Young Writers Society

At the tender age of twelve I have solved a total of fifteen cases and received praise and prize beyond imagination! I know how killers work, and now I must discover the one behind the mystery of my old mentor. I looked around the room. There were signs of struggle, hundreds of potential murder weapons scattered across the desk and floor, the body had been removed, I wasn’t to investigate that until after I had scouted the crime scene and interviewed the suspects. Would I catch the killer in time?

In exactly a month, the 8th of May, was the great ceremony where Jacque would have presented. Was the killer connected to it? Would they have stolen his evidence? The research was nowhere to be found. It could have been stolen, hidden, or locked in the great safe in the back of his office, the mystery would have no end. I Looked back to my brief that was Commissioned to me by the head of police and avid organizer of the ceremony, Mr. Luther.

Below the details were a list of all the suspects; mentally I added Luther himself to the list, knowing perfectly well of his capability for jealousy. The rest of the list consisted of a rival Scientist, also due to present her findings at the ceremony, the delivery boy who made common visits with assortments of packages, the professor’s neighbour, and a widowed woman who had been reported to have developed an unhealthy infatuation with Jacque. A notorious street thief and pickpocket who witnesses say the professor had befriended and taken in for a few days just two weeks earlier. A sergeant who had been an acquaintance of the professor during the war who had recently been visiting. The maid who regularly cleaned the house, a budding work assistant who aided in the professors research. The local pharmacist whom the professor had purchased many remedies off to investigate and whose primary customers were the flu infected. And finally the professors secret young and suspicious lover whom he saw after hours and who had a mysterious "interest" in his work.

The list was long I knew, but I would work had to put someone away for the crime, I needed the killer behind bars, especially before the public announcement and reading of the professors will at the ceremony in respect of his passing. I looked up beside me, my assistant, "Boston" I liked to nickname him, because of his strong American accent was beside me, he was a good accomplice and his maturity and age and skill with paperwork made things much easier. Together we would investigate the crime scene and interrogate the suspects; together we would be successful and put the guilty in his or her place for good.

This storybook was influenced by the game “Cludo” in where the murderer and murder weapon are unknown. Every participant will take on the role of one of the characters above and it them into place within the story.
No one will know who the murderer is except for the murderer. To choose the murderer I may either use a random generator to pick who it is or I will pick based on activity to the storybook but hopefully it won’t come to that. I could also use another means of choice. I will PM the person who is to be the murderer. ANYONE could be the murderer. The murderer must NOT tell anyone who she or he is. Anyone who is not the murderer must not tell anyone that she or he is not.
The aim of this story is to have the other participants captivated and on the edge of who may be the murderer. You will add twists to the scene, interviews and character interactions. You may control other characters but only when they are in the same scene as your own character. During the story you will want to add suspicion to your character even if they are not the murderer, everyone has some sort of motive for wanting the professor dead. In the same case if you are the murderer you don’t want to be too suspicious and maintain a balance of suspicions on yourself rather than making out to be completely innocent. All characters combined will contribute to the solving of the murder and in the end my own characters judgements will be based on the course of the rest of the story.

-You must be active. In too many storybooks someone signs up and then never posts. Every character is equally important.
-Your posts must be of an acceptable length, if they are too short I will ask you to rewrite them. As a base of now I’m going to say the MINIMUM will be about one ‘Microsoft Word’ page.
-You must read all the previous persons posts. Nothing worse than people who disregard the story so far and do whatever they want that is unrelated.
It is advised that: Everything you write has a purpose for the plot; don’t just go on about entering a room and being new to the place, your characters have history! Use it.
Advised to write in third person with Christophe in first person. However if you have any substantial problems with this tell me and we will negotiate.

Characters are based off the following but there is plenty of room to personalize them. If they are French give them Frenchish surnames at least, if they are not specify where they are originally from. Anything in bold is already decided; anything in italics is up to you to decide.
Places will be on a first in first serve basis. If you do not post within the first week of the storybook being started someone who missed out will be given your character. If you miss out then put your name forward just in case something like this happens.


