A Speakeasy

Murder
Your character is:

Trilby Madison
Welcome to Fat Stan’s underground Speakeasy in
Chicago.
It’s been a busy night. One of Stan’s pals, Scabface, was
shot down by a masked assailant in front of everybody
during the interval.
The doorkeeper swears that nobody came in or out of the
only exit for the last hour, so the killer must still be in
here. Is it something to do with the Gang wars that have
been flaring up all over the city, or is Showbusiness the
motive?
And more importantly: will the killer strike again?
 Trilby Madison, biographer and customer
You are a fashionable writer, here at this speakeasy with your colleague
Laurie to write a biography about Fat Stan Belluccio.
Well, that isn’t entirely true, actually. In fact, you’re really a top undercover
agent for the Bureau of Investigation and your real name is Chris Jackson.
You have a great success record, although you’ve also headed undercover
investigations on cases such as the St.Swithin’s Day Massacre in New York
last month, as well as the Williamsport Train Robbery a few years ago, and
you’re angry that you couldn’t solve those ones. Your boss, Edward Jacobs,
has recently started cracking down on things in Chicago because this city is
so full of crime under Prohibition that it is now lawless and unaccountable,
particularly as corruption is so rife in the police force that the biggest crime-
lords always escape justice. Just look at this Speakeasy tonight, for
example. The local beat cop, Officer Pilkington, is here, as is Mayor
Trelawney himself!
You are deeply shocked to see the Mayor here tonight – he’s supposed to be
an upstanding member of society. You don’t know if he’s actually drinking
any of the liquor on offer here, but if he is then you’re going to find out
about it. He might have some other shady secrets too, but be careful: a man
like that may have powerful allies. He also seems to have a ‘companion’
named Sofia Meers. Aside from the fact that you’re highly suspicious she is
his mistress, you’re interested on another level too. She has been flagged up
on your records as a ‘person worthy of investigation’. Sofia has never been
properly connected to any crimes, but she always seems to be nearby,
lurking in the background. You suspect that she may be involved in criminal
activity and you want to find out what it is and who her partners are.
You’re not as surprised to see Officer Pilkington here though, as you had
heard rumours that he was a rotten cop and a drunk. You’re suspicious that
he has been taking bribes to keep quiet about other people’s crimes, so you
want to find hard evidence of that too. Police corruption is your pet hate, so
you particularly want to bring him down.
There are two main gangs in Chicago, or so your investigations have told
you: the East Side Gang, run by Linguini, and the West Side Gang, run by
Stan. You’re planning on getting compromising evidence and witness
statements against both of them tonight, if you can. You need proper hard
evidence to take them to trial and put them away, not just rumours and
hearsay, otherwise they’ll slip through the net like so many have before. If
you can get evidence against any of the other people here then all the better!
You’re pretty sure that most of the staff are involved in suspicious dealings
to some degree or other…
There is obviously bootlegging going on in this speakeasy, but you’re looking
into how the alcohol gets in, so you can interrupt the supply chain. You
suspect that Tony the Barman is involved somehow, but you’ve been
watching all the railway lines and you haven’t managed to catch him in the
act. You’re planning to quietly investigate him to find out how he does it.
Tonight is the night of Stan’s Big Race, the biggest horse-racing event in
Chicago. You’ve heard that it’s rigged, and you want to find evidence of this,
which ought to help in later convicting Stan and possibly Sammy Snake-
Eyes, too. You’ve also heard rumours of huge cocaine deals happening in
this city, involving someone codenamed ‘The Chimera’, and you suspect that
this speakeasy might be where they are happening. Perhaps you can catch
the mysterious Chimera in the act, or their supplier, codenamed Balthazar?
You’ve offered a reward in the papers for anyone who helps you.
And as if all of this criminal activity wasn’t enough, you’ve just been witness
to a murder, too! You’re sure it must be gang-related, as you know that
Scabface was one of Stan’s top men. The shooting took place at the start of
the interval. You were standing at the side of the room with Laurie, watching
the scene, when the killer burst in. You remember seeing Tony, Officer
Pilkington and Scabface at the bar, and seeing Stan and Linguini having a
big argument at the front of the room. There was some light jazz playing on
the piano too, you remember, although the other musicians and the dancing
girls had all disappeared for a break. After Scabface had been peppered with
bullets, you saw the masked, cloaked figure disappear back through the
main door, and your instincts took over. You gave chase and burst into the
corridor alongside Stan and Officer Pilkington. There you saw Florence,
Tillie, Reno and Velma all standing, each by a different open door, and
Pickles was by the backstage corridor. Lola emerged from her dressing-room
in hysterics, with Mitzy in tow, screaming that she’d looked out of her door
and seen a figure go into the alcohol store-room. You all raced over to search
it, but you couldn’t find anyone in there, which was strange. How did the
masked gunman manage to just disappear like that?

