by I H Laking
* * * *
A clap of thunder rolled across the sky outside Inspector Ambrose’s house. Night had fallen, and the rain had returned. It was been a frustrating afternoon once they discovered the stolen Mech, and now he was trying to pull together the loosely hanging threads that surrounded this mystery. Percy had made his way home to have some dinner, and Ambrose had made a list of all the things that he needed to consider, which now sat in front of him on the dining room table. The gaslights burned quietly all around the Inspector as he attempted to finally solve the mystery. Lightning flashed outside the window. Thunder rolled again. Ambrose looked at the list:
What Went Wrong with Mrs Milliard’s Mech?
- Mrs Milliard is selling her business.
- Her Mech, Morris, has stopped making pies properly.
- Morris is happy, and thinks he’s making the pies correctly.
- Business is going to drop in the area if the pie shop closes.
- Mrs Milliard sent Cooper to find out more information at the workshop.
- The workshop was broken into, and a Mech was somehow stolen.
- If Morris doesn’t remember how to make the pies, Mrs Milliard faces financial ruin.
- She faces financial ruin because she will have to sell her business for a very low price.
- Mr Button doesn’t like want to lose the business the pie shop brings in.
- Bernie from the Residents Association is a smug pickpocket
- Mrs Trump is nosy.
Ambrose stopped. It was as if the final cog had ticked over, and the solution was clear. He knew who was behind all this, and he had a strong feeling he knew how they had done it. Wasting no time at all, he stood up, grabbed his coat and headed for the door. The lightning flashed around him as he ran down the road towards his partner’s house.
It was time to put an end to the mystery of Mrs Milliard’s Mech.