Gregory looked around the room with an appraising look at each one of the room’s occupants. Elaine Russell, a tall, dark-haired woman, sat with rather dark rings around her eyes, and cupped in her hands a cup of tea. A man stood in a corner of the room, with an expression of irritation as if he would rather have been elsewhere, and frequently checked his watch. Gregory guessed he was Edward Lowell. A gruff, large, bearish man was heartily eating the pastries set out by the maid, and Gregory decided that that was the explorer, Jason Backworth, Jr. Molly and Baddleton, the maid and the butler, stood in their customary position, almost blending into the dark wooden walls, by the doorway.

“I’ve seen the scene of the murder and it seems, at first sight, that the Lord Graine was murdered in the night, less than twelve hours ago, by a sword taken from one of the two suits of armour that are along the corridor outside the library. The sword was, of course, ornamental, and it was used as a blunt weapon rather than what someone more melodramatically inclined might think.”

Gregory paused for a moment here as a mild draught worked its way around the room, lending an air of uncertainty to the already very uncertain circumstances.

“So,” he continued, looking around disconcertedly, “no Shakespeare here.”

Baddleton, in the slight pause that had shown itself into the room, spoke, “the sword was taken in the night, just as the murderer was about to do his dastardly deed. I dust those suits regularly, and I clearly remember seeing the swords at their rightful places. And incidentally, those suits have been in the family for over a century now, and -”

The detective shot down the rest of his speech with a rather sharp glare, as he recalled the thick coat of dust that the suits had gathered. He made a mental note, quite unprofessionally, that although noisy and pretentious, the butler was plainly harmless.

“And I’m not sure if any of you here know that another crime has been committed. The reason why you all are here in Graine Manor in the first place is the auction that was supposed to be held today, to sell off the Backworth Opal.”

The draught that had seemed to settle itself down worked itself up again, but this time the detective was determined to carry on talking.

“The vault was broken into in the night, and the opal stolen, the details of which you will know in time. All I can say now is that Graine was very likely murdered because he knew who the thief was.”

The draught that was winding around the room abruptly stilled, and a profound, inexplicable sense of sadness settled on the room’s more sensitive inhabitants.




work-in-progress~Copyright2006TTH~work-in-progress