A Murder at Midnight
by Rishi Mukherjee - 6A

CharlesWilliams had just come home from his peaceful evening walk. These had been common since the letter. You see, Sir Charles suffered from high blood pressure. These walks had helped him take his mind off of all this.

As Sir Charles strolled into the safety of his mansion, the crooked castle, he couldn’t help but think about the letter. “GIVE THE MONEY OR ELSE…” The problem was, the British Businessman did not have any clue concerning “the money”, or else he would have given it. The gangs around the area were notorious for murder. As he came in, he was greeted by his newly hired hunch-back maid servant, Mrs. Wallace. Unknown to Sir Charles, Mrs. Wallace concealed a knife.

Supper was uneventful. It was just Sir Charles, his son Peter and Mrs. Wallace, still clutching the knife. Later that evening, Sir Charles had some work. After finishing, he climbed two floors to his room. As he was on the first flight of stairs, he heard the clock bell chime twelve times, signaling midnight. Ooh, Ooh! The sound startled Sir Charles. Then he realized it was only an owl. At that moment, the one kerosene lamp in his hand went out. Sir Charles was alone in the dark. The only light he had was from the full moon’s eerie glow.

When Peter Williams woke to the sound of screaming, he knew at once that he would have a bad day. As he came to the second floor’s landing, he discovered that it would be worse than anticipated. Mrs. Wallace was sitting and crying. Was it because she would not get paid for sometime, or the fact that her employer, Sir Charles Williams was lying dead on the cold, marble floor.