by C T Mitchell
Jan Dupree wobbled in her stiletto heels over to another corner. “Here's enough bricks for everyone.” She picked up brick after brick and started handing them out. She turned to get a brick for herself but instead her fingers grasped something that felt like a wrist. A wrist without skin on it. Alfred and everyone else looked up when Jan let loose a scream that echoed off the wine cellar walls. Instead of bricks, a human skeleton lay on the floor.
CHAPTER 4
No one was more surprised at finding a dead body in his wine cellar than Charles Abernathy himself. The certified letter warned he would find “the remains of time passed,” but he never imagined this! He expected the warning to be linked to the wine, not actual remains. Charles wiped his suddenly damp forehead with a handkerchief. This was one party no one would ever forget – especially him.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask all of you to leave.” He tried to keep his voice steady so no one would know how rattled he was by the discovery. “This is a crime scene now, and I need to phone the police. Do not be surprised if any of them show up on your doorstep tonight asking questions. I am afraid the party is now over. I bid you all good night.”
As he swung his electric torch in the direction of the stairs, the light illuminated a metal ring on the skeleton's finger. It looked old and valuable. Maybe it was a clue as to who was bricked up in the cellar and why.
“Louise, help me see the guests out,” Charles requested as they climbed single file out of the cellar. Louise nodded.
“Of course, Charles. I'd do anything for you.”
Charles sunk down into the brown leather couch in his study as Louise handled the 'seeing the guests out' part of the night. Once everyone was safely out the door, she sat down next to him.
“All handled,” she said. “This is bound to make the papers.”
Charles growled and put his head in his hands. “Don't remind me. The last thing I need is the press and the police crawling around the manor.”
A knock sounded on the heavy double front doors that Louise had just shut behind the last guest. Charles knew it would be the local village constable, Ben Jones. He couldn't delay this any longer and he certainly couldn't act like they didn't find what they found tonight. Pushing himself up from the couch with his hands, he padded to the door. It creaked as he opened it. (As if he needed another reason for people to think he lived in a haunted mansion.) Constable Ben Jones stood on the other side looking a might bit impatient.
“Good evening, Mr. Abernathy. I believe you know why I'm here.”
Charles nodded. “Of course. I've been expecting you.” He opened the heavy door wide and motioned for Ben to come in. “No one has touched the scene since it was discovered. It’s a big shock to all of us, I assure you.”
“I imagine it was.” The constable followed Charles down the stairs to the wine cellar.
Charles pointed to the pile of bones. “There. Right there.”
Constable Ben Jones crouched down next to the remains. He frowned as he realized it wasn't a case he could solve on his own. He needed to get CID involved. That meant Detective Jack Creed would be crawling around the manor before long. The Constable had other dealings (or as he liked to call them, run-ins) with Creed before. No matter what case they handed him, Jack Creed always cracked it, which was a good thing, of course, but sometimes frustrating to an up and coming constable seeking to make his mark in the local community. He had a mind for solving mysteries and this was definitely a mystery.
“This is a case for the CID,” Constable Jones finally said. “Whoever this was, he or she has been dead for quite some time.”
“Are you sure CID needs to get involved?” Charles asked.
Ben flipped his notepad shut. “Positive. The CID will need to do an investigation. This is not something we can do by ourselves. Make sure no one enters the old library or wine cellar until the CID and a forensic pathologist arrive.”
CHAPTER 5
Detective Jack Creed looked up at the imposing manor house in front of him. He had heard enough gossip in the village about Charles Abernathy to fill more pages than a copy of War and Peace.
Most of the town’s people thought the scavenger hunt was a weird thing for a recluse to do, especially those who were not invited to this exclusive social event. He spent so much time alone up in the big house on the hill, just about anything could happen without anyone noticing. How strange was it that the night he invites guests over for a scavenger hunt is also the night a long dead body was found? The town’s people smelled a cover-up. Jack was apt to agree with them at this point in the investigation.
His partner Jo Boston-Wright had been a little miffed at being left out of this case, but Jack reminded her that going off to assess the scene of the crime didn't mean it was solved. She'd have plenty of time to stick her nose out and sniff around the suspects.
Jack rang the bell. One half of the wood double door opened almost immediately. Jack didn't bother to ask if this was Charles Abernathy. Based on the stories that didn't paint him as some fifty foot evil troll, the short, balding man in front of him could be none other than the recluse himself. Jack flashed his badge.
“I believe you're expecting me.”
“Yes, Detective, please come in.” Abernathy opened the door wide and Jack stepped inside. He expertly scanned the polished wood and high ceilings in the hopes of finding some clues that could help them figure out the who, what, when, where, how, and why of the crime. All his preliminary glances at the front entry hall got Jack was a sense that Abernathy needed to update his taste in decoration to the 21st Century.
Charles motioned for Jack to follow him into the study. Once inside, he pulled the certified letter from his jacket pocket. “This is the letter I received. It’s from the UK and whoever wrote it may be a former housekeeper of the manor.”
“Your housekeeper?” Jack asked.
