Mystery Island: Winner Takes All (2025) Movie Script

[suspenseful music]
- [gasps softly]
Oh.
[groans softly]
[gasps]
[sighs]
Oh, so now
you're with me on this?
- Let's just say
I'm open to hearing you out.
[dramatic suspenseful music]
- Say the message warned
about the trail going cold.
Hmm.
Freezer?
[tense notes]
- How do we freeze someone
without killing them?
- We use a dummy.
Janey and I have a friend who
does prosthetic for films.
We hire him to make
the head a perfect match.
- But...
if we're going to go to
the trouble of making a head,
why don't we have
the corpse decapitated?
- But if he was decapitated,
why would he need to be frozen?
- Oh, yes.
Frozen is a bit cold.
- [sighs]
Well, maybe we should
make Fredricks the victim.
- Fredricks?
You do realize he's still
claiming that he can't locate
the unused mystery game plots
that John Murtaugh wrote?
- You've mentioned it several
times this weekend, yeah.
- Well, yes.
It's maddening.
And speaking of maddening,
who's been touching my things?
- Oh, sorry.
I was looking for a pen.
- All right.
Pens are in the middle next
to the password book.
- Janey has a system.
- One that I prefer
is not disrupted.
But I'm also not here
to disrupt your process.
Please kill the victim
however you see fit.
- So why did you come in here?
- Well, I have a Zoom meeting
with Carlos
to pitch my new contest idea.
So come on,
let's put on a good show.
- The Dream Team.
How are you?
- Dreamy and teamy.
- Janey,
I've got three minutes
before my next meeting.
- I only require two.
So you made me COO
of Mystery Island
because you wanted me
to shake things up a bit
and attract a broader audience.
- Yes, I'm getting a hard sell
from the Davoren Group,
who want to buy
the whole island
and turn it into
a convention resort.
- Well, yes.
We can't have that.
So I propose
a mystery contest puzzle
that we post on various
social media platforms.
And the first two people
to solve the mystery
get an all-expenses-paid
weekend for them
and a plus-one.
- Just two winners?
Is that enough
of a guest roster?
- Well, no.
We invite
a celebrity crime writer,
like Cassandra Cornwall.
I know she has a reputation
for being difficult,
but she has a big
social media platform
and can promote the contest.
And then we had prize money
for the sleuth who solves it.
- Janey, this is brilliant.
Can you get me a draft
by Monday first thing?
- Not a problem.
- Fantastic.
Got to jump.
[quirky suspenseful music]
- [sigh]s I'm due to return
to London in the morning,
but I suppose we could
work separately and then Zoom.
- Can't stay another day?
- No, I have a stack
of case files to review.
- Well, don't you have them
on your computer?
- Are you micromanaging how
I prepare for my day job?
- Is that what
you think I'm doing?
Because I thought I was asking
a very reasonable question.
- [scoffs]
- [clears throat]
- Hmm?
- Now, I adore you.
Both.
But it is my job
to remind you
that you are
being paid handsomely
to create fun mystery puzzles
and games.
And Mystery Island Inc.
has been quite flexible
with the needs and schedules
of your day jobs
at your respective
police departments.
Quite frankly, those day jobs
only add to the work
that you do here.
But that said,
the man that hired us all
needs you
to get over yourselves
and create a puzzle contest
that we can launch this week.
OK?
And lastly, please make it a
contest that absolutely kills.
See you when you get back.
[waves crashing]
[soaring orchestral music]
- Excuse me?
Detective Trent for you,
Doctor Priestly.
- Oh, thank you.
[tropical birds singing]
Jason?
- Hey.
I just got off work
on the mainland.
I'm grabbing a burger.
So there really were files
that were on your computer.
- Yep.
- About that.
Uh, not the files,
but the, uh--
- Oh, disagreement.
- Yeah, I just wanted to say
that I don't know why I--
I like working with you.
- You don't know why
you like working with me?
- That came out wrong.
- I like working with you,
so I don't know why I've been--
- So difficult?
Or why I'vebeen so difficult?
I had a thought.
- And what is that thought?
- Um...
basically that we're both being
excessively argumentative
not because we
don't like working together,
but because we do.
- Pretty smart.
You know that?
- That has been brought
to my attention.
So, um, see you tomorrow?
- Yeah.
Looking forward to it.
- Me, too.
- This weekend, we will be
joined by our game writers,
Dr. Priestly
and Detective Trent.
I thought it fitting
that they share with you
the background on our guests.
- Thank you, Fredricks.
I'm certainly excited to be
joining you all this weekend.
- Me, too.
So arriving tomorrow
will be...
NYPD Detective Bobby Teller,
who is the first to solve
our puzzle in just 32 minutes.
- Detective Teller, welcome.
- He'll be joined by his
younger brother Davis,
an investment banker.
- Our second winner
is Alice Watley,
a college student
and host of
the howdunit mystery podcast
who solved our puzzle
in just under an hour.
- Congratulations, Ms. Alice.
- Alice's plus-one
will be her aunt,
Louise Baker, a hotel manager
from Manhattan.
- Given Miss Baker's an expert
in the hospitality business,
let's take extra
special care of her.
- Also joining us this weekend
will be
best-selling mystery novelist
Cassandra Cornwall,
an old friend of mystery
island founder, John Murtaugh.
Janey convinced Ms. Cornwall
to come play
with our contest winners
and do some interviews
afterwards for some
additional publicity.
Ms. Cornwall's husband, Ted,
will be joining her.
And aside from
being her biggest fan,
there's no record of him
doing much of anything.
- And speaking of Janey,
our final guest will be our
own chief operating officer,
Baroness Jane Alcott,
who is bringing her
new boyfriend, James Elton.
James is from Texas
and is in the oil business.
- [strong Texan accent]
Oh, the famous Fredricks.
Janey's told me all about you.
I've always wanted a butler.
Maybe I can steal you away
from this place. [chuckles]
- Thank you, sir.
I'm quite happy with my post
here as house manager.
- Well, you haven't
heard my offer yet.
- Baroness, the other guests?
- Yes.
James, darling, let's not
keep the others waiting.
- Your wish is my command,
darling.
- And Emilia and I will
be here all weekend
working undercover
alongside you as staff.
Having fun?
- It's the first time seeing
one of our games played.
I haven't been this
excited since--
- Since?
- Since we solved
our first mystery together.
- Catch me if you can
- Each guest room contains
a murder board
and everything you require
to play detective.
- There's no playing here.
- Of course, Detective Teller.
But I do hope
you'll enjoy our game,
which will begin
once each of the guests
opens the door to their room.
Emilia has your key.
Once the game begins,
at any moment on this island,
somebody will be murdered.
- This is so cool.
[chuckles]
- Hang on.
You're saying that one of
us guests could end up dead?
- That's precisely what
he's saying.
- So we all need to get
to know each other,
figure out why one of us
might want to commit murder.
- So then what?
The dead guy has to hide
in his room?
- Certainly not, Mr. Teller.
If, in fact, one of you
should fall prey to a killer,
you'll repair to what
we call the Deceased Bungalow,
which has its own Jacuzzi and
is adjacent to the golf course.
- Oh, well, in that case,
please kill me.
[laughter]
- Jason will be
collecting your mobile phones,
as we have no service
on the island.
- Are you serious?
- Oh, yes.
Quite golden-age
detective authenticity here.
Oh, don't worry.
The old pro solved
quite a few murders
without the use of Google.
And Evelyn Murtaugh's
detectives, of course.
- And yours too, honey.
Have you read any
of CC's books?
- No, I haven't had
the pleasure.
