Hidden within the depths of the police, vaults lay the cases that were unsolved. These were the ones that had no evidence, no suspects and no victory. Seldom were these cases bought out of the dark in which they slept to see the light of day again. For them, the days of people being interested in them were over and all that was left was for them to gather dust as the words within their pages were forgotten entirely.

However, there was one Detective within the force that thought of those forgotten cases. His heart was one that yearned to finished those cases that were never solved. His career had already been established and he was known for figuring out hard to see cases. He needed a new challenge, which is what led him down into the police vaults. There was little chance that he would actually solve any of the cases down there but that didn’t stop him from trying.

He had heard of a particular case, one from long ago, one that was often used as an example to new recruits. He himself remembered being told the story when he first started in the force all those years ago. There had been a young couple deeply in love during the regency period. However, she was from a rich upstanding family and he was merely a stable boy. On the morning of the twenty-seventh of March, the body of Erik Mark had been found. Five days later Lady Saffie Meeking disappeared never to be seen again. The inquiry for the boy Erik was short and closed quickly, while the hunt for Lady Saffie Meeking continued for several months before the search was called off.

Picking up the box, he returned to his office with it and took out the summary report from the original detective on the case, it read as follows:

“On the night of the twenty-six of March 1815 we had been called out to Lord Meeking’s Manor after members of the community had heard suspiciously loud noises coming from within the grounds. No disturbance was discovered while talking to Lord Meeking and the matter was put to rest. On the morning of the twenty-seventh of March, the body of Mr Erik Mark (a stable boy working for Lord Meeking) was found with three stab wounds to the chest, in a secluded part of the forest behind Lord Meeking’s estate. When questioned, Lord Meeking had commented rather stiffly that Erik had been a hard worker and good with the horses. No further comments had been made, the inquest into Erik’s death had been short lived, no arrests were made and the matter had been dropped entirely after a matter of weeks.

Since the morning of the twenty-seventh of March, people spoke of the change within Lord Meeking, his anger became more apparent and violence became his main form of actions. For those that knew him well, this behaviour was very out of character.

Five days after the murder of Erik, Lady Saffie Meeking (Lord Meeking’s daughter) went missing. Lord Meeking called out the police and Brigadier Northman – who was currently in London – offered the use of his troupes to help find the girl. The search went on for some weeks, but never a hair was found of the young woman. It was as if she had just disappeared.

Lord Meeking called off the search for his daughter after a few months and retreated into his house. He was rarely seen in public again and refused to comment on her disappearance.”

                                                                 *-..-*

Along with that statement, there was a picture of what Lady Saffie Meeking looked like and a description of her; “Lady ‘Saffie’ Saffron Meeking was a young woman of blonde hair and blue eyes, her slimming figure and pronounced breasts, made the men drool around her and the women exclaim at her ‘natural beauty’. She was seen at all the right social places, danced the night away at many a ball and shopped for hours during the day. She was looked upon by local society as unattainable, for though man suitors had come knocking on her door, her Father had forbidden any and all matches given. Lord Meeking was a man fuelled by money and power; he was used to the best and wouldn’t settle for anything less with his daughter. If she was going to marry, it would be as an arrangement that would award him with a large sum of money. There was no secret that the relationship between Lord Meeking and his daughter was a weak one”.

Detective Shawn Roberts understood the differences with the two victims, one came from money, one didn’t. One had a loving family, the other an unpleasant Father. However, it wasn’t clear what had happened between the two people. The detective found the history of this case rather interesting and he was surprised that the two incidents were never linked together. To him it seemed rather obvious that the death of Erik and the disappearance of Lady Saffie Meeking were linked, surely even if the police at the time had been stumped, they would have heard similar theories from the local gossip mill. Detective Roberts had a plan, the estate belonging to Lord Meeking now resided under the guard of the National Trust and he had decided that would be his first location to visit.

He’d also dug into the Erik’s past and found the address of his last living relative. The relatives name was Peter and he was the current Duke of Northumberland – quite the step up from a humble stable boy. It was a long way to Northumberland but it would be his next port of call.

Lord Meeking’s house, had once resided on the outskirts of London town, and now stood proudly in the centre. It was still in impeccable condition, a nod to the national trust for their work – but the extensive acres that once surrounded the house had mostly disappeared and were replaced with modern buildings. Luckily it was still open to the general public, however, after calling ahead, Detective Roberts was able to get them to shut the house from the public for the duration of his visit. There were others in the force that were now aware that he had taken on this particular case and they were all waiting to see if he’d succeed or not.