Charles shook his head. “No. No, it may be someone who worked at the manor before I bought it and fixed it up. People disappeared very quickly after the tuberculosis scare roughly fifteen years ago. Whoever it was who wrote the letter said the 'remains of the past' would be found. I thought they were talking about the wine bottles! I never thought a body would be discovered!”
“I'll take it from here,” Jack assured him. “We’ll get things underway, Mr. Abernathy.”
*****
Next to arrive at the manor was the medical examiner, Dr. Russell. Jack had personally requested her presence. The local examiner, Dr. Wilkinson, showed up as well.
“I’m quite impressed with what you’ve done to the manor,” Doctor Wilkinson said in an effort to make conversation once Abernathy ushered them in. “I remember how run down it became years ago. After one of the owners died, no one ever thought the manor would be purchased, let alone restored to its former glory.”
Abernathy bobbed his head in agreement. “Yes, I am quite pleased with how the renovations turned out as well. Please, come this way to the wine cellar. Detective Creed is already down there.”
They wound their way down the narrow stairs. Jack looked up when they entered.
“Skeletal remains of undetermined age and wearing a signet ring.” Jack motioned at the body as Dr. Russell and Wilkinson moved closer to examine it. “Are there any missing persons in the area, doc?”
“Stanley Pleasance disappeared some time ago and his body was never found,” Dr. Wilkinson said. “We'd need to confirm it with DNA or dental records, but this could be him.” He looked up at Jack. “If I'm right, this may have just blown an old case wide open.”
CHAPTER 6
Charles watched the forensic team document and photograph everything. All he could think of was getting an inventory of the wine taken. He had a literal fortune down here and didn’t want to lose it. He may be a recluse, but he was savvy enough to know he had the most to lose in this situation. You don't find a dead body in your wine cellar every day. No matter what he did from here on out, his actions would be examined
under a microscope. The gossips would go into overdrive (if they hadn't already done so) and it would be next to impossible to sell his wine, let alone have anyone believe he was innocent. To add insult to injury, that Detective Jack Creed was slinking around his cellar like he owned the place. What did Jack see that he didn't? Why stir up the possibility of more trouble? There was already one dead body, what was he doing, looking for a second?
“Dr. Russell, you're going to want to see this.”
Charles and Dr. Russell turned at the same time. Dr. Russell frowned, but Charles couldn't help the scream that escaped his lips. There, in the corner of the cellar, lay another body. It was that of Jan Dupree. For a second, Charles hoped she was sleeping, but her ragdoll appearance and open, lifeless eyes told a different story. Her jaw was slack as if the last thing on her lips was the name of her killer. Now, that final breath was silenced. And things just got far more complicated for Charles Abernathy.
*****
“Admit it, you need me.” Jo Boston-Wright grinned over at Jack as she drove their undercover patrol car up the winding driveway to Barnesdale Manor. “You can't get on without me. The second this case got difficult, you had to run off and call me.”
Jack scowled and took a long drink of his black coffee. “I brought you in because you know the area. You grew up here, didn't you? A local prospective will be helpful. Especially since we're now dealing with two bodies.”
“Well, one skeleton and one body,” Jo corrected.
“Smart arse,” Jack mumbled into his coffee.
Jo grinned. “You know it.” She parked the car in front of the manor's wide, double front door, turned off the ignition, and climbed out. Jack made sure to finish his coffee before following her.
“So, I can't really give you a local girl perspective of Abernathy,” Jo said as they stood outside the door without knocking. “He's not from around here. I mean, I get why he bought the manor – it's really something, isn't it? – but I don't know his history so I can't be much help there. The townspeople are all fairly run of the mill, unfortunately. No one really sticks out as the obvious candidate to commit two murders.”
“What about a copycat?” Jack asked. “Maybe we have two murderers instead of one.”
Jo shrugged. “It's possible. Anything is possible.”
“And anyone and everyone is a suspect until we tell them otherwise.”
Like yesterday, Charles opened the door for Jack when he knocked and led them to the cellar. Jo walked the length of the wine cellar looking for anything out of place.
“Hey, Jack, didn’t the inventory say there should be a wine bottle there?” She pointed at a rack.
“That's the merlot,” Charles said. “Someone just moved a bottle, that's all. It's not missing.” He rotated the bottle to its correct position one shelf up. Suddenly, a low rumbling filled the room. Jack, Jo, Charles, and the forensic team looked around as a piece of the wall lifted to reveal a secret passageway.
“You, stay here.” Jack pointed at Charles. “Jo, come with me.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
Jack and Jo followed the narrow path till they came to a culver grate. Jack pushed it aside and they both climbed out the other side. Jo looked around. “These are the moors outside of town. Anyone could have come and gone during any time before or after the party. Do you think Abernathy is lying about what he knows?”
“There's only one way to find out,” Jack said. “We need to interrogate everyone who was at the party. Starting with Charles Abernathy himself.”
CHAPTER 7
Jack sat in the manor's kitchen – now their impromptu interrogation room – drumming his fingers on the kitchen table. Charles Abernathy sat across from him, wiping his bald head with a handkerchief. He loved making suspects sweat. Abernathy took that to a whole new level.
