Chapter 1 Sunset towers
Barney Northrup is a man who wants to sell rooms in sunset towers so he sent 6 letters to 6 lucky people.but Barney Northrup doesn't exist. The Wexlers one of the first to get the letter. they loved the apartment but Mr. Wexler wasn't very happy with it. Sydelle can't afford the room she wants.
Chapter 2 Ghost or worse
Turtle and Jake rode their bikes and wall they were on it they saw smoke coming from the Westing Estate. There is nobody in that house at that time. Otis Amber and Turtle think that Mr. Westing is still living there. People think he is dead but really he is on an island in the south. Chris noticed someone who walked in the Westing House with a limp then that person disappeared.
Chapter 3 Tenants in and out
Angela was getting her wedding dress fitted with the help of her mother. Anglea is getting married to Dr. Deere Turdle is going into the Westing house and people are saying that Sam Westing is dead. J.J. Ford is introduced and she thinks that Otis is Dumb. Someone was seen coming out of the Westing house Limping.
4 The corpse found
It’s Halloween night, and Turtle is determined to win the bet so that she can take out a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. However, Turtle runs out screaming after only twelve minutes --- she has found Sam Westing dead in his bedroom. The next day, the article “Sam Westing Found Dead” appears in the newspaper. It contains the biography of a man: an immigrant who made a fortune with paper products; a patriot who dressed as Uncle Sam every Independence Day and set off fireworks a father whose daughter drowned the eve of her wedding; a husband whose wife divorced him a businessman who was crippled in a car accident on the way to a lawsuit and a millionaire who disappeared for years until being found dead in his mansion.
5 Sixteen Heirs
Grace Wexler, who believes her great-uncle Sam was Sam Westing, is surprised to see other people there who could not possibly be related to him. All the heirs assemble: the Wexler family, the Hoo family, Theo and Chris Theodorakis, Flora Baumbach, Angela’s fiance Denton Deere, Otis Amber, Sandy McSouthers, Judge J.J. Ford, Crow and Sydelle Pulaski.
Chapter 6 The Westing Will
Ed Plum, Westing’s legal executor, reads the will while Sydelle Pulaski takes shorthand notes.
Chapter 7 The Westing Game
In the game room, Theo sees someone has moved a pawn on the chessboard. He moves a knight against his unknown opponent. Each pair receives five thousand dollars each: Mrs. Hoo and Jake Wexler (both are absent and don’t get their money) Turtle and Flora Baumbach Chris and Denton Sandy and Judge Ford Grace and Mr. Hoo Berthe Erica Crow and Otis Amber Theo and Doug and Sydelle and Angela. Each pair pores over their clues, but all are confused and stumped. The last statement of the will is no help: while it says that it’s what they don’t have that counts, no one wants to share clues with a possible murderer. The will ends with a cheery, “Buy Westing Paper Products!”
Chapter 8 The Paired Heirs
That night, a blizzard traps the tenants of Sunset Towers. Denton is snowbound at the hospital and Sandy at home. Everyone else tries to sweet-talk Sydelle and Angela into showing them the shorthand notes. When the two visit Chris, he asks them for names of grains, and makes the connection between “oats” and Otis Amber. His clues are FOR, PLAIN, GRAIN and SHED. Turtle and Flora decide to invest in the stock market, and buy stock that matches their clues: SEA, MOUNTAIN, AM, and O. Turtle takes the instruction to “buy Westing paper products” seriously and buys that stock as well. Grace and Mr. Hoo aren’t getting along or getting anywhere with their clues: FRUITED PURPLE WAVES FOR SEA. However, she does reveal that her real middle name is not Windsor but Windkloppel, which she had to change after marrying her Jewish husband. Doug and Theo are stumped with HIS, N, ON, TO, THEE and FOR. Doug doesn’t care about the game, but Theo wants to win the inheritance to help his brother. He determines to find out who was playing chess against him at Westing’s house. Judge Ford doesn’t believe Westing was murdered, she believes that he is reaching out from the grave to punish one of the heirs who offended or hurt him in the past. Deciding to beat Westing at his own game, she ignores her clues — SKIES AM SHINING BROTHER — and starts researching the heirs to see what in their backgrounds might bring down Sam Westing’s revenge. Sydelle and Angela look at their clues — GOOD GRACE FROM HOOD SPACE — as well as all the clues they collected from spying on other pairs. But when they decide to examine the will again, they discover that Sydelle’s notes have been stolen!
