In half an hour, Atticus was the center of attention in the large living room where all the officers and servants had gathered. Lorie had insisted on bringing Apple too, saying she was also connected to the case and would like to hear the conclusion. Anya Strausford was there too, along with everyone else they had talked to. They all waited with bated breath for Atticus to speak.
“Now then,” Atticus spoke confidently, “I’ll start with Charles Winston’s crime.”
A murmuring went through the crowd, and Anya Strausford looked worried.
“Mr.Winston, as you all know, can’t be described as an honest man. And he can’t be described as innocent either. For the past week, he was in contact with Ron Lefferts, Thomas Stevenson’s secretary. He convinced him to slip some poison pills in Thomas’ food, in order to kill him before Friday night’s auction. This little plan was the reason Winston was more stressed than usual, as Lorie said. Winston’s last words at the hospital described his culprit as ‘A monster’ that had come for revenge. But we’ll get to that in a bit.”
Atticus paused for a minute, enjoying the suspense. Shutter rolled his eyes but didn’t interrupt.
“The reason Winston wanted to get Thomas Stevenson out of the way, is because he wanted to get his hands on a mask, or more specifically, a Yana Gulay mask from the Dogon tribe in Mali. He apparently had two others and wanted to finish his collection. Badly. With Stevenson out of the way, he won the auction easily. And I’m sure, Ms.Secretary, that you were aware of this plot.”
Anya Strausford bit her lip in agitation. Atticus walked around slowly as he presented the next part of his conclusion.
“But you weren’t the only one who knew what Charles Winston had done. What could someone possibly do to lure a rich man out by himself at night time? Threaten them, of course. After overhearing their employer’s terrible plan, the culprit sent a note to him, which said something along the lines of ‘I know what you did. If you don’t want me to tell anyone, come meet me in the forest at this time.’”
“Their employer? You mean the culprit was someone from the manor?” Marvin spoke up fearfully.
“Yes. The reason is because Apple here, was the only one barking at night while the other guard dogs were silent. That is because she was happy and excited to see the culprit, while the other dogs were familiar with him and so they remained on guard silently. Apple gets a lot of treats from certain people and since one of them was out prowling around at night, she no doubt wanted to get his attention for some food. The culprit then crossed over into the forest, and then gave Winston a signal to come out by lighting a candle and waving it to and fro. A flashlight would have been too bright, and candles were easily available where the culprit works. Ladies and gentlemen, does anyone come to mind yet?”
Everyone shook their heads and Atticus clicked his tongue in frustration.
“Carrying on then. It was dark in the forest when Charles Winston came out, and the light of the candle was the only thing guiding him. He went closer to it. Closer, and closer, and closer until...Wham!”
Lorie gasped.
“He walked right into the bear trap. Now he lay on the ground clutching his leg, as the culprit comes closer, and before he could scream in terror, a handkerchief was stuffed into his mouth. And how could one not scream, when being attacked by someone wearing a horrendous mask? The same one Winston won at the recent auction.”
“Aha, the culprit wanted it to look like someone was avenging Thomas Stevenson,” Shutter interrupted, “If the crime failed to look like an accident!”
“Glad to see you’re using your brain now, Shutter.”
“Hey…”
“But yes, the culprit attacked Winston while wearing a mask. A fragment of yellow cotton was in Winston’s hair at the hospital which matched the mask in the antique room. The culprit couldn’t see well through it so he took his knife and hacked away blindly at the arm until it came off. At this point Winston had fainted from pain. The culprit then took the arm, the candle, and the knife and climbed up a tree to tie it there securely, for he knew Marvin would be coming by soon. The mask was cleaned and returned to its place.”
“How do you know about the tree?” Shutter interrupted again.
“While we were at the crime scene, I walked around and saw a large broken branch near a tree. It was strange because it hadn’t been windy last night, and no animal in the tree is heavy enough to break it. I thought it might have been there from earlier on, but after observing closer, I saw the trunk of the tree had multiple scratches on it. As if someone had tried to climb it. And lost their footing. Someone who we can see limping today.”
Everyone looked at Pete, who was now staring at Atticus as if he was ready to rip out his throat.
“Are you saying I took Winston’s arm, detective?” He asked in a dangerous tone.
“Yes. After Marvin told you about Winston injured in the forest, you ordered to call the ambulance along with the police. Usually when finding someone injured, you call the ambulance. And him being in the forest, anyone would normally assume he was attacked by an animal, not a person.”
Pete smiled at him coldly.
“Just in case, detective.”
“I see. Well carrying on, Marvin told us you were quite confident in finding your way towards the body after he had reported to you. How would you explain that?”
Pete glanced at Marvin, who shrunk behind a police officer.
“I could hear the dog.”
“Ah yes, Apple. She was barking up at the same tree when you arrived, which could be squirrels yes, but that would be too much of a coincidence. After you carried Winston back inside, you waited till the ambulance came, and then went to get food, which is already quite an unusual thing to do for you, I’ve heard. What you were doing in actuality, is going back to get the arm along with the weapon and candle, putting it in your truck and going to get rid of it. I found a leaf from the same tree in the back of your van.”
Atticus pulled out an oak leaf from his pocket.
“And the cloth, no matter how well you wash it, will have some residue from the wax from the candle remaining and after testing it with luminol, it will reveal Charles Winston’s blood. And I have no doubt some blood must have gotten on the mask as well.”
Pete chuckled and threw himself into a chair. By now everyone had moved away from him besides Lorie and Shutter, and officers stood behind him ready for action.
“But why, Atticus?” Shutter asked, “Why did he cut off an arm?”
