Most importantly, though, Ben says that the off-screen subject, which could be cookies, isn’t supposed to be in his dressing room. That means someone snuck them in just before showtime, perhaps in hopes that he’d chow down before going on stage. Was his first “death” the result of sneaking just one cookie before the show? Does that mean his real death came after he binged more of them at home? It seems pretty likely, but Mabel wasn’t at that table read, Tobert doesn’t seem to put two and two together, and, honestly, no one else is questioning suspects all that hard.
If Ben really is having a one-sided chat with a pile of desserts, that could narrow the suspect pool down to whomever knows about his weakness, can bake, and had access to his dressing room and reason to strike him down with a move designed around his own self-indulgence. Arconia resident Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) seems like a good bet since he knew where the first plate of cookies came from and has access to both Ben’s dressing room and his apartment, but he has no motive. Streep’s character, an older, eccentric single woman, feels like the type who could get away with dropping off a plate of cookies no questions asked. Meanwhile, underappreciated brother Dickie, who knew all of Ben’s weaknesses, could have a strong motive.
Though it’s exciting to feel one step ahead of the characters, this theory ultimately may not tell us much, because as far as we know, the whole ensemble has access to Schmackary’s Bakery.
If you want to help identify the cookie plate killer, you can catch new episodes of “Only Murders in the Building” streaming Tuesdays on Hulu.