The Death of Damian Tarot

**The Death of Damian Tarot** //By Eugene Conard // [[Begin]]

(colour: green)[//**State your name and occupation for the record.**//] **My name is Jonathan Brutus. Until last night, I worked as a bodyguard for Damian Tarot. My job was to make sure anyone who wanted to hurt Tarot ended up in the hospital.** (colour: green)[//**How long have you known Mr. Tarot?**//] **I first met him twenty years ago. I was a 14-year-old pickpocket who was good in a fight. I tried mugging Tarot with a box cutter. I didn’t know he worked for the mob. If I did, I definitely wouldn’t have tried to mess with him. Damian knocked the box cutter out of my hand and smacked me in the face with his cane. He said,**(colour: purple)[ “Kid, you’re either stupidest little bastard in this city or the bravest little shithead I’ve ever met. So, which is it? Incredible courage or incredible stupidity?”] **I raised my fists and replied,** “A little of both, sir.” **Damian laughed at that. Instead of having his men beat the crap out of me, he just gave me this look of admiration. He saw something in me, something that nobody else did.** (colour: purple)[“You’ve got spunk, kid. I respect that.”] **He tossed me his wallet and told me to come by his warehouse if I ever needed anything. The next day, I showed up to ask him for a job. He gladly gave me a job on his security team. Over the years, I slowly worked my way through the ranks of his organization until I became his personal bodyguard Anywhere he went, I went. Anyone he knew, I knew. The man was the closest thing I ever had to a father.** (colour: green)[//**Do you know anyone who would have wanted to hurt Tarot?**//] **Seriously? He was the most notorious mob boss in the history of this town. Half the city wanted him dead, including the people who he invited to dinner that night. Look, I liked Tarot, but even I have to admit that he wasn’t the nicest guy. I’ve had to fend off dozens of assassins in these past twenty years. Luckily for Tarot, I’m good at my job.** (colour: green)[//**I guess you must have had an off night.**//] **Yeah, I guess you’re right.** (colour: green)[//**What do you know about Damian Tarot’s death?**//] **I was there when it happened. I saw the body. Most importantly, I know who killed him.** (colour: green)[//**Why don’t you start at the beginning?**//] **Okay.** [[(Countinue)]]

**A week ago, Tarot got some bad news from his doctor. He decided to have a dinner with some people close to him to break the news. He instructed me to send letters out to the guests. On Friday morning, Tarot sent home all of his security staff except me.** (colour: green)[//**Why?**//] **He said that he didn’t want anyone leaking the things he said at the dinner, so he only wanted people he absolutely trusted there. Besides, I’m normally more than capable of protecting Tarot on my own.** (colour: green)[//**Normally.**//] **I’m good at my job, detective. Last night was an anomaly.** (colour: green)[//**If you say so.**//] **You know, I’ve beat up my fair share of policemen in my time working for Tarot. Don’t think these handcuffs will stop me.** (colour: green)[//**Was that a threat?**//] **It was a statement of fact.** (colour: green)[//**Alright, tough guy. Let’s get back to what happened last night. When did the guests start arriving?**//] **At six, Tarot told me to go wait in the lobby for the guests: [[Gerry Gold]], [[Vivian Scarlet]], and [[Anne Fille]].** **I ushered the three guests into the elevator.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**Gold arrived at seven. ** (colour: green)[//**By Gold, you me Mayor Gerald Gold Jr., right?** //] **Yeah. ** (colour: green)[//**Why would Gerry Gold, the man responsible for the recent fall in gang related violence, have dinner with the head of the biggest mobster in town? **//] **Not a lot of people know this, but Gold and Tarot are old friends. ** (colour: green)[//**Really?** //] **Yeah. The two of them go way back. Tarot actually funded Gold’s first campaign. ** (colour: green)[//**But, Gold’s been cracking down on gang violence for years now. He’s the man responsible imprisoning the Rosiello and Scaramelli families! **//] **And yet, Damian Tarot’s doing better than ever. Tarot got Gold elected. In return, Gold shut down Tarot’s competition. ** (colour: green)[//**That’s the type of information that could ruin Gold’s career. How do you know this?**//] **Detective, I’ve been working as the right hand man of a mob boss for my entire adult life. I’ve learned enough dirt to bury three councilmen, four police captains, and half a dozen judges.** (colour: green)[//**I wouldn’t mind hearing some of that, after we’re done here.**//] **Right now, I’d prefer if you focused on catching Tarot’s killer. ** (colour: green)[//**Right. You were describing Gold’s arrival.**// ] **Normally, I’d expect Gerry Gold to show up in an expensive suit with a gold watch. Yesterday he walked into the building wearing a yellow hoodie, jeans, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. ** (colour: green)[//**Sounds like he didn’t want to be recognized. **//] **I’d think the same thing, if it wasn’t for the cane. ** (colour: green)[//**You mean, that gaudy diamond encrusted thing he always has at his rallies? **//] **The one and only. He walked up to me and said, **(colour: yellow)[“Where’s Tarot?” ] **I said...** [[“Tarot’s in the penthouse.”]] [[“Nice outfit, Gerry. Really brings out the color of your eyes.”]]

**At seven fifteen, an attractive woman wearing a red dress walked into the lobby. Her name was Vivian Scarlet.** (colour: green)[//**Do you know Miss Scarlet’s connection to Tarot?**//] **She was a wealthy socialite who Damian became infatuated with a few years back. The two dated for three years before they had a big fight and went their separate ways. She broke Damian’s heart.** (colour: green)[//**Do you know why they broke up?**//] **Fretting over Tarot’s love life wasn’t in my job description. She said,** (colour: red)[“Hello John, it’s been too long.”] **I said...** [[“Not long enough.”]] [[“Good to see you.”]]

**The final guest arrived at eight.** (colour: green)[//**That would be Dr. Anne Fille, correct?**//] **Correct.** (colour: green)[//**She’s the piece of this that I don’t understand. She’s a surgeon who lives in Ohio. What does she have to do with Tarot? **//] **That isn’t my story to tell. Let’s just say that she and Damian have known each other for a long time.** (colour: green)[//**You know, obstruction of justice is a felony.**//] **If you want to know about Annie’s past, go ask her. She’s in one of the other interrogation rooms, right?** (colour: green)[//**All three of them are. I’m planning to talk to them after I’m done with you.**//] **I assumed as much. Annie walked in wearing blue scrubs and a lab coat. I assume she drove to Tarot’s place immediately after work. She said, ** (colour: cyan)[“Hey there, Johnny. It’s been a while.”] **I said...** [[“I didn’t think you’d show.”]] [[“Welcome home.”]]

(colour: yellow)[“What’s Tarot’s plan, anyway?”] (colour: red)[“I was wondering the same thing. Why did Damian invite us here?”] “I’m not supposed to tell you anything until you get to the penthouse.” (colour: cyan)[“Come on, Johnny. We deserve to know what we’re getting into.”] “I’m sorry, but no.” (colour: cyan)[“Always the obedient little soldier.”] (colour: red)[“Mr. Brutus, I received a threatening letter from Tarot. The only reason I’m here is because I fear for my own safety.”] “All will be explained soon.” (colour: yellow)[“Listen to me, you overgrown attack dog. Damian Tarot sent me a letter threatening to publish everything he has on me if I didn’t show up for dinner tonight. Ladies, I presume he told you the same?”] (colour: red)[“Indeed.”] (colour: cyan)[“Did he send you guys one of these?”] **Annie pulled out a playing card. Ace of Spades, to be specific. Gold and Scarlet followed suit, pulling out the King of Diamonds and Queen of Hearts, respectively.** (colour: red)[“Mr. Brutus, would you mind explaining why we received these cards?.”] “To protect your identities from one another, Mr. Tarot felt it would be wise for each of you to be assigned an alias. For the rest of this night, you will refer to each other using the faces on each other's cards. Understand?” (colour: green)[//**Why cards?**//] **Tarot made his fortune in the casino business. He’s always liked cards.** (colour: green)[//**Fair enough. Did you receive a card?**//] **Yeah. Jack of Clubs.** **Annie, or Ace, as she was called that night, stared at me with these puppy dog eyes. She said,** (colour: cyan)[“Johnny, please. What’s going on?”] **I said...** [[“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything.”]] [[“Okay, I’ll tell you what’s going on.”]]

