Posted by Captain Sidney Parker (Commanding Officer) in Holodeck side sim: Dixon Hill and the Case of the Golden Serpent All Characters Invited

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Srothell Ch’zaolrirh (Chief Security Officer) in Holodeck side sim: Dixon Hill and the Case of the Golden Serpent All Characters Invited

Posted by Commander Jason Harn (Executive Officer) in Holodeck side sim: Dixon Hill and the Case of the Golden Serpent All Characters Invited
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
SNIP

“À ce rythme, nous n’obtiendrons jamais les faits de l’affaire. Pourquoi Poirot doit-il souffrir ainsi?” Poirot said slightly under his breath but loud enough for others to hear, if only slightly.

Poirot

“Okay let’s get this show on the road,” Jason said before clearing his throat. “Computer, run the program ‘Dixon Hill and the Case of the Golden Serpent, starting with Chapter Two, recognize Jason Harn as Dixon Hill and Srothell Ch’zaolrirh as Lieutenant Plunkett. Recognize Sidney Parker as Hercules Poirot and Edison Dowe as Captain Hastings.”

“Hercules Poirot and Captain Hastings are not recognized characters in the Dixon Hill series,” the ship’s computer replied. “Do you wish to create new characters?”

“Er um no, engage protocol for crossover characters from the Agatha Christie database,” Jason suggested.

“Protocol for crossover characters engaged. Characters recognized,” the voice of the ship’s computer reported. “Enter when ready.”

“There really IS a protocol for crossover characters?” Jason asked as he looked at the others in surprise.

The holodeck doors slid open to reveal a dingy office decorated with early 20th century era furniture, including a candlestick telephone on the desk, and bulky radio made of wood. The walls were covered with peeling paint and nearly everything seemed to be made out of leather or wood, a sharp contrast from the duranium bulkheads outside. The radio was playing barely audible blues music while sounds of traffic came from an open window that revealed a gritty cityscape.

As the quartet entered the room and holodeck doors closed behind them and vanished a blonde brassy woman in a red dress entered through a door with an opaque class window. “Dix!” she gasped as she opened the door to the office. “Did you read the morning paper?” The blonde handed Jason a coarse stack of paper smothered in black type that was folded in half. On the front page in bold type was the headline ‘PROMINENT ARCHAEOLOGIST MURDERED!’

“Gentlemen, I give you the other shoe,” Jason murmured as he examined the coarse newspaper before looking up at the holographic secretary. “Madeline, is this who I think it is?”

“It says that the cops fished him out of the bay!” Madeline squeaked. “It’s Harry Goodwin, the husband of our last client! The cops say he didn’t drown; he was strangled before he took a swim! Somebody killed him!”

Jason Harn, XO, finally getting the ball rolling

“Well isn’t this excit..I mean ahem. Good lord, Poirot!” he exclaimed, snatching the newspaper and looking at it closely. “I say chaps, we are familiar with Mrs Goodwin aren’t we? Maybe she did this.”

Lt (j.g) Edison Dowe/Captain Hastings.

Poirot did not immediately snap at Hastings comments. He was looking around the less than clean office and wondering if this Dixon Hill was any good at what he did. If he was it was certain he would have a better office.

A chime was heard, muffled by the door separating Madeline’s desk from Dixon Hill’s office. “‘Scuse me Dix, duty calls,” the holographic secretary muttered as she left the room.

“My dear Hastings. If there was a body of water sufficient enough for you to jump into then you would be inside it now. The two things, a dead husband and wife, do not always equal one of them murdered the other. We do not have the clues yet to properly engage our gray cells to the task. we must have more information.” Poirot said as he rubbed his gloved finger across some furniture and came back with a layer of dust on it.

Poirot

Plunkett stood near the window. He wasn’t sure what sway his character actually had in San Francisco, but he figured a full lieutenant had to have some privilege. He turned towards Dix and Poirot, “Perhaps I can get us into the Station so that you detectives can get a closer look at the body?”

Plunkett (COS Chzaolrirh)

“Now hold on,” said Jason. “We haven’t even been hired yet. And I’m not sure if Dixon Hill would want to get associated with… never mind. From the sounds of things the plot is moving things along.”

Madeline was talking to a woman outside, a woman who wasn’t afraid to raise her voice. The door opened and the blonde secretary was back. “Some woman wants to see you, Dix, and you’ll never believe what she says her name is… Hey! Wait your turn!” she protested as the other woman pushed past her and forced her way into the office.

The new arrival was a beautiful porcelain woman dressed in mourning black. She was the perfect Snow White: Hair as black as night, skin as white as snow, and lips as red as blood, well human blood anyway. Her cool grey eyes glowered at the quartet of men in disdain. “Which one of you is Dixon Hill?” she coldly asked.