The outside of the house was painted white, and lined with big decorative windows, potted shrubs lined the outside of the house and led up towards the driveway. A wide set of steps led up to the front door. The Detective knocked twice before he was allowed entrance. It was a short young girl with pale blonde hair and green eyes that answered the door.

“You must be Detective Roberts, please come in” she said while moving aside to allow him entry.

“Thank you” he murmured in response.

She led him into the main hallway and he was amazed by the grandeur he found there.

“I understand you are investigating the murder and the disappearance that happened here so long ago” she said.

He looked at her sharply “how did you know?”

“Many a tourist has come here looking for answers to those events that happened so long ago. It is said that this house holds secrets to what happened all that time ago, that the spirits are just waiting for someone to tell their story to” she said.

“Is that what you believe?” he asked.

“I believe that something dreadful happened her that tore the lives of two apart” she said.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Colette Meeking” she replied.

“Meeking?” he asked.

“Yes, it is one of the reasons I got the job” she replied.

“You’re related to Lord Meeking?” he asked.

“I suppose in a very distant way that might be true, there are so many people with the same surname nowadays. I will leave you to look around now, if you need to touch anything, please remember to use the disposable gloves” she said.

Detective Roberts sighed as she left him to it. He was glad that the house was signposted and he could get to the place he desired without getting lost – the house was much larger than the town house he’d pictured in his mind. He had thought that visiting the room of Lady Saffie would be the best place to start. It would have been the place she spent the most time in after all.

The room was big and bright, pale yellow wallpaper, with a large four posted bed dominating the room. There was a wardrobe that was open with several dresses hanging out, a dressing table, a floor length mirror, a writing desk and a big bay window seat. The national trust had set the room up to look exactly how it would have done if it was still being used in 1815. Detective Roberts couldn’t explain it but he felt as though there was a special presence urging him to search the writing desk. At first glance it looked completely ordinary, oak wood, a draw for writing instruments, a bottle of in and a padded area to write on. He slid the disposable gloves on and continued his search. On closer inspection the desk seemed worn with age; he ran his hands along the surface feeling the bumps and groves until he came upon the one that clicked as he touched it. The click made a rather loud sound in the relatively quiet room and the Detective watched in amazement as a hidden compartment revealed itself.

Moving slowly and with his heart thumping in his chest, Detective Roberts opened the hidden compartment further and drew out an old piece of parchment. Recognising that what he had found was old and valuable, he carefully opened the piece of parchment. It appeared to be a letter and as he began to read, he felt a coldness consume his body and transport him to a time when the letter was still being written. He stood in awe as he read and watched history happen.

                                                                *-..-*

She walked around the room, her gown creased, tears streaming from her face until her body shuddered from the pain. She sat down at her writing desk and pulled a piece of parchment from a drawer, dipping her quill in the ink, she began to write.

          Dear Father,

By the time you read this I will be long gone. I have tried to find the words inside me to tell you I am sorry, but I find that I cannot form the words. If I could have wished for another life I would have done. I have hated my time trapped in this gilded cage that you have put me in. So obsessed with making money are you that you forgot about the wonderful things in life and you forgot about your family; me.

I know what you have done; you have taken away the one good thing I had. You have taken away the one I love and I despise you for it. I hope one day that hell rises up and takes you away to the deep where you can rot. I am in love still but I was reckless, I didn’t heed what I should have and now I am paying the price. Know before I leave that you have earned the title of Grandfather. That’s right; I carry a child, a child that I would have loved till the end of the earth had you not taken the Father from me. I cannot survive this world without him and you would only destroy me further so I have done what I should.

I will leave this place and I shall take my child with me. I know that I cannot keep it now that you have destroyed what happiness we could have had but I will make sure that my child knows of the monsters that live in this world so that they may have a better chance of surviving.

Now I have to leave fore there is nothing left for me here and I refuse to be a pawn in your twisted game. Perhaps in time you’ll become a better person.

Goodbye Father,

Lady Saffron Meeking.

