Well, we had a wonderful dinner but Anne was missing. I asked Jim if Anne was sick, but he said she was still in the city, she actually had two appointments there, plus she wanted to do some extra shopping too. The butler had gone with her to help with the shopping and driving. Apparently Anne does not enjoy city driving, she is a country girl he said. Hmm, this is interesting.
We did not mention finding the basement and all the rooms and equipment down there. Andrew had spent time in prison for forging documents for people which would explain the equipment in the basement. And he had been recently released. I am wondering if he and Jim were actually partners in that business and Andrew is not happy with spending time in prison while Jim was still on the outside.
That could be why he is trying to take over the castle. It is also possible that Andrew actually owns the castle and Jim forged papers to make it look like he owns the castle. Then he could pretend that the deed was lost, or stolen, which would make it look worse for Andrew. Then there is the part time maid. We know she is connected to this somehow since she had come into our bedroom through that basement passageway.
Who is she working for, Jim or Andrew? So, why would Jim hire us if he does not own the castle? Simple, hiring us to find the lost deed makes it look better for him too. It shows he is doing whatever he can to prove his case against Andrew. So, we have 3 suspects to watch. But, then there is Anne. She did not go to the city, or at least she did not stay there as long as Jim believed she did.
That camera I left in the room down in the basement took a very nice photo of Anne looking at the TV monitor system that has been set up. Very likely she was trying to find us to see what we were up to. Now we have 4 suspects. But is Anne working along with her husband Jim, or is she working with Andrew to take the castle away from Jim? Or possibly she and the maid are working together.
This is getting complicated. So, who do we trust in all of this crazy castle puzzle? Simply put, we can trust no one. But we have to try and set a trap to catch someone lying first of all, without telling them we know they are lying. Once we know, then we can set a bigger trap and put an end to this case. But, that might take a while.
After dinner we had a meeting in our bedroom and I told everyone what I figured was going on, and asked for ideas. The next morning, after breakfast, I had Jim show Kat and I around the castle and outside of the castle too. We asked a lot of questions about the castle. Then I decided to ask him a question. "Why did you lie about Anne yesterday?" I asked him.
"Wh, what do you mean?" he asked in return, obviously shook up a bit. "We know that Anne was here yesterday Jim," I said, "we saw her just before lunch." "Why, that is impossible," he retorted, "she and the butler left right after breakfast, there is no way they could get back that quickly. Besides, I saw when Anne drove up."
"I know that is what you want to believe Jim," I said, "but I think you also know that I am right." He did not say anything for about a minute, just looked around. "Yeah, you are right," he said, "I have been suspecting that she and the butler were having more than just a work type relationship. But I still never saw them come home earlier than what I said."
"That is because she was staying hidden," I said, "but I did not see the butler anywhere. However, my team did find the van she had used. It was hidden in the forested area on the other side of the castle." "Yeah, there is an old road over there," he said, "but I just do not see why she would come back secretly." "I think she was trying to keep an eye on my team, to see what we might uncover," I said, "but personally I think she is working with Andrew, not the butler.
By the way, where was the butler last night?" "Oh, he had asked for time off to visit his folks," said Jim, "apparently his dad is quite sick." "He told you that?" I asked. "Well, no, Anne told me when she got home yesterday. It was something quite sudden. He did not even want to come back to pack."
I said nothing right then, but I had asked Annelie to check on all the people working here and the butler's parents had both died 2 years ago. I wonder what happened to that butler...
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
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