Bedatrayee Roy (Class X)

The Mysterious Affair in Eton

15^th February was yet another day in the lives of the people living the small town of Eton. Everything was just as normal as ever, from the early-morning-hue-and-cry that arose from the roosters’ coop to the people scurrying to reach their destinations in order to keep up with their busy schedules. It is a peaceful place—Eton. Cut off from the rest of the world which has become more or less like a concrete cauldron.

To think that something so gruesome and horrifying would happen within a few hours in this unwary and unsuspecting place…

***

Rosewood Street is one of the most prosperous places in Eton, and famous because apparently most of the richest people in the world decided to live the rest of their lives in solitude, away from the regular hustle-bustle and thus they ended up making grand mansions in Rosewood Street. The richest and the grandest mansion there would easily be that of General Barton. With 25 rooms, 5 storeys and 5600 dollars’ worth of furnishing and decoration, the house is the richest and probably the emptiest one in Rosewood Street with the residing members being the General himself, his daughter Jane, his young wife Natasha, a butler named Nestor and Herbert—the manservant.It was one of those houses that did not really get any visitors.

 But on the morning of 15^th February, a car parked itself outside the gates of the mansion and a man of about 30, dressed in a casual outfit, got out. He went through the gates and knocked the door three times and was soon welcomed in by the butler. Almost after 20 minutes he left the building, got in his car and drove off.

And then it was heard, 10 minutes later. The clear and sharp sound of a gunshot, piercing through the uncanny silence of The Rosewood Street of Eton.

***

“Eton?” clearly I had never heard of that place and from what Inspector Rudd’s face told me, he hadn’t either.

“Yeah, that’s what I heard. Must be somewhere in the world.”

“Who’s the victim?”

“Some girl named Jane. Quite young, really. The daughter of some retired General Barton. Shot herself with a gun sometime around 12 noon, from what it seems.” replied the Inspector.

I am Daniel, Investigator 2^nd class.

I just happened to be with my buddy—Inspector Stephan Rudd, when the call came and made us aware of the grim fate of Miss Jane who had lived in Eton, wherever that place is.

“So, what do you have to do?” I asked.

“I will have to go to that god forbidden place and find out why did that girl decided to shoot herself one fine morning.” Stephan replied gloomily.

“Can I come too?” maybe I asked that a bit too soon. It was his project after all and I was no oneto meddle in his business. But Stephan knew very well that I can’t stay put, especially when such a situation had arisen.

“Sure why not? Besides I can really do with a companion!” he grinned.

And that was precisely how I ended up in Eton to solve something way more complicated than I thought it to be at that time…

***

“Whoa!” Yep that was the first thing that came to my mind when I entered the mansion General Barton and his family called ‘Home’. Eton had turned out to be a pleasant place and Rosewood Street was one of a kind, but it was hard to believe someone would kill themselves off here…

After the pleasantries were passed, we were finally shown into the room of Jane Barton. And there lay the body of a young girl with a gun in her hand, and who looked quite innocent and naïve to have killed herself. Something was not right here…

“She was just 19. My dear Jane…” Barton began and then his voice trailed off.

General Paul Barton was an old man of 60, who must have been tough in his years but had grown weaker and frail with age.

“Do you have any idea why she would want to kill herself, Sir?”Stephan asked.

“I don’t know. She was a merry and charming child, always happy and content. And I loved her so much. Why would she do such a thing…? Oh God this is hard…” he was clearly breaking up.

I was examining the wound on her body and just got more clear and certain of the thing that was bothering me.

“She didn’t need to have a reason to kill herself.

Because she did not. Jane Barton was murdered.” I announced.

***

The Inspector was the first one to speak. “How can you be so sure Daniel?”

I had my reasons. I began “Because (1) I am experienced enough to tell from the wound that it was made by a blade or something, not a gun and (2) Jane Barton was stabbed with such force that she could not have done it herself and then (3) If she had shot herself, her clothes would have singed from the bullet being fired from a close range, but they are not. It is clearly a murder” I finished.

