Langley ‘murder’ draws a huge crowd

“Male Order Murder,” this year’s Mystery Weekend, drew about 3,000 sleuths and their sidekicks to Langley this year, organizers said Monday.

“We had a record number again,” said Sherry Jennings, director of the Langley Chamber of Commerce, adding that people came from as far away as Arizona and Alberta, Canada for the event.

The Victoria Clipper also moored at the Langley Marina and brought in 90 or so visitors.

“We had great reports from the merchants that it was a shopping crowd,” Jennings said.

And on Sunday, the day the mystery’s “murderer” was revealed, the 500-seat auditorium at the middle school was packed.

“A lot of people stuck around,” she said.

Kathy and Steve Burns of Enumclaw made the trip with a dozen others in the Boeing Company’s RV club.

Early Sunday, the group still couldn’t decide who the culprit might be.

“We all sat down at breakfast this morning and took a poll of who did it,” Kathy Burns said. “There were a lot of votes for Vladmir (Pushcons), and some for Upton (Leftos).”

But alas, this year’s dirty deed was done by Alexandra Nuluc Dickins, played by Chris Williams.

Mystery Weekend organizer Loretta Martin said Alexandra killed Yuri Enluc, her own nephew, to protect him from his Uncle Vladimir.

Vladimir, played by John Ball, was a vampire and he was slowly turning Yuri into “one of the undead,” Martin said.

George Hock and Cali Whittenberg of Tacoma came to their first Mystery Weekend, and were impressed by the large number of characters in Langley.

“It’s really cool,” Hock said. “I find it amazing that the whole town is into it. It makes me want to come again.”

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