On one New Year's Eve

The quaint bedroom was beautifully adorned with lavish curtains and sandalwood furniture. The ornaments lined across the shelves looked down upon the Persian carpet that covered the floor. The ceiling too would have been a wonderful sight if it wasn’t for the body hanging from the chandelier.

John Regium, the wealthy owner of the Regium mansion, was no more. According to Ms. Norris, the housekeeper, he had decided that he wanted nothing more of his life. The poor chap grabbed a silk scarf and did away with himself. However, the conundrum arose when the doctor announced that John had been choked and then, his dead body, was made to hang from the ceiling. To put it simply; murder.

Lisa Barlow examined the body as Ms. Norris gave her account of the story. “See, Master John was a kind-hearted man. He wasn’t one to go down the street picking fights with everybody he met. That night, he did have a little argument with his sister, Sicily, but we weren’t very worried because, you know, siblings fight.”

“But in the morning at around 4 o’clock, I heard some scuffling in there.”

“Are you usually awake then? At four in the morning, I mean.”, Lisa asked as she observed red marks on the late John Regium’s throat. ‘No fingerprints.’, she thought remembering her talk with the police. ‘No traces of anything on the victim’s body.’

“Yes ma’am.”, Ms. Norris’s chortling voice brought Lisa back from her thoughts. “I am always awake at 4. That’s when I start preparing for the entire family’s day. I had just got out of the bed when I heard the noises in bedroom. I knocked on the door and the master told me to come in.”

“Anything different about his voice?”

Ms. Norris paused. “Now that you mention it”, she said slowly, “he did sound unusually alarmed. When I went inside, his face was red. I could hear his heavy breathing from across the room. As if the man had just run a marathon!”

“Was he in bed?”

“Yes ma’am. There he was, sitting in his pistachio night clothes. I asked him whether he wanted a glass of water and he said yes. When I came back...”

Ms. Norris found it impossible to continue and she broke down crying. Lisa patted her on the back. “There there.”, she said. “Ms. Norris, I believe we have enough details about John for now. Why don’t you tell me more about the family?”

Ms. Norris sniffled. “All right. As you already know, John has a sister Sicily. Her demeanor is, well, different from the other Regiums. Her temper is a bit complicated shall we say?”

“Hmm.”, Lisa said. “So, what you’re saying is uses words like a fiery whip?”

Ms. Norris laughed. “You could say that. But she means no harm. See, she is a widow and her son lives in the city. George is his name and he’s a good lad, always caring about his mother.”

“Sicily is a widow?”

“Her husband had caught the flu.”

“Was there no cure? John was a rich man, surely he could have helped?”

“Madam, there are somethings which even I have not understood till now.”

“What about the other relatives?”

“Lady Isabel also lives in the city and she visits every few months. She is Sir John’s step-daughter. But bless her heart, she loves the family like mad. She is crazy for Marge, the master’s daughter. The poor thing is always ill. Whenever Isabel is in the mansion, she is always taking care of her sister. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was a nurse!”

“Does Marge take any medicine?”

“Erm. She does, but I am not so sure of the names. The doctor did mention a few pills though.”

“Are there no other servants?”

“There were many. But sweet Marge said that they could go home for the new year.”

“And you stayed?”

“Ma’am, I this family is all I have left. Both Arthur the watch-man and I stayed. We have served this family for 30 years. I am sure we can do a few more.”

“Nothing in this room has been moved, I expect?”

“I personally made sure of this.”

And on this note, Ms. Norris left Lisa in the room. There was nothing of great importance there. Or so it appeared. Everything was in order. Everything from the folds in the bed-sheets to the dusted antique pieces. Obviously, these Regiums were neat-freaks. The body had been lowered on to the floor. Ms. Norris had said that was the only thing that had changed. The window was closed but the curtains were drawn apart. Which was why Lisa’s attention was directed to the little scrap of black cloth attached to the window hinge.

“Aha!”, Lisa whispered to herself. “John was wearing pistachio green clothes, not black!”

“Ms. Norris, pardon me but may I know the colors of the nightclothes the other family members had on?”

Ms. Norris looked up from the dough she was kneading. “Let’s see; Lady Marge was wearing white and Lady Isabel was wearing pink. I believe Madam Sicily was wearing black. Why? Is this of some importance?”

Lisa looked lost in thought. “Let’s hope so.”, she said as she began to make her way out. “Ms. Norris, I think I’ll take a walk. I will be back in some time.”

“Officer Scott, I ran by John Regium’s lawyer and got the will.”, Lisa said.

“What does it say?”, the policeman asked.

The two were sitting in his office, a small room with a few chairs and a large desk, covered with mounds of papers.

“It says that after John dies, his wealth and territory will be distributed evenly between his daughters.”, Lisa read off of the paper and looked at the officer. “Which means none for Sicily.”

“And what if either of the daughter dies?”

“The other will inherit everything John owns.”

“What if both die?”

Lisa paused and put the paper down.

“Then, Officer, Sicily will have all the wealth and land that is currently under John’s name. And if none are to survive then the land will stay under the care of the servants until the house meets its new owners.”

The officer said gravely “Can you put two and two together, Miss Barlow?”

“Do you really think Sicily would actually murder her own brother?”

“It does seem to add up.”

Officer Scott stood up and grabbed his gun. “I believe we have a murderer to catch.”

As the two set out for the mansion, they were unaware of the scene that was unfolding.

“Miss Barlow”, the old housekeeper said between sobs. “Marge- she is no more!”

Cue the breakdown.

“Ms. Norris”, Lisa said in a low voice, “Did you see anyone with her around that time? Was there someone in her room?”

As Ms. Norris wiped her eyes she said “I think I saw Madam Sicily go into her room just a few moments before Lady Isabel found Marge dead on the bed. The doctor said that it may have been an overdose of some sort. Poor Marge!”

