| “ | Anyone's who's ever fancied himself a detective, openly or secretive, longs for the day he can do the famous parlor room scene. | „ |
| ~ Bigby Wolf |
"Chapter Five: The Famous Parlor Room Scene (Sans Parlor)" is the fifth issue of Fables, with a cover date of November 2002. It was published on September 11, 2002.[1]
Publisher's summary
The conclusion to the 5-part where ancient pacts, old grudges and clever ruses are brought to light. Rose Red's body has been found, and the identity of her murderer, or murderers, has been revealed. Now Bigby Wolf, Fabletown's sheriff, shows us how he put the clues together to solve the foul crime, also, Prince Charming has auctioned off his royal titles and gets his first taste of his life to come...as a penniless nobody.[1]
Plot
The issue opens immediately after the last scene of Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day," where Bigby had revealed that Rose Red was still alive and was present at the party. Bigby goes on to explain the course of his investigation, which demonstrates he was more aware of what he was doing than the other characters had realized.
Bigby had known immediately that Jack was lying, and the crime scene had been staged by Jack and Rose. But he also had learned that the amount of blood that was present was more than Rose could have survived losing, so he considered the possibility she had actually been killed. The last part of the puzzle he solved was the realization that Jack and Rose had been collecting and freezing her blood over the course of several months in order to create a realistic crime scene.
Bigby also knew there must be a reason why Rose and Jack faked her death and was investigating that. He found out that they had swindled Bluebeard out of money through Rose's promise to marry him in a year. Jack used the money to start an online business, and they expected to be able to pay Bluebeard back. But when the business failed, they decided to fake Rose's death so she could get out of the marriage.
The next day, Snow begins handling the aftermath of the investigation. She gives Prince Charming his share of the lottery money, which is far less than he expected because he hadn't read the fine print of their agreement. He ends up using the money he gets to buy back his title from Jack. Snow uses part of the remaining money to reimburse Bluebeard, who is also forced to give up his other plans in exchange for having the charges against him dropped. Jack and Rose are placed on probation, sentenced to community service, and fined the money they got from Prince Charming.
In the final scene, Snow asks Bigby why he told her she had to go to the Remembrance Day gala with him when it appeared to serve no purpose in the investigation. Bigby admits that he just used it as an excuse because he wanted her to accompany him. She tells him that she is not interested and not to do it again.
Appearances
Characters
- Bigby Wolf
- Bluebeard
- Bluebeard's wives (mentioned)
- Boy Blue
- Colin
- Dorothy Gale (statue)
- Flycatcher
- Jack Horner
- King Cole
- Prince Charming
- Rose Red
- Snow White
- Toto (statue)
Fictional species
Multispecies
Species
Wind (hybrid)
Locations
- Mundane world
- New York City, America
- Fabletown
- I Am the Eggman Diner
- The Woodlands
- Bluebeard's castle (flashback)
- Jack's apartment (first appearance; flashback)
- King Cole's penthouse
- Business Office
- Snow White's apartment (first appearance)
- Woodland's garden
- Rose Red's Greenwich Village apartment (flashback)
- Fabletown
- New York City, America
- Prince Charming's lands (mentioned)
Items
Other
Mundy (flashback)
Continuity
- Bigby says he has been the Sheriff for "more than two hundred years -- ever since the first days of the Fables in Exile Compact and General Amnesty." He says he has never been in a gunfight or car chase in that time. Or fired a gun or driven a car.
- When Bigby recounts his investigation of the crime scene, we see the panels from Fables #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited," except they are now tinted red, and we are told what Bigby was thinking as he looked around.
- Snow White says Bigby let her think for "weeks" that Rose Red was dead. This is incorrect. It's only been seven days since the crime was reported: Fables #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited" takes place over the course of a single day, while Fables #2 — "Chapter Two: The (Un)Usual Suspects" takes place the next day, according to the opening caption. Dialogue between Snow and King Cole suggests that Fables #3 — "Chapter Three: Blood Tells" takes place the day after issue 2, while a poster behind Grimble in the foyer says it is five days before Remembrance Day. Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day" and issue 5 both take place on Remembrance Day.