The Mansion Murder
One Monday in early July, Holmes and I were summoned to a mansion about a half an hour’s drive from London. The previous morning, at around eleven o’clock, a shout had been heard in the master bedroom. When the butler went upstairs to investigate he had found the master of the house, Sir Edward Wallingthorpe, lying dead on the floor, strangled by his own scarf.
Holmes and I interviewed everyone at the scene as to their whereabouts at the time of the murder, and each person had a story for us. The cook was in the kitchen, preparing lunch. The maid was in the front hallway, collecting the day’s mail. Lady Wallingthorpe was in the drawing room, reading. The butler had been in the dining room, setting the table, before he went upstairs and found the body.
“That hasn’t given us much to go on,” I said, once we’d finished interviewing them all. “Everyone’s alibi is as hard to substantiate as everyone else’s. How can we tell who, if any of them, was lying?”
“With ease,” said Holmes. “In fact, I’m prepared to instruct an arrest.”
Who did Holmes plan to have arrested and why?