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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

My Mystery Story *Part 2*

Dear all,
This is my mystery story part 2, hope you all enjoy it!

~Part 2~
Revenge Over Relations
Christina knitted her eyebrows together and asked softly, “Who is he? What is he like? I had never heard of him before, mother.” Mrs Casper replied thoughtfully, “It was quite a long time ago, Elena’s housekeeper was murdered. Mr Theodore successfully solved the case. Thus, Elena gave me his number and brought me to meet him, I had forgotten about this incident until today.” Christina and Ron glanced at each other before saying together in unison, “Call him then.” Smiling at both of them, Mrs Casper leaved the room to make the call. Just before she left the room, Mrs Casper said hesitantly, “He is an odd man sometimes, but most of the time he is very normal and very brilliant in his own way. He has helped the police before this and he may be able to help us now.”





An hour later…



The valet walked into the room and asked Mrs Casper, “Ma’am, are you expecting any visitor by the name of Dylan Theodore?” Mrs Casper smiled and asked the valet to bring him in. Dylan Theodore was a short and chubby person. He had bushy eyebrows, big eyes with a mischievous twinkle, curly hair and a childish face. Ron raised an eyebrow at the sight of him and muttered quietly to Christina, “I cannot believe that he is going to solve the case. He looks like a mischievous child, except for the fact that he is in his forties.” Christina glanced at Theodore and then replied to Ron softly, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Ron said nothing. Beside him, Mrs Casper stood up and shook hands with Theodore while introducing herself, “ Good morning Mr Theodore, I trust that you have not forgotten me from our earlier conversation over the phone. I am Mrs Lillian Gregory Casper. I have heard of you, Mr Theodore; I have heard of you from Lady Elena, whom you have helped in the death of her housekeeper. Thus, I have the honour of meeting you again.”



Theodore fished out a small casebook from his pocket, which he consulted. “Elena,” he said. “Ah yes, I recall the case. I can only say Ma’am, that I shall be happy to devote the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend. Now, I would be pleased if you would care to show me the crime scene and introduce to me the young couple seated there.” Theodore gestured to Ron and Christina. Both of them introduced themselves quickly and shook hands with the detective. With that, Mrs Casper led Theodore upstairs to Mr Casper’s room.



Theodore observed the scene in Mr Casper’s room. “This room was left untouched since found, or is there anything that has been touched or removed by any member of this estate?” Theodore asked. “It has all been protected, this room remained the same as when I found it,” the valet answered. Theodore glanced at him, “So you found his dead body?” The valet nodded. “ Then, now I beg that you will lay before me everything that may help us in forming an opinion upon your master’s death,” Theodore said. “I was serving Mr Casper’s breakfast as per usual, maybe around eight thirty or so. I knocked and there was no reply. Therefore, I walked in and saw exactly what you saw,” the valet recalled. “You did not see anything that did not belong to the scene or anything that caught your eye?” Theodore asked. The valet shook his head. Touching Mr Casper’s body, Theodore asked, “When did Mr Casper usually sleep?” “About twelve, ” Mrs Casper answered.



“Clearly, this was a murder. The murderer walked in when Mr Casper just slept for short while, then shot him, probably with a silencer,” Theodore concluded. “How did you know that?” Christina asked, startled. “ After a person dies, the body reaches maximum stiffness after 12 hours,” Theodore replied while pinching the dead body and continued, “ it also takes 12 hours for a human body to be cool to the touch. According to Mrs Casper, he sleeps at twelve. From twelve to now, is exactly about twelve hours. He could not have been killed later, as the body would not be stiff and cold by now. Mr Casper was murdered, as there was no weapon around him, he could not have killed himself. As for the silencer, Mrs Casper’s room is just across the corridor. Without any silencer, the gunshot could probably be heard. Now could you understand?” Christina nodded. Theodore then turned to everyone and said, “ I need all of the sleeping arrangement, location and time of all the members of this estate, as most likely, it is an inside job. All of you are suspects.”




“I sleep in the east wing of the first floor, in the room that is nearest to the stairs. I sleep around ten,” Ron was the first to answer.



“I sleep in the room next to him. The same time too,” Christina, said confidently.



“You already know where I sleep, Mr Theodore. I sleep across the corridor from Wilmore, the room that is nearest to the stairs in the east wing of the second floor. I sleep around eleven,” Mrs Casper replied.



“The servants all slept in the servant quarters in the first floor, west wing, nearest to the kitchen, is the valet, the housekeeper, followed by the cleaner and finally, the gardener. All the servants sleep at around ten,” Ron informed Theodore who was sketching a map of the house and taking down notes. The valet nodded.



Turning towards Mrs Casper, the detective said, “ I have some important matters to attend to. I will come back tomorrow morning, and please leave Mr Casper’s room protected. No one is supposed to touch anything there. If anything happens or if you found out anything please notify me. You know my number, just call.” With that, Theodore was shown out of the room by the valet. After Theodore left, the valet walked slowly towards the stairs and accidentally bumped into Ron who was running down the stairs in a flourish. The valet fell. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you! Is Mr Theodore gone?” Ron said apologetically while pulling the valet up. The valet nodded and accidentally noticed the jewellery that Ron wore on his hands. “Your hand… You are…” the valet muttered while a half sinister and half shock smile spread across his lips. Suddenly, his smile vanished; without a word, the valet walked up the stairs quickly, not looking back once. Ron silently watched his departed figure and paled at a thought, “Does he…? Is he…?”



The next day…




“Where is Mr Lyons? Where is our breakfast?” Mrs Casper demanded. “I am very sorry ma’am! The valet has not yet arrived, the breakfast will be served by me,” Mrs Matilda Perry, the housekeeper, said apologetically while hurriedly rushing to the kitchen. A minute later, she was back with the breakfast. Not used to serving meals, she almost spilled the orange juice on Mrs Casper. “Where is Mr Lyons?” Mrs Casper repeated her earlier statement. “I will go and find him, ma’am! Just wait a moment,” Mrs Perry replied as she hastily exited the dining hall and walked towards the servant quarters.



Knocking at the valet’s door, Mrs Perry waited for an answer, but none came. “Lyons! Wake up immediately! You are late for work,” Mrs Perry bellowed as she pushed the door open. There was still no answer. Carefully, she walked towards the valet’s bed. His body was sprawled on the bed. “Lyons?” Mrs Perry said softly. She felt for a pulse and found none then she left the room hurriedly to get help. “Ma’am,” Mrs Perry gasped for air after running back from the servant quarters. Mrs Casper glanced up. The housekeeper continued, “ Lyons is dead!” The blood drained from Mrs Casper face, Christina and Ron paled. Without hesitation, Mrs Casper ordered Christina and Ron to check out the valet’s room while she herself made a call to Theodore.


~To be continued~
~End of Part 2~

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