Our Days Are Getting Shorter

I thought Sunday was the summer solstice, but wunderground.com said Seattle had one less second of sunshine. Glad to have done my yoga sun salutations on the correct day, I took a Sunday of solace away from its namesake, hiding inside to watch Harper's Island. The premature solstice worked just dandy for me, letting me play detective for a day. Though my murder mystery miniseries airs on Saturday nights, I've grown up a little since my SNICK days, and watch the show every Sunday afternoon on the nets. 

The June 20th episode, Snap (I love how every episode is named after the sound of someone dying), piqued my interest in a new theory so much, I had to rewatch the first few episodes to look for clues. I completely believe Sheriff Mill's last words to Abby before he died, namely that she's his daughter and that the sheriff didn't kill anyone. John Wakefield, the confirmed killer from seven years ago, offed the sheriff with his preferred method of slaughter, hanging. But what about the murders by other modes?

Evidence points to an accomplice, presumably John Wakefield's real child by Abby's mother. Several murders have been committed by someone in the wedding party, and I'm placing bets on Henry W. Dunn, the groom, ladies and gentlemen. The blood on his hands and cuts on his arms from episode 8, Gurgle, when he was "trying to save JD" have gone unexplained. JD was a convenient scapegoat for a while, but we only have proof of his childish, if occasionally violent, antics. I don't believe he ever killed or conspired to kill anyone, though Henry often harked back to his brother's suicide attempt, implying he had a death wish for more than himself. Perhaps more importantly, Henry's idea in Snap to distract Wakefield by throwing molotov cocktails at a car was absolutely ridiculous. It served to attract his attention to their escape plan, not distract him. The most logical plan would have been to sneak off into the night without blowing up objects along the escape route. The final piece that snaps the puzzle into place? Henry decided to have his wedding on the island, all a grand ploy for Abby to return and for Wakefield and child to seek revenge.

Reviewing early episodes, a few scenes take on added importance. Why did Uncle Marty come to the wedding with a gun and a suitcase of cash? He and Thomas Wellington clearly had unfinished business when he died. Mr. Wellington himself later gave the same suitcase to Hunter Jennings, who was murdered shortly thereafter. Money is a variable in this unsolved killer equation. We must not forget that the Wellingtons are loaded, and with Thomas, the patriarch, Katherine, the wife, and Richard, the lawyer, all dead, the money passes into the hands of the sisters, Shea and Trish. I suspect Shea doesn't have much longer to live, but surely her daughter, Madison, will be one of the few survivors. Madison has been referring to a "new friend" she met on the boat since episode one, and I suspect she has more of the mystery figured out than anyone else. In terms of heirs, that leaves Trish, who continually proves to be a very gullible girl. 

So gullible, she'd marry the murderer.