“Tell me everything you know about Jan Dupree,” Jack ordered.
Abernathy wiped at his brow and head some more. “What's there to tell? She was my friend. One of my only friends. I had heard rumors – well, everyone had heard rumors – that she may be related to the manor's previous owner. When he disappeared, I heard she tried to get a lawyer involved to claim her birthright, but she couldn't prove her case. No case meant no manor. That's when I bought it. I let her come around because she grew up here. We became close. I thought the closeness might build to more in time, if you know what I mean.”
“Did you intend to marry her?”
Abernathy shrugged. “Eventually I would’ve liked to have gone that route, that way she could have her inheritance, if it was ever really hers to begin with, and I'd have a companion.”
“Why would Jan try to steal any of the wine of the man who would eventually one day marry her? Were they really worth that much that someone would kill for?”
“I don't know if she was stealing,” Abernathy said. “No one does and now...now we can't ask her.” He broke down in tears. Jack wanted to tell him to cut out the waterworks – they didn't make him look any less guilty – but he bit his lip and continued his line of questioning instead.
“Did you know the previous owner, Stanley Pleasance?”
“No. I only came to the village after he went missing. Do you think the first body in the cellar is him?”
“I'll be the one asking the questions here, Mr. Abernathy,” Jack said curtly. “Who besides you had means, motive, and opportunity to murder Jan Dupree?”
Abernathy's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “No one, but I didn't kill her. I would never hurt Jan. Never!”
“Until we know who did, you are under house arrest.”
*****
At the end of the day, Jack and Jo reviewed the case information over some ice cold beers at the local pub. They made sure to pick a booth far in the corner. The gossips were out in force already. They didn't need to give them any ammo by talking where anybody and their mother could walk by and overhear.
“No real motive, no murder weapon, there’s no way we can pin this on anyone,” Jack said. “I want to close the case, but not by railroading a potentially innocent man.”
“Maybe we're looking at this all the wrong way,” Jo said. “Maybe we're focusing on Abernathy when we should be asking ourselves why Stanley Pleasance was buried in the wine cellar. On top of that, what was Jan doing in the cellar if she wasn’t there to steal any wine? Could her injury have been a horrible accident? If not, why would Abernathy want her killed?” Jo paused to take a long pull from her pint.
“And what about Stanley Pleasance’s signet ring? What’s the significance of that? What about the other Pleasance family members? Where are they? If we start by answering these questions, I bet they'll lead us straight to the killer.”
CHAPTER 8
A few days and mountains of paperwork later, Jack and Jo were able to answer most, but not all, of the questions she posed that night in the pub.
Stanley Pleasance had been buried in the cellar of his own house since it would be the least obvious place people would think to look. Since no one could confirm his death until recently, it would have been far too easy to shrug off his disappearance as random. The man was eccentric. Everyone knew that. The manor's newest owner could also win prizes for eccentricity.
The only person who knew about the cellar was the murderer. As much as that pointed the finger at Abernathy, Jack also knew it also pointed the finger at anyone else who had lived in the manor prior to Abernathy purchasing it.
The signet ring was a Pleasance family heirloom. It had been passed down from generation to generation for longer than anyone in town could remember....and they remembered everything. But why didn’t the killer take the ring after they murdered Pleasance? There was significance there. Jack just didn't know quite what. As far as anyone knew, there were no living Pleasance family members. There was that rumor of Jan Dupree being Stanley Pleasance's illegitimate daughter, but it had never been confirmed.
“Here's a question for you.” Jo ruffled throug
h the papers on her temporary desk at the town police station. “Alfred Logan used to be on the police force. When did he leave? Could he share some light on the Pleasance family?”
Jack sat up straight. How could they have missed this? He flipped through his own paperwork till he found his notes on Alfred Logan. “After Stanley Pleasance disappeared, he was upset over certain rumors and left the force.”
“More rumors,” Jo said. “This town is full of them.”
“This particular rumor was that Mr. Pleasance wouldn’t share a bottle of expensive wine with Logan for his graduation party. That’s what the townspeople say anyway. From what they said, Logan had always been a bit too obsessed with those wine bottles.”
Jo raised her eyebrows. “Logan went to steal a bottle of wine, Jan surprised him, and he killed her to keep it quiet? That seems rather farfetched.”
Jack kicked his feet up onto his desk. “We both know people have killed over far less.”
“What are we going to do about it?” Jo asked. “Question Logan again? If he's an ex-cop, he knows our techniques just as well as we do. He could evade the questions or point the finger at someone else.”
“No, we're not going to question him,” Jack said. “We're going to search his mail truck.”
Chapter 9
Armed with a search warrant, Jack and Jo raced to the post office. If they were this close to solving the case, Logan must know it, too. They needed to stop him before anyone else got hurt.
“A search warrant?” Logan feigned shock when Jack handed it over. “Why are you searching my car? Surely you don't suspect me of the crime?”
“We suspect everyone of the crime, Mr. Logan, until the evidence shows otherwise,” Jack said.
“Now, if you wouldn't mind, hand over the keys before we get a locksmith out to pop the lock.”