The Detective watched as Saffie folded the letter up and placed it into an envelope. Saffie starred at the envelope for a while before taking the letter out of it and placing it in the hidden compartment of the writing desk. He then watched her glance around the room a final time before she sighed, got up and left.

                                                              *-..-*

Detective Roberts felt dazed as he came out of the trance like state he’d found himself in. He couldn’t believe that he’d been visited by a spirit like Colette had mentioned he would. He was half inclined to believe it was all a hallucination on his behalf. However, the letter certainly made things more intriguing, there had been a child involved, and a child born out of wedlock in those times would have been quite a scandal. It would have meant the end of Lady Saffie’s social standing had anyone found out about it.

Detective Roberts placed the piece of parchment in a clear self-sealing pouch and headed out of the room. He’d already found more than he bargained for as he entered the study of Lord Meeking. Floor to ceiling bookcases lined three of the walls while the last was open to windows that let the light stream in. The rest of the furniture in the room consisted of a large writing desk, a blood red sofa and an elegant chess set lay on a wooden table with two chairs. As he moved around the room he could see nothing out of the ordinary, then he felt a familiar coldness like the one he’d felt in Lady Saffie’s room before a small wisp of light appeared and floated around the room until it disappeared into one of the bookcases.

Detective Roberts had seen a lot of crazy things in his lifetime but never something so supernaturally spooky as this one. He had half a mind to run out of the building and forget the case altogether but he knew he wouldn’t rest until he was able to find out the truth. He moved towards the area of the bookcase where the light had disappeared and tapped his hands against the books. To his surprise, the sound he heard assured him that it was indeed hollow behind these books, seeing no obvious handle; he started searching for a trigger switch. It wasn’t until sometime later when he placed his hand on a miniature globe and pulled that the hidden compartment opened.

It was incredibly dusty inside the compartment and incredibly small. The Detective had to get out his torch to shed some light on what was hiding there. It was revealed to be two things, the first of which didn’t make him feel good. It seemed he had stumbled upon – by looking at the distinct residue of centuries old blood – that he had just found the murder weapon used to kill Erik. Accompanying the dagger was a scribble message that read:

“He killed him before bringing the evidence to me. I didn’t ask him to kill the boy; I just wanted him removed from the picture. No matter, I suppose no one will miss a stable boy. It is rather a pity, but I do not regret what has happened. She will go willingly now and I will have my money”.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the reappearance of Colette, he thought she would either be angry at him or excited by his discovery, he didn’t expect what actually happened.

“So you really are going to help solve the case” she said.

“Excuse me?” he replied.

She smiled “she said you’d be the one to help” she said.

“Who said that? Who are you really?” he asked.

“When you’ve solved it all, come see me and I’ll tell you” she said.

Detective Roberts watched her go with a confused expression on his face, it was clear that Colette Meeking was hiding something; just what she was hiding was obviously something he wasn’t going to find out at the present. He left Lord Meeking’s Manor and by the following morning had arrived in Northumberland.

*-. .-*

The current Duke of Northumberland was called Peter Scott; he was twenty-nine a millionaire, genius, philanthropist and a generally good guy. He lived up at the massive estate with his Mother Lady Caroline Scott. His Father – the previous Duke – had passed away in 2010 after suffering from a heart attack. When Detective Roberts had phoned ahead and asked if he could meet with him, he was only all too willing.

“It is a wonderful place you have here” said the Detective as he met Peter.

“Yes, we think so” replied Peter as he led the Detective into a pastel coloured tea room.

“Good afternoon Detective” said Lady Caroline “I hope you don’t mind my presence here but I do think you will need my input on whatever you wish to discuss” she said.

Detective Roberts nodded his head politely as he realised Lady Caroline wasn’t the sort of person to be trifled with.

“How can we be of service Detective” said Peter.

“I am investigating an unsolved case of the murder of your ancestor Erik Mark and the disappearance of Saffie Meeking” said the Detective.

His words got a reaction out of the two people before him, more from Lady Caroline than Peter Scott.

“I had hoped that one day someone would reopen the case” said Lady Caroline.

“What can you tell me?” asked the Detective.

