Solved! The Twisted Case of the Terrible Twins
— From the Archives: A 1920s Article by Lanie Price —
Clara Parker, c. 1924
Dear Reader,
Earlier this year, on January 28, the Harlem Grand Theater was shaken by the tragic death of Clara Parker, a talented understudy to her twin sister, leading actress Josie Parker. Clara was found in their shared dressing room, felled by a blow to the head with a heavy candlestick.
Nearby, an ominous note addressed to Josie and signed "L.B." added a chilling layer of intrigue. Police strongly suspected that Josie Parker’s former lover and theater manager, Leroy Brown, meant to kill Josie but mistakenly killed Clara instead. However, investigators failed to develop evidence against him, letting the case grow cold and leaving the community in mourning.
The sisters’ beloved parrot, Smitty, apparently witnessed the crime. He was highly agitated and repeatedly screeched, “It’s over now! Over! Over! OVER!” This perplexing scene set the stage for a complex investigation.
The Path of Reasoning
To solve this mystery, I analyzed the crime scene clues and the statements provided by the key individuals. Here’s how this mystery was solved:
The Note:
Handwriting experts said Leroy Brown authored a threatening note left at the scene of the crime and signed with his initials, but Brown adamantly denied it and said he could tell the sisters apart.
The Bloodstain and Candlestick:
Clara’s body was found with a head wound inflicted by a candlestick. The lack of fingerprints on the candlestick suggested the killer was cool-headed enough to wipe it clean. Furthermore, the use of the candlestick indicated that the crime was not premeditated but spur-of-the-moment, the killer using whatever was at hand.
Smitty the Parrot:
The parrot’s repeated phrase hints at a deep personal grudge. Initially, police believed the words pointed to Marcus Tate. Tate admitted that Clara was very upset at his decision not to give her a major acting role in his new play. Police wondered whether his attempt to calm her had spiraled into a heated dispute, with him losing patience and striking out to silence her. But it was Josie’s decision to get rid of a pet she supposedly loved, ostensibly because it was a painful reminder of the murder, that drew my attention. That decision deserved deeper scrutiny.
Statements:
Manager Leroy “L.B.” Brown: His continual refusal to admit that he’d written the note kept him at the top of the suspect list. However, his claim that he could tell the sisters apart was supported by people who knew them. Police uncovered no motive for him to have attacked Clara. If he’d intended to Josie, he wouldn’t have killed Clara by mistake.
Director Marcus Tate: When re-interviewed, he admitted that Josie had threatened to tell his wife they'd had an affair if he cast Clara in his new play, making him so angry he wanted to throttle Josie. However, he expressed sorrow at Clara’s death and noted with relief that Josie had not threatened him again.
Clara's boyfriend Samuel “Sam” Jenkins: His violence against women, anger at Clara’s decision to leave him, apparent indifference to her death, and lack of an alibi made him a viable suspect. However, police found no evidence to link him to the crime.
Costume designer Beatrice Carter: She blamed her husband’s suicide on Josie and admitted to deeply resenting the actress, but claimed she’d only dreamed of harming her, not acting on it.
General Observers: Several people noted marked changes in Josie’s behavior. They said it showed how deeply Clara's death affected her. But I wondered whether she was hiding something.
Revealing the Culprit
Eventually, a disturbing pattern emerged. I knew who the killer was. Now, I had to prove it. After some reflection, I hit upon a scheme, reached for the phone, and contacted the person who had the most at stake — Leroy Brown.
Brown listened to what I had to say, then sighed with relief. He finally admitted to having written the incriminating note.
“I was Josie’s manager and I loved her, but she played me for a fool. She went behind my back and renegotiated her contract directly with the theater owner. She cut me out, set it up so she kept all the extra box office receipts for herself. All those years I spent building her up, and she threw me away like I was nothing. I was angry so I wrote that note. Yeah, I wanted to scare her. But I never actually meant to harm her or Clara. Someone else did that. They took advantage of the situation and used my note to frame me.”
Brown asked me not to publicize his admission until we were done. I agreed.
Next, I called John “Blackie” Blackwell, an NYPD homicide detective with whom I’ve built a professional relationship.
Brown visited the remaining Parker twin and told her he knew what she’d done — that she was the devil behind her sister’s death. He was willing to keep his silence, he said, but only for a price. He named it, knowing that she would never accept it, and he was right. She produced a gun, murder now her solution for everything, and raised the weapon to pull the trigger. No doubt, she would’ve if Blackie and his men hadn’t stepped in.
Confronted with the facts of her dark deeds and faced with a charge of attempted murder,
Clara Parker admitted to everything she’d done.
She described how, when she first entered the dressing room, Josie was reading Brown’s note. “She showed it to me, thought it was funny, and tossed it on her vanity.”
Clara then confronted Josie over the loss of the role. Josie’s reaction was more laughter and mockery. “She told me I was nothing, that I’d never make it as an actress, and was lucky to be her understudy. She said I should’ve been grateful she’d stopped Marcus from giving me that role, that she’d saved me from making a fool of myself.”
Clara’s long years of resentment and rage boiled over. She snatched up the first thing at hand—the candlestick—and struck Josie with it. “I didn’t mean to. She made me do it.”
To cover her tracks, Clara assumed Josie’s identity, hoping to live the life she felt entitled to. But Clara’s attempt to live as Josie was doomed from the beginning. It finally unraveled due to her inability to perfectly mimic her sister’s behavior and the compelling testimony of a small pet left behind.
Thank you, dear readers, for your keen observations and insightful contributions to solving this tragic mystery. Your engagement was invaluable in bringing clarity to a case that seemed insurmountable. Stay tuned for future mysteries and articles as we continue to uncover the hidden truths within our vibrant community.
Yours in pursuit of the truth,
Lanie Price
Society Reporter for The Harlem Chronicle
21 June 1925
(Note: This case is a work of fiction and the characters involved are wholly imaginary.)
