Once everyone seemed certain they knew who the killer was, patrons submitted their accusatory ballots in hopes they would guess the killer correctly. Surprisingly, of the crowded bar of participants, only two had guessed right.
Co-owner of the Dive Bar and man-in-charge of the night's festivities, Cody Cole, appropriately played the cop investigating the murder. He concluded that it was the lifeguard who killed the bartender because he had been blackmailing him.
Linking the handwriting on the bartender's tattoo to the handwriting on the threatening napkin note (the tattoo artist vouched it was an original design in the bartender's script), it was determined that the bartender had been blackmailing the lifeguard because he wasn't on duty to rescue the drowning movie star. The lifeguard was drunk after having purchased too many drinks at the bar (his hefty bar receipt was used as evidence) which the bartender knew and jumped in the water himself to save the flailing celebrity.
With a $500 prize, the winners split their winnings like a lottery ticket. One of the winners, upon receiving his $250 in cash, held it to the light and darted almost immediately out of the bar before he could comment.
The other winner, Betty Camp, stuck around to celebrate. She claims it was the poison in the toxic margarita used to kill the bartender that led her to accuse the lifeguard of murder.
"Calcium hypochlorite is used to clean pools," Camp answers coolly. "Once I realized that, I knew it had to be the lifeguard because only he would have access to the pool cleaning chemicals."
With everyone deeming the night a success, Cody Cole announced at the end to expect another murder mystery night in the upcoming months as soon as he plots his next murder.
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