- I have.
That's how Janey
and I first met.
We were on a flight
from London.
Sat next to each other,
both reading "Killer Sunset."
- Did you like it?
- There was something else
on that flight
that was holding my attention.
[chuckles]
- So if you'll all go
to your rooms,
the game can begin.
[dramatic suspenseful music]
[knock at door]
- Oh, yes?
- Howdy.
[both chuckle]
[normally] Did you
think the accent was too much?
- Well, you're the actor,
darling, not I.
- And like most actors,
I am deeply insecure.
- Oh, well, I think
everyone is convinced
that you are a wealthy Texan
who is madly in love with me.
- Mm, the last bit's
not acting.
[both chuckle]
Oh.
- [chuckling] Mm-hmm.
- So you're happy
we changed rooms.
- Well, it's adorable.
You've given me the better view
with the biggest room.
But no more unscripted kisses
in front of Emilia.
She has an uncanny eye
for the truth.
- So we fell in love for real.
What's the problem?
- Well, I'm the COO of the
company that's employing you.
That's what.
But after the weekend,
once your contract is finished,
we can go fully public
with our relationship.
Agreed?
- Agreed.
You're the boss.
- I think there's
something going on
between James and Janey.
- Based on?
- Body language.
- Oh.
I read that language, too.
Nice to know
we're both bilingual.
- Well, I'm heartened
we're seeing eye to eye.
- Best way to see and be seen.
[soft dramatic music]
- I should pass canaps.
- You really should.
[indistinct chatter]
- Different for every novel.
The first one just came to me
like a divine delivery.
[laughter and chatter]
- Well, I've read all of your
books at least twice each.
Did you catch any of
my podcasts about them?
- I don't seem to have time
for podcasts.
Excuse me.
- I have lots of time
for podcasts.
Though I prefer
the finance ones.
- Right.
[soft suspenseful music]
- That's just not good enough.
You owe me.
- Ms. Cornwall is unhappy
with her room.
- Oh, can I show
you another option?
- That would be lovely.
Thank you.
- Honey?
- Oh, not now, Ted.
[quirky tense notes]
- Excuse me.
- [chuckles politely]
She's intense.
- Indeed.
- I saw you with Louise Baker.
- Forgive me.
I must prepare for dinner.
[mysterious notes]
[stately orchestral music]
[indistinct chatter]
- [Texan accent]
Oh.
- [clears throat]
- Last steer to the barn.
Sorry about that, folks.
Sweetheart.
- Ladies and gentlemen..
- You look great.
- Following dinner,
your presence is required
in the game room
at 9:00 p.m. sharp.
Not a moment before.
Thank you.
[Beethoven's
"Moonlight Sonata"]
- So I was wondering
if you'd maybe
come on to my podcast,
Detective.
- Sure.
Maybe you can tell me how
you sold it so fast.
- Well,
Aunt Louise helped a lot.
- Oh, I just
gave you a few thoughts.
- She's being too modest.
She figured out
nearly everything.
- You got the final piece,
and that's all that mattered.
- Bobby had a little help
from a family member, also.
- You know my genius brother
got kicked out
of three colleges?
Stick to your studies, kid.
- I'm confused.
I thought you were
an investment banker.
- Oh, Wall Street'll
hire anybody.
- [sighs] Robie brothers
don't just hire anybody.
- You work for
the Robie brothers?
- Oh, you know us?
- I know your boss, Jack Robie.
Fired him last month
for mismanaging my money.
- [clears throat] Ms. Cornwall.
I'm sure Alice told you what
fans we are of your books.
- Thank you.
It's so nice to meet fans
like you.
And, of course,
Baroness Alcott and Mr. Elton.
- Did I say I was a fan?
- Yes, you said.
- Well, I said Janey
and I were both
reading your book when
we first met.
God's honest truth,
I couldn't even finish it.
I told her she was wasting
her money bringing you here.
- James.
- I also told her
this whole contest
is a waste of capital
and resources.
- James.
- When I'm running things--
- When you'rerunning things?
- [chuckles] I'm planning on
buying the island, sweetheart.
- And as I told you, darling,
Carlos isn't interested
in selling.
- And as I told you,
darling,
I just have to find a way
to take you from him.
[suspenseful music]
[crickets chirping]
- Nice to see the game playing
out the way we wrote it.
- James is quite talented.
I can see the attraction
for Janey.
- He's all right.
- What's Fredricks doing?
[soft suspenseful music]
Fredricks?
What's going on?
- I don't think I follow you.
- You're clearly stressed.
You dodged my question
about Louise Baker
and you avoided telling me why
CC was really shouting at you.
- Dr. Priestly,
I think you've been
writing too many mystery games.
- Further evasion.
Fredricks, you can talk to me.
If not as a colleague,
then as a doctor.
And whatever you say,
I will keep in confidence.
- Guys, it's almost 9:00.
Game room.
- Indeed.
- Where is Ted and Davis?
We were told 9:00 sharp.
- I'll go and look for them.
- I guess that's
the game break.
I'm going to fix you some
of my signature drinks.
Called a paloma.
Excuse me.
So, little lady,
my company's in talks
to buy the network
that owns your podcast.
- For real?
- Mm-hmm.
- Well, you've been quite busy,
haven't you, James?
- Like my father said,
there are cattle
and there are rustlers.
I guess I just
prefer to rustle.
You can expect your show
to become a little bit
more family-friendly in
the future there, sweetheart.
- Hey, where you been?
- What? I got lost.
Scotch.
- You didn't happen
to see my husband, did you?
- Right here.
Sorry, just admiring the stars.
- Has anyone seen
my Aunt Louise?
- Palomas for everybody.
Here we go.
[clears throat]
[grunts softly]
Look at those.
The virgin Paloma has
the pink umbrella.
- Oh.
Oh, dear, now, whose is whose?
[all chuckle]
- Ah, ah, ah, ah.
Young lady.
- [laughs] I was 18 when
I had my first Paloma.
I just roped my first steer.
My daddy wanted to celebrate.
I thought he was kidding.
[coughs]
- James?
- [coughing]
[short gasp]
- He's choking.
- James?
- Are you choking?
You all right?
[tense music]
[James gasping and coughing]
- Get him on his feet!
- Game of death has arrived.
- James!
[explosion and gasping]
[flames whooshing]
[slow ominous music]
- Choking andan explosion?
- I don't recall an explosion
being part of the script.
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music]
- I assure you
this is not part of the game.
- Fredricks.
[scattered gasping]
- Arrest.
[tense music]
- He's gone.
- Did he just say something
to you?
- Arrest.
- Arrest who?
- I don't know.
- Hey, I'm going to take
charge of this situation
until the local cops arrive,
OK?
- They're already here,
actually.
Detective Jason Trent
with the mainland police.
This is my colleague,
Dr. Emilia Priestly,
criminal psychologist with
the London Metropolitan Police.
We wrote the murder game
you came down here to play
and as Janey said, this
is definitely not part of it.
We need everyone to go inside,
get your passports,
and wait in the game room.
- [sobbing]
- Inside.
Inside now. Please.
- Hey, buddy.
I'm an NYPD detective.
I handle major crimes, OK?
- I respect that,
but this is my jurisdiction.
And as a fellow cop,
I know you'll help me
by doing what I say.
- Fredricks was our colleague.
But Jason,
something wasn't right.
He was being elusive earlier
about interactions
with CC and Louise.
I offered to help--
- Hey, hey, hey.
This isn't your fault.
- But it's someone's.
And we're going
to find out whose.
[somber music]
[tense notes]
- It's a tripwire.
