26 June 2012
"Sir, we have searched the room high and low, but there is no sign of a murder weapon" said young Constable Skinner to me.
"Remind me again how the body was found, Skinner", I replied as I stood in the study.
"Well sir, it was the maid who found him sir, when she came to bring him his supper in the study..."
---+++---
The young maid knocked at the door lightly, a plate and mug balanced precariously in her right hand. It was the first day of her new position, and she couldn't afford to mess things up this time. The stained oak door to the study loomed before her; silent. Hearing no response, she knocked again, louder and harder. Looking around nervously, she set down the plate and mug and called out to her master. The door stared back impassively. Gulping down her fears, and knowing she couldn't return to the kitchen with her duty not done, she gently pushed at the door. To her surprise, it swung back away from her touch.
Picking up the plate and mug she carefully stepped into the gloomy study, looking around for her master. Shadowy figures danced around the walls, their eerie dance choreographed by the light of a stumpy candle set on her master's desk. The desk itself was a jumble of papers, strewn everywhere, ink splashed across. A light breeze from the open window swirled some of the papers as the maid set the plate and mug onto the desk. Reaching down to pick up a paper that had fallen from the desk, she let out a scream, for there, lying prone, was the lifeless body of her master...
---+++---
"We know sir that he died from a blow to the back of the head, from a blunt instrument, and maybe if we knew what it was, we'd have a clue who the murderer was."
Trying to make sense of my thoughts I went over to the victim's desk, to see if the papers would elicit any clues. The candle wick still flickered, set in a puddle of melted wax. Realisation dawned as I saw just how large the candle had been...
All rights reserved. Nom 26th June 2012.
Blunt • Opuss № I