Bainton Gray and the Mystery Of Barnaby Hall - Part 2

The Murderer Is Revealed

Bainton thought about the upper floors and the objects he’d seen there. He recalled that there was one item that stood out in his mind - the mannequin. Being a milliner, he regularly looked at the fashion house windows. He often discussed fashions with his female clients, as it helped him to make sales. But the mannequin upstairs was bare, which was most odd. He wasn't in the habit of seeing undressed mannequins. He tried to picture what it would have looked like wearing Clementia’s clothes. But if the room had been left untouched since her death, why was the mannequin bare? Perhaps Annie knew why that was?

Bainton went out into the corridor to look for Annie. She was dusting the bannisters nearby. Seeing him approach, she smiled coyly at him. Once again he felt nervous in her presence. He found himself staring at her small hands as she dusted. It was then that he noticed something. She was wearing a gold ring. A large gemstone that sparkled as she moved had caught his eye. Bainton knew at once that it must have been expensive. Certainly not the sort of thing to wear when scrubbing floors.

“Annie, that ring you're wearing?" asked Bainton."It's such a beautiful ring. I'd like to buy one like that for my sister. Would you mind if I looked at it? I have a good knowledge of gems. I'd be most interested to see which jeweller made it, by examining the maker's mark".

Annie flashed him a smile. "Right you are, Sir!" She took off her ring and held it out on her upturned palm towards him to examine it. It was then that Bainton noticed how pale and delicate her hands were.

"Annie, you told me that you'd been scrubbing floors all morning. But you're hands are pale; they're not red as they would be from cleaning." Annie hurriedly withdrew her hands.

Just then, the valet, Mr. Phoenix, came downstairs. He walked past them carrying a cloth and a tin of boot polish. As he entered the kitchen, he and Mrs. Merryfoot exchanged sideways glances at each other.

Bainton paused, and rubbed his chin whilst trying to think. Annie picked up her duster and headed towards the kitchen. Bainton followed her.

"And there's another thing...." he continued.  "We've only just been introduced. Already you're trusting me with an expensive ring. How can you be so easily charmed by me, a complete stranger?” Annie looked embarassed and turned away. But Bainton knew by her reaction that she had lied. She had to be involved in this murder.

The woman at the window had been real, hadn't she? Bainton tried to remember her hands tapping against the glass. In his mind he pictured her white hands and the long dark hair. Bainton stared at Annie. She was still looking frightened. She stole a quick, nervous glance towards Mr Phoenix. The valet however, looked quite calm. Bainton looked him up and down, whilst thoughts raced through his mind.  His eyes focused on the brightly polished buttons of the valet's stylish jacket.

Bainton started, as a flashback came to his mind. He could remember a similar coloured jacket, on the man at the window. But the mystery man's head had been obscured by the curtain. The mannequin came into his mind once more. Then the truth dawned! But he’d try a test first.

“Mr Phoenix, when I smelt the roses, there were two types - red or yellow, which colour rose did I smell?” The valet looked uneasy and didn't answer. He glanced towards Annie, as if looking for the answer. Bainton knew then that he was getting nearer to the truth…

“I believe that it was you Annie, at the window, dressed as Lady Clementia. You drew attention to the windows, so that I’d see what looked like Mr Phoenix standing at the window.” But it wasn’t Phoenix. You'd dressed the mannequin in the valet’s spare clothes to make it look like he wasn’t downstairs at the time of the murder."

Annie didn't reply, but her eyes became tearful and she bowed her head. Mrs. Merryfoot looked shocked.  She shook her head in disbelief and clasped her hands to her mouth.

Bainton turned his attention to the valet. "So, it was you, Mr Phoenix, who killed Lady Castledine!”

Phoenix looked horrified, he started to shake. Suddenly, he jumped up and ran towards the door. Bainton acted quickly; he grabbed a kitchen knife from the table and ran after him. A police constable also gave chase. They were followed by Holt the gardener.

