Edmund's personal wine glass, etched “E.H.”
Residue of a plant alkaloid. Exact identification pending.
Case file · HR-1017 · Confidential
The Case File
Everything the Sheriff's Office has established. The gaps are yours to fill.
The victim
Edmund Hale, 64
Founder of Hale Ridge Vineyards (est. 1987). Widower; his wife Margaret died four years ago. One daughter, Clara. Co-owner, with Julian Marsh, of the Hale & Marsh wine partnership.
Known habit. Every year during the gala, Edmund went down alone to the cellar to taste a decanter of the 1987 Reserve, his first vintage, before leading the midnight toast.
The scene
The private cellar
The tasting cellar lies beneath the east wing of the main house. It can be reached two ways: by the inside stairs from the main hall, or by the garden door on the east side, which opens onto stone steps up to the old east garden.
Edmund was found on the floor beside the tasting table by his daughter Clara at 11:40 PM. Dr. Nadia Reyes, a guest and physician, pronounced him dead at 11:45 PM. Deputies arrived at 12:20 AM.
Evidence log
What was collected
Crystal decanter, 1987 Hale Ridge Reserve, ⅓ full
Clean. No toxins detected.
Cheese plate on the tasting table
Untouched. Clean.
Fine grey ash on the cellar floor, near the tasting table
Collected. Analysis pending.
Cellar garden door
Found bolted from the inside at 12:20 AM. No forced entry.
East garden flower bed, outside the garden door
Soil disturbed; several plants pulled up by the roots. Date unknown.
Printed gala program
Recovered from the ballroom. Reproduced below.
Exhibit E-7
The gala program
Hale Ridge Harvest Gala
7:00 PM · Reception on the south terrace
8:00 PM · Dinner in the ballroom
10:05 PM · Remarks from Edmund Hale
10:20 PM · Dancing
10:30 PM · Fireworks over the vines
12:00 AM · Midnight toast with the 1987 Reserve
Established timeline
What we know for sure
- Guests arrive. About 60 attend.
- Dinner. Edmund sits with his daughter Clara, partner Julian Marsh, Dr. Nadia Reyes and two wine buyers.
- Several guests report raised voices from the library: Edmund and his daughter.
- Edmund gives his remarks in the ballroom, until about 10:20.
- Guests see Edmund leave the ballroom toward the cellar stairs.
- Clara Hale finds her father in the cellar.
- Dr. Reyes pronounces death.
- Deputies arrive.
Gaps in this timeline are yours to fill, Detective.
Exhibit M-1
Map of the estate
People of interest