The Case of the Covington Heiress
Part Two
by Pam 
tmegrdian@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, I awoke to sunlight streaming through the windows 
of my old room. Many toys and clothes from my childhood still 
populated the room, as if they were waiting for me to come home. 
There would be many a morning I would bound out of my room dressed 
and have a morning meal with my family.

Only now, I would be walking into a lion's den, if my father were 
to be believed.  

It was only last evening that I had listened to his accusations 
about our family before he passed on. Alas, if it had only been 
ranting, but something told me there was a ring of truth to his 
statements.  I would have to be on my guard.

I dressed simply and soon made my way downstairs, where I found 
a familiar person standing in the hallway.

My sister Melanie was my best friend growing up and my staunchest 
supporter when I made the journey to train and serve as a nurse 
in America. She had changed little since I had seen her. Her fiery 
red hair framed her face in neat little ringlets. She had also put 
on a little weight, but she still had the same smile I had remembered 
from when we played as children.

She came to the foot of the stairs as I came down.

"Amy, so you are home. Travis said you had arrived yesterday."

"Melanie!"

I embraced my younger sister tightly, and then followed her to the 
sitting room.

Plopping down on the sofa with a sigh, Melanie regarded me intently. 
"So you made it back in one piece.  Crazy things have happened since 
you have left, sister. Arthur and William have grown quite distant, 
and mum...," she broke off, blushing uncomfortably. 

I glanced at her nervously, fearing to verify what father had already 
told me. "Is it true, has she been seeing another man?"

Melanie cast a downward glance. "It is true, and it would be better 
to say men."

My eyes widened in shock.  "I thought she was totally devoted to 
father. How long has she kept this lifestyle up?"

"Mother has been dating now for about six months. Father found 
notes from two of them, which clued him to her...umm 'activities'.  He 
confronted her with it briefly, but she had no reaction.  In fact it 
was the day he took ill...," Melanie trailed off as I put a reassuring 
hand on her shoulder.

"Lately, she has been seeing Mr. Harrison, the family lawyer. She has 
been all flamboyant about it too, hasn't made any attempts to hide it," 
she continued.

I was taken aback, but if Melanie noticed, she didn't show it.
 
~The family lawyer??? That could mean she's overheard or discovered 
father's plans about changing the will.~

"It'll be ok, Melanie," I said brightly, trying to conceal my concern, 
"I have consulted Sherlock Holmes on the case.  He will help us."

It was her turn to be surprised, " A detective?  Have you gone daft? 
Father died of natural causes, the doctor said so!"

"I'm afraid that there is evidence to the contrary," I replied nervously 
as I told her about what father told me, leaving out the part about her 
being cold and distant.

When I finished, she turned to me with sadness in her eyes, "So father 
was murdered...and now he's left you in control of the will.  So 
preposterous. Who would be so cold?"

"I don't know.  For all I know, father could have been hallucinating 
the whole thing," I replied thoughtfully.

A voice from the entrance of the room butted in.

"Hallucinating what, dear?"

The voice I recognized as my mothers.  She had advanced in years, but 
time was still kind to her.  Her skin was flawless, and she wore her 
long, auburn hair in a single braid that swept over shoulder. If it 
were not for the flecks of gray throughout her hair, she could easily 
pass as a woman ten years her junior.

I stood, and walked over to embrace her. She then stood back, regarding 
me with a critical eye.

"Amanda, dear, welcome home," my mother said stiffly.

"Mother," I replied with equal stiffness.  

I was very uncomfortable, for the last time I had seen my mother; she 
was literally giving me the cold shoulder.  She protested my trip to 
America, and her last words to me were words of anger.  Women never 
leave the family home. Ever.

She smiled warmly, but her tone betrayed a chilliness that I easily recognized. 
"It is unfortunate that we have to reunite under these circumstances, but at 
least the family is finally reunited. Why I was just telling Mr. Harrison 
yesterday that I looked forward to having all of you back here under one roof."

I shifted back and forth uncomfortably, trying to come up with anything to 
change the subject.  I still could not imagine her cheating on father, nor was I 
ready to talk about it yet.  

"Have Will and Arthur made it in yet?" I asked as lightly as I could.

"Will has made it in already.  Arthur is due to arrive shortly," she replied,  
"Now if you will excuse me, I would like to get some fresh flowers from the 
greenhouse for the sitting room."

As she left, my sister Melanie arose and called to her,  "Wait, mother, I'll 
come and help you!" As she rushed off to catch up with my mother she tossed back 
a "See you at dinner, Amy!"

