Murder Mystery of Thanksgiving

Inspired by the TV show series “Hannibal”.

CHARACTERS

WILL (Icarus) - A sensitive but also aloof man. A teacher. (Inspired by Will Graham)
LEXTER (Ezekiel) - A sophisticated man, the host of the Thanksgiving party. A psychiatrist.
(Inspired by Hannibal Lecter)
JACK (Frank) - A stern, strong, and assertive man. A detective. (Inspired by Jack Crawford)
KAT (Lolita) - An analytical mind, a woman with much dedication to justice. A policewoman.
(Inspired by Beverly Katz)
ELANA (Noelia) - A sweet and empathetic woman. A nurse. (Inspired by Alana Bloom)
MARY (Not cast) - Jack’s assistant. The body that was found by Elana. (Inspired by Miriam
Lass)

OPENING

EZEKIEL: Hello, everyone. We are going to bring you a play, inspired by my favorite TV
show series “Hannibal” and entirely written by me. The play is called Murder Mystery of
Thanksgiving. It will begin now.
[Ezekiel claps once, signaling the beginning of the play.]

SCRIPT

LEXTER: Welcome all, to my Thanksgiving dinner.

[Everyone applauds.]
LEXTER: Now, my dear guests, why don’t you introduce yourselves?
WILL: I am Will, and I’m a teacher. Lexter is my psychiatrist, and he invited me here today.
KAT: My name is Kat, and I’m working for the police. Jack, Mary, and I were solving a case
together earlier but now we’re here to enjoy the cooking.
JACK: Name’s Jack, a detective working with Kat. It’s good to meet you all.
ELANA: I’m Elana, a nurse working alongside Lexter.
LEXTER: It is very pleasant to see you all gathered around the dinner table.
WILL: I feel so small sitting next to literal healthcare workers and those of you who work in
law enforcement.
ELANA: Oh, don’t worry about it. You have an incredibly high level of expertise in the subject
you teach, and you contribute a lot to society by distributing knowledge.
KAT: Yeah, that’s right, teachers are awesome. By the way, this turkey is so good.
LEXTER: Thank you. I have to make sure it is of the best quality, if I am to serve it to guests.
WILL: Who knew my doctor is so good at cooking?
JACK: I have heard good things about you, Dr… uhm…
LEXTER: Please, just call me Lexter.
JACK: Lexter. Got it. I’m sure cases would be easier to solve if we understood the
psychology of each criminal.
LEXTER: Are you implying that I work for you?
ELANA: You could save lives, Lexter. I think it’s a great opportunity to step out of your office.
LEXTER: I already save lives inside of my office by helping those in distress. Regardless,
thank you for giving me the chance to expand my horizons.
KAT: Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday.
ELANA: People from different backgrounds and professions come and eat together in one
room… What a nice night indeed.
WILL: I would have preferred to stay home with my pets.
JACK: Come on Will, spending time with people is the spirit of Thanksgiving.
WILL: [Sighs] It’s just tiring to be around people. Although you guys are nice, and I can
accept that.
LEXTER: Connection brings us a lot of good things, Will.
WILL: This isn’t a therapy session, Lexter.
KAT: Come on, it’s free. You know how expensive sessions can be, Will.
ELANA: Lexter… do remember to maintain professional boundaries.
JACK: Hold on a second, where is Mary?
WILL: We haven’t seen her all this time. Who is she, exactly?
JACK: My assistant. She told me she went to use the bathroom, but she hasn’t returned
even after taking so long.
LEXTER: That is too odd. Shall we go check on her? Elana, please go check on her for us.
ELANA: Alright, I will go and see. [She leaves the scene.]
WILL: Mm, I’m a bit worried.
KAT: Why? This is the doctor’s home, it’s not like anything dangerous is going to happen.
WILL: I just can’t shake the feeling that something really bad has happened to Mary.
JACK: She’ll be alright, she has faced the most dangerous of criminals alongside I.
LEXTER: That is unless we have an intruder, and that she is caught off guard, from behind.
But we shouldn’t dwell on the possibility, for it might not turn out to be true.
