THE STRANGE DEATH OF HARTWELL THORIN
Following the arrest of Mayor Brian Bettaker on a variety of charges related to gambling on hamster racing and the disappearance of the Deputy Mayor (who went on vacation in the Carribean and never came home), a relatively unknown attorney named Hartwell (Hart) Thorin was appointed Acting Deputy Mayor. Ostensibly, Thorin took over figurehead management of City Hall until such time as either Bettaker was cleared, or until his conviction brought about a new election. Thorin quickly became well-liked and respected in town, for while his actual power was limited, he was able to bring about some much needed reforms in the Cloud County jail, as well as making improvements in Rainbow Park
But Thorin's resolve to make Rain City the "Jewel of the Pacific Northwest" was put to the test when Alan Paulson announced tentative plans to sell the city's beloved football team, the Fighting Muddaubers, to former beauty queen and peanut butter heiress Sylvia Loa-Wainwright. Thorin publicly vowed to use whatever means were at his disposal to block the sale, even threatening legal action. He even went so far as to blackmail Ms. Loa-Wainwright with information he acquired which implicated her in the death of her husband, Newton "Nutty" Wainwright.
This was not Thorin's only legal nightmare. A meeting between himself and Sylvia in Don Calientay's restaurant was secretly videotaped by it's owner, Austin Powers. When Thorin discovered the tape's existence, he slapped Powers with a $12 million lawsuit.
Adding to Thorin's difficulties was the escape of convicted killer Griswold "Grisly" Baer. Baer had been convicted of the brutal murders of eight people, including his parents and two little sisters, some 20 years earlier. He had always blamed his conviction on the incompetence on Thorin, who was then a fledgling defense attorney and was Baer's court-appointed lawyer. Over the years, Baer had mailed Thorin several death threats, and with his escape on the eve of his execution, it seemed possible that he could finally make good on them.
On the night of May 5, Thorin was found dead in the Mt. Thunderhead public cabin, shot through the throat.
Suspects were, of course, numerous. Besides those already mentioned, a criminal named Roy Depape had been caught breaking into Thorin's house just a few days earlier, though his conviction was quickly overturned on a legal technicality, and he was once again a free man at the time of the murder. Because of Depape's apparent involvement with former Canadian Nationalist freedom-fighter-turned-mercenary Eldred Jonas, a mysterious bounty hunter type named Steven Deschain, and Rain City's own spy extrordinaire Sacred Rose, all were considered possible suspects by RCPD Detective Lieutenant Joe Morgan. With Baer, Paulson, Loa-Wainwright, and Powers all having motives as well, the case seemed nearly insoluble.
However, on the day of May 7, the suspects started dropping like flies. Prime suspect Griswold Baer and his latest attorney Pradva were killed in a gun battle with police in the Suds 'n' Duds laundromat early in the afternoon, along with RCPD street cop Buzz Torrance.
Later that evening, another gunfight occured, this one between Steven Deschain and his long-time quarry, Eldred Jonas. It ended with Jonas' death and Deschain's disappearance.
With the body count piling up and their resources pushed to the limit, the RCPD turned to Rain City's community of private detectives for help. Unfortunately, Rain City's pre-eminent private eye, Bacardi Jim, was not available. Traumatized by his inability to fire on Griswold Baer during the laundromat shoot-out, he and wife Beachgal (who had her own psychological stresses do deal with after killing Baer herself) had gone into seclusion.
Fortunately, one of Rain City's detectives was up to the challenge. Following her gut instincts and almost three months of gathered clues, The Duchess made a phone call to Det. Lt. Joe Morgan late on the night of May 7, telling him that she believed that she had located Thorin's killer. The RCPD responded immediately, but too late. On The Duchess's tip, they burst into the hotel room of Roy Depape, AKA VSS Agent D, only to find him dead. A search of his room produced the following letter:
I killed Hartwell Thorin.
I was ordered to do so by Number One, the head of the VSS, but I would have done it without any orders whatsoever. Because Thorin had Maerlyn's Rainbow.
Maerlyn's Rainbow (AKA Merlin's Rainbow, AKA the Rainbow Glass) is a device of alien origin. It came from an alien ship which crashed thousands of years ago, forming the crater which is now Grey Lake. We believe that it was a communication device of some kind, allowing its designers to transmit sounds and images across interstellar distances by warping the space-time continuum. It was likely also used to observe Earth and its inhabitants. It is this power which makes it invaluable to the VSS, as it allows the user to view any location on Earth he or she desires...EVEN INTO THE PAST! It's applications as a spy device are obvious.
I was assigned the task of finding the Glass some 12 years ago. My search led me all over the world. Eventually, I became convinced that the Glass was seeking to be reunited with the ship from which it came. While in western Canada, I met up with Eldred Jonas, a self-styled mercenary, and hired him to help me in my search. After a trip to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near San Diego, I became convinced that the ship from which the Glass came had crashed in Rain City. I came here, and discovered that over the last decade, a two-bit ambulance-chasing attorney named Hart Thorin had risen to become the most politically powerful man in town. This led me to believe that the Glass had somehow come into Thorin's hands.
I was correct in this...it appears that the Glass had actually somehow been returned to Grey Lake, but that Thorin found it, and also became aware of the UFO still lying at the bottom of the lake. When his use of the Glass caused a power reaction on the ship, the released radiation caused some mutation in the local wildlife. Thorin was bright enough to realize what caused the mutations, and, fearing that the ship be discovered by some over-eager environmentalist, called in the Air Force to let them remove this ship and all evidence of it as they have done so many times in the past. The operation was done under the cover of an "environmental team."
Eventually, Jonas (whom I had tailing Thorin) became convinced enough that Thorin had possession of the Glass that I decided to make a move. I broke into Thorin's house and searched for the Glass, but could not find it. I decided that Thorin must keep the object on his person, and in order to get it, I would have to kill or kidnap him. I reported this to my superior (whom I will not name...they are not responsible for my death...they were only a courier...the order to kill me came from much higher). I received orders from Number One to use "whatever means necessary" to retrieve the Glass. Last Friday evening, I saw my chance and took it. After following Thorin all day, I saw him go up to the Mt. Thunderhead lodge. I followed him up and shot him with a silenced sniper rifle as he was framed in a window. I picked the lock, entered the lodge, and got the Glass. In my excitement, I re-locked the door behind me, but failed to pull it all the way closed until it caught. I delivered the Glass to my superior, who, in turned, passed it on. It is now safely out of the country.
If you are reading this, then it means that my worst fears have been realized. After spending the last twelve years of my life in an impossible service for my country, the fact that I succeeded in that impossible task now makes me expendable. The chances are that you will find me dead of a heart attack. Do not believe it. It was poison. Look for a very tiny puncture on the back of my neck above the hairline. I bear no malice toward my superiors for ordering my death. I am sure that they find it necessary. But I refuse to have spent my life accomplishing a task that was clearly impossible, and to have been one of my country's greatest patriots and heroes, and for no one to ever know that. LONG LIVE VULGARIA!
Thus ended the search for Thorin's killer. The Duchess was rewarded by the District Attorney's office for her help in solving the crime. Throin's death had a final impact on the DA's office. Baby C stepped up to fill the position of Acting Mayor, with Chief Asst. DA Beachgal taking over as District Attorney and also as Acting Deputy Mayor until such time as new elections are held.