- Which Fredricks
obviously triggered.
What was he doing down here
in the middle
of James's death scene?
[flames crackling]
- It's a suitcase.
- That must be how they got
the explosives down here.
It's going to be challenging
for forensics to get
anything from this scene.
- [sighs] I'm going to go
to the office and call it in.
Will you get
everyone's passport?
- Yeah.
- I'm happy to help
advise you on this.
I am known as
the Queen of Crime.
- Thank you.
[suspenseful orchestral music]
- That's Alice's, too.
- Listen.
I'm helping Jason
figure out what happened,
but I'm also here
to support anyone.
- Thank you.
- So you must be an actor.
I really thought
you were dying.
- [normally] Thanks, I guess.
[chuckles]
- Wait, you're not from Texas?
- No.
- [chuckles softly]
- I should, uh,
introduce myself.
Folks.
I know this is
all super upsetting,
but, uh, so there are
no more surprises,
you should know my name
is James Elton, but I'm...
I'm an actor
from New York City.
Mystery Island
hired me to play a character
that rubs you all up
the wrong way and then dies.
- You were amazing.
Where did they find you?
- Janey and Fredricks
caught my one-man show.
- It was brilliant.
His own adaptation
of "Orestes."
[James chuckles softly]
We saw it off-Broadway.
- You had an off-Broadway run.
That doesn't come cheap.
- I recently
came into some money
from an angel investor,
so yeah.
- Wait a minute.
I thought I recognized you.
You're in "Ship of Fools."
- I worked with them, yeah.
- What's "Ship of Fools"?
- It's an improv group.
Hilarious.
I caught him on a cruise ship
around Manhattan
a few years back.
- I'm confused.
You do improv comedy
andGreek tragedy?
- Well, James
is incredibly versatile.
And his "Orestes"
was quite funny.
- Correct me if I'm wrong,
but "Orestes" is about a man
who kills his mother
because she killed his father.
- Sorry, how long
do we have to wait here?
- Janey and I will speak
to Detective Trent,
but it will be longer than
planned, unfortunately.
[soft suspenseful music]
- [sighs]
- [yawns]
[tropical birds singing]
[suspenseful music fading]
- I'm still going over
security footage.
- You're thinking staff?
- [sighs] It's the closest
to Fredricks, right?
But they're all accounted
for in the window
that someone prepared
to set the explosives.
Thank you.
Ray's on his way
with forensics.
- Oh, all the
guests' passports.
- Why do you need those?
- Fredricks hardly ever
left this place.
I wanted to see if any of the
guests were down here recently.
- Well, Fredricks
did go to New York
a couple of months ago
with Janey to look for actors.
Maybe he met someone there?
- It's possible.
But we were only
there two days.
And we were together
the whole time.
- But you didn't
share a hotel room.
Maybe Fredricks went out
after you went to yours.
James's last name
is Frankenheimer?
- Yes, Elton's his stage name.
I mean, with a surname
like Frankenheimer,
can you blame him?
Jason, the guests
are getting nervous.
What can we tell them?
- Uh, that Emilia and I
are going to interview
every last one of them,
starting with you.
- Me?
- Janey, you know the drill.
- Well, you've certainly
made no secret
of your growing dislike
of Fredricks.
- I dislike several people.
Well, at least five,
possibly seven.
And I don't go around
blowing them up. [scoffs]
- Of course.
But you do need
to be truthful with us, Janey.
- When am I otherwise?
- When you don't
tell us the truth
about your relationship
with James.
- I knew that
you saw through us.
I said it to him last afternoon
in his room.
In my room, actually.
He switched rooms with me,
which was really quite sweet.
At any rate,
I was just being mindful
of our professional
relationship.
- So you do have more than
a professional relationship?
- Yes.
Well, now we've
got that sorted,
I will go and tell the guests
that you need to speak to them.
- In the kitchen hall, please.
- Hmm.
Well, we were right
about her and James.
- Mm. Hopefully, it's just
as easy to find the killer.
- What were you and Fredricks
arguing about before dinner?
And don't say your room.
He already told me
it wasn't there.
- My publisher
wanted me to negotiate
a Mystery Island tie-in
for my next novel.
I wanted Fredricks to back me.
He said he would try.
And frankly, I didn't think
trying was good enough.
I do feel awful now
about shouting at him.
- Did you see anyone
near the gazebo
while you were stargazing?
- No.
The stars were
far too distracting.
[quirky suspenseful music]
- You were late
getting to the game room.
- I got lost, like I said.
- Did you help your
brother with the puzzle
that won the contest?
- Help him?
I did it all.
But I let him have the win.
- There's more to it than that,
though, isn't there?
Bobby seems quite triggered
by status.
It must rankle him that
his younger brother is
more financially successful and
clearly more clever than he is.
- He's got an ego.
For instance,
he got into debt last year.
I offered to help him.
He wouldn't hear it.
Figured it out himself.
- Fredricks went to New York
a few months ago.
Did you meet with him?
- I never met the guy
until I got here.
Local cop.
Do you seriously
think one of us
had something to do with this?
Have you ever
worked a homicide?
Because I can help you.
- Bobby.
- Detective Teller.
- Detective Teller, yes,
I think one of the guests
planted the explosives
that killed Fredricks.
And since
you're one of the guests,
I can't bring you in
on the investigation, can I?
- You helped with the
contest puzzle, didn't you?
And we know you have
a history with Fredricks.
He confirmed that for me.
- Did you meet up with him
a couple of months ago
when he was in New York?
- Mm.
Thank you.
- This history with Fredricks
must have been quite special.
- We met working hospitality
on cruise lines.
And we fell in love.
But then seven years ago,
he broke things off
quite suddenly.
- That's when he helped
start Mystery Island.
- I was devastated.
I thought that was that.
I moved on.
I got married, divorced.
And then two months ago,
he and Janey walked into
the hotel I manage in the city.
We met that night late,
up on the rooftop.
And he told me
he booked the hotel
because he wanted
to see me again.
He knew about my divorce.
He knew about Alice's
murder podcast.
- He offered
to give you the solution
to the contest puzzle for you
to give to Alice, didn't he?
[suspenseful somber music]
- I didn't know what
to expect down here.
But last afternoon
at the gazebo,
he told me he was
going to resign.
That this would be his
final year on Mystery Island.
He said he wanted us
to be together.
And that he wanted to give me
the kind of opulent life
that I deserve.
- I'm so sorry, Louise.
And I'm sorry that we have
to put you through this.
Thank you for talking with us.
- Fredricks made good money
here even after the demotion,
but I don't think he was in
a position to deliver opulence.
- We knew he wasn't happy
with the demotion.
Maybe he had another job
lined up.
Either way,
Fredricks was keeping secrets.
And one of them may have
gotten him killed.
[seagulls calling]
[soft suspenseful music]
- Ray.
- Hey, Jason.
Buenas tardes,Dr. Priestly.
- Emilia's fine, Ray.
I heard about your promotion
from coroner to chief.
Congratulations.
- Gracias.
Benefit of working
in a small police force.
- Ray also spent years on
the beat when he was younger.
- That I did.
Sorry to hear about Fredricks.
- Yeah, we're all
in a bit of shock.
Emilia's been helping
with the interviews.
- Not surprised.
You on board to consult
with us on this?
- Of course.
- Let's go take a look
at Fredricks' room.
- Sure.
- My hunch is right.
Someone was in here.
- You thought
this might have happened.
- We know Fredricks was
keeping a lot of secrets.
- Who could've done this?
- But hasn't had guests
since 9:00 p.m.
- Except Ted and Davis.
- Huh.
