Part 2
Created | Updated Jun 21, 2003
The events preceding and during the attempted assassination were documented by a security camera in the Forum and Firkin, and the patrons' statements were later compiled into a lengthy transcript. We will discuss the security camera more later, but for now let's examine the basic evidence.
Timeline of the Event
The patrons that evening were Demon Drawer (DD), Redbeard (RB), Amy the Ant (AA), Bluebottle (BB), Dr. E Vibenstein (EV), and Kes. Here are the actions as they unfolded that fateful evening.
DD enters the pub. He pours himself a Guinness and drinks it.
RB enters and requests a Guinness. Kes pours RB a Guinness, and he drinks it.
RB mentions the h2g2 presidential campaign.
RB leaves, apologizing for not spending longer in the pub.
DD pours himself another Guinness and drinks it.
BB pours DD a Guinness. DD cheers BB and drinks it.
AA pours DD a Guinness and leaves it out on the bar as a courtesy. Then she leaves the pub by taxi.
BB pours DD a Guinness, failing to notice the one that is already sitting on the bar. DD drinks BB's Guinness.
DD leaves quietly. A short period of time passes in relative silence.
BB pours a regular pint for Spike D, a new h2g2 member he invited to the pub earlier.
AA drinks Spike D's pint, so BB pours Spike D another.
EV spikes the regular pint with floor-cleaner. Fortunately, Spike D never arrives to drink the pint.
Redbeard returns and asks for another Guinness. When nobody responds, he pours himself one.
DD enters and notices a Guinness on the counter. He drinks it and becomes deathly ill.
Opportunity
What immediately caught my attention was that everyone in the pub besides Demon Drawer and Redbeard were drinking regular pints. Indeed, the whole business with Dr. E Vibenstein spiking Spike D's drink with floor cleaner can be seen as a huge red herring. Demon Drawer would never have mistaken a regular pint for his esteemed Guinness. This means he must have been poisoned by either the Guinness left out earlier by Amy the Ant or by the Guinness procured earlier by Redbeard.
And yet, the security camera clearly shows that Amy the Ant's Guinness was never touched after it was poured. Indeed, Demon Drawer's extensive knowledge of Guinness is such that he would have noticed the lack of froth on the hour-old drink and poured himself another instead. This led me to believe that Demon Drawer drank Redbeard's drink.
The other thing I noticed, on reflection, was that both Redbeard and Demon Drawer left the premises and returned in short order. While either or both of them could simply have had business in another area of h2g2 to attend to, Redbeard's thoughtful apology before leaving gave me pause. Why should a quite non-regular apologize for denying the other patrons of his presence?
It makes no sense, especially since the other patrons often come and go without warning. Indeed, Demon Drawer does so that very evening. In retrospect, Redbeard's absence provides him with the opportunity to procure the chemical needed to poison Demon Drawer's drink. Since he wasn't gone long, Redbeard must have already had the material at hand somewhere.
But here I get ahead of myself again. If Redbeard's drink was the vehicle for the poison, then his fingerprints (and not Amy the Ant's) should also be on the poison-filled glass.
Next: The Fingerprints Confirm It
