Dark and Stormy Night

On a dark, stormy night in the 1930s, a diverse group gathers at the isolated Cavinder estate to hear the will. The guests include Burling Famish Jr., Pristy, Teak Armbruster, Jack Tugdon, Lord Partfine, Mrs. Hausenstout, Seyton Ethelquake, Sabasha Fanmoore, Faraday and Tuesday, cab driver Happy Codburn, psychic Mrs Cupcupboard, and Ray Vestinhaus. The mood is tense as everyone senses that danger might intrude the proceedings.

The guests note that Sabasha has received death threats, a serial killer called the Cavinder Strangler is still in the area, and the 300 year old ghost of Sarah Cavinder is said to return that night. The sense of menace colors the evening even before the reading begins. Some guests wonder if the will and its gifts will bring more danger than fortune.

Farper Twyly reads the will, marking Sabasha as the main beneficiary with a contingency that Burling inherits after Sabasha's death. An amended letter is said to exist, but it has been stolen and Twyly asserts that he alone knows its contents. The existence of the letter hints at a hidden motive among the heirs.

Just as the reading progresses, the lights are turned off and when they return, Twyly lies dead from a stab wound. Panic erupts as the group realizes a murderer is among them and that the missing letter has become even more suspect. The death marks the first violent turn in the night.

Ray explains that the only bridge back to town has collapsed, trapping everyone at the estate. Faraday and Tuesday propose waiting until morning for the police to arrive, hoping the killer cannot act while daylight is near. The group consolidates around the fear of being stranded with a killer in their midst.

At the stroke of midnight, Pristy is strangled by a masked killer. The sudden death confirms that danger is not a rumor but a reality within the house. The remaining guests scramble to search for clues and secure themselves.

Dr. Van Vandervon announces that he is tracking an escaped lunatic who may be in the house. Mrs Cupcupboard prepares a seance to contact spirits, but the apparition offers little help. The trio of medical, spiritual, and forensic efforts adds to the layered mystery.

The seance yields no true information and the mood remains unsettled. A police inspector arrives to investigate the string of events, but he is promptly killed, escalating the crisis. The night grows more dangerous as the true killer remains at large.

Over the course of the night, Jack Tugdon, Teak Armbruster, Seyton Ethelquake, Dr. Von Vandervon, and Archie the cook are murdered. The group fractures into fear and suspicion as more bodies appear. The killer seems to be moving with calculated efficiency.

Happy discovers a woman locked in an attic room. Jane explains that the captive is Thessaly, the fiery daughter of Sinas Cavinder, which reframes the night as a battle over inheritance. The discovery raises new questions about who is who and who can be trusted.

Jane confirms the letter contents show Thessaly as inheritor instead of Sabasha. Faraday and Tuesday realize that the real Sabasha is dead and that the woman posing as Sabasha is actually the lunatic escaped by Dr. Van Vandervon. The will now seems to hinge on a double deception.

Faraday and Tuesday deduce that Burling and Sabasha joined forces to knock off their rivals for the inheritance. The plan collapses when the true state of the masquerade is uncovered: Thessaly is the rightful heir, not Sabasha. The house becomes a chessboard of deception.

Burling tries to threaten others but is electrocuted accidentally when confronted by Thessaly. The death eliminates one of the conspirators and shifts the power balance in the house. The room fills with a mix of relief and renewed alarm.

Ray reveals he is Bax Tremblay, an undercover police investigator. The group confronts the woman posing as Sabasha, who strangles herself rather than be captured. The mystery closes in on the remaining suspects, leaving Thessaly poised to inherit.

In the morning, Thessaly takes possession of the estate. Faraday proposes to Tuesday and they plan to share their newspaper scoop. Happy drives them away, having earned his fee for services rendered as the sun rises on a changed fortune.