“Um, that would be me,” Jason raised his hand sheepishly.

“Mister Hill,” she began icily. “Have you ever seen me before?”

“Can’t say I have doll-face,” Jason purred in his awful ‘film noir’ voice that somehow managed to not sound like Humphrey Bogart. “I’d remember if I’d seen a looker like you.”

“I’m Mrs. Katherine Goodwin,” she announced. “Your secretary claims I hired you to find a missing object for me. But I’ve never met you, not have I ever been in this filthy building. You stole a statue from Harry, which got him killed, and I want an explanation right now.”

“Yer husband?” Jason purred as he rolled up the newspaper and held it behind his back. “What happened to him?”

“What happened to him?” Katherine Goodwin, the new Katherine Goodwin repeated. “I’ll tell you what happened to him! He was murdered! And it’s all your fault, Mister Hill. What exactly did that woman tell you?”

“That she was gettin’ a divorce an’ that she needed my help,” Jason shrugged. “She gave me a key to her house and asked me to look around.”

“A key to MY house!” Mrs. Goodwin corrected. “You should have known it was my house! Didn’t you see the pictures of me and Harry?”

“Erm…” Jason stammered. Now that he thought of it, during the previous chapter he hadn’t seen a single photo of the happy couple.

Jason Harn, AKA DIxon Hill

Poirot missed nothing. He observed that this new person was going out of her way to give the impression of the grieving widower. However she had intentionally maintained a sexy, if not put out, look. Both appearances were meant to draw superficial attention. Furthermore her claim to be the widower, if someone was indeed dead, was just as unsubstantiated as the other woman she now claims duped Hill. She may know all well the house Hill answered had no pictures to see yet now she was imprinting upon his impressionable mind the image. Poirot waited to see where Hill took the conversation.
Poirot

“How did that woman get a key to my house?” Mrs. Goodwin demanded. “Do you still have it? Give it to me! I don’t need you burglarizing it whenever you feel like it!”

“Er, um,” Jason stammered as he checked his pockets and then went through the desk until he found the key. Apparently the other Mrs. Goodwin hadn’t claimed it. Come to think of it, he didn’t remember the other Mrs. Goodwin even asking for it back. “Um… is this the key to your house?” he asked as he held out the tiny piece of metal.

“Why yes it is! And who are all of these other fellows anyway?” Mrs. Goodwin asked as her gloved hand plucked the key from his fingers. “Your lawyers?”

“Oh, um, pardon me,” Jason said as he took off his fedora and placed it on the desk. “Mrs. Goodwin, my I introduce Hercules Poirot and Captain Hastings, who are visiting from Europe. And this is my good friend Mister Plunkett,” he added, neglecting to mention that the Andorian’s character was a police detective.

“Hercules Poirot,_the_Hercules Poirot?” Mrs. Goodwin asked, somewhat incredulous. “He wouldn’t leave Europe to come all the way out here!”

Jason’s eyes narrowed. The crossover protocol had made Sidney’s character more well known than his own. He was being upstaged by a character who wasn’t even supposed to be in this story. So much for playing the star.

Jason Harn, AKA Dixon Hill

The Andorian watched the conversation unfold. He wasn’t sure which Mrs. Goodwin he disliked more. Unlike the captain, his instinct was that this latter woman was the real deal. It was just a hunch, but he found Dix’s transaction with the first Mrs. Goodwin to be rather strange. He regretted not fully committing to stopping her in the last chapter, but supposed it was all for the best now that the plot was heating up.

Unsure of how much information either PI would be willing to disclose to her, he simply leaned back against Dixon’s desk, smiling at the mention of his name. He grabbed
at the nearby paper, wondering if the piece on Mr. Goodwin had any additional clues that could help them sort things out.

Plunkett (COS Ch’zaolrirh)

“I see you have heard of Poirot.” He said. “Not surprising to find my name to have made it across, how do they say, the pond. If I may Mrs. Goodwin. Can you assist Poirot and confirm your identity. You see I am not sure my colleagues did the same with the first Mrs. Goodwin and would not Poirot be amiss to make the same mistake mademoiselle.”

Poirot was laying on his well known charm pretty thick. Though based on her well bred vocabulary, style and mannerisms he believed this to be the real Mrs. Goodwin.

Poirot

Poirot

Hastings looked at the poor woman who had just entered and found herself being questioned by all 4 of them immediately after the death of her husband. What on Earth must she be feeling like now? Edison was eager himself to viciously interrogate this character but it wasn’t what Hastings would do it. Sighing he cleared his throat. “Poirot, please. I’m sorry my lady, you must be in dreadful shock,” he replied while pulling over a chair. “Is there anything I can get you to drink?”

Hastings (Dowe)