The Solution

All four suspects had motives, as Seamus McCree explained. It was means and opportunity that implicated the murderer.

Payton Olliver couldn't have done it -- our "artist" had her hands covered in shaving cream, which stickified everything she touched. The bourbon bottle had fingerprints, but no shaving cream, which that it hadn't been wiped down . . . which meant she couldn't have put the nuts in it.

Ray Vuss Wordum couldn't have done it -- at the time the dargon nuts were being stolen, he was being snatched by hotel security.

Fran Van Helsing couldn't have done it -- when the murder occurred, she was being evicted from the hotel by hotel security.

That leaves only Helen Bvtzchknn with means (the nuts), motive (getting banned from the EWW) and opportunity (right there in the bar).

When arrested, Helen said . . . well, nobody understood what she said because it made no sense. Regardless, justice was served!

Dee T. Ective's First Homicide Mystery: Winners

JUSTICE FOR REAVIS!

The mystery has been solved! Thanks to all who participated -- we really appreciate your time, effort, and support for our little blog. We spent a lot of time and energy creating and staging this interactive mystery, and we really grew to love the characters (criminals though they may be).

We would like to thank Reavis Wortham for being our wonderful victim, Jim Jackson and Seamus McCree for their enlightening insights, Tai Randolph for her helpful commentary, and the lovely rulers of Bouchercon for allowing us to commit all sorts of tom-foolery. Oh, and Sisters in Crime for paying our way. Thanks, you guys.

Most of all, however, thank you to hotel security for NOT kicking us out when you found a group of teenagers huddled out by the bathrooms taking pictures of themselves with lampshades on their heads.

We hope you had just as much fun as we did.

Now, the time has come to announce the winner...

*drum roll*

CONGRATULATIONS KAREN P!!! YAAAAY!!!

She correctly deduced the identity of the perpetrator and won the drawing for a $25 giftcard! We also gave away five $5 runner-up prizes.

For those who are still left wondering about the culprit, don't worry. We'll clue you in -- for the solution, click HERE!

FINAL CHAPTER!

Well folks, I'm stumped. Surely somewhere in those clues is the solution to the mystery of who killed Reavis Wortham. One of our four suspects had means, motive AND opportunity, but dang if I can decide which one. Neither can Junebug (although he swears he's closer than I am).

What do you think? Who's the killer? Fran the Fan Girl? Helen the Edditer? Payton the "artist"? Or Ray Vuss the lampshade impersonator? And what evidence do you have proving their guilt?

Review the Cast of Characters HERE.

Go through the story again starting with the first chapter HERE.

E-mail your guess (tell us both the guilty party and the evidence establishing his/her guilt) to Low Country Sisters in Crime at lowcountrysinc at gmail dot com with the phrase "CCAT Mystery Contest" in the subject line. Only one guess per participant. On October 30 at midnight, we'll choose one winner at random from all the correct guesses. The winner will be announced Halloween Day.

What does the winner win? A $25 gift card/certificate to either Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Poisoned Pen Press -- winner's choice.

That's an awful lot of winning, don't you think? Don't you want to be a part of it?

Of course you do!

Get your solution to us before midnight October 30th! And that gift card could be yours!

PS: We will also have some prizes for Most Original Guess, and the One We Wish We'd Come Up With,and any other prizes we feel like awarding. 

The fine print: No purchase is necessary. You must be at least 16 years old to enter. The winners will be chosen randomly from all correct entries and notified by email. The CCAT YA Book Club and its agents are not responsible for transmission failures, computer glitches or lost, late, damaged or returned email. The prize must be claimed within 7 days or it will be forfeited.

CHAPTER 14: A Few Thoughts From Amateur Sleuth and Gun Shop Owner Tai Randolph

Look, if there's one thing I've discovered, it's that anybody can kill. We're all just dogs one meal away from turning into wolves. Of course, some people start out wolves. And maybe that's what we're looking at with our pool of suspects – a pack of ravening, bloodthirsty predators.

But . . . I doubt it. This bunch is strictly amateur hour.

In my experience, motive is the least important of the means/motive/opportunity triple threat. Motives rise and fall like the tide. And – as Seamus McCree has pointed out – all four of these suspects have good ones. Well, not good ones especially. Not the kind that reasonable people like you or I would consider good, but good enough for people like Fran and Ray Vuss and Helen and Payton.

