The Four Tales

by Rebecca Reddell

  Hunter stepped closer and nodded. “You think this is all a setup to frame you? Why do you think they’d go to all that trouble? One of them could have been caught. Why not plant the slippers and gown the same night?”

  “I don’t know. I just know they didn’t break in and steal anything. They broke in and put this in my hamper, so I would look guilty. Someone wants me to take the blame!”

  “Why?” Hunter asked the question they all wanted answered.

  Wren’s eyes met Sybelle’s for a brief second. She could accuse her stepmother, but she was tired of everyone treating her as if she was ridiculous. There was a part of her that wasn’t sure anymore.

  “We can discuss it later.” Mr. Gabriel patted her shoulder again and turned to Sybelle. His phone rang. “I’m going to take this.” He left the room while Sybelle called for Mrs. Griffith.

  “For what it's worth, I think your idea might have merit.” Hunter's voice in her ear had Wren jumping.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, I do. However, how could they have gotten them in the first place?”

  “Someone from the inside gave the clothes to them?”

  “Then, why break back in? Why not give them back to the person who originally handed them over in the first place?”

  Shoulders slumping, Wren sighed again. “I don't know. I guess I didn't think that part through.”

  “Well, if you come up with an idea that sounds plausible, let me know.”

  “Diolch.” Wren allowed a small smile peek out.

  Hunter released a huge dimpled grin in her direction. Catching her breath, she couldn't believe how gorgeous his crooked grin and bright green eyes were. Her head didn’t seem to hurt as much at the moment.

  “Don't mention it. That's why I get paid the big bucks.”

  Without thinking, Wren punched Hunter in the arm with all her strength.

  “Ow! Why did you do that?”

  “If you can't figure it out then you’re not a very intelligent detective after all. And you shouldn't get paid anything.” Turning around Wren realized she had nowhere to go. She growled, before shoving past the crooked-smiling jerk and flouncing onto the chair.

  “The police are on their way,” Mr. Gabriel announced after he hung up.

  “Don't worry, Wren. We'll take care of everything.” Sybelle droned.

  “If anyone takes care of anything more around here, I'm going to end up in jail. Don't you have a job to do? Go sniff something out.” Wren waved Hunter off and pursed her lips.

  “Wren! That's no way to behave with guests. I'm surprised at you.”

  “It's all right, Your Highness. I'm not easily bruised.” Rubbing his arm, Wren knew exactly what he referred to.

  “Next time I'll punch you harder.” Smirking at his wide eyes and Sybelle's exclamation, Wren caught Ellie's head shake and sighed. “Never mind. When can I expect to be arrested?”

  “What's gotten into you, Eiwren?” Sybelle shook her head.

  “Wren, they won't arrest you. Definitely not today. We'll get to the bottom of this.” Mr. Gabriel let out another sigh of his own. “They will have a lot of questions. Charlotte found the list. She says the nightgown and slippers are accounted for on the list.”

  Everyone seemed to sigh at once.

  “If I can make a suggestion?” Ellie added to Mr. Gabriel's admonition.

  “Yes, please.” Sybelle nodded at her.

  “I think Wren needs to lie down before the police arrive. She has a headache, and I think it's made her grouchy.”

  “Ellie--”

  “I'll keep an eye on her. Just call up when the chief arrives.”

  “Good idea!” Sybelle seized onto it and escorted the gentlemen to the door. “We'll call as soon as he arrives. Gentlemen, allow me to order some tea and sandwiches.” The door closed on the rest of her conversation.

  “Thanks, Ellie.”

  “I figured I had to do something before you started sucker punching everyone.”

  “He deserved it.”

  “Not going to argue you on that. I’ve never seen you hit someone though. Go ahead and lie down. I'm going to clean up this tray. Has the aspirin kicked in yet?”

  “I think so. My headache feels a little better. Thanks.”

  “Croeso. Now, I don't want to hear a sound from you until the phone rings.”

  Wren bit her lip from replying and plopped onto the sofa once more. She got comfortable, closed her eyes, and started thinking of better times.

  “What in the world?”

  “What?” Wren's eyes popped open. She didn't want to hear any more bad news.

  “Why are there three apple cores in the bottom of your trashcan?”

  “Are you going through my trash now?”

  “No, I just spotted one when I was throwing away this trash, and I wondered what it was. Looking closer my suspicions were confirmed. You hate apples.”

  “Well, that’s stating the obvious. They aren't mine. Just go dump them. I'm going to take a nap.”

  “How'd they get in here then? This is the second time I’ve found them in your trashcan.”

  “I don't know, Ellie. Maybe another maid dropped them in there? It wasn't me. You empty the trash every day. There's got to be an answer.”

  “This just doesn't make sense. I guess nothing has recently.”

  “Ellie, I've got bigger worries right now. Go ask the staff and see if any of them know how they got there. And dump them out, if you don't mind. I can't even smell them without getting sick.” Wren watched as Ellie shook her head, picked up the trash can and tea tray before heading to the door.

  “Wait!” Wren got back up and went to look inside the trashcan. At the bottom, three brown cores rested. “What if the killer dropped them in there?”