“I can tell you that our family has been waiting a long time for Erik’s murderer to be brought to justice, though they are both long gone by now, the fact still remains that no one was brought to justice. Times were hard when our family had just started out. Eddison Mark (Erik’s Father) worked as the master in the stables of Lord Meeking. From what I’ve been told, Lord Meeking valued Eddison above all his other servants, so when Eddison became ill, Lord Meeking gave him leave to go home and rest as long as there was someone else within the family to take his place. That was how Erik ended up working in the stables. He worked diligently and quietly, the family was quite poor then and they couldn’t afford to miss out on any money. With Eddison sick at home, Erik’s Mother Mary had to stay home to look after him, which had made Erik’s younger sister Grace, work on the streets selling flowers. At that time Grace was only nine years old. Erik worked for Lord Meeking for a whole year before he was killed.

Grace Mark was my Great-great-great-great Grandmother and she kept a journal of sorts which detailed the moment when Erik’s behaviour started to change. She said that he seemed happier and fuller of life. The long hours and little pay didn’t seem to bother him as much and the insults that others sent our way no longer affected him. Grace had suspected that he had fallen in love and teased him about it, but in her young mind, she hadn’t realised that he’d more than fallen in love with someone and that it would end up having dire consequences. The day before Erik’s body was found, he told Grace that he was impossibly happy and that he had found the one person he intended to marry. She was so happy for him, she wanted to tell her parents but he begged her to keep it a secret until he had asked his love to marry him first. He didn’t want to get his parent’s hopes up just in case she said no” said Lady Caroline.

“Of course he never got to tell them because when he went to the secret meeting place he shared with his love, he didn’t get a chance to ask for her hand before the dagger was plunged into his chest three times. Our family was beyond grief, we knew in our hearts who was responsible, that Lord Meeking refused to even comment on the murder of Erik and after the disappearance of Lady Saffie Meeking he withdrew from society. He never did realise, I think if he had, he would have met an early death” said Peter Scott.

“Realise what?” asked Detective Roberts.

“That Erik and Lady Saffie Meeking were in love. It would have been quite the scandal back then, the posh aristocrat and the stable boy” said Peter.

Detective Roberts nodded.

“Here, I assumed you have come because of the case so I got this box out. It contains all that is left of Erik’s possessions. The family was very good in preserving them as we knew one day we’d find someone to solve the case” said Lady Caroline pointing to an old dusty box and a pair of disposable gloves that were lying on the table.

“Don’t you find it ironic that Lord Meeking, for all his money and power, lost his daughter, his wealth and his mind and his death ended the Meeking line, while the Mark family started out so poor and weak and now we stand with Marquis and Dukes in our ancestry” said Peter.

“Karma has a funny way of doing things” said Detective Roberts.

“Oh I think it is more revenge than karma, but we’ll leave you to investigate the box. Do ring if you need anything” said Lady Caroline.

“Wait, if you’re so rich and powerful why didn’t you ask someone to reopen this case?” asked Detective Roberts.

“It wasn’t a case of us asking someone to review the case, the case needed to be reopened by someone who wanted to solve the case, someone who cared more about just the fact. You are that person Detective” said Lady Caroline.

Detective Robert’s stood up and bowed – as was appropriate with these people – and returned to his seat once they had left the room. He sighed as he put on yet another pair of disposable gloves and started to leaf through the box. First he came across a picture of Erik, the painter had obviously been of poor quality – perhaps that’s all they could afford – Erik had untidy black hair that fell into his eyes – that were a bright blue – his skin was tanned from many days in the sun and his body muscled from all the hard labour he had to endure. He looked very young in the portrait and with a startled sigh Detective Roberts realised that the portrait was dated only two years before Erik started working for Lord Meeking.

The second thing he found was Erik’s diary, most of it was nonsense writing from before he worked for Lord Meeking but there were six entries that sparked the Detective’s interest:

February Sixteenth 1814

Today was the first day I officially started to work for Lord Meeking, of course I had covered for my Father before but that was only when it was the odd job or two. This was something completely different; I actually had to fill in my Father’s job. Of course Lord Meeking wouldn’t call me the Stable Master like my Father had been, even though I had taken over all my Father’s responsibilities, Lord Meeking still referred to me as ‘stable boy’.

I didn’t get angry however as I know we need this money. With Father Sick, it is going to be a tough time for all of us. I hate to see little Grace out selling flowers, she is only nine, she should be at home playing with her toys but we are not so fortunate as to allow her to do that. Money is money and at the end of the day if it puts money on the table and food in our moneys than I will do whatever it takes.

