Clue (comic)/Issue 4

The fourth issue of *Clue* was published 13 September 2017.

## Synopsis

On the floor of the library of his New England mansion, Mr. A. Boddy is helped to his feet by Upton. As his employer rehydrates himself, the butler admits to the reader that his shared role as narrator and character is one that's becoming difficult to handle, and instead bids they check in on the manor's guests. While Dr. Orchid and Professor Plum re-enter the house and its larder, and Detective Amarillo furiously searches for them in the rain outside, Mr. Green and Senator White confront Miss Scarlett in her own room. Mr. Green points out the Surobi zinnia in Scarlett's hair, but the pop star has no idea of the flower's significance and doesn't understand why anyone would be killing over them, so the Senator explains: the Surobi zinnia's medicinal properties are unique and potent, and before this, nobody has been able to figure out how to grow them in captivity; anyone able to control this process would be wealthy beyond imagination. Leaving Miss Scarlett in her room, White and Green split up to search for the flowers.

*To Upton's dismay, we flash back to five years ago, at Colonel Mustard's senate hearing. Senator White insists that there wasn't sufficient security coverage on the day that it was attacked, and when Mustard tries to argue that a mercenary raid simply wasn't within the bounds of what they could predict, the Senator casts doubt on whether they existed at all in favor of being a fabrication by the Colonel. Her rhetoric quickly turns to advocating for less government regulation of the flowers, claiming that the free market should determine access, and when Mustard questions her on whether she's arguing for* more *or* less *security, she simply calls him incompetent... much to the pleasure of her ally Mr. Green, who is watching the events unfold from his home.*

In his room, Mustard overhears the collaborations of Green and White in pursuit of the Surobi zinnia, and holds up the makeshift blade he's assembled from a toothbrush and pocketwatch gears, observing that it will suffice as a weapon of self defense... no matter how tempting the alternative might be. As Upton explains, Mustard — a man with a history with and grudge against White — waits for her to split up from Mr. Green, and when she enters the conservatory, he follows her; her delight at seeing the flowers grown in captivity leads her to let down her guard, and the Colonel confronts her in the field of flowers. Despite initial standoffishness, the Senator quickly flees and hides among the flowers; as Colonel Mustard searches for her, he explains that he had thought her opposition to him at the hearing had been out of ignorance, until he saw how well she knew Mr. Green: she had been working with him for years, with the pharma bro pushing her to deregulate the flowers out of greed and selfishness. As the shiv-wielding Mustard closes in on her hiding place, lightning flashes... the flowers are splattered with blood... and both the Colonel and the Senator lie dead on the conservatory floor.

In the pantry, Professor Plum is creating an elaborate and incomprehensible diagram out of ketchup on the floor. He summarises his deductions on the case: the guests, outside of Miss Scarlett and Mrs. Peacock, are all potential competition for control of the Surobi zinnia; Plum and Orchid are researchers, Green is a pharmaceutical CEO, Mustard guarded the fields in Afghanistan and White wants to open the market, with Peacock's presence serving to destabilise Plum and make him a suspect for her murder. Unaware that Boddy is still alive, however, he can't figure out who's behind it all... until he decides to follow Upton to wherever he's taking pills on a silver tray.

Detective Amarillo, meanwhile, finds the bodies of Mustard and White in the conservatory; though she can't figured out who was the aggressor in their conflict, she's more than happy to take the case as wrapped up, content that *one* of them must have been the murderer. Upton expresses to the reader that Plum and Orchid are closer to the *real* answers — and, indeed, they are now looking in on Upton and the very much alive Boddy — but is quickly interrupted once more by Carlos Guzman, who wants him to stop... so that the story can get to the next flashback, something the butler is thoroughly displeased by.

*Two months ago, Miss Scarlett performs at the Green Pharmaceuticals Arena, Clinical Research Facility and Taco Bar in Waddington, Connecticut. The ill-tempered star isn't impressed by her assistant's attempted help, but is more intrigued when Mr. Boddy — a fan of hers — enters to invite her to perform at a dinner party. While he doesn't expect a "Most Dangerous Game" situation, he does promise "the right kind of scandal" for a woman in her profession... and so, suitably interested, she accepts.*

Back in the mansion, Scarlett wanders downstairs, singing one of her own songs to herself; but is interrupted by an unseen "clever little minx", who snuck up on her. From outside, Amarillo hears a scream ring out, and angrily heads into the mansion to deal with it... but was Scarlett the perpetrator or victim? All Upton can say is to check back next month, for the penultimate issue!