The body of prominent Reaper Junction resident, Grimsby Graves, was found early this morning at the bottom of a newly dug grave in the Reaper Cemetery. The eerie find was made by sheriff’s deputies after they received a call from a local resident.

Graves, whose ancestors helped found the town in 1770, owned the large estate that borders both the cemetary and the pumpkin farm of Jack Lantern.

So began our evening as deputies during the murder mystery dinner at Roux restaurant tonight.  There were six suspects that the local sheriff had identified, and it was up to us to determine who the real culprit was.

After each suspect gave their deposition to the audience, the court was kind enough to provide us with a delicious meal.  Of course, anyone who has seen a crime drama on TV knows that work often interrupts meals for the best detectives.  Sure enough, the suspects were all out on bail and each made their way to our table at some point during the meal, giving us a chance to interrogate them further.

With Halloween just around the corner, many of the deputies working the case were dressed out in their finest.  In the end, each team had to come together and figure out whodunnit. Our team, composed of Beverly Ayler, Evelyn Johnson and your faithful reporter (Burt Johnson), nailed it by identifying who the culprit was (the clairvoyant), but also who was her unwitting assistant (the pastry chef), and how she pulled it off (combination of hypnosis and drugs).  We never figured out a motive though — it turns out the clairvoyant was the granddaughter of Evil-Eyed Emil, who had been escorted out of town on Halloween night 100 years earlier by a mob led by Grimsly Graves relatives, and she had promised to avenge her grandfather.  

For our success, we each each awarded a free dessert at Roux restaurant, which we will almost certainly use. 🙂