After they left the room, I rose to my feet and went over to the huge picture 
window that overlooked the grounds.  The grass was just beginning to peek out, 
flanked by numerous flowers and bushes on the grounds.  I noticed Melanie and my 
mother striding towards the greenhouse near the edge of the property.

~I have missed so much...~

A familiar voice piped up behind me.

"Amanda, is that you?"

Turning around, I saw my brother Will standing before me.

He had grown considerably, and now stood a head taller than me. His dark hair as 
swept to the side, and the smile on his face told me that life had been very 
good to him.

Will embraced me warmly, then lightly kissed my hand, "Amanda, dear sister, how 
are things?  America didn't treat you too rough, did it?"

"Hello Will," I said with a smile. "How is life in the theatre?"

"Simply wonderful.  Shakespeare is alive again! Auditions were today, and they 
are announcing the roles tonight," he puffed up his chest proudly, giving me a 
conspiratorial wink, "the director said I had a wonderful understanding of 
Othello, and that I am sure to get the lead role."

I smiled in reply, "It is good to see you flourishing. Your name will be known 
for miles around!"

Will laughed in response to my enthusiasm. "It has been such a bore these past 
few years without you here, Amanda.  Even our brother Arthur hasn't been his 
usual sharp tongued self."

Thoughts in my head quickly turned sour.  Arthur, William's twin in looks only, 
had been dabbling in financial schemes galore when I was preparing to leave for 
America. The last news I had heard had him making money off the backs of poor 
investors who were unfortunate to deal with him.

I shook my head at the memory. Arthur has the distinction of being a twin to 
Will, but that's where the similarities end.  Many an evening was spent at the 
dinner table, with Arthur debating with father over the state of the economy and 
whether an industrial revolution would actually benefit England. I joined their 
arguments from time to time, but Arthur clearly resented my involvement.

"Is he still the same cross sort who would argue us down about world affairs at 
the dinner table?"

Will snorted in reply, "Arthur has now decided to ply his trade in politics. 
Somehow, he has found enough people to support him into a position as Councilman 
for our fair city."

"Politics?" I could not hold back an amused laugh. "The man is a wolf in sheep's 
clothing.  Trusting him with the mechanics of our government is like handing the 
key to the bank of England to a robber."

"I know that, and you know that, Amanda," Will replied, "however, he is 
councilman.  He gives all appearances of being above reproach.  Sometimes I 
wonder who the actor in the family truly is."

"How has the family been since father has been ill?" I asked.

A haunted look came into Will's eyes.  "Some are taking it harder than others, 
and there is one person that was glad to see him go down. You know of who I 
speak, of course."

A sharp voice emanated from the doorway, as I saw Arthur step into the room, "I 
heard that, Will.  Don't you have some rehearsal or theatre thing to go to?"

Will's face visibly tightened at the sight of Arthur. With a mumbled apology, he 
cast a quick glance to me. "If you will excuse me, I must be off to the theatre 
for the casting announcements. See you at dinner, Amanda." 
~~

I stood there uncomfortably for some moments, as Arthur stared at me. He finally 
came closer, walking around me in a full circle, before he finally spoke.

"So, the prodigal daughter returns to bilk her siblings out of their rightful 
share of the family home."

"Hello to you too, Arthur. Still finding ways to hoard money from hapless widows 
and orphans?"  I replied bitterly. 

"My business has always been legitimate.  Investors knew what they were getting 
into when they gave me their money," Arthur retorted lightly.

I got closer to him and retorted angrily, "Tell that to the investors that lost 
over 20,000 pounds investing with you."

"Business is business, dear sister.  The risks were always up front and in their 
plain sight.  Now as to the business of this family shindig, maybe you can 
enlighten us as to what's going on.  We were going to have a will reading this 
morning, but apparently Mr. Harrison is of the belief that you need to be there.
Now why do you suppose that daddy's little girl needs to be there, unless she 
has a major stake in this...," Arthur replied angrily, jabbing a finger at me.

A voice from the doorway settled the matter. 

"Enough!"

Arthur and I stopped and stared as our mother entered the room, carrying a vase 
full of flowers.  She placed it carefully on the nearby sideboard, then advanced 
on us with an angry look on her face.

"Is it enough that your father has passed on, but now we are to bicker about it 
like school children? I could hear you two out in the hall! Both of you find 
something to do this afternoon, but I expect to see each of you here for a 
peaceful family meal this evening.  Am I clear?"

"Yes, Mother," Arthur mumbled, as he walked to the door.  

