James looked at the broken mirror and sighed. 'I really need a haircut,' he thought. This wasn't probably the best place to think about one's looks; he was inside the abandoned house of, most likely, the person who murdered Samantha and Jonathan. The whole district had a bad reputation; it was a poor, working class district that was plagued by gangsters and petty criminals. The police rarely ventured there and most people would avoid the area. The house James was in only confirmed the stereotypes about the district; it was messy and dirty.

Clank!

James nervously looked around, trying to find out where that sound had come from. He swept the sweat on his forehead. 'My mind is playing tricks on me...'

Dong!

James grabbed a knife he had brought with him.

Crank!

Suddenly the mirror smashed. James' fist was bleeding. He was the one that had smashed the, already broken, mirror. He thought he had seen a scary face on the mirror. Now he realized that it was his face. He sighed. 'I am really losing my mind...'

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He felt dizzy. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to calm down. When he opened his eyes, he saw a hooded man before him. Before he could react, the hooded man grabbed his neck with both of his hands. James was asphyxiating. He struggled but the man was stronger than him. He was strangled to death.

----------------------------------------

Ten years later

To: John Ford

From: Alexander Morningstar

Subject: Murder Investigation

Dear John Ford,

My name is Alexander Morningstar. I have learned that you are considered to be the best private investigator in London. I write to you out of desperation; you are my last hope of finding out who murdered my sister. The police have done absolutely nothing and the last private investigator I hired to look into the case disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Ten years have passed since then. No one has been able to solve the mystery of who murdered my sister and her husband. I plead you to meet me at Glendarcolm, Scotland. I am willing to pay you a hefty price.

Respectfully,

Alexander Morningstar