Murdoch Mysteries

Ladies and gentlemen, the future has arrived.

No more ironing shirts on your kitchen table.

With the automatic ironing board,

convenience comes with the push of a button.

Automation is the future, my friends.

Not one, not two, but five cups of coffee

in the great coffee distillation machine.

Ladies and gentlemen, how many hours have you wasted

making you house a home?

With the paint dispenser,

you can cut your home improvement in half the time.

No need to say, "Pass the gravy."

With the tabletop waiter,

a flick of the wrist brings the gravy to you.

Ladies, after a hard day cleaning house,

there is nothing you'll enjoy more

than the vibrating chair.

Why stand up to turn on the lights?

With the wireless switch, you can turn them on or off

from the comfort of your very own chair.

It is a computer

in that it will perform mathematical calculations.

However, its architecture lends itself

to even more complex computations.

Oh, is this a miniature version

of Babbage's analytic engine?

Well, the basic idea was borrowed from Babbage, yes.

However, by using Swiss gears,

I've constructed a computer four times as powerful

in 1/40 the volume.

Oh, that must have been very time-consuming.

Yes, it was, but it's my belief that in the future,

the machine will be assembled by automatons

who are themselves operated by a device such as this.

Oh, thank you.

Mm-hmm.

This is the device for you.

Excuse me.

What is instant mail?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Ladies and gentlemen,

gather around while I demonstrate to you

what will surely be the most amazing device

that you will see all summer.

Has your child been smoking?

Has your wife been unfaithful?

Find out with the Truthizer.

Now, this gentleman has kindly volunteered to participate

in a demonstration.

Sir, do you believe your wife here

to be too fat?

Um, no.

Behold.

Clearly, that answer was less than truthful.

George.

Sir, what are you doing here?

I know what you are going to say.

Before you say it, sir, I think that your invention

simply must see the light of day.

They are not inventions, George.

They are simply reworkings of existing technology.

Well, be that as it may, sir, there are many investors here,

and some have shown some real interest.

In fact, I think the Truthizer might win the Eaton Prize.

- The Eaton Prize? - Yes, sir.

The winner has their product manufactured and sold

at all the Eaton stores.

It's very prestigious.

Nevertheless, George-

- Well, and, sir, also, there is someone here

that you are going to want to meet.

Who?

Alexander Graham Bell.

Alexander Graham Bell is here?

He is an inventor, sir.

His name wasn't on the list.

He was a last-minute addition.

Shall I show you where his booth is?

No, no, George, not now.

I'm here to meet Karl Schreyer.

He left a message at the station to meet here.

Oh, yes, Karl Schreyer.

He invented the suction cleaner.

The days of beating carpets are over.

With the suction cleaner,

dust and dirt and sucked into a special canister.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

Mr. Schreyer.

Detective Murdoch, at last we meet.

How is it you know me?

An inventor always notices the work of another.

Clearly a mind such as yours is up to the challenge

of determining who sent this.

I found it on my table this morning.

I believe it to be the work of one of my jealous competitors.

My invention is clearly going to win the Eaton Prize.

I see.

Ladies and gentlemen,

may I present Timothy Eaton?

Thank you. Thank you.

It is my pleasure each year to announce the winner

of the Eaton Prize for the most

commercially promising invention.

This year, the award goes to

the suction cleaner.

That's me.

Mr. Schreyer, under the circumstances,

I would advise you not to go up on that stage.

No, I have worked for years for this moment.

I'm not going to be intimidated.

- Congratulations. - Thank you.

Did you hear that?

That was a dog whistle.

Human ears are not capable of detecting such a pitch,

but that doesn't mean the sound isn't there.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have long felt like the sound of that whistle,

reverberating alone in the silence of ignorance.

Now, at long last, my genius has been heard.

Seal the exits, George.

This man has been murdered.

There was no gunshot?

None that was heard, sir.

Obviously, something penetrated his skull.

As to how...

Must have been someone who used one of those mufflers

that silences the gunshot.

How could someone use such a weapon without being seen?

Could the shooter have escaped?

The exits were sealed immediately.

The killer is still in the building.

We need to interview everyone, where they were,

who they were standing with.

Yes, George is doing that now.

Sir, is your tooth sore again?

A little bit.

Perhaps you should see a dentist.

One of those medieval torturers?

I'd rather face the Inquisition.

Carry on, Murdoch.

Do you have anything for me yet, Doctor?

Well, this is strictly preliminary, of course,

but I would hazard a guess that the victim died

of a gunshot to the head.

Anything beyond the obvious?

The bullet didn't exit,

suggesting low muzzle velocity.

His eyes appear jaundiced.

I'm not sure why.

I suppose it's premature to speculate

on the angle of entry.

The wound seems perfectly circular,

suggesting perpendicular entry.

Which means the shot would have come from above.

I think you would have noticed

someone hanging from the rafters.

True.

With your permission, Detective,

I'd like to remove the body from the scene.

Yes, of course.

Thank you, Doctor.

Terrible thing that's happened.

Alexander Graham Bell.

Mm, yes.

Detective Murdoch, I presume.

Yes.

Yes, I recognize you from your photograph at your booth.

Please.

Actually, it's not my booth.

My constable took some liberties with-

- I was particularly impressed with your apparatus

for using sound reflection

to visualize subsurface marine environments.

It's fascinating.

- Really? - Mm-hmm.

I'd like to talk with you more about it at some point.

Oh, after you've completed your investigation, of course.

Of course.

Well, yes, certainly.

And the whistle that you have in your hand,

confiscate it if you must,

but I would like it back when you are finished with it.

What's so special about a dog whistle?

Oh, it has a pitching screw that enables one

to adjust the frequency, very useful for some experiments

I was hoping to conduct with Karl.

I see.

Were you and Mr. Schreyer friends?

Oh, not friends, no.

I don't think Karl was capable

of genuine friendship with anyone.

But we certainly weren't adversaries,

which makes me something of a rarity in this crowd.

Well, who were his adversaries, then?

I hated him.

I admit it freely.

Why is that, Mr. Nellie?

He ridiculed my tabletop waiter.

He told me that it was an invention