A shape in the dark

 

It was three o'clock in the morning. It was very dark and the house was very quiet. К went downstairs quietly and went back to the study. She sat in Sir Michael's chair and waited... 3.15... 3.30... 3.45... 4.00... 4.15... 4.30... К was very tired. She only wanted to sleep... to sleep... to sleep.

Suddenly she looked up! She heard a noise. It was the study door. The door opened very quietly. К saw a shape in the dark. She saw the shape of a man! К could see very well in the dark. She watched and listened. The person went to the fridge. He pulled the fridge quietly from the wall. Then he pulled a small box out of the wall. 'The mechanism! He's come for the mechanism!' К thought. She got up and went quietly towards the dark shape. The man looked at the box and didn't hear K. 'Don't move!' К said softly. 'Don't move, or...' 'Aaah...!' the man cried. He tried to run out of the room.

DON'T TURN OVER YET!

 

Who is the man in the dark? You decide!

 

К jumped on the man and held his arms. She hit the man hard in the neck. Then a quick move and he was on the floor!

'Aargh!' the man cried. Suddenly К turned on the light and looked down at the floor.

'Colonel Fawcett!' she cried.

'Yes, Inspector. It's me. Ooh! Please don't hit me again.You're a pretty little thing, but you fight like a man. Ooh!' Colonel Fawcett touched his neck lightly.

'You came for the mechanism,' К said. 'I waited for you. I've been here since three o'clock. I was sleepy five minutes ago, but I'm not sleepy now!'

The mechanism was on the floor. Colonel Fawcett took it in his right hand. 'I didn't think...' he said. 'I didn't think.. and his voice died away.

 

The answer to K's first question: How...?

 

'Just a minute, Inspector,' Colonel Fawcett said suddenly. 'I'm not the murderer. You don't think that, do you?'

'Then why are you here?' К asked.

'I wanted to see this mechanism. I'm an engineer, remember? I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. I thought about this mechanism. How clever, I thought, I must see it. So I came downstairs. After moving the fridge, I got the mechanism out of the wall. Then you attacked me. Ooh! You really hurt me.' Colonel Fawcett touched his neck again. 'But look at this mechanism! You see? It was behind the fridge. The box went into the wall and this piece went into the back of the freezer. This string was tied to the ice-tray. Michael pulled the ice-tray and this worked the mechanism. It was in line with his heart. Look inside the box. See? It's a strong bow. Very small, of course. And it shoots icicles! Michael opened the freezer, pulled the ice-tray and WHAM! — an icicle through the heart! Then it turned to water and disappeared. The "knife" just disappeared! Very clever!'

'Michael made this bow,' Colonel Fawcett said. 'It's small but strong. The murderer put an icicle in the freezer just before nine o'clock. Michael pulled the ice-tray. It was frozen to the bottom of the freezer. So he pulled it hard. The icicle went into the string on the bow. The string went back and WHAM! Michael was shot through the heart.Very clever!'

'Sir Michael made this bow?' К asked.

'Yes. He often made things like this in the army.' Suddenly Colonel Fawcett stopped. He spoke slowly. 'Michael made this bow and it killed him.Who put it behind the fridge? Not me!'

'You didn't. I know,' К said.

'Then who...?'

'I'll answer that question поw!' К said softly. 'Sshh!' She walked to the door very quietly. Then she suddenly opened the door.

'Aaaah!'

There's a person outside the door.Who is it?You decide!

The answer to K's second question: Who...?

 

'Nancy!'К cried.

'Oh, miss!' Mrs Flack cried.

'Nancy!' К said. 'What are you doing there?'

Mrs Flack didn't answer.

'You're listening, aren't you, Nancy?'

'Yes, miss,' Mrs Flack said.

К pulled Nancy into the room. 'Now answer me. Why are you listening?'

'I want to know... I want to know... about the murder, miss.'

'Yes. You want to know,' К said. 'This bow was in the wall behind the fridge. You wanted to take it out. And why did you want to take it out?'

Mrs Flack didn't answer.

'You can't answer? Then I'll tell you.You wanted to take it out because you put it there.You put it there before nine o'clock last night.'

Mrs Flack still didn't answer.

'Didn't you?' К shouted.

'Yes, miss,' Mrs Flack said softly.

The lights went on all over the house. First Angela Everett came downstairs, then Andrew Cavell, then Lady Elizabeth. They all went into the study.

'Oh, I'm so sleepy,' Miss Everett said. 'What's happening? What's all this noise?'

Andrew Cavell looked at the bow and then at Mrs Flack. But he didn't speak. Lady Elizabeth looked at the bow and then at Mrs Flack. That's Michael's,' she said. 'He made it. He often made things like that.' She went to Mrs Flack and held her arms. 'Now look at me, Nancy,' she said quietly.'Look into my eyes.' Mrs Flack looked up slowly. 'Look into my eyes,' Lady Elizabeth repeated. Mrs Flack looked into Lady Elizabeth's eyes. 'Now tell me. You didn't do it. Tell me that please, Nancy. You didn't kill my husband.'

'But I did, my Lady,' Mrs Flack said. 'I killed him, but...' 'Nancy!' Lady Elizabeth screamed. 'Oh, Nancy! How could you, Nancy? How could you? You've looked after my family for forty years, Nancy. You came to this family forty years ago. I was a child of eight. Andrew was a baby. You love us. We love you. You've looked after Michael for twenty-five years.You loved him, too. Nancy, you couldn't do this bad thing. You couldn't! You couldn't! Why, Nancy, why?'

'Oh, my Lady,' Nancy said with tears in her eyes. 'Sir Michael made this bow. I took it and made a plan. I came into this study last night at 8.50. You didn't hear me. I put an icicle in the freezer. I made the icicle in the big fridge in the kitchen. I put the mechanism in the wall behind the freezer a week ago. I prepared the mechanism a month ago. Last night I put the icicle into place. Last night was the night. I worked carefully and didn't leave any fingerprints. I've prepared for a long time for last night.'

'Yes, but why did you do it?' Lady Elizabeth said.

The answer to K's third question: Why...?

 

'But, my Lady, I didn't want to kill Sir Michael. I loved him and I love you. He wasn't always kind to you and you often had fights. He went with other women. But I wanted to kill that woman there! That bad woman, Everett. She usually came to the study with Sir Michael. She did the same thing every day. She poured some whisky into a glass for Sir Michael. She put some ice in the whisky. I prepared this mechanism very carefully for her, but last night she didn't come. She was in the garden. I didn't know that at the time. I was in the kitchen. At 9.30 I brought the coffee and Sir Michael didn't open the door. Then I knew. He was dead! Dead! And that woman, that bad woman wasn't! Oh, my Lady, what could I do? What could I do?' Tears ran down Mrs Flack's face.

A policewoman went to her and said softly, 'Come to the station with us now, Mrs Flack.' She took Mrs Flack out of the room.

'What could I do? What could I do?' Mrs Flack said again and again.