  “What?” Ellie’s eyes widened again. “Why would they do that?”

  “Because they know I don’t like them? Maybe it’s a clue!”

  “Wren, I don’t know if that even makes sense. Why would they leave behind clues with DNA on them? I’m sorry, I have to disagree there.”

  “You’re right, Ellie. I guess I was so desperate to find evidence, I jumped to conclusions. Maybe one of the maids had them as a snack? I don’t know.”

  “This day keeps getting stranger and stranger.” Ellie shook her head and headed toward the door.

  “Tell me about it. I have blood-soaked clothes in my hamper. Now apple cores. If I didn't know any better, I'd suspect I'm being haunted by a malevolent spirit.”

  “Don't joke, Wren. Spirits are real.” Ellie turned around.

  “I know. One seems out to get me.”

  “I wouldn't joke about things of that nature. I'll be right back.”

  “Okay.”

  Wren decided to lie back down. Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to meditate on her breathing. In, out. In, out. In, out.

  Someone laughing had Wren pulling up off the pillow and looking around the room.

  Nothing. No one there.

  “Great. Now I'm hearing things too.” Lying back against the pillow, Wren closed her eyes and dozed, barely hearing the echoing laughter.

  22

  “Ellie?” Hunter called out to the maid as she walked past him.

  He’d already asked the Queen if he could look around and personally interview the servants. The maid was the first one he wanted to talk to besides Captain Ward. Both were close to the family, and he suspected their loyalty would make them closed-mouthed. If he could represent that he was on their side, they might open up and reveal more to him than to the constable.

  Jerking to a stop, Ellie looked over at him. She held a trash can and tea tray in her hands. Approaching her across the hallway in the servant’s hall, he took the tea tray from her. Nodding, he indicated she should lead the way.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” she asked him.

  “I wanted to ask you a few questions. Do you mind?”

  Ellie shook her head. “What can I help you wi
th?”

  “I wanted to ask you about the day the king died. Do you think you can spare a few minutes?”

  She nodded as they entered the kitchen. He set the tray on a table, and she proceeded to empty the trash can. Afterward, another maid came over and took the tray.

  “Can I help you?” the cook asked.

  “I’m just waiting to speak with Miss Ellie,” Hunter answered.

  The cook’s eyes lit up, and a small smile appeared on her face. “Of course,” she said with a nod of her head.

  “What’s this about?” Davies entered the room and asked.

  “This gentleman wants to speak with Ellie,” the cook told him.

  “PI Hunter,” Davies greeted him.

  The noise of the kitchen paused as they all turned to look at him. The cook’s eyes widened. Ellie sat the trash can on the floor in the corner and straightened to look at him.

  “You can use my office to conduct your interview, PI Hunter.”

  “Thank you, Davies. Just call me Hunter.”

  The butler gave a brief nod and looked around the room. Everyone became motivated at his glance and went about their work. He walked out of the room, and Hunter turned back to the maid.

  “Shall we?” he asked.

  Ellie nodded and led him out of the kitchen and along the hallway. They reached the third door on the left and walked right in. Hunter took a look around the room. It was tidy with a wall of wine bottle opposite the door, and a desk to the left behind it. There was a window across from the desk.

  “I like the colors,” he said, shutting the door behind him.

  The browns and creams complimented each other. There were two chairs to the right with a table between them, and he took one. Waving at the chair, he waited for her to be seated.

  Smiling, he pulled out a notebook and flipped it open. “So, Miss Alroy, can you tell me what happened the day of King Cynfor’s death?”

  “You can call me Ellie, Detective.”

  “Please feel free to call me Hunter, Ellie. Now, can you explain the day to me?”

  “Of course,” she began. “Where would you like me to begin?”

  “Start from the beginning,” he told her.

  “I was with her that morning. I helped pick out her outfit for the event and collected her laundry. We talked for a while.”

  “You talked for a while?”

  “Yeah, we often chat.”

  “Are you and the princess friends then?”

  “As much as we can be when one of us is a princess, and the other is her personal maid.”

  “She values you though. I could tell while we were in the room. I can tell she does like you,” Hunter told her.

  He watched a smile light up her face. She nodded. “I like her too. I consider her my friend, and I know she considers me hers.”

  “That’s really nice. It’s always good to have a friend. What happened next?”

  “I went to an afternoon class. When I arrived later, I helped her prepare for the next day. We chatted some more, and then she went to bed.”

  “You left?”

  “Yes, I did. I had classes the next morning, and I didn’t get here until after the police had arrived. They wouldn’t let me in until later.”

  “Did you notice anything off the day King Cynfor died?”

  “No,” she said and shook her head. “Everyone seemed the same. They were excited about the event. There was some last-minute stress over a misplaced tie, but that was it. The day continued as normal.”

  “I see. What is Princess Wren’s relationship with her father and Queen Sybelle?”

  Ellie cleared her throat and didn’t say anything. She stared down at her hands and rubbed one thumb over the other. When a full minute passed without her saying a word, Hunter understood what she was trying not to say.

  “They aren’t close, are they?” he asked.