CHAPTER 9 Lost And Found
When Sydelle tacks up a “missing item” note to the bulletin board, other people start advertising as well: Grace for some missing jewelry, Turtle for her Mickey Mouse clock, Mr. Hoo for his restaurant, Flora for a pearl necklace, Theo for a clue-sharing session and Judge Ford for a party. As Judge Ford prepares for her party, her newspaper contact calls back with some interesting information: James Hoo once filed a lawsuit against Sam Westing for stealing one of his ideas.
10 The Long party
CHAPTER 10 SUMMARY At the party, Angela is depressed that all anyone wants to talk to her about is Denton, as if she’s nothing without her fiance. Jake Wexler talks to Mrs. Hoo so that she can learn English, Judge Ford gets to know all the heirs and Theo asks around to see who can play chess. He learns that Sam Westing was quite the chess master himself, and makes the connection between 16 heirs and 16 chess pieces. Angela ends up crying in the kitchen with Crow.
11 The Meeting
Chapter 11 The Meeting Everyone meets in the Theodorakis’s coffee shop to discuss sharing clues. Mr. Hoo reveals the stolen notebook, saying that he found it on a table in his restaurant. Grace, who knows shorthand, says that the notes are complete gibberish. An angry Sydelle retorts that she took the notes in Polish. Calling the meeting to order, Judge Ford suggests that everyone write questions down on paper to be read aloud anonymously.
12 The Bomb
They have just gotten to Chris’s question when there is an explosion and Mrs. Theodorakis runs out of the kitchen, covered in tomato sauce. She says she saw multicolored sparks exploding everywhere. Mr. Theodorakis thinks it was a bomb, but everyone else decides that the explosion must have been an accident caused by heat from the stove. After the meeting, Turtle accuses Angela of stealing the notebook and not wanting to marry Denton. Judge Ford returns to her apartment, where her newspaper contact reveals that Mr. Theodorakis was Violet Westing’s escort to a Westingtown party years ago. The judge decides to hire a private investigator, and is shocked when she recognizes the name at the top of the phone book.
13 The Second Bomb
The bomber sets another bomb in Shin Hoo's restaurant. Since the coffee shop is being repaired, everyone goes to Hoos to eat. Theo talks college with Angela she had to drop out of medical school and marry Denton because they didn’t have enough money to send her through school. Judge Ford learns that Flora Baumbach made Violet Westing’s wedding dress. Turtle and her father eat together, discussing the Packers and the falling stock market. Panic strikes when another firework bomb goes off, and Sydelle Pulaski has to go to the hospital. Angela accompanies her.
14 Pairs Repaired
Sandy is back and has made some good guesses on his and Judge Ford’s clues. However, he and the judge agree that they should ignore the clues and figure out who Westing was out to get. Crow has lost her clues and is acting strangely. Chris and Denton figure out that Judge Ford’s name is the same as her apartment, 4-D. Theo discovers that “may God thy gold refine,” a quote from the will, comes from the song “America the Beautiful.” When Angela goes to visit Sydelle at the hospital, she finds a note and two clues, THY BEAUTIFUL, in her handbag.
15 Fact and Gossip
Things get back to normal. Turtle, Doug and Sandy discuss how Westing could have been murdered, Turtle thinks he looked too peaceful to have been murdered at all. Grace plans Angela's wedding shower and suggests the name "Hoo's on First" for Mr. Hoo's Chinese restaurant. That night, Judge Ford and Sandy look over their research on the Westing family. Violet Westing was supposed to marry a senator, but drowned the eve of her wedding. The senator turned out to be a criminal and it was rumored Violet killed herself rather than marry him. Judge Ford is disturbed to note how much Violet Westing resembles Angela Wexler, and hopes that history is not doomed to repeat itself.
