“Well, now that we’ve heard the story, let’s go over the important facts:” began Markus.
“First, Merrick placed your check in your box yesterday at 8am. Did anyone witness this?”
“I did,” answered Jeorge. “It was definitely at 8am.”
“And did you actually see Maxwell’s check?”
“No, but–”
“I distinctly remember placing Maxwell’s check.” cut in Merrick.
“Very well– the check was placed yesterday at 8am, and was gone by 5:30pm when Elise and Mary came in. That’s a rather large window of time. I notice the doors to this room don’t have locks.”
“Fire hazard,” said Jeorge. “The shortest path to an exit from the north hallway is through this room.”
“I don’t suppose anyone can provide an alibi for that entire time? I doubt it, since a bathroom break would be long enough to steal the check.” asked Markus.
“I can,” said Merrick. “After delivering the checks in the morning I had a brief meeting with Jeorge and then left the mansion for the rest of the day. I had taken the day off to visit my family.”
“Excellent! Now, the next clue is the letter from the thief that arrived this morning. Jeorge saw it at the ungodly hour of six-thirty, so it was clearly left during the night. I’m sure no one has an alibi for the entire night, so…”
But Mary, the young gardener, timidly raised a gloved hand.
“I think I do. I’ve… I’ve only been employed here for five days, so I’m still in my probationary period. I don’t have a room yet, so I have to commute. I checked in at the front gate at seven, which… uh….”
She said this in a quiet, muttered voice they had to strain to hear, and trailed off at the end. She finished by re-clasping her hands and staring intently at the floor.
“I see, I see! Another suspect down! We’re making progress.”
Jeorge interjected, “But there’s at least fifty servants living in the mansion, not including security. There’s no reason it has to be one of the people here.”
“An astute observation Jeorge, I was just getting to that! I asked Maxwell to bring the people who were present when he noticed the theft. My intention was to collect testimony rather than treat you as suspects, of course. Before we expand our search, let us review the final incident, which happens to be the one with the smallest window of opportunity. Maxwell was here in the common room when Alexia brought him to my room. We went to visit my uncle to establish my alibi, which couldn’t have taken more than five minutes, and then Alexia and I were waiting in front of this room for about twenty minutes while Maxwell gathered everyone. No one entered or left from the main door during that time– but! Alas there is a back door.”
Merrick stepped forward and spoke: “Actually, I believe I have that covered as well. I spent all of today in the security office in the back hallway, right up until Jeorge called me on the phone to come meet everyone. I went through the back hall and down the stairs to meet up with everyone as they came in from the gardens, and there was no one there. Nobody could have placed that letter in the time it took us all to enter again through the main doors.”
“Ah, but perhaps while you were working in the office before Jeorge called you?”
“No, the AC vents in that room are broken, so I had the door propped open. If anyone had passed, I would have noticed.”
Markus stared at Merrick for several seconds. The corner of his mouth twitched upward into the slightest smile before it faded back to a neutral expression.
“That is a very interesting piece of testimony… thank you, Merrick.”
Markus retrieved a piece of paper from the wall, then placed it on the table. It was the fire evacuation route, which included a map of the entire second floor on the mansion.
Markus pulled a pen from his pocket and wrote MERRICK in the room next to the common room, and then wrote MAXWELL inside the common room, right next to the big “You are here” dot. He then drew a line from the common room through the hallways to a room which he labeled MARKUS’S ROOM. From there, he drew another line back through the halls to the east wing where he labeled a room ALFRED ROOM.
Second Floor Map [https://imgur.com/PZKalsz.png]
“As you can see, Alexia and I had to pass in front of this room to go to uncle Alfred’s room! Not only that, but the hallway is open across the grand foyer, meaning the common room door was visible from our location for all but the briefest moment when we spoke to uncle Alfred. No one could have entered the main door without us seeing, and no one could have entered the back door without Merrick seeing. And yet–! This letter appeared here during that time!”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Ooooh, it really is just like a mystery novel! This is getting interesting! I used to read those all the time when I was a girl.”
Elise’s eyes lit up with excitement, and she leaned over to study the map.
Markus took the waste basket from the far corner and dumped the entire contents onto the table, which was only the ripped up letter and a couple other scraps of paper. He smoothed out the pieces and lined them up so that it could be read again. He also straightened the final crumpled letter next to it.
The group moved closer. Alexia compared the two letters and satisfied herself that the handwriting matched. Her last doubt was blown away. Markus had written the second letter, and if the first matched it, then–
You did it you bastard. ‘Trust me Alexia! I’ll do the right thing! There really is a true culprit!’ Liar, liar, lair!! How could I be so stupid?!
