Deputy Dawg

The best ideas so often come from the most random of places.

In 2005 I was a succesful engineer, in charge of a team developing systems for a new helicopter. It was challenging work, but I faced a number of frustrations which frequently stopped it from being fun, and eventually decided it was time for my 20 year career to come to an end.

My headmaster (yep - I'm English, and we still have those - it's not just Hogwarts - Quidditch wasn't even offered as an option), had given much advice as the year ended, but the one that stuck with me was "When you start work, save 6 month's wages as soon as you can, because, if you hate it, you can leave and have half a year to find something you really want to do." I'd taken it to heart from the get go, and had saved up probably a year's worth of wages, so reckoned I had 12 months to find something that really made me feel worthwhile.

It was a weird time, divorcing myself from a routine that I had followed for nearly half of my life, whilst dipping my toes in various creative rivers to see if I liked the feel of it. Eventually, I lighted on something I felt I could both be good at and enjoy, which tickled both my creative and logical brains, but I completely failed to appreciate how one particular furry friend could become such a central part of this enterprise.

A theatre group I was involved with used to put on "Murder mystery dinners", where guests would be treated to a meal whilst surrounded by a motley crew of suspects who would act out a mystery during dinner. It was great fun, and the story was mostly scripted, although when interacting with the guests, you had to think on your toes and improvise suitable answers to their probing questions. I'd always been a voracious reader, but for some reason, the works of Agatha Christie had largely passed me by, but during this phase, I began to read more crime fiction to help with developing plots and characters.

The events proved hugely popular, so much so, that often groups would approach us and ask for a "murder". The problem was, presenting such an event took a lot of time and preparation, with scripts to develop, learn and rehearse. When one request came in with a seemingly impossible timescale, I offered my services to develop a largely improvised plot where guests themselves could play suspects around a fixed framework. It proved successful, and suddenly, I had the idea for a business that would satisfy both my logical and artistic sides.

My murder mystery company was born in 2005, and it took a lot of trial and error to come up with the right formula, which eventually focused upon providing tailored plots for party guests to play roles. To help with writing the story, I would ask for information about the guests so that I could write characters that would suit their interests and chracteristics. Typically, I would ask for a name, approximate age, profession and any particular interests or quirks. Most groups would grasp the sort of thing that would be needed to come up with a suitable character, but on occasions, the descriptions would be accurate, but less helpful in inspiring a murder mystery suspect. A pretty frequent "defining feature" would be "Has a dog/cat/alpaca named XXX", which, to be honest doesn't really help much in determining what sort of character they should play. Nevertheless, I persisted, and wrote the pet into the story, where possible

On one occasion, a pet was listed as being present at the party - a James Bond inspired story set in Mexico - "License Tequila". I wrote them a role which essentially required them to come in with a coded message around their neck that would help unmask the killer. It went down a storm when Benji, an adorable corgi entered the room with a small vial in which was the coded message. He performed brilliantly, with no rehearsal, loved the attention, and was instrumental in bringing the killer to justice.

I have my own dog, a rescue spaniel named Lola, who is as laid-back and obedient as they come. Benji's moment of glory was an inspiration, and I then spent several weeks training Lola in the ways of the detective. Initially, she became skilled at pawing at a door and whining to indicate the possible presence of a corpse, which would then be discovered by the detective of the night, but she has subsequently become proficient at unmasking the murderer, thanks to some sleight-of-hand on my part by placing a particularly pungent smell on their clothing earlier in the evening.

Her presence always sets the room alight and her performance is usually pretty much spot on, and I don't begrudge the fact that, once the show is over, she is the one who gets most of the attention from the guests. I may write the story, but, she is always the star, deserving of all the love and praise she gets in return.

Theatre wisdom says you should never work with children or animals, but I wouldn't be without Lola and her love and insight. She is so much part of what makes our stories unique and special and everyone loves her.