Besides, it isn’t all bad working for Lord Meeking, his daughter is the most beautiful creature I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Though I know she would never look twice at me, my days are always brighter when she visits the stables.

[*~..~*]

March Ninth 1814

She comes to talk to me daily now. I cannot believe I ever thought of her as being like the rest. She does not care for the social divide; she talks to me as an equal. We have to be careful though, there are eyes everywhere and I would not trust half the staff not to tell her Father about her talking to me. Still, I can’t help but gaze at her when she talks with me, she is so captivating. To think she actually wants to escape from her life is baffling, but I guess money really cannot buy you happiness. She says she would rather be in my situation than her own. I think that is madness but she says she envies my freedom. The more I talk to her the more I know her, my feelings are no longer ones of friendship.

[*~..~*]

May Twenty-First 1814

We found a secret meeting area, we meet there when we can. I had felt dejected when I realised I was falling for her. It is one thing for her to want to talk to a ‘stable boy’ but quite another for her to want something more. I should have known with her surprising me so that she would also surprise me with this as well. We were lying on the grass together when she asked me ‘do you like me Erik?’ I replied with my quick yes. ‘No but I mean do you really like me, not as a friend, not as an employer but as a lover. Do you love me Erik?’ she asked. I turned to face her so I could lace her and in mine and I starred deeply into her eyes ‘I love you with all my heart and I will keep loving you until my dying breath’.

The happiness that shone in her eyes in that moment was breathtaking. I had never seen something so beautiful. ‘I love you’ she replied and I knew in that moment that my life was complete.

[*~..~*]

August Second 1814

My family has noticed a change within me, I cannot help but show how in love I am but I am worried about what could happen should someone find out. My love has had similar worries; her Father has been suspicious of her recent behaviour. She has heard him muttering some unpleasant things about her future that has panicked her. We have decided to lay low for a while, though it breaks out hearts to be away from each other, it is necessary.

[*~..~*]

December Twenty-Ninth 1814

Our love knows no bounds, we may be of different classes but that doesn’t matter. We know that when the time comes we will run away together and be happy forever. We both managed to disappear for a couple of hours this afternoon. As we lay side by side hidden in the tall grass, we knew that this was the perfect moment to cement our love. It was blissful, passionate and loving. I have never felt so complete or so in love. She carries not only my heart but my soul as well, without her I am incomplete.

[*~..~*]

March Twenty-Sixth 1815

My love has told me the most wonderful news and I intend to gift her most handsomely in return. This is the night our lives will change forever; this is the night we will disappear.

Detective Roberts sighed as he felt his heart slowdown from its rapid beating. It was like a fairy-tale romance, like Romeo and Juliet or Tony and Maria from West Side Story, except this story was real. These things had happened and had torn a young couple apart. He was surprised at how well they had hidden their relationship; they’d managed to remain together for a year before they were ripped apart. The last entry showed that Lady Saffie had told Erik she was carrying his child, and from his words, Detective Roberts suspected that the gift he was going to offer her in return was marriage.

Apart from painting a sad picture of the lives of Erik and Lady Saffie, Erik’s journal didn’t shed much more light upon anything. However, as he picked up another journal, - this one marked G. Mark – he did find something interesting.

March Twentieth 1814

My brother thinks himself so smart; he has forgotten the cunning of his ten year old sister. I knew he was in love, he has been so happy recently and nothing seems to make him angry or sad. I knew he had found some secret place to meet in, so one night I followed him. It was harder than I thought but I managed to keep up. When we reached the clearing I was shocked at who he was meeting, didn’t he know what trouble he could get into should anyone find out that he was seeing her. I may be ten but I am not a fool. I left the place silently, my brother must know what he is doing, and he is brave and loyal. I would not ruin his happiness for anything. I will keep his secret for always.

I’ve written the directions to the secret place should he ever need me to be there in a hurry: start on the road that leads to Lord Meeking’s stables; walk down until you get to the old oak tree. Turn right, walk into the forest, and take a left at the tree stump, a right as you get to the pond and another left as you pass the cherry blossom. Three steps forward, twelve to the right and you reach the clearing.

[*~..~*]

March Twenty-Ninth 1815

I was only able to bring myself to writing this because it seemed so odd. I cannot function without crying now my brother is no longer here. Everyone keeps asking what could have happened and I shudder when I think of what rumours are floating around. I have not told of my brother’s secret because it isn’t mine to tell, she has disappeared as well now, perhaps that is for the best.