I found something.
- Fingerprint lock.
- Mm-hmm.
Mm, hairbrushes are good
for pulling clean prints.
Ah, bingo.
[soft dramatic music]
I'm good to go through
the rest of his place
if you guys want
to finish your interviews.
- Open.
- So there I was, right?
Pretending to be dying.
And then--
I should ask, as professionals,
do you think my dying
was too much?
- I was actually a bit worried
you might hurt yourself.
- Oh, no, no.
There's no worries there.
I'm a stage combat specialist,
accredited fight choreographer.
So, uh, I'm never
in any real danger.
Speaking of danger, I, uh...
I found this in my room today.
On the floor by the door.
At first, I thought it was
somebody who was into me,
but now I'm kind of worried
that somebody wants me dead.
- "Meet me at the gazebo
tonight for some real fun."
- Get what I mean?
- We do, yes.
- Jason, this was typewritten
with a typewriter.
Like the one we have.
- In the library.
[soft suspenseful music]
- It's gone.
- What is?
- Evelyn Murtaugh's typewriter.
It's kept right here.
The staff would never move it.
- And it being gone is not part
of the murder mystery
you guys wrote?
- Most definitely not.
And I don't think that note
was meant for you.
- "Meet me at the gazebo
tonight for some real fun."
So then,
Fredricks wasn't the target.
James is.
- Emilia had another thought.
- Did you tell anyone that you
and James had switched rooms?
- No.
What do you think?
- The note was slipped under
what the killer thoughtwas
your room, Janey.
You were meant to go to the
gazebo and trip that wire,
but Fredricks got in the way.
- Which means--
- I'm still a target.
- Which is why we need
to move you to the safe room.
[elevator bell rings]
[electronic beeping]
- Now,
this feels like overkill.
Sorry.
Poor word choice.
But I certainly don't feel like
being cooped up in here
when I could be helping you
solve the case.
- Don't open the door
for anyone but me.
Close it on your way out.
- That includes me, honey.
- [sighs] Listen,
if you wanted to murder me,
you have had ample opportunity
to do it before tonight.
- Fair point.
- Oh.
- [smooches]
Be safe, OK?
- [sighs]
Bye.
- Bye.
[electronic beeping]
[door clicks]
Mm.
- James, why don't you head
back to your room, too?
- Unlock the door.
- Of course.
Hey, um,
glad you guys are here.
- I'm heading back
to the mainland
to get the autopsy started.
We have DNA on the guests
and we've sent them
to the rooms for the night.
I'm not sure how long
you can keep them here.
- Oh, their flights are Monday,
but hopefully,
they'll be sympathetic
to the fact
that one of our own's
been killed.
- All right, I'll be in touch
in the morning.
And thank you for helping us
on this, Emilia.
You two work well together.
- Mm.
Nice to be working
well together again.
- Yeah, it only took
a real murder.
Should we start
building a murder board?
- Two murder boards,
one with Fredricks
as the intended victim
and one with Janey.
But my stomach is reminding me
that I haven't eaten all day.
You want to grab
some crisps or--
- Oh, chips.
We can do better than that.
[quirky dramatic music]
[eggs sizzling]
- He cooks?
- He cooks.
When you live
on a cop's salary,
you can't afford
nice restaurants,
so you learn to become one.
- The kitchen staff
won't be cross with you?
- He cleans, too.
They'll never know I was here.
- Thank you.
[soft dramatic music]
Mm.
Why have you kept this
a secret from me?
- I didn't realize
that's what I was doing.
- Well, talking of secrets,
Fredricks clearly had more
than any of us knew about.
I'm still troubled by the fact
he revealed
the puzzle solution to Louise.
- For love.
- It's one way to look at it.
Another is that he was trading
for Louise's affection
and betrayed our trust
in the process.
I'm beginning to think
he had NPD.
- Which means?
- Narcissistic
personality disorder.
- Do you think
he was lying to Louise
about giving her
a life of opulence?
- Mm, possible.
I'm also thinking about
the profile of the killer,
clearly organized with
terrific attention to detail
and open to brutality.
- Blowing someone up's far
more brutal than poison.
- Precisely.
So whomever
the killer was targeting,
Fredricks or Janey,
we can infer that
they had personal animus
towards their victim.
- That was--
- Not the last meal
I will cook for you, I promise.
- I shall hold you to that.
[yawns]
- Yeah.
Murder boards tomorrow?
We won't hear from Ray
until then, anyway.
- Murder boards tomorrow.
[sighs]
[soft dramatic music]
Good night, then.
- Night.
- Ugh, my key.
[sighs]
[keys jingling]
- Why'd you hit me?
- Why did you sneak up on me?
- I didn't want to startle you.
- Well, you achieved
the opposite effect.
- I'm sorry.
I just wanted to talk to you.
- OK, well, sit down.
Get some ice on that.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
So what did you want
to talk about?
- I wanted to offer my help.
Don't know
if you've heard my podcast,
but I'm really good
at solving mysteries.
- I have heard it.
And I'd say you're really
good about telling stories
about mysteries that have
been solved by other people.
[soft dramatic music]
- I solved the contest puzzle
that got me here.
- Alice, I know your aunt
gave you that solution,
which was actually
given to her,
and I suspect you want
to help us with this case
so that you can get
an extraordinary scoop
for that podcast?
- Is that wrong?
- Uh, the hours after the
murder of a colleague of mine,
you're thinking of
how to use that murder
to increase your downloads?
I don't know if that's wrong,
but it's certainly
ethically questionable.
Let's look at this.
Looks like
we've avoided a bad bruise.
[insects droning]
[door closes]
[approaching footsteps]
- Started without me.
- Well, you know how
I feel about your penmanship.
- It's totally warranted.
So motive for killing Janey
could be to hurt
Mystery Island.
- Another real death
of the new COO.
Carlos could end up wanting
to sell to the Davoren Group.
- Ah, the same could be said
for Fredricks as the new CEO.
We'll get back to this.
We should go spring Janey.
- En route.
I'll fill you in on some
further developments
after we parted last night.
So I'd say that Alice isn't
the sweet Midwestern girl
that she presents.
- She does do
a podcast about murder.
- [scoffs]
One can be fascinated with
crime and still have ethics.
[elevator bell rings]
[electronic beeping]
- I've had a thought.
There is simply
no earthly reason
why any of these people
would want to murder me,
but what if one of them
wants to murder
the COO of Mystery Island
in the most explosive way
possible?
Pun very much intended.
And why,
I hear you about to ask.
Well, the answer
is quite simple.
Someone is working on the
behest of a buyer
who wants to ruin our business
and force Carlos
to sell the island.
Like the Davoren Group.
- That's good thinking, Janey.
- Well,
don't sound so surprised.
- But that motive also applies
to Fredricks as CEO.
[quirky suspenseful music]
- Oh, I suppose you're right.
Does that mean
I'm still in danger?
- It means
we still need to be careful.
- Hey.
Murder girl.
You got any thoughts
on who killed Fredricks?
- I know it wasn't me.
- That's good.
So how about you and me,
the two contest winners,
we get together
and we solve this thing?
- No, thanks.
- Did my brother tell you
I was a lousy detective?
Because that's not true.
[approaching footsteps]
- Janey.
- If I was such
a lousy detective,
how do you think I figured out
that the baroness and the actor
are a real-life couple?
[suspenseful music]
- You OK, sweetie?
- Yeah.
- Could I have
everyone's attention, please?
- Have there been
any developments?
- The case is ongoing,
and I'm hoping you'll all stay
through your
original departure.
- Sounds good to me.