This is the part where Trey would explain that a simple graph – or perhaps a nice series of cluster maps – would illuminate the mystery. He's probably right (he usually is). Trey and I have different ways of doing things, true enough, but there's one thing we can agree on – in most killings, it's not a matter of figuring out who could have done it; it's all about finding out who couldn't.

That's what I told Detective Ective. And that's what I'll tell you. And now if y'all will excuse me, I have to get back to the shop. There's a shipment of circa-1865 undergarments I have to sort through.

Go to FINAL CHAPTER!

CHAPTER 13: So THAT Was The Commotion!

No wonder Brutus the bartender went to see what all the noise was -- it was hotel security dragging Fran Helsing out of the hotel lobby. Apparently she was in violation of a restraining order that Reavis Wortham had taken out against her. She didn't go willingly, or quietly -- the crime scene techs found claw marks in the carpet. But she did go . . . and they didn't let her back in the hotel.

Oh, the humanity!

Photograph Courtesy of Paparazzi #1

Photograph Courtesy of Paparazzi #2

Go to Chapter 14!

CHAPTER 12: Notes from Second Interview with Brutus the Bartender

(Detective's Notes: I did not manage to get Brutus' last name. I got very little, actually. Apparently mystery writers keep a bartender very busy. I did manage to discover several pertinent facts, however, during our second brief conversation).

1. Mr. Brutus the Bartender was working the shift when Reavis Wortham met his untimely demise at 9:55 PM in the evening.

2. Nobody else ordered Old Jack Pappy Bourbon except for Reavis Wortham, and there was only one bottle of it in the entire bar. The bourbon was contained in a clear crystal decanter (see EVIDENCE photo). The bottle itself was doctored with the Dargon nut powder, not Reavis' glass.

3. Brutus made the drink himself. He did not notice anything unusual about the bottle when he picked it up before or after making the drink, although Reavis did exclaim upon drinking it, "What kind of [expletive] is this? I did not order one of those [expletive] chocolate and pecan [expletive] things! Because I don't care what you call it, it's not---ACK!"

And then . . . death.

The crystal decanter was turned over to Crime Scene Techs for fingerprint processing -- fingerprints were found, which meant that bottle had NOT been wiped clean, probably because the killer didn't have time to slip the Dargon nut powder inside and then also wipe it down without being noticed.

However, the CST won't have results on fingerprint matches and DNA collection until tomorrow at the earliest. Like Brutus, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary about it either. It looked clean as a whistle.

4. He used a new bottle that he unwrapped himself. Therefore the bottle couldn't have been tampered with until after that time. Immediately after opening the bottle, Brutus left the bar at 9:45 PM for ten minutes to deal with a commotion out front, and then returned behind the bar (note to self: check security footage to discover what this "commotion" at 9:45 PM could have been about).

5. Brutus was my prime suspect until Junebug pointed out that he didn't have club level access and therefore couldn't have stolen Chef Blarnee's Dargon Nut Powder from her hotel room safe.

6. Brutus remembered seeing all four of the suspects in the bar, but as it was very busy, he doesn't remember who was actually in the bar during the ten-minute window of opportunity between his opening the bourbon at 9:35 PM, leaving the bottle on the bar to check out the commotion in the lobby at 9:45, returning to make Reavis' drink, then watching in helpless horror as Reavis SHUFFLES OFF HIS MORTAL COIL at 9:55! (note to self: explore writing a mystery novel myself, as I obviously have a flair for the dramatic).

But first . . . figure out what the commotion was about.

Go to CHAPTER 13!

CHAPTER 11: Initial Autopsy Results: REAVIS Z. WORTHAM

OFFICIAL Autopsy Analysis -- DO NOT TRY AT HOME!

WHAT!?!?!?!?

Who knew that Reavis Wortham was horribly allergic to Dargon nuts?

All of our suspects apparently. Every single one. Well, according to Junebug anyway, who has eyewitness testimonies that Fran Helsing AND Payton Olliver AND Helen Buttchicken AND Ray Vuss Wordum ALL possessed that knowledge.

Dang. Who'd have thought Junebug's case would get all mixed up with mine?

So which one of my four suspects slipped the powdered Dargon nuts into Reavis' bourbon, creating a fatal allergic reaction in the dearly departed?

I will not rest until I discover the guilty party! Which means another interview with Brutus the Bartender!

Go to Chapter 12!