Colin Basco Murder at the Margin

Setting: Cinnamon Bay Plantation (Cinnamon Bay): site of an old sugar plantation, several hundred acres, landscaped grounds and gardens, hiking trails through dense natural foliage Characters: Professor Henry Spearman: Harvard professor of economics, likes to snorkel, short and balding, protagonist, bad at swimming, doesnt think much of Dyke Pidge Spearman: Wife of Henry Spearman, economic innocent, more sociable Matthew Dyke: theologian professor at Harvard, 6 7 Justice Curtis Foot: former senator from a Midwestern state, articulated opposition to the trend of more liberal civil rights legislation, clear dark eyes, dimpled chin, rugged good looks, good observation skills, 3rd deceased through head injury and thrown into sea pipe Virginia Pettingill Foote: petite woman whose feminine elegance belied her brilliance at conversation, petulant, not impressed by Curtis athletic prowess, criticizes her husband a lot Mrs. Felicia Doakes: reads at night, weak legs, has triskaidekaphobia (fear of number 13), sells and makes cookbooks, befriends Pidge General Hudson T. Decker: cousin of Mrs. Felicia Doakes, general not many people like, troublesome, too meticulous, gives everyone a hard time if things are not punctual and ordered, needs food exactly correct, 1st deceased through poisoning Duane: a server Vernon Harbley: a server Mr. Jay Pruitt: rebuked by Decker many times, tries to get back at Decker, Decker found dead one day in bus, wife killed-mysterious at time of nervous breakdown? Suicide of his first wife, very odd Pamella Pruitt: second bride of Mr. Pruitt Admiral Templeton: headed project to learn how the barracuda moves Ricky LeMans: proud of his band and reputation (Raiders band), young black, skillful musician, published Raider newspaper, resents whites Rodney Dalton: Man from Harvard music department Doug Clark: neatly cropped hair, not very sociable, likes to snorkel and dance, doctor, very young, killer of Decker Judy Clark: very sociable, likes to dance, very young (33) Detective Franklin Vincent: police detective, thin and balding police officer Inspector Aberfield: inspector who Vincent tries to conform to Walter Wyatt: the manager of the Cinnamon Bay Plantation Sergeant Milan Queller: police officer who lets Vincent take one of his jeeps Mamie LeMans: mother of Ricky, makes good peanut soup Laura Burk: athletic woman, only young unescorted female guest in hotel, wants to be left alone, prefers company of older men, likes hiking and snorkeling Captain Arvel Blaylock: favorite with guests, skippers a boat which takes passengers places Mr. and Mrs. Johnston: presumed honeymooners on boat led by Blaylock Daryl Clark (alias Bethuel Fitzhugh): gruff fellow who argues about prices; stingy, thought to be dead by drowning but all a ruse, killer of Foote, mad at Decker because he made bad decision which killed his brother Mrs. Monfrey: businesslike women who works at the hotel Dr. Dietrich Odendorf: boss of Burk Mr. Osborne: person who gets a spinnaker stolen from his boat Harold and Cynthia Mullens: couple who are eager for information and gossip

Economic Terms: Economics: The study of man in the ordinary business of life Alfred Marshall

Colin Basco Murder at the Margin

Law of Demand the lower the price, the greater the quantity consumed Think at the Margin think at the margins Occupancy rate afraid to come because of racial disturbances Profit Maximization: maximize your profits Interdependent utility functions: the pleasure you get from some activities is dependent upon the happiness of another Arbitrage: buying merchandise somewhere cheaper and then selling them in mass production for a higher price to gain a big profit Says Law: a penny saved is a penny spent; supply creates its own demand TANSTAAFL (There aint no such thing as a free lunch): nothing is free; everything has a cost whether it may be a transaction cost, an opportunity cost, or a monetary cost Simple and obvious system of natural liberty: every item is matched with someone who wants it Demand and Supply moving towards Equilibrium: prices reach the equilibrium price Incentives: a strong motivating factor; lifeblood of the economic industry Theory of Capital: a person will do what will maximize their utility greater than something else Monopolistic Pricing: putting a high price on something that no one can compete with Murderers Doug Clark + Judy Clark: responsible for the murder of General Hudson T. Decker Daryl Clark: responsible for the murder of Justice Curtis Foot