“Tarot’s in the penthouse.” (colour: yellow)[“Well, take me up to him. I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to.”] “Not so fast. I’m not supposed to let anyone up until all of the guests arrive. Plus, I need to pat you down to see if you’re carrying any weapons.” (colour: yellow)[“You’ve got to be kidding me.”] “Mr. Tarot takes his safety very seriously, Mayor.”** All he had on him was his wallet. I tried to inspect his cane, but he hit me in the shin and said,** (colour: yellow)[“Keep your grubby paws off the cane. This thing costs more than you make in a year.”] [[(Countinue)]]

“Nice outfit, Gerry. Really brings out the color of your eyes.” (colour: yellow)[“Don’t call me by my real name! It’s bad enough that Tarot’s making me meet him in person. Let’s get this over with before someone recognizes me.”] “Not so fast. I’m not supposed to let anyone up until all of the guests arrive. Plus, I need to pat you down to see if you’re carrying any weapons.” (colour: yellow)[“You’ve got to be kidding me.”] “Mr. Tarot takes his safety very seriously, Mayor.”** All he had on him was his wallet. I tried to inspect his cane, but he hit me in the shin and said,** (colour: yellow)[“Keep your grubby paws off the cane. This thing costs more than you make in a year.”] [[(Countinue)]]

“Not long enough.” (colour: red)[“I can’t say I’m surprised by your anger. Things with Damian didn’t end in the best way.”] “No. No they did not.” (colour: red)[“Where is he, anyway?”] (colour: yellow)[“Tarot’s waiting in his penthouse until everyone arrives. Also, Johnny here’s going to give you a pat down.”] **All Vivian had on her were her keys and some makeup.** (colour: green)[//**What kind of makeup?**//] **I don’t know. Some sort of powdery stuff. The point is, she wasn’t carrying any weapons.** (colour: yellow)[“So, can we go meet Tarot now?”] “There’s still one more guest we’re waiting on. Although, I don’t know if she’s going to show up.” [[(Countinue)]]

“Good to see you.” (colour: red)[“I wish it was under less ominous circumstances. Do you know why Damian invited me here?”] “I can't answer that.” (colour: red)[“Where is he, anyway?”] (colour: yellow)[“Tarot’s waiting in his penthouse until everyone arrives. Also, Johnny here’s going to give you a pat down.”] **All Vivian had on her was her keys, phone, and some makeup.** (colour: green)[//**What kind of makeup?**//] **I don’t know. Some sort of powdery stuff. The point is, she wasn’t carrying any weapons.** (colour: yellow)[“So, can we go meet Tarot now?”] “There’s still one more guest we’re waiting on. Although, I don’t know if she’s going to show up.” [[(Countinue)]]

"I didn't think you'd show. (colour: cyan)[“Neither did I. I only decided when I was on my way home from work.”] **I patted her down.** (colour: green)[//**Did she have any weapons on her?**//] **Yes, actually. ** (colour: green)[//**What are we talking here, knives? Guns?**//] **Scalpels.** (colour: green)[//**Scalpels? Who just carries around surgical tools?**//] **Anne Fille, apparently. She also had some gauze, some disinfectant, and some painkillers hidden away in a medical bag she was carrying. I made her empty her pockets into a trash can.** [[(Countinue)]]

“Welcome home.” (colour: cyan)[“My home is in Ohio, Johnny.”] **I patted her down.** (colour: green)[//**Did she have any weapons on her?**//] **Yes, actually. ** (colour: green)[//**What are we talking here, knives? Guns?**//] **Scalpels.** (colour: green)[//**Scalpels? Who just carries around surgical tools?**//] **Anne Fille, apparently. She also had some gauze, some disinfectant, and some painkillers hidden away in a medical bag she was carrying. I made her empty her pockets into a trash can.** [[(Countinue)]]

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything.” (colour: yellow)[“You know, my opinion of you becomes lower with each passing moment.”] **Damian Tarot lived in the penthouse of an apartment building he owned. The penthouse contained a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a study, four bedrooms, and a bathroom. After we arrived in the penthouse, I led the guests to the dining room. Damian sat at the head of a large dining table. He looked like a walking corpse, thin with skin the color of old newspaper. He said,** (colour: purple)[“About time you showed up.”] (colour: red)[“Hello Damian. How long has it been?”] (colour: purple)[“If I remember correctly, you betrayed me five years ago.”] (colour: red)[“Betrayed is a strong word.”] (colour: purple)[“Not strong enough.”] **Damian turned to face Gold and said,** (colour: purple)[“What on earth are you wearing, Mr. King?”] (colour: yellow)[“Have your eyes gotten that bad, old timer? It’s called a hoodie.”] (colour: purple)[“Stick with the suits.”] **Damian turned to face Annie and said,** (colour: purple)[“I can’t believe you came.”] (colour: cyan)[“Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m here because you threatened my family.”] (colour: purple)[“Of course. Silly of me to think that you actually cared about me.”] (colour: purple)[“Mr. Jack, could you go fetch some tea for our guests?”] “Of course, Sir.” (colour: red)[“I’ll help.”] **Scarlet and I walked into the kitchen. She said,** (colour: red)[“My god, he looks like a corpse. Is he okay?”] "He's fine." **I put the kettle on the stove and Scarlet grabbed some teacups from the cupboard. She accidentally dropped one. It crashed onto the ground, breaking with a loud crash.** (colour: red)[“Oh god, I’m sorry. I’m such a klutz.”] “Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’m used to cleaning up messes.” **The two of us started cleaning up the broken glass.** (colour: red)[“You’re Tarot’s bodyguard, right?”] “Right.” (colour: red)[“Then why does he make you do things like make tea and clean up?”] **I said...** [[“Tarot doesn’t make me do anything. I chose to help out." ]] [[“Tarot treats me like a butler because I’m good at what I do.” ]]

“Okay, I’ll tell you what’s going on.” (colour: cyan)[“Thank you.”] “Damian’s dying.” (colour: red)[“I’m sorry, what?”] “It’s cancer. He found out a week ago.” (colour: yellow)[“You’re serious?”] “Look, I know you guys aren’t on the best of terms with him, but you’re all very important to him. Threatening you was the only way for him to make sure you’d show up.” (colour: cyan)[“I see Damian hasn’t changed.] (colour: yellow)[“So, Damian'll be in hell soon?”] “That's one way to put it.” (colour: yellow)[“That’s the best news you could’ve given me.”] “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything.” (colour: yellow)[“You know, my opinion of you becomes lower with each passing moment.”] **Damian Tarot lived in the penthouse of an apartment building he owned. The penthouse contained a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a study, four bedrooms, and a bathroom. After we arrived in the penthouse, I led the guests to the dining room. Damian sat at the head of a large dining table. He looked like a walking corpse, thin with skin the color of old newspaper. He said,** (colour: purple)[“About time you showed up.”] (colour: red)[“Hello Damian. How long has it been?”] (colour: purple)[“If I remember correctly, you betrayed me five years ago.”] (colour: red)[“Betrayed is a strong word.”] (colour: purple)[“Not strong enough.”] **Damian turned to face Gold and said,** (colour: purple)[“What on earth are you wearing, Mr. King?”] (colour: yellow)[“Have your eyes gotten that bad, old timer? It’s called a hoodie.”] (colour: purple)[“Stick with the suits.”] **Damian turned to face Annie and said,** (colour: purple)[“I can’t believe you came.”] (colour: cyan)[“Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m here because you threatened my family.”] (colour: purple)[“Of course. Silly of me to think that you actually cared about me.”] (colour: purple)[“Mr. Jack, could you go fetch some tea for our guests?”] “Of course, Sir.” (colour: red)[“I’ll help.”] **Scarlet and I walked into the kitchen. She said,** (colour: red)[“He’s really dying, isn’t he?”] “Yeah, he is.” **I put the kettle on the stove and Scarlet grabbed some teacups from the cupboard. She accidentally dropped one. It crashed onto the ground, breaking with a loud crash.** (colour: red)[“Oh god, I’m sorry. I’m such a klutz.”] “Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’m used to cleaning up messes.” **The two of us started cleaning up the broken glass.** (colour: red)[“You’re Tarot’s bodyguard, right?”] “Right.” (colour: red)[“Then why does he make you do things like make tea and clean up?”] **I said...** [[“Tarot doesn’t make me do anything. I chose to help out."]] [[“Tarot treats me like a butler because I’m good at what I do.”]]

