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Dying Clue: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
The murder victim makes a final effort to identify his killer. To use this convincingly, the author must give a good reason why the victim left a cryptic message as a '''Dying Clue''' instead of writing the killer's name.
# The message was incomplete.
# Dying people lack clear elocution.
# The victim didn't know the killer's name.
This is also called the "dying message". [[Fridge Logic|The writer is rarely asked to justify]] whether the [[Almost-Dead Guy]] would have the energy or foresight to leave a message at all.
Compare [[Apocalyptic Log]].
If what they used to write was their own blood, see also [[Couldn't Find a Pen
Compare with [[His Name Is--]], where the incomplete clue is spoken instead of written.
{{examples|Variations and Examples:}}
==
* Ellery Queen's ''GI Story'': A man is murdered by one of his three stepsons (Wash Smith, Linc Smith, Wilson Smith, named after the Presidents), leaves the message "GI". But all three were former soldiers. {{spoiler|He was trying to write "GEORGE" for George Washington Smith. But he died after completing the downstroke on the E.}}
* Ellery Queen's ''The Scarlet Letters'': Adulterer is shot by a jealous husband, writes the message "XY" before dying. {{spoiler|He and the husband were in a conspiracy to blackmail the wife. He was trying to write "XX" to signify a double-cross.}}
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* [[Sarcasm Mode|Astonishingly]], this is the case in [[Georgette Heyer]]'s ''The Unfinished Clue''. The [[Asshole Victim|General]] only had enough strength after being stabbed to write "There"—and almost no one knew {{spoiler|his ex-wife, Theresa, lived nearby under another name}}.
==
* Ellery Queen's ''Diamonds in Paradise'': Victim steals diamonds at the Paradise Gardens Casino, but falls from a fire escape fleeing police. When asked where he hid the diamonds, he replies "Diamonds in paradise". {{spoiler|He was trying to say "Diamonds in pair of dice". He had a specially hollowed out pair in his pocket.}}
* Ellery Queen's ''The Last Woman in His Life'': The victim announces he will be changing his will to disinherit his three ex-wives (Alice Tierney, Audrey Weston, and Marcia Kemp) as he will be marrying his true love Laura. He is murdered that night, and dies saying "home". {{spoiler|The killer was his lawyer Al Marsh (nee C. Aubrey Marsh), who had an unrequited attraction for the victim. The victim had had a stutter even before he was stabbed and couldn't risk saying "Al" (Alice), "Marsh" (Marcia), "Aubrey" (Audrey), "Lawyer" (Laura), "Attorney" (Tierney), or "Man" (Laura Mannzoni). He was trying to say "homosexual".}}
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* In the [[Nero Wolfe]] short story "Before I Die," Archie Goodwin is on hand to hear the last words of the victim of a drive-by shooting: "Shame. Goddamn shame." {{spoiler|What she was actually saying was not "shame" but "''Shane''", the name of her then-unknown accomplice, who had come up with his own idea to get money.}}
==
=== Literature ===
* Ellery Queen's ''E=Murder''{{context}}
==
=== Anime and Manga ===
* In another ''[[Case Closed]]'' story, an unintentional dying clue is left on the little toe of a famous artist by another artist: she paints her signature on him as a prank before he kills her in a rage over her art.
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* ''[[Scooby Doo]]'' episode "The Diabolical Disc Demon": The kidnapping victim leaves behind a short bit of sheet music. Near the end of the episode, the heroes realize that the notes spell out "ACE DECADE", the kidnapper's (and the [[Villain of the Week]]'s) name.
== Subversion: The killer alters the message ==
▲== 5. Since the author is dying, a frequent subversion is that the killer is actually able to use a dying message to his advantage - either modifying it to lead to another party, or acting on the message themselves. ==
=== Anime and Manga ===
* ''[[Case Closed]]'':
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** Similarly, a symbolic dying clue centered around shogi pieces was rearranged by the murderer, but unfortunately for her the blood had dried enough to leave marks on the table where the clue had been left.
** In an early mystery, a {{spoiler|despondent man committing suicide}} tried to plant evidence that he'd been murdered by his ex-girlfriend. The girlfriend's manager tried to cover up said evidence, but Conan notices him doing it.
** In yet another case, {{spoiler|the dying message is messed with ''twice'': once by the killer to frame someone else, and once by the person being framed to avoid suspicion, resulting in [[Framing the Guilty Party]]
** The victim is in a museum that gives out custom pens to their employees, and the victim is an employee of the museum. It is shown on a security cam of the victim grabbing a exhibit card from a table and his pen, and scribbling something into the paper before throwing the pen away. {{spoiler|He was trying to scribble out the name of the other employee that the killer was trying to frame, but the killer purposely left a pen that had no ink on the table and then switched it out with a functioning pen later.}}
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