“Oh Lord!” Lady Barton exclaimed and fell to the floor. “Who would want to kill my sweet daughter?!” she cried hysterically before finally fainting.

The General himself seemed quite dazed.So was everyone else. “But we clearly heard a shot…” Nestor the butler started.

“We will have to look into this matter gravely.” Inspector Rudd concluded.

***

“That escalated quickly! How can you tell so easily that it was not a suicide?”Stephan exclaimed.

“I just told you. I observe things” I replied. And that was quite true.

We were in the living room where we just had finished questioning all the members of the house. Everyone had a perfect alibi, with General Barton being in the music room, at the end of the hall, playing a piece of Mozart, which was vouched for by Lady Barton since she was with him. The butler was washing the dishes and the manservant was dusting up the hall. We had everyone’s word for it. Anyway Jane Barton was in her room as usual when the shot was heard at 12 noon and then everyone had rushed to her room to discover her body.

“This doesn’t make any sense” Stephan was visibly frustrated. “All of them swear that they heard a shot and then there was a gun in her hand, but you keep on insisting she was stabbed!?”

“I know how you feel, but the wound on her body is unmistakably that of a dagger or something”

“Even if someone did stab her, and it could only be someone from this house, why make it look like a suicide?”

“That is what we have to find out Stephan.” was all I could say.

***

“So, you are telling me there was nothing bizarre that happened all throughout the morning… except the fact that Miss Jane’s uncle had come to visit her with a present from Amsterdam.” We were now questioning everybody on what had happened all throughout the morning till 12 noon.

“Yeah, exactly” the butler who was the last one to get interrogated replied.

“Did her uncle used to visit her often?” I asked.

“Well, yeah. He is always travelling around the world. And he used to bring back presents for Miss Jane.”

“Where is her uncle now?” Inspector Rudd asked.

“I am sorry I don’t know. But Lady Barton might be able to tell you.” he finished.

When we asked her she said, “Well, my brother you see is a restless guy. I’m not really up to date with all his travelling destinations and all that. He may or may not be in his house right now. He lives in the main town of Eton, just to let you know.”

“Great. So he is not here.” I thought.

When we decided at last that it was enough for one day, and finally reached the apartment we had rented, we saw a note fastened to the door with a dagger, waiting for us. I pulled it down and read it. This is what it said:-

“If you really value your lives, then quit meddling in other’s affairs. Otherwise… let’s just say the next warning will not be so friendly. And it might be game over for you… ”

It was written in blood.

***

“We got a death threat and all you are interested in is that damn knife!?”

I was fondling the dagger that had fastened the note on our door.

“Well, I have never seen something like this… I bet it came from some antique shop. It seems to me to be like a collector’s most prized possession…” I presumed. “I am going for a walk.” I finally announced.

“A walk?! Where to?”

“I’ll tell you when I come back”

“Sure. That helps a lot.” grumbled the Inspector.

***

“I’ve got something important to tell you abou-” both me and Stephan literally ran into each other and stumbled back by the effect.

“Okay you go on first” I said reluctantly.

“You will not believe this! The man servant, Herbert was found dead a few minutes ago on the floor of his room!”the Inspector said breathlessly. “I got a call. We have to go there right now.”

“Sure lets go.” I was quite surprised by the turn of events. Who knew what laid in store for us?

***

“So, basically he was poisoned?” I asked.

“Yep. We found traces of cyanide in the glass from which he had his last drink of water.” Stephan confirmed.

“I wonder…” turning to the General I asked, “Can I go and look into Miss Jane’s room?”

“Sure, you have every right to do so.” he replied.

I went into her room and started looking around, even though I wasn’t sure what I was searching for. Anything that is out of place, anything that is not supposed to be here… And then I found it. Laying behind one of the legs of the bed was a piece of stretched rubber.