As he passed by me, I heard him mutter. 

"This is not over, dear sister."

I watched him leave as a wave of uneasiness washed over me.  If he was 
heartbroken he was sure was not showing it.

I sat down in the nearest chair facing the picture window.  Looking outside, the
green grass rustled in the breeze, and the sun glinted off of the greenhouse,
as I watched Melanie  milling about inside the massive glass structure.

My attention shifted  as I heard someone behind me.

~*~
Travis cleared his throat as he entered the sitting room.

"Excuse me, Miss Covington, you have visitors, Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. 
Watson."

Travis took a position in the corner of the room as the two familiar figures 
entered the room.

I rose to greet them, "It is good to see the both of you, but I am afraid most 
of the family is indisposed at the moment."

Mr. Holmes frowned as he took a seat across from me. "This is unfortunate.  I 
had hoped to meet your family."

"Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Holmes," I replied bitterly, "I had a good 
dose of them this morning, and I didn't like what I heard."

I then detailed the events of the morning to him.  He closed his eyes, listening 
to my narrative and nodding occasionally.

"Mr. Holmes, did you get a chance to analyze that powder I left with you?"

"It is as you suspected. The vial contained a generous amount of Atropine, a 
poison that can be fatal within a few hours.  I turned it over to the 
authorities, for there were fingerprints on it that they can use."

My heart clenched at his reply.  "So it is true.  My father was poisoned. One of 
the people in this house is a murderer.  Maybe I can help you make some 
inquiries--"

Mr. Holmes held up a hand, cutting me off, "No...this matter is truly a 
dangerous one.  With you the primary holder of your family's assets, you would 
be the next one targeted by the murderer. I could not allow you to take such a 
risk."

Before I could argue the point, Dr. Watson piped up. "We are going to the 
morgue.  They should be starting the autopsy on your father today to verify the 
cause of death.  Chin up. We will have this matter well in hand soon enough, my 
dear."

Travis escorted them out, and I was alone once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When everyone had left the sitting room, I pondered my options.  Mr. Holmes told 
me to wait and he would take action, but something felt out of place here.  I 
see what my father was trying to tell me.  My family was acting very strangely. 
If there is any evidence here, it must be found, before the murderer got rid of 
it.

I fled the sitting room quickly.  Dinner would be in an hour, so I did not have 
much time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making my way up the stairs, I turned down the hallway that housed the bedrooms.

My mother's bedroom was first.  For the past few years, she had kept a separate 
bedroom from my father. 

Turning the ornate doorknob, I stepped into the room, and was awed by the sight. 
The room was decorated grandly; the fabrics alone would have set my monthly wage 
as a nurse back a few months. Her bed was draped in brightly colored fabrics 
that looked to have been imported from the Orient, and a tapestry was hanging on 
the far wall that was vibrant with scenes of a medieval battle.

I quickly searched her dressing table and dresser, but could not find anything. 
A subsequent search of her closet also yielded no results.

As I prepared to leave the room, I noticed a pair of gloves on the side table by 
my mother's bed.  As I got closer, I realized they were the gloves that she used 
to tend her gardens and work in the greenhouse.  The fingertips of both gloves 
were caked with potter's soil, and one glove had an odd shaped green stain.

As I picked up the gloves, the book that had been underneath tipped off of the 
table.  As I leaned down to pick it up, I noticed from the title that it was a 
gardening book showing the different types of plants and shrubs in England. I 
noticed that a piece of paper had slipped partway out of the book when it had 
hit the floor.

When I opened the book to where the slip of paper was placed, I was shocked to 
see that it was an entry about Belladonna, a dangerous plant that when ground 
up, could produce a poison called atropine! 

I dropped the book in shock.  Here was the knowledge, neatly laid out.  Anyone 
who had this book would know where to find and process atropine.  The thought of 
my mother poisoning my father ... surely she would have a perfectly logical 
explanation of why this was in her room. However, that thought did nothing to 
settle my uneasiness.  I would have to confront her about this soon.
 
Shaken, I put everything back in place and quickly left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I must confess that as a child, I was always the snoop... getting into my 
sister's bedroom and going through her things felt like the ultimate treasure 
hunt.  I always enjoyed going through Melanie's treasures, even at the risk of 
getting caught.

When I entered her room, I noticed that she had not had much changed from where 
we were kids.  Muted pinks and yellows from the curtains filtered the sunlight 
softly into the room.  Her bed was decorated in the same style; complete with a 
doll she used to play with as a child.