Look, I'm sorry
about Fredricks.
But I was thinking that
maybe the rest of us
could try finishing
playing the murder game.
- Well, what do you think,
Aunt Louise?
- Well, I suppose
it could be distracting.
- Well, I'm certainly game.
Honey?
- Oh, why not?
- Bobby?
- I'm out.
- Hang on.
Does this mean
I have to be dead?
- [sighs] Well, I'll accompany
you to the Deceased Bungalow.
- Alfredo, could you take them?
Davis?
I know your brother has
a problem with me,
but I need him to stick around.
- He'll stay.
And he'll play.
He needs the prize money.
- I thought you said he was
out of financial trouble.
- He was,
but he thinks he might have to
retire earlier than he thought.
- Why is that?
- Davis, this is
a homicide investigation.
- I know, I know.
Look, I pressed him
last night, OK?
Why is he being more
of a pain than usual?
He said that he's stressed.
He's under investigation
with internal affairs.
They're saying
he's been taking bribes.
- From who?
- The Torino crime family.
Do you know them?
- By reputation.
- I'm so sorry to hear this,
Davis,
but thank you for telling us.
- Yeah.
- Sounds like Bobby's
in bed with some bad people.
- Allegedly.
I better let Ray know.
Have him contact New York,
see what they can tell us.
- Yeah.
- Thanks, Ray.
[electronic beep]
Thank you.
- Excuse me?
- Alice?
You can come in.
Dr. Priestly, I'm--
I'm really sorry
about last night.
I've never been part of
an actual investigation before,
and I got carried away.
And I appreciate what you said
about ethics.
- Good.
- Can I just ask?
Are Baroness Alcott and James
a couple in real life?
[suspenseful music]
- Did you figure that out?
- Detective Teller told me.
I wonder who told him.
- It's a great question.
Thanks, Alice.
There is no way
Janey told Bobby that.
- But have
you noticed that Bobby
constantly has that earwig in?
- Yeah, of course.
You're thinking--
- He planted
a listening device.
- And heard our interviews
with Janey and James.
- And everyone else.
[energetic suspenseful music]
- We should check the office
and the game room.
He probably bugged them
after everyone arrived
to get an edge on
solving the game.
- Yeah.
If we accuse him,
he'll just deny it.
- Feels kind of dumb just
standing around here, waiting.
- Mm, maybe one of the sleuths
will solve your murder
before Sunday night.
- What if I come back?
- What are you pitching,
resurrection?
- Hear me out.
So what if
I play a private detective
hired to investigate
the murder of James Elton?
I wear a disguise, I--
[British accent]
I put on a British accent.
- [chuckles]
- [normally]
My dad was born there,
so I know the dialect
pretty well.
- Oh, I'd love
to meet your father.
[soft dramatic music]
[chuckles softly]
- I would've liked that too.
He, uh, he passed.
My, uh, my mom died of cancer
when I was 15,
so it was--
it was always me and Dad.
Until he, uh...
- Oh, my gosh, that's--
that's devastating.
Is that why you did "Orestes"?
Well, that must have
been cathartic.
- It was.
Also threw up a bunch of stuff,
you know?
But I'm--I'm good.
I'm--I'm at peace.
- Well, I'm so glad.
- Well, a big part
of that's because of you.
[approaching footsteps]
- We need your help.
[dramatic music]
- Jason.
Janey got another note
to meet someone at the beach,
and she's gone there.
- We need to get down
to the beach.
Come on.
- Baroness?
Hey, game's over, pal.
What is this?
- Proof that you were spying
on an active
homicide investigation.
- I'm just trying to help you.
- Well, maybe we should
call NYPD internal affairs
and ask them how good you are
at helping on the job.
- My brother ratted me out.
- Your brother cares about you,
Bobby.
- We know you planted
the listening devices.
- So you entrap me?
You proved your point.
Are you happy now?
- No, I'm not.
I need all your equipment
and your files.
[tense music]
You should be grateful
that you're not under arrest.
[dramatic suspenseful music]
- Detective Trent?
The police on the phone
for you.
- Thank you, Agnes.
I'll be right back.
This is Trent.
- Please don't touch those.
They're a new addition,
and they're very valuable.
- The man who trained me
used to say the detective's job
is to get the killer
to lift the mask themselves
and show their true face.
- He sounds quite poetic.
- Detective Ruiz was a poet.
- This Detective Ruiz,
do you still work with him?
- No.
He relocated to Boston
a few years ago.
- Everything all right?
- Let's go get that gear.
The chief put in a call to
internal affairs in New York,
and they confirmed what
your brother told us.
You're under investigation
for taking bribes
from the Torino crime family.
- Well, internal affairs
are wrong about that.
- What Davis didn't tell us
or maybe didn't know
is that the Torinos of the lead
investors in the Davoren Group.
- You're joking.
- Am I supposed to know who
the Davoren Group is?
- Property developers who have
made an offer on this island.
[tense music]
- Did the Torinos pay you
to kill the CEO
of Mystery Island
to destabilize the property?
- I'm not saying another word
without my lawyer.
- Shut up.
- Oh, really.
And what are you
going to do about it?
How dare you.
- Dr. Priestly, help!
- Do you have any idea
who I am?
- Being a famous writer
does not give you license
to attack young women.
- Enough.
What happened?
- We were just talking
about the game.
And she started drinking.
- I had two drinks.
- Ms. Cornwall, please.
- She started asking Alice
about her aunt's relationship
with Fredricks.
- How do you know
they have a relationship?
- Because his brother, the
detective, mentioned it to me.
And as a best-selling author,
I'm simply curious
about human relationships.
And then this woman
started screaming at me.
- Is that true?
- She was asking in the most
prurient way imaginable.
- Ted, could you please take
your wife back to your room
and let her cool off?
- If you still want
to play golf tomorrow,
you will let me go now.
- Louise, are you all right?
- [sighs]
I'm OK.
- Just stay away from CC.
I got to go meet the chief.
[tense music]
- Is your mentor
a Detective Ruiz?
- Good memory.
- Did he work in New York
before Boston?
- Yeah.
How'd you know that?
- Did he have an aphorism
regarding the wearing of masks?
- Drilled it into me.
We all wear masks.
- It's the detective's job
to get the killer
to lift the masks themselves
and show their true face.
- Emilia, what's going on?
- Bobby told me.
He was trained
by Ruiz in New York.
- You're kidding.
Well, he was a great mentor,
trained a lot of cops,
I guess, if you were going
to break bad, like Bobby.
Hey, Chief.
- Hey, agent.
Doctor.
Fredricks' autopsy confirmed
third-degree burns led
to heart failure.
And I had the latex fingerprint
to open the safe.
[suspenseful music]
[electronic beeping]
- These are Mystery Island game
plots that John Murtaugh wrote.
- And ones Fredricks told Janey
he couldn't find.
- There must be over
a dozen of them.
- I got paperwork here
for an estate in Scotland.
- He was in contract on it.
Price is $2.1 million.
- The opulent lifestyle.
But where was he getting
this kind of money?
- Here's a number
for the realtor.
- I knew he was
holding out on me.
But whatever for?
- That's an excellent question.
- Thank you.
I'll let you know if
I have any more questions.
The realtor said Fredricks had
already put down
a million-dollar down payment.
Apparently, he wanted
to retire there and said
he'd have the additional
$1.1 million next week.
- Hang on.
I know this one.
This mystery plot that
John Murtaugh wrote,
but never used on the island.
It's the plot
of one of CC's novels.
[suspenseful music]
- So based on the dates
on Murtaugh's files...
