“The knife belongs to me.”

The inspector turned from looking at the knife in the victim’s chest to see a tall man dressed in coat and tails. He even had a top hat and cane. Like he had just stepped out of a movie scene gala. He had a strange accent that the inspector could not place.

“And you would be?”

“My name is unimportant. Just know that the heirloom in that man’s chest is mine, but I did not kill him.”

The inspector grimaced. He was not sure what to think. The man in the tails had changed his accent.

Suddenly, laughter erupted in the room. The inspector was furious. “This is the scene of a murder! Nobody should be laughing.”

Suddenly, the body started to move. The dead victim was giggling.

The inspector lowered his head into his hand. He started to chuckle too.

A voice came from the distance. “Cut!” More chuckling could be heard.

The director came on the set. He tried to look furious, but the inspector knew better.

The director looked directly at the actor in tails, who had taken his hat off and was holding it in his hands. He was looking at the floor between them instead of meeting the director’s gaze. Then he looked up with puppy dog eyes. “Please sir, may I have another chance?”

The inspector chuckled at the third accent. He thought, “Charles Dickens would have been proud.”

The director threw up his hands and left the set. “That’s the last time I hire an actor who can do every accent, but can’t decide on one in one particular scene.”

The inspector and the dead victim shared a knowing look and another chuckle.