He had got the call because of a suspected murder last night. A member of the family Holden, Max Holden, had tragically died in the wine cellar of their mansion. P.I. Jones was driving along a country side gravel road. The Monday morning sun was shining and he could smell the grass of the fields surrounding him. The landscape flat and the houses big. It was a neighbourhood where people with old money were living. As he turned right onto the private road leading up to the enormous property of the Holden family, he turned down the radio and looked at the tall trees surrounding the mansion. It was an astonishing sight. “They have lots of money” he thought for himself. After stopping next to the fountain in front of the main door, the butler came to meet him.
- I am P.I. Jones. You called me, right?
- That’s right. Mr Holden is very eager to sort out this mess. It’s a tragedy, really. He thinks Max committed suicide. But please come with me and we will tell you the rest.
Mr. Jones took his brief case with him and waited for the butler to park his car. The exterior of the mansion was painted white and the architectural style classic. He saw a glimpse of a huge garden behind the mansion, with flowers, ponds, trees and a pavilion.
The butler opened the main doors for them and they went into the entrance hall, which was really a hall. In the ceiling they had a cupol window lighting up the hall with natural light. Mr Jones unbuttoned his coat and put it on the coat hanger together with his hat. They went into the dining room. The light was dimmed and the smoke was thick in the air. Around the walls there were paintings from surrealistic and abstract painters. All the members of the family were gathered. The father, Nick Holden, was a big man, in his 60’s dressed in a dark suit. His cigar was the source of the thick fog in the room. The wife, Margaret Holden, was a slender woman in her 50’s, dressed in a red dress. Jenny Holden, mother of Nick Holden, was sitting in a rocking chair. She was reaching her 90’s, her hair gray.
Present in the room was also the butler, Kyle Smith. He looked like a simple man, dressed in a white shirt and simple black trousers.
P.I. Jones went straight to business after introducing himself. He started interviewing the suspects, one by one.
- When I call you I want you to come into the parlour. Let’s start with you, Nick.
They went into the parlour, where they could have some privacy. The parlour was smaller than the dining room and with a wooden coffee table and some chairs next to a window facing the garden at the back.
- Where were you the night Max was found dead?
- Well, I was in the office, working late on a project until around 10 in the evening. I was home by 11.
- Can anyone verify that?
- Ask my wife, Margaret.
- What do you think happened last night?
- When I left, he was going down to the cellar to look for a bottle of wine. That’s what the others told me.
- Is the cellar door locked with a key?
- Yes. The key is always laying under a stone next to the cellar door.
P.I. Jones let Nick leave the room and called Margaret.
She said that Nick had come home around 11, like he said.
- And where were you?
- I was working on my novel, at home. The butler can confirm it. He was around most of the time. A few times he was out, though. I am not saying he killed Max, but he has a habit of disappearing mysteriously late in the evenings and then come back after fifteen minutes. Apart from that, I have no idea what happened. Max was such a good man, didn’t do bad to anyone. He was a big fan of racing and used to drive his old car on the weekends. It would have been less surprising if he had a car accident. To die like that, in our own basement, it’s just odd. He was of perfect health.
Next he called for Jenny, the oldest member of the family.
- The night Max died, there was a noise outside. It sounded like the neighbours were running some of their farming machinery. Half an hour later, the sound was gone. That was around 9.30. It could not have been Nick’s cab I heard, because he had been away the whole day, working late in the office. Max went down to the cellar around 7 maybe, because he had a habit of reading books there and drinking wine. He was unemployed and spent most of his evenings there.
She didn’t have more to add so called Kyle, the butler, finally. The butler refused to say anything. He seemed very anxious about something. P.I. Jones noted it. He went downstairs to the cellar (the door was open). He looked around and took a few notes. He went upstairs again to the dining room. He scratched his head and thought for a few moments, then he asked everyone in the room to empty whatever they had in their pockets, onto the dining table. They did as he asked and he looked at the various watches, coins, paper notes, keys and other things they had taken out of their pockets. He contemplated for a few more minutes, until he announced that he knew that Max had been murdered and that he knew who was guilty.
What name did he mention?
