Day 44: 21 December 2025

 Short Story -- Monkshood Manor: Part 13

Mr Drey brought the police into the study where the would be thief was still hog tied on the floor with a growing lump on the back of his head.

‘Althea,’ the inspector nodded a greeting in Mrs Winter’s direction. ‘And you must be Miss Thompson. It’s a shame we have to meet under these circumstances.’

Teddy wondered to herself why the inspector seemed to be on a first name basis with the housekeeper. She wondered if she should be concerned that he was on a first name basis with the housekeeper. She realised that she had a lot of questions in regards to Mrs Winter after what she’d witnessed this evening. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

‘Inspector,’ she said.

‘Please, call me Will,’ he said. ‘When you’re ready, tell me in your own words what happened here this evening.’

‘Well… Will,’ it seemed strange to call the inspector by his first name, but then again, judging by his appearance he couldn’t be much older than her if he was older at all. ‘We — Mr Drey, Mrs Winter and I, that is — were in the kitchen when we were alerted of a possible intruder in the study.’ Inspector Will Ferris was taking notes on a notepad. ‘Mr Drey and I took tools for the fire,’ here Teddy gestured to the poker and small shovel on the floor, ‘And made our way quietly towards the study’s main door. When we opened it, this man was rifling through papers and drawers on the desk. He quickly aimed a gun at us, but before he could shoot, Mrs Winter came in through the glass door there out to the gardens and knocked him on the head with a log. Really, it was self-defence.’

‘Mr Drey, anything you would add?’ Will asked turning to him.

‘No, Sir. That’s exactly as it happened.’

‘Althea?’

Mrs Winter handed him a cup of tea and said, ‘Only that we had a little amiable — at least on our side — chat with him while we waited for you and the officer to arrive. He said some very interesting things. Mainly that Lord Tottington employed him both to tail Teddy here and then try to steal a journal.’

‘Tail?’ Will enquired, raising his eyebrows.

‘We did call the police yesterday to mention that someone had been standing in the copse of trees on the West side of the house watching it the other day,’ Mrs Winter said. ‘But Teddy also informed us on returning to Monkshood Manor today that she’d been followed by the same car into and back from her stop at Mr Reed’s in town today.’

Will’s face was getting sterner. He turned to face the man on the floor. ‘And, what have you got to say about all this?’

The man looked up confused. ‘I was hired by Lord Tottington, as she told you, to follow this lady’ and he gestured to Teddy, ‘and find a journal. But he didn’t pay me enough that I want to go to jail for him.’

William gestured to the officer to help the man onto his feet and untie his ankles. ‘You’ll be coming with us to the station for further questioning and processing,’ said Will. Then turning towards the others, ‘Miss Thompson, I will call you with an update sometime tomorrow. Any further questions for now?’

The officer was already leading the would be criminal out of the house.

‘Should I be worried? It’s my understanding Lord Tottington is my nearest neighbour. And please, call me Teddy if I’m to call you Will.’

‘I’ll be stopping by Lord Tottington’s on my way back to the station,’ Will said. ‘I can leave Officer Stanton here if you’d like, but Althea is probably more than capable.’

Teddy pondered this a moment before saying, ‘Mrs Winter does seem quite… capable.’

‘Then I’ll call tomorrow.’

And with that, he also left the room. Mr Drey followed to see him out.

Teddy sunk into the nearest chair.

‘I suppose you have some questions, dear. But first, let me refill your teacup and have a slice of cake.’

Teddy looked at this charming old woman bewilderingly. She was kind and the perfect image of a cosy housekeeper but for some reason the inspector knew her by first name and she was quite comfortable conking intruders on the head and tying them up. She didn’t seem the least bit perturbed by any of this.

Teddy took the offered plate of cake.

‘Well, let me see,’ Mrs Winter started, settling herself in the armchair next to Teddy’s. ‘First, you have to understand that I am not just a housekeeper… or at least, I wasn’t.’

Teddy nodded. To her, this seemed a given.