KAT: He’s right, we should have trust in Mary.
ELANA: [Off scene, screams]
JACK: What’s going on?
ELANA: [Runs back in] It’s Mary, she… she has been… she has been killed in the bathroom!
ALL: What!?
ELANA: She was stabbed by a cornucopia decoration, and bled out on the floor.
KAT: A cornucopia decoration? Did you have any Thanksgiving decorations set up?
LEXTER: Yes, I’m afraid. The cornucopia is made of an actual goat’s horn as well, so it’s…
quite pointy.
WILL: We must get to the bottom of this.
JACK: Is there any other evidence?
ELANA: The window isn’t broken, so the murderer must not have been an intruder…
WILL: There is one possibility that the intruder hid for a very long time without Lexter ever
noticing.
JACK: Or the culprit is one of us here.
LEXTER: We must remain calm, even in the face of such tragedy as this.
KAT: I’m going to call for backup.
ELANA: This is just too much…
WILL: Who are our prime suspects here, if it’s really as Jack said?
LEXTER: Suspicion leads to strained relationships. We should avoid jumping to conclusions.
JACK: Who would’ve had the motive to kill Mary?
KAT: Well, Mary and I were good friends so I would have never wished for something like
this to happen. It is really painful for me to see her in such a state. It’s… a lot to take in.
WILL: Could she have been alive right before Elana found her?
LEXTER: Elana doesn’t know Mary. Nor do you and I. This leaves out any possible motives.
WILL: That’s true… and weird. Does that make Jack the prime suspect here?
JACK: … You suspect me? First of all, I liked Mary and her competency. It would be
counterproductive if I had been the one to murder her.
KAT: It’s true that Jack loved Mary very much as her boss.
JACK: Second of all, we will need more information before we begin to truly suspect
anybody. We need to see whether any of us has had any connections, no matter how weak,
to Mary in the past. It could be something as simple as a hospital visit and a series of
misunderstandings that lead up to this very moment.
ELANA: Hospital visit? Sir, please… I help people, not harm them, and it is never in my
interest to do so.
JACK: It’s just an example.
ELANA: When I found Mary, it was already too late to apply emergency techniques to save
her life.
WILL: Or were you just unwilling to save her?
LEXTER: Will. It is unwise to be so quick to blame others.
KAT: What do you have to say about this situation, Lexter? You haven’t said anything directly
related to it so far.
LEXTER: It greatly saddens me to see a beloved guest meet her demise at the very party I
am hosting. Other than that, I did not know Mary personally, so I have nothing else to say.
ELANA: Seems like nobody could have been the culprit here…
JACK: Unless one of us has been hiding things from the others.
KAT: The police had found something, people! It says here that Mary had gone to Elana’s
hospital for a checkup a week prior. We were also investigating a series of murders before
the Thanksgiving party. A few days ago, she was tasked to go around and investigate people
in this town, including Will and Lexter.
WILL: Why did I never see her then?
JACK: Either you were too focused on teaching schoolchildren, or you are lying.
WILL: I can never hurt another person. Even the act of killing animals makes me feel bad.
JACK: And how are we supposed to prove that?
WILL: I… I have no proof and will never have one, because it’s purely based on my feelings.
KAT: Elana, what did you do at the hospital with Mary?
ELANA: Just a few checkups. I don’t really remember the details because the day was very
busy, and she was just one of the many patients.
LEXTER: Kat here is very oddly calm despite her best friend dying like this, on a time like
Thanksgiving when everything is supposed to be cheerful.
KAT: I just know that our line of work is very dangerous and these things can happen any
time. Besides, emotions won't help with bringing justice to Mary.
WILL: Doctor, did you not say that blaming people won't help with the situation?