A man came up to me today, he was in an army uniform, his face was pale and he looked haunted. He gave me a bunch of flowers and announced he was sorry for my loss. I’ve never seen a man look like that before and I never saw him again.

[*~..~*]

Well the second entry was rather confusing but at least the first entry meant something. Detective Roberts quickly wrote down the directions to the secret meeting area. It seemed that he was heading back to Lord Meeking’s Manor after all.

He rang the bell Lady Caroline had left for him, and just as she promised, she appeared moments later.

“Find anything useful?” she asked.

“Very, your great-great-great-great Grandmother was a very smart ten year old” he said.

She smiled “I know”.

“I must return to London” he announced.

“You will call when you know the answer” she said.

He nodded “of course I shall”.

*-. .-*

He returned several days later to Lord Meeking’s Manor, except he didn’t walk up to the doors or see Colette again. Instead he took out the directions he’d written down and followed them till he found himself standing in the clearing that Erik and Lady Saffie used during their time together. He could see why they used it, it was completely surrounded by forestry, here they could be sure that they were completely alone and couldn’t be caught. There was an old willow tree standing in the middle of the clearing, as he moved closer Detective Roberts could see the names Erik and Saffie carved into the bark. He smiled at the thought of them doing that together.

As he bent down near the base of the tree he realised that the ground beneath his feet was moving slightly. Trying not to be alarmed, he took out a handy travel shovel from his bag and began to dig. It was clear that although no one had been her in a very long time, there was something buried under the rubble waiting to see the light of day. When he’d finally dug deep enough to hit something, he put his hand in the whole and picked up the object. When he pulled his hand out he saw how intricate the design on the once silver box and made the connection that it once belonged to Lady Saffie.

He put on another pair of disposable gloves and carefully opened the box to investigate the content. There were a few scraps of paper that could no longer be read, so he gently tossed those aside. Next he found two sealed envelopes and lastly he found a small tarnished ring box that still had blood splattered upon its casing.

The first envelope was entitled ‘To my love’. It read as follows:

How can I continue without you here? Every face I see sends me into a panic, who should I trust when it could have been any one of them that killed you. Without you here there is nothing for me, my Father would have me marry that horrible Augustus White, our child would become a distant dream. I could not bare that to happen. I must leave, but I couldn’t do that before visiting this place one last time. It is where they found you after all, how I wished I had been able to meet you that fateful night, you must think I had abandoned you but I hadn’t, I promise you I would never abandon you. Someone must have found out about us, someone must have told.

I’ve never seen my Father so angry, his temper knew no bounds, and one minute I was hurrying to meet you and the next I was bound in a chair while my Father poured something vile down my throat. I did not wake up until the morning they found your body. Oh if you could feel my pain, you would know that I had nothing to do with your death. Do not worry my love; I will see you again soon. I am going away from this place; I know a friend I can stay with till our child arrives in this world. Wait for me my love, I shall meet you soon. Know your child will have a loving place to live and we will be together forever to watch over them.

Detective Robert’s heard felt rather heavy as he read the words that Lady Saffie had left for Erik. It was clear to him that she intended to end her life just as soon as she had given birth and was safe in the knowledge that her child would be probably cared for. It was very sad to know that had she not run away, not only would her Father have forced her to marry whoever this Augustus White character but that he would have also ensured that her unborn child remained unborn.

He was starting to piece the pieces of the puzzle together now. However the identity of Erik’s killer still remained a mystery. He wanted to say that it was Lord Meeking but he knew in his heart that he was innocent. He returned to Lord Meeking’s Manor and was escorted back to Lord Meeking’s study by another National Trust worker. However, Detective Roberts was learning a lot about history here, and knew that this study, for all its lack of furniture was probably his public study, and he would therefore have a private study as well.

When he asked the lady about this theory he had, she looked quite miffed at him.

“She said you were observant. I will show you the other study but it hasn’t been restored yet, it is still how it was before we bought the property and no one had lived here since Lord Meeking, so I don’t know what you will find. I don’t even know if it’s safe, so be careful” she said as she bought him up to a closed door on the right hand side of the second floor of the Manor.