“Tarot doesn’t make me do anything. I chose to help out.” **The tea kettle started whistling and I poured it into four teacups and my thermos.** (colour: green)[//**Your thermos?**//] **A few years back, someone tried to get to Tarot by poisoning my wine glass. Although he ended up at the bottom of a river, he taught me an important lesson: Don’t drink anything you don’t pour yourself. Ever since then, I’ve carried around this old thermos. I left it in Damian’s penthouse whole I was waiting for the guests, and carried it with me for the rest of the night.** (colour: green)[//**You sound paranoid.**//] **It isn’t paranoia to protect yourself. Scarlet and I brought the tea back. Damian was busy talking to Annie.** (colour: purple)[“How do you enjoy working at a hospital, Miss Ace? Do you find immense pleasure in preserving the lives of complete strangers?”] (colour: cyan)[“With all due respect, Damian, my personal life is none of your business.”] (colour: purple)[“Let’s agree to disagree.”] **I handed Damian his teacup and took a sip from my thermos. Damian immediately spat out the tea.** (colour: purple)[“This is garbage, Mr. Jack. I expect better from you.”] “I’m sorry, sir.” (colour: purple)[“Don’t do it again.”] (colour: yellow)[“Hey Damian, as much as I love harassing young women and insulting the help, that isn’t why I’m here. Can we move on to the reason you invited us here?”] (colour: purple)[“Patience is a virtue, Mr. King. One that you sorely lack, considering your recent actions. Regardless, there is a good reason I’ve called you all here tonight. I have an important announcement to make. “Earlier this week, my doctor told me that I have Adenocarcinoma. Miss Ace, could you be a dear and explain to the others what that is?””] (colour: cyan)[“It’s...cancer. How far has it spread?”] (colour: purple)[“Far enough.”] [[(Countinue) ]]

“Tarot treats me like a butler because I’m good at what I do.” (colour: red)[“Still, don’t you think that there are better things you could do with your time?”] “All the time, Ms. Queen.” **The tea kettle started whistling and I poured it into four teacups and my thermos.** (colour: green)[//**Your thermos?**//] **A few years back, someone tried to get to Tarot by poisoning my wine glass. Although he ended up at the bottom of a river, he taught me an important lesson: Don’t drink anything you don’t pour yourself. Ever since then, I’ve carried around this old thermos. I left it in Damian’s penthouse whole I was waiting for the guests, and carried it with me for the rest of the night.** (colour: green)[//**You sound paranoid.**//] **It isn’t paranoia to protect yourself. Scarlet and I brought the tea back. Damian was busy talking to Annie.** (colour: purple)[“How do you enjoy working at a hospital, Miss Ace? Do you find immense pleasure in preserving the lives of complete strangers?”] (colour: cyan)[“With all due respect, Damian, my personal life is none of your business.”] (colour: purple)[“Let’s agree to disagree.”] **I handed Damian his teacup and took a sip from my thermos. Damian immediately spat out the tea.** (colour: purple)[“This is garbage, Mr. Jack. I expect better from you.”] “I’m sorry, sir.” (colour: purple)[“Don’t do it again.”] (colour: yellow)[“Hey Damian, as much as I love harassing young women and insulting the help, that isn’t why I’m here. Can we move on to the reason you invited us here?”] (colour: purple)[“Patience is a virtue, Mr. King. One that you sorely lack, considering your recent actions. Regardless, there is a good reason I’ve called you all here tonight. I have an important announcement to make. “Earlier this week, my doctor told me that I have Adenocarcinoma. Miss Ace, could you be a dear and explain to the others what that is?””] (colour: cyan)[“It’s...cancer. How far has it spread?”] (colour: purple)[“Far enough.”] [[(Countinue) ]]

(colour: purple)[“My doctors tell me I have, at best, six more months to live. Now, I have done horrible things over the course of my long life. I am man enough to admit that. I don’t have any delusions of salvation. I know that, if God exists, he wants nothing to do with me.” “Normally, when a man finds out he’s dying, he attempts to surround himself with loved ones. But, as I looked back on my life, I realized that I don’t have any. What I do have are people who have betrayed me. People who have abused my kindness for their own purposes. You people.” “The next six months are going to be nothing more than complete agony as I dread my fate impending doom. I’ve decided to share this wonderful feeling with you, dear guests.”] (colour: red)[“What do you mean, share the dread?”] (colour: purple)[“I’ve collected files on each of you, detailing every secret you’ve ever kept, every sin you’ve ever hidden, every lie that you’ve ever told. These files are currently locked in my study. Tomorrow, I’m going to hand these files over to my lawyer and instruct her to publish them in every newspaper in the city when I die.”] (colour: cyan)[“You’re bluffing.”] (colour: purple)[“Miss Ace, you of all people should know that I don’t make empty threats.”] (colour: yellow)[“You bastard.”] **Gold grabbed his cane and walked towards Damian. I kicked him in the knee and he fell to the ground.** (colour: purple)[“I’d recommend calming your temper, Mr. King. I hold all the cards here. Tell me, will they let you bring that fancy cane of yours with you to prison?”] (colour: cyan)[“Damian, this is insane. Look, I’m sorry about how I left things. Is there any way I can make things right?”] (colour: purple)[“My dear, that ship sailed years ago.”] (colour: red)[“Threatening us won’t make us love you, Damian. It will only deepen the hatred we already have for you.”] (colour: purple)[“I don’t want your love. I want you to suffer. I want every waking moment of your pathetic lives to be centered around regret. I want you to-”] **Damian started coughing.** (colour: purple)[“I’m sorry. The cancer makes it hard for me to be active for more than a few minutes at a time. We’ll continue this in the morning.”] (colour: cyan)[“The morning?”] (colour: purple)[“There is more that I need to tell you all, but I’m afraid I won’t have enough energy until tomorrow. Mr. Jack, could you please help me to my room?”] **I led Damian to his bedroom. When I returned to the dining room, the guests were discussing Damian’s revelation.** (colour: yellow)[“He’s insane. He’s absolutely insane. I mean, he’s always had a few screws loose, but this takes the cake.”] (colour: red)[“I don’t know about the two of you, but I cannot afford to have my secrets come out. There are people out there who will kill me if they find out what Damian knows.”] (colour: cyan)[“What the hell does he mean by betrayal, anyway? All I did was cut him out of my life.”] (colour: red)[“Damian has been known to be petty. Once, I saw him order his goons to beat a waiter to a bloody pulp for spilling wine on his suit.”] (colour: yellow)[“Was it a nice suit?”] (colour: red)[“Does it matter?”] (colour: yellow)[“I mean, if it was an expensive suit, I could understand.”] (colour: cyan)[“When have you ever seen Damian where anything other than a nice suit?”] (colour: yellow)[“Fair enough.”] (colour: red)[“You disgust me.”] (colour: yellow)[“Hey, I’m not the one who’s given you a death sentence. Let’s focus on Tarot. We need to come up with a way to stop him.”] (colour: cyan)[“What did you have in mind?”] (colour: yellow)[“Well, Tarot hasn’t given the files to his lawyer yet, right? So, if one of you were to distract Brutus and the other were to sneak into his room, then-”] **I snuck up behind Gold and placed my hand on his shoulder.** “Then what, Mr. King?” (colour: yellow)[“Brutus! I didn’t know you were listening.”] “Answer the question, Mr. King. What do you want to do to Damian Tarot?” (colour: yellow)[“I don’t want to do anything.”] **I tightened my grip.** (colour: yellow)[“Although, I wouldn’t mind if you or one of the girls killed him in his sleep-”] **I slammed Gold’s head down on the table.** “Does anyone else want to hurt Damian?” (colour: red)[“I believe in the law.”] (colour: cyan)[“As much as I hate Damian, I’m not going to kill him. Do no harm, remember?”] (colour: yellow)[“Then what do you plan to do? Even if we manage to get into the study and destroy the files, Tarot can just make more of them.”] (colour: cyan)[“I don’t know, but I’m not about to murder a man in cold blood.”] “This discussion is irrelevant. Anyone who wants to get at Damian has to go through me. Understand?” (colour: yellow)[“Don’t you have some tea to be serving?”] “One more word and your head goes through the window, understand?” (colour: red)[“Threatening to kill people you’ve already threatened with fates worse than death is pointless, Mr. Jack.”] “What do you mean?” (colour: red)[“You’re protecting a man who’s trying to ruin our lives. You are every bit as complicit as he is.”] (colour: cyan)[“Come on, Johnny, you can’t really think all of this is morally sound.”] **I said...** [[“This blackmail plan is wrong.”]] [[“I support Tarot’s decisions.”]]

