A Rocky Start

This past Thursday, I had the privilege of attending a murder mystery dinner hosted by the Geological Society at Radford University. It was a total blast! The evening started off in the Geological Society’s usual classroom, where the attendees were given our characters and read the rules. Once we had a grasp on the expectations of the evening, we were then taken to the museum of the science building, outside of which a mini mocktail bar had been set up. Standing in line waiting for our drinks was the perfect opportunity to practice getting into character – I was the university reporter, Riley Quinn. Once we had our mocktails (on the rocks, of course) and were settled inside the museum, that’s when the real fun started.

A Boulder Beginning

After the first toast, we guests were officially in character. We spent time mingling, trying to get to know each other and our motives for attending the gala. The reason for the faculty gala, which we had learned in the classroom earlier in the evening, was to celebrate a prestigious discovery of Professor Alistair Stone. After we had sufficiently mingled and everyone had introduced themselves to one another, it was time for Professor Stone’s speech. He led us to the mineshaft in the museum, sipping on an odd-tasting vintage, when suddenly, he collapsed. It seems Professor Stone had truly hit rock bottom, if you know what I mean. 

Sedimentary, My Dear Watson

The guests spent the rest of the night searching for eight clues, which were hidden in envelopes around the museum. Once all the clues were found, the hope was that they would point to a suspect, revealing the mystery of the evening. The twist? Every guest in attendance is attempting to hide a secret of their own. Through the collection of various pieces of evidence, it was revealed that Professor Stone was blackmailing the Dean of the university, who had been stealing money from the school. He also planned to cut his child, who was $50,000 down in gambling debt, out of his will entirely. Professor Stone’s ex-wife had been planning to rob him. Stone had left a review shutting down the chef’s restaurant, and several students had failed or even been expelled because of him. It seems nearly everyone in the room had a personal vendetta against Stone, and plenty of motive for murder. Professor Stone had plenty of faults, after all. My secret? I was Professor Stone’s illegitimate son, there to discover his sins. 

Don’t Take the Geological Society for Granite!

By the end of the night, once all the clues had been collected and theories solidified, it was time to present our hypotheses. We stood in a large circle, each sharing our names, roles at the university, secrets, and who we thought killed Professor Stone. After a night of careful deliberation, interviewing the other suspects, and seeing what other evidence I could dig up, I was confident in my conclusion. After all, as the university’s reporter, it’s my job to be perceptive! There were only two individuals who had multiple pieces of evidence directly pointing at them. Out of those two individuals, only one likely had access to the murder weapon, a vial of Neurotoxin X that had gone missing from Professor Frost’s lab. Sure enough, a few moments after I presented my theory, Dr. Mallory Abaddon stepped forward as the killer. She had been accused by most people, so really, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place here. She gave her evil monologue, detailing how Professor Stone had stolen her work and taken credit, so she had decided to steal his life. The event was over after that, and I would call it an absolute success! Overall, I would call the Murder Mystery dinner solid proof that the Geological Society rocks!

Edited and Reviewed by Zoe Carter