Murder at The Four Deuces

The year was 1920 and Prohibition was in full effect. It was a time when mobsters ruled the streets of Chicago, brothels and speakeasies dominated the back alleyways, and people were willing to commit crimes in order to get ahead. Our story takes place on the eve of the grand opening of a new speakeasy called The Four Deuces. The Four Deuces is a lavish joint serving booze and music in the front. In the back, is the game room and upstairs is a very high class and exclusive brothel. In honor of the big celebration, Don Wannabe and his wife MeMe Wannabe invited the members of "The Family," headed by Don "Big Jim" Ravioli, as well as some of the "local talent," police officers, and politicians from the Chicago area to join them.

The distinguished guests included Don "Big Jim" Ravioli and his ex-wife Vicky Ravioli who apparently couldn't even wait until the Grand Opening before getting smashed. Once Big Jim was murdered a few minutes into the evening, he was reincarnated into US Congressman Darrin Toosteal, a politician with well-known ties to the Mob. (Carter and Annie decided to swap the traditional gender roles which gave Carter the "Best Costume" award for his super tight sparkly dress and lopsided boobs. Annie, at seven months pregnant, was stone cold sober despite this incriminating photograph. )

Inspector Neville "the Nose" Nutella was there to investigate a crime and just so happened to be having an affair with Big Jim's mother, Baroness Ravioli. (Nate thoroughly enjoyed playing a bossy, know-it-all detective, and who would have thought I would be so good at playing an overly dramatic, tipsy old woman who loved to laude her fortune over other? And apparently I was quite fond of the gentlemen as I had romantic ties to most of the men there. For my efforts I was awarded "Best Character Performance" as well as the "High Roller" award which means I ended up with the most money. Let's just say that I knew a lot of "secrets" and people were willing to pay me to keep those secrets from coming out.)

Don Wannabe and MeMe Wannabe were the official hosts for the evening. Not only were they the proud owners of the newest hottest club in town, but they also ran a high class brothel. Rumor has it, MeMe Wannabe was once a call girl herself but has since climbed further up the social ladder thanks to her mobster husband. (Brittany and Jason were the amazing hosts that threw this party together. Every year around Halloween they host a murder mystery dinner and, for once, we were able to attend. Brittany uttered the best line of the night, one which was completely laced with sexual innuendoes. In the seven years I have known her, I have never heard sweet little Brittany ever say anything like that. I laughed so hard I dumped half of my drink on Nate. Fortunately, that little episode fell right in line with my old drunk lady character and made us all laugh even harder.)

Rhett Bumbler was secretly engaged to Big Jim's daughter Rebecca. If the rumors are true, Big Jim would not under any circumstances let his little girl marry such a loser. Carrie Crooner-Ravioli was Big Jim's new and significantly younger wife. They had been married for two short weeks and in true diva fashion, Carrie was using her new husband's power and money to make a name for herself. (Cole and Cassie had a great time playing with their characters. Cassie, who is normally a little more reserved, really got into her diva role and had a couple of good spats with Annie, who played Big Jim's ex-wife. High quality entertainment if I do say so myself.)

Al Capone was just starting to make a name for himself in Chicago as a "bouncer," but we all know that job title had little to do with bouncing and more to do with breaking extremities as a hit man for the Mob. Rebecca Ravioli was the pride and joy of Big Jim and Vicki Ravioli. She was also the precious granddaughter of Baroness Ravioli, who once Big Jim was murdered, became joint heirs to his massive fortune. (Jason and Katie were relatively new to most of us. Once the evening wrapped up, all the girls started apologizing to each other saying, "I'm sorry I was such a snob. I was supposed to ignore you all night" and "I don't really think you are a prostitute. It just seemed like the most appropriate thing to say at the time.")

As it turns out Rebecca Ravioli murdered her father because once Big Jim learned about his daughter's engagement to the buffoon Rhett Bumbler, he was going to cut her out of his will. Upon learning this, Rebecca took action and murdered him before he had the chance. Once everyone had a chance to evaluate all the lies and sordid details of everyone being involved with everyone else, along with all their other illegal activities, there were only a couple of us who were able to glean enough information to correctly guess who the murderer was. These boys, with their fancy suits and stylish hats, spent more time trying to kill and bribe each other than they did trying to find the actual murderer.

It was a glamorous night filled with delicious food and thoroughly entertaining conversation. The Hoskings really out did themselves with the decorations and props which created the perfect backdrop for a speakeasy club in the 1920's. My personal favorite was the "martini glasses" filled with punch and "olives." Being the soused character, that cup never left my hand the entire night and was constantly being refilled. Needless to say, I sure needed to use the the restroom by the time we got home. It was a great night to officially kick off Halloween weekend.