***

“What is that guy Daniel up to?” was precisely what was in the minds all of those who had assembled in the living room, which included the General, his wife Natasha, the butler, Inspector Rudd and a few other policemen who had tagged along.

And then came in Daniel. He looked around and started speaking:-

“Well you all must be wondering what’s going on, so allow me to inform you all that I think I have managed to work things out.” There was a short silence followed by an outburst of mumbling among the audience.

“Let me confess though, that I still don’t know who was behind this all, but I think we all will know by the time I am done taking. So… here it goes:-

On the morning of 15^th February at 11:30 a.m. a gentleman arrives here, who calls himself the uncle of Jane Barton, in order to give her a present and was shown in by Nestor. Then he leaves the house at 11:45 and drives off to who knows where. And then at 12 noon everyone in this house hears a shot and rushes to Miss Jane’s room to find her dead.”

“I discovered after observing her body carefully, that she was murdered. Even though I figured out that it was something sharp, I still could not point out what the murder weapon exactly was. Then after the day’s work when I and Inspector Rudd reached our apartment, we found a death threat at our door fastened by a dagger. It turns out that that dagger was exactly what had killed Jane Barton.”

“What!?” exclaimed Inspector Rudd.

“Yes. That evening I went out for a walk to tour all the antique shops over the place and sure enough my speculation was correct. That repulsive weapon was brought from one of the shops and was paid for by someone from this house.”

“That must have made the murderer desperate and thus they sent someone to do me in. That someone turned out to be Herbert, the manservant, but I won over him and when threatened by me, he blurted out that he was innocent and was acting on someone else bidding though he refused to reveal that person’s name (a hard nut he was).”

“Imagine my disbelief when I heard Herbert was killed by poison a few minutes after our encounter!”

“I would now like to call someone to join us in the party. Will you please come in Mr Coulson?”

All heads turned to see the man who had just entered—well-built, around 30, with a thick beard and moustache.

“This man here is Miss Jane’s uncle.Now watch closely everyone.”

He went up to that man and swiftly pulled out his beard and moustache. The room was filled with stunned gasps because the person staring at them was none other Herbert!

“No, this person is not Herbert but his twin brother Henry.”

What happened next was total chaos. Suddenly Lady Barton sprang up from where she was sitting and ran at full speed towards the door. But the Inspector and the policemen reacted quickly and caught her as she struggled like a wild cat.

“Please allow me to finish Lady Barton.

On 15^th February Henry, who is no way related to this family, visited Miss Jane at 11:30 and stabbed that poor girl and made it look like suicide. He left the house at 11:45 content with his work. The shot that was heard at 12 noon again was this man’s craftsmanship. He set up a huge rubber balloon that would burst exactly at 12 thus making it sound like a gun shot.”

Now Daniel turned towards General Barton.

“General, you never said that Lady Barton was your second wife and thus a step mother to Miss Jane?” Daniel smiled at him.

There was a dead silence.

“Yes it was me!” Natasha burst out screaming, “I am the one who set this all up! I wiped that little mouse of a girl off my path and got Henry to do it! And this guy is not related to me in the least! I don’t even have a brother; I fed that piece of information in all of your dumb heads! I was the one who sent that death threat and also Herbert after you to finish you off! I am the one who poisoned that coward of a person!” she pointed at General Barton and began, “All because this fool here would give away all his wealth and property to that little runt of his I had to call my daughter!”

The General grew pale and looked a 10 years older. “Natasha… Natasha…” he was mumbling as he shook his head. “Why Natasha…why…”

“I think our job is done here Stephan. Let’s go.” I said to him.

“Yeah sure. The police will take care of Lady Barton and Henry. They will face justice.” Stephan sounded as he was trying to console the old General.

Once we were on our way out of Eton and back to home, Stephan couldn’t hold himself any longer. “How did you… know?” he managed to blurt out.

“I just stumbled towards the answer that’s all” I answered with a shrug.

***