Your goals
[Don’t worry if it feels like there is too much going on – your job is to
focus on the most important crimes and bring down the biggest fish.]
 Solve the murder without giving away who you are. Perhaps you
could start by searching the backstage rooms and cupboards for
clues. Speak to the Doorkeeper if you want to do this.
 Obtain hard evidence of criminal activity. You don’t need to arrest
anyone now, just build up the evidence to convict them and present it
to the Doorkeeper at the end of the night. Only witnesses prepared to
swear in court or physical evidence will do. You can keep hold of any
evidence or give it to Laurie to look after, if you think that’d be safer.
 Gang warfare. You want to get hard evidence against the two gangs so
you can convince a jury to convict them. You’d like to work out how
Stan launders his money or prove that Stan’s Big race is rigged. Try
and identify the people to arrest on cocaine-dealing charges too.
 Corruption. Find out if Mayor Trelawney has any dark secrets or
drinks illegally. If you do, then try and build up evidence and witness
statements against him that could lead to an arrest.
Other people
Laurie – Your assistant, a fellow undercover Bureau of Investigation agent.
Laurie’s real name is Alexis Brown.
Stan – Crime-lord and leader of the West Side Gang, as well as owner of this
Speakeasy. You are pretending to be researching a biography of him, which
should give you the excuse to ask everyone lots of questions without them
getting suspicious.
Linguini – Crime-lord and leader of the East Side Gang. Stan’s mortal
enemy. What is he doing here tonight?
Tony – You’re fairly sure that Tony is in charge of Stan’s bootlegging, but
you need proof. You want a solid lead on how to interrupt the supply chain
to the Speakeasy.
Officer Pilkington – A rotten cop. You can’t stand police corruption!
Mayor Trelawney – An apparently upstanding public servant. What is he
doing in a speakeasy?
Lola – Star of this speakeasy and the deceased Scabface’s girl. She doesn’t
seem that upset about it though.
Sasha and Bobby – Two mysterious band-members at the speakeasy who
always wear shades. They definitely seem to be hiding something. You’re
strongly considering investigating them…
Roxy – The owner of a famous department store in Chicago. Apparently
upstanding, but seems to be a little too friendly with the West Side Gang.
Could be worth an investigation.
The Chimera and Balthazar – the codenames of a mysterious drugs kingpin
and his supplier. [You have two checks for $150 which you can give in
exchange for information that leads to the identification of either criminal, as
mentioned in this week’s edition of the Chicago Courier.]

Tips for beginners

If you’ve not played a Freeform Games murder mystery game before, then we
suggest you start by doing the following:
 Talk to some of the suspicious people here, such as Officer
Pilkington, Mayor Trelawney,Sofia, Roxy, Sasha and Bobby, and
try to find out what they’re up to.
 Talk to Sammy Snake-Eyes under the pretext of being interested in
placing a bet, and try to find out if Stan’s Big Race is rigged.
 Abilities
You have three abilities, as shown below. Each ability explains how many
times it may be used – check a circle each time you use it. Once they are all
checked, you may no longer use that ability.

Confidentiality
You’re good at keeping your mouth shut. If a
Ability

player uses an Ability on you to try and find out

either your Secret or Clue then it fails, but you
get to see theirs instead. [You can only use this if
you are under inebriation level 5.]
Six uses: O O O O O O

Unarmed combat
You are well trained in unarmed combat. You
may attack another player without needing a
Ability

weapon to do so. If you are successful you can

choose to render your opponent unconscious for
10 minutes or to fatally injure them. [You can only
use this if you are under inebriation level 5.]
Permanent ability – see the Doorkeeper before
using this.