Christophe-Aged 12, Male, will be taken role by myself.


“Boston” Taken

Real name:
Gender: Male
Age: 31


“Commissioner/ Head of police.” Taken
Name: (Name) Luther(choose your own first name.Surname is Luther though.
Gender: Male
Age: (40+)




“Rival Scientist”-taken
Name:
Gender:
Age: (30-70)



“Infatuated neighbour” Taken
Name:
Gender: Female
Age: (30+)


“Delivery boy”-taken
Name:
Gender: Male
Age: 19


“Pickpocket/Street Thief” Taken
Name:
Gender:
Age: Either 14(Street urchin) or 27(Professional)


“Maid”[/b]-taken
Name:
Gender: Female
Age: (17-30)

“Work Assistant” Taken
Name:
Gender:
Age: (27-35)

“Pharmacist”taken
Name:
Gender:
Age: (35+)

"Young and secret lover" Taken
Name:
Gender:
Age: (22-32)

Also in your profile include the following.
"From:
Appearance:
Job and hobbies:
History:
Why would s/he want Jacque dead?:
Describe relationship to Jacque:

(Unrelated to character)
Suggest a potential murder weapon to be used in the story: (doesn’t necessarily mean it was used, it’s just a possibility)"

For example.

“Milkman*” *milkman is not a role, I’m just using an example
Name: Bobbi Le’Smith
Age: 32
Gender: male
Appearance: He is very tall and lanky, he has short cut brown hair and a face that always seems to be spaced out.
From: Lyon ,France
Jobs and hobbies: He delivers the milk because he is under-qualified for many jobs. He Is a nature loving person and likes to fly kites…(more)
History: Bobbi grew up without a father because he was killed in the first world war, his mother struggled to make enough money for him and his siblings and….(more)
Why would he want Jacque dead: Bobbi hates Jacque because he doesn’t tip him or thank him when he delivers the milk …ect
Relationship to Jacque: Sees him most mornings when he delivers milk. Makes idle small talk...(more)

A suggested murder weapon could be poison in his milk.

Name: Claude Innocente

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Appearance: He is a little over average height. He has light brown hair that he never combs. He is pretty thin and not very strong or muscular. His facial expression is that of a nervous romantic, yet his eyes display the calm calculations of someone in full control of his mental faculties. He wears glasses and denim work shirts and pants.

From: Paris, France

Jobs and hobbies: He is the low paid work assistant that Jacque hired about a year and a half back. He lives in a small back room in the scientist's large office/home and fancies himself as an apprentice, the successor to the old man. He is into science, mechanics, and engineering.

History: Claude was born to a middle class/bourgeoisie-esque, white-collar family. He had one older sister who became a violin player. His father was a retired war officer and strictly guided his childhood. He recieved great grades in school and was an avid track star. He went through College/University wih flying colors, yet ended up with a Biomechanical Sciences degree and no job.

His family was disgraced that he was not making something of himself. He eventually proved himself as capable in the fields of science by approaching Jacque with his research after a lecture. The old man took him in as a work assistant. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Claude, Jacque was an old rival in the military with his father, and his family was outraged at his employment and metaphorically disowned him.

Claude is trying with all his might to make his parents proud by becoming famous as the man who helped create the cure for Influenza.

Why would he want Jacque dead: It's no mystery that Clause is interested in fame and fortune, the glory of coming up with this medicine. He seeks to take over for Jacque when he passes, and so, wouldn't it make sense if he were taken out of the equation right away.

Relationship to Jacque: He lives in the same house as Jacque, works with him, and even shows an almost unhealthy obsessiveness about the old man, trying so hard to be just like him. Many would wonder if Claude really wants to BECOME Jacque.

A suggested murder weapon: With his extensive knowledge of chemicals and machinery, it could be anything from liquid acid to a poisonous fume to a blunt injury.