Free The Frankenstein Murders by Kathlyn Bradshaw Page A

night, due, most understandably, to her apprehension for her jewels. On the third night, yet another jewel went missing. The widow was convinced that a ghost was the culprit and wanted to have the house and her room exorcised to remove the thieving spirit, or to dispose of what remained of her priceless collection.
    I persuaded her to allow me to stay in her room, that I might observe the ghost thief in action. Predominantly as a matter of propriety, the widow was reluctant at first, but then acquiesced. I sat myself down in a shadowy corner of the room and prepared to wait for the apparition. I must have dozed slightly, for I was wakened by a movement across the room. The night skies had become clouded, obscuring the moonlight. I had difficultly seeing more than a white shape moving slowly across the floor. Then the moon broke through the clouds and I saw no ghost, but the widow in her nightdress and cap walking towards her jewellery cabinet. I called her name, but she paid me no heed. She took the key that hung about her neck and unlocked the cabinet. She then pulled open one of the drawers and took out an exquisite diamond and sapphire necklace. She shut the drawer, closed the cabinet door, and locked it securely. The widow then walked across to the fireplace and removed the lid from a large decorative urn upon the mantle. She dropped the necklace inside, replaced the lid, and returned to her bed.
    â€œHow extraordinary!” Lyall Peacock exclaimed. “She was stealing her own jewels. But why would she take them with you there in the room to witness her actions. Had she so easily forgotten your presence?”
    The problem did not lie in simple forgetfulness, I explained. The widow had not forgotten; instead, she was completely unaware. The widow was afflicted by nocturnal perambulations — that is to say, she walked in her sleep. As her collection of jewels had grown, so had her apprehension. Not even the sturdy jewel case, locked doors, and guard dogs gave her the security she wanted. Each night in her sleep, her mind tormented by the thought that her prized and priceless jewel collection might be stolen, she took them one at a time and hid them in the urn on the mantelpiece. The following morning, I handed over the diamond and sapphire necklace and the rest of the missing jewels and made known to the much-relieved widow what had happened to them. She then undertook to control her nightly activities and the case was solved to everyone’s satisfaction.
    â€œA happy and good end!” Lyall stated approvingly as he refilled my glass. “Is this much the way that you handle all of your cases? You never considered that the culprit might indeed have been a ghost?”
    Before I answered my host, I took another sip of his amber liquid. Many of the investigations in which I have been involved have contained a supposed supernatural element. Nevertheless, in each case, the supernatural has always been explained away, and with facts and figures, rather than superstitious fears, a more rational solution discovered. In every case, there has been a mortal solution, and most often one so simple it has entirely been overlooked.
    My host and I indulged in a few more minutes of pleasant conversation before I took my leave of him. During the carriage ride back to the inn, I reflected on the pleasant evening we had passed, and that if assured of a tolerable cook, it would be an unreasonable man who could not put in an enjoyable month at the home of Lyall Peacock. That having been said, except for the promised newspaper articles, the visit did not contributesignificantly to my investigation. Lyall saw no one suspicious and could in no way be considered a suspect himself, having no cause to murder anyone and having demonstrated a most sincere attachment to Henry Clerval. The Perth friends that Lyall and Henry might have visited would have little, if anything, further to contribute, and so I have determined the greater