The Next Mrs Last (Detective Story)
By well-wisher
- 872 reads
Inspector Kelly stood upon the edge of the pier, looking out at the sea. There was something about the sea that always calmed him and made it easier to think.
“Mrs Lasts elegant young lady friend, Miss Edgerton was the only person, as far as I can ascertain, who visited the rooms of both Mr Last and Mrs Last on the evening when Mrs Last was found murdered and yet Mrs Last was seen by a hotel porter shortly after Miss Edgerton visited her which means that Miss Edgerton couldn’t be the murderer. Mr Last was in his room when the murder was committed and so he couldn’t be the murderer and, other than those two people, we have no suspects”, he said, speaking his thoughts aloud to himself in the way that he always did when contemplating the facts of a case, “Of course a murderer could have hidden in the broom cupboard which was directly opposite Mrs Lasts Room, immediately before or after the murder but that would not explain how they managed to get to or from the cupboard”.
He heard the rustling of a long skirt from behind him and then the amused voice of Miss Edgerton.
“You’re not thinking of throwing yourself off of the edge of the pier are you inspector?”, asked the young woman who was, as always, beautifully and lavishly attired in a golden satin dress with an enormous hoop skirt covered in embroidered flowers, an impish grin upon her face, “Perhaps from the mental fatigue of trying to solve such a difficult murder”.
“No, Mrs Edgerton”, he replied, a broad smile spreading under his moustache as he turned round to face her, “Although, I must confess that I have rarely seen a case in which there were so few clues but I dare say that the good old British virtues of dogged persistence and determination will pay off in the end”.
“Well”, said Miss Edgerton, “Perhaps this might help or perhaps not. Now that Caroline; Mrs Last is… is gone. I and Richard; Mr Last intend to become engaged. Richard will still have the fortune that he inherited when he married Caroline but now he will be with the woman that he truly loves”.
“I see”, said the inspector, chuckling, “Well that is very helpful, Miss Edgerton. Thank you. You’ve given me a motive, at least, for why you and Mr Last might have wanted to kill Mrs Last”.
“It’s quite alright”, said the young woman, with a mischievous air in her voice, “Because I know that both I and Mr Last have perfectly sound Alibi’s. That’s the real puzzle, inspector, isn’t it? How, if I and Robert HAD committed the murder, could one of us have entered the room in which Mrs Last was staying, killed her and exited without being seen anywhere near to her room?”.
But then Miss Edgerton said that she was feeling tired and would walk back to the hotel and the detective watched as she made her way back up the pier; her golden parasol opened over her right shoulder, obscuring the back of her head and there was something about that parasol and Mrs Edgerton’s dress and the broom cupboard opposite Mrs Last’s Room that started to revolve in the detectives mind like three couples waltzing around a ballroom.
“Stop! Miss Edgerton, stop, please!”, said Kelley, suddenly; the three waltzing couples merging like a holy trinity into one and the answer becoming clear, “I know how you and Mr Last did it”.
The young woman, now half way up the pier, turned around; still with a confident smile upon her face, “Yes, inspector?”.
“Firstly, Mr Last did, I’m certain, hide in the broom cupboard directly opposite Mrs Lasts room just before the murder was committed, possibly disguised as a member of the hotel staff which would have allowed him to leave the scene of the crime without being noticed”, said Kelly.
“Very well”, said Miss Edgerton, “But how did he get to the cupboard in the first place”.
The inspector raised his right hand, pointing a finger towards Mrs Edgerton’s dress,
“Your hooped skirt, Miss Edgerton”, he replied, “Need I say more?”.
The smile faded from the young woman’s face.
“You need not”, she said, her eyes now becoming very distant and filled with gloom.
But now the detectives cheery disposition returned,
“Perhaps I will walk back to the hotel with you”, he said, breezily, “I have much to say to both you and Mr Last”.
The young woman began to sob and, before the inspector could move to stop her, she had already, hurling down her parasol, run to the side of the pier and thrown herself into the waters below.
Horrified, Kelly ran to where the woman had leapt from and looked over the edge, dreading what he thought he might see.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!”, a very angry looking Miss Edgerton was shouting, pounding her fists as she bobbed around in the water below, kept afloat by her enormous hoop skirt.
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Comments
hah - love the ending!
hah - love the ending!
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The next Mrs Last
Nice little tale. I too love the ending
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