Clues and Solutions
Below are clues to solve the mystery. As soon as you think you know who
did it, name the culprit and explain how you know that he or
she
did it. The first person to correctly identify the murderer will be
exempt
from the final exam. E-mail your answer to jchamberlain@stfrancis.edu
.
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Clue #1: When he brought
people
to the mill to see the deceased, John Miller called attention to the
fact
that there was a swatch of coarse, dark brown cloth snagged on a
splinter
of wood at the door of the mill. Go to
next clue.
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Clue #2:A
messenger
is dispatched to fetch the sheriff of Sussex, John Marscal, who is
attending
business in Arundel. He should arrive in a couple of days. In his
absence,
Laurence Cook begins asking questions at the Priory. He finds a) that
Sir
Harold de Norwich's sword is missing (and all Sir Harold can do is
mumble
that he "doesn't remember" what happened to it), and b) that Prior Hugh
was out of town the last few days, ostensibly on pilgrimage to Becket's
tomb in Canterbury (but, oddly, he went alone and returned the very
afternoon
that the murder was discovered). Go to next clue.
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Clue #3: There is a
rumor
going around that Isabel spent more time with her confessor recently
than
would be expected in a pure confessee/confessor relationship. Laurence
Cook will not speculate on this, but he reveals that the late Earl had
plans to seize Ditchling Garden by force. Go to next
clue.
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Clue #4: The sheriff,
John
Marscal, arrives and examines the body. He notices that, though the
body
is crushed from the millstone, it has also been lacerated. Since there
was little blood in the mill itself, Marscal concludes that William was
killed from a stab wound which probably occurred elsewhere. Go to
next clue.
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Clue#5: Marscal begins
questioning people. He asks Harold de Norwich about his sword. Harold
is
still reluctant to talk, but John finally gets him to admit that his
sword
was stollen from him by an outlaw who had accosted him on the Downs
just
days before the murder. He talks to Prior Hugh, who admits that he has
no alibi, but produces a pilgrim's badge from Becket's tomb. Go to
next
clue.
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Clue #6: Geoff the
Chamberlain
pulls Marscal aside and tells him (in his inimitable, bumbling manner)
that the Earl's signet ring is missing--it was not on his person when
he
was found, and an exhaustive search at the castle has not turned it up.
Isabel does not seem to know anything about it either. Go to
next
clue.
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Clue #7: Sheriff
Marscal
meets with the knights who went hunting with Earl William in Ditchling
Deer Park: Sir Ralph de Meeching, Sir Ralph de Plaiz, and Sir John
Neville.
All 3 maintain that they separated from William when he headed off to
Lewes
for Court Day. Sir Ralph de Meeching and Sir John Neville headed to Sir
John's manor house (which was nearby in Ditchling); Sir Ralph was going
to Arundel to do some business. Go to next clue.
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Clue #8:William's
horse is found near where John the Outlaw is thought to hang out. Go to
next clue.
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Clue #9: Sheriff
Marscal sends
out several men to look for Outlaw John. They cannot find him, but they
find his hideout, and, sure enough, much of the finery from the horse
is
there. Go to next clue.
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Clue #10: Geoff the Chamberlain
is in the alehouse and is astonished to notice that Matilda, wife of
Roger
Tympan, appears to be wearing the Earl's signet ring. Go to next
clue.
.
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Clue #11: A shepherd
discovers signs of a fairly recent struggle on the Downs (approximately
halfway between Ditchling Park and Lewes). There are lots of hoofprints
(as if a couple of horses were going around in circles) and dried blood
on the grass. A patch of cloth was found about 20 yards away from the
blood
stains. It was ripped, but it was red and white and looked like it had
a pattern of a cross. Go to
next clue.
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Clue #12:John
Marscal questions Matilda and Roger Tympan. Matilda claims to have
found
the ring on the floor of the alehouse the very afternoon that William
went
missing. Sheriff Marscal asks both of them who else was in the alehouse
that day, and they compile a list of people for him. They cannot
remember
everyone (it was a busy day), but the following people were certainly
there
at one time or another: Sir Harold de Norwich, Tom Marscal, John (the
Priest
from St. Thomas a Becket), Ralph de Plaiz, John Miller, Laurence Cook,
and Prior Hugh. Go to clue #13.
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Clue #13: Sheriff
Marscal once
again looks through the evidence he confiscated from John the Outlaw's
hideout, and notices that there appears to be a piece of fine cloth
that
was evidently ripped away from a fine linen tunic. It is not
William's--the
color is wrong; and it isn't John's--he has no clothes nice enough
(unless
he stole them). Whose clothing is it? Go to
next clue.
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Mystery
Clue #14:Under
questioning, Isabel admits to slipping William's signet ring to Prior
Hugh
a few days before the murder so that he could forge the Earl's
signature
in case he needed to take desperate action regarding Ditchling Park.
Prior
Hugh said that he must have dropped the ring in the alehouse when he
stopped
that afternoon. Both of them realized that taking the ring was a
foolish
thing to do, and using it for that purpose would have been futile, but
Hugh vehemently maintained his innocence in regard to the murder. Go to
next clue.
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Mystery
Clue #15: Marscal
receives word
from people in Arundel that Ralph de Plaiz had indeed been in town
conducting business, and they thought that it was on the 14th of
May. Go to next clue.
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Clue #16: Sir Harold de
Norwich's sword is found in the Priory kitchen--he somehow left it
there
one day. The kitchener was using it to slaughter the occasional
chicken.
The kitchener is to be punished for using the sword and not reporting
it.
One of the monks swears that he saw de Norwich at the Priory several
times
on the day of the murder.
If you can identify the murderer, name the culprit and explain
how
you know that he or she did it in an e-mail to
jchamberlain@stfrancis.edu
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