Name | Connections | Curiosities |
|---|---|---|
Paul Notti (secretary, deceased) | - Secretary to Beechcraft, whom he disliked - Friendly with Julia and (once) Alastair Dunlap, the disgraced engineer - Once-and-again beau of Mrs. Darling. Aware of her history with Beechcraft - Often traveled with Beechcraft, familiar with the ship - Likely member of the conspiracy headed by Julia. (Why else would she and Mrs. Hampton come to see him?) | - Best access to a sleeping Beechcraft - Removed the article about Mrs. Darling and his hometown from the crime scene - Tried to prevent Mrs. Darling from joining the trip. (Because he knew Julia’s plan? Because he intended to kill Beechcraft?) - Apparently committed suicide with drugs/poison - His suicide note (“I’m sorry") is odd, the brief phrase jotted on a torn scrap of paper |
Mrs. Darling (professional lady’s companion and chaperone) | - Beechcraft ruined her husband and her financial prospects, seizing her home in the process - Notti’s sweetheart - Either not connected to Mrs. Hampton (whom she accepted as Mrs. Jones) or a talented actor | - Lied about her relationship with Mr. Notti - Implicated by all physical evidence found - But reason to suspect objects were planted - Beechcraft knew of a youthful indiscretion (What?) - Mystery over job offer (Who proposed her for the position of chaperone? Who at Beechcraft Enterprises made the offer?) |
Julia Beechcraft (inventor and heiress, disguised as the seasick Miss Turner) | - Estranged daughter of Julius Beechcraft - Friendly with Notti, Mrs. Hampton, and the Blacks. Aware of their grudges against her father - A former protégé of Dunlap. Contacted Miro about giving him a job - Enlisted Dr. Chakraborty to help hide her presence | - Concealed her presence aboard the airship to execute a mysterious plan against Beechcraft - Presumed heir to her father, benefits from his death - Identified by Dunlap as a potential author of the anonymous note to Ulysses Aitkin - Found Notti and his suicide note. Claims to believe he did not kill her father |
Margaret Hampton (former actress, disguised as the American Mrs. Jones) | - Lost her daughter in the Rosefield tragedy and blames Beechcraft - Old friend of Hugo and Marie Black - Conspired with Julia et al. - Slight connection to the reporter Aitkin, a friend of her daughter’s beau (Thomas Jones, also dead at Rosefield) | - Disguised herself as an American widow to hide her identity from Beechcraft - Admits to wanting Beechcraft dead at one point - Found Notti and his suicide note. Claims to believe he did kill Beechcraft |
Hugo and Marie Black (circus performers) | - Beechcraft was once their patron, but that relationship ended poorly (Marie was injured) - Old friends of Margaret Hampton and Julia Part of Julia’s strange conspiracy | - Hugo was one of those who searched Beechcraft’s room the night after his death - Hugo attacked with ether. (Why? Why was he present? Why did he have ether? Why did he attack?) |
Alastair Dunlap (inventor, chief engineer of the Aerial Express) | - Blamed for the Rosefield disaster when employed by Beechcraft - Mentored Julia, who found him a job after his disgrace - Interviewed by Aitkin - Now serves as head engineer on the Aerial Express under Miro | - Placed aboard the Aerial Express by Julia — for his sake or as part of the plan? - Suggested (by Aitkin) as the source of his anonymous invitation (but claims otherwise) - Fired (again) by Beechcraft before his death. (Second-hand firing. Did Miro pass along the bad news before the murder?) |
Captain Miro (Captain of the Aerial Express) | - Captain of Beechcraft flagship - Contacted by Julia to find a position for Dunlap | - Fired by Beechcraft immediately prior to the man’s death - Told of Mrs. Darling’s past and the knife in her room (By whom?) - General access to all areas of the ship |
Dr. Chakraborty (the shipboard doctor) | - Onetime family doctor to the Beechcrafts - Now a member of the ship’s crew, connected to above members - Helped Julia Beechcraft conceal her presence aboard | - In how much of the scheme did he participate? Only Julia’s need to travel incognito or more? |
Ulysses Aitkin (writer) | - Covered Beechcraft’s extensive misdeeds in print - Interviewed Dunlap - Slight connection to Mrs. Hampton (see above) | - Says he received an anonymous note and ticket for this voyage - Has both personal and ideological reasons to hate Beechcraft - Lost his friend Thomas Jones at Rosefield |
Baron Hoffman (German nobleman) | - Blackmailed by Beechcraft over his sexual preferences. Forced into an exploitative business relationship - Invited aboard by Beechcraft to discuss business - Either not connected to Mrs. Hampton (whom he accepted as Mrs. Jones) or a talented actor | - Finances poor, sharpening his antagonism toward Beechcraft - Had an excellent motive for murder |
Reimund Fitzwilliam (nuisance) | - Baron Hoffman’s cousin | - Hated Beechcraft for his crimes against Hoffman |