Murder Most Foul! - H is for Hidden Killer - Cozy Mystery #AtoZChallenge 2016

Welcome to my contribution to the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year is Murder Most Foul, which, for you, my blog visitors, means that you will be sharing in The Case of the Cursed House, or rather the bare bones of it. 

Everyday, I will be revealing more about my developing Cozy Mystery: descriptions of scenes; character details; locations; clues to the mystery. And, at the end of each post, you will have the chance to vote on whodunnit. So, without further ado, on with the case...

Previous parts:

Story Notes

Additional Details

As she is leaving Alice Rigden, Aisha gets a phone call from DCI Barnwell telling her that Barnwell and Williams are heading to the morgue for the autopsy, so she should head on home; they'll regroup tomorrow morning in the car park. ... Pathologist report: Bill Whethers died from the fall down the stairs, but if he hadn't broken his neck, he would have been dead in minutes anyway, because the reason he fell down the stairs was poison. He inhaled it through his e-cigarette, a very concentrated dose of arsenic which caused convulsions and he was unlucky to be at the top of the stairs at the time. Could the e-cigarette have been poisoned at source, industrial espionage? White marks on his fingernails suggested it wasn't the first dose of arsenic he'd been given, and tests on his hair suggest Bill had been poisoned over the last couple of months, it is unlikely no-one else in the country had shown symptoms by now. And there's something else, whoever was poisoning Bill was just being impatient, the man had lung cancer, pretty advanced, he probably only had a matter of months left to live. ... Aisha goes home. Her step-mum, Jamini, is in the front garden of their suburban semi carving a large hunk of tree with a chainsaw. Her dad, Saaz, is in the kitchen, window open and there are wonderful smells drifting out and mixing with the smell of wood shavings. Jamini stops her carving and greets Aisha with a hug, then telling her she looks pale, what's the matter. Aisha asks her if she's heard about the sudden death in Wittrenham on the news. She shakes her head. They go inside where her dad has mugs of tea ready. Aisha tells them about Bill and that she is part of the investigative team... Saaz: Isn't that where your friend, Emma Hayford, lives? Jamini: She's Lady Emma, Countess of Oxen, now. Aisha: You know Lady Emma? Jamini: Not really, me and your mum were at the same art college in London as she was, but we didn't mix much. She was the Honourable Emma Hayford even then. She was such a sweet girl, as I remember, polite and bubbly, but mainly she mixed with a very different crowd. And after all the stuff with her dad and her mum dying, she dropped out, but she landed on her feet, I suppose, with Lord Michael. It's such a shame with this death, Wittrenham is such a nice little place. Aisha: Yup, never thought I'd be helping investigate something like this down there, it's so quiet that most villagers live to be 100 and die in their beds.

Aisha Kakkar Age: 23 Gender: female Ethnicity Code: M3 Job: Police Constable - Weald & Marsh Liaison Officer - an officer working with local communities, especially villages, in the Weald of Kent and Romney Marsh areas. Her mum and step mum knew Lady Emma when she was an art student. DCI Mags Barnwell Age: 44 Gender: female Ethnicity Code: W1 Job: Detective Chief Inspector Kent Constabulary Serious Crime Office DS Kevin Williams Age: 27 Gender: male Ethnicity Code: W1 Job: Detective Sergeant Kent Constabulary Serious Crime Office Other info: DCI Barnwell's bag man. William (Bill) Whethers Age: 36 Gender: male Ethnicity Code: W1 Job: horror author Other info: he opposes a new housing development providing affordable housing to local people. he's a drunk. Suspected of taking part in black masses by Alice Rigden and half the village. Death: broken neck from falling down stairs, but was being poisoned by his e-cigarette with arsenic, and it was convulsions that caused him to fall down the stairs. He was dying of lung cancer. Lady Emma, Countess of Oxen Age: 43 Gender: female Ethnicity Code: W1 Job: Lady of the Manor Other info: married to Lord Michael; plays tennis with Bill Whethers. Was an art student in London, but dropped out after an incident with her father, and her mother dying. Soon afterwards, she married Lord Michael.

And now it's time to vote again - just take a punt - who do you think killed Bill Whethers (and yes, every character is listed - you never know ;P)?

Who dunnit?

Aisha Kakkar

Debbie Fincher

Dave Fincher

Jonathan Lee

Janice Walker

Lorri Walker

Hal Walker

Fred Walker

Alice Rigden

DS Kevin Williams

DCI Mags Barnwell

Lord Michael, Earl of Oxen

Lady Emma, Countess of Oxen

Dr Elves

Bethany Mortby

Lady Elizabeth Ryeman

Vic Walker

None of the above, we haven't met them yet

Don't be silly, I don't know enough yet!

Poll Maker

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