She could feel a blush of anger and embarrassment, and her eyes started to water up despite herself. At the same moment she noticed Merrick stiffen beside. She followed his eyes and saw something she couldn’t understand. He wasn’t looking at the letters. He was looking at one of the other scraps of paper that had fallen out of the trash can, and his eyes were wide. It was a small, neatly cut rectangle of paper with a name printed on it. Without thinking, she read it under her breath:
“Meredith Cranwell…?”
“Yes?!” Mary shrieked beside her with a jump.
“Oh nothing, but your name was…” Alexia answered, pointing to the strip of paper.
“Quiet down you two! Anyways, does anyone recognize the handwriting on these two letters?” asked Markus.
Maxwell was the first to speak, “Well– it’s a strange thing to say, but it’s my handwriting. The thief was taunting me. They already forged my signature on my check, so they were just showing off with these letters.”
“Oh! I’ve got it!” Elise exclaimed, bringing her fist down into her palm in the classic ‘ah-ha’ gesture.
Everyone looked to Elise, except Alexia. She stared at Markus. She steeled herself for what she knew she had to do. It was going to have consequences for her, but there was no avoiding that anymore.
Elise continued:
“There’s only one person who could have done everything. The letters, the disguise, the forged check and even placing the final letter with all the doors being watched. It was Maxwell all along!”
“Huh?” said Maxwell, startled.
“What? That’s not–” said Markus, looking annoyed at having his thunder stolen.
“No, hear me out. Maxwell took his check as normal, but when he went to cash it he wore a mask and faked a cold. Then in the night he left the first letter– he said himself it was in his own handwriting, right? And then he staged that huge scene in front of everyone, claiming it was stolen. Finally, he left the second letter on the table when he went to confront the young master! We only have his word that the table was empty while he was here after all.”
Markus’s eyes went wide and he slapped his forehead. “Oh shit, I didn’t think of that! But no– no, it can’t be Maxwell, it’s– well, you see– the, uh, psychology doesn’t match! Yeah, that’s it. Here, let me explain–”
As Markus fumbled to deal with this unexpected accusation, Alexia found her voice. Hearing someone else be accused of the crime she was sure Markus had committed gave her the push she needed.
“It wasn’t Maxwell. I was the one–”
“Yeah, that’s right! Alexia was there too, right? There wasn’t a letter on the table then, was there? If they both say so, it must be true.”
“Mar– Young master–!” Alexia began, but Markus was picking up steam again and ignored her.
“Yes, and as I was saying, it doesn’t work out if you consider the psychology of the crime. Any man may commit a crime if he is sufficiently motivated, but he may only do so in a manner consistent with his disposition. Now, consider what we know about Maxwell– he is serious, but his temper can flare, especially when he believes he has been wronged. If he bore a grudge against the Marcellinus family and wished to avenge himself, it would be a crime of passion, that is to say, an improvised crime. But that is not what we see here! No, this crime was carefully calculated in cold blood.”
“Well… I suppose…” said Elise, looking disappointed. Elise was a fan of mystery novels, especially those with surprise twist endings, but the word ‘psychology’ had worked well against her. Her favorite detective was of the vein that relied more on the mental analysis of criminals than the ‘mere facts’ of the case. She was also getting over the enthusiasm of her flash of insight and realized that she had accused her colleague of making the whole thing up.
“Yes, you see, my dear Elise? If we carefully consider the facts, we must arrive at a single conclusion; there are only two people who could have committed this crime! The two who guarded the doors to this very room– either myself– or Mr. Merrick!”
Merrick drew himself up and scowled down at Markus, unperturbed by the accusation.
“Is that a confession, young master? I have already established my alibi. I was not in the mansion when Maxwell’s check was stolen.”
Markus smiled and raised one hand palm up towards Merrick as if offering something to him.
“Yes, you mentioned that you took the day off after delivering the checks! But did anyone ever actually see Maxwell’s check in his box? Was it really there? Everyone who was present then is here now.”
Markus looked at each of the others in turn, asking each with his eyes if they would like to speak up. No one did.
“Can we be sure that you did not take the check with you when you left… perhaps with a blonde wig and face mask?”
The lines of age on Merrick’s face grew taught and deepened as anger took hold. He was about to speak when Alexia slammed her hands down on the table.
“Markus! That’s enough! I’ve kept quiet because you told me you already knew who the culprit was… but it’s time to come clean! If you don’t tell them everything… then I will!”