16 The Third Bomb
It's the day of Angela's wedding shower. Mrs. Hoo, stuck in an old-fashioned Chinese dress, feels almost as unhappy as the bride-to-be. Angela is opening her third present when it explodes in her face! The bomb squad is called and Angela rushed to the hospital, where she's put in the same room with her injured partner. It turns out that the "bomb" was made with fireworks. When her family comes to visit Angela in the hospital, Turtle gives her carpet bag back and tells her that setting off the bomb was a dumb idea. Angela the one no one suspects is the bomber!
17 Some Solutions
Turtle and Flora are upset because the stock market is dropping. Grace and Mr. Hoo think that "FRUITED" means "fruit-ED," as in Ed Plum the lawyer. Jake and Mrs. Hoo team up with them. Judge Ford and Sandy start profiling all the heirs, beginning with the Hoo family. Mr. Hoo once sued Westing over stealing his idea for a disposable paper diaper. Hoo still holds a grudge, but is now making headway with a new invention: paper innersoles. That night, Theo realizes his clues make a formula for an explosive chemical equation, and that the key letters left out are "Otis."
18 The Trackers
As Flora Baumbach braids Turtle's hair, Turtle reads that Westing Paper Products earnings are expected to double and orders Flora to sell all their other stock and put all the money in Westing Paper Products. She also asks Flora if she can call her Baba. As Sandy profiles Flora Baumbach in his notebook, we learn that Flora had a special needs daughter who died at the age of nineteen. He and Judge Ford also look over the investigator's notes for Otis Amber, Denton Deere and Sydelle Pulaski. Sydelle doesn't have a connection to Sam Westing, which the judge thinks is fishy.
19 Odd Relatives
Turtle and "Baba" are beside themselves with excitement: shares in Westing Paper Products are jumping. Sandy and Judge Ford continue profiling the heirs, but are stumped with Crow. She was once married to someone named Windy Windkloppel and has no apparent Westing connection. Crow, who is devoted to Angela, sends her another two clues: WITH MAJESTIES. The mystery of who Crow is is unraveled somewhat when Sandy and the judge look over their Wexler family notes. Grace's middle name is Windsor, but she was born Grace Windkloppel. They also unravel the mystery of Sydelle's Westing connection she doesn't have one. Westing meant for Sybil Pulaski, his ex-wife's childhood friend, to be an heir but he got the wrong person
20 Confessions
Turtle and Baba sell their shares when WPP reaches its highest point in fifteen years, earning back all the money they lost earlier and more. Judge Ford and Sandy decide to interview one of the people who is not an heir: George Theodorakis, father of Theo and Chris. As a young man, George Theodorakis was Violet Westing's sweetheart. Because his family was poor, Mrs. Westing broke them up and arranged for her daughter to marry a senator. When Violet drowned herself, Mrs. Westing "went off her rocker" and disappeared from public view, later divorcing her husband. Judge Ford and Sandy speculate on what this means for the Westing Game. Judge Ford thinks the whole game is a trap to punish the person who hurt Westing most: the woman who caused his daughter's death. Westing's ex-wife must be one of the heirs, and Judge Ford decides to protect her by any means possible.