- Every one of Murtaugh's
unused Mystery Island plots
predates CC's book publication.
- We need to talk to CC.
- We?
- Well, you wouldn't have
discovered all these
if it wasn't for me.
- This is true, Jason.
- Up to you, Detective.
- Fine.
Please don't talk.
- Zip.
[quirky dramatic notes]
- [sighs]
- Oh, hello.
- You'll be happy to know
I haven't provoked anyone
in over an hour.
- We need to talk about
this secret deal you had
buying John Murtaugh's unused
plot lines from Fredricks.
- [chuckles] What secret deal?
- You didn't know?
- We found the files that
you were looking for
when you dug through
Fredricks' quarters yesterday.
- What?
- That's what you and Fredricks
were arguing about
before dinner, isn't it?
It wasn't your room.
- That's why
you're so far behind
getting your
next book published.
Fredricks was all
out of plots to sell you.
- Which is also why
he couldn't show them to me--
because I'd have figured out
you were using them
for your books.
- CC, what are they--
- Ted.
I don't know what
you think you know.
- We know every plot you used
originally written
by John Murtaugh.
- And we don't think Fredricks
was giving you them
out of the goodness
of his heart.
- [sighs]
Nothing I did was illegal.
- Maybe not.
But if Fredricks
told the world
that you were
a plagiarizing fraud,
I don't imagine
that would help book sales.
- But it would help
make you our prime suspect.
- CC, secrets take
a psychic toll on us.
They're like carrying
around a heavy weight
we're never able to put down,
not even in our sleep.
[suspenseful music]
But if you come clean now,
you'll not only make things
easier on yourself
with the police,
but I--I promise you your mind
will be more at ease.
- [crying]
Oh, I came down to this
place the first year
it was in operation.
And I was so struck
by John Murtaugh's plot game.
And I asked Fredricks if--
if he thought John might want
to collaborate with me.
Oh, he came up with this
different arrangement instead.
My books are mine.
I wrote the dialogue.
I wrote the prose.
I just paid
for John's storyline.
- How much did you pay him?
- Not very much at first,
but as my success grew,
so did Fredricks' price.
But I was happy to pay it.
- Did Fredricks threaten to
expose you if you didn't pay?
- No.
And I would've paid it.
I'm not a murderer, Detective.
- Do we believe her?
- Well, if you're asking me,
certainly not.
She's a proven liar.
- We should talk to Ted
before CC does.
- Agreed.
- I'll let you handle that.
I'm going back to the mainland.
- CC didn't tell you
any of this?
- You saw how she shuts me up.
- What did she tell you?
- Just that
she had writer's block.
And now you're saying
that's not true?
She's not going to write
another book? [scoffs]
[sighs]
I can't believe this.
- Ted, I have to ask.
Do you think your wife's
capable of murder?
- Look, I know
she can be challenging.
But no.
[suspenseful music]
- So, are we now sure
that I'm not the target?
- Well, the jury's still out.
We're following the evidence
where it leads.
- [British accent] Following
the evidence where it leads.
Sound practice.
Greetings.
Detective Hugh Walsh.
I'm here to investigate
the murder of James Elton.
- This is just too adorable.
- [normally] You like it?
It's kind of like a sort
of cold British detective.
If it's not too derivative.
- No, no, no.
It's inspired.
I mean, don't you both agree?
This is a masterful turn.
- It's quite clever.
- Oh, let's introduce you
to the rest of the guests.
Now, I promise
I will never be alone.
And I will return to the safe
room straight after dinner.
[quirky suspenseful music]
- Murder boards?
- Oh,
I thought you'd never ask.
So let's think about motive
other than destabilizing the
business and buying the island.
- CC obviously had her
reputation as a novelist
to protect, which Fredricks
could've destroyed.
I don't know what her motive
for killing Janey would be.
- No, nor do I.
- Louise had her history
with Fredricks.
We're taking her word
that she wanted to reunite.
She could've wanted revenge
for having her heart broken
all those years ago.
- Definitely possible.
Not seeing her motive
for wanting Janey dead, either.
Certainly not
stronger than what
may have been driving Bobby.
- I still can't believe
we were both trained by Ruiz.
- Maybe you can use that
to talk to him.
- Bobby, I want you to forget
about what happened here
and tell me about
this detective
that gave you the advice
about people wearing masks.
- Why are you asking me
about him?
- What was his name?
- Didn't your shrink
tell you that?
Ruiz.
- Fernando Ruiz.
He was my mentor in Boston
and the reason I'm down here.
I came here
to investigate his murder.
- Wait.
Ruiz is dead?
- He was robbed on his way
to the bank one night
after work, stabbed fatally.
- I thought Ruiz had retired.
And who got the drop on him?
- He did retire,
but he picked up a security job
down here at a nightclub.
The autopsy revealed
he had GHB in his system.
Killer drugged him
before he killed him.
- You get the killer?
- We're both cops, Bobby.
Both students of Ruiz.
- Yes, we are.
But I'm still not going to
talk to you without my lawyer.
[tense music]
- [British accent]
As a private investigator,
I've been employed
by Mr. Elton's firm for years.
Subsequently,
I was sent here immediately
upon learning of his murder.
[quirky suspenseful music]
Now, you said that
you were all set here
at the game's table together.
- We were, yes.
So you--
Jamesmade the drinks
over there at the bar
and he brought them
over here for us.
- So hang on.
Mr. Elton mixed
the drinks himself?
Huh.
Are you suggesting, then,
that this is suicide?
- No.
So Janey, Aunt Louise,
you remember the lazy Susan
got nudged?
The drinks spun around
to different people.
- Mm, you had the--
the pink umbrella.
- And you had
to prompt him to drink.
[suspenseful music]
- I'm thinking what if James
intended the poison
for someone else?
- Then you're suggesting
that the murderer
inadvertently killed himself?
[insects droning]
[knock at door]
- Bobby, it's Jason.
[knock at door]
Bobby, open up.
[somber ominous music]
[somber ominous music]
- Jason, the typewriter.
The note is to you.
- "Detective Trent,
I killed Fredricks.
"I knew it was only
a matter of time
before you and the shrink--"
I can't read the rest
without touching it.
I need to call Ray.
We should tell Davis.
I'm sorry to do this now,
but I need
to ask you something.
- Sure.
- Do you think it's possible
that your brother
would've taken money from
the Torinos to commit a murder?
- Are you thinking
he killed Fredricks?
- We know it's hard to hear,
but it's something
we've considered.
We think it's possible
there would have
been a financial motive
not only for Bobby,
but for the Torinos.
- No.
No, my brother was, uh...
ethically shaky.
But murder for money?
I just cannot believe that.
- Well, if you want to talk
one-on-one, I am a therapist.
- Thanks.
I, um...
I just need to get some air.
- What's wrong?
- Bobby Teller's dead.
- What?
- How?
- He appears
to have killed himself.
And confessed to the murder
of Fredricks
using Evelyn Murtaugh's
typewriter.
- So Bobby was the one
that left the note
in the door for Janey?
- It appears so.
[tense music]
- Help!
Ted's attacking Davis!
- We had a deal
and you go back on it!
- Get your hands off me!
- No, you can't go back on it.
- Don't touch me!
- We had a deal!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey!
- Ted, stop.
- What is going on?
- It's a private matter.
- He went nuts when
I told him our deal was off.
- Shut up!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey!
[Ted groans]
Take it easy, Ted.
- OK, OK, OK, OK.
- What deal?
- The night of the explosion,
he wasn't looking at stars.
And I wasn't lost.
We met in the entry hall.
He slipped me a note
during dinner.
