Credentials:
E.A. Poe
Inspector Henri Le Rennet a.k.a "E.A.Poe" a.k.a "Inspector Dupin"
Poe spent one year at college before dropping out. Next he lied about his age and enlisted in the military. When he became tired of this rigid lifestyle, he purposely had himself court-martialed and thrown out. Through all of this Poe was writing and in 1827 he published his first book Tamerlane and Other Poems. After setting his writing career in motion he decided to marry a woman by the name of Virginia Clemm who, as it happens, was his thirteen-year-old first cousin.
Poe worked as a publisher for various newspapers to support his wife who suffered from tuberculosis. He kept publishing his own works but was often chided for being a drunk. Some also speculate that he was a drug addict. When his wife died in 1847, Poe’s life took a downward turn. His writing career suffered and he even attempted suicide. Then in 1849, at age 40, he was found wandering in the street delirious. He was taken to the hospital where he died, from what no one can be certain. Some think he died of alcohol, drugs, cholera, heart disease, suicide, consumption or a host of other possibilities. Poe's life is reflected in his work even down to his mysterious death.
Poe was best known for his Gothic writing style. While he also contributed to the development of the science fiction genre, Poe's greatest literary influence was his creation of the detective-fiction genre. In honor of his creation I will be re-telling four of his mysteries within a frame tale based off of the very first detective story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Poe's story is based on the true-life murder of a local woman by the name of Mary Rogers. The main character of the story is Inspector Dupin who many believe Poe intended to represent himself.
For the source of my stories I used the book entitled Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. In my frame tale we follow our own Inspector, Henri Le Rennet (another one of Poe's pseudonyms), as he interrogates four suspected murders in his quest for Mary Rogers' killer. But would it be an exciting tale if we caught the murderer on the first try? Of course not! Each suspect he interviews tells one of Poe’s stories as an alibi and then points the finger at someone else and so we follow the clues to the real perp.
The year was 1841 and the murder of Mary Rogers was publicly detailed in every newspaper in New Jersey. Mary had been working as a clerk at a corner market store in Weehawken, New Jersey when her body was found floating in the Hudson river. It was after two months of fruitless investigation that the police commissioned Inspector Henri Le Rennet, famous for his abilities at cracking suspects. On the pages that follow I intend to lay before you the accounts of Inspector Rennet's investigation.
The Suspects: Dr. Shipman
The autopsy revealed that Mary had recently undergone her second abortion. This led police to Mary's physician, Dr. Harold Shipman. Dr. Shipman has recently moved to Weehawken to study under the prestigious Dr. John Weber. Police intend to interview both doctors about the physical and mental health of Mary and deduce whether she may have died as a result of malpractice. When police arrived at the home of the physicians, they were informed that Dr. Weber had left town for a medical conference in New York. This new development created more suspicion and another warrant has been obtained to search his property as well. Now we will hear Dr. Shipman's version of The Tell-Tale Heart as we search for clues.
The Suspects: Theo Durrant
One of my all time favorite Poe tales is The Black Cat. In this story a man is transfixed by his pet black cat and starts to hate it. The second suspect we will encounter is the local veterinarian, Theo Durrant, who was a frequent customer at Mary's store. Although most say that he was once a bright young man of excellent disposition he had, as of late, become increasingly agitated, aggressive, and even violent. Just a few days before our interview, Durrant's girlfriend, Minnie Williams, had turned up missing. Durrant claims Minnie is off visiting friends abroad, but the Inspector thinks the real reason for Minnie Williams' sudden disappearance is due to her knowledge about an affair between Mary and Durrant. Minnie may have fled to avoid being questioned. After receiving a tip, the police searched Durrant's home. Before Inspector Le Rennet arrived at the suspects house, Durrant had already been taken to the station for questioning. And so we are going to hear his version of The Black Cat as it pertains to his alibi.
The Detective: Henri Le Rennet
Now that Le Rennet has seen some strange and mysterious things happen in this case, he starts to think about what could really be going on in this town. Le Rennet is on the case as a special investigator which means the job comes with a cheap hotel room off the airport highway. We follow detective Le Rennet in his thoughts about the case, the town, and just exactly what is going on! The room he's housed in is covered in what he would describe as 'cheap arty crap.' But when he starts to look around more closely at the pictures he ends up even more confused than before.
The Killer...
It is the final hour of our investigation. Our detective has started to let the lines of fact and fiction blurr! He runs to a nearby bar to get away from himself and clear his head. The bar is dingy, old and also the only place still open after midnight on a Tuesday. The bartender seems to be particularly talkative after he finds out that Le Rennet is a detective. The stories have gotten progressively stranger and this final one is no exception!
Edgar Allan Poe is a literary legend and I intend to retain some semblance of his story telling gift. So now sit back and ask yourself this one question “Where were you on the night of the murder?”