21 The Fourth Bomb
Theo takes his turn to follow Otis Amber. He is ashamed of his suspicions when Otis and Crow lead a group of homeless men into The Good Salvation Soup Kitchen, which they run together. Meanwhile, the only two heirs left to profile are Judge J.J. Ford and Sandy McSouthers. Sandy was a Scottish immigrant who worked in Westing's paper mill and was fired for trying to organize a union. Judge Josie-Jo Ford grew up in the Westing house, where her parents were a maid and gardener. She used to play chess with Sam Westing, but never managed to beat him. He ridiculed her for falling for his signature move, the queen's sacrifice --- she took his queen, but he checkmated her in the next move. However, Westing did pay for her education in law school. Judge Ford has since feared that Westing would call upon her to repay the debt --- in money or in legal favors. When Theo returns to Sunset Towers, he walks right into the fourth bomb. On the elevator is taped the sign, "THE BOMBER STRIKES AGAIN!" on the back of Turtle's homework. Fearing that Theo suspected Angela, Turtle framed herself as the bomber. The discipline of this "delinquent" is left to Judge Ford, who suspects Turtle is protecting someone but doesn't say anything. Turtle confesses that she was in the Westing house and found the dead body, but that it looked like a wax dummy. The judge thinks it might have been a real wax dummy --- perhaps Sam Westing isn't dead after all... Angela the bomber is at the hospital with Sydelle, refusing plastic surgery for the scars on her face and also refusing to see Denton. However, he gives her one of their clues in a note. Angela and Sydelle figure out that the clues are the words to "America the Beautiful."
22 Losers Winners
Turtle confesses publicly to the bombings. Grace Wexler has a minor meltdown over the identity of the bomber, and Jake takes her out to cheer her up before the next meeting of the heirs. Judge Ford is worried that Sam Westing will take his revenge on his ex-wife, whom she has deduced to be Crow. Suspecting Westing is alive, Judge Ford reasons that after the car accident and severe facial injuries fifteen years ago, he has a new face and a new name.
Meanwhile, Turtle has her cavity filled by Sandy's dentist, who explains that dentures are often made crooked and chipped to look realistic. Doug wins first place at his high school track meet, and Barney Northrup fires Sandy. Sandy thinks Otis Amber is really Sam Westing, and Crow fears she's in danger of Westing's revenge
Meanwhile, Turtle has her cavity filled by Sandy's dentist, who explains that dentures are often made crooked and chipped to look realistic. Doug wins first place at his high school track meet, and Barney Northrup fires Sandy. Sandy thinks Otis Amber is really Sam Westing, and Crow fears she's in danger of Westing's revenge
23 Strange Answers
The heirs assemble in the Westing house game room, where they each receive another ten thousand dollar check. Judge Ford again gives hers to Sandy. Ed Plum the lawyer asks them for their answers to their clues. Jake and Mrs. Hoo say "Boom"; Turtle and Flora say $11,587.50, the money they earned from investing in the stock market; Chris and Denton say that Westing was a good man who gave everyone the perfect partner to make friends; Judge Ford and Sandy give no answer as planned; Grace and Mr. Hoo accuse Ed Plum; Otis and Crow say "mother"; Sydelle and Angela sing "America the Beautiful" and accuse Otis Amber. Crow goes into the kitchen to get drinks and Theo takes white's queen on the chessboard, laughing at his anonymous opponent's mistake.
24 Wrong All Wrong
The heirs are ordered to "Go directly to the library. Do not pass Go." Ed Plum pulls an envelope out of the desk that declares all answers to be wrong, predicts that the one who took Westing's life will strike again and reminds the heirs that "It is not what you have, it's what you don't have that counts." Sandy suggests they arrange the clues in order to see what words might be missing. Judge Ford wonders why he's playing into Westing's hands --- and then she realizes: Sandy was the one heir she didn't investigate. Sandy is Sam Westing in disguise. They arrange the clues to form the first verse of "America the Beautiful." The missing letters and words form the name "Berthe Erica Crow," Sam Westing's ex-wife. Before anyone can accuse Crow, Judge Ford asks everyone to consider the consequences: there's no evidence of Westing's murder and Crow's only crime is that her name appears in a song. Ford is about to unmask Sandy as Sam Westing when the doorman collapses in agony and dies of a heart attack. Dr. Sikes, Ed Plum and several policemen arrive on the scene and pronounce him dead while Turtle cries and a stunned Judge Ford wonders how she could have been so wrong. Ed Plum reads the final statement of the will, and Crow names herself the answer to the Westing game. The police arrest her.