Catching up with the valet in the garden, the three of them managed to apprehend the valet. Holding him down, Bainton waved the knife in front of his face. Seeing the sharp glint of the blade, Phoenix became submissive and recoiled in fear. Grasping Phoenix by the collar, the policeman then marched him back towards the kitchen.

“Sit down,” ordered the policeman, pushing the valet towards an empty chair. “You know very well that you've committed a heinous crime! You may as well tell us why you did it!”

* * * * * * * * * *

Some time later, after numerous attempts by the police to extract a confession, the valet reluctantly began his story…

“For the past year I’ve had gambling debts. I couldn’t pay them, so I stole jewellery from Lady Clementia. I was in her room when she caught me holding her necklace. She said she'd tell her father when he got back. I knew he'd dismiss me. My name would be blackened and I’d never work again. I couldn’t risk ending up a pauper in the workhouse, so I tampered with her sleeping draught.

Months later, I was racked with guilt over her murder. I used to walk around in her room upstairs. One day Lady Alethia Castledine caught me. She thought I was going mad. I didn’t want to be sent to an asylum either, so she had to die like her twin.

I started courting Annie. I told her that I’d seen Clementia’s ghost walking around upstairs. That girl is so stupid, I knew she'd gossip and start a rumour about a ghost. Then I talked her into my plan. I knew she'd do anything for me. All I had to do was get her to provide an alibi for myself.  Of course, she's so simple, she never even realised that she didn’t have one for herself!

I also charmed Mrs. Merryfoot. I told her it would be best to keep our relationship secret. If the Butler found out he would go and tell the Master, then I'd lose my job.  I promised her that I’d buy her a new hat. It was me who suggested she should arrange for a milliner to visit. I had it worked out that you would be here at 2 o'clock to see what looked like myself at the front window. I told her that the Master would be out, so if the milliner arrived at the front, then it would be more impressive.

I gave her the money for the hat and told her to choose one. But really I'd stolen the money from the Master, when he went to his Gentleman's Club. He'd been drinking with friends and thought he'd lost it in the Club".

He looked up at Bainton. "I couldn’t risk you, Mr Gray, coming around the back of the house; the gardener was working there. I didn’t want him to have an alibi."

His eyes darted towards Holt, who angrily glowered back at him from the far corner.

"What about the housekeeper?" demanded the policeman. "What was her role in all this?"

"Mrs Merryfoot didn’t know about the murders", replied the valet. "I even secretly proposed to her this morning." He laughed derisively at his own cunning. "She was so excitable and flustered," he added scornfully.

"I murdered Lady Alethia, then I went into the passage way and scrubbed the floors, I had to make it sound like Annie was working. I did that while Annie was upstairs, taking off Lady Clementia’s outfit and putting her own clothes back on. She then undressed the mannequin and put my spare jacket in an unused cupboard.

She came downstairs and whispered to me what she had seen whilst looking through the window. She told me you were strolling near the rosebeds. But the wretched girl didn’t tell me what colour rose you chose to smell!" He thumped his fist on the table with anger. "I came so close to getting away with it!”

* * * * * * * * * *

Soon after, Lord and Lady Castledine returned.  The master of the house was heartbroken to learn that both daughters had been murdered. But on hearing that Bainton had stopped the valet from running away, he rewarded him handsomely for catching the killer.  Bainton now had enough money to purchase his very own hat shop!

As Bainton was leaving, he turned to look at Barnaby Hall for one last time. He remembered how he thought it had looked creepy when he first saw it. As his eyes wandered upwards, remembering the pale faced woman at the second floor window, he thought he saw two identical young women gazing back at him. Startled, he blinked; it had been quite an eventful day. Was his mind playing tricks on him?

When he looked again, they'd vanished from sight. Bainton promptly picked up his hat boxes and walked down the long path. This time he didn't stop to look back. He knew he would never see them again.....

The End