A Man Lay Dead Trivia Quiz

Answer: A Russian dagger

Charles explains that he acquired the dagger from a man he met in Switzerland as a token of gratitude for having saved the man's life. Charles claims he does not know the man, and never saw him again. Doctor Tokareff, a Russian guest at the party, is horrified to learn that Charles is now the owner of the dagger.

The dagger belonged to a vague Russian brotherhood and could only be possessed by a member, which Charles is not.

Answer: Marjorie Wilde

Nigel knew his cousin was always a womanizer but he did not realize just to what extent until he eavesdropped on Charles and Marjorie Wilde, whose husband Arthur was also in attendance. It is unclear what the specific nature of the relationship is between Charles and Mrs. Wilde, but Nigel is embarrassed by it.

Answer: Arthur Wilde

Sir Hubert is well known for his elaborate murder party games in which one guest is selected to be the murderer. The "murderer" has a certain amount of time to "kill" another guest by whispering into his or her ear, "You're the victim" before turning off the main fuse and banging a gong. Once the gong sounds, everyone else must remain in place for two minutes to allow the "murderer" to create an alibi. Then, everyone will gather in the living room for a trial to determine who the murderer is.

Vassily selects Arthur Wilde as the murderer. Wilde admits this to Alleyn after the murder occurs, which surprises Alleyn since he thought no one was going to admit to it.

Answer: In the back

Charles was stabbed by an unknown assailant through the back with the Russian dagger he had recently acquired. Alleyn is particularly intrigued by this fact, as it suggests to him that his killer was using the murder game to secretly move about the mansion and get close to Charles.

Answer: Sir Hubert

When Charles revealed his Russian dagger to the house party, Sir Hubert was in awe. He was a collector of Russian antiques and other items, and wanted the dagger for his collection. As sort of a joke, Charles wrote up a will on the spur of the moment leaving the dagger to Sir Hubert in the event of his passing. Nigel inherits the bulk of the estate.

After Charles is murdered, Sir Hubert still insists he wants the dagger, even though it is the murder weapon.

Answer: Alleyn knows Wilde is trying to protect his wife.

After the murder, Mrs. Wilde breaks down in tears and refuses to leave her room. Wilde decides to confess to Alleyn that he is the murderer; however, Alleyn rejects this because he believes Wilde is trying to end his wife's prolonged suffering. Mrs. Wilde feared exposure of having a fling with Rankin and the many debts she accrued, and was further afraid of being suspected in the murder.

It didn't help Wilde that he was not particularly convincing while confessing and Alleyn easily saw right through it.

Answer: A button

Alleyn and his team find a small button in the fireplace grating. The button belongs to one of Mrs. Wilde's gloves, but she can only produce one glove, saying the other has long been missing. Alleyn suspects the killer wore one of the gloves to commit the murder and then burnt it in the fireplace when no one was watching.

Answer: Slid down the banister

Since everyone except Charles had retired upstairs in pairs to protect themselves from being the victim in the murder game, the killer had to, at some point, returned downstairs. However, several members of the house staff reported seeing Charles alive and alone shortly before his body was discovered. In addition, the staff can also provide alibis for the other guests for most of the time before the lights went out.

The only conceivable way anyone could have stabbed Charles quickly within the time frame was if they slid down the long banister. Alleyn soon learns that many members of the house party have previously participating in sliding races down the same banister.

Answer: Arthur Wilde

Arthur Wilde was allegedly in the bathtub when the murder happened. Nigel provided Wilde with his alibi as he was talking to Wilde through the door of their shared bathroom. In reality, Wilde simply turned the tub on, splashed the water a bit and ran out when Nigel was talking.

He slid down the banister, stabbed Charles and returned to the bathtub in under a minute, with Nigel believing he was there the entire time.

Answer: All of these things

Marjorie Wilde accrued a large amount of debt which would be taken care of by the small inheritance Arthur would receive upon Charles' death. The inheritance was overlooked because it was a small amount of money compared to the valuables Charles left others, and the bulk of the estate went to Nigel.

In addition, Arthur had long hated Charles, stemming from Charles's poor treatment of him that culminated when the victim pantsed Arthur in front of the whole house party. Arthur was also jealous of Charles, since Rosamund told him Marjorie was potentially having an affair with Rankin.