“Tarot doesn’t make me do anything. I chose to help out.” **The tea kettle started whistling and I poured it into four teacups and my thermos.** (colour: green)[//**Your thermos?**//] **A few years back, someone tried to get to Tarot by poisoning my wine glass. Although he ended up at the bottom of a river, he taught me an important lesson: Don’t drink anything you don’t pour yourself. Ever since then, I’ve carried around this old thermos. I left it in Damian’s penthouse whole I was waiting for the guests, and carried it with me for the rest of the night.** (colour: green)[//**You sound paranoid.**//] **It isn’t paranoia to protect yourself. Scarlet and I brought the tea back. Damian was busy talking to Annie.** (colour: purple)[“How do you enjoy working at a hospital, Miss Ace? Do you find immense pleasure in preserving the lives of complete strangers?”] (colour: cyan)[“With all due respect, Damian, my personal life is none of your business.”] (colour: purple)[“Let’s agree to disagree.”] **I handed Damian his teacup and took a sip from my thermos. Damian immediately spat out the tea.** (colour: purple)[“This is garbage, Mr. Jack. I expect better from you.”] “I’m sorry, sir.” (colour: purple)[“Don’t do it again.”] (colour: yellow)[“Hey Damian, as much as I love harassing young women and insulting the help, that isn’t why I’m here. Can we move on to the reason you invited us here?”] (colour: purple)[“Patience is a virtue, Mr. King. One that you sorely lack, considering your recent actions. Regardless, there is a good reason I’ve called you all here tonight. I have an important announcement to make.] (colour: yellow)[“You’re dying.”] (colour: purple)[“How did you-”] (colour: yellow)[“Jack told us in the elevator.”] (colour: purple)[“Did he now?”] [[(Countinue) ]]

“Tarot treats me like a butler because I’m good at what I do.” (colour: red)[“Still, don’t you think that there are better things you could do with your time?”] “All the time, Ms. Queen.” **The tea kettle started whistling and I poured it into four teacups and my thermos.** (colour: green)[//**Your thermos?**//] **A few years back, someone tried to get to Tarot by poisoning my wine glass. Although he ended up at the bottom of a river, he taught me an important lesson: Don’t drink anything you don’t pour yourself. Ever since then, I’ve carried around this old thermos. I left it in Damian’s penthouse whole I was waiting for the guests, and carried it with me for the rest of the night.** (colour: green)[//**You sound paranoid.**//] **It isn’t paranoia to protect yourself. Scarlet and I brought the tea back. Damian was busy talking to Annie.** (colour: purple)[“How do you enjoy working at a hospital, Miss Ace? Do you find immense pleasure in preserving the lives of complete strangers?”] (colour: cyan)[“With all due respect, Damian, my personal life is none of your business.”] (colour: purple)[“Let’s agree to disagree.”] **I handed Damian his teacup and took a sip from my thermos. Damian immediately spat out the tea.** (colour: purple)[“This is garbage, Mr. Jack. I expect better from you.”] “I’m sorry, sir.” (colour: purple)[“Don’t do it again.”] (colour: yellow)[“Hey Damian, as much as I love harassing young women and insulting the help, that isn’t why I’m here. Can we move on to the reason you invited us here?”] (colour: purple)[“Patience is a virtue, Mr. King. One that you sorely lack, considering your recent actions. Regardless, there is a good reason I’ve called you all here tonight. I have an important announcement to make.] (colour: yellow)[“You’re dying.”] (colour: purple)[“How did you-”] (colour: yellow)[“Jack told us in the elevator.”] (colour: purple)[“Did he now?”] [[(Countinue) ]]

“This blackmail plan is wrong.” (colour: cyan)[“Then help us come up with a way to stop Tarot.”] “I can’t. Once Damian’s made up his mind, there’s no changing it.” **Gold got up and walked to the elevator.** (colour: yellow)[“Tell Tarot that he can screw himself. I’m leaving.”] “That door is biometrically sealed. It can only be opened when Damian or I place our fingertips on the sensor.” (colour: yellow)[“Well, could you be a dear and open the damn thing?”] **I said...** [[“Damian said that he wanted you all to stay.”]] [[“Fine. I'll open the door."]]

“I support Tarot’s decisions.” (colour: cyan)[“You can’t be serious.”] “Each of you have done horrible things to Damian. One of you broke his heart, one of you abandoned him, and one of you tried to put him in jail. As far as I’m concerned, you deserve everything that’s coming to you.” **Gold got up and walked to the elevator.** (colour: yellow)[“Tell Tarot that he can screw himself. I’m leaving.”] “That door is biometrically sealed. It can only be opened when Damian or I place our fingertips on the sensor.” (colour: yellow)[“Well, could you be a dear and open the damn thing?”] **I said...** [[“Damian said that he wanted you all to stay.”]] [[“Fine. I'll open the door."]]

“Damian said that he wanted you all to stay.” “You can’t seriously expect us to spend the night.” “There are four bedrooms in this apartment, plus the couch.” “Johnny, I have kids at home.” “I’m sorry.” **The girls took two of the bedrooms while Gold slept on the couch.** (colour: green)[//**And you?**//] **I spent the night standing guard outside Damian’s room. I knew that Gold and the others might try something in the middle of the night.** (colour: green)[//**Did you speak with Damian at any point during the night?**//] [[Yes.]] [[No.]]

“Fine. I'll open the door." **I walked over and placed my hand on the sensor. The door didn’t unlock.** (colour: yellow)[“What’s taking so long?”] “It’s...weird. The sensor isn’t recognizing my fingerprints.” (colour: red)[“Maybe Damian reprogrammed it?”] “That’s impossible. It must just be broken. You guys’ll have to spend the night. There are four bedrooms in this apartment, plus the couch.” (colour: cyan)[“Johnny, I have kids at home.”] “I’m sorry.” **The girls took two of the bedrooms while Gold slept on the couch.** (colour: green)[//**And you?**//] **I spent the night standing guard outside Damian’s room. I knew that Gold and the others might try something in the middle of the night.** (colour: green)[//**Did you speak with Damian at any point during the night?**//] [[Yes.]] [[No.]]

