Murder at the Academy

Chapter V: The Ending of a Tale

Jennie gasps.

"How can you know who the murderer is, Angela?" she exclaims.

"Well." I begin, "It truly began a very long time ago. Didn't it, Madame LeFoux?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Angela. Are you going to explain the case or not?" Madame snaps.

Now, murder is a curious thing. Many occur because of anger. But this murder was not  in cold blood. They were planned very intricately.

"I have two suspects in mind. Whoever the murderer is, they thought it out very carefully. First off, Penelope. Her alibi originally was not nearly concrete enough to suffice. Since the first time I asked, she has told me an airtight alibi that has been confirmed,

"I am innocent. I did not kill Amber!" Penelope exclaims upon hearing her name.

"It's all right, Penelope. Your cousin, Adela confirmed your second alibi." I assured her, then I moved on, "Madame, do you recall the Daisy Blackburn murder?"

"Ye-yes, why? What's this about, Angela?"

"I think you know. You're really Ariadne Diana Blackburn, aren't you?"

"Wha-what are you trying to say?" Madame asked meekly.

"That you are really the mother of Daisy Eliza Blackburn and her elder sister Annaleis. Annaleis went missing the night of the murder and hasn't been seen since. Hattie McClaren was the maid in charge of little Daisy the night of her murder."

"So what if that's true? LeFoux is my maiden name, so that doesn't prove anything." Madame had a renewed courage that was kind of terrifying.

"I am accusing you of murdering Harriet Annabel McClaren, that's so what."

"How did you find out? You researched, obviously." Madame wasn't even angry. Just lost.

"Someone, get the handcuffs. A wad of newspaper was left underneath Hattie's bed. The article was about an Intelligence Academy needing a headmistress, and the most favored applicant was Ariadne LeFoux of the famous Blackburn scandal."
The door flings open.

"The police have arrived." A different young maid enters. She clearly Hattie's replacement. Everyone politely thanks her as the police cuff Madame.

"Thank you, Annie." Penelope says kindly, "Not to worry, hardly any maids get murdered.Just this one and the one before that, and the one before that."

The look on Annie's face is sheer terror.

We all burst out laughing,

"Amber's the first one. Don't worry. No more maids will get murdered."

"Ha-ha." Annie's face still is a sickly pale white color.

"Ah, your deductions were brilliant Angela. I did tell you on your first day I'd been the headmistress for nine years."

"I caught that little detail, and put the two together. I-" I begin.

"I'll plead guilty, you know. Oddly, I feel satisfied. Angela, you are a brilliant detective. I look forward to seeing your name in the news, under the headline 'Murderer caught!'. You really will become famous. Nancy Drew famous, in my opinion." Madame remarks casually.

"Yes, I expect so too." I respond lightly.

"Hey Miss Angela, look at this!" Jennie adds, glancing at the newspaper article about the Blackburn murders.

"What is it, Jennie?" I asked.

"The murderer of the two Blackburns was never caught."

I would soon learn that I very rarely go looking for trouble. Trouble has a very nasty habit of finding me.