Neither girl could believe what they were looking at. Lying on the floor of the study was the motionless form of Edith Witherspoon. Her head was crushed in on one side, a thick river of richly coloured deep crimson blood flowed out into the rug beneath her. Next to her was a large ugly statue that had previously rested on Daniel's desk. It was now splattered with blood that glittered in the still lit fireplace. There was no doubt of what happened, this was no accident this was murder.
It was very surreal to the pair, it didn't look real. Nick bravely took a step into the room and survey the situation, her mind trying to cut through the fog that the shocking sight had struck her with. Coolly she began to look at what was before her as if she was looking at it from the safety of the pages of a manga. The window opposite of the doors was smashed open allowing the pouring rain to spill into the study. The display case that held the death mask of Sety III was smashed and the mask was gone.
The most obvious conclusion was robbery where poor Edith happened to walk into the middle of it but a little voice in the back of Nick's mind told her it wasn't that. She couldn't figure out why but her mind was telling her it wasn't a robbery.
Before Nick could think anymore she was distracted by screams of alarm and terror, by now the entire family was standing in the doorway looks of horror across all their faces. " Have the police been called?" asked Juliette.
Krystal nodded, " Oh god Mother" Emily finally shouted.
Nick held Emily from rushing over, " You can't help her now, this is a police matter" she said.
" Mother" Emily sobbed.
" I recommend that everyone return to their rooms at once and wait for their arrival, this person could still be lurking around and it is best that we all make sure we are safe" said Nick.
" Who died and made you boss?" snapped Douglas.
Nick fought back the urge to retort that Edith died but remained cool headed, " It is the best course of action" she said.
" She is right" said Janet.
Slowly one by one, each taking one last look at the body, and actually followed Nick's suggestion. It left Nick, Charity, and Krystal standing in the hallway. " Now what about you two?" Krystal asked.
" I want to look around a little more" said Nick.
Charity gave Nick a worried look, " Are you sure. Nick I understand you think you're good with mysteries, but this isn't a manga. This is way too real, Nick... are you sure?"
Nick nodded, " I can help, I know I can."
" Then I'll help too, you can't play Sherlock Holmes without Dr Watson. So Holmes what is the first move?"
Nick looked back at the body, " Something isn't right here" she said, " what is missing, and before you say the mask, other than the mask."
Charity scanned the room, " I don't know, it has been awhile since I spent any time in here, why?"
" I don't know, something isn't right" said Nick walking for the window, " look at this."
Nick and Charity poked their heads out the window and became soaked with rain, " The glass is on the outside" she pointed out.
" He killed Edith and took off out the window" Charity said.
" Where are the footprints? In this rain the ground is going to be soaked but there are no footprints" said Nick.
" But the door was locked, how did he escape?" asked Charity, now more confused than ever.
" That is the secret" said Nick.
Nick turned around and looked at the body. She knelt next to the body and looked at her. The force of the blow was massive, whoever did this had to be strong enough to lift the heavy, and ugly, statue, and hit her with enough force so that one blow could cave her skull in. Nick looked at her feet, one of the slippers had come off and was lying on its side a few feet from the body. This was a massive blow, it knocked her out of her slippers and spun her around. Nick looked away from the body, she had been looking at the bookcase, not the display case, had the thief already taken the death mask when she arrived, but then why was she in the middle of the room? Would a thief lit a fire in the fireplace if he planned to rob the house? Was the person I saw last night the same person who did this?
Questions rolled over and over in Nick's mind. She was to intently devoted to her thoughts that she didn't hear the front door open and the sounds of wet boots come stomping in.
Nick would have probably stayed oblivious to the sheriff and his deputies if he hadn't shouted. " Hold it right there!"
Nick looked up and saw several men in soaked rain ponchos with their wide brimmed hats wrapped in plastic. " Step away from the body and keep your hands were I can see them" he said.
" I didn't do it" said Nick, slightly amused.
" She's right, we found the body" Charity added.
" Very good, did either of you see anyone?" he asked.
" Nope, the door was locked when we arrived" said Nick.
" Hm, what is your name miss?" he asked.
