The Dagger in the Garden
A short story written by Matt Gardner with PlotWeaver: Cards of Creation, a storytelling game made by Mod Hob Cooperative.
This story uses an Inverted Plot Pattern, written in 15-minute timed acts with all story cards drawn at random. For more information, visit www.plotweavergame.com
Act 1: Immediate Conflict or Crisis
(Story Element Cards: The Achiever, Backyard Retreat, Internal Struggle, and Mystery)
The body was found seated in the backyard swing.
Inspector Morris North was the first to arrive, and much too early, as usual.
The garden was peaceful: the gentle water feature trickling, the autumn leaves scattered across the stones, the swing creaking lightly in the breeze. It looked less like a crime scene and more like a sanctuary.
North scanned the space. No signs of a struggle. The victim looked… serene. Resting. Almost asleep.
He knew he should wait for the rest of the team; protocol demanded it. But protocol had never been his way. He liked to see crime scenes before anyone disturbed the original tableau, “as the murderer intended,” he always said.
But something about this one felt wrong.
No blood. No torn clothing. No bruising. No drag marks.
The earphones were still in, playing a self-help audiobook.
Her posture looked peaceful, intentional even.
She was young for a heart attack. Mid-forties, healthy, well-dressed. Her name: Dr. Fionna Noah, a professor of Gender Studies who had reported multiple death threats from local men’s groups. Still… this didn’t look like a murder.
North crouched beside the body, an uneasy wave rolling through his chest.
How could a crime scene feel this calm?
He fought the rising emotion. The peaceful posture reminded him painfully of his late wife, gone from a heart attack less than a year ago.
He blinked hard, trying to steady himself.
He used a stick to push aside some bushes, looking for footprints or clues he didn’t even know to expect.
Something was off. Something internal, inside him.
He swallowed.
Maybe she died peacefully, he thought.
But he felt wrong. Clouded. Uncertain.
