A Modern Murder Mystery

Hey guys! So I have a plot that I'd love people to get involved with.

This is Sloane. She's an American on her way to London because her older brother has died. He supposedly died in some freak accident and her name was listed as executor of his will.

Here's the thing though. His will is very, very strange. He's left a sizable donation to the Ministry of Magic but only once she ensures that each of his wishes are seen through. These wishes are very strange requests indeed - a knut hand delivered to a specified person, all of his kitchen implements donated to a specified restaraunt, and his pet goldfish all gifted to certain people.

There's something weird about all of it. And Sloane can't help but feel there's more to it.

SO THE IDEA IS that Sloane's brother was murdered. I believe Alyssa (@Maddie McKillon) has claimed the position of murderer so far, with the general idea being that Skyler began to work for her character (To be created) Phillip and then became a liability.

BUT. I'd love to create more of a cohesive web so that we can pull people in. Not only do I need people who are somehow involved in the death, whether or not they knew it, but I also need people to help Sloane, the lawyer who contacts her about the will (@Adrienne Reynolds offered Mai?), people trying to stop Sloane, and then other little things like a roommate to take her in when she realizes how long this process is going to be.

Also, I left so much of this vague because I'd love to have other people help create this with me. I don't ever want this to become super politicized or public knowledge, just a bunch of civilians operating on their own accord, with maybe the Ministry or other factions getting involved for the sake of the coverup or whatever. But let's throw out some ideas! Even if you just want to somehow get involved, please post! I've been dying for a mystery and I think this could be a great plot for those characters out there that are in need of some sense of purpose.

So......... GO!

Mai for sure. She's not been up to anything.

I want to get involved!

Potentially involved with the killing:
Angelique, Liesl, Destrey, maybe Calli

Ministry & official types who could help (or hinder?):
Terry, Michael, Monroe, Tifanie

Jenna might be a possible flatmate? She needs to find somewhere to live now she's graduated.

And any of my other characters except Selwyn are people who can have stuff delivered to them or whatever.

You knowwww I'm up for this. Let's get this web as tangled as possible. Phil is in the works. Sim and Ella are also at your disposal (and the rest, if you think they'd fit).

@Addie - Awesome! I want to get that post going for sure but I think it might help if we have a bit of a sketched out idea of what happened so I can figure out who's names will be in the will.

@Sel - Jenna as a flatmate sounds good! I think my plan will be that about a week in, Sloane realizes she might be here for awhile so she decides to find someone willing to let her rent a room with them, for the short term. Of course, this continues on.

To figure out which of yours might be there for the killing / hindering part we need...

@Alyssa! Do you think you could briefly describe Phil's deal so we can start constructing what happened and why? That'll help us with the who's.

Contract killing is definitely Angelique's area.

With Liesl you get the possibility that he was used in a dark ritual

With Destrey we can throw Monroe trying to stop anyone investigating into the mix

Calli would need more incentive.

And as far as I think Skyler was involved with Phillip - Skyler was becoming so ambitious that I think he might have begun rising through the ranks of Phillip's business. He would have been okay with a great host of bad things, probably did some dirty work for Phillip, and then something went too far. Hence him becoming a liability and, upon realizing his death was near, setting up his will so as to expose those who killed him.

I'm most tempted by Destrey, since we get the added bonus of Monroe gumming up the works. We'd have to figure out what the link between Destrey and Phillip is so that Skyler would have something to insinuate in the will that could lead Sloane to get on Destrey's path eventually.

well destrey has access to unicorn blood.

Oook, how about- since Phil's latest venture is mass potions production, Skyler was working on that- outsourcing suppliers, finding investors, whatever. Plot twist- Phillip is doing something dodgy with unicorn blood to give his products an edge. Skyler somehow finds out the potions aren't what he's been told or is wrongly assumed to be ok with it because he's done shady stuff before. The only thing I'd say is that Phil would definitely have used a fence or something to get the blood off Destrey, because he's finicky about people not tracing stuff back to him. Just to make everyone's lives difficult because we can't have him getting caught so easily XP.

Does that even vaguely work?

Oooh I like that! Having some sort of middleman between them just means another person could get implicated.

So far, this is what I'm thinking.

The will needs to include something that will give Sloane a little protection. I feel like a lot of what she's going to end up doing will come as threats to people, and I need something to keep them from just offing her the second she shows up. I'd love if one of our Aurors or more noble Order members owed Skyler a favor, and he's calling it in posthumously to make sure his sister isn't murdered on her 'deliveries.'

Perhaps the will has gifted a vial of unicorn tail hairs to Destrey. And then something (unicorn stuff will work if Monroe knows that Destrey deals in unicorn blood) to Monroe as well.