The Ashworth Draft
An independent investigator is summoned to a remote English manor following the death of a retired judge. The household is a gathering of family, guests, and long-serving staff. The initial finding occurs in a sealed study with a cold draft. The objective is to construct a factual timeline of movements and interactions from the physical environment and witness statements.
Initial Crime Scene
The polished brass of the study doorknob reflects a distorted image of your face, the metal unusually warm to the touch. A faint, persistent whistle of air comes from a crack in the oak wainscoting, carrying the scent of coal smoke and the sweet, decaying must of old books. Dust motes swirl in the beam of the gaslight, catching on the dark, polished grain of the floorboards and the heavy velvet curtains drawn across the window.
Crime Scene Environment
Lighting is provided by gas jets and the coal fire, casting long, wavering shadows and creating pockets of deep gloom. The air is cool, carrying a damp draft and the layered scents of beeswax, old leather, and coal dust. Acoustic density is low; sounds are muffled by thick carpets, heavy drapes, and the persistent, faint whistle from the walls, punctuated only by the tick of mantel clocks and the distant ring of servants' bells.
Investigation Constraints
Early 20th-century English manor. Tools include mechanical door locks with physical keys, coal-fired heating systems with manual dampers, handwritten correspondence, rotary telephones (often party lines), gramophones, and servants' bells. No electronic surveillance or digital records exist.
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