**Yes. I went into his room to talk to him at around ten.** (colour: purple)[“I’ve built an impressive empire, Jonathan.”] “Yes, sir.” (colour: purple)[“I worry about what’ll happen to it once I’m gone. I don’t want it to fade away like dust after I die. I want my legacy to live on.”] “Sir, have you considered naming one of the lieutenants as your successor?” (colour: purple)[“No. Those imbeciles will run the business into the ground before I’m buried. Normally, a man in my position would hand their organization over to their children. But, my only child hates, me, so that isn’t an option. Besides, I’ve never been found of inherited power.”] “Then, what do you suggest, sir?” (colour: purple)[“Let me tell you a story, Jonathan. When I was younger, I was pretty good at cards. I gained up a fortune by outplaying the biggest casino in the country. Of course, said casino was owned by a mob boss who tried to have me killed, but that’s besides the point. When I was eighteen, I ran away to America to avoid being killed. Now, using the money I’d won from the mob, I could have lived a life of luxury. I didn’t do that. I instead used that money to build a criminal syndicate. Wanna know why?”] “Why?” (colour: purple)[“Because I was a stupid little bastard who thought he had something to prove. Because I had spunk. Because I wanted to be the big mob boss in charge." “Jonathan, when I first met you, you reminded me of myself. A dumb kid, all alone in the world, doing the impossible because I didn’t have anyone around to tell me what couldn’t be done. I built an empire with my bare hands. I want to give it to someone else who worked their way up from the bottom. I want to give it to you.”] **He offered me everything. All the money, all the men, all the power, everything.** (colour: green)[//**Did you say yes?**//] [[Yes. ]] [[No. ]]

**No. I didn’t see him again until we discovered the body. I wish I could have talked to him one last time, told him how much everything he’d done meant to me.** [[(Countinue) ]]

(colour: green)[//**So, you were guarding Tarot’s bedroom while the others were sleeping, right?**//] **Yes.** (colour: green)[//**Did any of them try to break into Tarot’s room?**//] **I don’t know.** (colour: green)[//**You don’t know?**//] **I sort of...fell asleep.** (colour: green)[//**You fell asleep?**//] **Hey! Don’t give me that look. This kind of thing has never happened to me before.** (colour: green)[//**Right.**//] **Someone must have drugged me. It’s the only explanation.** (colour: green)[//**Fine. Let’s assume you were drugged and fell asleep. When did you wake up?**//] **I woke up at around midnight when I heard Scarlet scream. I burst into Damian’s room and found Vivian Scarlet standing over his body. After a moment, Annie and Gold joined us in the bedroom. Annie immediately ran up to Damian and checked his pulse.** (colour: cyan)[“Out of my way, I need to check if he’s still alive.”] “What have you done?” (colour: red)[“I didn’t…”] (colour: yellow)[“I didn’t think you had it in you, Ms. Queen.”] (colour: red)[“I would never…”] (colour: yellow)[“You’ve done us all a great service by killing that bastard.”] (colour: red)[“I didn’t kill him!”] “You didn’t?” (colour: yellow)[“Well, I suppose that means that Miss Ace-”] (colour: cyan)[“Nope.”] (colour: yellow)[“Then, does that mean that Jonathan-” “Do you really want to finish that sentence?” **Annie stood up and walked back over to us.** (colour: cyan)[“He’s dead, and has been for a few hours. Johnny, I’m sorry for your lost. I know how much he meant to you.”] **I walked over to Damian’s body and fell to my knees.** “Who did this?” (colour: yellow)[“Mr. Brutus, I’ve never been one to get my hands dirty.”] (colour: cyan)[“I took an oath to do no harm.”] (colour: red)[“I...I would never...I need to lie down.”] **Vivian collapsed onto the bed.** (colour: red)[“I came in here five minutes ago to beg Damian for forgiveness. When I came in, he was lying there, dead.”] (colour: cyan)[“I assume it was your scream that we heard?”] (colour: red)[“Yes.”] (colour: yellow)[“So, that raises the question, who killed Damian?”] “This apartment is locked from the inside. It had to be one of you three.” (colour: yellow)[“My thoughts exactly. But who?”] (colour: cyan)[“You’re the one who kept talking about killing Damian.”] (colour: yellow)[“Miss Ace, do you really think I’m stupid enough to kill a man when I don’t have an alibi? We all had the same motive and opportunity.”] (colour: red)[“We need to call the police.”] (colour: cyan)[“How? There aren’t any phones in this place and all of the entrances are locked.”] (colour: yellow)[“Correction: the entrances were locked. The door will open if Damian puts his hand on the sensor.”] (colour: red)[“Oh, brilliant. We’ll just wait for the corpse to get out and unlock the door.”] (colour: yellow)[“Don’t be ridiculous. We can move him, or at the very least cut off his hand.”] “One more word and I’m going to through you through a window.” (colour: red)[“Wait, that’s it!”] “What?” (colour: red)[“I know how to call for help!”] (colour: cyan)[“How?”] (colour: red)[“Take a chair, attach a note to it, and throw it out the window.”] “I’ll handle it.” **I left the room. Partially to get a message to the cops, and partially to clear my head.** (colour: green)[//**It must have been quite a shock, seeing Mr. Tarot dead.**//] **Yeah.** (colour: green)[//**Do you blame yourself for his death?**//] [[Yes. ]] [[No. ]]

**Yes.** So, now that Damian’s out of the way, you’re the man in charge? **I suppose so.** I suppose that means I’ll have to deal with you soon. **Perhaps.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**No.** (colour: green)[//**No? He offered you everything!**//] **I don’t want to be a mob boss, detective.** (colour: green)[//**How did Tarot react, when you turned down his offer?**//] **He got all quiet and asked me to leave him alone.** (colour: green)[//**Sounds like you broke his heart.**//] **Maybe that’s what killed him. That was a joke, by the way.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**Yes. I was supposed to protect Damian. It was my only job. Now he’s dead because I failed him. After writing a note for the cops and throwing it out the window, I returned to Damian’s bedroom. When I got back, the guests were arguing about what they should do next.** (colour: red)[“We shouldn’t touch the body. We might accidentally destroy some evidence!”] (colour: yellow)[“Look, I’m locked in here with a murderer. I’d like to figure out who that is so I can protect myself. Miss Ace, can you do an autopsy?”] (colour: cyan)[“I can, but I don’t want to. Unless you all want me to, I’d prefer to stay a safe distance from the deceased.”] (colour: green)[//**Did you examine the body?**//] [[Yes. ]] [[No. ]]

**No. Damian died by the hands of one of his guests. They were responsible. I knew that I had to figure out which one was guilty so I could kill them myself. After writing a note for the cops and throwing it out the window, I returned to Damian’s bedroom. When I got back, the guests were arguing about what they should do next.** (colour: red)[“We shouldn’t touch the body. We might accidentally destroy some evidence!”] (colour: yellow)[“Look, I’m locked in here with a murderer. I’d like to figure out who that is so I can protect myself. Miss Ace, can you do an autopsy?”] (colour: cyan)[“I can, but I don’t want to. Unless you all want me to, I’d prefer to stay a safe distance from the deceased.”] (colour: green)[//**Did you examine the body?**//] [[Yes. ]] [[No. ]]

“I’m not going to force you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with, Miss Ace.” (colour: cyan)[“Thank you, Johnny.”] “The room is destroyed, indicating a struggle. Plus, the stains on Damian’s coat mean he was probably stabbed. That’s enough to work with.” [[(Countinue) ]]

“I’m sorry, but I need you to perform an autopsy. It’s the only way we can figure out what happened.” (colour: cyan)[“Johnny-”] “Do the autopsy. Now.” (colour: cyan)[“Fine.” “Judging by the blood around his head, the victim was first struck in the head with a blunt force object. Afterwards, someone beat him to a bloody pulp. The victim was then stabbed in the lower abdomen by something jagged, like a rusty knife or a shard of glass. The victim bled out sometime between ten and eleven. Happy?”] [[(Countinue) ]]

“We should stay in pairs from now one to make sure no one destroys any evidence. Any ideas on what we should check out?” (colour: cyan)[“Someone should stay here to see if there are any clues left in the room.”] “Good. What else?” (colour: red)[“Well, if Damian was stabbed, the killer probably got a knife from the kitchen. We should go there to see if the killer left any clues.”] (colour: yellow)[“Both of those are good ideas, but you two are missing the obvious solution.”] “What?” (colour: yellow)[“The way I see it, the best way to figure out who killed Tarot is to check the study.”] (colour: red)[“Why?”] (colour: yellow)[“Well, Damian was killed because he had dirt on all of us, right? If I was the killer, the first thing I would have done is break into the study to destroy my file. So, if we figure out which file is gone, we can figure out who our killer is.”] (colour: green)[//**Where did you investigate?**//] [[The kitchen.]] [[The bedroom.]] [[The study.]]

