You are all suspects” we were advised upon entry onto the second floor of the Embassy Suites in Downtown Denver. Travis, our amiable host for the evening, greeted us at the elevator and assured us that we were in the right place. I knew I was attending some sort of staged crime caper, but I had no idea that I might be part of the show.
I signed up for a three-hour event entitled The Dinner Detective, A Noteworthy Crime and expected a few cocktails, a four-course dinner, and blood to be on someone’s hands, but I certainly didn’t expect them to be mine. I want to make it clear that in the end, I didn’t do it, however, some patrons suggested otherwise.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. This is a nationwide organization with more than 80 locations, so it’s a pretty smooth operation.
Travis instructed us all to fill out a name tag with any name other than our own, preferably something catchy and unique. This name would become our pseudonym for the evening, and I chose SpongeBob SquarePants. I was delighted with my choice until I saw another SpongeBob mixing among the guests. So much for being unique.
I must advise that there is very little I can divulge regarding the three hours spent at the crime scene. I can share what transpired on a very surface level, but that is all. Since this is a mystery and the production is being solved with an ongoing performance schedule, I am not at liberty to reveal the actual storyline or the identity of the actors who were part of the performance. Just know that there were actors posing as paying guests scattered among us to broaden the scope of the evening and to keep the action moving.
We started with a cocktail hour lasting about 45 minutes. This gave us a chance to mingle with the other paying guests and with the actors posing as guests, and to begin the process of collecting clues to what was sure to be some sort of forthcoming murder.
As the dinner hour approached, we were ushered into the large dining area to our pre-assigned table shared with nine other participants. For the next 2+ hours, we were treated to a fast-paced murder mystery that started with a piercing scream and a bloodied man stabbed in the chest. Two detectives were conveniently nearby and were brought in to help solve the murder. We began to observe that there was a myriad of clues scattered about the dining room —including one hidden under my seat. Thus began my perceived guilt as the actual killer in the murder we just witnessed.
The evening was quick-paced and extremely interactive. The detectives questioned the guests at every conceivable turn and worked the crowd into a clue-seeking frenzy. As this was going on, we enjoyed our four-course dinner all the while trying to identify those guests who might be part of the acting company and therefore potential suspects.
Improvisation was a big part of the evening. For the actors, it is impossible to know what a paying guest might say, and they needed to be quick on their feet with an appropriate response. Each of the actors, especially the detectives, was adept at improvisation and adroitly moved the storyline along without ever stepping out of character.
Toward the end of the evening, we were given 10 minutes to collect our thoughts and submit in writing whom we believed to be the killer. And to make the pot sweeter, it was announced that the person who named the real killer would receive a gift for their correct guesswork as to the guilty party. In the final moments, the detectives put all the clues together and announced the real killer. I did guess the correct killer, however, was overlooked for the prize.
Obviously, the killer wasn’t me, but as I got in the elevator, I was greeted by a group of women who said they had submitted my name as the real killer. I guess I must have had a guilty look on my face. The Dinner Detective, A Noteworthy Crime was an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday night — even if I didn’t commit the murder and didn’t win the prize.
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