Mm? He had a proposal.
In exchange for his wife
bringing my brother on board
as a co-author of her
new book--
- What?
- CC.
- [scoffs]
- Go ahead.
- I was going to become
his new financial advisor.
Pro bono, obviously.
- [scoffs] This is absurd.
Ted is in no position
to make that kind of deal.
- CC, come on.
I knew you were out of ideas.
Now I know they weren't even
your ideas to begin with.
I've been worried for months
that you wouldn't write again,
so I had to find a way
of making money.
So I started
playing the market.
I should've had
an advisor like Davis.
- Yeah, you should have.
[suspenseful music]
- How much did you lose?
- Well, from my understanding,
nearly everything.
- [snarls softly] Ted.
- And you called off the deal
because he had nothing more
to offer.
- Yeah, and because
my brother's dead.
- Enough.
- Time of death was
between midnight and 2:00 a.m.
Two sets of bruises
on his neck.
One rough, which matches
the rope used to hang him,
while the other one is smooth,
also darker.
- Which means he was strangled
before he was hanged.
- A second murder.
I think this board was
wiped clean.
See the remnants
of writing here?
Maybe he worked something out.
- Detective?
- It's the rest of the note.
[camera shutter clicks]
Notice the last line.
- "In my brother's defence,
he knew nothing."
- Look at the spelling
of the word "defence."
D-E-F-E-N-C-E.
Americans spell it with an S.
You and Janey are
the only Brits here.
- Jason, you can't think--
- I know.
But I need to interview Janey
without you this time.
- So I've gone from potential
victim to potential killer?
- Mm, couple months ago,
you did say you wanted
to kill Fredricks.
- Oh, my God, in a game.
And I said that to you,
a police detective
who I chose to be here
on the island when
the explosion that killed
Fredricks happened.
Why would I do these things
if I was the culprit?
- When's the last time
you saw Bobby?
- Well, when you put him
under house arrest.
- [normally] What's going on?
Yesterday,
Janey's the intended victim.
And then today?
- Yes, well,
new things have come to light.
- Such as?
- The proper spelling
of a word.
- Janey.
- Well, I'm sorry.
It is a bit absurd.
- James, we must let Jason
pursue the case as he sees fit.
[soft suspenseful music]
And I am sure I'll be fine
because, as you know,
I am innocent.
- OK.
OK.
You know that Janey wouldn't
do anything to hurt Fredricks.
I thought Bobby confessed.
- Yes, but we have
reason to suspect
that Bobby didn't
type that note.
And if it's any consolation,
I don't think that Jason
believes Janey actually guilty.
- I'm going to go for a walk
and clear my head, OK?
[sighs]
- Oh, you don't appear
to be under arrest.
- Well, of course not.
After my momentary humiliation
of being considered a killer,
I realized that Jason was
just doing his job.
- Yeah.
And it seems possible
to me that whoever did this
not only wanted to kill Bobby,
they wanted
to hurt Mystery Island
by implicating you.
- Well, yes.
And having two unsolved murders
is hardly good for business.
And maybe I should just
tell Carlos to sell the island
and then I'll go and
live with James in New York.
- If we don't have
a breakthrough in this case,
Janey's prepared
to let Mystery Island end
because she is in love,
but I am not.
- You're not in love?
- No, I'm not prepared
to let Mystery Island end.
- Your syntax was
a little confusing.
- Well, I'm upset.
- Clearly.
You're normally so well-spoken.
- Oh, thank you.
Now has it dawned on you
that the most likely reason
Bobby was murdered
is because he had learned who
killed Fredricks?
- Yes, it has.
- So you know what
we need to do?
- Go back through
all of Bobby's recordings.
- Precisely.
We need to hear what he heard
us saying in the interviews
because, somehow,
we missed something.
- I can feel it
like a shadow
[soft dramatic music]
In the corner of my mind
[recorded indistinct chatter]
Calm down the cyclones
You catch me from behind
[recorded indistinct chatter]
- It's gone.
This is the reckoning
If this is the enemy
Hold on
[suspenseful music]
- Have you been messing
with Janey's desk again?
- No, why?
- Well, it's disorganized.
And I think someone's
opened the password book.
- Let's check the computer.
[mouse and keyboard clicking]
- Bobby must've snuck
in here last night.
I wonder what
he was looking for.
- Check the history.
- Thank you, all,
for gathering this morning.
I believe that I,
with Aunt Louise's help,
have solved the mystery
of who killed James.
- Oh, do tell.
- Should we wait for Dr.
Priestly and Detective Trent?
- I think
we should just crack on.
- OK, so we all know that more
than one person in this room
had a reason to want
James dead,
based on his remarks
at dinner and then later on
in the games room,
myself included.
But sometimes when there are
too many people with motive,
you have to focus on method.
How was James killed?
- Well, his drink was poisoned,
obviously.
- Was it?
- What do you mean?
- OK, so we all know
that James made drinks
in full view of everyone.
He then brought them over
to the lazy Susan,
set them down,
and the lazy Susan got bumped.
Does anyone remember
who bumped it?
OK, Aunt Louise
and I couldn't recall, either.
- But James drank the drink
that landed in front of him.
So assuming the killer was the
one who bumped the lazy Susan,
how would they know that
they weren't the one
drinking the poison drink?
- So was this just a random
killing, some homicidal maniac?
Or did the killer have
a much more clever method
to target
their intended victim?
And that is when I realized...
- It didn't matter who
bumped the lazy Susan.
- It matters who stopped it.
That person was you,
Baroness Alcott.
James was brazen,
boasting about how
he was going to force a hostile
takeover of Mystery Island.
He said this in front of us.
And it was clear
it wasn't the first time
he'd made the threat.
You started dating him.
You lured him down here.
You killed him
to protect Mystery Island.
- Well done, Alice.
You have solved the mystery!
[applause]
And you have won
the prize money.
[applause]
- [normally] Good work, kid.
[chuckles]
Why don't I make us a round
of drinks to celebrate, huh?
- And I promise
not to poison them.
[all chuckle]
[gong resonating]
[suspenseful music]
- [gasps]
- [chuckles softly]
- What's going on?
- What is going on?
Because I'm--
I'm getting confused.
- Yes, that's been the point.
Confusion.
But we are here
to provide clarity
and tell you who
killed Fredricks and why.
- Masks.
My mentor,
Detective Fernando Ruiz,
said we all wear them.
It's the detective's job
to get the killer
to lift the mask themselves.
- At first, we thought
the murderer of Fredricks
masked the killer's
original target, Janey.
This note was pushed
under her door,
inviting her to the gazebo
after the games.
- A suicide masked the fact
that Bobby was murdered
and a British spelling pointed
to Janey as a suspect.
- More confusion.
But what was the evidence
for Janey being
both the target and culprit?
- Evelyn Murtaugh's typewriter,
stolen from the library
and found in Bobby's room.
Both notes were written on it.
- How many manuscripts did
Evelyn Murtaugh type on this?
And here it is being used
to type a fresh script,
two very short plays,
both starring Janey.
In one, she is the
intended murder victim.
And in the other,
she's the murderer.
- But what if we forget
about the star of the plays
and instead focus
on the writer?
- Wait, are you talking
about CC?
- [scoffs] Sweetheart, have you
not been paying attention?
I'm no good at plotting.
- There is a writer among us
hiding behind a mask.
Janey, in ancient Greece,
what do the actors wear?
- Masks.
- Oh, hang on.
You're talking about me?
- You were the one that
brought us the first note.
- Yeah, because it was
shoved under my door.
- We only have your word
for that.