" Nicole Fairfax" she replied, " and yours?"
" Sheriff Wayne Davis" he replied, " I thank you two for looking after the crime scene but please step aside and let us handle it."
The pair stepped into the hall with Krystal as the Sheriff and his deputies entered. Sheriff Davis took one look at what lay before him and announced to the room like he was at a press conference, " This is obviously a robbery gone wrong" he said, " the thief was interrupted by the victim and he made his escape through the window."
Sheriff Davis was feeling very proud of himself, his first murder case was already looking like a slam dunk. " Ah, excuse me" said Nick, " if you look out the window there are no foot prints in the flower beds, unless the killer leapt ten feet from the window he didn't go out that way."
Sheriff Davis looked out the window but upon pulling his head back in, dismissed it all, " No matter" he said, " the bridge is flooded and there is no way out for him. It will only be a matter of time before this thief is caught."
" Did you know that the victim was changing her will and had announced it this evening?" said Nick, " don't write this off as a robbery so fast. There are first edition books on these shelves, there are expensive paintings, ugly but expensive statues. If you are going to rob the place you'd take more, especially if you have killed someone."
" Excuse me miss" he said, " I don't need help from a nosy little busy body who has no experience in investigations such as these now please return to your room, a deputy will be there shortly to take your statement."
Nick wanted to protest, this dipshit was more interested in the next election than he was in finding the murderer but Charity dragged her away. Charity knew all too well when Nick was going to put up a fight, she had known Nick long enough to be able to read her like a book. Charity dragged Nick down the hall and around the corner before letting her go. " The nerve of that idiot" said Nick, " he hasn't the faintest idea of what to do in there."
" But didn't you hear him" said Charity, " the bridge is flooded, that means whoever did it is still here. We can find him before he escapes. Any ideas?"
" A lot" said Nick, " only problem is that I have no proof. I know the death mask has nothing to do with it. You have any ideas?"
" I don't want to start pointing fingers at my family" said Charity, " but everybody was really upset over the will."
Charity was taking this amazingly well Nick thought, she calm, and level headed. They made it back up to Nick's room and sat on the bed. " Are you okay?" asked Nick.
" I'm good" said Charity, " this is all really surreal, if I stop and think about it I'll probably be a mess but I never really knew my Grandmother, even less than I know most of my family. It is terrible and all but I really didn't have the emotional connection I have to you or your mom."
" If you need help, don't hesitate to ask" Nick replied.
" No problem."
Nick and Charity were visited by a deputy who asked a series of questions. They were so routine they had to have come out a police manual or something. They were: Where were you when you heard the alarm? When was the last time you saw the victim? Did you see anyone suspicious in the area yesterday? Did anything usual happen yesterday. But they left out did anyone have a problem with the victim which Nick made sure the deputy added the changing of the will. He diligently wrote everything down and left. " Why do I get this suspicion your father is running this investigation" said Nick.
" Of course he is, the Sheriff probably had to ask permission to enter the house, no way my dad lets somebody else make the rules in this house" said Charity.
Both girls and Jinx all yawned. They realized that it was almost 5 in the morning by now and they hadn't gotten any sleep. They both fell back on the rock hard bed and fell fast asleep.
Their sleep didn't last for long, after only two hours they heard the phone in the room ring. Charity rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the phone where she was informed breakfast was ready.
The pair got dressed like they hadn't gotten any sleep at all, no it was worse than if they didn't get any sleep. Especially Nick, her cold made her sound like she was about to die with wheezing and sniffling. " Gonna die?" asked Charity.
" Yes" groaned Nick.
Charity slung her arm around Nick, " Food will solve that problem."
The pair went downstairs and into the dining room. Everyone there looked like absolute hell. The chair at the head of the table was empty, reserved for Edith who would no longer need to eat. The meal was served but nobody did more than play with it. Nick calmly scanned each of the faces. It had to be one of them, there was no other option. She remembered the old saying, there is no great arch-villain on the street, when you have a dead body and you think his brother did it you will find out that you were right. They all had a motive, money the biggest motivator of them all. She first looked at Daniel, he looked worse than the others. It was probably agony for him to allow others call the shots in his house.