He waited until she had walked away till her pushed at the door. Surprisingly it wasn’t locked and opened with a loud groan. Detective Roberts couldn’t see a thing; the curtains were closed – probably to preserve stuff – so he turned on his torch. He proceeded with caution but he was getting that cold feeling again and this time was more prepared when he stepped into a vision from the past.

Lord Meeking was a tall thin man with a moustache and a receding hairline. He paced his study angrily muttering about the behaviour of his unruly daughter. The door banged open and a rather short portly man entered.

“Augustus, good fellow, I’d almost forgotten you were arriving today” said Lord Meeking.

“You knew quite well I was coming, so let’s not beat around the bush. Your daughter is not responding to me. She is to be my wife and I would prefer to have a subservient wife to a disobedient one. You will sort this or you will not be getting your money” said Augustus as he stormed from the room.

Lord Meeking continued to pace angrily and carried on his mutterings.

“I am her Father; I control her life until she marries. She thinks she is so clever, does she not realise the staff are loyal to me not her. Did she think I would let her get away with her behaviour with that stupid stable boy! I knew I never should have hired him, he has polluted my daughter. She has disregarded all her morals to consort with that vermin. They will never be together, not if I can help it. I will stop this and then I will get my money!” he shouted.

Detective Roberts almost thought he had gotten a confession out of Lord Meeking there but yet he was still in the vision, so perhaps that wasn’t the case.

A Young officer walked into the room at that point.

“Lord Meeking, Brigadier Northman sent me, he said you were in need of something” said the young man.

“What is your name?” asked Lord Meeking.

“Gregory Earnshaw Sir” replied Gregory.

“You’re a soldier right” said Lord Meeking.

“Yes Sir” said Gregory.

“Good, you’ll do nicely. Do you know the Mark family? They live just beyond the fork in the road” said Lord Meeking.

“Yes Sir” said Gregory confused by the nature of the questions he was being asked.

“Good, good. I have it on good authority that Erik Mark will be in this particular area of the forest this evening” he said showing Gregory a map “he intends to kidnap my daughter – for what I do not know – but he needs to be stopped. I need you to go and meet him at that clearing and use your soldier persona to threaten him into not kidnapping my daughter. You are to do anything you can to persuade him to leave town. Do you understand?” asked Lord Meeking.

“Yes Sir” replied Gregory, he bowed before Lord Meeking and then left the room.

Lord Meeking moved to stand before the window; he seemed to be staring off into the distance.

“Yes, that officer will take care of you Erik and with you out of the picture, I will be able to control my daughter once more”.

Detective Roberts stepped out of the vision as if no time had passed at all. His emotions were getting more involved in this case as time went on. He knew he could never speak of these visions to another soul, but he knew the amount of written evidence he was finding would be enough to solve the case once and for all.

He looked down at the second envelope he carried and realised he needed to return to the clearing in the forest once again. Once there, he sat down on the ground, leaning against the base of the willow tree and pulled out the letter. The writing on the envelope read; “I surrender the truth”. He pulled out the letter and waited for the vision to start. As soon as he’d read the first words, time changed.

I killed the stable boy.

*-. .-*

Erik was standing alone in the clearing, the moon shone out from in between the clouds where it was hiding. Erik had come dressed in his finest clothes and he carried a small ring box in his nervous hand. Tonight was the night that he asked Lady Saffie Meeking to marry him, if she said yes then they’d leave this place and run away together. She was pregnant and he intended to make a new life for them, a better life and a life filled with love and happiness.

He was early but he waited for her until it was past the time for her to arrive. She was late. The he heard the snap of a tree branch and turned around with thoughts of joy and happiness. Yet it was not Lady Saffie standing before him but an unknown officer. He knew there was a regiment visiting but he didn’t understand why one was standing before him or how he had found this place.

“Where is Lady Saffron Meeking?” asked the unknown man.

“I do not know, she was supposed to be meeting me here but she has not turned up” replied Erik.

“You lie. I know of your plan to kidnap Lord Meeking’s daughter and I have come to tell you that it is a foolish endeavour. If you expect to gain money, you will not, if you expect to win Lady Saffron, you are mistaken. If you continue with this course of action the only thing you will receive is a long stay in prison” said the man.

“Kidnap Lady Saffie? I do not intend to kidnap her nor anyone” said Erik.