**Vivian and I investigated the kitchen while Annie and Gold investigated the study. We didn’t find any clues in the cabinets, fridge, or sink.** (colour: red)[“That’s odd. All of the knives are here.”] “To be fair, we don’t know the murder weapon was a kitchen knife. It could have been any number of things: a piece of glass, a letter-opener-” (colour: red)[“A scalpel.”] “Perhaps.” (colour: red)[“Let’s go back to the others.”] “Wait.” **I peered into the kitchen’s trash can.** (colour: red)[“What are you doing?”] “Making sure the killer didn’t hide the weapon in the trash.” (colour: red)[“Is there anything in there?”] “No. It’s empty.” **Vivian put her hand on my shoulder. I turned around to face her.** (colour: red)[“When I went to talk to Damian, you were passed out on the floor.”] “Your point being?” (colour: red)[“I know Damian. He isn’t the type to hire bodyguards that just fall asleep.”] “Someone must have drugged me.” (colour: red)[“My thoughts exactly. The question is, who?”] “I don’t know.” (colour: red)[“You know, Miss Ace showed up with a bunch of drugs. If she managed to get some to you-”] “She wouldn’t do that.” (colour: red)[“How are you so sure?”] “Because I know her. She wouldn’t do this.” (colour: red)[“Fine.”] **She turned and started to walk out of the room.** “Hold on. While we’re casting doubt on people, let’s talk about you. What were you doing in Damian’s room?” (colour: red)[“I went in there to talk to him.”] “About what?” (colour: red)[“None of your business.”] “Did you kill him?” (colour: red)[“What? No. God, no. As much as I dislike Damian, I’m not a murderer.”] “Why do you hate him, anyway?” (colour: red)[“Besides the blackmail?”] “Back when the two of you were together, Damian was head over heels in love with you. What changed?” (colour: red)[“He learned something about me that he couldn’t forgive.”] “I get it now. You’re…” [[In love with Damian.]] [[A cop.]] [[The killer.]]

**Annie and I investigated the bedroom while Vivian and Gold investigated the study. The room was a total disaster. It was obvious that there had been a struggle.** (colour: green)[//**Who among you was capable of beating up Tarot?**//] **All of us. He was an old man dying of cancer, detective.** (colour: green)[//**Fair enough. Did you notice anything missing from the bedroom?**//] [[Yes. ]] [[No. ]]

**Gold and I investigated the bedroom while Vivian and Annie investigated the bedroom.** (colour: yellow)[“The door is locked. Do you have a key?”] “No. Damian doesn’t let me go into the study.” **I kicked the lock of the door open and gestured to the open doorway. Gold ran into the study and grabbed four folders off Damian’s desk. Each one had a different symbol drawn on it.** (colour: green)[//**Four folders for three party guests. Interesting.**//] “The killer didn’t destroy their file.” (colour: yellow)[“Of course not. The study was locked, remember?”] “You only wanted to get the folders.” (colour: yellow)[“Well, yeah. I’ll leave solving the murder to the police. For now, I’d like to prevent my career from being ruined.”] “God, have you ever done anything in your life that wasn’t selfish?” (colour: yellow)[“Excuse me? I cut this city’s unemployment rate in half!”] “You also took bribes from a mob boss. And wasted the money on that gaudy cane!” (colour: yellow)[“Grow up, Brutus. It takes money to get elected. Once I had power, I used it to stop gang violence.”] “By giving power to the biggest gang in the city.” (colour: yellow)[“People aren’t dying in the streets anymore. I consider that a victory.”] **He opened up one of the folders and started reading.** (colour: green)[//**Did you look at any of the folders?**//] [[Yes. ]] [[No. ]]

(colour: red)[“Excuse me?”] “That’s why you went into his room tonight. To apologize for breaking his heart and ask him to take you back.” (colour: red)[“No. Just...no. Damian Tarot was a complete bastard who deserved to spend the rest of his life behind bars. I do not, and never have, loved him. Understand?”] "Yes." [[(Countinue) ]]

(colour: red)[“And what makes you say that?”] “Back when Damian and you were dating, a bunch of our men got arrested. When he broke up with you, the arrests stopped.” (colour: red)[“That isn’t hard evidence.”] “No, but you aren’t denying it.” (colour: red)[“What if I am? Wouldn’t that make me less suspicious?”] “When you dated Damian, was that just a ploy to get evidence on him?” (colour: red)[“Perhaps.”] “But you didn’t catch him, did you?” (colour: red)[“He was always too careful. I think he knew, from the beginning, that I wasn’t who I said I was. One night, he accused me of being an undercover agent. I ran away to avoid being killed by angry mobsters. But the mobsters never came.”] “Damian really loved you, Vivian. Even after you betrayed him, he kept your secret to protect you.” (colour: red)[“If he loved me, then why did he threaten to reveal it a few hours ago?”] “I don’t know.” [[(Countinue) ]]

(colour: red)[“What makes you say that?”] “You’re the one who found the body.” (colour: red)[“I told you, he was dead when I got in the room-”] “Why should I believe you?” (colour: red)[“I’m not a killer. Maybe you should investigate Mr. King, or Miss-”] “There you go again. Changing the subject.” (colour: red)[“Of course I am! You’re accusing me of murder! Look, I hated Damian. I admit it. He was a violent man who threatened my life. I am glad he isn’t around to hurt anyone anymore. But I wanted him to die in prison, not in a comfy apartment. Understand?”] “Yes.” [[(Countinue) ]]

**After completing our respective investigations, the four of us met in the dining room. Gold placed the folders from the study down on the table.** (colour: yellow)[“Damian Tarot threatened to expose our secrets. One of us killed him. I don’t know who. Frankly, I don’t care. These folders contain secrets damaging to each of us. Now that Tarot’s gone, I think that these folders should join him.”] (colour: cyan)[“I saw a fireplace in the bedroom. We can burn them there.”] **As the folders burned, the cops arrived. I was dragged into an interrogation room, then you showed up.** (colour: green)[//**At the start of this, you said you knew who the killer is.**//] **I do. The killer is…** [[King of Diamonds: Gerry Gold]] [[Queen of Hearts: Vivian Scarlet ]] [[Ace of Spades: Anne Fille]] [[Jack of Clubs: Jonathan Brutus]] [[The Joker: Damian Tarot]]

**Gerry Gold.** (colour: green)[//**Tell me why you think that.**//] **First of all, he kept talking about wanting to kill Damian. That was a clear giveaway.** (colour: green)[//**Well, yeah. Do you have any other reason to suspect him?**//] **Yeah. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, Gold managed to covertly sneak a weapon into the penthouse: his cane.** (colour: green)[//**But, Tarot was stabbed.**//] **Yes, but he was also struck in the head first. Besides, it’s likely that a wealthy man like Gold would invest in a cane sword.** (colour: green)[//**That’s...an interesting theory.**//] [[(Countinue) ]]

**Vivian Scarlet.** (colour: green)[//**Tell me why you think that.**//] **First of all, she was the only one who had a chance to slip something into my thermos, meaning she must have been the one who drugged me.** (colour: green)[//**With what?**//] **Sleep medication, crushed up and disguised as makeup.** (colour: green)[//**Interesting. I assume you find the fact that she found the body to be suspicious?**//] **Yes. Although it isn’t objective proof of her guilt, she is the only one we know of that went into Damian’s bedroom that night. Besides, there’s one piece of decisive evidence proving her guilt: the kitchen garbage can was empty.** (colour: green)[//**I don’t follow.**//] **Vivian dropped a teacup and I put the pieces in the trash. When I later went back to check, the trash was empty. Someone got a piece of broken glass out of the garbage to stab Damian with. Vivian and I were the only ones who knew about the broken cup, meaning that one of us must be the killer.** (colour: green)[//**But how did she get rid of the shards of glass?**//] **She hid it in the chair I through out the window. The fall would’ve pulverized the broken shards, destroying all evidence linking her to the murder.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**Anne Fille.** (colour: green)[//**Tell me why you think that.**//] **Because she had access to sleeping pills. Meaning she drugged me. Meaning she killed Damian. I hate to say this, I really do, but Annie is the killer.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**Jonathan Brutus.** You killed Damian? **Of course I did. I’m good at my job, detective. I would have anyone who even tried to kill Damian.** But, why? [[Power.]] [[Love.]] [[Freedom.]] [[Mercy.]]

