Druitt/Bluitt

[Jonathan Hainsworth]

No, I don't think so.

Since Macnaghten was so careful about the disguise what 'absented' really tells us is that they did not notice him absent several times. It's just a way of muddying the waters of Montie's single absence, his vanishing act, and that did not involve students.

But at least you have given a straight answer to a straight question.

You side with the theory that it was just a fortuitous accident that the Valentine graduates could not recognize their late Mr. Montague Druitt.

Remarkably fortuitous coincidence don't you think?

That a hands-on police administrator renowned for his incredible memory this time totally blew it, but in such a way that the drowned, young barrister could not be recognized by his former pupils or found by the tabloid press or the connection made among within the respectable circles in which the Druitts moved.

I find this extremely unlikely and opt for disguised by design.

[Caroline Brown]

No, I don't think so.

Since Macnaghten was so careful about the disguise what 'absented' really tells us is that they did not notice him absent several times. It's just a way of muddying the waters of Montie's single absence, his vanishing act, and that did not involve students.

But at least you have given a straight answer to a straight question.

You side with the theory that it was just a fortuitous accident that the Valentine graduates could not recognize their late Mr. Montague Druitt.

Remarkably fortuitous coincidence don't you think?

That a hands-on police administrator renowned for his incredible memory this time totally blew it, but in such a way that the drowned, young barrister could not be recognized by his former pupils or found by the tabloid press or the connection made among within the respectable circles in which the Druitts moved.

I find this extremely unlikely and opt for disguised by design.

You misunderstand me, Jonathan.

I find the whole premise extremely unlikely, therefore I would tend to side with the theory that Monty only did absent himself on the one occasion; that nobody noticed he was absent on the murder nights because he probably wasn't; and the story was only disguised because there was no shadow of proof that any of it was actually true.

That's not to say it couldn't have been true. But everything fits well enough with a tale, based on a strong belief (even with a confession thrown in), that could never be substantiated.

Love,

Caz
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[Jonathan Hainsworth]

Are you arguing that Macnaghten disguised or rather disguised and beefed up a non-story about a non-suspect, as I think he did with Aaron Kosminski and Michael Ostrog?

[Caroline Brown]

Not especially, no. I accept that Druitt is a suspect, despite the fact that only one policeman named him as such, and didn't appear to share his private info or "conjections" with other senior policemen, nor in fact with anyone on the force. If he did, it seems they were not similarly convinced.

It does seem strange to me that Mac chose friends and associates from outside the force to confide in. It would have been so much more powerful if only he had brought someone inside the force on board, like Anderson had Swanson, to sing from the same Druitt/Bluitt hymn sheet. I wonder why he wasn't able or willing to trust a fellow cop's nose for strong evidence and discretion in handling it.

Love,

Caz
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[Stephen Thomas]

Are you arguing that Macnaghten disguised or rather disguised and beefed up a non-story about a non-suspect, as I think he did with Aaron Kosminski and Michael Ostrog?

Yes. Like he did with Montague Druitt.