25 Westing's Wake
The remaining heirs try to puzzle out what happened. Doug says that Sandy was playing chess against Theo in the game room, but Sandy had claimed not to be a chess player. Denton snidely tells Turtle that she shouldn't have kicked Sandy, to which Turtle snaps that the only person she kicked that day was Barney Northrup. That gives Turtle an idea, and asks Angela to see the transcription of the will. Otis Amber says bitterly that Crow was sacrificed, and too late Judge Ford sees the truth of this Westing made his signature chess move, the queen's sacrifice, to distract them. Crow was a red herring, and the Westing Game isn't over yet.
26 Turtle's trial
Despite James Hoo's protest, a makeshift court is assembled: Judge Ford in her flowing African robes as the judge, Sydelle Pulaski keeps notes in Polish, and thirteen-year-old Turtle Wexler as the lawyer. Judge Ford is amazed at how much Turtle resembles her Uncle Sam not only in looks but in manner. Turtle proceeds with her case of how Sam Westing and Sandy McSouthers are dead but that Berthe Erica Crow did not do it.
She calls Chris Theodorakis as her first witness: he saw Doctor Sikes enter the Westing house on Halloween, when a fire was started in the fireplace. Her next witness is Otis Amber; when he sits, Judge Ford instructs him to hand over his gun. Everyone else is shocked, including Turtle. Under questioning, Otis Amber reveals that he isn't the delivery boy everyone believes him to be, but a licensed private investigator with three clients: Samuel Westing, Barney Northrup, and Judge Ford. Twenty years ago, after Berthe Erica Crow left Samuel Westing, Westing hired Otis Amber to follow her, keep her out of trouble, and make sure she didn't use the Westing name. He was mailed a check every month to do this until last week, when he was informed his services were no longer needed.
She calls Chris Theodorakis as her first witness: he saw Doctor Sikes enter the Westing house on Halloween, when a fire was started in the fireplace. Her next witness is Otis Amber; when he sits, Judge Ford instructs him to hand over his gun. Everyone else is shocked, including Turtle. Under questioning, Otis Amber reveals that he isn't the delivery boy everyone believes him to be, but a licensed private investigator with three clients: Samuel Westing, Barney Northrup, and Judge Ford. Twenty years ago, after Berthe Erica Crow left Samuel Westing, Westing hired Otis Amber to follow her, keep her out of trouble, and make sure she didn't use the Westing name. He was mailed a check every month to do this until last week, when he was informed his services were no longer needed.
27: A happy 4th
Crow tells Otis Amber and the others that she was told she was innocent. Ed Plum explains that the coroner determined Sandy McSouthers and Sam Westing both died of a heart attack. Plum then goes on to say he resigns from matters regarding the Westing estate, apologizing to all concerned. Judge Ford asks about a last document from the will, which Plum hands over to her. After Plum leaves, Judge Ford reads that document aloud. The seventeenth part wishes goodbye to the heirs, thanking them for participating in the game.
28 And then...
Turtle Wexler never told anybody the secret. Every Saturday afternoon she visits Julian Eastman, playing chess with him in the library. Along with the other Westing heirs and a member of the Good Salvation Soup Kitchen, Turtle attends the weding of Crow to Otis Amber at Shin Hoo's restaurant.
29 Five years passed
James and Sunny Hoo have moved to a lakefront home and are having the Westing heirs over for the homecoming of Olympic gold medalist Doug Hoo. Crow thanks James for the donation of Foot-Eze innersoles for the mission, the product now doing well across America. He has yet to return to China with his wife. Theo Theodorakis graduated from journalism school and has become a cub reporter, Sunny now speaks English fluently, and Jake Wexler is the chairman of the State Gambling Commission.
30 The end?
Turtle spends the night at the bedside of eighty-five-year-old Julian R. Eastman. With a master's in business administration and an advance degree in corporate law, she has served as legal counsel for the Westing Paper Products Corporation and is a multimillionaire from her stoke investments. Sandy is dying, but asks Turtle about the Westing heirs. Judge Ford is now on the United States Supreme Court, Turtle tells Sandy that Crow and Otis are still at the soup kitchen, but they'd died within a week of each other two years ago.