The secrets of crimson house

It was one of those nights, windy, tinted in blue.

One of those nights where all you wanna do is lay infront of the fire until the paper boy wake you up in the morning with his shy knocking.

Sadly for me, I had other plans,all day driving through dark mountain roads and for what?

Yet another case of murder.

This town, when will they learn

The Duke is a high figure around those parts,I bet he doesn’t want the press involved, and I’m also sure the police went inside the manor already and did all they could.

So why me?why involving a private detective in this case.

All answers I was planning to get soon.

I can only suppose that lady Dee,the victim,is another influential figure,well..was.

Same old story, if you got money and fame everybody cares, if you got nothing, nothing is what You get.

After a quick stop to refill my tank and checking the map one last time I arrived finally at Crimson house.

The mansion was way bigger then I expected, couldn’t help looking at the manor through my car's window while searching for a place to park my black Chevrolet corvair.

-finally out!

After taking my suitcase from the backseat I climbed the long ramp of stairs ,ending in a square filled with roses.

Around the marble fountain in the middle,six statues were pouring water on it,I believe those were muses,reminded me of Greek or perhaps Italian architecture.

Damn I should’ve accepted the Fagietti case back in '58 ,never had the chance to visit Italy ever since ,I always wanted to visit that country,I bet those kind of statues are everywhere in there.

After reaching the main gate I knocked twice, excited to get in, if the main square was so pretty I bet the indoors were going to be even more fascinating.

It took few minutes for the big wooden door to open, the tall ,old butler did not said a word,so I decided to make the first move and introduce myself.

Man- “greeting sir, I believe I’m in the correct address,I been invited by the Duke for a consultation and investigation,my name is..”

But before I had the chance to finish my sentence a voice from behind one of the arches interrupted me

Man2-"Robert Whillow!”

A man approached us followed by a woman.

Man2-"I can’t believe it,mr Whillow is here too!? I apologize did not mean to interrupt, my name is Marcus Lawrence, huge fan of your work "

.

Robert-"nice to meet you mr Lawrence,I did not expect to meet other people but the Duke and his servants if I may be perfectly honest with you, frankly I’m surprised due the circumstances.

Marcus-"I understand your reaction mr Whillow, but you see once a year,the Duke opens his doors to the town and host a celebration of some sort, it last three days,I believe we will not the only guests you’ll see this weekend..oh! Sorry I must have forgotten my manners,this is my wife Linda"

Linda-"it is a pleasure."

Robert-"the pleasure is all mine mrs Lawrence”

Mrs Lawrence was a middle age woman,short hair,blonde and dressed in pastel.

She didn’t look very confident,it was clear she tried her best to fit in a world that was not made for her; same I could say about Marcus,but he didn’t seem to care at all.

The chubby short man was way too excited to be in the manor, his lips were smiling under those thick moustaches.

Robert-“I’m sorry, but I have to ask, why the two of you are here?any special occasion?I must assume you 're here for those three days of celebrations?”

Marcus-“oh no ,we paid the Duke privately to get a room in the manor.”

Robert-“why so?”

Marcus- “ghosts off course!”

Robert-"you are not serious I hope, ghosts aren’t real, pure superstition!”

Linda- "we ..we saw them!"

I lightened my cigarette.

Robert-"saw them?”

Marcus-"oh yeah we did! We did! Strange shadows in the night!”

Before I could carry on with my questions, a group of people dressed in crimson velvet hoods, walked in from the main gate through the hall and moved on to a ramp of stairs on the left side of the high ceiling room.

Robert-"is this celebration started tonight?"

Butler-"tomorrow morning sir

Now ,if you would be so kind to follow me ,

I will escort you to your room.”

After closing the door behind him and picking my suitcase, he made me a signal pointing a different ramp of stairs, this time on the right.

Marcus- "mr Whillow, I hope to carry on our conversation over dinner tonight!”

Robert-"I’m sure we will mr Lawrence"

Left the couple behind,we started our journey through an incredible detailed and luxurious corridor ,the walls were rich of framed paintings of royal figures,hounds and landscapes.

Stuffed animals heads were also featuring those walls.

Robert-"those paintings are impressive!

the Duke must be very proud of his manor,is he not?mr..mr?”

Butler-"Ford sir,you may call me mr Ford.

Here we are sir,the Duke asked me to place you in one of our best rooms.”

Robert-"I appreciate it mr Ford”

Mr Ford-"my duty sir,oh! here they come your neighbors for the weekend."

From the back of the corridor mr Lawrence and mrs were fast approaching the door next to mine.

I put my hand on my face,while mr Lawrence waved at me with one hand and inserting the key in the lock with the other.

I locked the door behind me just to open it again right after.

Robert-"mr Ford? When dinner will be served?”

Nobody was in sight,strange I thought ,so I closed the door.

Knock knock

Somebody's on the door!?it can not be!

Mr Ford-"sir?dinner will be served at 23:00.”

I opened the door once more,but nobody was there again.

Must be an hidden path for the servants I thought.

I looked around for a minute or two,I looked behind the curtains,tried to open the near by doors,but they were locked

“is everything all right mr Whillow?

Marcus-“I don’t think that’s possible mr Whillow,you see mr Ford is not allowed inside the guest rooms,only the maids are!”

Robert- “thank you mr Lawrence,my curiosity has been statisfied”

I lied otherwise he would carry on talking about phantoms and ghouls.better not to feed his imagination.

Marcus- “I will see you later mr Whillow”

Said Marcus closing the door.

Once back in the room and placed my suitcase on the bed I walked to one of the two windows on the left side of the bed and opened it.

Outside was dark and rainy,through the black shaped woods I could see the remains of another manor in the distance.

After washing my face in the sink in the small bathroom facing the bed,I took a minute to examine my chamber.

So I did; no signs of my exited neighbours .

Woman-“Margaret sir,please this way sir.”

I walked slowly behind her,she was a old and robust woman, barely fitting in her uniform,she looked tired so I offered to hold the lantern as we were adventuring in a maze of corridors and staircases.

before we reached the dining room,we passed through a very old library;

On the second balcony of the four levels room,a man was standing by the wooden spiral staircase with a book in his hand.

Marcus-“mr Whillow,Margaret,is it dinner time already?”

Marcus quickly ran down the stairs,just like a child is quick to run after the school bell ring.

Robert-“soo mr Lawrence,have you had the pleasure to meet the Duke in person yet?”

Marcus- “no no,no..the Duke is a busy man you see,he does not deal with common folks as myself, but tonight,tonight oh boy,we will feast in his company mr Whillow”

Robert-“hide your excitement mr Lawrence,remember where we are.”

Marcus-“sure sure Robert,may I call you by name right?”

Robert-“mr Whillow would be more appropriate,don’t forget I’m here on duties mr Lawrence.”

Marcus-“I apologize for my manners mr Whillow.”

We walked few more minutes before reaching a mahogany door,on each side,two strange busts were standing on top marble columns.

They appeared to be two children or at least young adults,but their faces belonged to horses-what kinda twisted mind would sculpt those grotesque figures-

Marcus-“how bizarre those statues appear to be!ahahah

Maybe the Duke has the same pathology

would you imagine mr Whillow?”

Margaret-“MR LAWRENCE!

This childish sense of humor will be not tolerated here at crimson house.”

I felt embarrassed for Marcus,all he could say was -I apologize-

After a long stare ,Margaret opened the doors introducing us loudly even if the room seemed deserted.