Mystery: Murder at the Ballet

         

  A. The Setting: The murder takes place at a theater in a private box while the curtains are closed. The entire investigation takes place while Swan Lake is being performed and during the intermissions. The murder occurs as the theater goes dark and the curtains rise and the murderer is caught during the final scene.

            B. The Crime: A woman in her sixties is discovered with her throat stabbed in her private box. There are no witnesses as the curtains had been closed over the front of the box. Her many jewels remain untouched. The nature of the stabbing seems very personal.

            C. The Murderer: Katherine Carter was born into a privileged family. Her father owned a multimillion-dollar company, which her elder brother would inherit he passed. Kate had always been close with her brother and she lived her entire life under the belief that she would be taken care of financially by him, never having to spend a day behind a desk in the corporation. Unburdened by any financial want, Kate planned to spend her life creating modern art, which was her passion in life. Not long after Kate’s 23^rd birthday, her mother confessed that her elder brother, Jeffery, was the result of an affair. Though the Ms. Carter didn't admit who the lover was, Jeffery's biological father was Mark McQueen, the chorographer for the Royal Ballet. Betrayed and heartbroken, Mr. Carter divorced his wife and disinherited Jeffery, leaving the company, family legacy and responsibility completely to Kate. Kate’s family and her future as an artist have been smashed by her mother’s infidelity. Kate and her father happen to attend the ballet the same night that her mother does. Jeffery appears in the theater as well and Kate, overjoyed to see her brother again slips from her father’s box before the show begins to find him. When Kate finds Jeffery he confesses to her that he has discovered the identity of his biological father. Kate is enraged that her mother has the audacity to show her face at the ballet again and seemingly rub it all in. Jeffery tries to calm his half sister but fails to do so. The two part ways and Kate heads towards her mother’s box. On her way she grabs an ice pick from the refreshment table in the hall. The mother and daughter fight and during the conflict Kate grabs a locket from her mother’s neck that holds a picture of her brother and herself and smashes it. Kate stabs her mother in the jugular as the lights fade in the theater. Her gloves are stained with blood so she replaces them her mother’s and heads to the ladies room where she freshens up before returning to her family box and watching the rest of the ballet. She intends on murdering Mr. McQueen, her mother’s lover as well for his part in the scandal but it caught by the detective before she can finish the job.

            D. The Detective: Bridget Franks is a soon to be New York Police Officer. She had recently joined the academy and intends to eventually become a detective. Her brother, Cedric, is engaged to a wealthy young woman, Violet MacDouglas, whose family is part of the upper class social circle of New York. In order to introduce his Tomboy sister to his future family in law and fiancé Cedric invites, or rather insists, that Bridget attend the ballet Swan Lake with them. Bridget is clearly out of place in the theater setting and the meeting does not go well. Violet is very sweet but somewhat of a lightweight and despite her best efforts to connect with Bridget the two don’t share any common interests. The MacDouglas disapprove of the upcoming marriage and sticks their nose up at the middle class Franks. Over the course of the night the soon to be sisters in law bond over their efforts to solve the murder case and Violet becomes the Watson to Bridget’s Sherlock.

               Bridget discovers the body of Ms. Carter after mistakenly enter her box instead of her own. The police are called. Ignoring her brother’s protests, Bridget sets out to figure out who the murder is before the ballet ends and the crowds disperse. Upon questioning the MacDouglas family who were associated with the Carters, she learns of the scandal and discovers that the entire family is at the ballet at evening. After inspecting the body of the deceased woman Bridget notices a pair of bloody opera gloves lay beside body. Everyone assumes they must belong to Ms. Carter but Bridget finds it suspicious that they were not on the woman’s hands. The vicious manner in which she was attacked with an ice pick and the fact that none of her jewelry is missing save for a locket suggest a personal attack. The smashed locket was discarded in the hall. Engraved inside it was the inscription “For my loving mother”. Bridget and Violet believe that Jeffery Carter must be responsible for the murder. A staff member of the theater confirms that he saw Jeffery walking the halls before beginning of the first act and that he looked quite flustered. Bridget and Violet come across Kate in the ladies room as she is calmly reapplying powder. Bridget decides not to distress Kate with the new of her mother’s death and the fact that her brother is a murderer just yet. Kate forgets her gloves in the ladies room and Violet picks them up to return to her later. Bridget and Violet are unable to find Jeffery and fear that he might be going after Mr. McQueen as well. When they go to warn Mr. McQueen in his box he is demands to know where Violet got the gloves she is holding. The girls discover that the gloves have Ms. Carters and Mr. McQueen’s initials on them and were in fact a gift from McQueen to his lover. This leads Bridget to the conclusion that Kate must have switched her gloves with her mother’s after committing the murder. The two woman track Kate down, who attempts to escape through the back stage of the theater. The chase ends when Bridget tackles Kate, tumbling on stage and taking out the prima ballerina as her character Odette is about to commit suicide.