**Damian Tarot.** (colour: green)[//**He...killed himself?**//] **Yeah. Not directly, of course; the room showed signs of a struggle. But, when I look back on his actions that night, I know that he wanted someone to kill him. He invited three people who hated him to spend a night with him after getting rid of his entire security staff. He then gave each of them a perfect motive for killing him and went to bed.** (colour: green)[//**But, he didn’t get rid of his entire security staff. He still had you.**//] **Did he? I was unconscious when he died.** (colour: green)[//**Because someone drugged you...**//] **The only thing I drank from last night was my thermos. I left it in the penthouse while greeting the guests and grabbed it again as soon as I went into the apartment. It had to have been tampered with before the guests arrived. That means the only person who could have drugged me was...Damian. I think he was scared, Detective. He was facing a slow, painful death, free from any loved ones. I think he wanted to take the easy way out. He drugged me so I couldn’t protect him.** (colour: green)[//**Are you okay?**//] **No, I’m fine. I just...got some dust in my eyes. Do me a favor and lock up the person who finished Damian off, okay?** Okay. [[The End.]]

**Yes. Damian kept three pictures on his nightstand. One of Vivian, one of his daughter, and one of me. These pictures were knocked over and his nightstand was covered in broken glass. The photo of his daughter had been removed from its frame.** [[(Continue)]]

**No. I didn’t notice anything that was missing.** [[(Continue)]]

**Annie and I started examining the room. We didn’t find anything interesting. The killer must’ve cleaned up after themselves.** (colour: cyan)[“What are you going to do, now that Damian’s dead?”] “I don’t know. Someone has to lead the mob now.” (colour: cyan)[“Why does it have to be you?”] “You know why. Damian trusted me more than anyone. Now he’s dead because I failed. Someone has to protect his legacy.” (colour: cyan)[“Johnny, Damian’s legacy is nothing more than a collection of whorehouses and gambling dens. Have you thought of going back to school?”] (colour: green)[//**Back to school?] **When I was younger, I left the mob for four years to go to college.** (colour: green)[//**What did you study?] **Pre-med.** (colour: green)[//**Really? What happened?] **Damian needed a fall guy for a job that went bad. I spent five years in jail. After I got out, Damian paid off my college debts and promoted me to head of security.** (colour: green)[//**Why would you go to prison for Damian?] **Like I said, Damian was the closest thing I ever had to a father. I felt that I owed it to him.** (colour: cyan)[“Go back to med school. It’ll be hard, but it’s worth it. Trust me.”] “I’m not like you, Annie. I can’t just take the easy way out.” (colour: cyan)[“Easy way out? I ran away from home at sixteen and worked my way through medical school! Do you call that easy?”] “No, but-” (colour: cyan)[“Do you know why I ran away from home, Johnny?”] “No.” (colour: cyan)[“I had a friend in high school who was the daughter of a city councilman. One day she showed up at school, crying, because her dad was dead. I just stood there, unable to say anything. How do you tell someone that your father killed her dad because he made the mistake of not approving a random piece of housing legislation? My father was a bastard, Johnny. Now that he’s dead, you’re finally free to pursue your dreams. Don’t throw away your life out loyalty to a dead man.”] **I said...** [[“Okay, I’ll go back to med school.”]] [[“I’m sorry, I can’t just run away.”]]

“Okay, I’ll go back to med school.” “Thank god.” [[(Countinue) ]]

“I’m sorry, I can’t just run away.” (colour: cyan)[“After the cops arrive, I don’t want to ever see you again.”] [[(Countinue) ]]

“Okay, I’ll go back to med school.” “Thank god.” [[(Countinue) ]]

“I’m sorry, I can’t just run away.” (colour: cyan)[“After the cops arrive, I don’t want to ever see you again.”] [[(Countinue) ]]

**After completing our respective investigations, the four of us met in the dining room. Gold placed the folders from the study down on the table.** (colour: yellow)[“Damian Tarot threatened to expose our secrets. One of us killed him. I don’t know who. Frankly, I don’t care. These folders contain secrets damaging to each of us. Now that Tarot’s gone, I think that these folders should join him.”] (colour: cyan)[“I saw a fireplace in the bedroom. We can burn them there.”] **As the folders burned, the cops arrived. I was dragged into an interrogation room, then you showed up.** (colour: green)[//**At the start of this, you said you knew who the killer is.**//] **I do. The killer is…** [[King of Diamonds: Gerry Gold]] [[Queen of Hearts: Vivian Scarlet]] [[Ace of Spades: Anne Fille]] [[Jack of Clubs: Jonathan Brutus]] [[The Joker: Damian Tarot]]

**Vivian Scarlet.** (colour: green)[//**Tell me why you think that.**//] **Simple. She found the body.** (colour: green)[//**Is that it?**//] **Yep.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**After completing our respective investigations, the four of us met in the dining room. Gold placed the folders from the study down on the table.** (colour: yellow)[“Damian Tarot threatened to expose our secrets. One of us killed him. I don’t know who. Frankly, I don’t care. These folders contain secrets damaging to each of us. Now that Tarot’s gone, I think that these folders should join him.”] (colour: cyan)[“I saw a fireplace in the bedroom. We can burn them there.”] **As the folders burned, the cops arrived. I was dragged into an interrogation room, then you showed up.** (colour: green)[//**At the start of this, you said you knew who the killer is.**//] **I do. The killer is…** [[King of Diamonds: Gerry Gold]] [[Queen of Hearts: Vivian Scarlet]] [[Ace of Spades: Anne Fille ]] [[Jack of Clubs: Jonathan Brutus]] [[The Joker: Damian Tarot]]

**Yes.** (colour: green)[//**Which one?**//] [[The one with the Clubs Symbol.]] [[The one with the Hearts Symbol.]] [[The one with the Spades Symbol.]] [[The one with the Diamonds Symbol.]]

**No. That would be rude.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**Anne Fille.** (colour: green)[//**Tell me why you think that.**//] **First of all, Anne is the most likely candidate for the person who drugged me. Remember, she actually showed up with medical supplies, presumably including some sort of anesthetic or painkiller. I made her leave her medical bag in the lobby, but it’s possible she snuck a bottle up and slipped it to me while I wasn’t looking.** (colour: green)[//**Still, that’s a shaky reason to suspect someone of murder.**//] **I know Annie. She would do anything to keep people from finding out about her connection to Damian. Even murder.** (colour: green)[//**Could the same not be said about Gold and Vivian?**//] **Perhaps. But there’s one thing those two wouldn’t do: destroy a photograph.** (colour: green)[//**What do you mean?**//] **Damian had a photo of Annie sitting on his nightstand. When I entered the room, I noticed that that the photo was missing. Why would Gold and Vivian take the time to destroy a photograph?** (colour: green)[//**How did she dispose of the photograph? And the murder weapon, for that matter?**//] **Annie stabbed Damian with a piece of broken glass from the photo frame. She then hid the photo and the piece of glass in the bedroom fireplace, where they were destroyed alongside the files.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**The folder with the Club Symbol said: --Jonathan Brutus-- --Born 8/14/84-- --Damian Tarot’s security chief-- --Betrayed Tarot by helping his daughter run away from home and attempting to leave the gang--** Damian had a folder on you? **Yeah. I was surprised too.** Did the folder contain any other information? **Evidence from every crime I ever committed for Tarot. Enough to throw me in prison for the rest of my life.** I don’t suppose you’d feel like sharing about those crimes? **Yeah, no.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**The folder with the Heart Symbol said: --Victoria Scaramelli-- --Born 9/2/69-- --Daughter of the wealthy Scaramelli crime family. After her father was killed by Damian Tarot, she changed her name to Vivian Scarlet and began working with the FBI to take Tarot down. Although she failed in apprehending Tarot, she helped with the arrests of 15 of his men-- --Betrayed Tarot by pretending to love him for three years--** [[(Countinue) ]]