Obtain evidence
You can take one Item from someone, and they
will not notice – find an excuse to touch them and
Ability

then tell the Doorkeeper, who will take the Item

specified by you from that person and give it to
you. Because of this skill you have, you can also
tell when someone’s trying to get into your own
pockets. You can check off a use of this Ability to
make a pickpocket attempt upon you fail.
Six uses: O O O O O O
 Your Secret and Clue
Your Secret contains your guilty secret, while your Clue contains one or
more items of information you know. Both may be affected by abilities.
While you can show your Secret and Clue to whomever you like, you will
probably not want to reveal your Secret too often.
(Please note that you can’t solve the murder by looking at everyone’s Secret
and Clue – it’s not that easy!)
Secret

You’re really an undercover

Bureau of Investigation agent
called Chris Jackson.

You rushed backstage

immediately after the shooting
Clue

and saw Florence, Tillie,

Velma, Reno, Pickles, Lola and
Mitzy there.
 Rules for A Speakeasy Murder
The Doorkeeper’s Word is Law: The Doorkeeper is impartial. If
you have a problem or want to do something unusual, see the
Doorkeeper. The Doorkeeper’s power is absolute – and cannot be
affected by ability cards!
Winning and Losing: You can achieve most of your goals simply
by talking to people. The Doorkeeper will announce when the
game is over. If you haven’t succeeded by that point – you’re too
late! Be warned – not everyone here will want you to succeed!
Doing Stuff: Ordinary actions are resolved by simply carrying
them out. If you want to try something unusual (such as trying to
tunnel your way out of the Speakeasy), see the Doorkeeper. They
will be able to tell you the outcome of whatever it is that you are
trying to do. (For example, the Speakeasy is underground and
surrounded by rock so you can’t dig through it.) Do use your
imagination, though! – this is a very flexible game, and you can
do all sorts of things beyond what’s listed in these rules.
Searching Rooms: If you want to search one of the other rooms
in the Speakeasy then see the Doorkeeper. It will take a few
minutes to search a room, and the Doorkeeper will then let you
know if you found anything.
Fighting: A speakeasy can be a rough place, and sometimes
harsh words are not enough! Your character may wish to come to
blows with any of the other characters. Should you wish to do
something along these lines, don’t just dive in! See the
Doorkeeper first and tell them what you plan to do so they can
oversee and give you more detailed rules if it’s necessary.
Leaving the Speakeasy: The only exit has been locked by the
Doorkeeper. Nobody can leave until the end of the evening, by
order of Stan!
Item Cards: Any items of importance within the game are
represented as Item cards – and the only items that can affect the
game are those detailed on the cards. If you do not have an Item
card, you do not have that item with you.
Time: A Speakeasy Murder is played over three hours, with
extra time for reading your character etc. There will be breaks to
get drinks and food! The Doorkeeper will tell you when each
period starts and finishes.
 A Speakeasy Murder – Cast List
THE MANAGEMENT:
Fat Stan Belluccio – the big boss and speakeasy owner
Florence Belluccio – his wife
Jimmy ‘The Weasel’ Smith – Fat Stan’s right-hand man
Alicia ‘Angel-Face’ O’Riley – Florence’s sister
Tommy ‘The Horse’ Davies – one of Stan’s cronies
THE STAFF:
Pickles – the all-around dogsbody
Tony – the bartender
Sammy Snake-Eyes – the poker-faced head croupier
Al – the pianist
Sasha White – the double-bass player, always wears shades
Bobby White – the saxophone player, also wears shades
Lola – a singer, the star of the speakeasy
Mitzy – Lola’s backup singer and dancing girl
Tillie – a dancing girl
Phyllis – a dancing girl
THE CLIENTELE:
Officer Pilkington – a Rotten Cop
Velma Du Bois – a notorious socialite and good-time girl
Alfonso ‘Linguini’ Marino – a well-known gangster
Sugar Sands – a famous singer and Linguini’s current squeeze
Benny ‘Ankles’ Johnson – Linguini’s right-hand man
Mayor Trelawney – a politician
Kit James – the Mayor’s very tidy and serious secretary
Sofia Meers – the Mayor’s companion
Trilby Madison – a smart, fashionable writer, here to research a
biography on Stan
Laurie Evans – Trilby’s equally fashionable co-writer
Oswald Murphy – a famous Hollywood film producer
Ava Monroe – a star of the silent pictures in Hollywood
J. D. Oakey – Oswald’s personal assistant
Sly Swanson – a debonair gambler: a big hit with the ladies!
Reno Edwards – a newcomer on the scene
Roxy MacDougall – a rich client, owns a department store
Lady Patricia Fortescue-Smythe – an ageing English aristocrat

A Speakeasy Murder is copyright © 2014 Freeform Games LLP www.freeformgames.com