One queue Sheriff Davis and his deputies entered. " Mr Witherspoon" he said, " we are taking the body back to the hospital. I'm going to have my men search the area, with the flooded river blocking the only bridge he is still lurking about."
" Very good Sheriff Davis" was all Daniel was able to say.
Sheriff Davis nervously nodded, his career was hanging on cleaning this up quickly and quietly. At least he had the advantage of the rain keeping the press at bay. Nick looked over at the lawyers, they were amazingly quiet today. She would have bet they would be spouting legal jargon at each other but they were quiet. Instead they glared icicles at each other, they were getting ready for a firestorm in court. The servants were standing close to the door that led to the kitchen. They all were less on edge than the family but they all eyed up the family, they knew, it was all over their faces. Nick tried to figure out who they were looking at the most. Krystal was looking at Daniel, so was Gaston, Marie was looking at Juliette, and Graham was looking at John. They were still all possibilities until Nick could find some way to start narrowing it down.
Breakfast ended and everyone got up and separated without so much as one word spoke to each other. Nick and Charity walked over to the study and looked inside. The doorway was crisscrossed with yellow crime scene tape. Beyond the tape the large blood stain was the only reminder that a body once laid in front of the fireplace. The heavy shutters were closed across the windows in an attempt to keep the rain from pouring in.
" Where is the outline?" asked Charity, " shouldn't there be an outline of the body?"
" That is only in the movies" said Nick, " you think they'd dare put chalk on that floor, it will be hard enough to get the blood up."
Nick stared for a long time, scanning the room inch by inch trying to see if anything looked out of the place. " What are you doing here" came an imposing voice.
They both turned and looked at Daniel who had a strange look in his eye, not a look either wanted to see much of. " We were just leaving" said Charity.
The pair beat a very hasty retreat back up to Nick's room. " Okay, this is all getting a little weird for me" said Nick.
" Getting?" asked Charity, " it got weird when we opened the study doors."
" I'm going to take a nap, maybe this will all get clearer after I actual get some sleep."
" Agreed" said Charity, " sleep well."
Charity left and Nick walked over to Jinx who was still on the bed. " Hell of a night" she said, kicking her shoes off, " hell of a night."
Jinx meowed at her, " I know it is one of them, and it wasn't over that mask. Tell me how do you sell a one of a kind piece of Egyptian artwork? You can't sell it, it was to mask something else."
Jinx looked at her like she was trying to climb the walls. " I guess it will all become clear sooner or later" she said, laying on the bed.
Nick's head hit the pillows and she was fast asleep.
Nick's dreams were all about the murder, she watched it happen over and over in her mind with every member of the household, her including hitting Edith. She was old, easy to hit, short enough that even Nick could hit her over the head.
Nick found herself standing in the middle of the study. She felt another presence, behind her. She turned and saw the figure, clad in black, towering over her with that ugly statue in his hands. She felt it hit, her skull crack.
Nick sat up and let off a loud sneeze, the sound of her own skull cracking echoing through her ears. She fumbled for her satchel and pulled her Kleenex out. Several long, wet blows into the Kleenex and she felt better, but not by much. She was about to roll over and try to get some more sleep when Jinx leapt to her feet. Jinx's fur bristled and she began to hiss. Nick looked over at Jinx who was staring at the wall under Great Uncle Joseph's picture. " What is it?" she asked, gently picking Jinx up.
Jinx hissed again, her eyes fixed at the wall. " God, not you two, this house must drive people nuts" said Nick.
Nick carried Jinx over to the wall and knocked hard against it, " See silly cat, wall, nice solid wall."
Suddenly the wall groaned and slowly opened a crack. It wasn't just a wall, it was a secret passage. Nick gently pushed the door wide open and looked inside. It was a pitch black passageway leading deep into the house. Nick rushed over to her satchel, setting Jinx on the bed she pulled her trusty small Mag-light flashlight from her bag. She twisted the head and turned the bright beam on. She shined it at the secret door, she could see a hallway inside that looked like it lead deep into the house. Nick looked at Jinx and then back at the passageway. " I'll be right back" she said.