Chapter V

**Chapter V** is the fifth chapter of *The Case of the Golden Idol*. The date of the occurrence for this chapter is April 8, 1788 at dinnertime. The preceding chapter is Chapter IV and the succeeding chapter is Chapter VI.

## Main Plot

• Edmund Cloudsley invited Rose Cubert, Peter Battley, Lord Lothar Richards, and his daughter, Lady Mary Richards to his manor. Edmund invited Mary and Lothar with the aim to court Mary. Both Edmund and Peter want to win Mary’s affection. Edmund and Rose hatch a plan to subtly convince Peter to leave for the colonies, beguiling him with tales of adventures in the colonies, as Peter is continuing to harass Edmund and Rose for money.

• A doctor recommended Edmund to abstain from alcohol for the rest of April due to his sensitive stomach, and also recommended a glass of peptic tonic to avoid upsetting his digestive system. This document is locked inside Edmund’s medicine cabinet.

• Edmund has the idol and has started experimenting with it. Edmund has ignored multiple requests from the Brotherhood of Masks to return the idol to the Brotherhood. It is later revealed that Darkhand Steward Walter Keene is tasked with punishing Edmund and to recover the idol.

• Walter sent/gave House Maid Mrs. Ada Baker, a toxic substance and a note with a secret code. By taking the fourth word from every row, the note reads: “Use substance to remove target sincerely dark hand steward.”

• Ada was also most likely tasked with stealing the idol and giving it to Walter. When Ada was cleaning Edmund’s room, she attempted to find the idol. Since she didn’t have the key to Edmund’s medicine cabinet (blue lock), she got a locksmith to replicate the key for her.

• Unfortunately, she couldn’t find the idol due to it being locked in Edmund’s safe. But, when she unlocked Edmund’s medicine cabinet, she most likely read the doctor’s recommendation for Edmund to drink peptic tonic and no alcohol.

• Ada poisoned a sealed peptic tonic bottle with a syringe containing the deadly substance and afterwards, hid the syringe in the basin of a statue downstairs. She hid the locksmith’s cabinet key and key template in a bag, tied rope to it just outside her window and tossing it over the roof.

• It’s likely that she wanted to frame Brian Walker, as not only was he serving food and drinks, he is also the only one besides Edmund to own the key to Edmund’s medicine’s cabinet (the blue key), which is the only place that contained the peptic tonic prior it to being served for dinner.

• When all the guests have arrived and dinner was served, Edmund and Rose were the only ones who wanted peptic tonic. Rose drank the peptic tonic first and died from poisoning.

## Extras

• Keys:

* Blue key = Access to Edmund’s medicine cabinet. Only Edmund and Brian have the official keys, Little Pip has and Ada had identical keys, but they were grey.
* Yellow key = Access to alcohol cabinet. Only Edmund and Brian have the keys.
* Big brown key = Access to pantry. Only Lucia has the key.
* Small brown (almost yellowy) key = Access to Edmund’s room or respective personal room (most likely). Only Ada, Lucia and Brian have the keys.
* The other grey keys in the hung bag and Little Pip's pillow are key templates.

Since Edmund is the master of the manor, he should have access to all containers in the house despite not having the keys on his hands.

• On the coat rack, from left to right: Rose, Peter, Lothar, Mary. Mary also has letters from both Peter and Edmund.

• It’s heavily implied that Ada isn’t caught for the attempted murder of Edmund/unintentional killing of Rose. Brian was likely framed.

• Lucia is a little superstitious, and is hiding a pair of twig dolls and a love potion in her bedroom. It’s heavily implied she’s used it, but it’s not sure who it’s for. Lucia requested to have the bottom room (currently Brian’s) because she has worked for Edmund the longest. Edmund thought this was nonsensical.

• Lothar likes smoking expensive cigars.

• For their parts in the Little Mermaid Inn, Edmund gave Little Pip and David jobs at his manor.

• Peter thinks that Edmund is too old for Mary.

• Edmund seemed to have met Mary for the first time when he was visiting her father, Lothar in February 1788.

• Lucia really likes what seems to be erotic literature. Even though she claims she threw it out, she has a book authored by M. Mademoiselle titled, “The Laceless Count: The besmirched lover of Lucitania.” Lucia was also given a pot(?) in the shape of a cow for serving Edmund for three years.

• Mary doesn’t seem to like meat, so instead she ate salad at dinner.

• Brian has worked for Edmund for a long time, and hoped to talk about it with Edmund on April 8. Horrible timing, considering that Rose, Edmund’s sister died on the day Brian wanted to talk about a raise.

• Brian has a way to calm himself down when he gets frustrated by thinking about the book, “Hortius: The Wise Slave. Fables about rulers that make you think.” He is particularly fond of the tale about a rich lord who married his donkey. He also seems to like painting in his spare time.

• Little Pip has the books Monkeyman I vs Striped Dark-Hand, and Monkeyman II: Tooth for tooth!” He also has a vial of what is most likely brandy.

• Edmund has a sealed bottle of opium in his locked medicine cabinet.

• Peter now seems to owe at least 300 pounds as a result of his gambling problems and loans.

• Rose has been asked for financial compensation from Peter seven times.

• It seems like Edmund and Rose consider the colonies to be violent in nature.

• April 2, 1788 – Lord George Brydges sent Edmund a letter – an old politician passed away, giving Edmund a spot in the House of Lords. Warned him that Edmund shouldn’t cross him. Despite the palm tree stamp, George is not related to the Cubert family (re-used assets).

• It is not clear if Ada was a mole/plant to begin with, but she has been working for Edmund since August 1, 1987. I’m leaning towards mole from the beginning.

• Peter asked Brian to arrange the table in such a way that Mary would sit next to Peter in exchange for a shilling.

• Edmund has a book authored by Platonello titled “Ideal Republic: Visions of a Utopia with Order and Structure.” He was most likely inspired by this book for events that happen later.