Walking over to her dresser, I searched through it carefully without success. 
Her dressing table yielded nothing out of the ordinary as well.

Turning to leave, I noticed an ornate dressing mirror settled into the corner of 
her room. I walked closer to it, admiring the gold gilding on the fringes of the 
mother of pearl frame.

As I ran my hand along the sides of the mirror, I felt a bundle of some sort 
wedged between the frame and the mirror.  Tugging the bundle, I stumbled back as 
it came loose from behind the mirror.

It was a small bundle of letters neatly tied with a ribbon. Gently, I untied the 
ribbon away from the bundle and looked through the letters.  They were all 
written by a man's hand, and addressed to my sister. 

I went through the bundle of letters one by one.  Each was written by a man who 
seemed quite smitten with my sister.  The last letter I encountered in the pile 
even mentioned leaving his current wife so he could be with her forever.

I stared at the letter that I had clutched in my hand.  My sister had a suitor?  
I was shocked.  She had never told me about this gentleman, and his letter 
sounded very amorous.  Carefully, I placed the letter back in her things and 
took leave of her room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will's bedroom was sparsely populated, and as I searched it, I noticed a curious 
absence of anything personal, save a few theatrical posters of the last two 
productions he was in.

Strange indeed, but I couldn't find anything that indicated hatred or trouble of 
any kind.

That left one more bedroom to check - Arthur's.

I carefully crept down the hall to his bedroom and went inside.  

Arthur's bedroom was a study in military precision.  His suitcase was perfectly 
aligned by the bed, while his clothes lay neatly folded on top of the bed.

His walk-in closet  was prisitne,  save for a pair of pants  and a pair 
of shoes.

That left the suitcase.  

I leaned down to pop the latch, when I heard footsteps 
sounding in the hallway.

Quickly, I stepped into the closet and closed the door.

I waited for precious minutes as I heard a loud footfall come into the room
and pause for a few moments.

Hearing the rustle of a drawer opening and closing, I hear the loud footsteps 
echo as they went quickly out of the room.

Shivering, I quietly crept from the closet and got everything back into place, 
as the chimes that signaled dinner sounded throughout the manor.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I made my way into the dining room, I noticed that not much had changed since 
I last lived here. The dining room of our home is about the most opulent room in 
the place.  Many photographs and personal mementos of my father's business 
dealings offset tan wallpaper with numerous flowers. The table was always 
covered in the finest linens, topped with numerous silver vases containing 
freshly cut flowers from our garden greenhouse.  My mother always saw to that.

I gave a nervous glance to my family as I found my seat.  All of them were 
already seated, each staring at me like I had something to hide.

My mother gave me a stern glance. "Dinner is getting cold, dear.  Sit down and 
eat or Melanie will take your share."

I hurriedly took my place at the table. Melanie cast a dirty look towards her, 
but said nothing.

The table was set with a large roast duck and many bowls of vegetables and 
sauces. I eagerly began amassing my plate with the delicious food.

Travis soon arrived, clutching a bouquet of lilies. He placed them in the vase 
at the center of the table, and gave a curt bow towards my mother.

"Fresh flowers as you requested, Mrs. Covington."

"Thank you, Travis, that will be all," my mother replied, as she poured herself 
a glass of wine from the flask on the table.

Travis smiled, and walked out of the dining area.

Silence ensued for many moments as each of us heartily began eating our meal.

"So, Will, how is the play coming along?" Mother asked, finally breaking the 
silence.

Will smiled broadly as he passed around a hot basket filled with rolls. "It is 
coming along swimmingly, Mother.  I won the lead role as Othello in the 
auditions today, and we are due to start rehearsals tomorrow."

"Excellent, dear," She replied, totally draining her wineglass.  Taking a roll 
from the basket being passed around, she passed it on to Melanie.  "And what 
about you, Melanie dear? Did you have an eventful day?"

Melanie replied happily, "The day lilies Travis was helping me with took first 
place at the garden festival.  I received a blue ribbon and everything!"  

"Excellent, Melanie," mother replied, as she filled her wineglass for a second 
time, "good to see that the time you spent with me in the greenhouse all those 
years has paid off." 

"So mother, what arrangements were made for the funeral?"  I asked, as took a 
dinner roll and passed the basket along.

Mother gave me a tired look.  "Dear, if we could refrain from that conversation 
until the end of the meal, at least.  I'm sure that everyone here will agree that 
the events of the past day have not settled well with us."

I also noticed that mother had drained her glass and was pouring another.

