Why did Andrew go up to his room?

[camgarsky4]

AJB was found dead with keys and money on his person. His 'going outside' coat was found under his head. Nothing found in his safe was deemed relevant to the case. No one reported finding a white parcel in his sleeping quarters.

Why did Andrew go up to his bedroom after a brief chat with Lizzie and before coming down to read/rest in the sitting room?

We can't answer this question definitively, but I bet we can work thru the scenarios and come up with some strong probabilities.

[Inspector]

I would start with using the slops, after that. all I can say is, that’s a great question.

[Lorcan]

Hmm, I would guess he'd go to the basement to use the flush toilet, rather than going upstairs for a slop pail, so what's upstairs?

Possibilities I see:
1. Get something from his desk?
2. Put something away?
3. Check to see if Abby left some item or some message privately for him?
4. Verify Abby wasn't upstairs if Lizzie didn't explicitly say she is out, but rather I think she went out?

Best Guesses
1. I think he brought the old lock home so he could test it against a large key ring he didn't always carry with him and remove the unneeded key.
2. I think the roll of paper burnt to ashes might have been a will or deed or some other legal paperwork.
3. I think Lizzie had time to go upstairs, use his key, and take anything from his room that she wanted to. That would be potentially risky since she could get caught in the stairwell by Bridget (and risky for Bridget if Lizzie had the hatchet and saw no way out).

Imagine the tension going up those stairs, if that's what happened.

[camgarsky4]

He knew Morse would be showing up shortly for mid-day meal. So despite still being under the weather, that ensured that he did come back down vs. rest in his bed. Perhaps there was a specific piece of clothing he wanted to change before Morse arrived.

I googled Congress shoes...they seemed to have been for social events, not walking. It seems plausible that Andrew changed out of 'boots' into the congress shoes. Of course that would bring us back to Lizzie's claim that she helped take off his shoes once he laid on the sofa.

I also like the idea that he was double checking their bedroom for Abby.

There was no mention by a witness that Andrew got his hands on a document while going for his walk. I don't recall if anyone said he went into his own office or private area where a piece of paper might have gotten into his possession. Deeds, wills and titles are local transactional items, so can't imagine any of that paperwork came from the post office. I can't imagine even someone highly self-absorbed would murder over a property transaction, but a WILL that dramatically altered the future financial landscape is a much different story.

I enjoy that photo. Not seen a good photo looking up the stairs towards the second floor landing.

[Lorcan]

Here's the rest of the set to cover the whole journey from the screen door to Bridget's room. It was very sunny and the house was calm and inviting. I'll post a couple of photos of the atmosphere at night with the lighting the current owners use. Not sure what lamp light would have been like back then.

[Lorcan]

This is just a bit off topic, but since I mentioned it here, I'll post it here in case the Improv thread gets hard to find someday. These were taken when I was alone in the house after dinner before the other guests arrived and the ghost tour guide hadn't yet arrived. Very atmospheric.

[Inspector]

I like the picture looking down the back stairs.
Looks like they kept the original wainscoting wall. That’s good they did.

[camgarsky4]

Lorcan, taking your lead on the Will....what if Andrew went up to the safe to get the draft of his will with the intention to get Morse's opinion? He seemed to tell blabbermouth Morse about his personal financial matters.

[Lorcan]

I was looking into if a roll of paper that size would be consistent with a will, deed, or something else and I wasn't able to get a solid answer, but if anyone knows more or would like to investigate legal document sizes in that era for that level of property / wealth, we might be able to get some useful insight. The testimony reads:

The testimony is from Philip Harrington, Trial Vol. I, pp. 567-568:
Q. Now then, did you observe anything as he lifted the lid from the stove?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Go on and state what you did and what you observed.
A. I noticed the fire box. The fire was very near extinguished. On the south end there was a small fire which I judged was a coal fire. The embers were about dying. It was about as large as the palm of my hand. There had been some paper burned in there before, which was rolled up and still held a cylindrical form.
Q. Now will you describe that roll of burned paper by measuring it with your hands, please?
A. Well, I should say it was about that long. (Indicating) Twelve inches, I should say.
Q. And how large in diameter?
A. Well, not over two inches.


On cross-examination, the same point appears again at Trial Vol. I, p. 583:
Q. And upon some embers of burnt paper?
A. No, sir, it went down between that burnt paper and the front part of the fire-box.
Q. That is, this lay a little to the back, and that was a piece of burnt paper?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Rolled up?
A. Completely carbonized.
Q. About a foot long?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And I think you said about an inch or two inches?
A. I thought about two.
Q. Lying there all charred and burned?
A. Yes, sir.