“Her name is Lady Saffron Meeking, you would do well to remember that” said the man.

“Who sent you here? Why have you really come? Where is Lady Saffie?” asked Erik.

“I was hired by Lord Meeking, I was sent here to ensure that you do not succeed in your plan to kidnap his daughter and I will do anything to make sure that you do not succeed” said the man.

“You didn’t answer my question, where is Lady Saffie?” asked Erik.

The other man had come very close into Erik’s personal space to spit the words “she is with her Father where she is being protected from the likes of you!”

Erik could see no other way out of this situation other than fighting, he grabbed hold of the man and for a while they tussled on equal footing. Neither man was backing down Erik was fighting for his Lady Saffie; the man was fighting to fulfil his promise to Lord Meeking. They had come to heads when the man pulled out a secret weapon, he hadn’t intended to use it, he simply wanted to scare Erik but things had happened differently and the dagger ended up penetrating Erik’s chest, right through his heart. Erik slumped forward against the man and then fell back against the ground.

“You’re a fool to believe anything Lord Meeking tells you. We were in love, to be married and start our marriage with our child. Now I will never see that future and my life ends my your hands. Tell Lady Saffie, I love her”.

With those parting words, Erik took his last breath in this world.

The man before him panicked at what had happened.

“No, no no” he chanted “this wasn’t supposed to happen. I was just supposed to scare you. You weren’t supposed to die. I-I can’t go to prison, I’ll hang” he said.

At this point the vision blurred and eventually faded into nothing.

Detective Roberts came out of the vision a breathed a sigh of relief. So the death of Erik was an accident after all, poor Gregory was only acting on the orders of Lord Meeking, how was he to know that what he was being told was false. He had only intended to scare Erik with the dagger but instinct took over while they were fighting. It was clear that he’d panicked after Erik had died and perhaps added more stab wounds to make it seem more like a murder. After all why would anyone link him to Erik in the first place, it wasn’t like Lord Meeking would talk about what had happened.

Yet despite the revelation of knowing Erik’s killer, Detective Roberts still didn’t feel at peace with the case. There was something else that was still to be solved and that required him speaking to Colette Meeking once more.

*-. .-*

They met this time in a secluded coffee shop, it was her day off and he hadn’t wanted to visit Lord Meeking’s Manor since he unravelled the truth.

“So you found the killer” she said in conversation.

“Yes, but I can’t help but feel empty. I’d imagined a different ending, I always thought it would have been Lord Meeking or even the man Lady Saffie was supposed to marry that had killed Erik. I do wonder how Gregory continued with that guilt hanging over his shoulder. Did he ever confess, or did he keep the secret buried forever? Then there is you, before you mentioned that you might be distantly related to Lord Meeking but I think it’s more than that isn’t it” said Detective Roberts.

“You are very smart Detective, when did you realise that I was a closer relation than you thought?” she asked.

“From the moment I saw the portrait of Lady Saffie, you are so alike in your looks” said Detective.

She smiled “Lady Saffie Meeking was my Great-great-great-great-great-great Grandmother. She left her child in the hands of an old friend, her Mother’s best friend. The woman she left her child with had a child of her own, a son. This son had recently become an officer, an officer that turned out to be called Gregory and returned shortly after he left for the war. He devoted his life to raising the child with love and happiness. Lady Saffie left her fortune with that child, and through the generations that fortune has increased quite considerably. I am considered quite a wealthy woman these days. I know a lot of people wouldn’t agree with what Lady Saffie did but Erik was her one person, without him she couldn’t even think of living. She did everything she could think of to ensure her child had the best life possible. The only regret I have it that neither Erik nor Lady Saffie got to live the lives they deserved” she said.

“Perhaps not, but I’m sure they’re living now, besides, I have some family to introduce you to” said Detective Roberts.

*-. .-*

It was a heart-warming sight to reunite the descendant of Erik and the descendant of Lady Saffie and to be able to solve the case for the both of them. Detective Roberts was praised by the force for his determination to solve the puzzle laid before him and people began to look up at him with a new level of respect. There was one less unsolved box lying in the police vaults and a whole lot of others left to be solved. Detective Roberts might have just found his new calling.

7,981 words

[This story was a challenge I set myself. I wanted to write a short story max 8,000 words, on a subject that I'd not written before. I hope I've done justice on this story].