“Oh, Shutter, its obviously because of the tattoos. Winston gets one from every place he visits, and I’m sure he got something done in Africa that wasn’t just an ordinary design or painting. A code perhaps. Something rare that Winston would never let anyone see just because they asked. What I don’t understand, Pete,” Atticus turned to him, “is why you brought it back?”
“He brought it back?” Lorie said in surprise, “Where is it?”
“Probably being cooked and ready to serve in the kitchen.” Atticus smiled, grimly, “That sudden addition of ‘ostrich’? That was the arm all cleaned up and ready to be eaten and forgotten about. An excellent and unsettling way to get rid of evidence.”
Everyone moaned in disgust.
“You got me, detective…” Pete grinned at him sadly, “I thought my life had finally gotten together, but you came along.”
“My apologies.”
Pete laughed.
“Charles Winston was no man,” he said with a sigh, “He was a monster. He’s had me working in his kitchens with the lowest pay for over three years. I accepted the job gratefully though, as I’m fond of cooking and no one else would hire me. But then last year, little Sammy got sick…”
“Sammy?”
“My son, my child. He was everything. I asked for a raise, just for a while so I can get my son the surgery he needed. Winston refused, and I instead ended up borrowing money from a shady group. I had no choice. Sammy got his surgery but it was too late. He passed away.”
Pete stared at the ground.
“After that my life was hell. I had to keep working under the devil himself because I couldn’t get money anywhere else. The ones I borrowed money from kept coming back and harassing me to pay them back. And then when Winston came back from Africa, I saw it. A tattoo of a maze. But it wasn’t a maze, it was the work of a famous African artist who weaved in codes into his drawings. He disappeared along with his work, but this was his, and I knew it. I told the group. I knew how much it would be worth. I told them I’ll get them the work of this artist somehow, and they agreed they would let me go if I could do it. And after hearing Winston’s plan to poison Stevenson… Why, I thought heaven itself was smiling upon me. I lured him out, just as you said. Took his arm.”
“I’m guessing the group refused to take it,” Atticus observed.
“Nah, they took the tattoo. Carved it right off, and threw the arm back at me saying they didn’t want to be caught up in anything. I couldn’t think of any way to dispose of it, but then it hit me. I was a butcher, and meat is to be cooked. So after washing up the cloth and cleaning my van, I peeled off the skin, chopped the arm and handed it to the cooks, saying it was ostrich meat. I thought I could finally be free from all this.”
“Well buddy, you thought wrong.” Shutter got up and made a move towards him, when something suddenly snapped in Pete.
He rushed towards Lorie, grabbed her, and taking out a small knife, held it to her throat. Apple barked viciously and was held back by an officer.
“Nobody move!” Pete yelled, “I’ll cut her!”
Lorie screamed.
“Let go of her, Pete,” Shutter tried to calm Pete down but he was backing slowly towards the door.
“You better call off your officers,” Pete said to Shutter, “Unless you want to see blood.”
Atticus looked around calmly as Shutter waved off the officers. Chairs. Table. Shelves with cutlery...might work. Oh? Perfect. He slowly backed away with his hands up.
“Alright, Pete, we’re backing off.” he said quietly, moving back till his back hit the wall.
In a second, Atticus snatched one of the glass bottles on the table behind him and before anyone could register what he was doing, the bottle had flown across the room in a blur and crashed into Pete’s head. Lorie screamed again and Pete lay unconscious on the ground with a knife limp in his hand.
*** ***
In two hours, guests started arriving. Anya Strausford and Pete had been hauled off to the police station in handcuffs, the latter with a large bandage around his head. Another squad had been ordered to arrest Ron Lefferts. Atticus and Shutter shared a drink in the corner of the dining room, watching the guests pour in and admire the manor, oblivious to any distasteful happenings which had taken place in the morning.
“I honestly thought you’d killed him, Atti.” Shutter hiccuped, and downed another glass of whiskey, “Be more careful will ya, we don’t need you goin’ to jail anytime soon.”
“Better him than Lorie.” Atticus calmly took a sip of wine, “Speaking of, Shutter, I forgot to tell you. She’s Charles Winston’s daughter.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I saw a birthmark on his arm same as she does. The letters were to her mother. It explains why he took her in and treated her more gently than others.”
“Why didn’t he tell her?”
“Selfishness. He didn’t want to handle the responsibility of taking care of a daughter when he was living such a lavish life on his own.”
“Asshole.”
“Agreed.”
Lorie bounded up to them, dressed up in a green gown and flowers in her hair.
“How are you two? Need anything?”
“Your company would be nice,” Shutter grinned, “Whiskey?”
“No thank you, I’m off.”
“Huh? Where? The party hasn’t even started yet.”
“Yes um, I thought it would be best to find a place to stay.” Lorie smiled sadly, “It’s a bit unpleasant to be in this manor now, i’m sure I won’t be able to sleep at night...”
Atticus cleared his throat.
“Lorie, if you wish, I’m willing to let you come stay in my manor instead.” Atticus tried to remain unaffected as Shutter pretended to spit out his drink, “I’ll give you work and make sure you’re comfortable. Apple can stay too, and she can come indoors as well.”
“Oh!” Lorie exclaimed happily, “I would love that! Thank you so much, Atticu- um, Mr.Sherrinford.”
“Please, no need for formality. Atticus is fine,” -Shutter pretended to spit out his drink again- “Anything is fine, as long as it’s not Atti.”
“Hey, I’m offended.” Shutter clutched his apparently broken heart.
“Be offended then.” Atticus grinned and headed towards the table, “Now let’s enjoy a nice meal and put this all behind us shall we?”
-- END OF CASE #01 --
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