So which one of you committed this heinous crime? The abandoned daughter, forced to grow up alone; or the commanding officer, angered by his soldier’s refusal to do what is right? I assume that is why you quarrelled Colonel? You were aggrieved that your friend did not live up to a soldier’s honour? Did your anger spill over into violence?

And Miss Scarlet, why did you come here to this little gathering? I doubt your father invited you. So it was on the Colonel’s wishes, but why did you want to meet with a man who so clearly wanted nothing to do with you? Why now, after all these years?

Murder! That is the reason. You knew the Colonel would legitimise you, and if you could not claim your father’s love, you wished to claim his estate. I’m sorry to say, now, you have lost it all.

Colonel, Miss Scarlet, you know each other, the young lady told me so. However, please beg my pardon, neither of you seems like the company the other would usually keep. So what is the connection? Obvious! Doctor Black. But how?

Colonel, you knew Black in Africa, were his commanding officer. Battles make brothers, do they not? And what would a brother not tell his brother? Nothing! So what did Black tell you? Was it the very same thing that the Reverend saw you arguing about? I think it was.

And the ring Mrs White accidentally knocked from Miss Scarlet’s bed, was it truly a gift for the Doctor? No! Miss Scarlet, you told me you grew up an orphan, that was only half true. Your parents were absent, yes, but not because they were dead. That ring is your birth right, you are Doctor Black’s daughter!

To be continued…

After my deliberations, one thing is clear; any one of you might have been the killer.

However, only one of you is. I will confess, you led me a merry dance. Repeatedly I felt sure I had solved it, only to be waylaid by another revelation. Mrs White, the housekeeper, in love with her master, consistently knocked back, if the Colonel’s accounts of the Doctor’s troubles with you are to be believed. Motive? Definitely, but I am convinced your heart is true.

Professor Plum and Mrs Peacock, both so disappointed not to be able to go for a walk in the grounds, neither telling me the whole truth. Dishonest? Yes, but killers? No. Lovers? Most definitely!

And the Reverend Green, the weapon used to perform this terrible act belongs to you, I think, but the crime does not.

So that leaves two, the Colonel and Miss Scarlet.

To be continued…

I had planned to go for a walk for a moment of privacy. Of course, the rain interfered with that scheme, so I spent some time wondering about the house instead.

(I asked if she remembered seeing Miss Scarlet.)

Yes, I do believe we crossed paths. Near the conservatory actually. She was standing still, rolling a small object in her palms. I did not see what it was.

(I recounted Mrs White’s assertion that her door had been locked.)

I went back to change before dinner and touch up my lipstick. I did not want to get walked in on, I am a lady of modesty, a good Christian. It’s a shame the same cannot be said for the Reverend. Perhaps if he spent more time praying and less time playing with his car and all those silly tools, this might never have happened.

Note: Mrs Peacock wears pink lipstick.

It’s terrible, just terrible. I have only just become reacquainted with the Doctor and now he’s… dead.

I had recently met him in London and he invited me to this little gathering. I know the Colonel too of course, but he seems to have withdrawn from me since… it… happened so I’m quite alone here. I am used to it. Orphan’s lot I’m afraid.

I wish I could be more help. I was taking a walk when it happened, the rain helps me think. I didn’t see anyone else until we were all gathered in the conservatory. Well, Mrs Peacock had passed me from that direction a little earlier but we did not speak, she seemed agitated and I turned away to head for the gardens and thought little of it. Do you think it’s related?

Note: Miss Scarlet’s boots show no signs of having been in the rain.

I cannot tell you very much. After breakfast I had planned to take a stroll in the gardens, but the rain rather spoiled that idea. I returned to my room and laid down. I had only intended to do so briefly before continuing with my research, but I’m afraid to say I fell asleep and was only woken by that awful racket the housekeeper was making.

(I told him Mrs White claimed that his room was quite empty when she went to clean it.)

Well she was mistaken. I was asleep. Instead of quizzing me why don’t you speak to that Scarlet woman? None of us even know why she is here. I for one find it rather odd that Doctor Black was murdered when there was a stranger in the house.

Note: The Professor had a bright pink smear on the inside of his collar.

I was making beds all afternoon, starting in the West Wing. Mrs Peacock’s door was locked but Miss Scarlet’s was ajar and she was absent. I nearly lost the present the young lady had bought for the Doctor, a ring featuring the Black family crest. I didn’t notice it was on the covers until I heard it clatter to the floor as I pulled them back. It wouldn’t have mattered, he’ll never get it now.

(Mrs White was inconsolable for five minutes after this.)

Forgive me. I continued to the North wing but the Reverend’s room was locked. The Colonel’s was open but empty, as was the Professor’s. His bed looked like it had hardly been slept in.

That’s when I went downstairs and found, his body.

Note: I could get nothing more useful from Mrs White but I did hear her say “My Love” between her sobs.

I believe I had been in the library ever since breakfast. I was reading a terribly interesting account of Napoleon in Russia and I was quite absorbed, so I was rather startled by Mrs White’s yell.

(I quizzed him regarding the Reverend’s account regarding meeting the Colonel on the stairs from the bedrooms.)

You must forgive me if I forget any details, I am an old man and I have seen too many battles. The good Reverend is quite right of course. Upon looking up from the book, I had noticed it was starting to grow dark. I quickly returned to my room to dress for dinner and that is when I heard Mrs White’s exclamation. According to Black, he had been having terrible trouble with her recently, I am not sure why.

Note: The Colonel made no account of any argument with Doctor Black.

I was in my room in the North Wing, as I had been since breakfast. When I heard Mrs White’s screams, I rushed out and met Colonel Mustard on the stairs. I was momentarily surprised that the Professor was not there too, as his room is adjacent to mine, but I suppose he was busy with his experiments.

I had kept myself to myself all day as Dr Black had asked me to give a service and I needed to prepare. I was to use a passage from Hebrews regarding forgiveness, 10:12-14. The Colonel had suggested it. I wonder why he was so concerned with forgiveness on the day of such a horrible murder? To tell the truth, I had seen the Colonel and the Doctor having an argument earlier. It’s all rather suspicious, don’t you think?

Note: The Reverend had a grease stain on his trousers.

There has been a murder at the mansion of Dr Black and I have been called in to investigate. Dr Black was hosting five of his friends, an eclectic group comprised of the Rev. Green, a local priest, Colonel Mustard, Black’s commanding officer in Africa, Miss Scarlet, a prominent beauty down from London, Mrs Peacock, a wealthy widower, and Prof. Plum, Black’s long-time research partner. Mrs White, the housekeeper, was also at the residence when the crime was committed.

Dr Black was found by Mrs White in the conservatory just before dinner was to begin. His head had been caved in by a blunt object and, upon my arrival, I found a blood and grease covered wrench in the mud of the garden near by. Any prints that may have been there were washed away by the dreadful rain that so plagued my journey here.

My investigations continue.