A Bitter Verdict

The courthouse was bustling as President Judge Filmore presided over the morning’s case. His usual coffee sat steaming as he took his seat at the bench. He took a sip. Minutes later, he clutched his throat, convulsed, and collapsed, dead. Poisoned.

The investigation revealed a tangled web of betrayal, blackmail, and revenge.

One Year Ago:

President Judge Filmore, married to Carla Filmore, began an affair with Gladys Stratton, the wife of Judge Leonard Stratton.

Two Months Ago:

Gladys hired Attorney Rex Donovan to represent her in the divorce. Judge Stratton found out and was beyond devastated, teetering on the edge of insanity.

Eight Days Ago – Meet the Judges Night:

Filmore confronted Attorney Donovan, having somehow learned that he was representing Gladys. Fearing his wife Carla would find out about the affair, he threatened to have Donovan disbarred if he didn’t drop the case.

Seven Days Ago:

Filmore’s clerk, Elliott Dunmore, discovered a letter his boss had written to his wife about the affair. Disgusted, Dunmore confronted him, but that did nothing except cause Filmore to threaten Dunmore’s job.

Five Days Ago (Morning):

A furious Dunmore stormed into the courthouse kitchen and blurted to Judge Weston that Filmore was having an affair. He then announced he was about to inform the husband of Filmore’s lover and swiftly scuttled away.

Five Days Ago (Later):

Dunmore followed through, revealing Gladys’s lover to Judge Stratton. Infuriated and utterly broken, Stratton finally knew the truth. Dunmore added that he was also furious with his boss and that he planned to quit.

Five Days Ago (Night):

Blinded by rage, Stratton stole his wife’s keys to the school where she worked, which she reported missing the next day.

Four Days Ago (Night):

Using the stolen keys, Stratton broke into the high school science lab, vandalized the room, and stole potassium cyanide.

Three Days Ago:

A newspaper article reported the break-in, though no one connected it to the impending murder.

This Morning – The Murder:

Judge Filmore was set to hand a case over to Judge Weston so he could attend his physical therapy appointment, but the heated moment with Attorney Donovan led him to instead cancel and remain in court.

That morning, Judge Weston, Attorneys Donovan and Winslow and Judge Stratton, and Clerk Elliott were all in and out of the President Judge’s chambers, each having access to his coffee mug. But it was Judge Stratton who seized the moment.

With careful precision, he added the stolen potassium cyanide to the coffee and, to divert suspicion, slipped the empty bottle into Elliott Dunmore’s desk drawer while Elliott had briefly stepped away. Then, he deliberately mentioned during questioning that Dunmore planned to quit that day.

Meanwhile, Attorney River Winslow was preoccupied with her Etsy shop, selling castor bean jewelry, and had nothing to do with the crime. Judge Weston’s bandaged hand was merely the result of a poison hemlock rash from an innocent bouquet her husband had picked.

Most people likely believed that the culprit was the most obvious one: Elliott Dunmore. But as the case unraveled, a deeper motive emerged: a scorned husband, betrayed and driven to madness, ensuring his revenge was served—one sip at a time.

In Judge Stratton’s shattered mind, justice had been delivered. But not by the law.