  “I’m three years older than Wren. I came here when she was sixteen to help whenever she was home from school. It was mainly during the summer and holidays. We got along so well, I continued when she graduated.”

  Hunter nodded, when she paused.

  “I was here when she first came home. Queen Sybelle wasn’t happy with her. They weren’t speaking, and for a while, Wren didn’t trust me. She thought I was on her step-mother’s side since she’d hired me.”

  “Why were they so upset with each other?”

  Ellie hesitated.

  “You won’t get in trouble, Ellie. I’m not asking you to divulge any secrets. I need to know why they aren’t close. Queen Sybelle seems to care for the princess.”

  “Queen Sybelle does care, but she’s not always great at showing it,” Ellie allowed.

  “Why was Princess Wren unhappy when she came home?”

  Ellie shrugged.

  “Please tell me,” Hunter requested in a low voice.

  “Wren was in trouble. She didn’t like the school they’d sent her to when she turned twelve. She didn’t want to leave home, but Queen Sybelle told the king it was best for a young lady to grow up away from her home. She said Wren needed a proper education.”

  Hunter nodded. He wasn’t surprised. Most affluent families sent their children away.

  “Princess Wren wasn’t happy to leave?”

  “No, and it didn’t get better. When I finally got the princess to see I wasn’t here to spy on her, she confided that the school wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to go back.”

  “Did she ever tell you why? Was there a reason she said it wasn’t fair?”

  Ellie shook her head. “No. Wren never told me why. They were sent to pick her up because she’d punched a teacher in the face. No one was happy, and she almost didn’t go back. Except, they made her.”

  “She punched a teacher?” He hadn’t heard about that at all.

  Ellie nodded.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. She never told me. All she ever said was that it was to protect someone else. She kept repeating it over and over again.”

  Hunter nodded. “They sent her back?”

  “Yeah,” she replied. “She didn’t want to go, but she didn’t have a choice.”

  “So, she wasn’t close to her father either?”

  “They were. Before he married the current queen, I heard they were inseparable. Wren’s told me quite a few stories of their outings together and how he would ask her opinion over things.”

  “Their relationship changed after he married Queen Sybelle?”

  “When the queen joined their family, the king stopped asking Wren her opinion. He didn’t listen to her anymore. Even when she begged not to go back to the school.”

  Hunter took a deep breath and nodded. “Do you think the princess would kill her father?”

  “No!” Her answer was emphatic, and she didn’t hesitate for a second. Her head came up, and her eyes found his. “Wren loved her father. Even when he wouldn’t listen to her.”

  Shutting his notebook, he nodded again and stood. “Thanks, Ellie. Do you know where I can find Captain Ward?”

  “Sure, I’ll show you.”

  She took him out the back, kitchen door and across the yard. They veered left and came upon three individual buildings grouped together. There brick and rock exterior were rough and aged by the weather.

  Strolling up to the middle building, Ellie knocked on the door. After a few minutes, it opened, and Captain Ward greeted them.

  “Am I needed inside, Ellie?”

  “No, Captain Ward. PI Hunter wanted to have a word with you.”

  Peering over her shoulder, he made eye contact with Hunter and nodded. “Right. Thanks, Ellie.”

  She left, and the captain held the door open further to let Hunter inside. Stepping through the doorway, the detective looked around the room. It housed monitors of the front gate and backyard.

  “Did you get anything the other night?”

  Captain Ward looked at the monitors and back at him with a shake of his head. “Unfortunately
, the monitors only show a loop. I can’t seem to break it. The constable came in and took a look as well. He requested a copy to see if his experts can figure out where the disturbance came through.”

  “I see. Have these always been here?”

  “No, the queen had them recently installed. The guy is supposed to come back next week to install the rest of them inside the house.”

  “They probably would have been helpful sooner. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

  “Please feel free. Come on in and take a seat.” He indicated a few chairs around the monitors along the right wall.

  Hunter took a seat and reached for his pen and notepad. “Captain Ward, what was your role the night the king died?”

  “My role?” Captain Ward’s eyebrows raised.

  “What were you doing the day leading up to the murder?”

  “I was managing the guards, making sure the shifts rotated in time, and was on my own shifts. They family had the event for the homeless to go to, and I escorted them to it with some other guards.”

  “Was anything strange that day?”

  “No, PI Hunter. Everything went as normal. We left on time and arrived on time. The evening went well.”

  “No one got upset or acted awkward?”

  “Not that I saw,” the captain said.

  “When was your last shift?”

  “I was off at 2100 and went to get some sleep. I was supposed to go back to my post at 0500. I was awakened by Darcy, the one I was supposed to relieve later, and he told me the king was dead.”

  “Did he see what happened?”

  “He said he heard the queen screaming, and he went to investigate. The princess was in the bedroom with her hands pressed to the king’s chest. She tried to do CPR. Princess Wren was devastated.”

  “Did she have a knife or anything?”

  “No!” Captain Ward shook his head. “She was trying to save him. He was already gone.”

  Hunter nodded and made a few notes. “Why did you put the princess in her room after you found the knife in there?”

  For a second, the captain looked confused. “I didn’t think about it at the time. It’s her room.”

  “You must have known that would contaminate the crime scene.”