- So you're saying that I typed
the confession from Bobby?
The one that implicates Janey?
- We are, yes.
- I love Janey.
You know that.
- Which is why
you could point us her way,
knowing she'd never be
convicted of murdering Bobby,
but hoping that we would
waste our final day
with you all here trying to
figure out how she might have.
- But why would James
kill Bobby Teller?
He hadn't even met him
before this weekend.
- True.
But Bobby had
seen James before.
- Wait a minute.
I thought I recognized you.
You're in "Ship of Fools."
- Over a million people have
seen "Ship of Fools."
- But only one of them
was a detective
that connected you
to Fredricks.
[suspenseful music]
Which leads us to why
you killed him.
- I'm done.
I'm not going to stand here
and listen to this insanity.
- No.
[tense music]
You're going to sithere
and listen to it.
[CC chuckles]
- OK.
OK.
- [chuckles] You're right
about insanity, James.
There is a kind of madness
at play,
the madness of revenge.
- Bobby had bugged several
rooms to gain an advantage
on winning the game
and had recordings
of all the interviews
we conducted
after Fredricks' murder.
- Last night, Bobby
snuck into the office
to get onto the internet.
We know this because he used
Janey's password book to do so.
- He needed to look
at the Azure Cruise's
social media page.
He went back seven years
and found this.
James and Fredricks
both worked
on this Azure Cruise ship.
- Look at the photo.
Over 100 people
worked on that ship.
- But only one of them
was blackmailing you.
Fredricks needed to pay off
his Scottish estate
where he planned to retire
with Louise.
- But he'd run out of unused
John Murtaugh mystery plots
to sell to CC.
He needed a new source
of funding,
which he found when
he went to New York
a couple of months ago.
- Janey, you and Fredricks
went scouting for an actor
to play your Texas
oilman boyfriend.
You saw an off-Broadway play.
James, what was the name
of that show?
- You know perfectly
well what it is.
It's "Oreste"--
- Stop.
"Oreste."
- "Oreste."
- Arrest.
- Arrest who?
- That is what Fredricks
whispered to me
as he was dying, not arrest.
"Oreste."
He died before he could
say the final syllable.
- So this whole theory
that you've pieced together
is based on that?
A missing syllable?
- No.
But it is the basis
of your motive,
not for killing Fredricks.
But for the murder James
committed seven years ago,
the murder which Fredricks
realized James had done
as he sat beside you
in that theater
watching him play "Orestes,"
a man determined to avenge
his father's murder.
And that is where
Fredricks remembered
where he'd seen you before.
- Bobby didn't bring us
the James-Fredricks connection
because he needed money.
Bobby was about to be fired
from the NYPD
for taking bribes
from the Torino crime family.
- We believe Bobby
went to James
and threatened to expose him
if he didn't pay.
But as James told us,
he's a combat specialist.
- He strangled Bobby.
- We wouldn't have even known
Bobby was in Janey's office
if he hadn't disturbed
the organization of her desk
as he searched
for the password book.
We realized he signed
into the computer,
and the first thing he searched
for was Azure Cruise lines
because his listening device
had picked up something
Louise had shared with us.
- We met working hospitality
on cruise lines.
And we fell in love.
- Bobby was able to connect
James and Fredricks,
which was enough
to threaten James
without knowing
the whole story.
But Emilia and I kept looking
for the whole story.
- We thought about "Orestes,"
their revenge for the father.
And so we did some digging
into James's father.
- James's last name
is Frankenheimer?
- Thomas Frankenheimer
was arrested
15 years ago for embezzling.
Thomas Frankenheimer's case
never made it to trial.
He was killed
in a jailhouse brawl.
And mourned by his only
surviving family member,
James Elton Frankenheimer,
who naturally blamed the cop
who put his father in jail.
- Detective Fernando Ruiz,
my mentor, trained Bobby, too.
He trained dozens of detectives
and arrested
hundreds of criminals,
including Thomas Frankenheimer.
- We know Fredricks
thought he was
going to pay off his Scottish
estate in a week, $2.1 million.
And you just had a windfall.
- I recently
came into some money
through an angel investor, so--
so, yeah.
- That was a clever way
of saying your father
left you money, wasn't it?
Had you recently
discovered the offshore account
where he'd put
all his embezzled funds?
Your father wasn't
an innocent man, was he?
But he was still your father.
Is that why you chose to do
a play about the tragedy
that is revenge?
- Fredricks was desperate,
desperate enough to have you,
someone he knew had
committed murder,
come to the island to deliver
the blackmail money in cash.
But to be safe,
he had you leave it
in a suitcase in the gazebo.
- Janey,
did James and Fredricks talk
after you saw his "Orestes"?
[suspenseful music]
- We went for drinks,
the three of us.
- Were you together
the whole time?
- I, um...
I went to the ladies room and--
[sighs]
And when I came out,
James had left.
And Fredricks said--
- What did Fredricks say,
Janey?
- He said he'd had a call
from his father,
which I now know is impossible.
- James's passport
is brand-new.
But we checked with customs
and their records show that
he washere the day
Ruiz was murdered,
part of the
"Ship of Fools" troupe
performing on the local
Azure Cruise ship.
And Fredricks was part
of that ship's crew.
- Did you plan your revenge
like "Orestes"?
Or did fortune place you
in front of Detective Ruiz,
the man you blamed
for your father's murder?
The way you planned Fredricks',
I would think
it was the former.
But you certainly showed
your improvisational skills
when it came to handling Bobby.
- This is all conjecture.
- It is.
But the DNA at Ruiz's murder
isn't.
See, after the killer stabbed
him, he spat in Ruiz's face.
[metallic clinking]
- And we matched that
to your DNA.
You're under arrest
for the murders
of Detective Ruiz,
Mr. Fredricks,
and Detective Teller.
- Oh, you can't write this.
[laughs]
[dramatic music]
[handcuffs clicking]
- Was it all an act?
- Janey, it's always been real.
I love you.
- Well, you've wound up
in a tragedy after all.
- Janey.
[dramatic music fading]
- The guests have left.
- Thank you both
for handling that.
- How you feeling?
- Well, you know me.
I always fancied myself
a bit of an expert in love.
And clearly, I'm not.
- I believe it was Shakespeare
who said love is blind.
- I suppose
I'm in good company.
And I am grateful
to both of you
for getting him
to drop his mask.
- CC told me she'd like
to write a nonfiction book
about this weekend.
She was hoping
we'd give her permission.
- Ah. If there's going
to be a book about this,
then we need a writer
who can actually
make sense of all
these horrible things
and still show us
in a positive light.
I mean, I'd prefer someone
who is not only brilliant,
but has extensive experience
with actual crime
and a degree from Oxford.
- Are you talking about me?
- Say you'll do it.
- I'll do it.
- [sighs]
- Thank you.
Right.
I must go search
for a new house manager.
- So I suppose
I'm writing a book.
- Well, if you
need a ghostwriter,
I am at your beck and call.
- Oh, I've never had someone
at my beck and call before.
- Well, now you do.
- So we haven't talked about
what this all means to you.
You did what you came down
here to do seven years ago,
solve your mentor's murder.
How you feeling?
- I know he'd be proud of me.
There's not a day I don't wish
he were still alive,
but I feel a sense of closure.
- Good.
- And like Janey,
I'm grateful to you
for working with me.
- I'm grateful
to be working with you.
But since I solved this--
- Yousolved this?
- I'm wondering whether
you should report to me now.
- I think we'll just have
to keep working together
until it's clear who
works for who.
- Who works for whom.
- You're so English.
- And you're so American.
[soaring orchestral music]