Lisa and Officer Scott looked at each other.

A few moments and a thousand questions later….

“I told you I didn’t do anything!”, Sicily howled.

“Please don’t shout. We just need the facts.”, Scott tried to reason with her.

“Oh, stop it. We both know you think I have murdered my brother and my niece so that I could take his money. Why else would you lock me up in the study room and grind me with your stupid questions? You bloody scoundrels can’t even do one job right. Just take your sorry behinds and get. Out!”

Scott sighed. Lisa held up the black cloth. “So you are saying that this doesn’t belong to you?”

Sicily haltered. Her eyes widened in horror.

“How- how did you get that? Where did you find it?”

The officer got up and walked to the door. “I believe we got our answer.”

The two left the room, leaving the fuming Sicily behind.

“Well, that was simple.”, Officer Scott smiled.

“I suppose so.”, Lisa said, not looking convinced.

“Well then, I suppose I’ll see you later? Perhaps after Sicily has gone to prison?”, he asked, tipping his hat.

“Perhaps.”, Lisa said, still lost in thought.

When Officer Scott left, Lisa looked at the evening sky. The setting sun cast a ruby-red glow across the horizon. It was as if someone tripped over the clouds and stained the sky with blood. “What a perfect time for a murder.”, a voice said dreamily. Lisa looked around startled. She saw Isabel walk towards her.

“Thank you so much Miss Barlow. Thank you for everything. I couldn’t even think of Aunt Sicily murdering father!”

Lisa looked at her quietly.

Isabel stepped closer. “You know, I had gone into Marge’s room yesterday. It was time for her medicine.”

“Ms. Norris had mentioned this. What pills did she take?”

Isabel laughed. “The idea of swallowing pills terrified her. I myself would dissolve the pills in a glass of water.”

“But Ms. Norris said there was an overdose…”

“Ah! Ms. Norris? I fear she may be close to losing her mind with all of this drama. Yes, there was an overdose. But it was because Marge herself took the medicine. But I suppose she didn’t know how much to take. So she grabbed her pill bottle and a glass of water from her bedside and…”

Isabel’s voice haltered and she looked away. Lisa looked at her quietly. “Well, I best be off then.”, she said.

Lisa was about to go gather her things from the small study that had served to be her bedroom when she was cornered by the old watchman. he limped towards her. he seemed to be nothing but a large black and tattered winter coat with a long tuft of beard growing from where Lisa presumed his head ended.

“You must be Arthur”, Lisa said warmly.

“And you must be an amateur.”, the old man growled through his beard.

“Excuse me?”

“Pardon my saying this miss, but Madam Sicily is not the murderer.”

Lisa folded her arms. “Oh really? Pray, tell me who it is.”

Arthur leaned in. “Madam wasn’t the only one wearing black that night. Jacob, Isabel’s fiancé was wearing a black coat. Ms. Norris wouldn’t have even noticed him being here for she was busy in the kitchen when he came. He will come tonight, I am sure, to meet his beloved. So you see miss, we have nicely resolved the first murder.”

“The first murder?”

To answer her question, Arthur handed her a bottle and a piece of paper. With a closer look one could see a skull with crossbones on the label.

“Cyanide.”, he whispered. “And the receipt. I believe it was an overdose.”

“But why would Marge do such a thing?”

“Miss, these items did not come from Marge’s nightstand. They came from Isabel’s purse.”

And suddenly everything made sense.

“Isabel…wanted us to trap Sicily.”

Arthur sighed.

The night was cold. Snow rapidly fell, covering the barren land with an icy blanket with an occasional heap of snow here and there. Amidst the darkness of the night and the glow of the Regium mansion from afar, one could only see two other lights; the first being the static glow of Arthur’s torch (who was out on his nightly rounds) and the second being the shining torch held in Isabel’s hand as she and her fiancé made steady way towards Arthur (with some malicious or the other).

“Dear?”, Isabel called out in a falsetto. “I believe someone was trying to steal something from my purse the other day.”

“Was it money?”, Jacob asked inquisitively.

Isabel sighed. “No dear. They were just a few pills.”, she said through grinded teeth.

Jacob shrugged. “Oh well.”, he said. “A theft is a theft.”

He held up Arthur, who had been silently watching this enactment, by the scruff of his neck. “How should I end you, huh? How about a nice stab? Or maybe I should just choke you just like I choked your beloved master?”

“You- brute.”, Arthur managed to wheeze.

“That’s what you get for being a tattling on us.”, Isabel sneered.

Before anyone could have even said the word ‘murder’, the huge mounds of snow surrounding the little group erupted.

There stood the little battalion of policemen headed by none other than our very own, Officer Scott. The men pointed their guns at Jacob and Isabel (who subsequently released Arthur). “Do not move or attempt to resist. My officers know a thing or two about using weapons.”

The silence of the cold night air was broken by the shuffling of the few twenty government officials who had come to properly and ceremoniously escort the two murderers to the court of law.

“Get in the damn carriage ya scoundrel!”, one man said as he tried to shove Jacob into a carriage filled with armed policemen.

“Look!”, someone said, pointing at Jacob’s coat. “It is torn!”

Away from the commotion, Lisa smiled as she stood beside Scott and Ms. Norris.

“This case is officially closed.”

“I hope so.”, laughed Ms. Norris.

“It would be a real bummer if the murderer wasn’t caught yet.”, Officer Scott mused.

Lisa stopped smiling.

“Wait, what do you mean?”

And from the other side of the Regium mansion, an observant fellow would have noticed a dark figure limping into a carriage, tucking himself in his tattered black winter coat as the carriage rattled along the road into the wake of a new year. It is very possible that its occupant never returned.