**The one with the Spade symbol. The folder with the Spade Symbol said: --Anne Fille (née Tarot)-- --Born 5/25/87-- --A surgeon living in Oakwood Ohio. Daughter of the notorious mob boss Damian Tarot and sole heir to his fortunes-- --Betrayed Tarot by running away from home and cutting all forms of contact-- The folder also contained pictures of her husband and children.** [[(Countinue) ]]

**The folder with the Diamond Symbol said: --Gerald Gold II-- --Born 1/14/58-- --A corrupt politician who won several elections using Damian Tarot’s money. Launched several crime fighting initiatives, ostensibly to reduce criminal activity, that allowed Tarot’s gang to increase its wealth-- --Betrayed Tarot by attempting to shut down his criminal organization in a feeble attempt to get reelected-- The folder also contained paperwork proving that Tarot paid Gold thousands of dollars in bribes over the years. Gold snatched the folder out of my hand.** (colour: yellow)[“Learn to respect other people’s privacy, Brutus.”] “Weren’t you just reading one of the files?” (colour: yellow)[“No! I was checking to see if any of them were empty.”] “Sure. You know, I’d be surprised, but I’ve gotten used to you being a hypocrite.” (colour: yellow)[“Not this shit again. I told you, I only took money for Tarot to get elected. Once I had power, I started donating the bribes to charity. I’ve never spent a cent of Tarot’s money that I didn’t have to.”] “Sure.” (colour: yellow)[“See this cane?”] “The one that you bought with taxpayer money?” (colour: yellow)[“It belonged to my father. He had it custom made. There’s a knife hidden in it that can be used for self defence.”] “A knife?” (colour: yellow)[“My father was a city councilman. He earned a fortune in bribes he took from the mob. When I was on my final year of law school, he died.”] “Let me guess, Damian killed him so you want revenge.” (colour: yellow)[“Frank Scaramelli put a bullet in my father's head. Two months later, this low level mafioso cut him up with a box cutter and threw his remains into the river. His name was Damian Tarot.”] “Oh.” (colour: yellow)[“When I was your age, I wanted to make this city a better place. I ran on a campaign of reducing gang activity. Came in last. That’s when Damian first approached me. He made me an offer: he’d get me elected, and I’d help him take out the Scaramellis. After the Scaramellis were gone, we moved onto the Rosiellos. By the time I realized he was just using me to amass power, it was too late. He already had half the city in his pocket. I tried to tell myself that things weren’t so bad, that Tarot wasn’t like the other gangs. Then he started killing city councilmen. I confronted him and he threatened to turn me in for taking bribes. So I let him be. I kept taking the money and prevented my cops from going after Damian.”] “What changed?” (colour: yellow)[“A woman approached me at a campaign rally. Her son was a shopkeeper who Damian killed for not paying his protection fee. I decided that it was time to stop running from my mistakes. If I was going to jail, Damian was going with me. I was hoping that I could through Damian in prison before Damian realized that I turned on him. If these folders get out, I won’t be able to stop Damian.”] “Did you kill Damian?” (colour: yellow)[“No. I’m not a good man, but I’m not a murderer.”] [[(Countinue) ]]

**After completing our respective investigations, the four of us met in the dining room. Gold placed the folders from the study down on the table.** (colour: yellow)[“Damian Tarot threatened to expose our secrets. One of us killed him. I don’t know who. Frankly, I don’t care. These folders contain secrets damaging to each of us. Now that Tarot’s gone, I think that these folders should join him.”] (colour: cyan)[“I saw a fireplace in the bedroom. We can burn them there.”] **As the folders burned, the cops arrived. I was dragged into an interrogation room, then you showed up.** (colour: green)[//**At the start of this, you said you knew who the killer is.**//] **I do. The killer is…** [[King of Diamonds: Gerry Gold ]] [[Queen of Hearts: Vivian Scarlet]] [[Ace of Spades: Anne Fille]] [[Jack of Clubs: Jonathan Brutus]] [[The Joker: Damian Tarot]]

**Gerry Gold.** (colour: green)[//**Tell me why you think that.**//] **Because he kept saying he wanted to. Because he snuck a knife into the apartment in the form of his cane. Most importantly, because he failed.** (colour: green)[//**What do you mean?**//] **Gerry Gold dedicated his life to stopping crime, but ended up giving power to a ruthless crime lord. Damian releasing those files meant that his career was over. I think Gold killed Damian, not out of self preservation, but out of an attempt to atone for his mistakes.** [[(Countinue) ]]

(colour: green)[//**Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Brutus. I’m going to go have a little chat with our “killer” and see if they’ll confess.**//] **Detective, before you leave, can I ask you something?** (colour: green)[//**Sure.**//] **Do you think that Damian’s death was my fault?** (colour: green)[//**Do you?**//] [[The End.]]

**For power, detective. Now that Damian’s gone, I’m the top man in this city. Everything he had, I have now. I'm the ruler now.** (colour: green)[//**Good luck ruling from a prison cell.**//] **Do you honestly think you scare me, detective? Damian owned half the city. Now that I’m in charge, no judge would dare convict me.** (colour: green)[//**There has to be someone in this city willing to stop you.**//] **Perhaps. But I don’t think you really want to try and find them. After all, it would be a shame if something were to happen to your family.** (colour: green)[//**Is that a threat?**//] **It’s a statement of a fact.** (colour: green)[//**You’re bluffing.**//] **Detective, I don’t make empty threats. Here’s what you’re going to do: let Annie go, ignore my confession, arrest Vivian for Damian’s murder, and arrest Gold for taking mob bribes. Otherwise, Damian won’t be the only dead man.** [[The End.]]

**For Love. Damian crossed a line. Gold, I can handle. Vivian, I can handle. But threatening Annie? That’s too far.** (colour: green)[//**You really care about Dr. Fille, don’t you?**//] **Yeah. When I first started working for Tarot, he assigned me to look after her. I learned that she was a wonderful girl that wanted nothing to do with this life. I helped her run away from home. Damian felt betrayed, but I didn’t care. Annie was free and that’s all that mattered to me. She has a wonderful life now. Two kids, a husband, a great job. Damian tried to take that away from her. So I killed him.** (colour: green)[//**How do I know you aren’t just saying this to cover for Dr. Fille?**//] **Detective, I just gave you a confession. Take it. Throw me in prison.** (colour: green)[//**My job is to find the killer, not someone pretending to be one.**//] **I’ll give you Gold, I’ll give you Tarot’s men, I’ll give you anything you want. Just let Annie go. I’m the killer.** [[The End.]]

**For freedom. All my life, I’ve worked for Damian. When I found out he was dying, I was relieved, because it finally meant that I was free. I went into Damian’s room while the others were sleeping and told Damian that I wanted out. He got mad and told me that he had a folder on me containing every crime I’ve ever committed. I just got mad and started punching him. And I kept punching him. And I kept punching him. He tried to fight back. But, he was an old man dying of cancer. He didn’t stand a chance. I threw him unto the floor of the bedroom and started kicking him. Then I saw it. The boxcutter, sitting in his jacket pocket.** (colour: green)[//**“Finish it.”**//] **I stabbed him.** (colour: green)[//**Why are you telling me this?**//] **Because I have to. Damian...he gave me everything. And I killed him for it. I don’t deserve freedom.** [[The End.]]

**It was an act of mercy. I loved Damian. I really did. But, when he made that speech about sharing the dread, I realized that this whole night was just a ploy to convince one of the others to kill him. But, none of them were willing to do the deed. So I did it. I put him out of his misery.** (colour: green)[//**Why are you telling me this?**//] **The others are innocent. I don’t want them going to jail for my crime.** (colour: green)[//**Okay. Jonathan Brutus, you are under arrest for the murder of Damian Tarot. You have the right to remain silent-**//] **I know my rights, Detective. Let’s just get this over with.** [[The End.]]