My uneasiness grew as I watched  the people around me. Arthur was eating 
his meal,  but his eyes were cold.  Will ate quickly and with enthusiasm,  
apparently not off the high from the events at the theatre.

Melanie though surprised me.  She cleared her plate in all unseemly haste, and was
already diving in for seconds.  

"You must have had a busy day Mel,"  I commented.

"What?  Oh, I wasn't feeling too well this morning.  First meal that I 
have had all day in fact,"  Melanie commented,  as she served herself 
more food.

Mother then cleared her throat.

"Children, Mr. Harrison and I had the most interesting conversation 
today while we were at the park. It seems that your father has made 
changes to the will."

I felt a sense of dread as I realized what she had planned to say. 
"Mother, can we talk about this later?  This is a private issue," 
I hissed.

She tittered loudly in reply, "Nonsense dear, if it is going to 
concern our livelihood and the fate of our family home,  then I 
think the whole family should know who was named the executor 
of the will."

"Mother, please," I protested, reaching for her glass, "You have had 
too much wine.  Let me-"  

"Yes mother, tell us," Arthur asked with venom in his voice, "who 
was given the pleasure?"

She continued in an overly loud voice while snatching her wineglass 
out of my range, "Our dear Amanda was given the task of distributing 
the assets."

"What??  No vagabond nursemaid is going to decide my fate!" he 
roared, as he rose to his feet.

Arthur was turning beet red with anger.  If looks could kill, I would 
have been ten feet under that very instant.

"I do not see why you came back.  You apparently were enjoying 
your romp in the states playing nursemaid to any Johny-come-lately 
who would even give you a glance," Arthur snapped.

"Arthur," mother interceded, "that is quite enough.  This affair is 
bad enough as is without your bellowing. Let us finish our meal 
in silence."

There was an uneasy silence as we continued to eat our meal.  

Arthur's comments angered me.  Father had a good reason to turn 
control over to me. He did not trust these people, and neither did I.

I finally could not bear the silence anymore. "Well, someone certainly 
decided our father's fate.  I can see quite a few suspects in this room 
alone!"

Mother turned sharply towards me. "Dear, if you are going to insist 
on this accusatory tone, then you will not be welcome in this house, 
regardless of what the will says."

I was too angry to stop now. "All I know is this.  One of you is a 
murderer, and I will see to it that they will rot in prison for the rest 
of their life!"

No one had said a word after my outburst.  

I looked at each of my family members in disgust.

"And now, if you will excuse me, I will be in my room, where I can 
get away from the likes of vultures like you!"

Running out of the room,  I felt my face burn in anger.  The nerve 
of those people!  How could they be so cold?

I turned to go up the stairs, when I felt a hand clamp down on my wrist.

Turning, I found Travis standing there, his eyes blazing incredulously.

"Amanda, don't you think that was a bit dangerous back there?  You 
heard what Mr. Holmes said; the murderer could come after you!"

"I am fine, Travis.  What I need now is time to myself.  Good evening!"

Shaking off his grasp, I rushed upstairs and quickly fled to my room.

Once I had my door closed, I fell onto the bed with a sigh. Something was 
definitely wrong with this picture.  No one seemed to mourn his passing, and yet 
everybody seemed to have something to gain.

I eventually fell asleep, dreaming of schemes, murder and madness...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I awoke on the bed in the middle of the night, still dressed. I tried getting to 
my feet, but the room swayed violently.

~ What the...what is wrong with me?~

Slowly, I made my way out of my room and down the stairs, all the while 
clutching to the wall like it was a lifeline.  The dizziness wasn't passing, and 
it was beginning to worry me. Still, I needed to check out the dining room.  It 
was the only room that I hadn't searched yet.  

Something seemed out of place this evening, though I couldn't quite figure it 
out.

Finding my way to the grand hallway, I stopped in mid-route to the dining room 
as my stomach took a sickening lurch, and the room once again started to sway.

I felt dizzy and my heart raced.  With a sickening fear, I realized that I had 
been poisoned.  The signs were all there.

So Mr. Holmes was right after all.  I had to get help. 

I managed to stumble to the front door.  Air...I needed air.

My hands managed to claw the door open, where Sherlock Holmes and 
Dr. Watson stood there, Travis standing not far behind them.  

"Help me...please," I moaned weakly, as I stumbled towards the group.

Holmes eyes widened as he took in my disheveled appearance. "Miss 
Covington? You little fool! Watson, catch her!"

Those were the last words I heard before my world was plunged into blissful 
darkness.

    Source: geocities.com/gumshoeinc/covington

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