LEXTER: I am merely providing my thoughts on the situation, as this oddity is immediately
obvious to me as a psychiatrist.
ELANA: How did everything come to this? Things were just fine before, we were supposed
to have a peaceful dinner together on Thanksgiving, and now we're at each other's throats
over a wrongful death.
JACK: I believe Will and Lexter are the most suspicious here. On one hand it is very easy for
Will to lie about not seeing Mary at the time, on the other hand Lexter has not commented on
the fact that Mary had investigated him in the past, even claiming that he doesn't know Mary
personally.
WILL: Not me again. I was probably really teaching schoolchildren at the time, no time to pay
attention to investigators outside of the classroom window.
LEXTER: I think I do remember seeing a peculiar woman who wasn't here for an
appointment. She was quite curious and kept poking around my office.
JACK: Ah, so you were there when Mary went to see you.
KAT: Did she say anything to you afterwards, Jack?
JACK: I don’t think so.
KAT: Me neither… But she had a really weird look on her face.
WILL: What kind of weird?
KAT: It was as if she had seen a ghost.
ELANA: So, it’s one of fear… Why would she be afraid?
JACK: She wouldn’t tell us. I’m beginning to suspect something.
LEXTER: What are you thinking, Jack?
JACK: That she saw something important at your office, Lexter.
LEXTER: Or perhaps she encountered something horrifying on her way back.
WILL: Jack, what are you implying…?
JACK: I’m saying that she saw something but she wouldn’t tell us. That could be related to
the matter at hand.
ELANA: Lexter… What are you not telling us?
LEXTER: I am, in fact, telling you everything I think and remember.
KAT: You seemed pretty selective in your word choice.
WILL: It could just be how he speaks.
JACK: Why are you defending him, Will? We could be so close to justice.
WILL: Justice isn’t that everyone says it’s true so it must be true. Justice is truth without
anyone’s opinions swaying the people.
JACK: You’re unfortunately right. But what other leads do we have?
LEXTER: Whoever is behind this all is indeed very cunning.
ELANA: Disorienting our thought processes and breaking trust… It’s as if the killer wanted to
play with us psychologically, like a cat toying with mice.
KAT: What a sick and twisted game! All for the culprit’s own enjoyment? Mary is gone! How
can I ever live without her company? On such a holiday as well!
WILL: I’m sorry for your loss. I… I truly am.
JACK: Hm… New information just got revealed by the investigation team. I must say, I’m
disappointed.
ELANA: Why? Did it not reveal anything useful?
JACK: Quite the opposite.
KAT: Who? Who did it?
JACK: [Long pause, and takes a deep breath]
WILL: Stop being dramatic and go on.
JACK: Lexter, you are under arrest for murder.
ELANA: Huh!?
LEXTER: Ah.
JACK: They discovered a recording in Mary’s home, locked away in a box. It has your
conversation on the day of the investigation.
KAT: What did they talk about?
JACK: It started out like any other conversation, but then it trails off into Mary’s trembling
voice and Lexter threatening to “bring hell upon her family” if she told anyone about what she
found.
WILL: Does that… Does that mean what she saw in Lexter’s office was…
JACK: Yes, it would be evidence. Evidence to the series of murders we were trying to solve.
Lexter, what do you have to say about this?
LEXTER: No, I don’t have anything to say.
ELANA: Lexter… What drove you to do this?
LEXTER: All of those who fell were doing very wrong things as well. I was merely cleaning
up.
KAT: That doesn’t justify anything, Lexter.
JACK: Bring him to the police car!
ELANA: I can’t believe this…
WILL: Me neither. What do we do with the Thanksgiving dishes on the table?
KAT: I think they’ll clean it up since this is now a crime scene. Speaking of which, we should
leave.
JACK: You’re right, let’s go.

CLOSING

EZEKIEL: Apologies for such a dark script during Thanksgiving season. Thank you,
everyone, for watching our play.
[Take a bow together!]