open in shock. Jeff sat with his head hung low, a look of sadness in his face.
"I take it then you did do it," Cuth said.
"You are under arrest Miss Dianne."
ns 15.158.61.6da2
